Torsten Engelbrecht and Konstantin DemeterLockdowns and hygienic measures around the world are based on numbers of cases and mortality rates created by the so-called SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests used to identify ''positive'' patients, whereby ''positive'' is usually equated with ''infected.''
But looking closely at the facts, the conclusion is that these PCR tests are meaningless as a diagnostic tool to determine an alleged infection by a supposedly new virus called SARS-CoV-2.
Unfounded ''Test, test, test,'...'' mantraAt the media briefing on COVID-19 on March 16, 2020, the WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said:
We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test.''
The message was spread through headlines around the world, for instance by Reuters and the BBC.
Still on the 3 of May, the moderator of the heute journal '-- one of the most important news magazines on German television'-- was passing the mantra of the corona dogma on to his audience with the admonishing words:
Test, test, test'--that is the credo at the moment, and it is the only way to really understand how much the coronavirus is spreading.''
This indicates that the belief in the validity of the PCR tests is so strong that it equals a religion that tolerates virtually no contradiction.
But it is well known that religions are about faith and not about scientific facts. And as Walter Lippmann, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and perhaps the most influential journalist of the 20th century said: ''Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.''
So to start, it is very remarkable that Kary Mullis himself, the inventor of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology, did not think alike. His invention got him the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1993.
Unfortunately, Mullis passed away last year at the age of 74, but there is no doubt that the biochemist regarded the PCR as inappropriate to detect a viral infection.
The reason is that the intended use of the PCR was, and still is, to apply it as a manufacturing technique, being able to replicate DNA sequences millions and billions of times, and not as a diagnostic tool to detect viruses.
How declaring virus pandemics based on PCR tests can end in disaster was described by Gina Kolata in her 2007 New York Times article Faith in Quick Test Leads to Epidemic That Wasn't.
Lack of a valid gold standardMoreover, it is worth mentioning that the PCR tests used to identify so-called COVID-19 patients presumably infected by what is called SARS-CoV-2 do not have a valid gold standard to compare them with.
This is a fundamental point. Tests need to be evaluated to determine their preciseness '-- strictly speaking their ''sensitivity''[1] and ''specificity'' '-- by comparison with a ''gold standard,'' meaning the most accurate method available.
As an example, for a pregnancy test the gold standard would be the pregnancy itself. But as Australian infectious diseases specialist Sanjaya Senanayake, for example, stated in an ABC TV interview in an answer to the question ''How accurate is the [COVID-19] testing?'':
If we had a new test for picking up [the bacterium] golden staph in blood, we've already got blood cultures, that's our gold standard we've been using for decades, and we could match this new test against that. But for COVID-19 we don't have a gold standard test.''
Jessica C. Watson from Bristol University confirms this. In her paper ''Interpreting a COVID-19 test result'', published recently in The British Medical Journal, she writes that there is a ''lack of such a clear-cut 'gold-standard' for COVID-19 testing.''
But instead of classifying the tests as unsuitable for SARS-CoV-2 detection and COVID-19 diagnosis, or instead of pointing out that only a virus, proven through isolation and purification, can be a solid gold standard, Watson claims in all seriousness that, ''pragmatically'' COVID-19 diagnosis itself, remarkably including PCR testing itself, ''may be the best available 'gold standard'.'' But this is not scientifically sound.
Apart from the fact that it is downright absurd to take the PCR test itself as part of the gold standard to evaluate the PCR test, there are no distinctive specific symptoms for COVID-19, as even people such as Thomas L¶scher, former head of the Department of Infection and Tropical Medicine at the University of Munich and member of the Federal Association of German Internists, conceded to us[2].
And if there are no distinctive specific symptoms for COVID-19, COVID-19 diagnosis '-- contrary to Watson's statement '-- cannot be suitable for serving as a valid gold standard.
In addition, ''experts'' such as Watson overlook the fact that only virus isolation, i.e. an unequivocal virus proof, can be the gold standard.
That is why I asked Watson how COVID-19 diagnosis ''may be the best available gold standard,'' if there are no distinctive specific symptoms for COVID-19, and also whether the virus itself, that is virus isolation, wouldn't be the best available/possible gold standard. But she hasn't answered these questions yet '' despite multiple requests. And she has not yet responded to our rapid response post on her article in which we address exactly the same points, either, though she wrote us on June 2nd: ''I will try to post a reply later this week when I have a chance.''
No proof for the RNA being of viral originNow the question is: What is required first for virus isolation/proof? We need to know where the RNA for which the PCR tests are calibrated comes from.
As textbooks (e.g., White/Fenner. Medical Virology, 1986, p. 9) as well as leading virus researchers such as Luc Montagnier or Dominic Dwyer state, particle purification '-- i.e. the separation of an object from everything else that is not that object, as for instance Nobel laureate Marie Curie purified 100 mg of radium chloride in 1898 by extracting it from tons of pitchblende '-- is an essential pre-requisite for proving the existence of a virus, and thus to prove that the RNA from the particle in question comes from a new virus.
The reason for this is that PCR is extremely sensitive, which means it can detect even the smallest pieces of DNA or RNA '-- but it cannot determine where these particles came from. That has to be determined beforehand.
And because the PCR tests are calibrated for gene sequences (in this case RNA sequences because SARS-CoV-2 is believed to be a RNA virus), we have to know that these gene snippets are part of the looked-for virus. And to know that, correct isolation and purification of the presumed virus has to be executed.
Hence, we have asked the science teams of the relevant papers which are referred to in the context of SARS-CoV-2 for proof whether the electron-microscopic shots depicted in their in vitro experiments show purified viruses.
But not a single team could answer that question with ''yes'' '-- and NB., nobody said purification was not a necessary step. We only got answers like ''No, we did not obtain an electron micrograph showing the degree of purification'' (see below).
We asked several study authors ''Do your electron micrographs show the purified virus?'', they gave the following responses:
Study 1: Leo L. M. Poon; Malik Peiris. ''Emergence of a novel human coronavirus threatening human health'' Nature Medicine, March 2020Replying Author: Malik PeirisDate: May 12, 2020Answer: ''The image is the virus budding from an infected cell. It is not purified virus.''
Study 2: Myung-Guk Han et al. ''Identification of Coronavirus Isolated from a Patient in Korea with COVID-19'', Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives, February 2020Replying Author: Myung-Guk HanDate: May 6, 2020Answer: ''We could not estimate the degree of purification because we do not purify and concentrate the virus cultured in cells.''
Study 3: Wan Beom Park et al. ''Virus Isolation from the First Patient with SARS-CoV-2 in Korea'', Journal of Korean Medical Science, February 24, 2020Replying Author: Wan Beom ParkDate: March 19, 2020Answer: ''We did not obtain an electron micrograph showing the degree of purification.''
Study 4: Na Zhu et al., ''A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China'', 2019, New England Journal of Medicine, February 20, 2020Replying Author: Wenjie TanDate: March 18, 2020Answer: ''[We show] an image of sedimented virus particles, not purified ones.''
Regarding the mentioned papers it is clear that what is shown in the electron micrographs (EMs) is the end result of the experiment, meaning there is no other result that they could have made EMs from.
That is to say, if the authors of these studies concede that their published EMs do not show purified particles, then they definitely do not possess purified particles claimed to be viral. (In this context, it has to be remarked that some researchers use the term ''isolation'' in their papers, but the procedures described therein do not represent a proper isolation (purification) process. Consequently, in this context the term ''isolation'' is misused).
Thus, the authors of four of the principal, early 2020 papers claiming discovery of a new coronavirus concede they had no proof that the origin of the virus genome was viral-like particles or cellular debris, pure or impure, or particles of any kind. In other words, the existence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is based on faith, not fact.
We have also contacted Dr Charles Calisher, who is a seasoned virologist. In 2001, Science published an ''impassioned plea'...to the younger generation'' from several veteran virologists, among them Calisher, saying that:
[modern virus detection methods like] sleek polymerase chain reaction ['...] tell little or nothing about how a virus multiplies, which animals carry it, [or] how it makes people sick. [It is] like trying to say whether somebody has bad breath by looking at his fingerprint.''[3]
And that's why we asked Dr Calisher whether he knows one single paper in which SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated and finally really purified. His answer:
I know of no such a publication. I have kept an eye out for one.''[4]
This actually means that one cannot conclude that the RNA gene sequences, which the scientists took from the tissue samples prepared in the mentioned in vitro trials and for which the PCR tests are finally being ''calibrated,'' belong to a specific virus '-- in this case SARS-CoV-2.
In addition, there is no scientific proof that those RNA sequences are the causative agent of what is called COVID-19.
In order to establish a causal connection, one way or the other, i.e. beyond virus isolation and purification, it would have been absolutely necessary to carry out an experiment that satisfies the four Koch's postulates. But there is no such experiment, as Amory Devereux and Rosemary Frei recently revealed for OffGuardian.
The necessity to fulfill these postulates regarding SARS-CoV-2 is demonstrated not least by the fact that attempts have been made to fulfill them. But even researchers claiming they have done it, in reality, did not succeed.
One example is a study published in Nature on May 7. This trial, besides other procedures which render the study invalid, did not meet any of the postulates.
For instance, the alleged ''infected'' laboratory mice did not show any relevant clinical symptoms clearly attributable to pneumonia, which according to the third postulate should actually occur if a dangerous and potentially deadly virus was really at work there. And the slight bristles and weight loss, which were observed temporarily in the animals are negligible, not only because they could have been caused by the procedure itself, but also because the weight went back to normal again.
Also, no animal died except those they killed to perform the autopsies. And let's not forget: These experiments should have been done before developing a test, which is not the case.
Revealingly, none of the leading German representatives of the official theory about SARS-Cov-2/COVID-19 '-- the Robert Koch-Institute (RKI), Alexander S. Kekul(C) (University of Halle), Hartmut Hengel and Ralf Bartenschlager (German Society for Virology), the aforementioned Thomas L¶scher, Ulrich Dirnagl (Charit(C) Berlin) or Georg Bornkamm (virologist and professor emeritus at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Munich) '-- could answer the following question I have sent them:
If the particles that are claimed to be to be SARS-CoV-2 have not been purified, how do you want to be sure that the RNA gene sequences of these particles belong to a specific new virus?
Particularly, if there are studies showing that substances such as antibiotics that are added to the test tubes in the in vitro experiments carried out for virus detection can ''stress'' the cell culture in a way that new gene sequences are being formed that were not previously detectable '-- an aspect that Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock already drew attention to in her Nobel Lecture back in 1983.
It should not go unmentioned that we finally got the Charit(C) '' the employer of Christian Drosten, Germany's most influential virologist in respect of COVID-19, advisor to the German government and co-developer of the PCR test which was the first to be ''accepted'' (not validated!) by the WHO worldwide '' to answer questions on the topic.
But we didn't get answers until June 18, 2020, after months of non-response. In the end, we achieved it only with the help of Berlin lawyer Viviane Fischer.
Regarding our question ''Has the Charit(C) convinced itself that appropriate particle purification was carried out?,'' the Charit(C) concedes that they didn't use purified particles.
And although they claim ''virologists at the Charit(C) are sure that they are testing for the virus,'' in their paper (Corman et al.) they state:
RNA was extracted from clinical samples with the MagNA Pure 96 system (Roche, Penzberg, Germany) and from cell culture supernatants with the viral RNA mini kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany),''
Which means they just assumed the RNA was viral.
Incidentally, the Corman et al. paper, published on January 23, 2020 didn't even go through a proper peer review process, nor were the procedures outlined therein accompanied by controls '-- although it is only through these two things that scientific work becomes really solid.
Irrational test resultsIt is also certain that we cannot know the false positive rate of the PCR tests without widespread testing of people who certainly do not have the virus, proven by a method which is independent of the test (having a solid gold standard).
Therefore, it is hardly surprising that there are several papers illustrating irrational test results.
For example, already in February the health authority in China's Guangdong province reported that people have fully recovered from illness blamed on COVID-19, started to test ''negative,'' and then tested ''positive'' again.
A month later, a paper published in the Journal of Medical Virology showed that 29 out of 610 patients at a hospital in Wuhan had 3 to 6 test results that flipped between ''negative'', ''positive'' and ''dubious''.
A third example is a study from Singapore in which tests were carried out almost daily on 18 patients and the majority went from ''positive'' to ''negative'' back to ''positive'' at least once, and up to five times in one patient.
Even Wang Chen, president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, conceded in February that the PCR tests are ''only 30 to 50 per cent accurate''; while Sin Hang Lee from the Milford Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory sent a letter to the WHO's coronavirus response team and to Anthony S. Fauci on March 22, 2020, saying that:
It has been widely reported in the social media that the RT-qPCR [Reverse Transcriptase quantitative PCR] test kits used to detect SARSCoV-2 RNA in human specimens are generating many false positive results and are not sensitive enough to detect some real positive cases.''
In other words, even if we theoretically assume that these PCR tests can really detect a viral infection, the tests would be practically worthless, and would only cause an unfounded scare among the ''positive'' people tested.
This becomes also evident considering the positive predictive value (PPV).
The PPV indicates the probability that a person with a positive test result is truly ''positive'' (ie. has the supposed virus), and it depends on two factors: the prevalence of the virus in the general population and the specificity of the test, that is the percentage of people without disease in whom the test is correctly ''negative'' (a test with a specificity of 95% incorrectly gives a positive result in 5 out of 100 non-infected people).
With the same specificity, the higher the prevalence, the higher the PPV.
In this context, on June 12 2020, the journal Deutsches rzteblatt published an article in which the PPV has been calculated with three different prevalence scenarios.
The results must, of course, be viewed very critically, first because it is not possible to calculate the specificity without a solid gold standard, as outlined, and second because the calculations in the article are based on the specificity determined in the study by Jessica Watson, which is potentially worthless, as also mentioned.
But if you abstract from it, assuming that the underlying specificity of 95% is correct and that we know the prevalence, even the mainstream medical journal Deutsches rzteblatt reports that the so-called SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests may have ''a shockingly low'' PPV.
In one of the three scenarios, figuring with an assumed prevalence of 3%, the PPV was only 30 percent, which means that 70 percent of the people tested ''positive'' are not ''positive'' at all. Yet ''they are prescribed quarantine,'' as even the rzteblatt notes critically.
In a second scenario of the journal's article, a prevalence of rate of 20 percent is assumed. In this case they generate a PPV of 78 percent, meaning that 22 percent of the ''positive'' tests are false ''positives.''
That would mean: If we take the around 9 million people who are currently considered ''positive'' worldwide '-- supposing that the true ''positives'' really have a viral infection '-- we would get almost 2 million false ''positives.''
All this fits with the fact that the CDC and the FDA, for instance, concede in their files that the so-called ''SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests'' are not suitable for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.
In the ''CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel'' file from March 30, 2020, for example, it says:
Detection of viral RNA may not indicate the presence of infectious virus or that 2019-nCoV is the causative agent for clinical symptoms''
And:
This test cannot rule out diseases caused by other bacterial or viral pathogens.''
And the FDA admits that:
positive results ['...] do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses. The agent detected may not be the definite cause of disease.''
Remarkably, in the instruction manuals of PCR tests we can also read that they are not intended as a diagnostic test, as for instance in those by Altona Diagnostics and Creative Diagnostics[5].
To quote another one, in the product announcement of the LightMix Modular Assays produced by TIB Molbiol '-- which were developed using the Corman et al. protocol '-- and distributed by Roche we can read:
These assays are not intended for use as an aid in the diagnosis of coronavirus infection''
And:
For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.''
Where is the evidence that the tests can measure the ''viral load''?There is also reason to conclude that the PCR test from Roche and others cannot even detect the targeted genes.
Moreover, in the product descriptions of the RT-qPCR tests for SARS-COV-2 it says they are ''qualitative'' tests, contrary to the fact that the ''q'' in ''qPCR'' stands for ''quantitative.'' And if these tests are not ''quantitative'' tests, they don't show how many viral particles are in the body.
That is crucial because, in order to even begin talking about actual illness in the real world not only in a laboratory, the patient would need to have millions and millions of viral particles actively replicating in their body.
That is to say, the CDC, the WHO, the FDA or the RKI may assert that the tests can measure the so-called ''viral load,'' i.e. how many viral particles are in the body. ''But this has never been proven. That is an enormous scandal,'' as the journalist Jon Rappoport points out.
This is not only because the term ''viral load'' is deception. If you put the question ''what is viral load?'' at a dinner party, people take it to mean viruses circulating in the bloodstream. They're surprised to learn it's actually RNA molecules.
Also, to prove beyond any doubt that the PCR can measure how much a person is ''burdened'' with a disease-causing virus, the following experiment would have had to be carried out (which has not yet happened):
You take, let's say, a few hundred or even thousand people and remove tissue samples from them. Make sure the people who take the samples do not perform the test.The testers will never know who the patients are and what condition they're in. The testers run their PCR on the tissue samples. In each case, they say which virus they found and how much of it they found. Then, for example, in patients 29, 86, 199, 272, and 293 they found a great deal of what they claim is a virus. Now we un-blind those patients. They should all be sick, because they have so much virus replicating in their bodies. But are they really sick '-- or are they fit as a fiddle?
With the help of the aforementioned lawyer Viviane Fischer, I finally got the Charit(C) to also answer the question of whether the test developed by Corman et al. '-- the so-called ''Drosten PCR test'' '-- is a quantitative test.
But the Charit(C) was not willing to answer this question ''yes''. Instead, the Charit(C) wrote:
If real-time RT-PCR is involved, to the knowledge of the Charit(C) in most cases these are ['...] limited to qualitative detection.''
Furthermore, the ''Drosten PCR test'' uses the unspecific E-gene assay as preliminary assay, while the Institut Pasteur uses the same assay as confirmatory assay.
According to Corman et al., the E-gene assay is likely to detect all Asian viruses, while the other assays in both tests are supposed to be more specific for sequences labelled ''SARS-CoV-2''.
Besides the questionable purpose of having either a preliminary or a confirmatory test that is likely to detect all Asian viruses, at the beginning of April the WHO changed the algorithm, recommending that from then on a test can be regarded as ''positive'' even if just the E-gene assay (which is likely to detect all Asian viruses!) gives a ''positive'' result.
This means that a confirmed unspecific test result is officially sold as specific.
That change of algorithm increased the ''case'' numbers. Tests using the E-gene assay are produced for example by Roche, TIB Molbiol and R-Biopharm.
High Cq values make the test results even more meaninglessAnother essential problem is that many PCR tests have a ''cycle quantification'' (Cq) value of over 35, and some, including the ''Drosten PCR test'', even have a Cq of 45.
The Cq value specifies how many cycles of DNA replication are required to detect a real signal from biological samples.
''Cq values higher than 40 are suspect because of the implied low efficiency and generally should not be reported,'' as it says in the MIQE guidelines.
MIQE stands for ''Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments'', a set of guidelines that describe the minimum information necessary for evaluating publications on Real-Time PCR, also called quantitative PCR, or qPCR.
The inventor himself, Kary Mullis, agreed, when he stated:
If you have to go more than 40 cycles to amplify a single-copy gene, there is something seriously wrong with your PCR.''
The MIQE guidelines have been developed under the aegis of Stephen A. Bustin, Professor of Molecular Medicine, a world-renowned expert on quantitative PCR and author of the book A-Z of Quantitative PCR which has been called ''the bible of qPCR.''
In a recent podcast interview Bustin points out that ''the use of such arbitrary Cq cut-offs is not ideal, because they may be either too low (eliminating valid results) or too high (increasing false ''positive'' results).''
And, according to him, a Cq in the 20s to 30s should be aimed at and there is concern regarding the reliability of the results for any Cq over 35.
If the Cq value gets too high, it becomes difficult to distinguish real signal from background, for example due to reactions of primers and fluorescent probes, and hence there is a higher probability of false positives.
Moreover, among other factors that can alter the result, before starting with the actual PCR, in case you are looking for presumed RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the RNA must be converted to complementary DNA (cDNA) with the enzyme Reverse Transcriptase'--hence the ''RT'' at the beginning of ''PCR'' or ''qPCR.''
But this transformation process is ''widely recognized as inefficient and variable,'' as Jessica Schwaber from the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto and two research colleagues pointed out in a 2019 paper.
Stephen A. Bustin acknowledges problems with PCR in a comparable way.
For example, he pointed to the problem that in the course of the conversion process (RNA to cDNA) the amount of DNA obtained with the same RNA base material can vary widely, even by a factor of 10 (see above interview).
Considering that the DNA sequences get doubled at every cycle, even a slight variation becomes magnified and can thus alter the result, annihilating the test's reliable informative value.
So how can it be that those who claim the PCR tests are highly meaningful for so-called COVID-19 diagnosis blind out the fundamental inadequacies of these tests'--even if they are confronted with questions regarding their validity?
Certainly, the apologists of the novel coronavirus hypothesis should have dealt with these questions before throwing the tests on the market and putting basically the whole world under lockdown, not least because these are questions that come to mind immediately for anyone with even a spark of scientific understanding.
Thus, the thought inevitably emerges that financial and political interests play a decisive role for this ignorance about scientific obligations. NB, the WHO, for example has financial ties with drug companies, as the British Medical Journal showed in 2010.
And experts criticize ''that the notorious corruption and conflicts of interest at WHO have continued, even grown'' since then. The CDC as well, to take another big player, is obviously no better off.
Finally, the reasons and possible motives remain speculative, and many involved surely act in good faith; but the science is clear: The numbers generated by these RT-PCR tests do not in the least justify frightening people who have been tested ''positive'' and imposing lockdown measures that plunge countless people into poverty and despair or even drive them to suicide.
And a ''positive'' result may have serious consequences for the patients as well, because then all non-viral factors are excluded from the diagnosis and the patients are treated with highly toxic drugs and invasive intubations. Especially for elderly people and patients with pre-existing conditions such a treatment can be fatal, as we have outlined in the article ''Fatal Therapie.''
Without doubt eventual excess mortality rates are caused by the therapy and by the lockdown measures, while the ''COVID-19'' death statistics comprise also patients who died of a variety of diseases, redefined as COVID-19 only because of a ''positive'' test result whose value could not be more doubtful.
NOTES:-
[1] Sensitivity is defined as the proportion of patients with disease in whom the test is positive; and specificity is defined as the proportion of patients without disease in whom the test is negative.
[2] E-mail from Prof.'Thomas L¶scher from March 6, 2020
[3] Martin Enserink. Virology. Old guard urges virologists to go back to basics, Science, July 6, 2001, p. 24
[4] E-mail from Charles Calisher from May 10, 2020
Torsten Engelbrecht is an award-winning journalist and author from Hamburg, Germany. In 2006 he co-authored Virus-Mania with Dr Klaus Kohnlein, and in 2009 he won the German Alternate Media Award. He has also written for Rubikon, S¼ddeutsche Zeitung, Financial Times Deutschland and many others.Konstantin Demeter is a freelance photographer and an independent researcher. Together with the journalist Torsten Engelbrecht he has published articles on the ''COVID-19'' crisis in the online magazine Rubikon, as well as contributions on the monetary system, geopolitics, and the media in Swiss Italian newspapers.
PCR inventor '' who died in 2019 '' did not say his test won't work for COVID-19 infections '' Australian Associated Press
The StatementA video on Facebook includes a claim that the inventor of the PCR test '' one of the main tests used to detect COVID-19 '' said the tests do not work to properly diagnose COVID-19 infections.
The video, posted to a Facebook page called ''NO CONSENT : For We Are Young and Free'', features a man criticising a July 18 article in The Australian newspaper about COVID-19 conspiracy theorists.
The speaker reads a number of quotes and attributes them to the inventor of the PCR test, the late US biochemist Kary B Mullis. Among the attributed quotes is the following: ''PCR basically takes a sample of your cells and amplifies any DNA to look for viral sequences, i.e. bits of non-human DNA that seem to match parts of a known viral genome. The problem is the test is known not to work''.
Another attributed quote is: ''the idea these kits can isolate a specific virus like COVID-19 is nonsense''.
The video has been viewed more than 3,100 times and attracted more than 120 comments since it was posted on July 18, 2020.
Similar claims about PCR testing have appeared online including here, here and here.
A Facebook video claims the PCR test inventor said the tests do not effectively diagnose COVID-19. The AnalysisThe quotes attributed to PCR test inventor Dr Kary B. Mullis are not from the Nobel Prize-winning American biochemist. The quotes have appeared online with various attributions online since March, 2020. Dr Mullis died in August, 2019, before the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The earliest example of the quoted lines found by AAP FactCheck is an entry published between March 13 and March 18, according to internet archive Wayback Machine, on a website that claims terrorist attacks such as 9/11 were staged. The lines on the website, copied below, are identical to the purported quotes read out in the video except for one omitted paragraph, shown in bold. They are not attributed to Dr Mullis but to an online commenter called ''VirusGuy'':
''PCR basically takes a sample of your cells and amplifies any DNA to look for 'viral sequences', i.e. bits of non-human DNA that seem to match parts of a known viral genome.
The problem is the test is known not to work.
It uses 'amplification' which means taking a very very tiny amount of DNA and growing it exponentially until it can be analysed. Obviously any minute contaminations in the sample will also be amplified leading to potentially gross errors of discovery.
Additionally, it's only looking for partial viral sequences, not whole genomes, so identifying a single pathogen is next to impossible even if you ignore the other issues.
(Omitted: The Mickey Mouse test kits being sent out to hospitals, at best, tell analysts you have some viral DNA in your cells. Which most of us do, most of the time. It may tell you the viral sequence is related to a specific type of virus '' say the huge family of coronavirus. But that's all.)
The idea these kits can isolate a specific virus like COVID-19 is nonsense.''
The page contents also appear, copied and pasted, in this Facebook post dated March 17, 2020.
In addition to the original comments coming from an anonymous online commenter, Dr Mullis died, aged 74, in August 2019, four months before the first signs of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China and six months before the World Health Organisation named the disease COVID-19, making it impossible for the late doctor to have spoken about COVID-19.
The same ''quotes'' have appeared elsewhere online, including on this site, presented as being from ''a widely respected professional scientist in the US'' on a medical forum.
Dr Mullis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993 for his invention of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a laboratory method used to make a large number of copies of short sections of DNA from a very small sample of genetic material, enabling specific genes of interest to be detected or measured.
PCR testing is one of the two main tests used to detect a COVID-19 infection in Australia and has been approved by the government's Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Dr Ian Mackay, a virologist and adjunct associate professor with the University of Queensland, told AAP FactCheck the claims read out about PCR testing in the video show ''an extreme lack of understanding of PCR, PCR test design and use''.
One of the claims is that the process of DNA amplification, which grows a tiny amount of DNA exponentially, can also amplify contaminants leading to ''potentially gross errors of discovery''.
Dr Mackay said laboratories have processes in place to account for and prevent PCR contamination, including having controls to alert them if contamination has occurred.
In response to the claim ''the tests do not work'', Prof Mackay said the tests are ''extremely effective at very sensitively and specifically detecting SARS-CoV-2''.
''The leading tests have also been tested on SARS-CoV-2 RNA from infected patients, isolated and grown in cells in the lab '' so we know it is this virus that we're detecting,'' he said.
''The tests detect the viral sequences we expect them to and not other viruses.''
Regarding the claim in the video that it is ''next to impossible'' for PCR testing to identify a single pathogen because it only looks for partial viral sequences and not the whole COVID-19 sequence, Professor Mackay said PCR tests are in fact designed to look at partial viral sequences.
''That is by design, not an error or an oversight. We have only been able to quickly and relatively easily (compared to even a decade ago) detect entire viral genomes '' the science of genomics '' in very recent times. It is still costly, less sensitive and slower to determine the entire sequence of a virus compared to detecting its presence using a PCR test. And for cluster, outbreak, epidemic and pandemic control and for patient management '' detection the virus (which real-time PCRs do) is all that is needed,'' he said.
A claim that the inventor of PCR tests said the tests don't work in detecting COVID-19 is false. The VerdictBased on the evidence, AAP FactCheck found the Facebook post to be false. The quotes in the video are not from PCR test inventor Kary B. Mullis, who died in August 2019, before the discovery of COVID-19. The claims instead appear to have originated from an anonymous online commenter.
Claims about the effectiveness of PCR tests are incorrect. Virology expert Professor Ian Mackay said the claims show ''an extreme lack of understanding of PCR, PCR test design and use'' and that PCR tests are ''extremely effective at very sensitively and specifically detecting SARS-CoV-2''.
False '' The primary claims of the content are factually inaccurate.
* AAP FactCheck is accredited by the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network, which promotes best practice through a stringent and transparent Code of Principles. https://www.aap.com.au/
Britain records 23,012 more Covid cases - up 2,482 from yesterday | Daily Mail Online
Britain has recorded 23,012 more Covid-19 cases, up 2,482 from yesterday, as Professor Neil Ferguson warns people 'will catch the virus and die' if they are allowed to mix on Christmas Day.
There were 174 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, down from 224 on Friday, including 33 deaths in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 141 fatalities in England.
Meanwhile Professor Ferguson, whose modelling led to the original lockdown in March, said earlier today that schools may have to be closed to older pupils if restrictions on households mixing fail to stem the rise of infections, and that it will be a 'political judgement' as to whether regulations are relaxed over the festive season.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'It risks some transmission and there will be consequences of that. Some people will die because of getting infected on that day.
'But if it is only one or two days the impact is likely to be limited. So that is really a political judgment about the cost versus the benefits.'
It follows the prospects for a family Christmas descending into further confusion yesterday, as Downing Street insisted that relatives should be able to gather - but a minister warned it will not be 'normal'.
Professor Ferguson added: 'That (banning households mixing) should have a significant effect but as yet we have been unable to see it definitively.
'If we go beyond that there is a limit to what we can do in terms of reducing contacts, short of starting to target, for instance, the older years in schools and sixth form colleges where we know older teenagers are able to transmit as adults.
'Of course nobody wants to start moving to virtual education and closing schools even partially. The challenge may be that we are not able to get on top of the transmission otherwise.'
Yesterday the UK announced 20,530 infections and the deaths of 224 people. Last Saturday the Department of Health recorded 150 coronavirus victims, with another 16,171 cases.
Figures tend to be lower over the weekend due to a delay in processing the tests at laboratories.
In coronavirus news today:
Professor Neil Ferguson warned loved ones will 'catch Covid and die' if households mix at Christmas, but said the impact will be 'likely limited' if it is only for one or two days;The scientist said schools may have to be closed to older pupils if banning households from mixing doesn't have a 'significant effect' on the number of infections; He also predicts the NHS will be unable to cope if cases continue to increase at the present rate, saying that while infections among 18 to 21-year-olds were falling, they were continuing to rise in other age groups; Coronavirus restrictions in Scotland which saw the closure of pubs and restaurants in the central belt and a 6pm indoor hospitality curfew elsewhere are to be extended until November 2; One in 20 people with Covid-19 are still suffering symptoms eight weeks later, while one in 50 are struggling after three months, according to a study from King's College London; Gyms in Merseyside can reopen after a U-turn over their inclusion in the Liverpool City Region's Tier 3 restrictions; Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned last night that cancellations would be 'inevitable' across large areas of the health service; P olice revealed plans to patrol the Anglo-Welsh border to stop families from crossing over for a half-term holiday as Wales is plunged into a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown; Scientific advisers have been warned the coronavirus is mutating and could become more infectious, according to SAGE papers; Only one in ten stay at home for two weeks after being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, Sage documents reveal; Warrington will move into a Tier Three lockdown two days early as infection rate remains 'stubbornly high'. Military personnel are being drafted in to help enforce coronavirus restrictions in Tier 3 areas as f ive Army and Navy environmental health officers trained in 'outbreak management' were deployed in Liverpool on Friday. Meanwhile Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned last night that cancellations would be 'inevitable' across large areas of the health service.
He said: 'I feel it is unrealistic to expect trusts across the country to meet the set elective targets in the current climate.'
The scientist (above), whose modelling led to the original lockdown in March, said of regulations being relaxed: 'Some people will die because of getting infected on that day'
NHS trusts in Chesterfield, Northampton, Newcastle and Nottingham confirmed yesterday that they were postponing at least some non-urgent activity, while Rotherham, Liverpool, Bradford and Plymouth have announced similar actions in the last week.
Dr Rob Harwood, the chair of the British Medical Association's (BMA) hospital consultants committee, said trusts will have 'no choice' but to limit planned treatments for patients.
He told The Guardian: 'As we approach winter, it's likely that many trusts will have no choice but to continue to restrict their elective care services, which is incredibly worrying for both staff and patients, as backlogs increase and health conditions potentially worsen.'
Speaking on operations being cancelled, Dr Nick Scriven, the former president of the Society for Acute Medicine and a consultant physician, added: 'I think this is going to be inevitable across large areas of the health service as the pandemic and winter coincide.
'We know bed numbers are low compared with other countries and with the necessary infection control processes the 'functioning' of what we have is slowed down across the board.'
Emily Robertshaw spoke about the difficulties her 14-year-old son will have to face after his life-changing cochlear implant surgery was delayed.
The mother told Channel 4 News: 'I have yet to actually to break the news to him and he's back later, and it's going to be really difficult. He's had to have a lot of support building up to the operation.
'He's got significant learning disabilities so the preparation has been huge.'
Emily Robertshaw pictured with her 14-year-old son, whose life-changing cochlear implant surgery was delayed. The mother earlier said: 'I have yet to actually to break the news to him and he's back later, and it's going to be really difficult'
Professor Neil Ferguson said it will be a 'political judgement' as to whether regulations on households mixing are relaxed over the festive season. Pictured: a shopper in Wrexham last night as the 6pm 'fire break' lockdown approached
Doctors have warned that the mass cancellation of routine operations is 'inevitable'. The BMA's Dr Rob Harwood said NHS trusts will have 'no choice' but to limit planned treatments for patients as they approach winter
Professor Ferguson said schools may have to be closed to older pupils if restrictions on households mixing fail to stem the rise of coronavirus infections (pictured: an empty classroom at Manor Park School and Nursery in Cheshire)
Normal Christmas is 'wishful thinking', says SAGE adviser The idea that 'we can carry on as we are' and have a normal Christmas 'is wishful thinking in the extreme', a Government scientific adviser has said.
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said 'radical action' would be needed to stem the rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in regions with high incidence of the virus.
Prof Edmunds, who told MPs on Wednesday that tens of thousands of deaths could occur during this wave of the pandemic, said further measures are needed to bring cases down.
He said that a circuit-breaker is needed across the whole country or at least in areas where incidence is high.
'The only way that we can have a relatively safe and normal Christmas is if we take radical action now to reduce incidence '' at the very least in high incidence areas '' and keep the incidence low across the country by implementing a package of measures to reduce social contacts,' he said.
'The notion that we can carry on as we are and have a Christmas that we can celebrate normally with friends and family is wishful thinking in the extreme.'
Professor Ferguson also warned that the NHS will be unable to cope if coronavirus cases continue to increase at the present rate, saying that while infections among 18 to 21-year-olds were falling, they were continuing to rise in other age groups.
He explained: 'Unfortunately, in every other age group case numbers continue to rise at about the same rate they were.
'There are little hints of slowing, for instance in the North East of England, but we are not seeing the sort of slowing that we really need to to get on top of this.
'It is a worrying situation. We now have 8,000 people in hospital with Covid. That is about a third of the level we were at the peak of the pandemic in March.
'If the rate of growth continues as it is, it means that in a month's time we will above that peak level in March and that is probably unsustainable.
'We are in a critical time right now. The health system will not be able to cope with this rate of growth for much longer.'
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) and from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has said his own group was looking at how interventions might work over the winter, but these had not been requested by the Government.
Of Sage, he said: 'We haven't specifically been asked to look at different policies quite honestly, so nobody's asking us to say 'well what should we do here?'
'So these are things that we've really taken on ourselves and decided to look at ourselves.'
Sage documents revealed yesterday that only one in ten of people stay at home for two weeks when they are told to self-isolate.
Out of those who were told they had been in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case, just 10.9 per cent isolated for the following 14 days.
Government scientists claimed the crucial R rate has dropped slightly and an array of statistics revealed cases are no longer growing as quickly as they once were, although the epidemic is still growing (pictured: Boris Johnson in London yesterday)
Britain's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Mr Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak take part in a coronavirus briefing on Thursday. The UK yesterday announced 20,530 more coronavirus cases
Christmas chaos as No10 says families CAN gather this year but minister warns it won't be 'normal' The prospects for a family Christmas descended further into confusion yesterday as Downing Street insisted families should be able to gather - but a minister warned it will not be 'normal'.
The mixed messages came as politicians desperately try to get a grip on a surge in coronavirus cases - with lockdowns tightening in many areas.
There are tough restrictions on people meeting indoors across much of the UK, but asked whether families should abandon hope of meeting up, a No10 spokesman said: 'The PM has been clear previously that he is hopeful that in many ways we could be able to get some aspects of our lives back to normal by Christmas.
'As I say, we've been clear about the ambition to ensure that people may celebrate Christmas as a family this year.'
The comments contrasted with the stance taken by Treasury Chief Secretary Steve Barclay in a round of interviews yesterday morning.
He said: 'I think few people expect it to be exactly as it would normally because we will be living with this virus for some time.'
The study, carried out by King's College London, was discussed at their meeting in September.
Researchers collected data from a sample of 31,000 people between March 2 and August 5.
Based on answers to an online questionnaire, the team found that only one in ten said they had isolated for two weeks when told to by the Test and Trace scheme.
This is much lower than the 65 per cent who said they intended to quarantine if they received the alert.
There are tough restrictions on people meeting indoors across much of the UK, but asked whether families should abandon hope of meeting up, a No10 spokesman previously said: 'The PM has been clear previously that he is hopeful that in many ways we could be able to get some aspects of our lives back to normal by Christmas.
'As I say, we've been clear about the ambition to ensure that people may celebrate Christmas as a family this year.'
The comments contrasted with the stance taken by Treasury Chief Secretary Steve Barclay in a round of interviews on Friday morning.
He said: 'I think few people expect it to be exactly as it would normally because we will be living with this virus for some time.
'And the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser have been very clear on that.
'But, your point really was about the ability of families to spend Christmas together '' that is something we all hope to be in a position to do.'
A Government scientific adviser has said the idea that 'we can carry on as we are' and have a normal Christmas 'is wishful thinking in the extreme'.
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said 'radical action' would be needed to stem the rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in regions with high incidence of the virus.
Data reveals hospitalised Covid-19 patients are dying quicker than they were before - in a week, rather than two. Pictured is a timescale of when men aged between 40-49 (top) 50-59 (middle) and 60-69 (bottom) die after symptoms start (bottom axis is days since symptoms started). The orange is the first wave, and the blue is the second wave
PHE data shows the number of cases per 100,000 people in the worst hit regions appeared to turn and start falling in the week up to October 11 after at least five weeks of continuous increases. London has had considerably lower infection rates
Second Tory MP stokes free school meals furyTwo Tory MPs have landed themselves in hot water after controversial remarks about free school meals.
Selaine Saxby hinted in a Facebook post hospitality firms dishing out food should not get government help despite being battered by the pandemic.
Meanwhile Ben Bradley was accused of a 'stigmatisation of working class families' in an incendiary tweet that suggested cash went to 'crack dens and brothels'.
Both MPs have been roundly criticised, with Mr Bradley called to apologise while some said Ms Saxby should resign.
It comes as civil society minister Baroness Barran defended the decision not to extend free school meals through the school holidays.
In a show of unity, hospitality businesses and councils turned their backs on the government and said they will provide free meal vouchers through the break.
The move followed a high-profile campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, who was made an MBE for his efforts earlier this month.
Prof Edmunds, who told MPs on Wednesday that tens of thousands of deaths could occur during this wave of the pandemic, said further measures are needed to bring cases down.
He said that a circuit-breaker is needed across the whole country or at least in areas where incidence is high.
'The only way that we can have a relatively safe and normal Christmas is if we take radical action now to reduce incidence '' at the very least in high incidence areas '' and keep the incidence low across the country by implementing a package of measures to reduce social contacts,' he said.
'The notion that we can carry on as we are and have a Christmas that we can celebrate normally with friends and family is wishful thinking in the extreme.'
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said the only way to save the festive season was to impose a 'circuit breaker' lockdown now - something Labour has been demanding.
She told BBC Breakfast: 'The tier system so far has not worked to reduce infections.
'What we are looking at unfortunately '' given the Government doesn't seem to be willing to shift on this when half-term holidays are coming up '' what we are looking up to Christmas is an increasingly difficult situation in lots of parts of the country.'
Meanwhile, two Tory MPs have landed themselves in hot water after controversial remarks about free school meals.
Selaine Saxby hinted in a Facebook post hospitality firms dishing out food should not get government help despite being battered by the pandemic.
Ben Bradley was accused of a 'stigmatisation of working class families' in an incendiary tweet that suggested cash went to 'crack dens and brothels'.
Selaine Saxby (left) hinted in a Facebook post hospitality firms dishing out food should not get government help despite being battered by the pandemic. Ben Bradley (right) was accused of a 'stigmatisation of working class families' in an incendiary tweet that suggested cash went to 'crack dens and brothels'
Cafes, pubs and restaurants are offering free school meals for local children during half term after MPs rejected Marcus Rashford's campaign (pictured at FareShare in Manchester)
Only one in ten stay at home for two weeks when told to self isolate, Sage documents revealOnly one in ten stay at home for two weeks after being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, Sage documents have revealed.
Of those who were told they had been in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case, just 10.9 per cent isolated for the following 14 days.
The alarming figures undermine the premise of the Test and Trace system, which aims to prevent the spread of the virus.
The main reasons people gave for not properly quarantining were not developing symptoms, not thinking it was necessary to stay away from those outside the household, or popping to the shops for food.
The figures were revealed in documents by Sage '' the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
The study, carried out by King's College London, was discussed at their meeting in September.
Researchers collected data from a sample of 31,000 people between March 2 and August 5.
Based on answers to an online questionnaire, the team found that only one in ten said they had isolated for two weeks when told to by the Test and Trace scheme.
This is much lower than the 65 per cent who said they intended to quarantine if they received the alert.
Both MPs have been roundly criticised, with Mr Bradley called to apologise while some said Ms Saxby should resign.
It comes as civil society minister Baroness Barran defended the decision not to extend free school meals through the school holidays.
In a show of unity, hospitality businesses and councils turned their backs on the government and said they will provide free meal vouchers through the break.
The move followed a high-profile campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, who was made an MBE for his efforts earlier this month.
Greater Manchester moved into the highest alert level, Tier 3, on Friday morning, and Wales introduced its two-week 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm last night.
Coventry, Stoke and Slough entered Tier 2 today, while talks between Westminster and civic leaders in Nottingham over possible Tier 3 restrictions were continuing yesterday.
The UK yesterday announced 20,530 more coronavirus cases and the deaths of 224 people but official data suggests the country's outbreak may finally be slowing down.
Positive tests are up 31 per cent on last Friday, when there were 15,650, and deaths have surged by 65 per cent in a week.
But Government scientists claimed the crucial R rate has dropped slightly and an array of statistics revealed cases are no longer growing as quickly as they once were, although the epidemic is still growing.
SAGE estimates the reproduction rate for the UK has fallen for the first time in a month, from between 1.3-1.5 to 1.2-1.4. The number - the key measure at the heart of Number 10's plan to control the virus - must stay below one, or the outbreak will continue to grow.
Scientific advisers have also been warned that the coronavirus is mutating and could become more infectious, according to SAGE papers.
The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) said the UK did not have the capability to research these mutations in depth and whether they would be harmful.
It's one of a number of papers released by the Government yesterday that give an insight into how scientists are steering the pandemic.
Only one in ten stay at home for two weeks after being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, Sage documents have revealed. The alarming figures undermine the premise of the Test and Trace system (file photo)
The main reasons people gave for not properly quarantining were not developing symptoms, not thinking it was necessary to stay away from those outside the household, or popping to the shops for food (file photo)
The SAGE files: Papers presented to Government claim Covid-19 is mutatingScientific advisers have been warned that the coronavirus is mutating and could become more infectious, according to SAGE papers.
The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) said the UK did not have the capability to research these mutations in depth and whether they would be harmful.
It's one of a number of papers released by the Government yesterday that give an insight into how scientists are steering the pandemic.
The idea was explored in a scientific report handed to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which then presents the findings to the Government to help inform public health policy.
Another document shows how scientists have found that London has so far avoided a 'second wave' on the scale of those happening in other major cities in England, such as Liverpool and Manchester.
Experts speculate this is because more of the capital's population has some form of immunity to the coronavirus after having it already, compared to the North West, which did not have infections as high as London in the first wave.
The idea was explored in a scientific report handed to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which then presents the findings to the Government to help inform public health policy.
Another document shows how scientists have found that London has so far avoided a 'second wave' on the scale of those happening in other major cities in England, such as Liverpool and Manchester.
Experts speculate this is because more of the capital's population has some form of immunity to the coronavirus after having it already, compared to the North West, which did not have infections as high as London in the first wave.
Government research, supported by Imperial College London, reveals that in the capital, there are twice the number of people with antibodies than the national average (13 per cent), while the South West has the lowest (three per cent).
This has given them some form of immunity to catching the coronavirus again, or at least being protected from anything other than mild disease, it is thought.
The number of people admitted to hospital in London over the last week was 464 '-- roughly twice as high as at the beginning of the month. But this is well behind the peak of the first wave, when 883 people were admitted to hospital in a single day in March, analysis by the Evening Standard revealed.
In a meeting on September 10, before the rule of six or tiered lockdown was implemented to control the rapid increase in cases, scientists discussed the current state of the crisis.
The minutes read: 'Major cities, excluding London, appear to be experiencing faster increases in transmission than other areas.
'Though there remains variability between areas, it is almost certain that R is greater than 1 across large parts of England.
'This suggests that the epidemic is moving from being concentrated in local outbreaks to more widespread transmission.'
MANCHESTER TO REOPEN NIGHTINGALE HOSPITALThe NHS Nightingale Hospital in Manchester will reopen in the next week as the city heads into a local lockdown.
A local NHS boss today announced the temporary hospital, set up in the Manchester Central Conference Centre, will be brought back into use before the end of next week. It will become the first one in England to reopen.
It had closed in June when the first wave of the UK's outbreak burned out, but there are now fears that local hospitals will be inundated with Covid patients again.
The Nightingale will not be used to treat people seriously ill with coronavirus but instead opened to add capacity for 'additional rehabilitation'.
The NHS Nightingale for the North West was mothballed in June when the last coronavirus patient from the UK's first wave was discharged. Local health bosses say it will reopen by the end of next week
The city is entering Tier Three lockdown rules from midnight on Friday after a week of wrangling between the Government and the mayor, Andy Burnham, because the city has one of the highest infection rates in England.
In an announcement this morning, Professor Jane Eddleston, the boss of the Manchester University NHS Trust, confirmed the Nightingale would reopen.
'We will be opening the Nightingale, we expect that to be towards the end of next week,' she said.
'The Nightingale will not be used as a critical care facility and neither was it in the first phase, it will be used as a facility for patients to have additional rehabilitation.'
Professor Eddleston said there are around 95 people in intensive care beds with Covid-19 in the city, which is slightly more than a third of the 260 at the peak of the epidemic in April.
Despite decreases in coronavirus case numbers the NHS has had to provide beds for patients with the disease throughout the summer, she said. The health service in the area has set up Covid-free zones so it can carry on treating other patients.
Revolt brewing against lockdown rules: Focus group reveals voters are despairing of Boris Johnson's coronavirus policies and are prepared to break the rules to visit loved ones
By Simon Walters for the Daily Mail
Dramatic evidence of a growing revolt against the coronavirus lockdowns emerged last night.
The public think the rules won't work, they will break the law if necessary to see their loved ones and believe it is time to 'get Britain back to normal'.
These are among the key findings from focus groups that suggest traditional opinion polls have failed to spot a decisive change in attitudes toward the pandemic.
One leading pollster believes Britain could be witnessing a repeat of what happened in the 2015 election and the EU referendum.
Opinion polls forecast Labour's Ed Miliband would be prime minister and that Brexit would be rejected: focus groups indicated the opposite and were proved right each time.
Since the start of the pandemic most polls have suggested voters support lockdowns and, if anything, want the Government to impose even more stringent curbs.
Some have argued this is because furloughed workers have been able to stay at home on 80 per cent of their normal wages thanks to taxpayer funds.
Many Tory MPs opposed to Boris Johnson's three-tier lockdown system claim their stance is backed by many of their constituents.
The Daily Mail listened in to one of the focus groups, typical of several that have been conducted recently, and it echoed the MPs' views.
Carried out last Friday, and comprising a cross-section of society, both Tory and Labour, in London, Birmingham and Liverpool, it appears to show voters have lost faith in lockdowns and are no longer prepared to obey all the rules.
They also think the second wave of the virus will be less dangerous, are increasingly worried about the damage to jobs and the economy.
Meanwhile many will refuse a coronavirus vaccine for fear of side effects and there is continuing fury over rule breakers such as the Prime Minister's chief of staff Dominic Cummings.
People are pictured leaving Cardiff city centre as the pubs close before Wales entered a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm on Friday
A couple wearing a visor and a mask to fend off the coronavirus go shopping in Knighton, a town that sits on the border between England and Wales, earlier this week
Revellers in Sheffield are out on the town for one last night tonight before their city is placed under the strictest lockdown measures, tier three
James Johnson of JL Partners, who acted as moderator in the focus group, says the findings were the same as those in similar studies he had hosted.
He said the results had convinced him the tide of opinion was turning against lockdowns.
He said that 'nuanced conversations' that take place in focus groups, which involve only a handful of people, have 'uncovered hidden truths' about the pandemic and attitudes to the Government's lockdown strategy.
Mr Johnson, who advised Theresa May in Downing Street, argues that the focus groups show a resolve to rely on common sense to avoid catching the virus rather than Government diktats.
Voters are 'fatigued' by the curbs and not prepared to carry on being compliant, especially when they see high-profile figures flouting them.
The public, he said, were confused by the rules and were as likely to watch comedian Matt Lucas parody Boris Johnson's stuttering Downing Street press conferences as watch the Prime Minister himself.
Mr Johnson says that on certain issues the intimate atmosphere of his focus groups enables participants to reveal their true feelings.
This is in contrast to box ticking opinion polls where around 1,000 voters are invited to give a flat yes or no answer to dozens of questions, usually online.
Police officers arriving in Cardiff city centre at 1745 before Wales will enter a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm on Friday in an attempt to protect the country's NHS from being overwhelmed by the resurgence of coronavirus
People are pictured drinking in Soho, London this evening. A focus group has revealed that people are losing faith in lockdowns and are less willing to obey the rules
In his most recent focus group, Liverpool pensioner Brian complained: 'People with cancer, heart conditions, strokes, they're all dying.
'We are saving people with coronavirus but the rest of the population is dying from diseases we can control.'
The public knew lockdowns would 'always break down', he told the group.
Angela, 59, from Birmingham, said she went months without seeing her elderly parents earlier in the year and 'I'm not doing that again'.
Paul, a London property developer, ridiculed the 10pm curfew, saying the virus was 'just spread among crowds getting wasted in the streets.'
Steph, a charity worker, was equally robust, despite having had the virus herself.
She said Mr Cummings was 'disgusting' for breaking Covid rules, adding: 'We have to get back to normality.'
Publicly, the Government is maintaining its tough stance on lockdowns, insisting the rules are vital to stop the virus spiralling out of control.
However, privately, the Government's position is a different story: like the focus groups, it is rather more nuanced.
The Daily Mail understands ministers are encouraged by signs that predictions of hundreds of thousands more infections and tens of thousands more deaths in a second wave may be an overestimate.
According to reliable sources, there are signs that the infection rate among university students is falling.
And there is evidence the virus has lost up to 90 per cent of its lethal potency owing to mass wearing of masks.
That, together with more effective drugs, has reduced the fatality rate in hospital intensive care units.
'Let's get back to normal!': Thoughts and feelings of an exasperated public Q: What do you think of Government's coronavirus rules?
Alec, 61, consultant, London, Conservative
They are confusing, unenforceable and people won't take any notice of them.
Brian, 68, retired, Liverpool, Conservative
One member of the focus group said that the government's special adviser Dominic Cummings, pictured right, was 'disgusting' for having broken the rules
It's killing more people with cancer. Coronavirus is 40th on the list (of causes of death). People with heart conditions, strokes are all dying. We are saving people with coronavirus but the rest are dying from diseases we can control.
Amira, (female) 30, school admin officer, London, Labour
Confusing; people in government wouldn't stick to them.
Q: Will rules work?
Paul
No. The virus has no limit on time, race, gender. [The authorities] think it will go away at ten o'clock when pubs shut, but it's just spread among crowds getting wasted in the streets.
Brian
You can suppress it for a while but it'll always break out again.
Steph, 38, charity worker, Liverpool, Labour
We (already) tried lockdown, we have to get back to normality, how is a second lockdown going to be any different?
Q: Will you follow new rules?
Amira
No. I'm very close to my family. I didn't see them for six months in lockdown, I'm not doing it again.
Brian
We all followed the rules initially because we thought right, we've got to get rid of this virus. We've gone through all the pain of lockdown, now they want us to face another one. The consensus is they (the public) know it's not going to work, it's always going to break down.
Howard, 23, engineer, Liverpool
If you need to see your loved ones, see them. If you're popping round for the sake of it '' don't.
Angela, 59, Birmingham, Labour
I wear a mask when I go out but I shall still see my family because my parents are elderly. I had a few months of not seeing them ... and I'm not doing that again. Everything else I'm going to act normal because mentally I couldn't go through it again.
Daniel
I would break it (lockdown) to see my family '' for my mental health.
Paul
Not really. If you need to see your loved ones, see them.
Q: What should MINISTERS do instead?
Angela
Get on with it and be sensible, don't mix in big crowds. Get back to normal as much as we can.
Daniel
There should be a lockdown with very harsh penalties... for a short time. Then we could remove the virus and live how we want to.
Q: Why has trust in the rules collapsed?
Paul
If the Queen won't wear a mask, why should I bother?
Steph
Dominic Cummings' (behaviour) was disgusting, Matt Hancock put his arm round fellow MPs in the Commons.
Paul
You have Cummings on a jolly, the woman (MP) who went from Scotland to London and back with the virus and isn't being prosecuted. It's a cop out. And they want to fine us!
Brian
The Mail said the average age of a Covid person dying is 82 years, the average life expectancy is 81 years, so who are we protecting? There's good chance I would survive at 68.
Q: Would you have a Covid vaccine?
Angela
I don't believe in vaccines, wouldn't have one.
Paul
What happens if they bring one out that hasn't been trialled, and in five years we've all developed side effects? We'll all sue the Government because we were forced to have it.
Alec
I will take it because it will be a worldwide vaccine.
At last! NHS workers are 'set to get a vaccine in weeks' as the Government accelerates timetable for a mass roll-out before Christmas - while ministers introduce new laws to bypass EU approval for jab
By MICHAEL POWELL and GLEN OWEN for the Mail On Sunday
Plans are being drawn up for frontline NHS staff to receive a coronavirus vaccine within weeks, as the Government moves to accelerate the timetable for a mass roll-out.
An email sent by an NHS Trust chief to his staff, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals the Health Service is preparing for a national vaccination programme before Christmas.
It can also be disclosed that the Government has introduced new laws that would allow the UK to bypass the EU approval process if a safe and effective jab is ready before the end of the post-Brexit transition period on December 31.
The move will boost optimism that a 'game-changing' vaccine will soon allow Boris Johnson to relax the social restrictions which have crippled the country since March.
In his memo to staff earlier this month, Glen Burley, chief executive of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Warwickshire, wrote: 'Our Trust, alongside NHS organisations nationally, has been told to be prepared to start a Covid-19 staff vaccine programme in early December.
'The latest intelligence states a coronavirus vaccine should be available this year with NHS staff prioritised prior to Christmas.'
Plans are being drawn up for frontline NHS staff to receive a coronavirus vaccine within weeks, as the Government moves to accelerate the timetable for a mass roll-out. An email sent by an NHS Trust chief to his staff, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals the Health Service is preparing for a national vaccination programme before Christmas. (Above, the memo, sent by Glen Burley, chief executive of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Warwickshire)
It can also be disclosed that the Government has introduced new laws that would allow the UK to bypass the EU approval process if a safe and effective jab is ready before the end of the post-Brexit transition period on December 31
Despite facing continued criticism, Mr Hancock has pushed through new laws to strip the European Medicines Agency of the power to approve the vaccine if it is ready before the end of December. Instead, British watchdogs will be able to fast-track its production. (File image of an experimental Covid medicine being tested)
Mr Burley added that the vaccine was 'expected to be given in two doses, 28 days apart' and urged his colleagues to have had their flu shot by the end of November so they can qualify for a Covid-19 jab.
Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Trust, told a recent hospital board meeting: 'I'm hoping for a Covid-19 vaccine to be available to healthcare providers some time in December. It has not been confirmed yet but I'm hoping to be able to offer a Covid-19 vaccine to our staff.'
In other developments that emerged yesterday:
There was anger and frustration in Wales over 'farcical' lockdown restrictions on the sale of non-essential items which meant customers were able to buy vodka, but not baby clothes; Professor Neil Ferguson, the controversial academic whose modelling heavily influenced the national lockdown in March, was accused of scaremongering after saying that people 'will catch Covid-19 and die' if families are allowed to mix on Christmas Day; As 1.4 million people across South Yorkshire were plunged into the highest Tier 3 restrictions, another 174 deaths and 23,012 new confirmed cases were announced for the previous 24 hours; Hotel tycoon Sir Rocco Forte called for Matt Hancock to be sacked for his 'shambolic' handling of the crisis as a poll found 49 per cent of people think the Health Secretary breached a drinks curfew in a Commons bar, compared with just nine per cent who thought he did not; Rishi Sunak has asked Treasury officials to find ways of illustrating the crippling financial toll of the pandemic and is pushing to publish it alongside the statistics for cases and deaths; Banks faced fury as it emerged Barclays has set aside £745 million for bonuses, more than last year, and Lloyds will let most of its 65,000 employees work from home until at least next spring; Psychologists said Covid-19 may cause birth rates to fall, people to stay single for longer and for women to become more promiscuous; The global death toll exceeded 1,147,000, while police fought with young protesters angry at restrictions in the Italian city of Naples and the Polish president Andrzej Duda revealed that he had tested positive for the virus. Despite facing continued criticism, Mr Hancock has pushed through new laws to strip the European Medicines Agency of the power to approve the vaccine if it is ready before the end of December. Instead, British watchdogs will be able to fast-track its production.
A health official said: 'Although we still think it most likely that the vaccine will be ready early next year, Matt wants the freedom to operate if it all moves more quickly.'
The official added that under changes to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, which took effect on October 16, the UK was 'no longer beholden to the EU process if a vaccine is developed before 2021 and has strong evidence proving it is safe, high quality and effective'.
The memo outlines a programme of vaccinations which frontline NHS staff, such as this surgeon, will be first to get
They added: 'Should a vaccine be available before the end of the year, we have put in place robust measures to allow the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to authorise the vaccine for UK patients. This will only happen if there is a strong public health justification and the EU process is taking too long.'
The regulator will have autonomy to approve vaccines for the UK from 2021 in any case.
A senior Government source said: 'We have made sure that if a vaccine is proven safe and effective we won't be held back from deploying it by the need for approval from Brussels.'
NHS staff are most likely to receive the vaccine being developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which is in the final stages of trials.
The Government has already bought 100 million doses of the drug, which is administered in two doses. Under Government plans, frontline NHS staff and care home workers will be vaccinated first, followed by those aged over 80.
Human trials of the Oxford vaccine have been under way since April, involving about 20,000 volunteers worldwide. Scientists have reported a 'robust immune response' and no serious side-effects.
Last night, David Eltringham, managing director at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, said: 'We don't have a definite date for delivery of the vaccine, but we are making ready to deploy the vaccine from the beginning of December.'
Oxford's Covid jab 'has only been tested on 500 over-70s'By STEPHEN ADAMS for the Mail On Sunday
Britain's front-running Covid vaccine has only been tested on about 500 elderly people in this country, raising questions about how effective it might be for a vital section of the population.
There are high hopes for Oxford University's 'ChAdOx' jab but only 1,000 or so of the 10,000 people recruited to the UK arm of Oxford's trial are aged 70 or over. Half of them have been given the vaccine and half have had a placebo.
Last night, former immunisation 'tsar' Professor David Salisbury said the relatively small numbers might not be enough to generate a meaningful result.
'Clearly, if you've just got 500 vaccinated and you've given 500 the placebo and you are looking to see a significant difference in protection between the two'... you may not get much out, in terms of data,' he said.
However, he added that early results appeared to show that older people given Covid vaccines developed good immune responses, so he was hopeful they would work well in the elderly.
The issue is critical because the virus is much more deadly in older people. An 80-year-old is about 1,000 times more likely to die of the virus than a 20-year-old, while five out of every six Covid-related deaths have been in the over-70s.
Earlier this month, Kate Bingham, head of the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, gave a clear signal that Covid vaccination is to be aimed at older people, even though vaccines are often less effective in that group as their immune systems tend to respond less strongly.
For example, the flu vaccine given in 2016-17 was completely ineffective in the over-65s, according to data from Public Health England. It did, however, work well in younger people.
As Oxford's Covid vaccine works in a different way, there is no specific reason to believe it will be a dud in the elderly but all the leading jab contenders are acutely aware of the issue.
Oxford has launched parallel trials in Brazil, South Africa and the US '' but only the American 'arm' is enrolling over-65s. AstraZeneca, which is handling the US trial enquiries, refused to say how many over-65s have been recruited there so far.
Coronavirus antibody tests might come back negative for people who had mild cases '' BGR
Coronavirus immunity tests might return false negatives for people who experienced a mild or asymptomatic case of COVID-19.The conclusion comes from a new Oxford study that looked at the sensitivity ratings of antibody tests on patients who might have had the virus.The researchers found that a large number of people might get negative results in antibody tests despite possibly having had the illness at some point in the past few months.COVID-19 immunity is one of the most important topics of research right now, but the novel coronavirus is too new to give us a definitive answer to the most important question we have: Is reinfection possible? The management of outbreaks and future vaccination policies might hinge on the answer. Researchers think that the novel coronavirus will behave just like other human coronaviruses when it comes to immunity. We'll get six to twelve months of protection, but then reinfection could be possible.
Separately, researchers are looking to measure the actual number of COVID-19 cases in a community by performing antibody tests. These are specific ''witnesses'' of the infection that prove the immune system has eliminated the coronavirus and is ready to block it again upon a second encounter. But recent studies have shown that antibodies can vanish from the bloodstream as soon as two to three months after the first infection. The immune system would still have specialized T cells to fall back to in case of a second contact with the virus, so the immunity is not lost when the antibodies are gone. But antibody tests would not pick up T cells. That's a separate, more difficult test.
A new study now indicates that antibody tests fail to detect people who had mild coronavirus cases, which could become a real problem in a variety of situations. It's not that people who experience mild cases of COVID-19 do not develop an immune response. But the current tests have been created using samples from symptomatic patients, who were often hospitalized for treatment.
The Oxford study enrolled more than 9,000 healthcare workers and showed that a significant number of people tested negative for antibodies despite probably having had the virus. The researchers used a particular symptom that's been associated with COVID-19, and that's the sudden loss of smell and taste. Several other studies showed why the phenomenon occurs and proved that it's likely to test positive for COVID-19 after experiencing it. Not all people who get infected experience the symptom. That's why PCR tests are still needed to diagnose the illness correctly.
The Oxford study showed that of the 903 people who tested positive for antibodies on one test, 47% of them reported a loss of smell or taste. But there also was a group of subjects whose test results felt short of the threshold for a positive antibody result, which would mean they did not have the virus. Yet 30% of those also reported a loss of sense of taste or smell. That's a too-large percentage to be explained by a different condition that could lead to the sudden loss of smell and taste.
The researchers said that only some 3% of people who get common colds other conditions would report the loss of smell and taste as a symptom.
''You can see that below the cut-off, there is a rising proportion of people who report a loss of their sense of smell or taste, and this suggests that the test threshold is missing people with mild disease,'' Dr. Tim Walker explained the results toThe Telegraph. ''Of course, there will be plenty of people, too, who will have had no symptoms whatsoever and will still have antibodies.''
The study also showed that some 387 people who tested just below the threshold did not have any symptoms. These could have been asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, but the researchers could not demonstrate they had the virus.
The scientists used several antibody tests, including the Abbott diagnostic that's used for one in four antibody tests in the UK. The results indicate that the test is less sensitive than currently believed. Instead of 98% sensitivity, the test would be 11% less sensitive, according to the researchers. In other words, the test would miss plenty of COVID-19 survivors. The reason why this happens could be straightforward. The test has been devised using samples from symptomatic patients who have been treated for COVID-19 in hospitals.
The scientists suggested that samples from mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 survivors who had PCR tests that confirmed the illness could be used to improve the tests so that they'd identify patients with a lower antibody count.
On the other hand, the tests were devised in such a manner to make sure they would not give out false positives. Telling people who were not infected that they have antibodies could lead to a false sense of security, and they could then get infected.
Antibody testing could lead to the so-called ''immunity passports'' that we've addressed before. But if antibody tests can't detect people who experience mild and moderate infections, then these people would not be given documentation showing they've already survived the disease. Immunity passports do not exist per se, but some people could ask for proof that a person had the infection for various reasons, including travel and work.
The UK government commented on the study, saying that ''we do not yet know whether antibodies indicate immunity from reinfection with coronavirus or if they prevent transmission.'' The Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that ''antibody testing is an important part of our testing strategy because it helps us understand how COVID-19 is spreading across the country.''
But if the Oxford study can be verified, then antibody testing can't help officials understand how the illness is spreading in a community. Add to that the study that said antibodies vanish three months after the infection, and you've got one more problem for studying herd immunity. The new Oxford study has been published online in pre-print form over on medRxiv, which means it hasn't been peer-reviewed.
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it he was sharing his views on tech stuff with readers around the world. Whenever he's not writing about gadgets he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he desperately tries. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Let Us Out!
Coronavirus France: Gridlock as people flee Paris before lockdown | Daily Mail Online
Tens of thousands of Parisians last night caused massive traffic jams in a desperate attempt to flee the French capital ahead of the start of Emmanuel Macron's new national shutdown.
Video posted to Twitter shows huge numbers of Parisians attempting a mass exodus out of the city in a bid to avoid the 9pm curfew and the start of the second lockdown from midnight.
The night air was filled with the sound of blaring car horns while social media users estimated that Parisians had created 'hundreds of miles' of gridlock to escape to their second homes in the country.
Revellers also seized the opportunity to spend one last night with friends and family last night before bars and restaurants are closed as the French government plunges the country back into lockdown.
Meanwhile French people emptied supermarkets in a repeat of the panic-buying that swept Europe in March as Parisians and other city dwellers prepared for a month in confinement.
Shoppers stocked up on pasta and toilet roll while people queued outside hairdressers for a final trim. Office workers in the capital's business district hauled their equipment to cars and trains in preparation for WFH.
Emmanuel Macron's draconian measures are due to be enforced until at least December 1, with people required to carry documents justifying their reason for leaving home that will be subject to police checks.
Tens of thousands of Parisians last night caused massive traffic jams in a desperate attempt to flee the French capital ahead of the start of Emmanuel Macron's new national shutdown
View of traffic jams in Paris as traffic records have been broken in Paris ahead of the new shutdown coming into force
Parisians flocked to the Gare de Lyon to avoid confining themselves to the French capital during the shutdown
The exodus from Paris came amid anti-lockdown protests which saw a chair thrown in the window of a closed outdoor cafe
Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gathered in Paris on the eve of the new restrictions, with some letting off flares
Protesters are cheered by a woman in a cafe as they voice their anger at the French government's new lockdown restrictions
French security forces wearing riot gear try to keep order during a march against Emmanuel Macron's new lockdown
Huge queues were seen outside the Gare de Lyon just hours before France's second national shutdown begins
Parisians flocked to the Gare de Lyon to avoid confining themselves to the French capital during the shutdown
Empty shelves of toilet paper are seen in a supermarket in Paris as thousands of city dwellers stock up for the new shutdown
Parisians made the most of their final night of freedom as they packed the bars ahead of new lockdown restrictions
Parisians flocked to the Gare de Lyon to avoid confining themselves to the French capital during the shutdown
After the start of the lockdown hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gathered on the streets of Paris
A short while later, Paris was completely deserted, with the Eiffel Tower pictured standing alone as the shutdown starts
This map shows the 14-day Covid-19 infection rate in Europe. Most of France is in the highest category of 240 or more cases per 100,000 people, along with most of Spain, all of the Czech Republic, the North of England and many other regions around the continent. French leader Emmanuel Macron this week announced a new nationwide lockdown, claiming that 400,000 people will die of coronavirus if the country does nothing to control a second wave that will be 'more deadly' than the first
France's health minister yesterday warned that up to a million people may be infected with the disease, while Prime Minister Jean Castex extended mask requirements to schoolchildren as young as six.
French schools will stay open but the stay-at-home measures for adults are as strict as in the spring, with written paperwork needed to go outside for shopping, medical care or one hour a day of exercise.
President Macron said a curfew in Paris and other major cities had failed to stem the tide of infections, claiming that 400,000 people would die of Covid-19 if drastic action were not taken.
In a televised announcement, he said: 'Our target is simple: sharply reducing infections from 40,000 a day to 5,000 and slowing the pace of admissions to hospital and intensive care.'
Hospitals are already scrambling for intensive care beds and 'no matter what we do, nearly 9,000 people will be in intensive care by mid-November,' he said. The French leader called the new restrictions 'heartbreaking' but said he 'could never stand by and see hundreds of thousands of our citizens die'.
Bars, shops and restaurants are closing entirely again while France's government is urging businesses to have employees work from home 'five days a week'.
Mr Macron said some shops could be allowed to open in mid-November if the situation improves - but his scientific adviser's warning raises the prospect of lockdown measures continuing up to Christmas.
State-approved reasons for leaving households include buying essential goods, seeking medical attention or taking a daily one-hour allocation of exercise, the French government announced. Though bars and restaurants will close again, all public services, schools and essential workplaces will stay open.
Stores and businesses across France were also filled by people racing to get supplies on Thursday - and maybe a last-minute haircut - ahead of the new lockdown.
Yesterday the French government recorded 47,637 new confirmed coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, compared to 36,437 on Wednesday and a record high of 52,010 on Sunday.
The total number of infections rose to over 1.28 million while the death tally went up by 235 to 36,020. The number of people going into hospital with Covid-19 fell to 976, after three days of about 1,200 hospitalisations per day.
Revellers seized the opportunity to spend one final evening with friends and family on Thursday before bars and restaurants are closed
On Thursday, the French public health agency announced 47,637 new infections in 24 hours and 235 deaths, pushing the overall tally beyond 36,000
Emmanuel Macron announced new measures on Wednesday in an effort to curb the rising Covid infections across the country
The national measures will take effect from Friday morning until December 1 and are considered to be 'more flexible' than the country's first lockdown
Stores and businesses across France were also filled by people racing to get supplies on Thursday - and maybe a last-minute haircut - ahead of the new lockdown
Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gather in Paris to protest the measures adopted by the French government
Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters gather in Paris to protest the measures adopted by the French government
Is Spanish strain of Covid-19 behind Europe's second wave? Scientists blame strain that was 'spread across continent by summer holidaymakers' A mutated strain of coronavirus that originated in Spain may be the culprit behind Europe's catastrophic second wave, a study has claimed.
An international team of scientists tracking the virus as it spreads and evolves, said the variant, called 20A.EU1, is behind 90 per cent of cases in the UK since summer.
Every virus mutation has its own genetic signature, which means they can be traced back to the place they originated.
The experts tracked 20A.EU1 back to a farm in northern Spain in June and believe it raced through the continent as holidaymakers returned over summer, when there was a lull in transmission and lockdowns were eased.
It raises questions about whether the spiralling second wave - which is forcing European nations to retreat back into national shutdowns - could have been averted by improved screening at airports and borders.
The scientists believe the strain is also behind 80 per cent of infections in Spain, 60 per cent in Ireland and up to 40 per cent in Switzerland and France.
All viruses naturally mutate as they spread through populations. There are hundreds of different variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, circulating around Europe.
However, only very few of these variants have spread as successfully and become as prevalent as the newly-identified strain.
There are now 21,183 people in hospital with Covid-19, compared to a high of more than 32,000 mid April. The number of people in intensive care went up by 111 to 3,156.
Essentials like pasta and toilet paper were in high demand, as were printer ink and electronics for working from home, while yoga mats were not to be found at many sporting goods stores.
'I'm stocking up, since we don't know when this will end,' said Catherine Debeaupuis, shopping at an electronics retailer in central Paris.
Just under 33 million people watched President Macron announce the grim news in a prime-time address on Wednesday - a mere five days after having said: 'it's still too early' to consider new lockdowns.
The president said hospitals would soon be overwhelmed by a virus that is spreading 'at a speed that even the most pessimistic did not predict.'
People will be allowed to leave home only if armed with a self-signed certificate stating their urgent business - food shopping, taking the kids to school, going to work if this cannot be done from home, going to the hospital or a pharmacy.
A certificate would also be needed by people wishing to go for a jog or walk their dog, within a limit of one hour and no further than one kilometre (0.6 miles) from home.
Funeral attendance will be limited to 30 and six for weddings. Those found breaking the rules, which will be policed, risk a fine of 135 euros.
Europe's infection rate has already overtaken America's for the first time since March, although cases are rising again in the US just days from the presidential election.
Germany also took action as Angela Merkel announced a so-called 'lockdown light', shutting bars and restaurants to fend off a 'national health emergency' while saying that schools and shops could stay open.
The return of lockdown measures across Europe has led to protests breaking out in Spain and Italy where crowds have let off fireworks and looted luxury stores to voice their rage at the tightening controls on public life.
Spain's parliament voted to extend the country's state of emergency.
During a meeting with European health ministers, WHO's European regional director Dr Hans Kluge said 'hospitalizations have risen to levels unseen since the spring' and deaths have sharply risen by more than 30 per cent.
He noted that Europe has now reported more than 10 million coronavirus cases and 'is at the epicenter of this pandemic once again.'
Coroanvirus cases are rising rapidly in most major European countries, prompting leaders to consider more lockdown measures. Curfews are now in place in Spain, Italy, and UK, with France and Germany announcing circuit breaker shutdowns
Cyprus and Lithuania are put on UK quarantine list with Britons facing dash back home to beat 4am deadline on Sunday to avoid 14-day isolation Cyprus and Lithuania have been removed from the Government's list of travel corridors, meaning travellers arriving in the UK from those places after 4am on Sunday must self-isolate for 14 days, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday.
Shapps added in a post on Twitter that the Government would not be adding any countries to the UK's list of travel corridors where Britons can travel without having to self-isolate this week.
Cyprus recorded just 91 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday while Lithuania had 413. Both totals are considerably lower than the UK figures, which showed 22,885 new cases on Tuesday.
While some Brits expressed confusion, tweeting from Cyprus that they felt perfectly safe there, others were enraged by today's announcement and questioned the logic of closing the travel corridor on the last day of the English half-term holiday, likely forcing many families to keep their kids at home for two weeks.
One Twitter user described taking Cyprus off the list as 'madness', sharing a photo taken on Wednesday night of a quiet-looking coastal view.
'It felt safe, organised and everyone was following the rules,' he said.
Another said there was 'no risk' in Cyprus, adding that people were tested on arrival as well as having to receive a negative test result before boarding a plane to leave.
'Mask wearing in hotels is compulsory and even outside,' he said.
'At the risk of sounding alarmist, I must express our very real concern,' Kluge said.
Speaking to Germany's parliament ahead of a virtual summit of EU leaders on Thursday evening aimed at better coordinating Europe's response to the disease, Merkel said her country faces 'a dramatic situation at the beginning of the cold season.'
Germany's disease control agency said local authorities reported 16,774 new positive tests for COVID-19 in the past day, pushing the country's total close to the half million-mark. The death toll stood at 10,272.
'The winter will be difficult, four long, difficult months. But it will end,' Merkel told lawmakers.
Under new restrictions going into effect Monday, German restaurants, bars, sports and cultural venues will be shut for four weeks. Gatherings are limited to 10 people from a maximum of two households and all non-essential journeys will be discouraged. Schools, kindergartens, stores and places of worship will remain open - albeit with safety precautions.
Merkel said authorities had no choice but to drastically reduce social contacts as three-quarters of infections in Germany now are no longer traceable.
'If we wait until the ICUs are full, then it will be too late,' she said.
Opposition leader Alexander Gauland of the far-Right Alternative for Germany party accused Merkel's government of 'wartime propaganda' and likened the pandemic to traffic, arguing that society accepts a certain number of car deaths each year but doesn't ban driving.
Berlin announced a new 10 billion-euro (£9billion) fund for businesses affected by the additional measures.
In Spain, authorities have been imposing incremental restrictions on free movement, nightlife and social gatherings, but they have refrained from a strict stay-at-home order like the one that curbed the first wave of infections but scarred the economy.
But with officials predicting that current levels of infection will produce a serious shortage of intensive care beds in November, some experts are already calling for a full lockdown.
Spanish regions like Catalonia and La Rioja have already closed bars and restaurants, while most of the rest have imposed curfews limiting nightlife. But extra subsidies have not accompanied the restrictions, prompting loud protests in Barcelona this week by business owners who banged pots, waved cocktail shakers and chanted 'We want to work!'
Spain's parliament, meanwhile, voted by a majority to keep the country's newly declared state of emergency in place until May to try to rein in the resurging pandemic, despite objections by some opposition parties. A vote to lift the measure could be held in March should things improve.
Spain has officially recorded more than 1.1 million COVID-19 cases, although authorities say the true figure could be at least three times higher. Its virus death toll is at least 35,000.
Spain and Italy have both seen deaths increase in recent weeks, although they are lower than during the first wave - unlike in the Czech Republic and other countries in Eastern Europe where deaths have risen to record levels
Germany also took action as Angela Merkel announced a so-called 'lockdown light', shutting bars and restaurants to fend off a 'national health emergency' while saying that schools and shops could stay open
As EU leaders met, officials in Brussels urged them to approve rapid virus tests, which are less reliable than standard kits but far quicker to provide results, and to prepare the vast amounts of cold storage that will be needed to keep large stocks of any virus vaccine once it becomes available.
With Belgium, France and Spain warning that their intensive care units could be overwhelmed within two weeks, the officials say it's vital that EU countries agree to share information about ICU capacity so patients can be treated across borders if necessary.
Russia, meanwhile, said that it has no plans to impose a nationwide lockdown.
'Despite a difficult epidemiological situation, right now we're much better prepared for working during an epidemic,' Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Russia has recorded more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest number in Europe and the fourth largest tally worldwide.
As EU leaders met, officials in Brussels urged them to approve rapid virus tests as Covid-19 cases increase
New York Sets 3-Day Quarantine for Visitors Who Test Negative
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North Carolina Citizens Defy Proposed Mandatory Mask Law '' City Council Stunned by Turn Out Backs Down
Waynesville, NC citizens angry for being refused entry to City Hall Board Room '' Refuse to wear masks.
Comments by Brian ShilhavyEditor, Health Impact News
Some good news this week as apparently there is still a pulse among liberty-minded citizens in one small North Carolina town that turned out in mass to defy the City's attempt to mandate mask requirements.
When told they had to wear a mask to participate in the meeting, they refused, and the City Council and local police backed down in front of the angry crowd.
This is the kind of action it is going to take across the country to stop medical tyranny.
Waynesville caught off guard by public outcry over proposed mask mandateby Becky JohnsonThe Mountaineer
Excerpts:
Waynesville leaders backed down from a proposed local mask mandate Tuesday night after nearly 100 people packed town hall to voice their opposition.
Tensions rose before the meeting ever began when the assembled crowd '-- who were being held in the lobby until the doors opened '-- learned there wasn't going to be enough room for them all in the town board room.
Those wishing to speak were told to fill out forms and wait until their name was called. This didn't sit well with many in the crowd, who demanded the meeting be moved to the sidewalk outside so that everyone could see and hear it '-- touching off a loud chant of ''Take it outside.''
Town staff and police officers eventually quelled the crowd and convinced them that waiting for their turn to speak was the only option. Another uprising ensued after the waiting crowd was told they couldn't come in without a mask when their turn rolled around.
The vast majority weren't wearing a mask, given the whole reason they were there in the first place was to speak against the proposed mask mandate.
Some claimed exemptions for religious and health reasons, but others simply said they weren't going to wear one and it would violate their rights to be denied entry to a public hearing on that grounds.
In the end, masks were offered but not compulsory.
The mezzanine outside the town board room, which was packed shoulder to shoulder, well exceeded the fire code capacity. But attempts to disperse some of the waiting crowd to the main lobby downstairs was likewise abandoned as fruitless.
By now, more police officers had been called in to help manage crowd control. The five town board members had arrived through a back door of town hall and were being held in a private room until the meeting began.
Once the doors opened, the first 20 people in line got inside and claimed the limited seats. The rest could listen to audio from the meeting streamed over a speaker, but given the large crowd, only those in close proximity could hear what was transpiring.
Several in attendance left after seeing they wouldn't be admitted. Others continued to try to gain entry past police officers guarding the doorway. Staff meanwhile attempted to assure everyone they would eventually get a chance to speak '-- something that ultimately didn't happen, however.
One by one, those who had filled out a slip of paper to speak came in to take their turn at the mic. Town Attorney Bill Cannon tried to ban the audience outside the doors from clapping and cheering for speakers, threatening on several occasions to cut off the public hearing if it continued. Eventually, the door to the meeting room was simply closed to keep the sounds of clapping out.
To the chagrin of the waiting masses, Cannon cut off the hearing after 32 minutes, saying the allotted time for the hearing was up. Many still waiting outside to speak, who were previously told by town staff they would get their turn, were upset that the town cut off the public hearing.
Although the public hearing was officially closed, every town board meeting has a designated period of general public comment mandated by law to give constituents the chance to address their local elected officials.
So, some who didn't get their turn during the official public hearing instead decided to speak during the generic public comment session. However, they were cut off if they mentioned the word ''mask.''
They were told they weren't allowed to talk about masks during the public comment period because it had already been covered in the public hearing '-- despite most not actually getting to speak during the 32-minute hearing.
When a 16-year-old took the podium, as soon as she mentioned the word ''mask,'' Cannon interjected.
''Ma'am, this is not the public time period for talking about the ordinance and the masks,'' Cannon said.
Several in the audience chimed in calling for the young speaker to be given a break.
Janet Presson was among those who didn't get to speak in the public hearing and was barred from talking about masks during the public comment period, as well.
''We were told they were done with the mask issue and you couldn't say the 'm' word,'' Presson said. ''They did everything they could to silence our voices.''
She said the town was clearly unprepared to handle the turnout.
''I think they were dumbfounded and horrified,'' Presson said. ''Mask mandates are a major issue that affect every single person. It is a hot-button issue. They should have done some better planning.''
The latest indication is the town leaders will not sign the mask proclamation tonight as originally believed.
Watch the video here.
Ron Paul also covered this in his daily broadcast, The Liberty Report.
How To Beat The LockdownersWhen city authorities in Waynesville, NC, announced that they were considering a city mask mandate they had no idea what was about to hit them. At the city council meeting at which the discussion was to take place, a massive show of citizen opposition and participation stole the show from the mandate promoters. Also today, why is flu disappearing in the US and elsewhere as Covid ''cases'' continue to rise?
Comment on this article at HealthImpactNews.com.
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Britain has recorded 23,012 more Covid-19 cases, up 2,482 from yesterday, as Professor Neil Ferguson warns people 'will catch the virus and die' if they are allowed to mix on Christmas Day.
There were 174 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, down from 224 on Friday, including 33 deaths in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 141 fatalities in England.
Meanwhile Professor Ferguson, whose modelling led to the original lockdown in March, said earlier today that schools may have to be closed to older pupils if restrictions on households mixing fail to stem the rise of infections, and that it will be a 'political judgement' as to whether regulations are relaxed over the festive season.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'It risks some transmission and there will be consequences of that. Some people will die because of getting infected on that day.
'But if it is only one or two days the impact is likely to be limited. So that is really a political judgment about the cost versus the benefits.'
It follows the prospects for a family Christmas descending into further confusion yesterday, as Downing Street insisted that relatives should be able to gather - but a minister warned it will not be 'normal'.
Professor Ferguson added: 'That (banning households mixing) should have a significant effect but as yet we have been unable to see it definitively.
'If we go beyond that there is a limit to what we can do in terms of reducing contacts, short of starting to target, for instance, the older years in schools and sixth form colleges where we know older teenagers are able to transmit as adults.
'Of course nobody wants to start moving to virtual education and closing schools even partially. The challenge may be that we are not able to get on top of the transmission otherwise.'
Yesterday the UK announced 20,530 infections and the deaths of 224 people. Last Saturday the Department of Health recorded 150 coronavirus victims, with another 16,171 cases.
Figures tend to be lower over the weekend due to a delay in processing the tests at laboratories.
In coronavirus news today:
Professor Neil Ferguson warned loved ones will 'catch Covid and die' if households mix at Christmas, but said the impact will be 'likely limited' if it is only for one or two days;The scientist said schools may have to be closed to older pupils if banning households from mixing doesn't have a 'significant effect' on the number of infections; He also predicts the NHS will be unable to cope if cases continue to increase at the present rate, saying that while infections among 18 to 21-year-olds were falling, they were continuing to rise in other age groups; Coronavirus restrictions in Scotland which saw the closure of pubs and restaurants in the central belt and a 6pm indoor hospitality curfew elsewhere are to be extended until November 2; One in 20 people with Covid-19 are still suffering symptoms eight weeks later, while one in 50 are struggling after three months, according to a study from King's College London; Gyms in Merseyside can reopen after a U-turn over their inclusion in the Liverpool City Region's Tier 3 restrictions; Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned last night that cancellations would be 'inevitable' across large areas of the health service; P olice revealed plans to patrol the Anglo-Welsh border to stop families from crossing over for a half-term holiday as Wales is plunged into a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown; Scientific advisers have been warned the coronavirus is mutating and could become more infectious, according to SAGE papers; Only one in ten stay at home for two weeks after being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, Sage documents reveal; Warrington will move into a Tier Three lockdown two days early as infection rate remains 'stubbornly high'. Military personnel are being drafted in to help enforce coronavirus restrictions in Tier 3 areas as f ive Army and Navy environmental health officers trained in 'outbreak management' were deployed in Liverpool on Friday. Meanwhile Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned last night that cancellations would be 'inevitable' across large areas of the health service.
He said: 'I feel it is unrealistic to expect trusts across the country to meet the set elective targets in the current climate.'
The scientist (above), whose modelling led to the original lockdown in March, said of regulations being relaxed: 'Some people will die because of getting infected on that day'
NHS trusts in Chesterfield, Northampton, Newcastle and Nottingham confirmed yesterday that they were postponing at least some non-urgent activity, while Rotherham, Liverpool, Bradford and Plymouth have announced similar actions in the last week.
Dr Rob Harwood, the chair of the British Medical Association's (BMA) hospital consultants committee, said trusts will have 'no choice' but to limit planned treatments for patients.
He told The Guardian: 'As we approach winter, it's likely that many trusts will have no choice but to continue to restrict their elective care services, which is incredibly worrying for both staff and patients, as backlogs increase and health conditions potentially worsen.'
Speaking on operations being cancelled, Dr Nick Scriven, the former president of the Society for Acute Medicine and a consultant physician, added: 'I think this is going to be inevitable across large areas of the health service as the pandemic and winter coincide.
'We know bed numbers are low compared with other countries and with the necessary infection control processes the 'functioning' of what we have is slowed down across the board.'
Emily Robertshaw spoke about the difficulties her 14-year-old son will have to face after his life-changing cochlear implant surgery was delayed.
The mother told Channel 4 News: 'I have yet to actually to break the news to him and he's back later, and it's going to be really difficult. He's had to have a lot of support building up to the operation.
'He's got significant learning disabilities so the preparation has been huge.'
Emily Robertshaw pictured with her 14-year-old son, whose life-changing cochlear implant surgery was delayed. The mother earlier said: 'I have yet to actually to break the news to him and he's back later, and it's going to be really difficult'
Professor Neil Ferguson said it will be a 'political judgement' as to whether regulations on households mixing are relaxed over the festive season. Pictured: a shopper in Wrexham last night as the 6pm 'fire break' lockdown approached
Doctors have warned that the mass cancellation of routine operations is 'inevitable'. The BMA's Dr Rob Harwood said NHS trusts will have 'no choice' but to limit planned treatments for patients as they approach winter
Professor Ferguson said schools may have to be closed to older pupils if restrictions on households mixing fail to stem the rise of coronavirus infections (pictured: an empty classroom at Manor Park School and Nursery in Cheshire)
Normal Christmas is 'wishful thinking', says SAGE adviser The idea that 'we can carry on as we are' and have a normal Christmas 'is wishful thinking in the extreme', a Government scientific adviser has said.
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said 'radical action' would be needed to stem the rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in regions with high incidence of the virus.
Prof Edmunds, who told MPs on Wednesday that tens of thousands of deaths could occur during this wave of the pandemic, said further measures are needed to bring cases down.
He said that a circuit-breaker is needed across the whole country or at least in areas where incidence is high.
'The only way that we can have a relatively safe and normal Christmas is if we take radical action now to reduce incidence '' at the very least in high incidence areas '' and keep the incidence low across the country by implementing a package of measures to reduce social contacts,' he said.
'The notion that we can carry on as we are and have a Christmas that we can celebrate normally with friends and family is wishful thinking in the extreme.'
Professor Ferguson also warned that the NHS will be unable to cope if coronavirus cases continue to increase at the present rate, saying that while infections among 18 to 21-year-olds were falling, they were continuing to rise in other age groups.
He explained: 'Unfortunately, in every other age group case numbers continue to rise at about the same rate they were.
'There are little hints of slowing, for instance in the North East of England, but we are not seeing the sort of slowing that we really need to to get on top of this.
'It is a worrying situation. We now have 8,000 people in hospital with Covid. That is about a third of the level we were at the peak of the pandemic in March.
'If the rate of growth continues as it is, it means that in a month's time we will above that peak level in March and that is probably unsustainable.
'We are in a critical time right now. The health system will not be able to cope with this rate of growth for much longer.'
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) and from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has said his own group was looking at how interventions might work over the winter, but these had not been requested by the Government.
Of Sage, he said: 'We haven't specifically been asked to look at different policies quite honestly, so nobody's asking us to say 'well what should we do here?'
'So these are things that we've really taken on ourselves and decided to look at ourselves.'
Sage documents revealed yesterday that only one in ten of people stay at home for two weeks when they are told to self-isolate.
Out of those who were told they had been in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case, just 10.9 per cent isolated for the following 14 days.
Government scientists claimed the crucial R rate has dropped slightly and an array of statistics revealed cases are no longer growing as quickly as they once were, although the epidemic is still growing (pictured: Boris Johnson in London yesterday)
Britain's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Mr Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak take part in a coronavirus briefing on Thursday. The UK yesterday announced 20,530 more coronavirus cases
Christmas chaos as No10 says families CAN gather this year but minister warns it won't be 'normal' The prospects for a family Christmas descended further into confusion yesterday as Downing Street insisted families should be able to gather - but a minister warned it will not be 'normal'.
The mixed messages came as politicians desperately try to get a grip on a surge in coronavirus cases - with lockdowns tightening in many areas.
There are tough restrictions on people meeting indoors across much of the UK, but asked whether families should abandon hope of meeting up, a No10 spokesman said: 'The PM has been clear previously that he is hopeful that in many ways we could be able to get some aspects of our lives back to normal by Christmas.
'As I say, we've been clear about the ambition to ensure that people may celebrate Christmas as a family this year.'
The comments contrasted with the stance taken by Treasury Chief Secretary Steve Barclay in a round of interviews yesterday morning.
He said: 'I think few people expect it to be exactly as it would normally because we will be living with this virus for some time.'
The study, carried out by King's College London, was discussed at their meeting in September.
Researchers collected data from a sample of 31,000 people between March 2 and August 5.
Based on answers to an online questionnaire, the team found that only one in ten said they had isolated for two weeks when told to by the Test and Trace scheme.
This is much lower than the 65 per cent who said they intended to quarantine if they received the alert.
There are tough restrictions on people meeting indoors across much of the UK, but asked whether families should abandon hope of meeting up, a No10 spokesman previously said: 'The PM has been clear previously that he is hopeful that in many ways we could be able to get some aspects of our lives back to normal by Christmas.
'As I say, we've been clear about the ambition to ensure that people may celebrate Christmas as a family this year.'
The comments contrasted with the stance taken by Treasury Chief Secretary Steve Barclay in a round of interviews on Friday morning.
He said: 'I think few people expect it to be exactly as it would normally because we will be living with this virus for some time.
'And the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser have been very clear on that.
'But, your point really was about the ability of families to spend Christmas together '' that is something we all hope to be in a position to do.'
A Government scientific adviser has said the idea that 'we can carry on as we are' and have a normal Christmas 'is wishful thinking in the extreme'.
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said 'radical action' would be needed to stem the rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in regions with high incidence of the virus.
Data reveals hospitalised Covid-19 patients are dying quicker than they were before - in a week, rather than two. Pictured is a timescale of when men aged between 40-49 (top) 50-59 (middle) and 60-69 (bottom) die after symptoms start (bottom axis is days since symptoms started). The orange is the first wave, and the blue is the second wave
PHE data shows the number of cases per 100,000 people in the worst hit regions appeared to turn and start falling in the week up to October 11 after at least five weeks of continuous increases. London has had considerably lower infection rates
Second Tory MP stokes free school meals furyTwo Tory MPs have landed themselves in hot water after controversial remarks about free school meals.
Selaine Saxby hinted in a Facebook post hospitality firms dishing out food should not get government help despite being battered by the pandemic.
Meanwhile Ben Bradley was accused of a 'stigmatisation of working class families' in an incendiary tweet that suggested cash went to 'crack dens and brothels'.
Both MPs have been roundly criticised, with Mr Bradley called to apologise while some said Ms Saxby should resign.
It comes as civil society minister Baroness Barran defended the decision not to extend free school meals through the school holidays.
In a show of unity, hospitality businesses and councils turned their backs on the government and said they will provide free meal vouchers through the break.
The move followed a high-profile campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, who was made an MBE for his efforts earlier this month.
Prof Edmunds, who told MPs on Wednesday that tens of thousands of deaths could occur during this wave of the pandemic, said further measures are needed to bring cases down.
He said that a circuit-breaker is needed across the whole country or at least in areas where incidence is high.
'The only way that we can have a relatively safe and normal Christmas is if we take radical action now to reduce incidence '' at the very least in high incidence areas '' and keep the incidence low across the country by implementing a package of measures to reduce social contacts,' he said.
'The notion that we can carry on as we are and have a Christmas that we can celebrate normally with friends and family is wishful thinking in the extreme.'
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said the only way to save the festive season was to impose a 'circuit breaker' lockdown now - something Labour has been demanding.
She told BBC Breakfast: 'The tier system so far has not worked to reduce infections.
'What we are looking at unfortunately '' given the Government doesn't seem to be willing to shift on this when half-term holidays are coming up '' what we are looking up to Christmas is an increasingly difficult situation in lots of parts of the country.'
Meanwhile, two Tory MPs have landed themselves in hot water after controversial remarks about free school meals.
Selaine Saxby hinted in a Facebook post hospitality firms dishing out food should not get government help despite being battered by the pandemic.
Ben Bradley was accused of a 'stigmatisation of working class families' in an incendiary tweet that suggested cash went to 'crack dens and brothels'.
Selaine Saxby (left) hinted in a Facebook post hospitality firms dishing out food should not get government help despite being battered by the pandemic. Ben Bradley (right) was accused of a 'stigmatisation of working class families' in an incendiary tweet that suggested cash went to 'crack dens and brothels'
Cafes, pubs and restaurants are offering free school meals for local children during half term after MPs rejected Marcus Rashford's campaign (pictured at FareShare in Manchester)
Only one in ten stay at home for two weeks when told to self isolate, Sage documents revealOnly one in ten stay at home for two weeks after being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, Sage documents have revealed.
Of those who were told they had been in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case, just 10.9 per cent isolated for the following 14 days.
The alarming figures undermine the premise of the Test and Trace system, which aims to prevent the spread of the virus.
The main reasons people gave for not properly quarantining were not developing symptoms, not thinking it was necessary to stay away from those outside the household, or popping to the shops for food.
The figures were revealed in documents by Sage '' the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
The study, carried out by King's College London, was discussed at their meeting in September.
Researchers collected data from a sample of 31,000 people between March 2 and August 5.
Based on answers to an online questionnaire, the team found that only one in ten said they had isolated for two weeks when told to by the Test and Trace scheme.
This is much lower than the 65 per cent who said they intended to quarantine if they received the alert.
Both MPs have been roundly criticised, with Mr Bradley called to apologise while some said Ms Saxby should resign.
It comes as civil society minister Baroness Barran defended the decision not to extend free school meals through the school holidays.
In a show of unity, hospitality businesses and councils turned their backs on the government and said they will provide free meal vouchers through the break.
The move followed a high-profile campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, who was made an MBE for his efforts earlier this month.
Greater Manchester moved into the highest alert level, Tier 3, on Friday morning, and Wales introduced its two-week 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm last night.
Coventry, Stoke and Slough entered Tier 2 today, while talks between Westminster and civic leaders in Nottingham over possible Tier 3 restrictions were continuing yesterday.
The UK yesterday announced 20,530 more coronavirus cases and the deaths of 224 people but official data suggests the country's outbreak may finally be slowing down.
Positive tests are up 31 per cent on last Friday, when there were 15,650, and deaths have surged by 65 per cent in a week.
But Government scientists claimed the crucial R rate has dropped slightly and an array of statistics revealed cases are no longer growing as quickly as they once were, although the epidemic is still growing.
SAGE estimates the reproduction rate for the UK has fallen for the first time in a month, from between 1.3-1.5 to 1.2-1.4. The number - the key measure at the heart of Number 10's plan to control the virus - must stay below one, or the outbreak will continue to grow.
Scientific advisers have also been warned that the coronavirus is mutating and could become more infectious, according to SAGE papers.
The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) said the UK did not have the capability to research these mutations in depth and whether they would be harmful.
It's one of a number of papers released by the Government yesterday that give an insight into how scientists are steering the pandemic.
Only one in ten stay at home for two weeks after being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, Sage documents have revealed. The alarming figures undermine the premise of the Test and Trace system (file photo)
The main reasons people gave for not properly quarantining were not developing symptoms, not thinking it was necessary to stay away from those outside the household, or popping to the shops for food (file photo)
The SAGE files: Papers presented to Government claim Covid-19 is mutatingScientific advisers have been warned that the coronavirus is mutating and could become more infectious, according to SAGE papers.
The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) said the UK did not have the capability to research these mutations in depth and whether they would be harmful.
It's one of a number of papers released by the Government yesterday that give an insight into how scientists are steering the pandemic.
The idea was explored in a scientific report handed to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which then presents the findings to the Government to help inform public health policy.
Another document shows how scientists have found that London has so far avoided a 'second wave' on the scale of those happening in other major cities in England, such as Liverpool and Manchester.
Experts speculate this is because more of the capital's population has some form of immunity to the coronavirus after having it already, compared to the North West, which did not have infections as high as London in the first wave.
The idea was explored in a scientific report handed to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which then presents the findings to the Government to help inform public health policy.
Another document shows how scientists have found that London has so far avoided a 'second wave' on the scale of those happening in other major cities in England, such as Liverpool and Manchester.
Experts speculate this is because more of the capital's population has some form of immunity to the coronavirus after having it already, compared to the North West, which did not have infections as high as London in the first wave.
Government research, supported by Imperial College London, reveals that in the capital, there are twice the number of people with antibodies than the national average (13 per cent), while the South West has the lowest (three per cent).
This has given them some form of immunity to catching the coronavirus again, or at least being protected from anything other than mild disease, it is thought.
The number of people admitted to hospital in London over the last week was 464 '-- roughly twice as high as at the beginning of the month. But this is well behind the peak of the first wave, when 883 people were admitted to hospital in a single day in March, analysis by the Evening Standard revealed.
In a meeting on September 10, before the rule of six or tiered lockdown was implemented to control the rapid increase in cases, scientists discussed the current state of the crisis.
The minutes read: 'Major cities, excluding London, appear to be experiencing faster increases in transmission than other areas.
'Though there remains variability between areas, it is almost certain that R is greater than 1 across large parts of England.
'This suggests that the epidemic is moving from being concentrated in local outbreaks to more widespread transmission.'
MANCHESTER TO REOPEN NIGHTINGALE HOSPITALThe NHS Nightingale Hospital in Manchester will reopen in the next week as the city heads into a local lockdown.
A local NHS boss today announced the temporary hospital, set up in the Manchester Central Conference Centre, will be brought back into use before the end of next week. It will become the first one in England to reopen.
It had closed in June when the first wave of the UK's outbreak burned out, but there are now fears that local hospitals will be inundated with Covid patients again.
The Nightingale will not be used to treat people seriously ill with coronavirus but instead opened to add capacity for 'additional rehabilitation'.
The NHS Nightingale for the North West was mothballed in June when the last coronavirus patient from the UK's first wave was discharged. Local health bosses say it will reopen by the end of next week
The city is entering Tier Three lockdown rules from midnight on Friday after a week of wrangling between the Government and the mayor, Andy Burnham, because the city has one of the highest infection rates in England.
In an announcement this morning, Professor Jane Eddleston, the boss of the Manchester University NHS Trust, confirmed the Nightingale would reopen.
'We will be opening the Nightingale, we expect that to be towards the end of next week,' she said.
'The Nightingale will not be used as a critical care facility and neither was it in the first phase, it will be used as a facility for patients to have additional rehabilitation.'
Professor Eddleston said there are around 95 people in intensive care beds with Covid-19 in the city, which is slightly more than a third of the 260 at the peak of the epidemic in April.
Despite decreases in coronavirus case numbers the NHS has had to provide beds for patients with the disease throughout the summer, she said. The health service in the area has set up Covid-free zones so it can carry on treating other patients.
Revolt brewing against lockdown rules: Focus group reveals voters are despairing of Boris Johnson's coronavirus policies and are prepared to break the rules to visit loved ones
By Simon Walters for the Daily Mail
Dramatic evidence of a growing revolt against the coronavirus lockdowns emerged last night.
The public think the rules won't work, they will break the law if necessary to see their loved ones and believe it is time to 'get Britain back to normal'.
These are among the key findings from focus groups that suggest traditional opinion polls have failed to spot a decisive change in attitudes toward the pandemic.
One leading pollster believes Britain could be witnessing a repeat of what happened in the 2015 election and the EU referendum.
Opinion polls forecast Labour's Ed Miliband would be prime minister and that Brexit would be rejected: focus groups indicated the opposite and were proved right each time.
Since the start of the pandemic most polls have suggested voters support lockdowns and, if anything, want the Government to impose even more stringent curbs.
Some have argued this is because furloughed workers have been able to stay at home on 80 per cent of their normal wages thanks to taxpayer funds.
Many Tory MPs opposed to Boris Johnson's three-tier lockdown system claim their stance is backed by many of their constituents.
The Daily Mail listened in to one of the focus groups, typical of several that have been conducted recently, and it echoed the MPs' views.
Carried out last Friday, and comprising a cross-section of society, both Tory and Labour, in London, Birmingham and Liverpool, it appears to show voters have lost faith in lockdowns and are no longer prepared to obey all the rules.
They also think the second wave of the virus will be less dangerous, are increasingly worried about the damage to jobs and the economy.
Meanwhile many will refuse a coronavirus vaccine for fear of side effects and there is continuing fury over rule breakers such as the Prime Minister's chief of staff Dominic Cummings.
People are pictured leaving Cardiff city centre as the pubs close before Wales entered a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm on Friday
A couple wearing a visor and a mask to fend off the coronavirus go shopping in Knighton, a town that sits on the border between England and Wales, earlier this week
Revellers in Sheffield are out on the town for one last night tonight before their city is placed under the strictest lockdown measures, tier three
James Johnson of JL Partners, who acted as moderator in the focus group, says the findings were the same as those in similar studies he had hosted.
He said the results had convinced him the tide of opinion was turning against lockdowns.
He said that 'nuanced conversations' that take place in focus groups, which involve only a handful of people, have 'uncovered hidden truths' about the pandemic and attitudes to the Government's lockdown strategy.
Mr Johnson, who advised Theresa May in Downing Street, argues that the focus groups show a resolve to rely on common sense to avoid catching the virus rather than Government diktats.
Voters are 'fatigued' by the curbs and not prepared to carry on being compliant, especially when they see high-profile figures flouting them.
The public, he said, were confused by the rules and were as likely to watch comedian Matt Lucas parody Boris Johnson's stuttering Downing Street press conferences as watch the Prime Minister himself.
Mr Johnson says that on certain issues the intimate atmosphere of his focus groups enables participants to reveal their true feelings.
This is in contrast to box ticking opinion polls where around 1,000 voters are invited to give a flat yes or no answer to dozens of questions, usually online.
Police officers arriving in Cardiff city centre at 1745 before Wales will enter a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown at 6pm on Friday in an attempt to protect the country's NHS from being overwhelmed by the resurgence of coronavirus
People are pictured drinking in Soho, London this evening. A focus group has revealed that people are losing faith in lockdowns and are less willing to obey the rules
In his most recent focus group, Liverpool pensioner Brian complained: 'People with cancer, heart conditions, strokes, they're all dying.
'We are saving people with coronavirus but the rest of the population is dying from diseases we can control.'
The public knew lockdowns would 'always break down', he told the group.
Angela, 59, from Birmingham, said she went months without seeing her elderly parents earlier in the year and 'I'm not doing that again'.
Paul, a London property developer, ridiculed the 10pm curfew, saying the virus was 'just spread among crowds getting wasted in the streets.'
Steph, a charity worker, was equally robust, despite having had the virus herself.
She said Mr Cummings was 'disgusting' for breaking Covid rules, adding: 'We have to get back to normality.'
Publicly, the Government is maintaining its tough stance on lockdowns, insisting the rules are vital to stop the virus spiralling out of control.
However, privately, the Government's position is a different story: like the focus groups, it is rather more nuanced.
The Daily Mail understands ministers are encouraged by signs that predictions of hundreds of thousands more infections and tens of thousands more deaths in a second wave may be an overestimate.
According to reliable sources, there are signs that the infection rate among university students is falling.
And there is evidence the virus has lost up to 90 per cent of its lethal potency owing to mass wearing of masks.
That, together with more effective drugs, has reduced the fatality rate in hospital intensive care units.
'Let's get back to normal!': Thoughts and feelings of an exasperated public Q: What do you think of Government's coronavirus rules?
Alec, 61, consultant, London, Conservative
They are confusing, unenforceable and people won't take any notice of them.
Brian, 68, retired, Liverpool, Conservative
One member of the focus group said that the government's special adviser Dominic Cummings, pictured right, was 'disgusting' for having broken the rules
It's killing more people with cancer. Coronavirus is 40th on the list (of causes of death). People with heart conditions, strokes are all dying. We are saving people with coronavirus but the rest are dying from diseases we can control.
Amira, (female) 30, school admin officer, London, Labour
Confusing; people in government wouldn't stick to them.
Q: Will rules work?
Paul
No. The virus has no limit on time, race, gender. [The authorities] think it will go away at ten o'clock when pubs shut, but it's just spread among crowds getting wasted in the streets.
Brian
You can suppress it for a while but it'll always break out again.
Steph, 38, charity worker, Liverpool, Labour
We (already) tried lockdown, we have to get back to normality, how is a second lockdown going to be any different?
Q: Will you follow new rules?
Amira
No. I'm very close to my family. I didn't see them for six months in lockdown, I'm not doing it again.
Brian
We all followed the rules initially because we thought right, we've got to get rid of this virus. We've gone through all the pain of lockdown, now they want us to face another one. The consensus is they (the public) know it's not going to work, it's always going to break down.
Howard, 23, engineer, Liverpool
If you need to see your loved ones, see them. If you're popping round for the sake of it '' don't.
Angela, 59, Birmingham, Labour
I wear a mask when I go out but I shall still see my family because my parents are elderly. I had a few months of not seeing them ... and I'm not doing that again. Everything else I'm going to act normal because mentally I couldn't go through it again.
Daniel
I would break it (lockdown) to see my family '' for my mental health.
Paul
Not really. If you need to see your loved ones, see them.
Q: What should MINISTERS do instead?
Angela
Get on with it and be sensible, don't mix in big crowds. Get back to normal as much as we can.
Daniel
There should be a lockdown with very harsh penalties... for a short time. Then we could remove the virus and live how we want to.
Q: Why has trust in the rules collapsed?
Paul
If the Queen won't wear a mask, why should I bother?
Steph
Dominic Cummings' (behaviour) was disgusting, Matt Hancock put his arm round fellow MPs in the Commons.
Paul
You have Cummings on a jolly, the woman (MP) who went from Scotland to London and back with the virus and isn't being prosecuted. It's a cop out. And they want to fine us!
Brian
The Mail said the average age of a Covid person dying is 82 years, the average life expectancy is 81 years, so who are we protecting? There's good chance I would survive at 68.
Q: Would you have a Covid vaccine?
Angela
I don't believe in vaccines, wouldn't have one.
Paul
What happens if they bring one out that hasn't been trialled, and in five years we've all developed side effects? We'll all sue the Government because we were forced to have it.
Alec
I will take it because it will be a worldwide vaccine.
At last! NHS workers are 'set to get a vaccine in weeks' as the Government accelerates timetable for a mass roll-out before Christmas - while ministers introduce new laws to bypass EU approval for jab
By MICHAEL POWELL and GLEN OWEN for the Mail On Sunday
Plans are being drawn up for frontline NHS staff to receive a coronavirus vaccine within weeks, as the Government moves to accelerate the timetable for a mass roll-out.
An email sent by an NHS Trust chief to his staff, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals the Health Service is preparing for a national vaccination programme before Christmas.
It can also be disclosed that the Government has introduced new laws that would allow the UK to bypass the EU approval process if a safe and effective jab is ready before the end of the post-Brexit transition period on December 31.
The move will boost optimism that a 'game-changing' vaccine will soon allow Boris Johnson to relax the social restrictions which have crippled the country since March.
In his memo to staff earlier this month, Glen Burley, chief executive of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Warwickshire, wrote: 'Our Trust, alongside NHS organisations nationally, has been told to be prepared to start a Covid-19 staff vaccine programme in early December.
'The latest intelligence states a coronavirus vaccine should be available this year with NHS staff prioritised prior to Christmas.'
Plans are being drawn up for frontline NHS staff to receive a coronavirus vaccine within weeks, as the Government moves to accelerate the timetable for a mass roll-out. An email sent by an NHS Trust chief to his staff, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals the Health Service is preparing for a national vaccination programme before Christmas. (Above, the memo, sent by Glen Burley, chief executive of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Warwickshire)
It can also be disclosed that the Government has introduced new laws that would allow the UK to bypass the EU approval process if a safe and effective jab is ready before the end of the post-Brexit transition period on December 31
Despite facing continued criticism, Mr Hancock has pushed through new laws to strip the European Medicines Agency of the power to approve the vaccine if it is ready before the end of December. Instead, British watchdogs will be able to fast-track its production. (File image of an experimental Covid medicine being tested)
Mr Burley added that the vaccine was 'expected to be given in two doses, 28 days apart' and urged his colleagues to have had their flu shot by the end of November so they can qualify for a Covid-19 jab.
Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Trust, told a recent hospital board meeting: 'I'm hoping for a Covid-19 vaccine to be available to healthcare providers some time in December. It has not been confirmed yet but I'm hoping to be able to offer a Covid-19 vaccine to our staff.'
In other developments that emerged yesterday:
There was anger and frustration in Wales over 'farcical' lockdown restrictions on the sale of non-essential items which meant customers were able to buy vodka, but not baby clothes; Professor Neil Ferguson, the controversial academic whose modelling heavily influenced the national lockdown in March, was accused of scaremongering after saying that people 'will catch Covid-19 and die' if families are allowed to mix on Christmas Day; As 1.4 million people across South Yorkshire were plunged into the highest Tier 3 restrictions, another 174 deaths and 23,012 new confirmed cases were announced for the previous 24 hours; Hotel tycoon Sir Rocco Forte called for Matt Hancock to be sacked for his 'shambolic' handling of the crisis as a poll found 49 per cent of people think the Health Secretary breached a drinks curfew in a Commons bar, compared with just nine per cent who thought he did not; Rishi Sunak has asked Treasury officials to find ways of illustrating the crippling financial toll of the pandemic and is pushing to publish it alongside the statistics for cases and deaths; Banks faced fury as it emerged Barclays has set aside £745 million for bonuses, more than last year, and Lloyds will let most of its 65,000 employees work from home until at least next spring; Psychologists said Covid-19 may cause birth rates to fall, people to stay single for longer and for women to become more promiscuous; The global death toll exceeded 1,147,000, while police fought with young protesters angry at restrictions in the Italian city of Naples and the Polish president Andrzej Duda revealed that he had tested positive for the virus. Despite facing continued criticism, Mr Hancock has pushed through new laws to strip the European Medicines Agency of the power to approve the vaccine if it is ready before the end of December. Instead, British watchdogs will be able to fast-track its production.
A health official said: 'Although we still think it most likely that the vaccine will be ready early next year, Matt wants the freedom to operate if it all moves more quickly.'
The official added that under changes to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, which took effect on October 16, the UK was 'no longer beholden to the EU process if a vaccine is developed before 2021 and has strong evidence proving it is safe, high quality and effective'.
The memo outlines a programme of vaccinations which frontline NHS staff, such as this surgeon, will be first to get
They added: 'Should a vaccine be available before the end of the year, we have put in place robust measures to allow the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to authorise the vaccine for UK patients. This will only happen if there is a strong public health justification and the EU process is taking too long.'
The regulator will have autonomy to approve vaccines for the UK from 2021 in any case.
A senior Government source said: 'We have made sure that if a vaccine is proven safe and effective we won't be held back from deploying it by the need for approval from Brussels.'
NHS staff are most likely to receive the vaccine being developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which is in the final stages of trials.
The Government has already bought 100 million doses of the drug, which is administered in two doses. Under Government plans, frontline NHS staff and care home workers will be vaccinated first, followed by those aged over 80.
Human trials of the Oxford vaccine have been under way since April, involving about 20,000 volunteers worldwide. Scientists have reported a 'robust immune response' and no serious side-effects.
Last night, David Eltringham, managing director at George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, said: 'We don't have a definite date for delivery of the vaccine, but we are making ready to deploy the vaccine from the beginning of December.'
Oxford's Covid jab 'has only been tested on 500 over-70s'By STEPHEN ADAMS for the Mail On Sunday
Britain's front-running Covid vaccine has only been tested on about 500 elderly people in this country, raising questions about how effective it might be for a vital section of the population.
There are high hopes for Oxford University's 'ChAdOx' jab but only 1,000 or so of the 10,000 people recruited to the UK arm of Oxford's trial are aged 70 or over. Half of them have been given the vaccine and half have had a placebo.
Last night, former immunisation 'tsar' Professor David Salisbury said the relatively small numbers might not be enough to generate a meaningful result.
'Clearly, if you've just got 500 vaccinated and you've given 500 the placebo and you are looking to see a significant difference in protection between the two'... you may not get much out, in terms of data,' he said.
However, he added that early results appeared to show that older people given Covid vaccines developed good immune responses, so he was hopeful they would work well in the elderly.
The issue is critical because the virus is much more deadly in older people. An 80-year-old is about 1,000 times more likely to die of the virus than a 20-year-old, while five out of every six Covid-related deaths have been in the over-70s.
Earlier this month, Kate Bingham, head of the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, gave a clear signal that Covid vaccination is to be aimed at older people, even though vaccines are often less effective in that group as their immune systems tend to respond less strongly.
For example, the flu vaccine given in 2016-17 was completely ineffective in the over-65s, according to data from Public Health England. It did, however, work well in younger people.
As Oxford's Covid vaccine works in a different way, there is no specific reason to believe it will be a dud in the elderly but all the leading jab contenders are acutely aware of the issue.
Oxford has launched parallel trials in Brazil, South Africa and the US '' but only the American 'arm' is enrolling over-65s. AstraZeneca, which is handling the US trial enquiries, refused to say how many over-65s have been recruited there so far.
Artificial intelligence model detects asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through cellphone-recorded coughs | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Asymptomatic people who are infected with Covid-19 exhibit, by definition, no discernible physical symptoms of the disease. They are thus less likely to seek out testing for the virus, and could unknowingly spread the infection to others.
But it seems those who are asymptomatic may not be entirely free of changes wrought by the virus. MIT researchers have now found that people who are asymptomatic may differ from healthy individuals in the way that they cough. These differences are not decipherable to the human ear. But it turns out that they can be picked up by artificial intelligence.
In a paper published recently in the IEEE Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, the team reports on an AI model that distinguishes asymptomatic people from healthy individuals through forced-cough recordings, which people voluntarily submitted through web browsers and devices such as cellphones and laptops.
The researchers trained the model on tens of thousands of samples of coughs, as well as spoken words. When they fed the model new cough recordings, it accurately identified 98.5 percent of coughs from people who were confirmed to have Covid-19, including 100 percent of coughs from asymptomatics '-- who reported they did not have symptoms but had tested positive for the virus.
The team is working on incorporating the model into a user-friendly app, which if FDA-approved and adopted on a large scale could potentially be a free, convenient, noninvasive prescreening tool to identify people who are likely to be asymptomatic for Covid-19. A user could log in daily, cough into their phone, and instantly get information on whether they might be infected and therefore should confirm with a formal test.
''The effective implementation of this group diagnostic tool could diminish the spread of the pandemic if everyone uses it before going to a classroom, a factory, or a restaurant,'' says co-author Brian Subirana, a research scientist in MIT's Auto-ID Laboratory.
Subirana's co-authors are Jordi Laguarta and Ferran Hueto, of MIT's Auto-ID Laboratory.
Vocal sentiments
Prior to the pandemic's onset, research groups already had been training algorithms on cellphone recordings of coughs to accurately diagnose conditions such as pneumonia and asthma. In similar fashion, the MIT team was developing AI models to analyze forced-cough recordings to see if they could detect signs of Alzheimer's, a disease associated with not only memory decline but also neuromuscular degradation such as weakened vocal cords.
They first trained a general machine-learning algorithm, or neural network, known as ResNet50, to discriminate sounds associated with different degrees of vocal cord strength. Studies have shown that the quality of the sound ''mmmm'' can be an indication of how weak or strong a person's vocal cords are. Subirana trained the neural network on an audiobook dataset with more than 1,000 hours of speech, to pick out the word ''them'' from other words like ''the'' and ''then.''
The team trained a second neural network to distinguish emotional states evident in speech, because Alzheimer's patients '-- and people with neurological decline more generally '-- have been shown to display certain sentiments such as frustration, or having a flat affect, more frequently than they express happiness or calm. The researchers developed a sentiment speech classifier model by training it on a large dataset of actors intonating emotional states, such as neutral, calm, happy, and sad.
The researchers then trained a third neural network on a database of coughs in order to discern changes in lung and respiratory performance.
Finally, the team combined all three models, and overlaid an algorithm to detect muscular degradation. The algorithm does so by essentially simulating an audio mask, or layer of noise, and distinguishing strong coughs '-- those that can be heard over the noise '-- over weaker ones.
With their new AI framework, the team fed in audio recordings, including of Alzheimer's patients, and found it could identify the Alzheimer's samples better than existing models. The results showed that, together, vocal cord strength, sentiment, lung and respiratory performance, and muscular degradation were effective biomarkers for diagnosing the disease.
When the coronavirus pandemic began to unfold, Subirana wondered whether their AI framework for Alzheimer's might also work for diagnosing Covid-19, as there was growing evidence that infected patients experienced some similar neurological symptoms such as temporary neuromuscular impairment.
''The sounds of talking and coughing are both influenced by the vocal cords and surrounding organs. This means that when you talk, part of your talking is like coughing, and vice versa. It also means that things we easily derive from fluent speech, AI can pick up simply from coughs, including things like the person's gender, mother tongue, or even emotional state. There's in fact sentiment embedded in how you cough,'' Subirana says. ''So we thought, why don't we try these Alzheimer's biomarkers [to see if they're relevant] for Covid.''
''A striking similarity''
In April, the team set out to collect as many recordings of coughs as they could, including those from Covid-19 patients. They established a website where people can record a series of coughs, through a cellphone or other web-enabled device. Participants also fill out a survey of symptoms they are experiencing, whether or not they have Covid-19, and whether they were diagnosed through an official test, by a doctor's assessment of their symptoms, or if they self-diagnosed. They also can note their gender, geographical location, and native language.
To date, the researchers have collected more than 70,000 recordings, each containing several coughs, amounting to some 200,000 forced-cough audio samples, which Subirana says is ''the largest research cough dataset that we know of.'' Around 2,500 recordings were submitted by people who were confirmed to have Covid-19, including those who were asymptomatic.
The team used the 2,500 Covid-associated recordings, along with 2,500 more recordings that they randomly selected from the collection to balance the dataset. They used 4,000 of these samples to train the AI model. The remaining 1,000 recordings were then fed into the model to see if it could accurately discern coughs from Covid patients versus healthy individuals.
Surprisingly, as the researchers write in their paper, their efforts have revealed ''a striking similarity between Alzheimer's and Covid discrimination.''
Without much tweaking within the AI framework originally meant for Alzheimer's, they found it was able to pick up patterns in the four biomarkers '-- vocal cord strength, sentiment, lung and respiratory performance, and muscular degradation '-- that are specific to Covid-19. The model identified 98.5 percent of coughs from people confirmed with Covid-19, and of those, it accurately detected all of the asymptomatic coughs.
''We think this shows that the way you produce sound, changes when you have Covid, even if you're asymptomatic,'' Subirana says.
Asymptomatic symptoms
The AI model, Subirana stresses, is not meant to diagnose symptomatic people, as far as whether their symptoms are due to Covid-19 or other conditions like flu or asthma. The tool's strength lies in its ability to discern asymptomatic coughs from healthy coughs.
The team is working with a company to develop a free pre-screening app based on their AI model. They are also partnerning with several hospitals around the world to collect a larger, more diverse set of cough recordings, which will help to train and strengthen the model's accuracy.
As they propose in their paper, ''Pandemics could be a thing of the past if pre-screening tools are always on in the background and constantly improved.''
Ultimately, they envision that audio AI models like the one they've developed may be incorporated into smart speakers and other listening devices so that people can conveniently get an initial assessment of their disease risk, perhaps on a daily basis.
This research was supported, in part, by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
Barricades in Madrid, clashes in Barcelona, looting in Logrono as anti-lockdown protests grip Spain (VIDEOS) '-- RT World News
Spain has been gripped violence, with anti-lockdown protesters clashing with police in multiple cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, over the state and regional governments' move to toughen Covid-19 restrictions.
Protesters torched garbage containers and erected makeshift barricades on Gran Va, and reportedly smashed several store fronts elsewhere in central Madrid on Saturday night.
When police moved in to clear the unruly gathering, they were pelted with stones and flares, and reportedly fired blank bullets forcing the protesters to disperse into nearby streets.
Meanwhile in Barcelona, police officers were once pelted with stones and other projectiles, as they tried to disperse a smaller-scale anti-lockdown protests for the second consecutive night.
The regional government of Catalonia approved a new package of measures this week, including the perimeter confinement of each municipality, limiting people to their own district on weekends.
Also on rt.com Violent clashes in Barcelona as protesters hurl missiles at police after Catalonia closes borders over Covid (VIDEOS) Clashes also took place in the Spanish city of Logrono, where protesters burned trash containers, smashed windows and looted several shops.
Heated protests were also reported in Granada, Malaga and Bilbao.
Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez urged Spaniards, in a Saturday night tweet, to show patience and demonstrate ''responsibility, unity and sacrifice'' to defeat the global pandemic, while condemning the ''violent and irrational behavior'' by a ''small minority'' of the population.
Disturbios y enfrentamientos entre la Polica Nacional y manifestantes en la Gran Va de Madrid, a pocos minutos de entrar en vigor el toque de queda impuesto por el gobierno de Espa±a. Decenas de personas protestan contra las restricciones #31octpic.twitter.com/Aqa8ed6Rdm
'-- Sergio Novelli (@SergioNovelli) November 1, 2020Spain's parliament approved a six-month extension to the national state of emergency last week , granting regional authorities more power to tackle the country's second wave of Covid-19. This is Spain's third extension to the state of emergency during the pandemic and will be in force until May 9, but with the option for it to be lifted on March 9.
Under this new extension, regional governments have the power to control freedom of movement and curfew times without having to go through complicated fortnightly procedures in parliament. Since then, many regions have toughened their coronavirus measures, with nighttime curfews, lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Also on rt.com Boris Johnson announces new 4-week England lockdown '' all pubs, restaurants & 'non-essential' shops to shut down Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
Coronavirus antibody tests might come back negative for people who had mild cases '' BGR
Coronavirus immunity tests might return false negatives for people who experienced a mild or asymptomatic case of COVID-19.The conclusion comes from a new Oxford study that looked at the sensitivity ratings of antibody tests on patients who might have had the virus.The researchers found that a large number of people might get negative results in antibody tests despite possibly having had the illness at some point in the past few months.COVID-19 immunity is one of the most important topics of research right now, but the novel coronavirus is too new to give us a definitive answer to the most important question we have: Is reinfection possible? The management of outbreaks and future vaccination policies might hinge on the answer. Researchers think that the novel coronavirus will behave just like other human coronaviruses when it comes to immunity. We'll get six to twelve months of protection, but then reinfection could be possible.
Separately, researchers are looking to measure the actual number of COVID-19 cases in a community by performing antibody tests. These are specific ''witnesses'' of the infection that prove the immune system has eliminated the coronavirus and is ready to block it again upon a second encounter. But recent studies have shown that antibodies can vanish from the bloodstream as soon as two to three months after the first infection. The immune system would still have specialized T cells to fall back to in case of a second contact with the virus, so the immunity is not lost when the antibodies are gone. But antibody tests would not pick up T cells. That's a separate, more difficult test.
A new study now indicates that antibody tests fail to detect people who had mild coronavirus cases, which could become a real problem in a variety of situations. It's not that people who experience mild cases of COVID-19 do not develop an immune response. But the current tests have been created using samples from symptomatic patients, who were often hospitalized for treatment.
The Oxford study enrolled more than 9,000 healthcare workers and showed that a significant number of people tested negative for antibodies despite probably having had the virus. The researchers used a particular symptom that's been associated with COVID-19, and that's the sudden loss of smell and taste. Several other studies showed why the phenomenon occurs and proved that it's likely to test positive for COVID-19 after experiencing it. Not all people who get infected experience the symptom. That's why PCR tests are still needed to diagnose the illness correctly.
The Oxford study showed that of the 903 people who tested positive for antibodies on one test, 47% of them reported a loss of smell or taste. But there also was a group of subjects whose test results felt short of the threshold for a positive antibody result, which would mean they did not have the virus. Yet 30% of those also reported a loss of sense of taste or smell. That's a too-large percentage to be explained by a different condition that could lead to the sudden loss of smell and taste.
The researchers said that only some 3% of people who get common colds other conditions would report the loss of smell and taste as a symptom.
''You can see that below the cut-off, there is a rising proportion of people who report a loss of their sense of smell or taste, and this suggests that the test threshold is missing people with mild disease,'' Dr. Tim Walker explained the results toThe Telegraph. ''Of course, there will be plenty of people, too, who will have had no symptoms whatsoever and will still have antibodies.''
The study also showed that some 387 people who tested just below the threshold did not have any symptoms. These could have been asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, but the researchers could not demonstrate they had the virus.
The scientists used several antibody tests, including the Abbott diagnostic that's used for one in four antibody tests in the UK. The results indicate that the test is less sensitive than currently believed. Instead of 98% sensitivity, the test would be 11% less sensitive, according to the researchers. In other words, the test would miss plenty of COVID-19 survivors. The reason why this happens could be straightforward. The test has been devised using samples from symptomatic patients who have been treated for COVID-19 in hospitals.
The scientists suggested that samples from mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 survivors who had PCR tests that confirmed the illness could be used to improve the tests so that they'd identify patients with a lower antibody count.
On the other hand, the tests were devised in such a manner to make sure they would not give out false positives. Telling people who were not infected that they have antibodies could lead to a false sense of security, and they could then get infected.
Antibody testing could lead to the so-called ''immunity passports'' that we've addressed before. But if antibody tests can't detect people who experience mild and moderate infections, then these people would not be given documentation showing they've already survived the disease. Immunity passports do not exist per se, but some people could ask for proof that a person had the infection for various reasons, including travel and work.
The UK government commented on the study, saying that ''we do not yet know whether antibodies indicate immunity from reinfection with coronavirus or if they prevent transmission.'' The Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that ''antibody testing is an important part of our testing strategy because it helps us understand how COVID-19 is spreading across the country.''
But if the Oxford study can be verified, then antibody testing can't help officials understand how the illness is spreading in a community. Add to that the study that said antibodies vanish three months after the infection, and you've got one more problem for studying herd immunity. The new Oxford study has been published online in pre-print form over on medRxiv, which means it hasn't been peer-reviewed.
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it he was sharing his views on tech stuff with readers around the world. Whenever he's not writing about gadgets he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he desperately tries. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
As we watch on with fear as Europe's flu season begins, covid-19 cases spike and governments start implementing even more harsh lockdowns. it's difficult to feel positive as we bear witness to what appears to be a cycle we are likely to encounter again.
'
The questionable tactics employed in the name of public health interests, must be reviewed thoroughly to ensure proper process is adhered to preserve our health, while also upholding our sovereignty and basic human rights.
It is said the definition of insanity is to repeat the mistakes of the past, expecting a different result. Watching the upheaval in Europe tells us that the people have learned and spoken, but the government hasn't listened. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes again.
'
Central to the government response is the enforcement of their restrictions. Our police forces have been propelled into unprecedented circumstances and demanded to enforce arbitrary rules without due diligence and in the unfolding chaos, we have been witness to the paradox of brutality in the name of health and well-being.
'
In the process public trust in government and the police is corroding almost as rapidly as suspicions around their intentions, questioning agendas, corporate influence, nepotism, partiality and how Chief Health Officers that were not elected, can dictate in what appears to be an autocracy.
The central plot in the George Lucas classic Star Wars, is a battle between an evil Empire and a virtuous Rebellion, fighting injustice and in 2020 you can easily be excused for thinking we are living this.
But the actions of a few do not reflect the many. Our police forces protect us and many are good, honest and caring individuals who are doing their best to keep our communities safe. Is it really fair to become so apprehensive of the very people who have made it their job to serve and protect us? We can only judge them by their actions.
It is now apparent that some officers share these same concerns. Concerns about what they are being asked to do. Concerns about oppressive rule and their part enforcing them. They see the erosion of trust occurring and as human liberties and freedoms are removed from their family, friends and communities in which they live, the burden is heavy.
But one brave officer has had the courage and conviction to speak out. A Senior Constable from the New South Wales police force, Alexander Cooney has asked the Commissioner in an open letter to challenge the directions they are being given, instead of simply acquiescing to them and in the process, restore community trust and a return to normalcy.
He has started a movement he calls "Cops for Covid Truth" and his letter is a compelling read. At Advocate Me, we have thrown all our resources in supporting him and openly inviting Police Officers across all the States and Territories to join his movement.
'
A unity is forming here in Australia and around the world. People are demanding truth, transparency and accountability in government and with some members of the police force lending their weight to this probe, it may be the very thing that shifts the balance of power in this way.
'
If this really is a George Lucas battle between the virtuous and an evil Empire, it cannot endure without its storm troopers. May the force be with us.
'
Serene Teffaha and the team
Advocate Me
Alabama cuts COVID deaths with no underlying conditions from 130 to 13 - al.com
FILE - This 2020 electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab. AP
A change in criteria used to determine some coronavirus deaths in Alabama has lowered that count by more than 100.
Data from the Alabama Department of Public Health now shows 13 of the state's 2,914 COVID-19 deaths were among people with no underlying health conditions. The age range for those deaths is 53-88 with a median age of 73.
Two days ago, ADPH listed 130 COVID-19 deaths among those with no underlying conditions with an age range of 33-103 and median age of 76.
The change comes after ADPH added a number of questions to its death investigation process, including whether the person was considered obese, defined as a BMI of 30 or higher. The inclusion led to a reclassification of deaths among people who were previously considered to have no underlying conditions.
According to ADPH, Alabama has the 6th highest adult obesity rate in the nation with 36.2% of the population listed as having a BMI of 30 or higher.
Obesity has ''shown to be associated with poorer health outcomes among COVID-19 cases,'' ADPH said in a statement.
Alabama has reported 2,914 COVID deaths among those with underlying conditions such as high blood pressure, heart or lung disease, diabetes and now, obesity. Forty-eight of the state's COVID deaths among those with underlying conditions are now listed under the obesity category with the remainder moved to other categories.
The largest number of the state's COVID deaths'' 1,849 or 64% - were those with cardiovascular disease. Fifty-seven percent were listed as having multiple underlying medical conditions.
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Indiana National Guard trains for nursing home deployment
INDIANAPOLIS '-- The Indiana National Guard will join the battle against COVID-19 next week.
On Friday, the Indiana National Guard soldiers started training at Camp Atterbury for their mission to help the state fight the coronavirus inside nursing homes.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, R-Indiana, ordered the deployment on Wednesday. The Guardsmen will mobilize into teams spread out to 133 of the state's hardest-hit long-term care facilities. Starting Monday, 399 guard members will work in more than 130 long-term care facilities.
Over the next three weeks, the National Guard will broaden its support to all 534 of Indiana's long-term care facilities.
In total, 1,350 Guardsmen will be working seven days a week in the facilities through the end of December. The Indiana State Health Department will provide the soldiers with scrubs and personal protective equipment that includes masks, gloves, goggles, and gowns.
''They're going to help the staff through things like wellness checks at entrance points, taking temperatures, monitoring compliance for a CDC guidelines, helping to sanitize compartments, those kinds of things that will actually allow the staff to focus their energy and effort on our most vulnerable population," Indiana's Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Dale Lyles told WRTV.
The National Guard's ultimate purpose here is to help nursing home employees focus exclusively on their patients.
''We're to help people, so we have to understand the people we are helping, the situations they are in, so we can help them to the best of our abilities and support the CDC," Andrew Williamson, a Nation Guard soldier, said.
According to the state, soldiers will be tested for COVID-19 before they are placed in a facility and will continue to be tested during their assignment.
Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Influenza vs covid
Thread by @amuse on Thread Reader App '' Thread Reader App
2020 will be remembered as the year America cured influenza. Previously between 140k-800K Americans were hospitalized and 12K-80K Americans died from the flu each year. This year there have been almost no flu hospitalizations or deaths. How did we do it? Money!
It turns out if the government agrees to reimburse hospitals 20% more for Covid-19 patients than Flu patients almost everyone will have Covid-19. The rules don't require a positive test only a probable case (i.e. use your judgement).
What does this mean? It means we have no idea how many people are being hospitalized for Covid-19 and no idea how many people actually die from the virus.
Estimates of hospital capacity were available at the national and state levels. These estimates used data that hospitals submitted to the NHSN COVID-19 Module and statistical methods that included weighting (to account for non-response) and multiple imputation (to account for missing data). The estimates (number and percentage) are shown along with 95% confidence intervals that reflect random error.
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IMPORTANT: Data displayed on this page was submitted directly to CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and does not include data submitted to other entities contracted by or within the federal government.
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NWO Great Reset
Ben Rickert on Twitter: "Former Vatican Cardinal - Carlo Maria Vigano informing Donald Trump about "The Great Reset" that is underway. https://t.co/UTeUmiejUs" / Twitter
Knowledge is Power : @Ben__Rickert @cjtruth @GenFlynn @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr @randyhillier @BusyDrT @SheilaGunnReid @Yukon_Strong @JuliansRum
Fri Oct 30 14:18:42 +0000 2020
Modern Major Generalist : @Ben__Rickert When are they going to get around to excommunicating this guy? Hard to tell if he just likes the noto'... https://t.co/HViX9bOjrh
Fri Oct 30 14:17:35 +0000 2020
MonteKrysto : @Ben__Rickert Masons are in control
Fri Oct 30 14:12:18 +0000 2020
John Isaacson : @Ben__Rickert A huge answer to prayer. As a former pastor myself, I recently wrote a similar letter which I sent to'... https://t.co/pRuw93UKDS
Fri Oct 30 14:04:28 +0000 2020
Eddy_1929_Depression : @Ben__Rickert He is absolutely correct it's clear as day
Fri Oct 30 14:01:43 +0000 2020
MitchBob : @Ben__Rickert ''The alternative is to vote for a person who is manipulated by the deep state, gravely compromised by'... https://t.co/zUwxj6Xmsj
ØØ"Ùب hasib : @Ben__Rickert I love the info you put out , what I want to know is; what is your solution ?
Fri Oct 30 13:32:29 +0000 2020
Antoine Cardyn : @Ben__Rickert @MarkBardi again
Fri Oct 30 13:24:18 +0000 2020
tryna change the world : @Ben__Rickert Thoughts? I think he's right. I've felt all along this was the plan IMO smh
Fri Oct 30 13:21:00 +0000 2020
Mr Boulugre : @Ben__Rickert My BS detector is tinglingSeems a little bit to much to me.... Even if true it would lead to massive'... https://t.co/HUQjesGPnc
Fri Oct 30 13:16:13 +0000 2020
Valery : @Ben__Rickert One question: Did you swallow all at once or bit by bit?
Fri Oct 30 13:11:35 +0000 2020
Xavier : @Ben__Rickert I keep saying this, but whoa. These are some crazy times were living in right now.#GreatReset'... https://t.co/YAT67gvjl9
Fri Oct 30 13:10:06 +0000 2020
Kraynyak : @Ben__Rickert Chilling...freedom, liberty & personal destiny are on the ballot November 3rd...
Fri Oct 30 13:09:30 +0000 2020
Renee Smith : @Ben__Rickert A former vactican cardinal must not be bias about his views but write the letter objectively.
Fri Oct 30 13:05:57 +0000 2020
Mark Hughes : @Ben__Rickert Propaganda from the deep forces ostensibly attacking the deep forces.
Fri Oct 30 13:05:17 +0000 2020
Finisterrae : @Ben__Rickert The guy has read to many fiction books
Fri Oct 30 13:03:09 +0000 2020
Ken B. : @Ben__Rickert If this is authentic, How the heck is it that it has become public?
Fri Oct 30 12:57:01 +0000 2020
Jake Tiley : @Ben__Rickert see banco monte paschi ...vatican bank ...Mob Communications Inc $MCI
Fri Oct 30 12:53:58 +0000 2020
Will Next WTO Head Impose a Gates and Davos Agenda? | New Eastern Outlook
It is all but certain that the next head of the influential World Trade Organization (WTO) will be an African by birth and a woman. But neither is what makes the all-but certain naming of Nigerian-born Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala cause for alarm. Rather it is who she is and who she presently is tied to that insure she will implement the unfolding agenda of the Great Reset transformation of the world economy, using the coronavirus pandemic as a prime lever. She presently heads an organization created by the seeming omnipresent (not omniscient) Bill Gates together with the Davos World Economic Forum'--both involved in implementing the Great Reset''and she is deeply tied to the prime institutions of globalization and international finance. Some background we should know about.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has just won the unanimous support of the 55 nations of the African Union, defeating an Egyptian candidate. As of this writing she faces certain approval over her South Korean opponent. On October 17, the 55 member countries of the African Union voted to back Okonjo-Iweala against her only remaining opponent, Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea, their current Minister of Trade. The Nigerian candidate claims also to have the backing of a group of Caribbean and Pacific states, bringing the number of countries officially endorsing her candidacy to 79 out of the 164 states that comprise the WTO. It looks like a done deal.
Who is Okonjo-Iweala?
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala comes from senior ministerial posts in Nigeria, one of the world's most corrupt states with a 2019 Transparency International index of 146 from 180 states evaluated. Notably, she was Finance Minister in the Nigerian government twice, first under President Olusegun Obasanjo from 2003''2006. Then again, from 2011''2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan when she was named Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy. Though she was never charged with corruption, in 2015 almost $20 billion was discovered ''lost'' after an audit by PriceWaterhouseCoopers of state oil revenues. She also convinced Goodluck Jonathan to lift gasoline subsidies in 2012 triggering massive street protests as many Nigerians see cheap gasoline as the only benefit they get from the country's vast oil wealth. Cutting such subsidies is standard World Bank fare.
As Finance Minister she backed the usual IMF/World Bank demands for slashing state subsidies for gasoline and privatization of electricity. It was no surprise, as Okonjo-Iweala was with the World Bank in Washington for 25 years. After Obasanjo terminated her first stint as Finance Minister, she returned to the World Bank to become Managing Director of Operations from 2007''2011. Several times she made clear her ambition to become head of the World Bank, a post traditionally filled by an American Citizen. Indeed, she went so far as to take American citizenship in 2019 when the World Bank post again became vacant, but to no avail.
The World Bank is one of the pivotal UN-based instruments for advancing the globalist corporatist economic agenda, along with the IMF. Like the IMF the World Bank uses its money as a carrot to impose draconian conditionalities on recipient governments in developing countries. This is called the ''Washington Consensus'' and imposes an unsuitable ''free market'' agenda that inevitably includes demands to slash state budgets, cut state subsidies to food and fuel, make the currency convertible and cheap, and eliminate protectionist barriers. The Structural Adjustment Programs of the World Bank and IMF in West Africa led countries to prioritize debt payments over investment in public services including in education, infrastructure or basic health services. In short, it is a brutal form of what has been called technocratic neo-colonialism, far more sinister than the British or French or Belgians ever managed because they use Africans or other developing country technocrat ''faces'' to impose the draconian austerity that forces countries to open to foreign plunder, typically by the western corporate giants.
GAVI and Gates
Okonjo-Iweala left the corrupt government of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 to become Chairman of GAVI-The Vaccine Alliance, where she sits until today. GAVI stands for Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. It was founded in 2000 with an initial $750 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates was joined by the World Bank and GAVI was all agreed at the Davos World Economic Forum, the globalist hub at the center of the Great Reset. GAVI claims to have spent more than $4 billion on vaccines. Its main target is vaccinating every child in Africa, India and the developing world. GAVI declares on its website, ''As part of its mission to save lives, reduce poverty and protect the world against the threat of epidemics, Gavi has helped vaccinate more than 822 million children in the world's poorest countries.''
The Board of GAVI includes, in addition to Chairman Okonjo-Iweala, one of the world's largest vaccine makers, GSK, as well as the Gates Foundation, World Bank, WHO and UNICEF. Under the chairmanship of Okonjo-Iweala, GAVI has been involved in the scandalous spread of polio in Africa as a result of their polio vaccine strategy. As well also in India GAVI and the Gates Foundation were sued in Indian High Courts for ''criminally negligent trialling the vaccines on a vulnerable, uneducated and under-informed population'' school administrators, students and their parents'' who were not provided informed consent or advised of potential adverse effects or required to be monitored post-vaccination.'' A number of vaccinated Indian girls died after receiving HPV vaccines from GSK, a board member of GAVI.
Most recently, under Okonjo-Iweala's term as Chairman of GAVI, cases of paralytic polio resulted in African and Indian children who had been vaccinated by GAVI and Gates Foundation Oral Polio Vaccine programs. GAVI and Gates did so despite the fact they knew that the OPV had been dropped by the US CDC in 1992 from its vaccine schedule in the US because it was causing polio. Under the GAVI-Gates polio vaccination program polio cases have been registered in more than a dozen African countries including Angola, Congo, Nigeria and Zambia and Okono-Iweala's Nigeria. But the shocking thing is that the outbreaks are all reportedly caused by the Gates-backed oral polio vaccine. GAVI and Gates engage in a colossally corrupt and even criminal enterprise in which the tax exempt Gates Foundation invests in vaccine companies like GSK and others that then sell their vaccines to huge new markets such as Africa and India. As stock prices in GSK rise as a result of rising sales of vaccines, Gates Foundation net worth rises too. ''Charity'' for profit is the model.
In short Okonjo-Iweala's role as head of the corrupt GAVI as well as World Bank and Nigerian Finance Ministry make her a superb candidate to head the globalist World Trade Organization. Looking further into her ties adds to that picture.
Revealing Board Ties
While taking the position as Chairman of GAVI Okonjo-Iweala also became ''Senior Advisor'' to Lazard Ltd., a US investment bank which claims to be the world's largest independent investment bank, with principal executive offices in New York City, Paris and London. The current Lazard board includes among others Richard Haass, head of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. Lazard chairman Kenneth Jacobs sits on the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group. Then in 2018, while still advising Lazard and heading Gates' GAVI, she joined the board of Jack Dorsey's Twitter, infamous these days for massive political censorship.
She also took a position in 2018 on the Board of the major international bank Standard Chartered, whose major shareholder is the government sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, and whose banking operations are in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In 2012 the New York Department of Financial Services accused Standard Chartered of hiding $250 billion (!) in transactions involving Iran, labelling it a ''rogue institution.'' The bank has been involved in money laundering US sanctions-violations also involving Myanmar, Libya and Sudan and Hong Kong, where it has major business with China. The Nigerian WTO candidate is well-connected to the world of global finance powers that be, in short.
The former Nigerian Finance Minister and World Bank official is also well-versed in the globalist dystopian UN Agenda 2030 backed by the Davos WEF and Gates. She is co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate which calls for ''bold climate action,'' alongside the head of the IMF, and former head of the agribusiness giant Unilever among others. She also served on the UN Secretary General's High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the infamous ''sustainable development'' agenda. And she is listed as an ''Agenda Contributor'' to the Davos World Economic Forum.
The WTO Agenda
If she is elected which seems all but a done deal, she will head one of the central globalist institutions. The WTO was created in 1995 to advance the Davos agenda of globalization, arguably one of the most economically destructive agendas in history. WTO rules on agriculture trade were drafted by the agribusiness cartel companies led by Cargill to force open agriculture markets in the developing countries to agribusiness products from the global food cartel companies. Rather than eliminate food subsidies in the North American and EU producer countries, subsidies of over 40% on key products have allowed giant agribusiness companies like Unilever to flood local markets in Africa and Asia which bankrupt local small producers, forcing them to flood into urban centers for cheap labor. As one analyst put it, reforms demanded by the WTO have destroyed guaranteed prices and state-sponsored extension services, and governments of the Global South have had to dismantle programs for food security and rural assistance in favor of those that would help them meet WTO mandates.
With her ties to Bill Gates, to the World Bank, the Word Economic Forum, to international finance and even Twitter, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is well-suited to supervise the planned imposition of the totalitarian agenda of the Gates-WEF Great Reset. That she will owe her election to WTO to the backing of African and other developing country governments is a bitter commentary on the cynical manipulations of the Powers That Be in today's world.
F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine ''New Eastern Outlook''.
The U.S. GDP boomed at 33.1% rate in Quarter 3, which marks the biggest GDP growth for a quarter ever.
U.S. GDP booms at 33.1% rate in Q3, better than expected https://t.co/TuW42O1Z7H
'-- CNBC (@CNBC) October 29, 2020
GDP Boom! 33.1% https://t.co/wrPYtaIGAd
'-- PollWatch (@PollWatch2020) October 29, 2020
CNBC: Third-quarter gross domestic product, a measure of the total goods and services produced in the July-to-September period, expanded at a 33.1% annualized pace, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
That came after a 31.4% plunge in the second quarter and was better than the 32% estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The previous post-World War II record was the 16.7% burst in the first quarter of 1950.
This is great for everyday Americans. Even while dealing a pandemic President Trump is showing he can still rebuild America's economy.
This is ***double*** the previous quarterly economic growth record, which was set 70 years ago https://t.co/eXGNrpLkQX
'-- Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) October 29, 2020
This also bodes well for President Trump's re-election prospects. 56% of Americans say they are better off thanks to President Trump and this is just going to secure even more votes.
The Palmieri Report is a Pro-America News Outlet founded by Jacob Palmieri two years ago at the age of 19. Since its founding, it has gotten over 2M pages views and over 20k followers. The Palmieri Report is dedicated to giving people the truth so that they can form their own informed political opinions.
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Today I sent my intention to resign from The Intercept, the news outlet I co-founded in 2013 with Jeremy Scahill and Laura Poitras, as well as from its parent company First Look Media.
The final, precipitating cause is that The Intercept's editors, in violation of my contractual right of editorial freedom, censored an article I wrote this week, refusing to publish it unless I remove all sections critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the candidate vehemently supported by all New-York-based Intercept editors involved in this effort at suppression.
The censored article, based on recently revealed emails and witness testimony, raised critical questions about Biden's conduct. Not content to simply prevent publication of this article at the media outlet I co-founded, these Intercept editors also demanded that I refrain from exercising a separate contractual right to publish this article with any other publication.
I had no objection to their disagreement with my views of what this Biden evidence shows: as a last-ditch attempt to avoid being censored, I encouraged them to air their disagreements with me by writing their own articles that critique my perspectives and letting readers decide who is right, the way any confident and healthy media outlet would. But modern media outlets do not air dissent; they quash it. So censorship of my article, rather than engagement with it, was the path these Biden-supporting editors chose.
The censored article will be published on this page shortly (it is now published here). My letter of intent to resign, which I sent this morning to First Look Media's President Michael Bloom, is published below.
As of now, I will be publishing my journalism here on Substack, where numerous other journalists, including my good friend, the great intrepid reporter Matt Taibbi, have come in order to practice journalism free of the increasingly repressive climate that is engulfing national mainstream media outlets across the country.
This was not an easy choice: I am voluntarily sacrificing the support of a large institution and guaranteed salary in exchange for nothing other than a belief that there are enough people who believe in the virtues of independent journalism and the need for free discourse who will be willing to support my work by subscribing.
Like anyone with young children, a family and numerous obligations, I do this with some trepidation, but also with the conviction that there is no other choice. I could not sleep at night knowing that I allowed any institution to censor what I want to say and believe '-- least of all a media outlet I co-founded with the explicit goal of ensuring this never happens to other journalists, let alone to me, let alone because I have written an article critical of a powerful Democratic politician vehemently supported by the editors in the imminent national election.
But the pathologies, illiberalism, and repressive mentality that led to the bizarre spectacle of my being censored by my own media outlet are ones that are by no means unique to The Intercept. These are the viruses that have contaminated virtually every mainstream center-left political organization, academic institution, and newsroom. I began writing about politics fifteen years ago with the goal of combatting media propaganda and repression, and '-- regardless of the risks involved '-- simply cannot accept any situation, no matter how secure or lucrative, that forces me to submit my journalism and right of free expression to its suffocating constraints and dogmatic dictates.
From the time I began writing about politics in 2005, journalistic freedom and editorial independence have been sacrosanct to me. Fifteen years ago, I created a blog on the free Blogspot software when I was still working as a lawyer: not with any hopes or plans of starting a new career as a journalist, but just as a citizen concerned about what I was seeing with the War on Terror and civil liberties, and wanting to express what I believed needed to be heard. It was a labor of love, based in an ethos of cause and conviction, dependent upon a guarantee of complete editorial freedom.
It thrived because the readership I built knew that, even when they disagreed with particular views I was expressing, I was a free and independent voice, unwedded to any faction, controlled by nobody, endeavoring to be as honest as possible about what I was seeing, and always curious about the wisdom of seeing things differently. The title I chose for that blog, ''Unclaimed Territory,'' reflected that spirit of liberation from captivity to any fixed political or intellectual dogma or institutional constraints.
When Salon offered me a job as a columnist in 2007, and then again when the Guardian did the same in 2012, I accepted their offers on the condition that I would have the right, except in narrowly defined situations (such as articles that could create legal liability for the news outlet), to publish my articles and columns directly to the internet without censorship, advanced editorial interference, or any other intervention permitted or approval needed. Both outlets revamped their publication system to accommodate this condition, and over the many years I worked with them, they always honored those commitments.
When I left the Guardian at the height of the Snowden reporting in 2013 in order to create a new media outlet, I did not do so, needless to say, in order to impose upon myself more constraints and restrictions on my journalistic independence. The exact opposite was true: the intended core innovation of The Intercept, above all else, was to create a new media outlets where all talented, responsible journalists would enjoy the same right of editorial freedom I had always insisted upon for myself. As I told former New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller in a 2013 exchange we had in The New York Times about my critiques of mainstream journalism and the idea behind The Intercept: ''editors should be there to empower and enable strong, highly factual, aggressive adversarial journalism, not to serve as roadblocks to neuter or suppress the journalism.''
When the three of us as co-founders made the decision early on that we would not attempt to manage the day-to-day operations of the new outlet, so that we could instead focus on our journalism, we negotiated the right of approval for senior editors and, especially the editor-in-chief. The central responsibility of the person holding that title was to implement, in close consultation with us, the unique journalistic vision and journalistic values on which we founded this new media outlet.
Chief among those values was editorial freedom, the protection of a journalist's right to speak in an honest voice, and the airing rather than suppression of dissent from mainstream orthodoxies and even collegial disagreements with one another. That would be accomplished, above all else, by ensuring that journalists, once they fulfilled the first duty of factual accuracy and journalistic ethics, would be not just permitted but encouraged to express political and ideological views that deviated from mainstream orthodoxy and those of their own editors; to express themselves in their own voice of passion and conviction rather stuffed into the corporatized, contrived tone of artificial objectivity, above-it-all omnipotence; and to be completely free of anyone else's dogmatic beliefs or ideological agenda '-- including those of the three co-founders.
The current iteration of The Intercept is completely unrecognizable when compared to that original vision. Rather than offering a venue for airing dissent, marginalized voices and unheard perspectives, it is rapidly becoming just another media outlet with mandated ideological and partisan loyalties, a rigid and narrow range of permitted viewpoints (ranging from establishment liberalism to soft leftism, but always anchored in ultimate support for the Democratic Party), a deep fear of offending hegemonic cultural liberalism and center-left Twitter luminaries, and an overarching need to secure the approval and admiration of the very mainstream media outlets we created The Intercept to oppose, critique and subvert.
As a result, it is a rare event indeed when a radical freelance voice unwelcome in mainstream precincts is published in The Intercept. Outside reporters or writers with no claim to mainstream acceptability '-- exactly the people we set out to amplify '-- have almost no chance of being published. It is even rarer for The Intercept to publish content that would not fit very comfortably in at least a dozen or more center-left publications of similar size which pre-dated its founding, from Mother Jones to Vox and even MSNBC.
Courage is required to step out of line, to question and poke at those pieties most sacred in one's own milieu, but fear of alienating the guardians of liberal orthodoxy, especially on Twitter, is the predominant attribute of The Intercept's New-York based editorial leadership team. As a result, The Intercept has all but abandoned its core mission of challenging and poking at, rather than appeasing and comforting, the institutions and guardians most powerful in its cultural and political circles.
Making all of this worse, The Intercept '-- while gradually excluding the co-founders from any role in its editorial mission or direction, and making one choice after the next to which I vocally objected as a betrayal of our core mission '-- continued publicly to trade on my name in order to raise funds for journalism it knew I did not support. It purposely allowed the perception to fester that I was the person responsible for its journalistic mistakes in order to ensure that blame for those mistakes was heaped on me rather than the editors who were consolidating control and were responsible for them.
The most egregious, but by no means only, example of exploiting my name to evade responsibility was the Reality Winner debacle. As The New York Times recently reported, that was a story in which I had no involvement whatsoever. While based in Brazil, I was never asked to work on the documents which Winner sent to our New York newsroom with no request that any specific journalist work on them. I did not even learn of the existence of that document until very shortly prior to its publication. The person who oversaw, edited and controlled that story was Betsy Reed, which was how it should be given the magnitude and complexity of that reporting and her position as editor-in-chief.
It was Intercept editors who pressured the story's reporters to quickly send those documents for authentication to the government '-- because they was eager to prove to mainstream media outlets and prominent liberals that The Intercept was willing to get on board the Russiagate train. They wanted to counter-act the perception, created by my articles expressing skepticism about the central claims of that scandal, that The Intercept had stepped out of line on a story of high importance to U.S. liberalism and even the left. That craving '-- to secure the approval of the very mainstream media outlets we set out to counteract '-- was the root cause for the speed and recklessness with which that document from Winner was handled.
But The Intercept, to this very day, has refused to provide any public accounting of what happened in the Reality Winner story: to explain who the editors were who made mistakes and why any of it happened. As the New York Times article makes clear, that refusal persists to this very day notwithstanding vocal demands from myself, Scahill, Laura Poitras and others that The Intercept, as an institution that demands transparency from others, has the obligation to provide it for itself.
The reason for this silence and this cover-up is obvious: accounting to the public about what happened with the Reality Winner story would reveal who the actual editors are who are responsible for that deeply embarrassing newsroom failure, and that would negate their ability to continue to hide behind me and let the public continue to assume that I was the person at fault for a reporting process from which I was completely excluded from the start. That is just one example illustrating the frustrating dilemma of having a newsroom exploit my name, work and credibility when it is convenient to do so, while increasingly denying me any opportunity to influence its journalistic mission and editorial direction, all while pursuing an editorial mission completely anathema to what I believe.
Despite all of this, I did not want to leave The Intercept. As it deteriorated and abandoned its original mission, I reasoned to myself '-- perhaps rationalized '-- that as long as The Intercept at least continued to provide me the resources to personally do the journalism I believe in, and never to interfere in or impede my editorial freedom, I could swallow everything else.
But the brute censorship this week of my article '-- about the Hunter Biden materials and Joe Biden's conduct regarding Ukraine and China, as well my critique of the media's rank-closing attempt, in a deeply unholy union with Silicon Valley and the ''intelligence community,'' to suppress its revelations '-- eroded the last justification I could cling to for staying. It meant that not only does this media outlet not provide the editorial freedom to other journalists, as I had so hopefully envisioned seven years ago, but now no longer even provides it to me. In the days heading into a presidential election, I am somehow silenced from expressing any views that random editors in New York find disagreeable, and now somehow have to conform my writing and reporting to cater to their partisan desires and eagerness to elect specific candidates.
To say that such censorship is a red line for me, a situation I would never accept no matter the cost, is an understatement. It is astonishing to me, but also a reflection of our current discourse and illiberal media environment, that I have been silenced about Joe Biden by my own media outlet.
Numerous other episodes were also contributing causes to my decision to leave: the Reality Winner cover-up; the decision to hang Lee Fang out to dry and even force him to apologize when a colleague tried to destroy his reputation by publicly, baselessly and repeatedly branding him a racist; its refusal to report on the daily proceedings of the Assange extradition hearing because the freelance reporter doing an outstanding job was politically distasteful; its utter lack of editorial standards when it comes to viewpoints or reporting that flatter the beliefs of its liberal base (The Intercept published some of the most credulous and false affirmations of maximalist Russiagate madness, and, horrifyingly, took the lead in falsely branding the Hunter Biden archive as ''Russian disinformation'' by mindlessly and uncritically citing '-- of all things '-- a letter by former CIA officials that contained this baseless insinuation).
I know it sounds banal to say, but '-- even with all of these frustrations and failures '-- I am leaving, and writing this, with genuine sadness, not fury. That news outlet is something I and numerous close friends and colleagues poured an enormous amount of our time, energy, passion and love into building.
The Intercept has done great work. Its editorial leaders and First Look's managers steadfastly supported the difficult and dangerous reporting I did last year with my brave young colleagues at The Intercept Brasil to expose corruption at the highest levels of the Bolsonaro government, and stood behind us as we endured threats of death and imprisonment.
It continues to employ some of my closest friends, outstanding journalists whose work '-- when it overcomes editorial resistance '-- produces nothing but the highest admiration from me: Jeremy Scahill, Lee Fang, Murtaza Hussain, Naomi Klein, Ryan Grim and others. And I have no personal animus for anyone there, nor any desire to hurt it as an institution. Betsy Reed is an exceptionally smart editor and a very good human being with whom I developed a close and valuable friendship. And Pierre Omidyar, the original funder and publisher of First Look, always honored his personal commitment never to interfere in our editorial process even when I was publishing articles directly at odds with his strongly held views and even when I was attacking other institutions he was funding. I'm not leaving out of vengeance or personal conflict but out of conviction and cause.
And none of the critiques I have voiced about The Intercept are unique to it. To the contrary: these are the raging battles over free expression and the right of dissent raging within every major cultural, political and journalistic institution. That's the crisis that journalism, and more broadly values of liberalism, faces. Our discourse is becoming increasingly intolerant of dissenting views, and our culture is demanding more and more submission to prevailing orthodoxies imposed by self-anointed monopolists of Truth and Righteousness, backed up by armies of online enforcement mobs.
And nothing is crippled by that trend more severely than journalism, which, above all else, requires the ability of journalists to offend and anger power centers, question or reject sacred pieties, unearth facts that reflect negatively even on (especially on) the most beloved and powerful figures, and highlight corruption no matter where it is found and regardless of who is benefited or injured by its exposure.
Prior to the extraordinary experience of being censored this week by my own news outlet, I had already been exploring the possibility of creating a new media outlet. I have spent a couple of months in active discussions with some of the most interesting, independent and vibrant journalists, writers and commentators across the political spectrum about the feasibility of securing financing for a new outlet that would be designed to combat these trends. The first two paragraphs of our working document reads as follows:
American media is gripped in a polarized culture war that is forcing journalism to conform to tribal, groupthink narratives that are often divorced from the truth and cater to perspectives that are not reflective of the broader public but instead a minority of hyper-partisan elites. The need to conform to highly restrictive, artificial cultural narratives and partisan identities has created a repressive and illiberal environment in which vast swaths of news and reporting either do not happen or are presented through the most skewed and reality-detached lens.
With nearly all major media institutions captured to some degree by this dynamic, a deep need exists for media that is untethered and free to transgress the boundaries of this polarized culture war and address a demand from a public that is starved for media that doesn't play for a side but instead pursues lines of reporting, thought, and inquiry wherever they lead, without fear of violating cultural pieties or elite orthodoxies.
I have definitely not relinquished hope that this ambitious project can be accomplished. And I theoretically could have stayed at The Intercept until then, guaranteeing a stable and secure income for my family by swallowing the dictates of my new censors.
But I would be deeply ashamed if I did that, and believe I would be betraying my own principles and convictions that I urge others to follow. So in the meantime, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of numerous other writers and journalists who have been expelled from increasingly repressive journalistic precincts for various forms of heresy and dissent and who have sought refuge here.
I hope to exploit the freedom this new platform offers not only to continue to publish the independent and hard-hitting investigative journalism and candid analysis and opinion writing that my readers have come to expect, but also to develop a podcast, and continue the YouTube program, ''System Update,'' I launched earlier this year in partnership with The Intercept.
To do that, to make this viable, I will need your support: people who are able to subscribe and sign up for the newsletter attached to this platform will enable my work to thrive and still be heard, perhaps even more so than before. I began my journalism career by depending on my readers' willingness to support independent journalism which they believe is necessary to sustain. It is somewhat daunting at this point in my life, but also very exciting, to return to that model where one answers only to the public a journalist should be serving.
* * * * * * * *
LETTER OF INTENT TO RESIGN
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: ResignationDate: Thu, 29 Oct 2020 10:20:54 -0300From: Glenn Greenwald <xxxxxxxx@theintercept.com>To: Michael Bloom <xxxxxxxxx@firstlook.media>, Betsy Reed <xxxxxxx@theintercept.com>
Michael -
I am writing to advise you that I have decided that I will be resigning from First Look Media (FLM) and The Intercept.
The precipitating (but by no means only) cause is that The Intercept is attempting to censor my articles in violation of both my contract and fundamental principles of editorial freedom. The latest and perhaps most egregious example is an opinion column I wrote this week which, five days before the presidential election, is critical of Joe Biden, the candidate who happens to be vigorously supported by all of the Intercept editors in New York who are imposing the censorship and refusing to publish the article unless I agree to remove all of the sections critical of the candidate they want to win. All of that violates the right in my contract with FLM to publish articles without editorial interference except in very narrow circumstances that plainly do not apply here.
Worse, The Intercept editors in New York, not content to censor publication of my article at the Intercept, are also demanding that I not exercise my separate contractual right with FLM regarding articles I have written but which FLM does not want to publish itself. Under my contract, I have the right to publish any articles FLM rejects with another publication. But Intercept editors in New York are demanding I not only accept their censorship of my article at The Intercept, but also refrain from publishing it with any other journalistic outlet, and are using thinly disguised lawyer-crafted threats to coerce me not to do so (proclaiming it would be ''detrimental'' to The Intercept if I published it elsewhere).
I have been extremely disenchanted and saddened by the editorial direction of The Intercept under its New York leadership for quite some time. The publication we founded without those editors back in 2014 now bears absolutely no resemblance to what we set out to build -- not in content, structure, editorial mission or purpose. I have grown embarrassed to have my name used as a fund-raising tool to support what it is doing and for editors to use me as a shield to hide behind to avoid taking responsibility for their mistakes (including, but not only, with the Reality Winner debacle, for which I was publicly blamed despite having no role in it, while the editors who actually were responsible for those mistakes stood by silently, allowing me to be blamed for their errors and then covering-up any public accounting of what happened, knowing that such transparency would expose their own culpability).
But all this time, as things worsened, I reasoned that as long as The Intercept remained a place where my own right of journalistic independence was not being infringed, I could live with all of its other flaws. But now, not even that minimal but foundational right is being honored for my own journalism, suppressed by an increasingly authoritarian, fear-driven, repressive editorial team in New York bent on imposing their own ideological and partisan preferences on all writers while ensuring that nothing is published at The Intercept that contradicts their own narrow, homogenous ideological and partisan views: exactly what The Intercept, more than any other goal, was created to prevent.
I have asked my lawyer to get in touch with FLM to discuss how best to terminate my contract. Thank you -
Glenn Greenwald
The Lincoln Project is becoming a media business - Axios
The Lincoln Project is looking to beef up its media business after the election, sources tell Axios.
Driving the news: The group is in talks with the United Talent Agency (UTA) to help build out Lincoln Media and is weighing offers from different television studios, podcast networks and book publishers.
Why it matters: Lincoln's plan is part of the new trend of activists developing massive audiences for political influence that they are then able to spin into commercial media success.
Flashback: After the 2016 campaign, former Obama staffers launched Crooked Media, which now boasts a sprawling network of podcasts, streaming video, live tours and events. Catch up quick: The Lincoln group, which is run by prominent "Never-Trumper" Republicans like Ron Steslow, Rick Wilson, George Conway, Jennifer Horn, Reed Galen, Mike Madrid and Steve Schmidt, has transformed from an election-focused advertising PAC into a media company with millions of followers.
Already, its main account boasts a following bigger than the GOP's main account and the main accounts of groups like Crooked Media on Twitter. To date, it has focused its media efforts mostly on podcasts and streaming, with some experiments in newsletters and enormous success selling merchandise. "As a media business, we're putting a pretty big bet on the idea that they know how to get audiences," says Ra Kumar, a UTA agent who represents the Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson. Kumar notes that the level of outreach UTA has received about Hollywood firms wanting to work with the project has been unprecedented. To that end, the group recently launched a new ad campaign promoting a music video it made for Demi Lovato's new song, ''Commander in Chief."Details: The group, formed in late 2019, has been approached by several media and entertainment companies and podcast platforms looking to launch franchises from its brand. .
The group is currently working with a documentarian and a motion picture producer to create a non-fiction film after the election. It's also attracted interest from TV studios looking to work with the Lincoln Project to help develop a "House of Cards"-like fiction series. One source notes that a few linear TV networks have indicated interest in having Lincoln Project's streaming show "LPTV" on their networks. UTA has a long-standing relationship with Rick Wilson working in partnership with his literary managers at Fletcher & Company.By the numbers: The Lincoln Project's current media efforts were never meant to be spun out into independent media ventures, but they've grown quickly enough to catch the attention of Hollywood heavyweights.
The Lincoln Project podcast, which launched in mid-June, has consistently been ranked as one of the top podcasts on Apple in news and politics. It sees roughly 1.5 million downloads per month, and is on track to hit 2 million downloads in October.LPTV, which streams on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, includes two shows, "The Breakdown," hosted by senior advisor Tara Setmayer and co-founder Rick Wilson, and" Vote for America," hosted by co-founder Jennifer Horn. The company says it had 16 million views so far across both shows.Its gear store has already fulfilled 70,000 orders accounting for more than $1.8 million in total sales through mid-October, $670,000 of which the group says is profit. In terms of staffing, the group has 4 full-time staffers working on its podcast, and several more working on its TV shows.Between the lines: The group has poured millions of dollars into pithy anti-Trump advertising spots, all of which have been produced in-house.
Its media success has helped it secure record levels of fundraising, making it one of the top outside spenders of the 2020 election. Those media channels have also helped it lure thousands of small-dollar donations from fans, which is notable, given that most big political PACs are floated almost exclusively by donors with big pockets. Be smart: For the Lincoln Project, becoming a media entity happened serendipitously, but it's been helpful in accomplishing its advocacy goals nonetheless.
"We discovered in doing research that voters are getting lots of information from streaming and podcasts," says Rick Wilson, veteran Republican strategist and co-founder of the Lincoln Project. "We decided to build those things as advocacy vectors. We didn't set out to become a media company, but we've inadvertently become a content creation machine."Yes, but: The group will face new scrutiny as it further explores media.
Already, it's being criticized by the online left for stealing memes without attribution.Its brand of Republicanism may have a limited future in a country where Trump has long commanded unquestioning support from vast swathes of the GOP.It may also have difficulty sustaining interest after Election Day. What's next: For now, the group's immediate focus is next week's election. But in its effort to defeat "Trumpism," a culture of blind loyalty to the president, the group says it will be pushing harder into media products that help it speak to centrists.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to correct that the Lincoln Project is in talks with UTA. A previous version said they'd signed with UTA.
Freedom of Expression
Free Expression vs Free Speech
As a former professor of Constitutional law, I thought that I could help you (and hence the quality of the show) with some information about the terminology of "free expression", "freedom of expression", etc.
As a former professor of Constitutional law, I thought that I could help you (and hence the quality of the show) with some information about the terminology of "free expression", "freedom of expression", etc.
When Mark Zuckerberg used the language of freedom of expression - as you and JCD noted - Zuckerberg was probably reading a statement prepared for him, by a lawyer.
In U.S. jurisprudence, via their discussions and rulings on the meanings and limits of the First Amendment, the Supreme Court has expanded the concept of "speech" as to include actions which are designed to convey information, e.g., flag burning, burning of a draft registration card, and marching down the street topless.
The court has held that at times, said symbolic acts, are expressive acts, hence speech. That is to say, for the purpose of legal analysis - as to what the government may or may not criminalize, such acts are to be treated as if they were pure speech (or written text).
Of course, some the legal opinions have used pretzel-like clarity to generate results that oppose harmless efforts to convey an idea:
In Morse vs Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007), the Supreme Court held that a young man could be suspended from school for holding up a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" because the then 18-year-old testified that he was NOT making a political statement and not exercising his religion or religious beliefs.
In U.S. v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968), the Court held that burning a draft card WAS an act of political speech, but that the criminal prohibition against it was UNRELATED to deterring or limiting political speech. (Conviction upheld).
And while flag burning is kinda cool, there is NO silent dancing allowed at the Jefferson memorial - because silent dancing (dancing without any audible music) is NOT solemn enough. (Take that you heathens who would separate Church and State).
Justin Trudeau's response to Islamic terrorist attacks in France has attracted criticism after he said "freedom of expression is not without limits."Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's response to Islamic terrorist attacks in France has attracted criticism after he said "freedom of expression is not without limits."
Trudeau was commenting on a series of events that have rocked the French nation, after a French teacher was beheaded for showing his students a Charlie Hebdo cartoon which depicted the Prophet Mohammed.
While the French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for the nation's secularism, Justin Trudeau implied that there was no point in doing things that unnecessarily hurt others.
Trudeau told reporters in French that he would ''always defend freedom of expression, but freedom of expression is not without limits.''
Trudeau continued by equating the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with crying fire in a crowded theatre: ''We don't have the right, for example, to cry fire in a crowded cinema; there are always limits.''
''In a pluralistic, diverse and respectful society like ours, we must be aware of the impact of our words, of our actions on others, particularly these communities and populations who still experience enormous discrimination."
Opposition Leader Erin O'Toole took a more solid stance on this issue, saying ''if France is attacked, all democracies are attacked.''
''I want to express my solidarity with the French allies. Terrorists will not make us bow. Here in Canada, we will fight to create a country proud of its principles, its openness and its freedom of expression,'' he added.
Trudeau's comments attracted some criticism from European commentators. British comedian Andrew Doyle, for instance, said that "Trudeau is the latest prominent figure to take the predictable line of: 'I believe in freedom of speech, BUT...'"
Justin Trudeau is the latest prominent figure to take the predictable line of: "I believe in freedom of speech, BUT..."He claims that disrespect causes "injury". It doesn't. That would be guns and knives wielded by unreconstructed religious fanatics.https://t.co/EO5Rbh6R5k
'-- Andrew Doyle (@andrewdoyle_com) October 31, 2020"He claims that disrespect causes 'injury.' It doesn't. That would be guns and knives wielded by unreconstructed religious fanatics," Doyle concluded.
President Macron has not yet responded to Trudeau's comments.
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Free speech has limits, Canada's Trudeau says - CGTN
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended free speech on Friday, but added that it was "not without limits" and should not "arbitrarily and needlessly hurt" certain communities.
"We will always defend freedom of expression," Trudeau said in response to a question about the right to show a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, as Charlie Hebdo magazine did.
"But freedom of expression is not without limits," he added. "We owe it to ourselves to act with respect for others and to seek not to arbitrarily or unnecessarily injure those with whom we are sharing a society and a planet."
"In a pluralist, diverse and respectful society like ours, we owe it to ourselves to be aware of the impact of our words, of our actions on others, particularly these communities and populations who still experience a great deal of discrimination," he said.
As he had done the day before with the leaders of the European Union, Trudeau insisted on condemning the recent "appalling and appalling" terrorist attacks in France.
"It is unjustifiable and Canada wholeheartedly condemns these acts while standing with our French friends who are going through extremely difficult times," he said.
Three people were stabbed to death on Thursday in a church in Nice, in southern France, by a Tunisian man who was apprehended.
Anger erupted in the Middle East after the attacks against France and President Emmanuel Macron, vilified for having defended the right to publish the cartoons in France.
Macron made the comments during a tribute last week to Samuel Paty, a teacher beheaded in the street for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class in a course on freedom of expression.
(With input from AFP)
2020
Stanford Study Links Trump Rallies to 700 COVID-19 Deaths
Eighteen Trump rallies may have led to more than 700 COVID-19 deaths, including among people who did not attend the rallies, according to a new working paper from Stanford University researchers.
While Joe Biden has tailored his presidential campaign toward smaller, more socially distanced events during the pandemic, President Donald Trump has made a selling point of his packed rallies, where mask use is often scarce. The Stanford paper studied 18 Trump rallies this year, and linked them to a significant spike in COVID-19 cases'--approximately 30,000'--in surrounding counties.
The paper, from the school's economics department, has not been peer reviewed, leading epidemiologists to raise some caveats about its findings. However, one such infectious disease expert told The Daily Beast that the study's broader findings do suggest a post-Trump COVID bump, and further illustrate the effect of wearing a mask.
The study's authors wrote that their findings affirmed previous warnings about large gatherings.
''Our analysis strongly supports the warnings and recommendations of public health officials concerning the risk of COVID-19 transmission at large group gatherings, particularly when the degree of compliance with guidelines concerning the use of masks and social distancing is low,'' they wrote. ''The communities in which Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death.''
Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, an infectious diseases expert at UCLA who was not involved with the study, said it ''does indeed raise the possibility that these outdoor rallies increased the incidence of COVID in counties where they occurred.''
Klausner raised several caveats, noting that the study's authors had not individually counted deaths, but looked at post-rally COVID surges, applied COVID death rates in the affected counties and predicted the number of deaths that had resulted from the rallies. The method meant researchers could not control for certain demographic factors, like the age of the affected people, he said. (Old age appears to be a significant factor in COVID death rates.)
Other epidemiologists, like Michael Mina of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, also urged caution in extrapolating too much from the study.
''There are better ways to look at this data through actual infectious disease epidemic lenses,'' Mina told Politico. ''It offers a data point, but nothing I would want to draw any strong conclusions from. It is also so overtly political that it makes it hard to distinguish if there were decisions made out of perhaps unrecognized bias.''
Klausner and another epidemiologist who spoke to Politico said the study's methods seemed generally sound, if a little speculative.
Fifteen of the 18 Trump rallies (held from June to September across multiple states) were held outside. COVID-19 research has suggested outdoor events with good ventilation are safer than indoor events with poor air circulation. Despite that, the researchers recorded a notable uptick in COVID-19 cases in surrounding areas after the rallies. Meanwhile, similar studies on outdoor Black Lives Matter rallies this summer did not find a notable outbreak among protest participants.
The difference might have been mask use, Klausner noted.
Although Black Lives Matter rallies ''had crowding, a lot of people yelling, and other attributes we associate with COVID, you had a much higher percentage of mask-wearing,'' compared to Trump rallies where fewer people were photographed in protective gear, he noted.
''Lack of masks may have been the key difference between Black Lives Matter rallies and Trump rallies,'' Klausner said.
How Biden plans to undo Trump's 'America First' foreign policy and return US to world stage - CNNPolitics
Washington(CNN) After four years of norm-bending, treaty-disrupting and alliance-shaking foreign policy from the Trump administration, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is promising to return the US to its more traditional role on the world stage.
Biden has said he will make significant changes to US foreign policy should he win Tuesday's presidential election. People familiar with the former vice president's plans say he would immediately reverse Trump policies on Iran, climate change and the World Health Organization.
Biden's goals share a common theme that breaks sharply with President Donald Trump's isolationist approach: rebuilding alliances, a strategy meant to repair frayed US international ties and reflect his belief that America's toughest challenges, including the climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, require international cooperation and coordination.
"Trump's 'America First' has been 'America Alone,'" said Brian McKeon, a Biden foreign policy adviser and a former White House and Pentagon adviser in the Obama administration. "On his first day in office, [Biden] will get on the phone to key allies and say that America is back and America has your back."
Here's a breakdown of what a Biden foreign policy would look like:
Returning to the table with alliesTrump has "poked his finger in the eye of all our friends and allies, and he's embraced every autocrat in the world ... we have lost all our friends," Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper in September.
Biden's advisers say he believes US national security is stronger, and more impactful, when it is approached in partnership with treaty allies. "We have a network of alliances that the Chinese don't have, the Russians don't have and we are stronger when we work together with these allies," McKeon said.
View Trump and Biden head-to-head polling
Trump has publicly questioned and denigrated the value of the US' most longstanding alliances, including with NATO, Germany, South Korea and Japan. He has also pulled the US from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate accord, the World Health Organization and a slew of other United Nations agencies.
Biden will convene a "Summit for Democracy" in the first year of his presidency to "bring together the world's democracies to strengthen our democratic institutions, honestly confront nations that are backsliding, and forge a common agenda," the former vice president wrote in a Foreign Affairs essay. Corruption, human rights and the fight against authoritarianism will be major themes.
Climate crisisBiden has declared he would rejoin the Paris climate accord "on day one" and then "rally the world to push our progress further."
Trump, who took the US out of the Paris Agreement, called it "one of the greatest disasters of all time."
The Democratic candidate told a CNN town hall last year that he would ask countries in the agreement to boost their commitments "because we've learned so much just in the last three years about the science, about what has to happen quicker." Biden also pledged to sign a "series of new executive orders" that surpasses the climate ambition of the Obama-Biden administration and to develop tools to crack down on China's use of coal and their outsourcing of carbon pollution.
IranEarly in his campaign Biden said he would rejoin the Iran nuclear deal if Iran starts complying with the pact, a move that advisers say will require close work with allies and a near immediate start of new negotiations.
"If Tehran returns to compliance with the deal, I would re-join the agreement and work with our allies to strengthen and extend it, while more effectively pushing back against Iran's other destabilizing activities," Biden said during a foreign policy speech last year.
Iran announced last year that it would no longer limit itself to the restrictions contained in the deal in response to the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign.
Covid and the WHOA return to the World Health Organization is also on Biden's list of immediate policy changes. This comes after Trump, earlier this year, said that the US would leave the organization.
Biden advisers say he would work to reform the WHO and focus on ensuring that China abides by international protocols when it comes to pandemic protections. Biden would also reverse Trump's decision to pull US health scientists out of China, where they worked on pandemic detection and surveillance.
Build your own road to 270 electoral votes with CNN's interactive map
The precise plan for how a Biden administration would reenter the WHO and hold it accountable will be determined during a transition, his advisers say.
They add that at home, Biden's focus will be on vaccinating every American. Advisers say Biden's Covid response team would bring together domestic and foreign experts.
China The US-China relationship is probably the most consequential and tricky one any modern American president has to deal with.
Biden called Trump erratic on China and his foreign policy advisers have said that the President's approach -- particularly taking action without consulting allies -- has undermined the ultimate goal of competing with China. Biden has said there are areas where it is in the US interest to work with Beijing, including on climate change and North Korea. Biden advisers say he will work closely with allies to present a united front on issues such as technology, including Huawei and 5G, intellectual property theft and China's expansion in Asian waters.
In public comments, Biden has reflected the Obama administration view that incorporating China into the world system is the most effective way of ensuring it adheres to international rules and norms. In the past, Biden supported most favored nation status for China and allowing it into the World Trade Organization. "We wanted China to grow. We don't want to have a war with China," Biden said in a recent interview with CNN's Jake Tapper when asked about his support for those initiatives in the past.
RussiaThe last remaining nuclear proliferation pact, the New START Treaty, expires shortly after the election. Biden aides say that if the Trump administration fails to renew it, he will make it a top priority to extend the agreement.
Otherwise, Biden wants to work closely with allies to counter Russian aggression and disinformation, saying in the second presidential debate that Moscow "will pay a price" for its election interference and declaring Russia the biggest threat to America's security.
AfghanistanBiden's advisers say he wants to wind down military commitments in Afghanistan and continue to support intra-Afghan negotiations, but don't offer details on how he will do that. That's partially because it's not clear exactly what sort of situation they'll inherit, they say.
It is unclear if Biden will give his team the green light to directly engage with the Taliban, like the Trump administration has.
Biden advisers emphasize that during the Obama administration, Biden opposed both the surge in Afghanistan in 2009 and the intervention in Libya in 2011. "I would not say he is quick to support military intervention unless he sees that it is warranted based on national security interest and that we can accomplish our objectives," McKeon said.
Former President Barack Obama recently said that Biden was "probably the person who was most restrained in terms of use of military force" among his foreign policy advisers, saying Biden had learned from his vote in support of the Iraq War, which he has been criticized for.
YemenIn a stark contrast to the Trump administration, Biden would end support for the Saudi Arabia-led intervention in Yemen, which many in Congress oppose because of reports of ongoing and serious human rights violations. There has been a major push from the progressive arm of the Democratic Party for Biden to adopt this policy.
North KoreaBiden has ridiculed Trump's pursuit of friendly relations with North Korean despot Kim Jong Un, who has continued his country's nuclear program despite concessions and high-level meetings.
"He's made some cockamamie deal to his good friend, sending love letters to Kim Jung-un...What in God's name is that all about," Biden asked on CNN. Trump "gave him legitimacy. We had firm, firm constraints on what they could buy and what they could sell in their economies. He's blown it. He's giving them so much credibility. They're closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before. He did the same thing in Iran. I mean, this America first has made America alone."
Biden said during the last presidential debate that in order for him to meet with Kim, the North Korean leader would need to agree to draw down his nuclear capacity. Putting the bar so high -- given that Kim is unlikely to make that commitment -- has made South Korea, which favors engagement, nervous.
Israel and the PalestiniansBiden aides signal some shifts from Trump's approach. The President has made some controversial moves to favor Israel -- including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and declaring the city to be Israel's capital, but these steps will be hard to reverse.
Biden has said he will not move the US embassy back to Tel Aviv, but that he will restore engagement with Palestinians that Trump has cut off, will reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem that was meant to serve the Palestinian population, restore assistance to Palestinians and the United Nations agency that supports them and help reopen the Palestinian Liberation Organization mission in the US, which was shut down by Trump.
"Biden is a strong supporter of the state of Israel and assistance to it and always has been. But he also believes in a two-state solution in dealing with Palestinians and not taking measures that make it harder to get to a two-state solution," McKeon said.
Rebuilding the State DepartmentBiden has committed to rebuilding the diplomatic corps of the State Department.
Obama said that Trump has "systematically tried to decimate our entire foreign policy infrastructure," during an interview earlier this month. He added that Biden would rely on the expertise of career diplomats and rebuild the State Department.
Former senior diplomats who left the department due to the way that the Trump administration treated career diplomats have warned that if nothing is done, the damage could be irreversible.
"The damage may be generational," wrote Michael McKinley, a widely respected 4-time ambassador who testified during impeachment and resigned last year, in an Atlantic essay last week. He spoke about how politicized the department had become under the Trump administration.
Biden Crime Family
Executive Order 12333 '-- Central Intelligence Agency
United States Intelligence ActivitiesDecember 4, 1981(As Amended by Executive Orders 13284 (2003), 13355 (2004)and 13470 (2008))
Table of ContentsPreamble
Part 1. Goals, Directions, Duties, and Responsibilities with Respect to United States Intelligence Efforts
1.1 Goals
1.2 The National Security Council
1.3 Director of National Intelligence
1.4 The Intelligence Community
1.5 Duties and Responsibilities of the Heads of Executive Branch Departments and Agencies
1.6 Heads of Elements of the Intelligence Community
1.7 Intelligence Community Elements
1.8 The Department of State
1.9 The Department of the Treasury
1.10 The Department of Defense
1.11 The Department of Homeland Security
1.12 The Department of Energy
1.13 The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Part 2. Conduct of Intelligence Activities
2.1 Need
2.2 Purpose
2.3 Collection of information
2.4 Collection Techniques
2.5 Attorney General Approval
2.6 Assistance to Law Enforcement and other Civil Authorities
2.7 Contracting
2.8 Consistency With Other Laws
2.9 Undisclosed Participation in Organizations Within the United States
2.10 Human Experimentation
2.11 Prohibition on Assassination
2.12 Indirect Participation
2.13 Limitation on Covert Action
Part 3. General Provisions
3.1 Congressional Oversight
3.2 Implementation
3.3 Procedures
3.4 References and Transition
3.5 Definitions
3.6 Revocation
3.7 General Provisions
Timely, accurate, and insightful information about the activities, capabilities, plans, and intentions of foreign powers, organizations, and persons, and their agents, is essential to the national security of the United States. All reasonable and lawful means must be used to ensure that the United States will receive the best intelligence possible. For that purpose, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, (Act) and as President of the United States of America, in order to provide for the effective conduct of United States intelligence activities and the protection of constitutional rights, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Part 1 Goals, Directions, Duties, and Responsibilities with Respect to United States Intelligence Efforts
1.1 Goals. The United States intelligence effort shall provide the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council with the necessary information on which to base decisions concerning the development and conduct of foreign, defense, and economic policies, and the protection of United States national interests from foreign security threats. All departments and agencies shall cooperate fully to fulfill this goal.
(a) All means, consistent with applicable Federal law and this order, and with full consideration of the rights of United States persons, shall be used to obtain reliable intelligence information to protect the United States and its interests.
(b) The United States Government has a solemn obligation, and shall continue in the conduct of intelligence activities under this order, to protect fully the legal rights of all United States persons, including freedoms, civil liberties, and privacy rights guaranteed by Federal law.
(c) Intelligence collection under this order should be guided by the need for information to respond to intelligence priorities set by the President.
(d) Special emphasis should be given to detecting and countering:
(1) Espionage and other threats and activities directed by foreign powers or their intelligence services against the United States and its interests;
(2) Threats to the United States and its interests from terrorism; and
(3) Threats to the United States and its interests from the development, possession, proliferation, or use of weapons of mass destruction.
(e) Special emphasis shall be given to the production of timely, accurate, and insightful reports, responsive to decisionmakers in the executive branch, that draw on all appropriate sources of information, including open source information, meet rigorous analytic standards, consider diverse analytic viewpoints, and accurately represent appropriate alternative views.
(f) State, local, and tribal governments are critical partners in securing and defending the United States from terrorism and other threats to the United States and its interests. Our national intelligence effort should take into account the responsibilities and requirements of State, local, and tribal governments and, as appropriate, private sector entities, when undertaking the collection and dissemination of information and intelligence to protect the United States.
(g) All departments and agencies have a responsibility to prepare and to provide intelligence in a manner that allows the full and free exchange of information, consistent with applicable law and presidential guidance.
1.2 The National Security Council.
(a) Purpose. The National Security Council (NSC) shall act as the highest ranking executive branch entity that provides support to the President for review of, guidance for, and direction to the conduct of all foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, and covert action, and attendant policies and programs.
(b) Covert Action and Other Sensitive Intelligence Operations. The NSC shall consider and submit to the President a policy recommendation, including all dissents, on each proposed covert action and conduct a periodic review of ongoing covert action activities, including an evaluation of the effectiveness and consistency with current national policy of such activities and consistency with applicable legal requirements. The NSC shall perform such other functions related to covert action as the President may direct, but shall not undertake the conduct of covert actions. The NSC shall also review proposals for other sensitive intelligence operations.
1.3 Director of National Intelligence. Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the President, the Director of National Intelligence (Director) shall serve as the head of the Intelligence Community, act as the principal adviser to the President, to the NSC, and to the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to national security, and shall oversee and direct the implementation of the National Intelligence Program and execution of the National Intelligence Program budget. The Director will lead a unified, coordinated, and effective intelligence effort. In addition, the Director shall, in carrying out the duties and responsibilities under this section, take into account the views of the heads of departments containing an element of the Intelligence Community and of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
(a) Except as otherwise directed by the President or prohibited by law, the Director shall have access to all information and intelligence described in section 1.5(a) of this order. For the purpose of access to and sharing of information and intelligence, the Director:
(1) Is hereby assigned the function under section 3(5) of the Act, to determine that intelligence, regardless of the source from which derived and including information gathered within or outside the United States, pertains to more than one United States Government agency; and
(2) Shall develop guidelines for how information or intelligence is provided to or accessed by the Intelligence Community in accordance with section 1.5(a) of this order, and for how the information or intelligence may be used and shared by the Intelligence Community. All guidelines developed in accordance with this section shall be approved by the Attorney General and, where applicable, shall be consistent with guidelines issued pursuant to section 1016 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-458) (IRTPA).
(b) In addition to fulfilling the obligations and responsibilities prescribed by the Act, the Director:
(1) Shall establish objectives, priorities, and guidance for the Intelligence Community to ensure timely and effective collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence, of whatever nature and from whatever source derived;
(2) May designate, in consultation with affected heads of departments or Intelligence Community elements, one or more Intelligence Community elements to develop and to maintain services of common concern on behalf of the Intelligence Community if the Director determines such services can be more efficiently or effectively accomplished in a consolidated manner;
(3) Shall oversee and provide advice to the President and the NSC with respect to all ongoing and proposed covert action programs;
(4) In regard to the establishment and conduct of intelligence arrangements and agreements with foreign governments and international organizations:
(A) May enter into intelligence and counterintelligence arrangements and agreements with foreign governments and international organizations;
(B) Shall formulate policies concerning intelligence and counterintelligence arrangements and agreements with foreign governments and international organizations; and
(C) Shall align and synchronize intelligence and counterintelligence foreign relationships among the elements of the Intelligence Community to further United States national security, policy, and intelligence objectives;
(5) Shall participate in the development of procedures approved by the Attorney General governing criminal drug intelligence activities abroad to ensure that these activities are consistent with foreign intelligence programs;
(6) Shall establish common security and access standards for managing and handling intelligence systems, information, and products, with special emphasis on facilitating:
(A) The fullest and most prompt access to and dissemination of information and intelligence practicable, assigning the highest priority to detecting, preventing, preempting, and disrupting terrorist threats and activities against the United States, its interests, and allies; and
(B) The establishment of standards for an interoperable information sharing enterprise that facilitates the sharing of intelligence information among elements of the Intelligence Community;
(7) Shall ensure that appropriate departments and agencies have access to intelligence and receive the support needed to perform independent analysis;
(8) Shall protect, and ensure that programs are developed to protect, intelligence sources, methods, and activities from unauthorized disclosure;
(9) Shall, after consultation with the heads of affected departments and agencies, establish guidelines for Intelligence Community elements for:
(A) Classification and declassification of all intelligence and intelligence-related information classified under the authority of the Director or the authority of the head of a department or Intelligence Community element; and
(B) Access to and dissemination of all intelligence and intelligence-related information, both in its final form and in the form when initially gathered, to include intelligence originally classified by the head of a department or Intelligence Community element, except that access to and dissemination of information concerning United States persons shall be governed by procedures developed in accordance with Part 2 of this order;
(10) May, only with respect to Intelligence Community elements, and after consultation with the head of the originating Intelligence Community element or the head of the originating department, declassify, or direct the declassification of, information or intelligence relating to intelligence sources, methods, and activities. The Director may only delegate this authority to the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence;
(11) May establish, operate, and direct one or more national intelligence centers to address intelligence priorities;
(12) May establish Functional Managers and Mission Managers, and designate officers or employees of the United States to serve in these positions.
(A) Functional Managers shall report to the Director concerning the execution of their duties as Functional Managers, and may be charged with developing and implementing strategic guidance, policies, and procedures for activities related to a specific intelligence discipline or set of intelligence activities; set training and tradecraft standards; and ensure coordination within and across intelligence disciplines and Intelligence Community elements and with related non-intelligence activities. Functional Managers may also advise the Director on: the management of resources; policies and procedures; collection capabilities and gaps; processing and dissemination of intelligence; technical architectures; and other issues or activities determined by the Director.
(i) The Director of the National Security Agency is designated the Functional Manager for signals intelligence;
(ii) The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is designated the Functional Manager for human intelligence; and
(iii) The Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is designated the Functional Manager for geospatial intelligence.
(B) Mission Managers shall serve as principal substantive advisors on all or specified aspects of intelligence related to designated countries, regions, topics, or functional issues;
(13) Shall establish uniform criteria for the determination of relative priorities for the transmission of critical foreign intelligence, and advise the Secretary of Defense concerning the communications requirements of the Intelligence Community for the transmission of such communications;
(14) Shall have ultimate responsibility for production and dissemination of intelligence produced by the Intelligence Community and authority to levy analytic tasks on intelligence production organizations within the Intelligence Community, in consultation with the heads of the Intelligence Community elements concerned;
(15) May establish advisory groups for the purpose of obtaining advice from within the Intelligence Community to carry out the Director's responsibilities, to include Intelligence Community executive management committees composed of senior Intelligence Community leaders. Advisory groups shall consist of representatives from elements of the Intelligence Community, as designated by the Director, or other executive branch departments, agencies, and offices, as appropriate;
(16) Shall ensure the timely exploitation and dissemination of data gathered by national intelligence collection means, and ensure that the resulting intelligence is disseminated immediately to appropriate government elements, including military commands;
(17) Shall determine requirements and priorities for, and manage and direct the tasking, collection, analysis, production, and dissemination of, national intelligence by elements of the Intelligence Community, including approving requirements for collection and analysis and resolving conflicts in collection requirements and in the tasking of national collection assets of Intelligence Community elements (except when otherwise directed by the President or when the Secretary of Defense exercises collection tasking authority under plans and arrangements approved by the Secretary of Defense and the Director);
(18) May provide advisory tasking concerning collection and analysis of information or intelligence relevant to national intelligence or national security to departments, agencies, and establishments of the United States Government that are not elements of the Intelligence Community; and shall establish procedures, in consultation with affected heads of departments or agencies and subject to approval by the Attorney General, to implement this authority and to monitor or evaluate the responsiveness of United States Government departments, agencies, and other establishments;
(19) Shall fulfill the responsibilities in section 1.3(b)(17) and (18) of this order, consistent with applicable law and with full consideration of the rights of United States persons, whether information is to be collected inside or outside the United States;
(20) Shall ensure, through appropriate policies and procedures, the deconfliction, coordination, and integration of all intelligence activities conducted by an Intelligence Community element or funded by the National Intelligence Program. In accordance with these policies and procedures:
(A) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall coordinate the clandestine collection of foreign intelligence collected through human sources or through human-enabled means and counterintelligence activities inside the United States;
(B) The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall coordinate the clandestine collection of foreign intelligence collected through human sources or through human-enabled means and counterintelligence activities outside the United States;
(C) All policies and procedures for the coordination of counterintelligence activities and the clandestine collection of foreign intelligence inside the United States shall be subject to the approval of the Attorney General; and
(D) All policies and procedures developed under this section shall be coordinated with the heads of affected departments and Intelligence Community elements;
(21) Shall, with the concurrence of the heads of affected departments and agencies, establish joint procedures to deconflict, coordinate, and synchronize intelligence activities conducted by an Intelligence Community element or funded by the National Intelligence Program, with intelligence activities, activities that involve foreign intelligence and security services, or activities that involve the use of clandestine methods, conducted by other United States Government departments, agencies, and establishments;
(22) Shall, in coordination with the heads of departments containing elements of the Intelligence Community, develop procedures to govern major system acquisitions funded in whole or in majority part by the National Intelligence Program;
(23) Shall seek advice from the Secretary of State to ensure that the foreign policy implications of proposed intelligence activities are considered, and shall ensure, through appropriate policies and procedures, that intelligence activities are conducted in a manner consistent with the responsibilities pursuant to law and presidential direction of Chiefs of United States Missions; and
(24) Shall facilitate the use of Intelligence Community products by the Congress in a secure manner.
(c) The Director's exercise of authorities in the Act and this order shall not abrogate the statutory or other responsibilities of the heads of departments of the United States Government or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Directives issued and actions taken by the Director in the exercise of the Director's authorities and responsibilities to integrate, coordinate, and make the Intelligence Community more effective in providing intelligence related to national security shall be implemented by the elements of the Intelligence Community, provided that any department head whose department contains an element of the Intelligence Community and who believes that a directive or action of the Director violates the requirements of section 1018 of the IRTPA or this subsection shall bring the issue to the attention of the Director, the NSC, or the President for resolution in a manner that respects and does not abrogate the statutory responsibilities of the heads of the departments.
(d) Appointments to certain positions.
(1) The relevant department or bureau head shall provide recommendations and obtain the concurrence of the Director for the selection of: the Director of the National Security Agency, the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, the Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the Department of Energy, the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of the Treasury, and the Executive Assistant Director for the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If the Director does not concur in the recommendation, the department head may not fill the vacancy or make the recommendation to the President, as the case may be. If the department head and the Director do not reach an agreement on the selection or recommendation, the Director and the department head concerned may advise the President directly of the Director's intention to withhold concurrence.
(2) The relevant department head shall consult with the Director before appointing an individual to fill a vacancy or recommending to the President an individual be nominated to fill a vacancy in any of the following positions: the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; uniformed heads of the intelligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps above the rank of Major General or Rear Admiral; the Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard for Intelligence; and the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
(e) Removal from certain positions.
(1) Except for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, whose removal the Director may recommend to the President, the Director and the relevant department head shall consult on the removal, or recommendation to the President for removal, as the case may be, of: the Director of the National Security Agency, the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, and the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of the Treasury. If the Director and the department head do not agree on removal, or recommendation for removal, either may make a recommendation to the President for the removal of the individual.
(2) The Director and the relevant department or bureau head shall consult on the removal of: the Executive Assistant Director for the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the Department of Energy, the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office, the Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard for Intelligence, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. With respect to an individual appointed by a department head, the department head may remove the individual upon the request of the Director; if the department head chooses not to remove the individual, either the Director or the department head may advise the President of the department head's intention to retain the individual. In the case of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense may recommend to the President either the removal or the retention of the individual. For uniformed heads of the intelligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps, the Director may make a recommendation for removal to the Secretary of Defense.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or otherwise affect the authority of the President to nominate, appoint, assign, or terminate the appointment or assignment of any individual, with or without a consultation, recommendation, or concurrence.
1.4 The Intelligence Community. Consistent with applicable Federal law and with the other provisions of this order, and under the leadership of the Director, as specified in such law and this order, the Intelligence Community shall:
(a) Collect and provide information needed by the President and, in the performance of executive functions, the Vice President, the NSC, the Homeland Security Council, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, and other executive branch officials and, as appropriate, the Congress of the United States;
(b) In accordance with priorities set by the President, collect information concerning, and conduct activities to protect against, international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, intelligence activities directed against the United States, international criminal drug activities, and other hostile activities directed against the United States by foreign powers, organizations, persons, and their agents;
(c) Analyze, produce, and disseminate intelligence;
(d) Conduct administrative, technical, and other support activities within the United States and abroad necessary for the performance of authorized activities, to include providing services of common concern for the Intelligence Community as designated by the Director in accordance with this order;
(e) Conduct research, development, and procurement of technical systems and devices relating to authorized functions and missions or the provision of services of common concern for the Intelligence Community;
(f) Protect the security of intelligence related activities, information, installations, property, and employees by appropriate means, including such investigations of applicants, employees, contractors, and other persons with similar associations with the Intelligence Community elements as are necessary;
(g) Take into account State, local, and tribal governments' and, as appropriate, private sector entities' information needs relating to national and homeland security;
(h) Deconflict, coordinate, and integrate all intelligence activities and other information gathering in accordance with section 1.3(b)(20) of this order; and
(i) Perform such other functions and duties related to intelligence activities as the President may direct.
1.5 Duties and Responsibilities of the Heads of Executive Branch Departments and Agencies. The heads of all departments and agencies shall:
(a) Provide the Director access to all information and intelligence relevant to the national security or that otherwise is required for the performance of the Director's duties, to include administrative and other appropriate management information, except such information excluded by law, by the President, or by the Attorney General acting under this order at the direction of the President;
(b) Provide all programmatic and budgetary information necessary to support the Director in developing the National Intelligence Program;
(c) Coordinate development and implementation of intelligence systems and architectures and, as appropriate, operational systems and architectures of their departments, agencies, and other elements with the Director to respond to national intelligence requirements and all applicable information sharing and security guidelines, information privacy, and other legal requirements;
(d) Provide, to the maximum extent permitted by law, subject to the availability of appropriations and not inconsistent with the mission of the department or agency, such further support to the Director as the Director may request, after consultation with the head of the department or agency, for the performance of the Director's functions;
(e) Respond to advisory tasking from the Director under section 1.3(b)(18) of this order to the greatest extent possible, in accordance with applicable policies established by the head of the responding department or agency;
(f) Ensure that all elements within the department or agency comply with the provisions of Part 2 of this order, regardless of Intelligence Community affiliation, when performing foreign intelligence and counterintelligence functions;
(g) Deconflict, coordinate, and integrate all intelligence activities in accordance with section 1.3(b)(20), and intelligence and other activities in accordance with section 1.3(b)(21) of this order;
(h) Inform the Attorney General, either directly or through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of clandestine collection of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities inside the United States not coordinated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(i) Pursuant to arrangements developed by the head of the department or agency and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and approved by the Director, inform the Director and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, either directly or through his designee serving outside the United States, as appropriate, of clandestine collection of foreign intelligence collected through human sources or through human-enabled means outside the United States that has not been coordinated with the Central Intelligence Agency; and
(j) Inform the Secretary of Defense, either directly or through his designee, as appropriate, of clandestine collection of foreign intelligence outside the United States in a region of combat or contingency military operations designated by the Secretary of Defense, for purposes of this paragraph, after consultation with the Director of National Intelligence.
1.6 Heads of Elements of the Intelligence Community. The heads of elements of the Intelligence Community shall:
(a) Provide the Director access to all information and intelligence relevant to the national security or that otherwise is required for the performance of the Director's duties, to include administrative and other appropriate management information, except such information excluded by law, by the President, or by the Attorney General acting under this order at the direction of the President;
(b) Report to the Attorney General possible violations of Federal criminal laws by employees and of specified Federal criminal laws by any other person as provided in procedures agreed upon by the Attorney General and the head of the department, agency, or establishment concerned, in a manner consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, as specified in those procedures;
(c) Report to the Intelligence Oversight Board, consistent with Executive Order 13462 of February 29, 2008, and provide copies of all such reports to the Director, concerning any intelligence activities of their elements that they have reason to believe may be unlawful or contrary to executive order or presidential directive;
(d) Protect intelligence and intelligence sources, methods, and activities from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with guidance from the Director;
(e) Facilitate, as appropriate, the sharing of information or intelligence, as directed by law or the President, to State, local, tribal, and private sector entities;
(f) Disseminate information or intelligence to foreign governments and international organizations under intelligence or counterintelligence arrangements or agreements established in accordance with section 1.3(b)(4) of this order;
(g) Participate in the development of procedures approved by the Attorney General governing production and dissemination of information or intelligence resulting from criminal drug intelligence activities abroad if they have intelligence responsibilities for foreign or domestic criminal drug production and trafficking; and
(h) Ensure that the inspectors general, general counsels, and agency officials responsible for privacy or civil liberties protection for their respective organizations have access to any information or intelligence necessary to perform their official duties.
1.7 Intelligence Community Elements. Each element of the Intelligence Community shall have the duties and responsibilities specified below, in addition to those specified by law or elsewhere in this order. Intelligence Community elements within executive departments shall serve the information and intelligence needs of their respective heads of departments and also shall operate as part of an integrated Intelligence Community, as provided in law or this order.
(a) The Central Intelligence Agency. The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall:
(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence and counterintelligence;
(2) Conduct counterintelligence activities without assuming or performing any internal security functions within the United States;
(3) Conduct administrative and technical support activities within and outside the United States as necessary for cover and proprietary arrangements;
(4) Conduct covert action activities approved by the President. No agency except the Central Intelligence Agency (or the Armed Forces of the United States in time of war declared by the Congress or during any period covered by a report from the President to the Congress consistent with the War Powers Resolution, Public Law 93-148) may conduct any covert action activity unless the President determines that another agency is more likely to achieve a particular objective;
(5) Conduct foreign intelligence liaison relationships with intelligence or security services of foreign governments or international organizations consistent with section 1.3(b)(4) of this order;
(6) Under the direction and guidance of the Director, and in accordance with section 1.3(b)(4) of this order, coordinate the implementation of intelligence and counterintelligence relationships between elements of the Intelligence Community and the intelligence or security services of foreign governments or international organizations; and
(7) Perform such other functions and duties related to intelligence as the Director may direct.
(b) The Defense Intelligence Agency. The Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency shall:
(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence and counterintelligence to support national and departmental missions;
(2) Collect, analyze, produce, or, through tasking and coordination, provide defense and defense-related intelligence for the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant commanders, other Defense components, and non-Defense agencies;
(3) Conduct counterintelligence activities;
(4) Conduct administrative and technical support activities within and outside the United States as necessary for cover and proprietary arrangements;
(5) Conduct foreign defense intelligence liaison relationships and defense intelligence exchange programs with foreign defense establishments, intelligence or security services of foreign governments, and international organizations in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.7(a)(6), and 1.10(i) of this order;
(6) Manage and coordinate all matters related to the Defense Attach(C) system; and
(7) Provide foreign intelligence and counterintelligence staff support as directed by the Secretary of Defense.
(c) The National Security Agency. The Director of the National Security Agency shall:
(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), process, analyze, produce, and disseminate signals intelligence information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes to support national and departmental missions;
(2) Establish and operate an effective unified organization for signals intelligence activities, except for the delegation of operational control over certain operations that are conducted through other elements of the Intelligence Community. No other department or agency may engage in signals intelligence activities except pursuant to a delegation by the Secretary of Defense, after coordination with the Director;
(3) Control signals intelligence collection and processing activities, including assignment of resources to an appropriate agent for such periods and tasks as required for the direct support of military commanders;
(4) Conduct administrative and technical support activities within and outside the United States as necessary for cover arrangements;
(5) Provide signals intelligence support for national and departmental requirements and for the conduct of military operations;
(6) Act as the National Manager for National Security Systems as established in law and policy, and in this capacity be responsible to the Secretary of Defense and to the Director;
(7) Prescribe, consistent with section 102A(g) of the Act, within its field of authorized operations, security regulations covering operating practices, including the transmission, handling, and distribution of signals intelligence and communications security material within and among the elements under control of the Director of the National Security Agency, and exercise the necessary supervisory control to ensure compliance with the regulations; and
(8) Conduct foreign cryptologic liaison relationships in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.7(a)(6), and 1.10(i) of this order.
(d) The National Reconnaissance Office. The Director of the National Reconnaissance Office shall:
(1) Be responsible for research and development, acquisition, launch, deployment, and operation of overhead systems and related data processing facilities to collect intelligence and information to support national and departmental missions and other United States Government needs; and
(2) Conduct foreign liaison relationships relating to the above missions, in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.7(a)(6), and 1.10(i) of this order.
(e) The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency shall:
(1) Collect, process, analyze, produce, and disseminate geospatial intelligence information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes to support national and departmental missions;
(2) Provide geospatial intelligence support for national and departmental requirements and for the conduct of military operations;
(3) Conduct administrative and technical support activities within and outside the United States as necessary for cover arrangements; and
(4) Conduct foreign geospatial intelligence liaison relationships, in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.7(a)(6), and 1.10(i) of this order.
(f) The Intelligence and Counterintelligence Elements of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The Commanders and heads of the intelligence and counterintelligence elements of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps shall:
(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), produce, analyze, and disseminate defense and defense-related intelligence and counterintelligence to support departmental requirements, and, as appropriate, national requirements;
(2) Conduct counterintelligence activities;
(3) Monitor the development, procurement, and management of tactical intelligence systems and equipment and conduct related research, development, and test and evaluation activities; and
(4) Conduct military intelligence liaison relationships and military intelligence exchange programs with selected cooperative foreign defense establishments and international organizations in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.7(a)(6), and 1.10(i) of this order.
(g) Intelligence Elements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Under the supervision of the Attorney General and pursuant to such regulations as the Attorney General may establish, the intelligence elements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall:
(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence and counterintelligence to support national and departmental missions, in accordance with procedural guidelines approved by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Director;
(2) Conduct counterintelligence activities; and
(3) Conduct foreign intelligence and counterintelligence liaison relationships with intelligence, security, and law enforcement services of foreign governments or international organizations in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4) and 1.7(a)(6) of this order.
(h) The Intelligence and Counterintelligence Elements of the Coast Guard. The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall:
(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence and counterintelligence including defense and defense-related information and intelligence to support national and departmental missions;
(2) Conduct counterintelligence activities;
(3) Monitor the development, procurement, and management of tactical intelligence systems and equipment and conduct related research, development, and test and evaluation activities; and
(4) Conduct foreign intelligence liaison relationships and intelligence exchange programs with foreign intelligence services, security services or international organizations in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.7(a)(6), and, when operating as part of the Department of Defense, 1.10(i) of this order.
(i) The Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State; The Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of the Treasury; The Office of National Security Intelligence, Drug Enforcement Administration; The Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security; and the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Department of Energy. The heads of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State; the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of the Treasury; the Office of National Security Intelligence, Drug Enforcement Administration; the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security; and the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Department of Energy shall:
(1) Collect (overtly or through publicly available sources), analyze, produce, and disseminate information, intelligence, and counterintelligence to support national and departmental missions; and
(2) Conduct and participate in analytic or information exchanges with foreign partners and international organizations in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4) and 1.7(a)(6) of this order.
(j) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Director shall collect (overtly or through publicly available sources), analyze, produce, and disseminate information, intelligence, and counterintelligence to support the missions of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including the National Counterterrorism Center, and to support other national missions.
1.8 The Department of State. In addition to the authorities exercised by the Bureau of Intelligence and Research under sections 1.4 and 1.7(i) of this order, the Secretary of State shall:
(a) Collect (overtly or through publicly available sources) information relevant to United States foreign policy and national security concerns;
(b) Disseminate, to the maximum extent possible, reports received from United States diplomatic and consular posts;
(c) Transmit reporting requirements and advisory taskings of the Intelligence Community to the Chiefs of United States Missions abroad; and
(d) Support Chiefs of United States Missions in discharging their responsibilities pursuant to law and presidential direction.
1.9 The Department of the Treasury. In addition to the authorities exercised by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of the Treasury under sections 1.4 and 1.7(i) of this order the Secretary of the Treasury shall collect (overtly or through publicly available sources) foreign financial information and, in consultation with the Department of State, foreign economic information.
1.10 The Department of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall:
(a) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate information and intelligence and be responsive to collection tasking and advisory tasking by the Director;
(b) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate defense and defense-related intelligence and counterintelligence, as required for execution of the Secretary's responsibilities;
(c) Conduct programs and missions necessary to fulfill national, departmental, and tactical intelligence requirements;
(d) Conduct counterintelligence activities in support of Department of Defense components and coordinate counterintelligence activities in accordance with section 1.3(b)(20) and (21) of this order;
(e) Act, in coordination with the Director, as the executive agent of the United States Government for signals intelligence activities;
(f) Provide for the timely transmission of critical intelligence, as defined by the Director, within the United States Government;
(g) Carry out or contract for research, development, and procurement of technical systems and devices relating to authorized intelligence functions;
(h) Protect the security of Department of Defense installations, activities, information, property, and employees by appropriate means, including such investigations of applicants, employees, contractors, and other persons with similar associations with the Department of Defense as are necessary;
(i) Establish and maintain defense intelligence relationships and defense intelligence exchange programs with selected cooperative foreign defense establishments, intelligence or security services of foreign governments, and international organizations, and ensure that such relationships and programs are in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4), 1.3(b)(21) and 1.7(a)(6) of this order;
(j) Conduct such administrative and technical support activities within and outside the United States as are necessary to provide for cover and proprietary arrangements, to perform the functions described in sections (a) though (i) above, and to support the Intelligence Community elements of the Department of Defense; and
(k) Use the Intelligence Community elements within the Department of Defense identified in section 1.7(b) through (f) and, when the Coast Guard is operating as part of the Department of Defense,
(h) above to carry out the Secretary of Defense's responsibilities assigned in this section or other departments, agencies, or offices within the Department of Defense, as appropriate, to conduct the intelligence missions and responsibilities assigned to the Secretary of Defense.
1.11 The Department of Homeland Security. In addition to the authorities exercised by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security under sections 1.4 and 1.7(i) of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall conduct, through the United States Secret Service, activities to determine the existence and capability of surveillance equipment being used against the President or the Vice President of the United States, the Executive Office of the President, and, as authorized by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the President, other Secret Service protectees and United States officials. No information shall be acquired intentionally through such activities except to protect against use of such surveillance equipment, and those activities shall be conducted pursuant to procedures agreed upon by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General.
1.12 The Department of Energy. In addition to the authorities exercised by the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the Department of Energy under sections 1.4 and 1.7(i) of this order, the Secretary of Energy shall:
(a) Provide expert scientific, technical, analytic, and research capabilities to other agencies within the Intelligence Community, as appropriate;
(b) Participate in formulating intelligence collection and analysis requirements where the special expert capability of the Department can contribute; and
(c) Participate with the Department of State in overtly collecting information with respect to foreign energy matters.
1.13 The Federal Bureau of Investigation. In addition to the authorities exercised by the intelligence elements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice under sections 1.4 and 1.7(g) of this order and under the supervision of the Attorney General and pursuant to such regulations as the Attorney General may establish, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide technical assistance, within or outside the United States, to foreign intelligence and law enforcement services, consistent with section 1.3(b)(20) and (21) of this order, as may be necessary to support national or departmental missions.
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Part 2 Conduct of Intelligence Activities
2.1 Need. Timely, accurate, and insightful information about the activities, capabilities, plans, and intentions of foreign powers, organizations, and persons, and their agents, is essential to informed decisionmaking in the areas of national security, national defense, and foreign relations. Collection of such information is a priority objective and will be pursued in a vigorous, innovative, and responsible manner that is consistent with the Constitution and applicable law and respectful of the principles upon which the United States was founded.
2.2 Purpose. This Order is intended to enhance human and technical collection techniques, especially those undertaken abroad, and the acquisition of significant foreign intelligence, as well as the detection and countering of international terrorist activities, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and espionage conducted by foreign powers. Set forth below are certain general principles that, in addition to and consistent with applicable laws, are intended to achieve the proper balance between the acquisition of essential information and protection of individual interests. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to apply to or interfere with any authorized civil or criminal law enforcement responsibility of any department or agency.
2.3 Collection of information. Elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to collect, retain, or disseminate information concerning United States persons only in accordance with procedures established by the head of the Intelligence Community element concerned or by the head of a department containing such element and approved by the Attorney General, consistent with the authorities provided by Part 1 of this Order, after consultation with the Director. Those procedures shall permit collection, retention, and dissemination of the following types of information:
(a) Information that is publicly available or collected with the consent of the person concerned;
(b) Information constituting foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, including such information concerning corporations or other commercial organizations. Collection within the United States of foreign intelligence not otherwise obtainable shall be undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or, when significant foreign intelligence is sought, by other authorized elements of the Intelligence Community, provided that no foreign intelligence collection by such elements may be undertaken for the purpose of acquiring information concerning the domestic activities of United States persons;
(c) Information obtained in the course of a lawful foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, international drug or international terrorism investigation;
(d) Information needed to protect the safety of any persons or organizations, including those who are targets, victims, or hostages of international terrorist organizations;
(e) Information needed to protect foreign intelligence or counterintelligence sources, methods, and activities from unauthorized disclosure. Collection within the United States shall be undertaken by the FBI except that other elements of the Intelligence Community may also collect such information concerning present or former employees, present or former intelligence element contractors or their present or former employees, or applicants for such employment or contracting;
(f) Information concerning persons who are reasonably believed to be potential sources or contacts for the purpose of determining their suitability or credibility;
(g) Information arising out of a lawful personnel, physical, or communications security investigation;
(h) Information acquired by overhead reconnaissance not directed at specific United States persons;
(i) Incidentally obtained information that may indicate involvement in activities that may violate Federal, state, local, or foreign laws; and
(j) Information necessary for administrative purposes. In addition, elements of the Intelligence Community may disseminate information to each appropriate element within the Intelligence Community for purposes of allowing the recipient element to determine whether the information is relevant to its responsibilities and can be retained by it, except that information derived from signals intelligence may only be disseminated or made available to Intelligence Community elements in accordance with procedures established by the Director in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and approved by the Attorney General.
2.4 Collection Techniques. Elements of the Intelligence Community shall use the least intrusive collection techniques feasible within the United States or directed against United States persons abroad. Elements of the Intelligence Community are not authorized to use such techniques as electronic surveillance, unconsented physical searches, mail surveillance, physical surveillance, or monitoring devices unless they are in accordance with procedures established by the head of the Intelligence Community element concerned or the head of a department containing such element and approved by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Director. Such procedures shall protect constitutional and other legal rights and limit use of such information to lawful governmental purposes. These procedures shall not authorize:
(a) The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to engage in electronic surveillance within the United States except for the purpose of training, testing, or conducting countermeasures to hostile electronic surveillance;
(b) Unconsented physical searches in the United States by elements of the Intelligence Community other than the FBI, except for:
(1) Searches by counterintelligence elements of the military services directed against military personnel within the United States or abroad for intelligence purposes, when authorized by a military commander empowered to approve physical searches for law enforcement purposes, based upon a finding of probable cause to believe that such persons are acting as agents of foreign powers; and
(2) Searches by CIA of personal property of non-United States persons lawfully in its possession;
(c) Physical surveillance of a United States person in the United States by elements of the Intelligence Community other than the FBI, except for:
(1) Physical surveillance of present or former employees, present or former intelligence element contractors or their present or former employees, or applicants for any such employment or contracting; and
(2) Physical surveillance of a military person employed by a non-intelligence element of a military service; and
(d) Physical surveillance of a United States person abroad to collect foreign intelligence, except to obtain significant information that cannot reasonably be acquired by other means.
2.5 Attorney General Approval. The Attorney General hereby is delegated the power to approve the use for intelligence purposes, within the United States or against a United States person abroad, of any technique for which a warrant would be required if undertaken for law enforcement purposes, provided that such techniques shall not be undertaken unless the Attorney General has determined in each case that there is probable cause to believe that the technique is directed against a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power. The authority delegated pursuant to this paragraph, including the authority to approve the use of electronic surveillance as defined in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended, shall be exercised in accordance with that Act.
2.6 Assistance to Law Enforcement and other Civil Authorities. Elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to:
(a) Cooperate with appropriate law enforcement agencies for the purpose of protecting the employees, information, property, and facilities of any element of the Intelligence Community;
(b) Unless otherwise precluded by law or this Order, participate in law enforcement activities to investigate or prevent clandestine intelligence activities by foreign powers, or international terrorist or narcotics activities;
(c) Provide specialized equipment, technical knowledge, or assistance of expert personnel for use by any department or agency, or when lives are endangered, to support local law enforcement agencies. Provision of assistance by expert personnel shall be approved in each case by the general counsel of the providing element or department; and
(d) Render any other assistance and cooperation to law enforcement or other civil authorities not precluded by applicable law.
2.7 Contracting. Elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to enter into contracts or arrangements for the provision of goods or services with private companies or institutions in the United States and need not reveal the sponsorship of such contracts or arrangements for authorized intelligence purposes. Contracts or arrangements with academic institutions may be undertaken only with the consent of appropriate officials of the institution.
2.8 Consistency With Other Laws. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to authorize any activity in violation of the Constitution or statutes of the United States.
2.9 Undisclosed Participation in Organizations Within the United States. No one acting on behalf of elements of the Intelligence Community may join or otherwise participate in any organization in the United States on behalf of any element of the Intelligence Community without disclosing such person's intelligence affiliation to appropriate officials of the organization, except in accordance with procedures established by the head of the Intelligence Community element concerned or the head of a department containing such element and approved by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Director. Such participation shall be authorized only if it is essential to achieving lawful purposes as determined by the Intelligence Community element head or designee. No such participation may be undertaken for the purpose of influencing the activity of the organization or its members except in cases where:
a) The participation is undertaken on behalf of the FBI in the course of a lawful investigation; or
(b) The organization concerned is composed primarily of individuals who are not United States persons and is reasonably believed to be acting on behalf of a foreign power.
2.10 Human Experimentation. No element of the Intelligence Community shall sponsor, contract for, or conduct research on human subjects except in accordance with guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. The subject's informed consent shall be documented as required by those guidelines.
2.11 Prohibition on Assassination. No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in or conspire to engage in assassination.
2.12 Indirect Participation. No element of the Intelligence Community shall participate in or request any person to undertake activities forbidden by this Order.
2.13 Limitation on Covert Action. No covert action may be conducted which is intended to influence United States political processes, public opinion, policies, or media.
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Part 3 General Provisions
3.1 Congressional Oversight. The duties and responsibilities of the Director and the heads of other departments, agencies, elements, and entities engaged in intelligence activities to cooperate with the Congress in the conduct of its responsibilities for oversight of intelligence activities shall be implemented in accordance with applicable law, including title V of the Act. The requirements of applicable law, including title V of the Act, shall apply to all covert action activities as defined in this Order.
3.2 Implementation. The President, supported by the NSC, and the Director shall issue such appropriate directives, procedures, and guidance as are necessary to implement this order. Heads of elements within the Intelligence Community shall issue appropriate procedures and supplementary directives consistent with this order. No procedures to implement Part 2of this order shall be issued without the Attorney General's approval, after consultation with the Director. The Attorney General shall provide a statement of reasons for not approving any procedures established by the head of an element in the Intelligence Community (or the head of the department containing such element) other than the FBI. In instances where the element head or department head and the Attorney General are unable to reach agreements on other than constitutional or other legal grounds, the Attorney General, the head of department concerned, or the Director shall refer the matter to the NSC.
3.3 Procedures. The activities herein authorized that require procedures shall be conducted in accordance with existing procedures or requirements established under Executive Order 12333. New procedures, as required by Executive Order 12333, as further amended, shall be established as expeditiously as possible. All new procedures promulgated pursuant to Executive Order 12333, as amended, shall be made available to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
3.4 References and Transition. References to "Senior Officials of the Intelligence Community" or "SOICs" in executive orders or other Presidential guidance, shall be deemed references to the heads of elements in the Intelligence Community, unless the President otherwise directs; references in Intelligence Community or Intelligence Community element policies or guidance, shall be deemed to be references to the heads of elements of the Intelligence Community, unless the President or the Director otherwise directs.
3.5 Definitions. For the purposes of this Order, the following terms shall have these meanings:
(a) Counterintelligence means information gathered and activities conducted to identify, deceive, exploit, disrupt, or protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassinations conducted for or on behalf of foreign powers, organizations, or persons, or their agents, or international terrorist organizations or activities.
(b) Covert action means an activity or activities of the United States Government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the United States Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly, but does not include:
(1) Activities the primary purpose of which is to acquire intelligence, traditional counterintelligence activities, traditional activities to improve or maintain the operational security of United States Government programs, or administrative activities;
(2) Traditional diplomatic or military activities or routine support to such activities;
(3) Traditional law enforcement activities conducted by United States Government law enforcement agencies or routine support to such activities; or
(4) Activities to provide routine support to the overt activities (other than activities described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)) of other United States Government agencies abroad.
(c) Electronic surveillance means acquisition of a nonpublic communication by electronic means without the consent of a person who is a party to an electronic communication or, in the case of a nonelectronic communication, without the consent of a person who is visibly present at the place of communication, but not including the use of radio direction-finding equipment solely to determine the location of a transmitter.
(d) Employee means a person employed by, assignedor detailed to, or acting for an element within the Intelligence Community.
(e) Foreign intelligence means information relating to the capabilities, intentions, or activities of foreign governments or elements thereof, foreign organizations, foreign persons, or international terrorists.
(f) Intelligence includes foreign intelligence and counterintelligence.
(g) Intelligence activities means all activities that elements of the Intelligence Community are authorized to conduct pursuant to this order.
(h) Intelligence Community and elements of the Intelligence Community refers to:
(1) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
(2) The Central Intelligence Agency;
(3) The National Security Agency;
(4) The Defense Intelligence Agency;
(5) The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency;
(6) The National Reconnaissance Office;
(7) The other offices within the Department of Defense for the collection of specialized national foreign intelligence through reconnaissance programs;
(8) The intelligence and counterintelligence elements of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps;
(9) The intelligence elements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(10) The Office of National Security Intelligence of the Drug Enforcement Administration;
(11) The Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the Department of Energy;
(12) The Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the Department of State;
(13) The Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of the Treasury;
(14) The Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security;
(15) The intelligence and counterintelligence elements of the Coast Guard; and
(16) Such other elements of any department or agency as may be designated by the President, or designated jointly by the Director and the head of the department or agency concerned, as an element of the Intelligence Community.
(i) National Intelligence and Intelligence Related to National Security means all intelligence, regardless of the source from which derived and including information gathered within or outside the United States, that pertains, as determined consistent with any guidance issued by the President, or that is determined for the purpose of access to information by the Director in accordance with section 1.3(a)(1) of this order, to pertain to more than one United States Government agency; and that involves threats to the United States, its people, property, or interests; the development, proliferation, or use of weapons of mass destruction; or any other matter bearing on United States national or homeland security.
(j) The National Intelligence Program means all programs, projects, and activities of the Intelligence Community, as well as any other programs of the Intelligence Community designated jointly by the Director and the head of a United States department or agency or by the President. Such term does not include programs, projects, or activities of the military departments to acquire intelligence solely for the planning and conduct of tactical military operations by United States Armed Forces.
(k) United States person means a United States citizen, an alien known by the intelligence element concerned to be a permanent resident alien, an unincorporated association substantially composed of United States citizens or permanent resident aliens, or a corporation incorporated in the United States, except for a corporation directed and controlled by a foreign government or governments.
3.6 Revocation. Executive Orders 13354 and 13355 of August 27, 2004, are revoked; and paragraphs 1.3(b)(9) and (10) of Part 1 supersede provisions within Executive Order 12958, as amended, to the extent such provisions in Executive Order 12958, as amended, are inconsistent with this Order.
3.7 General Provisions.
(a) Consistent with section 1.3(c) of this order, nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(1) Authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(2) Functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
/s/ Ronald ReaganThe White HouseDecember 4, 1981
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@amuse on Twitter: "BREAKING NEWS: The Biden's were working to sell 14% of Rosneft Oil Company to the Chinese to circumvent US sanctions on Russia. FBI Director Christopher Wray represented Rosneft." / Twitter
@amuse : BREAKING NEWS: The Biden's were working to sell 14% of Rosneft Oil Company to the Chinese to circumvent US sanction'... https://t.co/1r64XE9yug
Thu Oct 29 18:34:46 +0000 2020
John Schreiber ð : @amuse @RonColeman This is incredible!
Fri Oct 30 00:49:34 +0000 2020
US Ministry of Truth : @amuse @dbongino @TomFitton @marklevinshow
Fri Oct 30 00:47:25 +0000 2020
EXCLUSIVE SOURCE: Biden Daughter's Diary Details 'Not Appropriate' Showers With Joe As Child - National File
National File has obtained what a whistleblower has identified as a copy of the complete diary of Ashley Blazer Biden, the 39-year-old daughter of Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, dating from during the 2020 presidential campaign. National File also knows the reported precise location of the physical diary, and has been told by a whistleblower that there exists an audio recording of Ashley Biden admitting this is her diary.In the diary, which our source says belongs to the former vice president's daughter, the author writes of her struggle with drug abuse. Ashley Biden's struggle with drugs was widely publicized in 2009.
According to our source, the diary also details Ashley Biden's unhealthy relationship with sex, and the ''probably not appropriate'' showers she shared as a young girl with her father, Joe Biden.
Joe Biden dances the hora with Ashley at her wedding in 2012After declaring she was ''here for sexual trauma'' in the previous entry, on page 23 of the diary, dated January 30, 2019, the author explores the topic of sexual abuse and how it may have led to her overactive sex drive. ''I've had one of my hardest days '' my sex drive is out of f**king control. Like literally, I am in heat,'' wrote the author.
Read More: FULL RELEASE: Ashley Biden Diary Reveals Child Sex Trauma, Drug Abuse, Resentment For Joe '' Whistleblower
''I know it's not the healthiest way to deal with things but @ least it's better than drugs,'' she wrote, adding that she thought she needed ''sex to feel good.''
The author then explored why she felt this need to have sex, saying she believes she was molested as a child.
''Was I molested. I think so '' I can't remember specifics but I do remember trauma,'' wrote the author, before listing a series of potential incidents, one of which may have included Ashley Biden's cousin Caroline Biden, as the author says she remembers ''being somewhat sexualized'' alongside a person named ''Caroline.''
Read More: DIARY: Biden's Daughter Ashley Resents Him For His Money, Control, Emotional Manipulation '' Whistleblower
The author then wrote that she remembers ''showers with my dad'' that were ''probably not appropriate.''
On page 83, in an entry dated July 22, 2019, the author wrote that she received a phone call from her father, Joe Biden according to our source, who cried on the phone while expressing his worry for her in the days leading up to July 30-31 Democratic Primary Debate.
Read More: ADDICTION: Diary Entries Show Ashley Biden's Alleged Battle With Cocaine, 'Hard' Drugs '' Whistleblower
''My dad cried on the phone saying he has the debate in a week and 'Now has to worry about [the author],''' she wrote. ''And he cried. Maybe he knows what he is doing and it's worked but my feelings of guilt often are overwhelming.''
In at least two entries, the author explicitly identifies herself as Ashley Blazer Biden.
National File obtained this document from a whistleblower who was concerned the media organization that employs him would not publish this potential critical story in the final 10 days before the 2020 presidential election. National File's whistleblower also has a recording of Ashley Biden admitting the diary is hers, and employed a handwriting expert who verified the pages were all written by Ashley. National File has in its posession a recording of this whistleblower detailing the work his media outlet did in preparation of releasing these documents. In the recording, the whistleblower explains that the media organization he works for chose not to release the documents after receiving pressure from a competing media organization.
This diary surfaces after Hunter Biden, the son of the Democrat presidential candidate, Joe Biden, has been exposed as having ''underage obsessions'' and corrupt business dealings as evidenced by emails and images provided by the New York Post and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
National File, as the media organization that published reports about the Pelosi family's Ukraine dealings and the potentially illegal affairs of Democrat Senate candidate Cal Cunningham, believes the public has a right to read these entries that were obtained for National File by Patrick Howley, the reporter who broke the Veterans Affairs scandal, and the Ralph Northam racist yearbook photo.
Last year Ashley Biden was profiled by The List, which claimed that her ''transformation is turning heads.'' She was credited as working as a ''social worker, activist, and entrepreneur.''
Lin Wood on Twitter: "Rod Rosenstein worked for the maw firm of King & Spalding. Sally Yates worked for the law firm of King & Spalding. Christopher Wray worked for the law firm of King & Spalding. Do the math & connect the dots. Speak tru
Lin Wood : Rod Rosenstein worked for the maw firm of King & Spalding. Sally Yates worked for the law firm of King & Spalding.'... https://t.co/qB8PxO4BMK
Fri Oct 30 03:33:04 +0000 2020
National security nightmare of Hunter Biden's laptop | Daily Mail Online
The son of the man expected by many to be America's next President abandoned a laptop containing a treasure trove of top-secret material, including his father's private emails and mobile phone numbers, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
In an astonishing lapse, Hunter Biden chose to protect his MacBook Pro computer '' crammed with what an IT expert last night described as a 'national security nightmare' and 'classic blackmail material' '' with a single, simple password: Hunter02.
Remarkably, the 50-year-old businessman and self-confessed drug addict took the machine to a back-street IT store in Delaware in April 2019 to get it repaired '' yet never returned to collect it.
Its existence was revealed by the New York Post last month, but the staggering scale and sensitivity of its contents '' easily accessible to a hacker with a modicum of skill '' is only revealed for the first time today.
The material, none of which was encrypted or protected by anything as basic as two-factor authentication, includes:
Joe Biden's personal mobile number and three private email addresses as well as the names of his Secret Service agents; Mobile numbers for former President Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary and almost every member of former President Barack Obama's cabinet; A contact database of 1,500 people including actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, former Presidential candidate John Kerry and ex-FBI boss Louis Freeh; Personal documents including Hunter's passport, driver's licence, social security card, credit cards and bank statements; Details of Hunter's drug and sex problems, including $21,000 spent on one 'live cam' porn website and 'selfies' of him engaging in sex acts and smoking crack cocaine; While Hunter has been accused of using his family name to help with deals with Ukrainian and Chinese firms, there is nothing on the laptop to implicate Joe Biden in any wrongdoing.
One email relating to a failed Chinese deal refers to a payment of ten per cent to 'the Big Guy', which some have suggested is the presidential hopeful.
However, Mr Biden has insisted: 'I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life.'
Last night, IT expert Chris Greany said it was 'staggering' the laptop had not been encrypted.
New laptop revelations: An IT expert last night described as a 'national security nightmare' and 'classic blackmail material' the revelation that Hunter Biden protected his laptop - which was filled with with a treasure trove of top-secret material - with a single, simple password: Hunter02. He is pictured with what appears to be drug parephenelia in his mouth
A contact database of 1,500 people included the numbers of Bill and Hillary Clinton, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, her ex-husband Coldplay singer Chris Martin, former Presidential candidate John Kerry and ex-FBI boss Louis Freeh
Unpaid bill: A message from porn site Jasmin, shows Hunter's attempt to buy credit was 'declined due to insufficient funds on the credit card'. He shelled out more than $21,000 to one adult 'live cam' porn website
The full letter from Jasmin.com. Hunter Biden became so addicted to illicit sexual thrills that he once spent $11,400 on a single night of debauchery at a New York strip club
'It's a data breach and dangerous to have this type of material floating around,' said the former police commander, who advised successive British Foreign Secretaries on laptop security.
'For someone prominent, there is not only a risk of great reputational damage but also a risk of blackmail should the material fall into the wrong hands.'
Twitter boss berated for censoring story In an act of 'politically motivated censorship', Twitter deliberately prevented users from sharing a link to a front-page newspaper article about Hunter Biden's private life and his controversial business ties to Ukraine.
It included the claim that he arranged a meeting between his father Joe and a Ukrainian energy company on whose board Hunter served.
Both men have denied any impropriety but normally an accusation alone of this nature involving a US presidential nominee would set the news agenda alight.
But with Facebook also imposing restrictions pending 'independent verification' by 'fact checkers', the article published by the New York Post fizzled out.
In what became a curious case of a disappearing story, Republicans claimed it had been suppressed to avoid helping President Trump's re-election campaign.
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey (pictured) Twitter was criticised after the site prevented users from sharing a link to a front-page newspaper article about Hunter Biden's private life and his controversial business ties to Ukraine
Quizzing Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey during a virtual Senate hearing last week, Texas senator Ted Cruz asked: 'Who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?' Mr Dorsey has apologised for Twitter's action and said its treatment of the New York Post story was 'unacceptable'.
Republicans have long accused the bosses of technology companies of double standards for editing, deleting or fact-checking Mr Trump's posts while allowing harmful hate speech to remain on their services.
But anger over the Hunter Biden story has not been confined to the Right.
Last week investigative Left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald resigned from The Intercept, the news website he co-founded, after claiming he was silenced over an article critical of Joe Biden.
'The Intercept's editors, in violation of my contractual right of editorial freedom, censored an article I wrote this week, refusing to publish it unless I remove all sections critical of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the candidate vehemently supported by all New-York-based Intercept editors involved in this effort at suppression,' he wrote.
The revelations come just 48 hours before Americans give their verdict at the end of a rancorous election campaign.
They will send shockwaves through Mr Biden's campaign team, which is desperate to avoid last-minute scandals that may erode his eight-point lead in the polls.
Donald Trump has accused the mainstream US press and social media giants of ignoring '' and even burying '' the Hunter laptop affair.
He claims a liberal, pro-Democrat elite is 'protecting' his rival.
Hunter's laptop contains 11 gigabytes of material and covers the period from when Mr Biden served as Vice President under Mr Obama to when Hunter dropped it at the Mac Store in Wilmington.
A small selection of its contents was leaked to the press by Mr Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sparking unsubstantiated claims that the material may have been fabricated by Russia to derail Mr Biden's White House bid.
Others have suggested the laptop and its contents are a hoax perpetuated by China to weaken Mr Biden.
Yet neither Hunter nor his father have questioned that the laptop was left at the Delaware store nor the authenticity of material from it that has so far appeared in the media.
Evidence seen by The Mail on Sunday appears to confirm that Hunter left the laptop at the shop and the FBI later picked it up.
Last night, lawyers for Hunter declined to comment.
Representatives for Mr Biden did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
A forensic cyber expert hired to analyse material downloaded from the laptop says it is authentic.
'I have been doing this for 20 years and there is nothing to suggest the laptop or its contents have been interfered with or altered in any way,' said the expert, who has worked with US law enforcement agencies.
'There is no sign of data being added. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the real deal.'
The FBI, which took possession of a copy of the computer hard drive last December, declined to confirm or deny if it was carrying out an investigation.
However, Tony Bobulinski, one of Hunter's former business partners, claims he was interviewed by FBI agents in Washington on October 23 and during that meeting handed over mobile phone records that match material on the laptop.
Last night, a source familiar with the contents of the MacBook Pro said: 'The sheer volume of personal and financial information indicates Hunter has been potential blackmail fodder for years.
'It seems almost inconceivable that Hunter Biden, the son of the man likely to become our next President, was so naive and reckless that he did not have basic encryption or even a two-stage password to protect such highly sensitive material.'
Information stored on the laptop includes names and mobile phone numbers sent to Hunter by staff in Mr Biden's office at the White House in June 2015, a few days after the funeral of Hunter's brother, Beau, who died of brain cancer, aged 46.
As well as the Clintons, there are numbers for two of America's most powerful political leaders '' Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
An earlier email from November 2011 lists the names and mobile numbers for Mr Biden's Secret Service detail while he was Vice President.
A source said: 'This is all a flagrant breach of security.
'If a hostile state or individual had managed to hack into Hunter's computer ''and it wouldn't have been difficult considering the lack of security on it '' they would have easily found out who was guarding the Vice President and potentially been able to threaten family members of those Secret Service members.'
After his brother's death, Hunter '' while still married, but separated from his first wife Kathleen '' had an affair with Beau's widow, Hallie.
Emails sent to Hunter Biden displayed the phone numbers of prominent figures within Barack Obama's administration
Another document showed a list of secret service personnel who would be travelling on a trip
Personal documents including Hunter's passport, driver's licence, social security card, credit cards and bank statements; were also contained on the laptop - raising fears about blackmail threats to the
Gift for identity thieves: Hunter Biden's social security card
Joe Biden's personal mobile number and three private email addresses as well as the names of his Secret Service agents. A credit card is pictured
Hunter's laptop contains 11 gigabytes of material and covers the period from when Mr Biden served as Vice President under Mr Obama to when Hunter dropped it at the Mac Store in Wilmington. His driving license is pictured
Hunter's Amex card. IT experts said grave consequences could have followed 'If a hostile state or individual had managed to hack into Hunter's computer ''and it wouldn't have been difficult considering the lack of security on it'
The laptop contains scores of text messages between them as well as emails between Hunter and Kathleen as their relationship imploded and a bitter divorce battle began.
In one angry note to Kathleen, Hunter says: 'Have I ever missed a tuition payment or mortgage payment, a play or a game or anything that ever mattered'... Do you know what I've done to make that possible.
'Do you have any idea of the level of degradation?'
Hunter has long been considered the black sheep of the Biden family with his alcohol, drug and sex problems making headlines in America '' although his father has loyally stood by him.
After Hunter publicly acknowledged his battle with alcohol and drugs in April 2019 '' the same month in which he visited the Mac Store '' Mr Biden said: 'Beau was my soul. Hunter is my heart.'
Even last week, the man strongly tipped to become America's 46th President described his son as 'the smartest guy I know'. It is doubtful whether his campaign managers or supporters share that view.
Hunter Biden's laptop lays bare the world of depravity that makes him a target for blackmail: He spent $21,000 on a porn 'live cam' site and $11,400 in a strip club in a single night
By Caroline Graham in Los Angeles for the Mail On Sunday
Hunter Biden became so addicted to illicit sexual thrills that he once spent $11,400 on a single night of debauchery at a New York strip club and shelled out more than $21,000 to one adult 'live cam' porn website.
The scale of the descent of Joe Biden's son into a morass of drugs, drink and sleaze '' leaving him open to possible blackmail attempts '' is laid bare in hundreds of documents and photographs on his abandoned laptop.
The 50-year-old spent a fortune on escorts and ran up massive hotel bills, often paying for multiple rooms in a single night.
Graphic photographs show him apparently smoking crack cocaine from a pipe and engaging in sex acts with unidentified women.
Hunter Biden became so addicted to illicit sexual thrills that he once spent $11,400 on a single night of debauchery at a New York strip club and shelled out more than $21,000 to one adult 'live cam' porn website.
Porn site: Hunter shelled out more than $21,000 to one adult 'live cam' porn website Jasmin.com
One message from the Jasmin porn site, shows Hunter's attempt to buy credit was 'declined due to insufficient funds on the credit card'
One email sent to Hunter Biden was from 'hookup' website Adultfriendfinder.com, which he appeared to be a member of
Another email showed that a woman who was interested in Hunter had sent him a private message on one of the platforms
While Hunter's demons have been well chronicled '' not least during his divorce from first wife Kathleen, who alleged in court documents that his interests included 'drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations' '' the scale of his recklessness is staggering.
After his father became Vice President in 2009, Hunter asked the Security Service to stop deploying agents to accompany him.
It reluctantly agreed '' a decision that gave the politician's son more freedom to indulge his vices.
A source familiar with the contents of the laptop, including bank statements and credit card receipts, said: 'Hunter's spending on porn sites is staggering. At one point his credit card was rejected by a site because it was maxed out.
'There are multiple hotel room charges for the same night. He spends thousands on escorts.
It's no secret that Hunter has addiction issues, but the contents of the laptop and the apparent lack of security around either Hunter or his computer must raise doubts.
After his father became Vice President in 2009, Hunter asked the Security Service to stop deploying agents to accompany him
'He was obviously highly vulnerable to a potential blackmail attempt from external forces who might seek to influence his father.'
In an interview last year, Hunter openly described at length his lurch into the seedy world of drugs and sleaze.
'Everyone has trauma. There's addiction in every family,' he told The New Yorker magazine. 'I was in that darkness. I was in that tunnel '' it's a never-ending tunnel.'
That tunnel took in the Hustler Club in New York, where he spent £8,800 in a single night in September 2018, and the Streamray porn website from which he bought a five-figure sum of services in just six months.
The Biden Files contain log-in details and passwords for numerous sex sites and multiple payments to women whose names link back to escort websites.
One message from the Jasmin porn site, shows Hunter's attempt to buy credit was 'declined due to insufficient funds on the credit card'.
Emails reveal desperate pleas for Hunter to get help from his family. An email from his first wife, Kathleen, says: 'You told me if you started drinking again it would kill you. I feel like you are torturing me.'
Emails reveal desperate pleas for Hunter to get help from his family. An email from his first wife, Kathleen, says: 'You told me if you started drinking again it would kill you. I feel like you are torturing me.'
The secret service reluctantly agreed to give up accompanying Hunter after his father became Vice President in 2009
Begging him to return to rehab, his sister Ashley writes: 'You are a Biden. Remember that. This isn't how we work.'
Hunter's obsession with sexual imagery is clear. As well as selfies taken with unidentified women and a video of him engaged in a sex act, the laptop contained bizarre oil paintings of him naked while sprawled on a bed.
When sober, Hunter appears tormented by the damage that his behaviour is causing.
'Guilt is an appropriate emotion when we've wronged someone (including ourselves),' he wrote on one document stored in the poorly protected computer.
'Guilt that isn't acknowledged becomes shame. And shame becomes either narcissism, and addiction, and pain, and an empty life.'
The source said: 'When you see the contents, the picture you are left with is of a troubled man who is desperately trying to maintain the family image in public, but who is falling apart behind the scenes.
'He has the pressure of living up to the Biden name, but, in private, he dives into this dark world. He was a sitting duck for anyone who might seek to blackmail him.'
Hunter Biden's idea for a 'really serious tragic dramatic comedy'
Hunter Biden's laptop contains numerous Hollywood screenplay 'pitches' he had drafted
The laptop contains numerous Hollywood screenplay 'pitches' drafted by Hunter Biden.
A source said: 'He has always dreamed about making a story about his life.'
One reads:
A Mystery to Myself:
(A really seriously tragic dramatic comedy).
In the span of eight years:
My father is elected Vice President of the United States.
I loose [sic] the entirety of my business.
I find a new way of doing business and replace most my income.
I relapse after 7 years of sobriety.
I go back to rehab.
The secret service follow me.
There are also oil paintings of a naked Hunter sprawled across an unmade bed and images of a tattoo on his back that appears to show long, black scratch marks running from his shoulders to his waist.
The source added: 'In his mind he's a Renaissance man. He writes poetry and wants to have a movie made of his life. But, as with most things, these are just pipe dreams. The reality is Hunter is a liability for his father. If Joe wins, one of the first tasks will be figuring out how to keep Hunter out of trouble for the next four years.'
An unkempt man left his laptop in a nondescript computer store in a Delaware shopping mall - and never returned Unkempt and unshaven, the man stumbled into the nondescript computer store at a Delaware shopping mall.
Entering The Mac Shop carrying three water-damaged computers, he approached owner John Paul MacIsaac, who later claimed that he smelled alcohol on the customer's breath.
Mr MacIsaac was able to fix two of the machines, but the third was beyond repair.
Then the customer gave his name: Hunter Biden.
The seemingly innocuous encounter on April 12, 2019, has now become a global news story reaching the White House via Silicon Valley and inhabited by a colourful cast of characters.
As well as the albino shop owner, there's Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, a burly wrestler turned US Navy officer, a nerdy tech wizard and the President himself.
Mr MacIsaac, 44, completed a one-page form with Hunter's name, address and mobile phone details '' all of which have been verified '' and a bill for $85 due on completion of the work.
Hunter Biden dropped off his MacBook at the computer store the Mac Shop, which is based in a Delawre shopping mall
He told his customer he would need to copy the contents of the MacBook on to an external hard drive to recover them and the process would take a few days.
The man left '' but never returned. Under US law, when 90 days had passed, the uncollected laptop legally became Mr MacIsaac's property.
He decided to look at the recovered material on the laptop '' which is now in the hands of the FBI as part of an investigation in which Mr MacIsaac is a material witness '' and says a chill ran down his spine.
The Mail on Sunday today reveals some of that material for the first time '' exposing how the son of the man tipped to be America's next President left himself wide open to blackmail.
Mr MacIsaac fears repercussions. 'I have everything documented. I have everything saved. But the shop is over.
'I won't be able to sustain my business'... too many people are angry.'
He eventually alerted the FBI who collected the laptop on December 9, 2019.
The owner of the computer store, John Paul MacIsaac, later claimed that he smelled alcohol on Biden's breath. Under US law, when 90 days had passed, the uncollected laptop legally became Mr MacIsaac's property
An agent left a 'receipt for property' and a Grand Jury subpoena ordering Mr MacIsaac to testify about its contents.
At this point, the story becomes murkier.
Mr MacIsaac began emailing various senators about what he had found.
After getting no reply, he contacted Mr Giuliani who put him in touch with his lawyer, Robert Costello.
On October 14, the New York Post ran a front-page story with the headline: BIDEN SECRET EMAILS.
Inside they published a few emails relating to Hunter's business dealings in the Ukraine and alleged links to his father.
Joe and Hunter Biden have denied any impropriety.
Strangely, the story got little traction in the US media.
Stranger still, Twitter blocked the New York Post's account while Facebook and Google censored any mention of the article. Under pressure, they relented.
Even when Tony Bobulinski, a former US Navy serviceman and ex-wrestling champion who was Hunter's business partner, went on Trump-supporting Fox News to confirm he had emails verifying those on the laptop, the story was largely ignored.
Meanwhile, a cyber-security expert hired by a freelance journalist drove to Mr Costello's home on October 19 to copy the hard drive.
He then spent 'hundreds of hours' verifying the information and satisfying himself that the data had not been interfered with.
Finally, as Mr Trump fumed about the absence of media coverage for the Biden Files, the material was offered to The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.
Why the PDF Is Secretly the World's Most Important File Format
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.
The Portable Document Format, or PDF, is everywhere. But it's still a format that causes headaches for the average person.
Just take former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who may not be the average person, but who runs into issues with the PDF just like the best of us.
Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller's most recent indictment of Manafort noted how the lobbyist and his colleague, Richard Gates, collaborated on modifying a PDF document by converting the document into Word format, changing an amount in the document, then changing it back to a PDF.
This created something called a paper trail, bolstering Mueller's case against Manafort.
It's not often, of course, that the PDF gets this level of notice. The PDFs origin story is a bit more boring than that of the MP3, which was built around the contours of Suzanne Vega's unaccompanied voice on ''Tom's Diner,'' and the ZIP file, which came to life in a brutal legal battle that was egged on by the whims of BBS users.
But the PDF still has a story, and that story is that of a format that promises to be even more valuable in the decades to come. Here's why.
''What industries badly need is a universal way to communicate documents across a wide variety of machine configurations, operating systems and communication networks. These documents should be viewable on any display and should be printable on any modern printers. If this problem can be solved, then the fundamental way people work will change.''
'-- John E. Warnock, the cofounder of Adobe, discussing his thought process around the need for a simple document format in an essay revealing the existence of The Camelot Project (which is, of course, in PDF format). Warnock, who was also responsible for helping to develop Adobe's bedrock PostScript document scripting language, noted that PostScript and its sister language Display PostScript was too heavy for most computers being made at the time he wrote his essay, around 1990. ''The Display PostScript and PostScript solutions are the correct long-term solution as the power of machines increases over time, but this solution offers little help for the vast majority of today's users with today's machines,'' he explained.
Why the ''killer app'' for the PDF may have been, of all things, tax forms
Around the time that Warnock and his colleagues at Adobe were trying to figure out the difficult problems of creating a simple file format that could be used to read documents on regular people's computers, the Internal Revenue Service was dealing with an annual headache that it faced in working with the US Postal Service.
Basically, every year just before tax season, the IRS would mail out tax forms to hundreds of millions of people around the United States. This annual mailing was, during non-Census years, the largest annual mailing that the postal service had to deal with'--around 110 million individual mailings annually, according a 1991 New York Times article. And the IRS, dealing with a complicated tax code, had to manage and deal with a wide variety of exceptions and differing forms, for both businesses and individual taxpayers.
This was not only incredibly wasteful'--never a good thing when you're the Internal Revenue Service'--but it represented something of a logistical nightmare, because it also hinted at the ways that paper gummed up the works throughout the federal government.
This was a situation where the PDF would have been of immense value. Certainly, software solutions had existed on the market at that time'--among others, TurboTax on the PC and MacInTax on the Mac'--but the average American user wasn't necessarily at a point where they would trust their computer to do their taxes. But they might be cool with printing the forms.
Fortunately, Adobe was ready. At the end of 1992, the company first showed off its PDF technology, given the brand name Acrobat, at the trade show COMDEX. The trade press of the time wrote of Acrobat with much excitement, as it represented the ability to take a document as it would show up on a printed page'--if it even needed to be printed at all. It was even named ''Best of the Show'' that year.
But Warnock admitted that, early on, his approach to solving the problem of aggressive paper didn't catch on right away.
''When Acrobat was announced, the world didn't get it. They didn't understand how important sending documents around electronically was going to be,'' Warnock said in a 2010 interview with Knowledge@Wharton.
But the fact of the matter was, Adobe had the perfect use case already out there in the form of the IRS, not to mention the rest of corporate America.
An Adobe Acrobat 1.0 promotional video.
Adobe had a potential solution to cut down on the mountains of paper being produced by offices the world over. And as Adobe had the de facto market standard already with PostScript, it also had the inside lane. You can see where this is going.
According to NetworkWorld, the IRS was already distributing tax forms in PDF format in early 1994, a move that helped build broad momentum behind the format.
But one element was missing, and that element was the web, which made the concept of accessing tax documents relatively easy. And by the 1996 tax season, that element was ready to go, as the Internal Revenue Service booted up its web servers'--complete with more than 600 documents ready for download in PDF format, according to a 1996 column from tech guru Kim Komando.
A case study on Adobe's website notes that the IRS went all-in on the PDF around this time, giving copies of its software to more than 100,000 employees at as of 2001, and saving millions of dollars in printing costs in the process.
Beyond saving all the mailing of most of those forms, it helped the company save lots of headaches by making materials easier to find in audits. Instead of having to put stuff in obscure file cabinets, it could be accessed electronically by tax examiners and auditors.
''In terms of employee satisfaction alone, Acrobat pays for itself,'' an IRS official told Adobe. ''Add to that the benefits of easier document administration and less paper storage, and it's clear that Acrobat and Adobe PDF provide real returns to the agency and the people we serve.''
Clearly there's some fluff in that quote, but the IRS was very much a microcosm of the business world at large. The PDF, in a very short amount of time, became one of the most important ways business users shared documents. (Academia, of course, quickly bought in as well.)
The PDF simplified the hard work of going to Kinko's, because the file format was able to easily embed assets like fonts and images, streamlining one of the hardest parts of getting a file printed. (Of course, you generally couldn't make changes in PDF form.) Eventually, the PDF became searchable and even editable.
And most importantly, in the case of the IRS, ''fillable.'' The IRS quickly created versions of its tax forms that allowed end users to put in their own numbers, and, eventually, even their own signatures.
While none of this was as lightweight as, say, a text file nor as flexible as HTML, it sure beat PostScript for the average person.
And the PDF became the long-term solution.
''PDF has become a de facto global standard for more secure and dependable information exchange since Adobe published the complete PDF specification in 1993. Both government and private industry have come to rely on PDF for the volumes of electronic records that need to be more securely and reliably shared, managed, and in some cases preserved for generations.''
'-- A portion of the foreword of the ISO 32000-1 standard, the first standardized version of the full PDF specification in 2008. While Adobe first created the PDF in 1993, it left the format open so that other companies could use it, allowing it to become a de facto standard. (Adobe largely charged for the creative tools.) But in 2007, Adobe worked with the International Standards Organization to create an open standard for the technology. The move highlighted just how prevalent the standard had become.
Perhaps the most important role of the PDF in the modern day is archival
Let's just admit something straight out: Standardization is boring.
It's a dull topic, but it's something that is incredibly important in the world of archival. The reason for this is obvious, of course: If you randomly change the way you produce and store microfilm, for example, that microfilm becomes a pain to reuse.
But this also cuts both ways. There are things that you don't necessarily want out of a standard. Let's say you don't care about interactivity because you're trying to digitize documents that date back hundreds of years.
Still, there may be niceties you want, like the ability to make the text searchable. And perhaps you want to ensure maximum compatibility, working with all variants of a tool.
All these reasons, and more, are why the PDF/A format was created in 2005. Unlike a standard PDF, which is designed to take advantage of the fact it's made for a computer, PDF/A was designed to be maximally reproducible, to the point where it could replace a printed document if the original paper was lost.
''Everything that is required to render the document the exact same way, every time, is contained in the PDF/A file: fonts, colour profiles, images etc. PDF/A is also an ISO standard, guaranteeing that future software generations will know how to open and render PDF/A files,'' explains Shawna McAlearney, a marketing specialist for Appligent Document Solutions, in an FAQ on the PDF Association website.
This is good for organizations such as the Internet Archive and the Library of Congress, who are saving information for the long haul and need it to be readable 30 years from now. But it does lead to some controversy at times in the archival space, such as when the format was extended in 2012 to allow for the embedding of files like spreadsheets and HTML documents.
But some critics of the quick uptake of the PDF/A are out there. In a paper on the subject, Marco Klindt of the Zuse Institute Berlin lays out a variety of issues with the format from an archival perspective, including (among other things) that it can be cumbersome to use.
(Notably, usability expert Jakob Nielsen has also strongly come out against the use of PDFs for the same reason, stating on his consultancy's website: ''PDF is good for printing, but that's it. Don't use it for online presentation.'')
Klindt, who also lays out legal and integrity issues with the format, suggests that the desire for a suitable preservation format limited discussion of whether or not the format really made sense in the long run.
''Familiarity of PDF led to fast and widespread adoption of PDF/A as a solution in the field of digital archiving,'' he writes. ''This fact may have muted prophetic voices demanding the quest for and development of more suitable content containers for research work (text and data) with reuse in mind.''
Even if this is the case'--certainly I've loaded my share of 300-megabyte PDFs over the years, and there are plenty of documents online that have no business being PDFs'--it's certainly worth admiring how much the format has done to digitize and protect our collective knowledge.
In 50 years, these PDFs, even with their weaknesses, will help us document history with little of the ephemeral nature of the web. And unlike in paper form, those PDFs won't suffer from frayed pages.
The history of our generation will probably be in PDF form.
''[Adobe's] board wanted to kill it. I said, 'There's just no way. This is solving an important problem, and we are going to hang in there until it works.'''
'-- Warnock, speaking to Knowledge@Wharton about Acrobat's early years. These days we take for granted the fact that PDFs are common basically everywhere online, but there was a point when the PDF format was in such dire shape that Adobe had to stop charging for Acrobat Reader, a move Warnock described as a ''very risky choice.'' (They charge lots of money for Acrobat instead.) But the decision to stick with the client and make it free ultimately proved the key to Adobe's success as a company. Even though people might be quicker to think of Photoshop when they think of Adobe, a 2013 profile of the Adobe cofounder by his alma mater, the University of Utah, ultimately put the company's success at the feet of the document format Warnock created. ''The PDF put Adobe on the map,'' author Jason Matthew Smith wrote.
Going back to Manafort, is there anything he could have done differently in his case, to prevent it from becoming an outright embarrassment?
According to the PDF Association, the answer is most certainly yes.
Beyond the fact that the conversion from Word to back creates subtle changes in format that can be tracked, software like Adobe Acrobat can be used to directly edit the text in a file!
Here's the association's take:
Manafort could have readily altered the PDF himself. Had he done so, he would have avoided a key part of the paper trail that may land him in federal prison. He probably even had a PDF editor already on his computer.
In the money-laundering business, after all, it seems likely that one would frequently need to assemble pages from multiple PDF files; you need a PDF editor for that. For most of his money-laundering career, Manafort was almost certainly just one or two clicks away from the editor mode.
The result is that PDF editing is likely to play a significant role in a major political scandal.
The story of the invention of the PDF may not have a legal battle at the center of it or a hook like a Suzanne Vega song to push its story forward, but it does have this scandal. And love it or hate it, Manafort's awkward use of a tool used by basically everyone really highlights how prevalent the PDF really is.
Joe Biden has finally disclosed his biggest campaign bundlers - Vox
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden finally disclosed the roster of his biggest fundraisers on Saturday, unveiling the names of the 820 people who have helped him build a big-money juggernaut.
The list includes Biden surrogates like former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA); Hollywood filmmakers like Lee Daniels and Jeffrey Katzenberg; Silicon Valley billionaires like Reid Hoffman and Ron Conway. The campaign did not specify how much these people raised for Biden efforts beyond that it was more than $100,000.
The release on a Saturday evening came at the last possible moment: Election Day is on Tuesday, and more than 90 million people have already voted, having done so without clarity on who his largest fundraisers are or what influence they may have had on his candidacy. Biden's last-minute disclosure was a sharp departure from precedent in the Democratic Party, whose presidential candidates have regularly disclosed their so-called ''bundlers'' in a nod to transparency.
And that's why campaign-finance reformers had grown concerned that Biden had not yet followed his predecessors Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's lead in releasing his bundlers for the general election.
Biden's campaign had declined to answer inquiries about their bundlers until last week, when it told The New York Times that it would release their names by the end of October (which ended Saturday.) Both Obama and Clinton released updates on the list of people helping them raise big money at consistent intervals; Biden's only prior update came on a Friday evening just after Christmas in 2019 during the Democratic primary with about 230 names, before his bundling operation beefed up in earnest.
''Congratulations on clearing an artificially low bar they set for themselves that defeats the entire purpose of transparency '-- allowing voters to know who is funding the campaigns asking for their support before casting their ballots,'' said Tyson Brody, a Democratic operative who worked for Bernie Sanders and backs Biden, but is critical of the influence of large campaign contributors.
It makes strategic sense that the Biden campaign would not to draw attention to the bundlers who have helped him turn a lagging fundraising operation into a surprising powerhouse. Biden has worked to position himself as the candidate with the interest of the working and middle classes in mind, giving himself the nickname ''Middle-Class Joe,'' and casting the general election ''as a campaign between Scranton and Park Avenue.''
And so, the Biden campaign has tried to draw focus to its small-dollar, online fundraising operation, rather than the celebrities, Silicon Valley billionaires, and Wall Street executives whose support undercuts some of the campaign's messaging. That's an especially important task for Biden given that many of these characters are prone to draw the scorn of the left, which is already skeptical of Biden and wants to see big campaign contributors play a smaller role in politics.
And the Trump campaign hasn't been in much of a place to argue for transparency. Trump hasn't released any information about his own bundlers at all.
So there's been limited scrutiny. The upshot of that is that the 90 million people who have already cast ballots ended up voting with incomplete information about the people who helped the campaigns raise the money that may have influenced those very votes.
The debate over bundler disclosure reflects a key campaign question of the Trump era: Should Trump's own tactics set the standard for his Democratic rivals? Or should Democrats '-- who claim to prioritize reducing the role of money in politics '-- aspire to a higher, or at least the pre-Trump, standard?
Campaigns are only legally required to disclose bundlers who are registered lobbyists '-- everything else is voluntary. Trump and his most immediate GOP predecessor at the top of the ticket, Mitt Romney, declined to share any additional information. But prior to their campaigns, there had been a bipartisan tradition of at least offering some information in order to help voters understand who carried unofficial influence in their campaign; that was done by both John McCain and George W. Bush, who pioneered the modern bundling system and made being a bundler into something of a bragging right.
Bundlers do the often painstaking work of soliciting their networks for high-dollar campaign contributions: inviting their business associates to campaign events, making introductions to campaign staffers, and recruiting more bundlers to serve alongside them. Bundling can often end up be fiercely competitive, with campaigns closely tracking how much individuals have raised and bundlers sometimes finding themselves in competition for positions on leaderboards.
Although Biden released just a single tier of information on the amounts that his bundlers raised, the campaign privately has six different levels of membership for its finance committee: ranging from a ''Protector'' who helps the campaign raise $50,000 to a ''Biden Victory Partner'' who brings home $2.5 million, according to a campaign document seen by Recode. Mementos that Biden has sent that top level of bundler include a gold-and-blue pin.
The Biden campaign sends out these buttons to the bundlers who have raised over $2.5 million for his bid.A reminder of how the Joe Biden big-money machine works. pic.twitter.com/GRIYE0Otsl
'-- Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) October 26, 2020Despite his preference to talk about his low-dollar fundraising operation, Biden has built an impressive big-money machine.
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Dir. Wray Profited from Hunter Biden's Illegal China-Russia Kickback Deal; Is This Why the FBI Covered Up Hunter's Laptop? '' True Pundit
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Dir. Wray Profited from Hunter Biden's Illegal China-Russia Kickback Deal, per Records & High-Placed Feds. Is This Why the FBI Has Covered Up Hunter's Laptop? Guess Who Else Cashed In on Hunter's Deal? AG William Barr. You couldn't make this up if you tried.
The Thomas Paine Podcast pulls the curtains back on yet another D.C. protection racket scheme '-- this one should be the end of Christopher Wray's FBI tenure. Listen above.
Noodle Gun
Civil Rights Officials Call Northwestern's Bluff on Racism
Last week, four members of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, urging her to investigate Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law after multiple professors '-- including the school's interim dean '-- confessed to being ''racist.'' One of them confessed to being a ''gatekeeper of white supremacy.'' While the staff likely went through this woke ''anti-racist'' rite of confession as an exercise meant to prop up the idea of ''institutional racism,'' accusations of racism at a federally-funded university are serious.
''We write to express our concern regarding the admitted racism of several employees at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law,'' four members of the 8-member civil rights commission wrote in a letter exclusively provided to PJ Media. The commission members made sure to clarify that they wrote ''as four members'' of the commission and ''not on behalf of the Commission as a whole.''
''During a recent online town-hall meeting, several employees publicly admitted that they are racists, and one even admitted to acting as a 'gatekeeper of white supremacy,''' the commissioners noted. ''Included in this number of admitted racists was James B. Speta, the law school's Interim Dean and the Elizabeth Froehling Horner Professor of Law.''
Indeed, Speta and others confessed their racism during the online event. Emily Mullin, executive director of major gifts at the law school, confessed, ''I am a racist and a gatekeeper of white supremacy.'' Author Rod Dreher noted that a reader claimed Speta was ''forced to say'' that is a racist, even though he is not.
Northwestern U. law school had a town hall meeting online recently. Everybody began w/ a ritual denunciation of themselves as racist. Reader: "Prof. Speta is not a racist. He is a wonderful man universally loved by students. It makes me sad that he is forced to say otherwise." pic.twitter.com/O45UX8ver2
'-- Rod Dreher (@roddreher) September 1, 2020
The civil rights commissioners noted that ''the Pritzker School of Law participates in Title IV federal financial-aid programs, and thus must abide by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,'... which provides that '[n]o person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.'''
''Based on these facts, we ask that you consider conducting an investigation into the Pritzker School of Law's potentially discriminatory practices'--similar to your investigation into Princeton University's potentially discriminatory practices'--and that you take any additional action that you deem appropriate,'' the commissioners added.
Last month, Betsy DeVos called the bluff of Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber. Eisgruber had participated in the same woke rite of confession, publishing a letter confessing to the ongoing racism at his university under his leadership. It seems the president aimed to use this confession as a rhetorical weapon to push Marxist critical race theory.
Yet DeVos responded by launching an investigation into the university. If Princeton really is racist, the Department of Education reasoned, its policies violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Therefore, it should lose federal funding.
''Based on [Princeton's] admitted racism, the U.S. Department of Education is concerned Princeton's nondiscrimination and equal opportunity assurances in its Program Participation Agreements from at least 2013 to the present may have been false,'' the DOE letter to Princeton reads. Therefore, the DOE opened an investigation.
Betsy DeVos Calls Princeton's Bluff: If You Really Are Racist, No More Federal Funding''Anti-racism''The ''anti-racist'' movement argues that America is drenched in ''institutional racism'' and that people must essentially brainwash themselves to escape their racist assumptions. In his book Stamped From the Beginning, scholar Ibram X. Kendi explains the basic logic of ''anti-racism'': People of all races are inherently equal, but some races have more money/prominence than others, therefore the society must be racist.
Kendi attacks two different groups of people: outright racists and ''assimilationists.'' He argues that most Americans still harbor racist ideas, and he claims that any explanation for racial disparities besides ''structural racism'' is inherently racist because it blames the victim.
America's long and successful struggle to ban outright racial discrimination in the law does not matter to the ''anti-racist'' movement. It does not matter that black people tend to dominate sports like basketball and football due to their individual training and success. It does not matter that a wide variety of factors explains why police tend to regard young black men with more suspicion, most notably crime rates.
Black people are more likely to face stigma and they are more likely to be seen as representatives of the black community, rather than being seen as individuals. This is a double-edged sword: it means black people are unjustly regarded with suspicion but it also means that there is a bias in favor of black people in some schools, jobs, and professions.
Yet reformers have worked hard to excise racial discrimination from American law. Attorney General Bill Barr recently explained why he believes there is no such thing as ''systemic racism.''
''To me the word 'systemic' means that it's built into the institution and I don't think that's true,'' the AG said. ''I think our institutions have been reformed in the past 60 years, and if anything is built-in, it's a bias to nondiscrimination and safeguards against [racism.]''
Eisgruber, like Speta, did not intend to confess to violating federal discrimination law. He meant to signal his virtue and convince people that America is institutionally racist in order to further his own political and ideological goals. That makes the Department of Education's response brilliant '-- perhaps even hilarious.
Accusations and confessions of racism are serious, or at least, they used to be. Thanks to the logic of ''anti-racism,'' a completely colorblind policy '-- one that judges people not ''by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,'' in Martin Luther King Jr.'s words '-- would still be considered ''racist'' because the free actions of free individuals result in racially disproportionate outcomes.
Federal law rightly prohibits many kinds of racial discrimination, but it prohibits discrimination on an individual level. Federal law does not require schools like Princeton to admit exactly 73.09 percent white students, 16.42 Asian students, and 5.78 percent black students, so that the student body represents the population of Princeton, N.J. In fact, by these measures, Princeton University is ''racist'' in favor of black people (9 percent of the undergraduate population) and Asians (25 percent of undergraduates, even higher percentages in post-grad classes).
The ''anti-racist'' measurement is actually more racist. The government arguably has a role in preventing racial discrimination when it comes to opportunities, but it has no business ensuring exact racial representation in outcomes. That would be absurd.
If America adopts the ''anti-racist'' definition of ''racism,'' the government cannot prevent racial discrimination when it comes to opportunities and individuals. At that point, preventing racial discrimination must mean achieving proportionate outcomes.
This broader definition of racism justifies both brainwashing and an unguided, destructive revolution. Riots across America have arguably oppressed black people far more than the U.S. supposedly does. The riots have destroyed black lives, black livelihoods, and black monuments. At least 26 Americans have died in the riots, most of them black.
The Department of Education was right to call Princeton's bluff here, and it would be right to call Northwestern Law School's bluff as well. Words have meaning, and the ''anti-racist'' revolution must be stopped.
Letter to Secretary DeVos w'... by PJ Media
Editor's Note: Want to support PJ Media so we can keep telling the truth about the riots and attacks on law enforcement? Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code LAWANDORDER for 25% off your VIP membership.
Tyler O'Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
BAM: Trump Eviscerates the Noxious Marxism Behind the Riots and the 1619 ProjectBlack Pastors Demand Nike Drop the 'Anti-Christian' Marxist Black Lives Matter MovementThis Activist's Marxist Brainwashing Explains Why Antifa Has Terrorized Portland for 51 NightsThe Real Problem With 'Anti-Racism'
The Girl Scouts Are Facing Backlash for This Controversial Tweet
The Girl Scouts are in the news right now, and it's not about cookies. Rather, the organization is under fire after posting a now-deleted tweet congratulating Amy Coney Barrett for being the fifth woman appointed to the Supreme Court. And now, many people are vowing to boycott the organization due to their seemingly partisan actions.
lol the girl scouts had to delete this incredibly bad post pic.twitter.com/vCA7SR0oa0
'-- i bless the rains down in castamere (@Chinchillazllla) October 28, 2020
''Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the 5th woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789,'' the organization tweeted. The tweet included an image showing the five women justices '-- Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Barrett.
Barrett is the third conservative justice appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, and is the successor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her appointment to the Supreme Court has struck fear that the court will now be likely to overturn rulings concerning access to health care and Roe v. Wade.
The Girl Scouts' tweet was interpreted by many as support for Barrett, and it made users question the organization's decision to post in the first place.
Amy Coney Barrett believes trans girls shouldn't be in @girlscouts because she doesn't believe that trans girls ARE girls.
Barrett served on the board for private schools that barred admission to LGBTQ students and students with LGBTQ parents.
No, David, you're wrong on this. https://t.co/6eFvoTo6Yj
'-- Charlotte Clymer ð"¸'ð (@cmclymer) October 29, 2020
After deleting their original tweet, the Girl Scouts clarified that their post congratulating Barrett was not intended to be a political statement.
Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization. We are neither red nor blue, but Girl Scout GREEN. We are here to lift up girls and women.
'-- Girl Scouts (@girlscouts) October 28, 2020
''Earlier today, we shared a post highlighting the five women who have been appointed to the Supreme Court. It was quickly viewed as a political and partisan statement which was not our intent and we have removed the post,'' said the organization's official Twitter page. They continued, ''Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization. We are neither red nor blue, but Girl Scout GREEN. We are here to lift up girls and women.''
''The personal is political.''
Political questions are questions of morals, values, and humanity. Are these not the things you are there to help teach, @girlscouts?
We are all deeply impacted by politics. We should be teaching young people to be fluent in it. https://t.co/8ZoFLgrOfJ
'-- brittany packnett cunningham. (@MsPackyetti) October 29, 2020
However, their response still garnered criticism for choosing to step back from important issues. '''The personal is political' Political questions are questions of morals, values, and humanity. Are these not the things you are there to help teach, @girlscouts? We are all deeply impacted by politics. We should be teaching people to be fluent in it,'' said activist Brittany Cunningham.
And in the Girl Scouts' efforts to distance themselves from politics and deleting the tweet, it launched an even larger divide between those who support Justice Barrett and those who don't.
*Googles ''How do you make your own thin mints.''
'-- Zach Braff (@zachbraff) October 28, 2020
'Thin Mints' started to trend as its own term while some pondered making their own homemade recipes instead of buying from their local Girl Scout troops this year.
Before you go, check out this roundup of ethical toy brands we love:
(C) Provided by SheKnows ethical charitable toy brands
''Not Pro-Black'': Wisconsin Students Unanimously Vote To Remove Lincoln Statue As Racist '' JONATHAN TURLEY
We previously discussed the effort at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to have the famous statue of Abraham Lincoln removed as racist. The student government has now voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that calls for the removal of the Abraham Lincoln statue on campus. The students declared that the president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, advocated for the 13th Amendment, and led the war against the South and slavery was ''not pro-Black'' and a ''remnant of White Supremacy.'' That would likely have come as something of a surprise to John Wilkes Booth.One issue that was raised by student is that Lincoln ordered the execution of 38 Dakota men and signed the Homestead Act, which gave settlers land forcibly taken from Native Americans.
As I previously discussed, Lincoln's role in the Dakota executions is legitimately controversial but has been presented without some countervailing facts. The Sioux or Dakota uprising occurred not long after Minnesota became a state and involved the death of hundreds of settlers. The Army crushed the Sioux and captured hundreds. A military tribunal sentenced 303 to death for alleged crimes against civilians and other crimes. The trial itself was a farce with no real representation or reliable evidence. Lincoln reviewed the transcripts of the 303 and told the Senate:
''Anxious to not act with so much clemency as to encourage another outbreak on one hand, nor with so much severity as to be real cruelty on the other, I ordered a careful examination of the records of the trials to be made, in view of first ordering the execution of such as had been proved guilty of violating females.''
However, only two men were found guilty of rape and Lincoln later expanded the criteria to include those who participated in ''massacres'' of civilians as opposed to battles with the Army.
Lincoln however commuted the sentence of 264 of the 303 convicted.
This is not the first time Lincoln has faced the ire of some in Wisconsin. When Lincoln called the nation to war against the South, many in Wisconsin did not support the cause and rioted against Lincoln. Ultimately, however, Wisconsin sent multiple regiments who fought valiantly in the War and sacrificed much to defeat both the South and slavery.
Having a statue to a leader like Lincoln is not an endorsement of his entire legacy. I have heavily criticized Lincoln for the unconstitutional suspension of habeas corpus and the loss of free speech rights as well as other decisions. We learn from such public memorials, which can be augmented with a more full historical context and criticism. However, to say that Lincoln is a symbol of white supremacy ignores his pivotal role in fighting slavery, a cause for which he would ultimately give his own life.
Here is the petition in support of keeping the statue where it is if you want to support Old Abe.
Adjective Edit liberticidal (comparative more liberticidal, superlative most liberticidal)
That destroys liberty, liberticide.They claim that a party has the right to participate fully in political life even if it is avowedly and openly liberticidal.
Protagonists in social struggles, national liberation movements, and campaigns for citizens' rights, they invariably founded totalitarian, oppressive, and liberticidal regimes.
This week, big box chain Costco announced that it will no longer carry products made by Thailand-based coconut milk producer Chaokoh after an investigation revealed that the brand uses forced monkey labor to pick coconuts. Investigators on behalf of animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia visited four ''monkey schools,'' eight farms, and one coconut-picking competition, to discover that chained monkeys'--who were likely illegally captured from the wild as babies'--were forced to climb trees and pick coconuts for worldwide distribution. When the animals were not picking coconuts, they were chained to old tires or kept in tiny cages. According to PETA Asia, the animals displayed many signs of mental distress and some would have their canine teeth removed if they tried to defend themselves. According to PETA Asia, the use of forced monkey labor is prevalent in Thailand, which supplies coconuts for products made by Chaokoh and Aroy-D.
Costco joins 25,000 retailers'--including Walgreens, Food Lion, and Stop & Shop'--which, following PETA's investigation, have banned the sale of coconut products linked to monkey labor. ''No kind shopper wants monkeys to be chained up and treated like coconut-picking machines,'' PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said. ''Costco made the right call to reject animal exploitation, and PETA is calling on holdouts like Kroger to follow suit.''
Coconut growers in other regions'--including Brazil, Hawaii, and Colombia'--typically use harvesting methods that do not involve monkey labor such as tractor-mounted hydraulic elevators, willing human tree-climbers, and rope or platform systems.
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Green new Dill
Protecting nature is vital to escape 'era of pandemics' '' report | Wildlife | The Guardian
Show caption Regenerated palm oil trees growing on the site of a destroyed tropical rainforest in Kuala Cenaku, Riau province, as deforestation continues in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty
Wildlife The world is in an ''era of pandemics'' and unless the destruction of the natural world is halted they will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more people and affect the global economy with more devastating impact than ever before, according to a report from some of the world's leading scientists.
The emergence of diseases such as Covid-19, bird flu and HIV from animals was entirely driven by the razing of wild places for farming and the trade in wild species, which brought people into contact with the dangerous microbes, the experts said.
''The risk of pandemics is increasing rapidly, with more than five new diseases emerging in people every year, any one of which has the potential to become pandemic,'' the report says.
The wetlands of Pantanal in Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The area has been hit by its worst fires in more than 47 years, destroying vast areas of vegetation and wildlife. Photograph: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty It estimates there are more than 500,000 unknown viruses in mammals and birds that could infect humans.
The current approach to disease outbreaks is trying to contain them and develop treatments or vaccines, which the scientists say is a ''slow and uncertain path''. Instead the root causes must be tackled, including stopping the demolition of forests to produce meat, palm oil, metals and other commodities for richer countries.
The costs of such a transformative change would be ''trivial'', the experts found, compared with the trillions of dollars of damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic alone. Their proposed solutions include a global surveillance network, taxing damaging meat production and ending taxpayer subsidies that ravage the natural world.
A man walks past a poster warning people that consuming wildlife is illegal, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Photograph: Alex Plavevski/EPA ''There is no great mystery about the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, or of any modern pandemic,'' said Peter Daszak, the chair of the group convened by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, (Ipbes) to produce the report. ''The same human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment.''
''We're seeing pandemics every 20-30 years,'' said Daszak, who is also the president of EcoHealth Alliance, and they were getting more frequent and damaging. ''We can escape the era of pandemics, but this requires a much greater focus on prevention, in addition to reaction.''
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the UN, World Health Organization and others have warned that the world must tackle the cause of these outbreaks and not just the health and economic symptoms. In June, leading experts called the pandemic an ''SOS signal for the human enterprise'', but little government action has been taken.
Deadly diseases from wildlife thrive when nature is destroyed, study finds The report was produced by 22 experts in fields including zoology, public health, economics and law, and representing every continent. It cites more than 600 studies, a third of which were published since 2019. ''It's really state of the art in terms of its scientific basis,'' said Anne Larigauderie, the executive secretary of Ipbes.
The report says the rise in emerging diseases is driven by ''the recent exponential rise in consumption and trade, driven by demand in developed countries and emerging economies, as well as by [rising population] pressure''.
A Liberian hunter holds up the leg of a Red Deer to sell as bushmeat on a roadside in Grand Bassa county, Liberia. Photograph: Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA Daszak added: ''Clearly, in the face of Covid-19, with more than one million human deaths, and huge economic impacts, [the current] reactive approach is inadequate. There is enough science that shows a way forward and would involve transformative change that rethinks our relationship with nature.''
Cost of preventing next pandemic 'equal to just 2% of Covid-19 economic damage' The scientists call for a high-level intergovernmental council on pandemic prevention to provide decision-makers with the best evidence, predict high-risk areas and coordinate the design of a global disease surveillance system.
High-risk species, such as bats, rodents, primates and water birds should be removed from the $100bn a year legal wildlife trade, they said, and there must be a crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade.
Marmots in a cage. The plague can jump from the species to humans through the bite of the tarbagan flea or through consumption of meat. Photograph: Courtesy of Weibo They also said emerging disease risk must be factored into decisions on large developments and called for meat production to be taxed. ''Meat consumption is rising so dramatically, and it's so clearly associated with pandemics,'' Daszak said.
''Many of these policies may seem costly and difficult to execute,'' the report says. ''However, economic analysis suggests their costs [of about $50bn a year] will be trivial in comparison to the trillions of dollars of impact due to Covid-19, let alone the rising tide of future diseases.''
Daszak said: ''For each of the policies there are pilot studies that show they work '' they just need to be scaled up and taken seriously. This is classic public health '' an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.''
The report was widely welcomed by other experts. Guy Poppy, an ecology professor at Southampton University, said the report's comprehensive analysis of solutions was valuable. ''The link between planetary health and human health was already becoming increasingly recognised, but Covid-19 has brought it to the front of everyone's minds,'' he said.
Prof John Spicer, a marine zoologist at the University of Plymouth, said: ''The Covid-19 crisis is not just another crisis alongside the biodiversity crisis and the climate change crisis. Make no mistake, this is one big crisis '' the greatest that humans have ever faced.''
But he said that by offering solutions the report ''is a document of hope, not despair '... the question is not can we [act], but will we?''
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Chemtrails
As Climate Disasters Pile Up, a Radical Proposal Gains Traction - The New York Times
The idea of modifying Earth's atmosphere to cool the planet, once seen as too risky to seriously consider, is attracting new money and attention.
The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland in 2010. Solar geoengineering is meant to mimic the atmospheric cooling that occurs after big volcanic eruptions. Credit... Halld"r Kolbeins/Agence France-Presse '-- Getty Images WASHINGTON '-- As the effects of climate change become more devastating, prominent research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on an idea once dismissed as science fiction: Artificially cooling the planet, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
That strategy, called solar climate intervention or solar geoengineering, entails reflecting more of the sun's energy back into space '-- abruptly reducing global temperatures in a way that mimics the effects of ash clouds spewed by volcanic eruptions. The idea has been derided as a dangerous and illusory fix, one that would encourage people to keep burning fossil fuels while exposing the planet to unexpected and potentially menacing side effects.
But as global warming continues, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other disasters, some researchers and policy experts say that concerns about geoengineering should be outweighed by the imperative to better understand it, in case the consequences of climate change become so dire that the world can't wait for better solutions.
''We're facing an existential threat, and we need to look at all the options,'' said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School and editor of a book on the technology and its legal implications. ''I liken geoengineering to chemotherapy for the planet: If all else is failing, you try it.''
On Wednesday, a nonprofit organization called SilverLining announced $3 million in research grants to Cornell University, the University of Washington, Rutgers University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and others. The work will focus on practical questions, such as how high in the atmosphere to inject sunlight-reflecting aerosols, how to shoot the right size particles into clouds to make them brighter, and the effect on the world's food supply.
Kelly Wanser, SilverLining's executive director, said the world is running out of time, and protecting people requires trying to understand the consequences of climate intervention. She said the goal of the work, called the Safe Climate Research Initiative, was ''to try to bring the highest-caliber people to look at these questions.''
The research announced Wednesday adds to a growing body of work already underway. In December, Congress gave the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $4 million to research the technology. NOAA will also start gathering data that will let it detect whether other countries start using geoengineering secretly. And Australia is funding experiments to determine whether and how the technology can save the Great Barrier Reef.
''Decarbonizing is necessary but going to take 20 years or more,'' Chris Sacca, co-founder of Lowercarbon Capital, an investment group that is one of SilverLining's funders, said in a statement. ''If we don't explore climate interventions like sunlight reflection now, we are surrendering countless lives, species, and ecosystems to heat.''
One way to cool the earth is by injecting aerosols into the upper layer of the atmosphere, where those particles reflect sunlight away from the earth. That process works, according to Douglas MacMartin, a researcher in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University whose team received funding. ''We know with 100 percent certainty that we can cool the planet,'' Dr. MacMartin said in an interview.
What's still unclear, he added, is what happens next.
Temperature, Dr. MacMartin said, is a proxy for a lot of climate effects. ''What does it do to the strength of hurricanes? What does it do to agriculture yields? What does it do to the risk of forest fires?''
To help answer those questions, Dr. MacMartin will model the specific weather effects of injecting aerosols into the atmosphere above different parts of the globe, and also at different altitudes. ''Depending on where you put it, you will have different effects on the monsoon in Asia,'' he said. ''You will have different effects on Arctic sea ice.''
Another institution getting money as part of the new initiative is the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., which is funded by the National Science Foundation and has what its researchers call the world's most sophisticated earth system model.
Image The sky over the northeast Pacific area streaked with clouds that form around the particles from ship exhaust. Credit... NASA Earth Observatory The grant from SilverLining will pay for the center to run and analyze hundreds of simulations of aerosol injection, testing the effects on weather extremes around the world. One goal of the research is to look for a sweet spot '-- the amount of artificial cooling that can reduce extreme weather events, without causing broader changes in regional precipitation patterns or similar impacts.
''Is there a way, in our model world at least, to see if we can achieve one without triggering too much of the other?'' said Jean-Francois Lamarque, director of the center's Climate and Global Dynamics laboratory.
NOAA is starting its own research into solar geoengineering. And in August, the agency announced that it would begin measuring aerosol levels in the stratosphere, creating a baseline so the agency can tell if those levels change later.
One of the advantages of having that information, according to Troy Thornberry, a research scientist at NOAA who studies atmospheric composition and chemical processes, is that it would let NOAA determine if aerosol levels increase '-- a sign that some other country may be intentionally injecting aerosol without announcing it.
Injecting aerosol into the stratosphere isn't the only way to bounce more of the sun's rays back into space. The Australian government is funding research into what's called ''marine cloud brightening,'' which is meant to make clouds more reflective by spraying saltwater into the air. The goal is to get salt particles to act as nuclei in those clouds, encouraging the formation of many small water droplets, which will increase the brightness of the clouds.
Australian researchers say they hope the technique can save the Great Barrier Reef. Rising water temperatures during so-called marine heat waves are accelerating the die-off of the reef, and making marine clouds more reflective may be able to cool water temperatures enough to slow or stop that decline.
In March, Daniel Harrison, a biological oceanographer at Southern Cross University in Australia, tested the technology by using 100 nozzles to spray water into the air.
''The results were quite encouraging,'' Dr. Harrison said in a phone interview. One of the challenges, he said, will be using the technology on a large enough scale to make a difference. He estimated it would probably take 500 to 1,000 stations such as barges or platforms spraying water, or a smaller number of moving vessels, to cover the entire reef.
The University of Washington is also working on marine cloud brightening and was another recipient of a SilverLining grant. Sarah Doherty, program manager for the university's Marine Cloud Brightening project, said the challenge would be building spray nozzles that consistently produce the right size particles. between 30 and 100 nanometers, and finding ways to prevent them from sticking together.
The project aims to understand how the clouds respond, and also predict the regional and global climate response. Dr. Doherty said her team hoped to field-test the spray system in the next 12 to 18 months.
''The whole idea of the research we're doing,'' she said, ''is to make sure you don't go out and inadvertently change things in a way that's going to cause damage.''
France
Orthodox priest shot in Lyon, France; assailant flees: police source | News , World | THE DAILY STAR
Police officers patrol by the Arc de Triomphe near the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
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Trudeau says 'freedom of expression has limits' after French terror attacks | The Post Millennial
Justin Trudeau's response to Islamic terrorist attacks in France has attracted criticism after he said "freedom of expression is not without limits."Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's response to Islamic terrorist attacks in France has attracted criticism after he said "freedom of expression is not without limits."
Trudeau was commenting on a series of events that have rocked the French nation, after a French teacher was beheaded for showing his students a Charlie Hebdo cartoon which depicted the Prophet Mohammed.
While the French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for the nation's secularism, Justin Trudeau implied that there was no point in doing things that unnecessarily hurt others.
Trudeau told reporters in French that he would ''always defend freedom of expression, but freedom of expression is not without limits.''
Trudeau continued by equating the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed with crying fire in a crowded theatre: ''We don't have the right, for example, to cry fire in a crowded cinema; there are always limits.''
''In a pluralistic, diverse and respectful society like ours, we must be aware of the impact of our words, of our actions on others, particularly these communities and populations who still experience enormous discrimination."
Opposition Leader Erin O'Toole took a more solid stance on this issue, saying ''if France is attacked, all democracies are attacked.''
''I want to express my solidarity with the French allies. Terrorists will not make us bow. Here in Canada, we will fight to create a country proud of its principles, its openness and its freedom of expression,'' he added.
Trudeau's comments attracted some criticism from European commentators. British comedian Andrew Doyle, for instance, said that "Trudeau is the latest prominent figure to take the predictable line of: 'I believe in freedom of speech, BUT...'"
Justin Trudeau is the latest prominent figure to take the predictable line of: "I believe in freedom of speech, BUT..."He claims that disrespect causes "injury". It doesn't. That would be guns and knives wielded by unreconstructed religious fanatics.https://t.co/EO5Rbh6R5k
'-- Andrew Doyle (@andrewdoyle_com) October 31, 2020"He claims that disrespect causes 'injury.' It doesn't. That would be guns and knives wielded by unreconstructed religious fanatics," Doyle concluded.
President Macron has not yet responded to Trudeau's comments.
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FedNow
Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin White Paper: A 12-Year Old Summary of Robust Unstructured Simplicity | Bitcoin News
Cryptocurrency supporters all around the world are celebrating the fact that today is the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin white paper, a summary of the invention created by the pseudonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin's inventor published the paper on metzdowd.com's Cryptography Mailing list and ever since then, the financial world hasn't been the same.
12 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto decided to let the world in on Bitcoin, the peer-to-peer electronic cash system that took the world by storm. The very first time Nakamoto published the paper was at 2:10 p.m. Eastern Standard, on metzdowd.com. There's a lot we don't know about Bitcoin's inventor and to this day the anonymous creator's identity is still unknown. However, we do know that Nakamoto was a legendary genius and could have been a single person or even a group of people.
Bitcoin's inventor specifically chose to publish the ''Bitcoin P2P e-cash paper'' paper on metzdowd.com mainly because of the Cryptography Mailing list, a pipermail message service that was operated by a group of visionaries and cypherpunks.
The cypherpunks had been trying to create reliable digital money since the 1990s and several experiments like Wei Dai's b money circulated on the message service. We also know that Satoshi wrote the codebase for Bitcoin before the famous white paper was published.
Then on October 31, 2008, on the eve of Halloween, Satoshi wrote:
I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.
The system Nakamoto created, has given birth to a massive counter-economy worth close to $400 billion, just in the market capitalization of all 7,000+ cryptocurrencies alone. Since the paper was first introduced, it has been cited 12,425 times to-date and mentioned in tens of thousands of articles during the last 12 years. Minus the paper's citations, the Bitcoin white paper is 3,457 words in length and is composed of 16,686 characters excluding the arithmetic.
Excerpt from Satoshi's Bitcoin white paper published on Oct. 31, 2008.At the end of the paper, Nakamoto uses the term ''we,'' and stresses that the paper is a proposal that describes a system of electronic transactions ''without relying on trust.''
Nakamoto added:
We started with the usual framework of coins made from digital signatures, which provides strong control of ownership, but is incomplete without a way to prevent double-spending. To solve this, we proposed a peer-to-peer network using proof-of-work to record a public history of transactions that quickly becomes computationally impractical for an attacker to change if honest nodes control a majority of CPU power.
Excerpt from Satoshi's Bitcoin white paper published on Oct. 31, 2008.Nakamoto then called the network ''robust in its unstructured simplicity.'' Of course, at that time when Satoshi published the white paper, nobody knew that the anonymous author literally developed the first working solution to the Byzantine Generals' Problem.
Bitcoin's creator knew that the infamous Byzantine Generals' Problem, something that plagued computer scientists for decades, was officially solved and Nakamoto detailed this fact in some of the earliest messages to the community.
Of all the mysterious clues about Satoshi's identity, the paper is one of the most succinct economic papers ever written. The white paper is so well crafted that many people think that it may have been written by another person, other than the online persona people communicated with until Dec. 2010.
Speculation aside, the paper gives a clear definition of the network and is considered a must-read for every cryptocurrency newb joining the counter-economy.
For some reason, on Halloween eve, Nakamoto felt the urge to tell the world there is a need for an electronic payment system ''based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.'' This in turn would allow ''any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.'' With the central banks creating money out of thin air, the need has never been more clear.
What do you think about Satoshi Nakamoto publishing the Bitcoin white paper 12 years ago today? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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White PaperImage Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, The Bitcoin white paper,
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
5G
Trump is pushing a massive no-bid contract of 5G spectrum to a Republican-connected company
It is one heck of a show today as Tracy Beanz of UncoverDC.com does a solo interview with Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com, who tells his story long form in an hour-long conversation you DO NOT want to miss. Patrick was kind enough to agree to come back this Friday to answer questions and talk more with us. We are encouraging people to send their questions to info@uncoverdc.com for consideration.
Make sure to head over to Patrick's blog, entitled ''DeepCapture.''
Also, make sure to support Frank and the Quite Frankly show. It's getting very serious out there, and everyone needs to support people they love.
VIDEO-Don Lemon: 'Had to get rid of' friends who support Trump | TheHill
CNN anchor Don Lemon Don Carlton LemonDon Lemon: 'Had to get rid of' friends who support Trump Schwarzenegger: California GOP has gone 'off the rails' with unofficial ballot boxes CNN's Lemon, MSNBC's Maddow rail against NBC for Trump town hall: 'Embarrassing ratings ploy' MORE on Thursday said that he ''had to get rid of'' friends supporting President Trump Donald John TrumpPoll: Trump leads Biden by 7 points in Iowa Biden campaign cancels event in Texas after pro-Trump cars surrounded its bus Obama shooting three pointer while campaigning for Biden goes viral MORE "because they're too far gone," adding that he would be friends with them again if ''they want to live in reality.''
The commentary came during a handoff between anchor Chris Cuomo Chris CuomoThe 'Anonymous' saga ended with a dud '-- a perfect example of the problem of Trump-era media Don Lemon: 'Had to get rid of' friends who support Trump Who is 'Anonymous' author Miles Taylor? MORE and Lemon.
''I had to get rid of them because they're too far gone,'' Lemon said to Cuomo of his Trump-supporting friends. ''I try and I try and I try, they say something really stupid and then I'll show them the science and I'll give them the information, and they still repeat those talking points.
"I had to get rid of a lot of people in my life because sometimes you've just got to let them go. I think they have to hit rock bottom like an addict, right? And they have to want to get help, they have to want to know the truth, they have to want to live in reality, they have to want to be responsible not only for other people's lives but for their lives.''
CNN's @donlemon: "I have many people who I love in my life '... There are a lot of friends I had to really get rid of because they are so non-sensical when it comes to [Trump]. If they're willing to come back and willing to live in reality, then I will welcome them with open arms'' pic.twitter.com/eLsVX1qAdD
'-- Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 30, 2020The comments from Lemon, who is frequently critical of the president, come after he faced pushback earlier this year for laughing for an extended period of time after panelist Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project dubbed Trump supporters the "credulous boomer rube demo."
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Joe BidenPoll: Trump leads Biden by 7 points in Iowa Biden campaign cancels event in Texas after pro-Trump cars surrounded its bus Obama shooting three pointer while campaigning for Biden goes viral MORE 's national lead in the RealClearPolitics index of polls is 7.2 points as of Friday morning, and the race in key battleground states is 3.2 points.
VIDEO-CNN's Don Lemon says Trump supporters are like 'drug addicts' | Daily Mail Online
CNN host Don Lemon sparked outrage on Thursday night when he told a national audience that he has cut out friends because they supported President Trump, likening them to drug addicts who have 'hit rock bottom.'
'I had to get rid of a lot of people in my life because sometimes you've just got to let them go,' Lemon told colleague Chris Cuomo at the start of his CNN Tonight broadcast on Thursday.
'I think they have to hit rock bottom like an addict, right?
'And they have to want to get help, they have to want to know the truth, they have to want to live in reality, they have to want to be responsible not only for other people's lives but for their lives.'
The 54-year-old cable news host talked about growing up and living in several 'red states,' where he made friends with people who are now supporters of the president.
CNN host Don Lemon (left) compared supporters of President Trump (right) on Thursday to drug addicts who have 'hit rock bottom.' He revealed that he has ended friendships with people because they are 'too far gone' in their support of the president
CNN's @donlemon: "I have many people who I love in my life '... There are a lot of friends I had to really get rid of because they are so non-sensical when it comes to [Trump]. If they're willing to come back and willing to live in reality, then I will welcome them with open arms'' pic.twitter.com/eLsVX1qAdD
'-- Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 30, 2020'You know what the sad thing is? And I'll be honest with you ... I've had many people who I love in my life - and yeah I come from a red state (Louisiana), I've lived in several red states, there are a lot of friends who I've had to really get rid of because they are so nonsensical when it comes to this issue,' Lemon said.
'They have every single talking point that they hear on state TV and that they hear from this president, they repeat it and they're blinded by it.'
Lemon continued: 'I had to get rid of them because they're too far gone.
'I try and I try and I try, they say something really stupid and then I'll show them the science and I'll give them the information, and they still repeat those talking points.'
He added: 'It's so sad. And I don't know if after this I'll ever be able to go back and be friends with those people because, at a certain point, you just say they're too far gone and I've got to let them go.
'And if they're willing to come back, they're willing to live in reality, then I would welcome them with open arms.
'But I can't do it, I can't do it anymore.'
On Twitter, social media users blasted Lemon. One Twitter user commented: 'Run like hell, people! Don't ever look back!'
Another Twitter user wrote sarcastically: 'What a big-hearted open-minded guy that Don Lemon is!'
Chris McIntire tweeted: 'Those people he ''let go'' are better off.'
Another Twitter user commented: 'Great friend! Have serious doubts that these people were really friends!'
Twitter user Evan Hanifee wrote: 'So much for diversity of thought I guess.
On Twitter, social media users blasted Lemon. One Twitter user commented: 'Run like hell, people! Don't ever look back!'
Another Twitter user commented: '''I'm not crazy, everyone else is!'''
Twitter user Evan Hanifee wrote: 'So much for diversity of thought I guess.'
Another Twitter user commented: 'Great friend! Have serious doubts that these people were really friends!'
Chris McIntire tweeted: 'Those people he ''let go'' are better off.
Another Twitter user wrote sarcastically: 'What a big-hearted open-minded guy that Don Lemon is!'
Twitter users blasted Lemon, saying he was promoting intolerance of other people's viewpoints
'The irony is astounding.'
Another Twitter user commented: '''I'm not crazy, everyone else is!'''
Lemon has in recent months ignited controversy for critical on-air comments about Trump supporters.
In August, Lemon said that backers of the president suffer from 'cognitive dissonance' for getting behind a 'bad person' like Trump.
On the August 28 broadcast, Lemon came on the air to take over from Cuomo.
The two men then discussed Trump.
When Cuomo suggested to Lemon that Trump supporters acknowledged his flaws but thought Joe Biden would be worse for the country as president, Lemon responded: 'I think you're letting them off easy.'
'I don't believe that it's just because they think Joe Biden would be worse,' he said.
'I think it's because they like it, not [at] a certain level, on many levels. They like what he presents. They like the lies, one would have to.
In January, Trump slammed Lemon as the 'dumbest man on television' after the CNN host and two guests - Wajahat Ali (left) and Rick Wilson (right) - mocked the president and his 'credulous boomer rube' supporters during an on-air segment
Lemon laughed hysterically throughout the segment and, at one point, wiped tears from his eyes as his guests put on accents to mock Trump and his supporters
'If you don't like the lies, then you're not a supporter. They like the shiny objects.
'They like the racism. They like the misogyny.
'They like all of it because if they didn't, they wouldn't support him.'
Lemon continued: 'So there's either a disconnect or cognitive dissonance going on where you have to believe that you made the right choice, because you just can't somehow, in your mind, admit that you made the wrong choice, that this is a bad person, that he is a liar, that you overlook all of those things because of what?'
He added: 'Maybe you're not digging deep enough in yourself. It's not Donald Trump's issue, it's yours.'
In January, Lemon once again drew fire after he openly mocked and laughed at Trump supporters with two guests on the air.
The CNN host started crying with laughter when his two guests - ex-Republican strategist Rick Wilson and New York Times columnist Wajahat Ali - suggested Trump's supporters were uneducated and couldn't point out countries on a map.
The panel were discussing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's testy interview with an NPR reporter about Ukraine and ousted US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.
Following the interview, the reporter said Pompeo cursed at her and repeatedly 'used the F-word' and asked her: 'Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?'
Both of Lemon's guests were critical of Pompeo's response to the interview and put on accents as they mocked Trump and his supporters.
'(Pompeo) knows deep in his heart that Donald Trump couldn't find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter 'U' and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it,' Wilson said.
'He knows that this is an administration defined by ignorance of the world. That's partly him playing to their base and to their audience, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump that wants to think that "Donald Trump's the smart one and y'all elitists are dumb!".'
Ali also joined in saying: ''You elitists with your geography and your maps and your spelling... your readin', your geography, knowin' other countries. Only them elitists know where Ukraine is.'
Lemon laughed hysterically throughout the segment and, at one point, wiped tears from his eyes.
'That was a good one. I needed that,' Lemon said.
The backlash against Lemon and CNN was swift with Trump and his daughter Ivanka among those lashing out.
'Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television (with terrible ratings!),' the president tweeted with a clip of the CNN segment.
Ivanka Trump also weighed in by tweeting: 'You consistently make fun of half the country and then complain that it is divided. The arrogance, mocking accents and smug ridicule of this nation's "Real Elites" is disgusting.'
DefendTruthQuebec stabbings leave at least 2 dead, 5 injured1102 hours agoFirst Lady Melania Trump 'unapologetically' supports gay Republicans5589yesterdaySoros and EU Declare WAR on Polish Catholics '-- Catholic Arena5506yesterdayARGENTINA - CHINA Argentina joins Beijing's Asian bank2290yesterdayNot for kids1484Oct 30Oregon's public health authority announced COVID deaths in clown makeup4554Oct 28Seen this one?2619Oct 28Wilton Gregory Is the Deep Church - Crisis Magazine3319Oct 27Pope's same-gender civil unions support scorned in Spanish Church: Bishops' secretary criticises '...1296Oct 27The question stands?3428Oct 27Unbelievable2699Oct 27his photo is more obscene than any of them...516Oct 27There Is No COVID Plan2433Oct 26Two nuns behind Donald Trump at Ohio rally. One of them is praying.3863Oct 24Here you go Joe Biden!1645Oct 23Key Part Of Last Night1640Oct 23San Francisco Priest tells gay parish: Pope Francis supports same-sex civil unions2504Oct 23Undercover video: Google managers admit to suppressing conservative voices11371Oct 22Department of Justice sues Google, alleging it maintains a search monopoly463Oct 20Courageous Priest Proclaims Joe Biden is an Embarrassment to Catholicism559Oct 20
VIDEO-Alpha News on Twitter: "Joe Biden responds to the loud Pro Trump counter rally https://t.co/GyyPRVB5cu" / Twitter
A second national lockdown will be imposed across England from midnight on Thursday with all nonessential shops, restaurants, pubs and leisure facilities to close for at least four weeks, Boris Johnson has said.
The prime minister dramatically escalated the country's response to the pandemic in a press conference on Saturday evening, telling the public that ''we must act now to contain this autumn surge'', with measures due to remain in place until 2 December.
People have been told to ''stay at home'' where possible, but will be allowed to leave their homes for education, medical appointments, to shop for essential goods, and to work if they cannot work from home.
Outdoor exercise will also be permitted, with members of the same household or one person from another household.
People will be allowed to leave home to care for vulnerable people, or to escape injury or harm. Takeaways and deliveries will continue to be allowed.
The furlough scheme, covering 80% of the wages of workers who are temporarily laid off, will be extended throughout November, the prime minister said.
Announcing the extension, Johnson apologised for the impact of coronavirus measures on businesses, saying: ''I'm under no illusions about how difficult this will be for businesses which have already had to endure such hardship this year and I'm truly, truly sorry for that.''
Under the new regulations, which will be published in full on Tuesday and voted on by MPs on Wednesday, households will be banned from mixing indoors, with the exception of for childcare and other forms of support.
Support bubbles will remain in place, and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.
Boris Johnson announces new one-month lockdown for England '' videoUnlike the first national lockdown introduced in March, schools, colleges and universities will remain open, as will childcare and early years care.
''We cannot let this virus damage our children's futures any more than it has already,'' Johnson said.
People who can work from home will be asked to do so, but those working in manufacturing and construction will be encouraged to continue going to work.
Johnson also announced a ban on overnight stays and outbound international travel, unless the trips are for work, while places of worship will be open for private prayer but not for services. He also confirmed that the Premier League would continue.
Despite the imposition of stricter new measures, shielding guidance will not be reinstated.
However, Johnson said those who are over 60, or have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus, should be especially careful and minimise their contact with others.
He said it was vital to keep non-coronavirus healthcare operating, and insisted that people should continue to attend appointments and use NHS services.
The prime minister said the government would seek to end the measures in early December, but said the exit strategy from the regulations would vary according to the severity of the virus transmission rates in different areas of England.
He said he hoped the measures could enable families to reunite over Christmas.
''Christmas is going to be different this year, perhaps very different. but it's my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together,'' he said.
Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, described the restrictions as ''a devastating blow'' to business communities.
Market confidence has been ''hit hard by the unclear, stop-start approach'' taken by governments across the UK during the pandemic, he said.
He added: ''Many firms are in a much weaker position now than at the start of the pandemic, making it far more challenging to survive extended closures or demand restrictions.''
He called for government support for businesses facing hardship, whether through loss of demand or closure, to be boosted.
He said: ''The government must not squander the time afforded to them through another lockdown to enable mass testing and fix test and trace systems '' which hold the key to a lasting exit strategy for both public health and the economy.''
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade organisation Abta, said: ''Today's announcement that holidays in the UK and abroad will not be allowed under lockdown in England will mean a complete shutdown for travel businesses which have already been severely damaged by the pandemic '' but public health must come first.
''We're pleased to see the government has recognised the significant impact the latest lockdown will have on businesses and has extended the furlough scheme until the start of December.
''The government must also make good progress with the Global Travel Taskforce, ensuring a testing regime is ready to go as soon as lockdown is lifted. Anyone due to travel imminently on a package holiday should speak to their travel company to discuss their options.''
Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was unfair to pretend to the public that Christmas ''will be normal''. The Labour leader told reporters: ''I don't think Christmas will be normal and I think we need to level with the public on that.
''This lockdown is going on to at least 2 December, everybody's seen the figures, and, therefore, I don't think it's fair to pretend that Christmas is going to be normal in any sense of the word.''
The prime minister's announcement follows a sharp increase in the spread of coronavirus across England in recent weeks. The Office for National Statistics estimated that 568,100 people were infected with the virus in the week ending 23 October alone.
According to modelling shared by the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, without further action, the NHS would breach its fixed and surged bed capacity by the first week of December.
VIDEO-TruJester on Twitter: "@THErealDVORAK @adamcurry Truaninonashufodopressure https://t.co/dPApm4VSZG" / Twitter
Subscribe To The Tom Woods ShowKevin McKernan joins me to discuss the problems with PCR testing during the pandemic, and why they're yielding results that are, to say the least, unhelpful.
About Kevin:In 2000 Kevin founded Agencourt Biosciences Corporation, which specialized in manufacturing DNA and RNA purification technology known as SPRI. It became the largest private DNA sequencing company at its time and received NHGRI grants to become their fifth genome center.
Beckman Coulter acquired Agencourt in 2005 and jointly spun out Agencourt Personal Genomics, which invented and commercialized the SOLiD Sequencer. Applied Biosystems acquired ApG in 2006.
After five years with Applied Biosystems/Life tech, Kevin left to start Medicinal Genomics and Courtagen Life Sciences.
Courtagen was a high complexity CLIA lab that performed clinical diagnostic testing using PCR and sequencing.
Medicinal Genomics is a cannabis Genomics company that builds Viral and microbial PCR assays for the cannabis field.
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Guest's PostKevin McKernan on PCR Testing
Related LinkCOVID-19 Study
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VIDEO-KT McFarland: US-India military intelligence agreement is a 'huge development' - YouTube
EL PASO, Texas '-- El Paso County's top elected official ordered a two-week shutdown of non-essential activities as of midnight Thursday after the area's hospitals and medical resources were overwhelmed by coronavirus illness.
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego announced the measure during a news conference Thursday evening. Among the non-essential services ordered to be closed, effective at midnight Thursday, are tattoo, hair and nail salons, as well as gyms and in-person dining. He also appealed to residents to avoid all non-essential activities. Grocery and drug stores, funeral homes, health care services and government activities were among the activities deemed essential.
Samaniego said all election-related activities, including campaigns and voting, also were deemed essential activities.
''Our hospitals are at capacity, our medical professionals are overwhelmed, and if we don't respond we will see unprecedented levels of death,'' said Samaniego.
Local hospitals announced earlier this week they were asking some patients with illnesses other than Covid-19 to be airlifted to other medical centers to free up bed space.
Samaniego assured that county officials ''have done everything possible'' to avoid shutting down the county's economy.
''We need to build capacity for hospitals, build capacity, to shore up contact tracing and identify hot spots,'' he said.
Samaniego said conversations with Gov. Greg Abbott for support ''were not fruitful." Had that support been forthcoming several weeks ago, this shutdown might not have been needed, Samaniego said.
On Sunday night, Samaniego had ordered a daily curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Violators could be fined $500 under the order, but the curfew did not apply to people who are going to or from work or out for essential services, including grocery stores and healthcare.
Yet each day for the past week, more than 1,000 new cases were confirmed in El Paso County. Also, persons with other health problems have chosen not to seek hospital treatment because they believed they would be turned away because of the Covid-19 crush, he said.
''The hard truth is that the persons who are dying are El Pasoans. They're not in Austin and I have the responsibility to do everything I can,'' Samaniego said.
The move comes after Abbott's statewide executive order recently allowed some non-essential businesses to reopen to 75% capacity.
Messages to Abbott's office about the judge's action were not immediately returned, however the state attorney general tweeted his view that the county's action was in violation of the governor's order.
El Paso officials reported two new Covid-19 deaths Thursday, bringing the total deaths to 585, and 1,128 new positive tests, bringing the total active cases to more than 14,000.
Read the full text of the Judge's orderEffective at midnight Thursday, El Paso Judge Ricardo Samaniego is ordering a shutdown of all non-essential services for a two-week period. · For the duration of this order, all individuals living within the County of El Paso are ordered to temporarily stay at home or at their place of residence unless they are working in an essential job or accessing essential services. · All businesses that are non-essential must close:o Tattoo Parlorso Hair Salonso Nail Salonso Gymso Massage businesseso In-person dining Retail- and food-to-go is still permitted. · All essential businesses remain open:o Polling Sites*o Schools that provide meal serviceso Childcare facilitieso Grocery storeso Funeral serviceso All healthcare offices and facilitieso Pharmacieso Government operationso Post officeso And others listed in Order · *Election Activities are essential services and not affected by this Ordero Election activities shall be considered an essential function and under no circumstances does this Order affect the voting or campaigning for candidates on the November 3, 2020 ballot.o Election activities shall continue to follow Public Health Authority Orders and Guidelines relating to election activities.o The public should be assured that election activities are safe and significant steps have been taken to provide a sanitary environment as well as follow all appropriate social distancing and face covering measures.o ALL POLLING SITES SHALL REMAIN OPEN to continue election activities.
Watch the Judge's entire news conferenceKey slides from the Judge's presentationApp Breaking News Alert Bar / Biz/Tech / Coronavirus Video / El Paso / Health / News / Top Stories / Video
VIDEO-HUGE BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden Has a PornHub Account Where He Uploaded His Personal Porn - Including with Family Member
The Biden Family wants America to believe that they are the typical hard working American family, but nothing could be further from the truth.Joe Biden said his son Hunter had done ''nothing but good things his whole life'' per the Daily Mail in a report on Valentine's day earlier this year:
Joe Biden on Thursday defended his son, Hunter Biden, saying he was a 'good' guy who 'has done nothing but good things his whole life' even after he was made to pay child support to a stripper he impregnated out of wedlock.
Last month, Hunter Biden agreed to pay child support to an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, who was a stripper at a Washington, DC, club that he frequented.
TRENDING: HUGE BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden Has a PornHub Account Where He Uploaded His Personal Porn - Including with Family Member
In November, DNA testing proved Biden, 49, as the father of Roberts' child, after she filed a paternity suit in May 2019 in Independence County, Arkansas.
Breitbart shared the following on Twitter:
WOW pic.twitter.com/xvNP0maCdA
'-- Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 22, 2020
Additional information uncovered this past week shows a different story.
On Monday it was uncovered that VP Biden and his wife colluded to suppress Hunter's actions with a certain minor. On Tuesday we uncovered information showing how Hunter put his family at risk for Russian Blackmail after participating in seedy actions in West Hollywood with at least one Russian woman. On Wednesday we reported that Hunter took pictures exposing himself in the presence of a minor. This morning we reported that Hunter was accused of ''Walking Around Naked Watching Porn Masturbating and Doing Drugs'' in front of a minor.
This all is on top of accusations of Hunter being involved in the Vice President's pay-for-play scandal around the world while the VP was in office. No Hunter does not appear to be all the VP claimed he was.
Today we completely destroy any idea that the Biden family and Hunter Biden are All American heroes. Hunter Biden not only was involved in depraved activities, he filmed them and took pictures of these events too and today we have evidence that he published and promoted these activities at the porn website PornHub.Below you can see an image from Hunter's profile at Pornhub. Hunter established the user account RHEast where he called himself 'Harper'.
We know this is Hunter's account and one of the reasons is because of the screen shot below where one of his pages bookmarked is ''Joe Biden Smiling''.
But we also are able to confirm this account with Hunter because the pictures and videos in the account are also on the Hunter Biden laptop that was recently uncovered. There are pictures of two women on top of Hunter on PornHub and these same pictures were located on his laptop.
One of the women in the picture with the two girls on Hunter's PornHub account can also be traced back to a woman in a pool at a Hollywood location.
We've also tied another picture on his home page with another picture on his laptop. This account is not made up. It is Hunter's account:
A shocking piece of information in this squalid story is found on Hunter's site. The picture of the woman's behind on his PornHub home page is that of a family member! Hunter also includes pictures of that same woman within his account.
Below is the entire composite.
Why would the Biden family use Hunter as their bag man in their pay-to-play scheme? Hunter was an animal and a mess. He admittedly did drugs. He was with seedy people in seedy places yet the family did all they could to cover it all up. This tells you all you need to know about Joe Biden's judgment. Joe Biden should never come close to the White House ever again.
VIDEO-Tom Elliott on Twitter: "CNBC's Shep Smith to Dr. Fauci: ''Why can't we'' impose "an 111-day lockdown" like Melbourne? https://t.co/OA9nvOBDc9" / Twitter
Tom Elliott : CNBC's Shep Smith to Dr. Fauci: ''Why can't we'' impose "an 111-day lockdown" like Melbourne? https://t.co/OA9nvOBDc9
Wed Oct 28 23:19:31 +0000 2020
Deborah Lemley : @tomselliott When the media and elites talk about lock downs, they mean for you not thee!!!!
Fri Oct 30 03:36:41 +0000 2020
Elizabeth Woolman : @tomselliott Wait...Shepard Smith is at CNBC?? When did this happen lol?
Fri Oct 30 03:36:12 +0000 2020
Alyson Frost : @tomselliott These are the CDC statistics...not mine, the CDC...because you know...science...https://t.co/LfFRBZBWRh
Fri Oct 30 03:34:48 +0000 2020
D. Hozempa : @tomselliott Because we have CFS Syndrome...Common Fucking Sense Syndrome.
Fri Oct 30 03:21:25 +0000 2020
HARLEYQTXOXO : @tomselliott Hell to the no. Not shutting down again. https://t.co/uWui85L8WJ
Fri Oct 30 03:20:31 +0000 2020
VIDEO-Breaking911 on Twitter: "WATCH: As Biden struggles to answer a question, his campaign staff orders reporters away https://t.co/ExRvIjJ9Wk" / Twitter
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls Austin 'one of the most dangerous cities in America'
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the City of Austin a "disaster" and said it's now "one of the most dangerous cities in America and defiantly in Texas" after funding changes to APD (Photo/video: CBS Newspath/KHOU)
AUSTIN, Texas '--Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the City of Austin a "disaster" and said it's now "one of the most dangerous cities in America and definitely in Texas" after funding changes to the Austin Police Department.
Patrick made the comment at a "Back the Blue" press conference in Houston on Wednesday.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the City of Austin a "disaster" and said it's now "one of the most dangerous cities in America and defiantly in Texas" after funding changes to APD
Earlier this month, Governor Greg Abbott blamed rising property crime rates in the capital city on "defunding" and "deemphasizing" police.
Patrick also mentioned a plan floated by Gov. Abbott earlier this year about the Texas Department of Public Safety taking over the Austin Police Department after Austin City Council voted in August to cut $150 million from APD, with immediate cuts totaling $21.5 million.
Patrick also claims that parents are "afraid" to send their kids to the University of Texas because "Mayor Adler has defunded the police."
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the City of Austin a "disaster" and said it's now "one of the most dangerous cities in America and defiantly in Texas" after funding changes to APD (Photo/video: CBS Newspath/KHOU)
Gov. Abbott has directing DPS to increase patrols around the University of Texas in response to robberies in the West Campus area this month.
Read Patrick's full comments below:
The city of Austin is a disaster, if you haven't been there, a great city now one of the most dangerous cities in America and definitely in Texas. We have already been talking with the Governor and I talked with others about taking over Austin, the state taking over policing in that city and if that is the plan that will be a high priority bill for the senate to pass. The budget is usually number one but that will be in the top 5 but we will pass that bill and if we have to protect the citizens of Austin from the bridge to beyond UT Campus where parents now are afraid to send their students because Mayor Adler has defunded the police and the city council has defunded the police endangering the police and all the citizens. Then that's what we are going to do and the next session we know the budget will be tight but there always dollars to defend the police and the citizens lives that's our number one job. I'm proud that we in the Senate and the House in 2015 passed the law for body cameras, I am proud.... we have done it all in Texas we are not going to tolerate.The basis for Patrick's claims is unclear, as the FBI reports that Austin's violent crime rate is lower than Texas as a whole.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler responded to CBS Austin, pointing out that according to Crime Mappers, Austin is not even in the top 10 for most dangerous cities in the U.S.:
''I think the governor is coming after Austin right now because we're getting closer and closer to the election, and he's looking for a way to make people scared, so that they vote for people in his party.'' ''We took about 4% out of our police budget and what we said was we're not going to fire any officers, we're not going to cut any officers' pay, but we're going to take some unfilled positions and we're going to take that money and we're going to take some of the people that are experiencing homelessness and in tents and on our corners, off our corners, and not in tents, we're going to put them in housing, so that our police don't have to spend time with them.''
VIDEO-UPS finds Biden docs; Top journalist resigns over Biden story; $3.5M fake goods from China seized - YouTube
Macron says France 'will not give in to terror' after Nice attack '' video
FrancePresident calls for firmness and unity after man with knife kills three people in church
Thu 29 Oct 2020 12.13 EDT
France will not give in to terror, Emmanuel Macron has said in a call for firmness and unity after the country's latest terrorist attack left three people dead.
The president issued a sombre but defiant message after a man armed with a knife killed two women and a man in the Notre Dame basilica in central Nice, the second such attack in France in less than a fortnight.
The man entered the church carrying a large knife at around 9am; within 10 minutes he had killed two people and fatally injured a third.
One of the victims was a 70-year-old woman who had been in the basilica praying since shortly after it opened at 8.30am. Some reports suggested she had been decapitated, others that her throat was cut.
A man, believed to be the church sexton, was the second victim. He was named as Vincent Loqu(C)s, 55, and a father of two children. He also reportedly had his throat cut.
A woman in her 30s was stabbed several times and critically injured but managed to escape from the church to a nearby bar, where she died of her injuries. Police described the scene as a ''vision of horror''.
City police who were first at the scene shot the killer several times after he reportedly refused to drop the knife, injuring him in the shoulder. By 9.10am the attacker had been ''neutralised''. French officials praised the prompt action of officers from Nice's municipal force in preventing further bloodshed.
The national anti-terrorist prosecutor has opened an investigation into ''killings linked to a terrorist organisation''.
Nice attack: knife attacker kills three people at church in France '' video report The attacker was named by French media as Brahim Aoussaoui, a 21-year-old Tunisian national who reportedly entered France illegally via Lampedusa, Italy, at the beginning of October. Aoussaoui was not carrying any identity papers apart from a document from the Italian Red Cross and police have not officially confirmed his identity.
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, said the attacker had shouted ''Allahu Akbar'' several times while he was being arrested.
Estrosi said one of the female victims had been decapitated, but he had no details of how the two others had been killed.
''We have two people killed inside the church '... and a third person who was in a bar facing the church where she had taken refuge,'' Estrosi said. ''Enough is enough '... We have to remove this Islamo-fascism from our territory.''
The attack on Thursday morning came 13 days after an 18-year-old man beheaded Samuel Paty, 47, a history teacher, outside his high school north-east of Paris. The professor had shown pupils caricatures, including one of the prophet Muhammad published in the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, during a discussion on freedom of speech.
Macron promised after Paty's murder to crack down on Islamist extremism, including shutting down mosques and other organisations accused of fomenting radicalism and violence. His comments sparked angry protests across the Muslim world. Pictures of the president were burned and there were calls for a boycott of French goods.
Macron also made reference on Thursday to the 2016 killing of Father Jacques Hamel, a Catholic priest whose throat was cut by two men inside his Normandy church.
Emmanuel Macron talks to emergency workers at the scene of the attack. Photograph: Eric Gaillard/AFP/Getty Images ''It is France that is under attack,'' the president said. ''Three of our compatriots died at the basilica in Nice today and at the same time a French consular site was attacked in Saudi Arabia.
''I want to express, first and foremost, the nation's support for the Catholics of France and elsewhere. After 2016, with the killing of Father Hamel, it is the Catholics of our country attacked once more, and just before All Saints' Day. We are at their side in order that religion can be freely exercised in our country. People can believe or not believe, all religions can be practised, but today the nation is beside our Catholic compatriots.
''My second message is to Nice and the people of Nice who have already suffered as a result of the Islamist terrorist folly. This is the third time terrorism has struck your city and you have the support and solidarity of the nation.
''If we have been attacked once again, it is because of our values, our taste for freedom; the freedom to believe freely and not give in to any terror. We will give in to nothing. Today we have increased our security to deal with the terrorist threat.''
Macron said the French military was being mobilised to protect all places of worship, particularly Catholic churches, for the religious holiday of All Saints Day on Sunday. The number of soldiers on the streets is to be raised from 3,000 to 7,000 and troops will be deployed outside schools for the return to class on Monday.
The public prosecutor was expected to give details of Thursday morning's attack at a press conference later, the president said.
''Our absolute determination in the face of these acts will continue and we will protect all our citizens. In response, my message is one of absolute firmness and unity. There is only one community in France, the national community,'' he said.
''All of you, whatever your religion, whether you believe or not, must unite and not give in to a spirit of division. All citizens are deeply shocked and shaken by what has happened. Firmness and unity is our line today and it is the line we will follow tomorrow.''
Police stand in front of the church after the attack. Photograph: Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images A witness to the Nice attack, a man called David who runs the Brioche Chaude restaurant opposite the church, told BFMTV he had alerted the police.
''I was selling croissants when a man came in and said to me: 'Sir, there's a decapitated woman in the cathedral.' I didn't believe him at first but he repeated it. I went to the cathedral and saw the municipal police and called to them. They came quickly.
''I went back [to the restaurant] and pulled down the security grille.''
Police immediately locked down the city centre.
They have taken fingerprints of the attacker to establish if he is known to security services. Officers are also examining CCTV recordings to establish his movements beforehand. Nice is one of the few French cities with an extensive CCTV network.
'I'm so shocked': parishioners remember church warden killed in Nice attack '' video David-Olivier Reverdy, of the French police union Alliance Police Nationale, said security forces had warned of a heightened terrorist threat over the last few days, but that it was impossible to have officers everywhere to prevent attacks.
''We should recognise that police officers, municipal and national, were quickly at the scene and were able to neutralise the individual before he could cause any further injuries or deaths,'' he said.
The Conseil Fran§ais du Culte Musulman (French Muslim Council, CFCM) condemned Thursday's attack and called on Muslims to cancel their Mawlid celebrations '' from 28-29 October to mark the birth of the Prophet '' as a ''sign of mourning and solidarity with the victims and their loved ones''.
Estrosi said the whole of Nice was deeply shocked: ''Before it was a school professor, this time the Islamo-fascist barbarism chose to attack inside a church. Again, it is very symbolic.''
Just two hours after the Nice attack, police in Avignon shot and killed a man with a firearm who had assaulted a merchant of North African descent. Officials said the man was shot after refusing to drop his weapon and ignoring a warning shot. Avignon prosecutor Philippe Guemas said the man belonged to extreme-right group Generation Identity and appeared to be ''psychologically unstable''.
Also on Thursday, Le Progr¨s newspaper reported that a man in ''traditional Afghan dress'' and carrying a knife was arrested in Lyon, and a Saudi man was arrested in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after injuring a guard at the French consulate with a ''sharp tool'', state television reported.
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VIDEO-Cames Jrantas on Twitter: "@adamcurry @THErealDVORAK" / Twitter
this is your award winning one nation media assassination Episode 1200 91 This is no agenda 1,000% Max and broadcasting live from opportunities here in the frontier of Austin, Texas capital of the drone Star State. Morning everybody. I'm Adam curry and from Northern Silicon Valley where their poles tell us that no agenda shows meeting in Pennsylvania I'm Jesse tomorrow man did you see that? Did you see the crowds in Pennsylvania? Yeah, holy crap. Yeah, got married not wearing masks not social. Well, no, of course
0:47
not. I mean, wait, wait wait, I did I have that that wasn't this article is reading this.
0:55
Gosh, somewhere there was it was like a mainstream article. Oh, here it is. No. Stanford study. Links Trump rallies to 700 COVID deaths. Yeah, baby. He's killing his voters. He can never win this way.
1:14
Yeah, you can't kill your people off
1:19
It's unbelievable.
1:20
Well if you want to well we you want to we have this is our I want to announce that this is our Election Day special.
1:27
Oh, this is correct. We have special producer ships even for this episode. Yes. And we can push off the discussion of that and do a little COVID wrap.
1:39
Yeah, I need to do a little COVID wrap
1:42
local COVID people keep people going Yeah, uh I have a tendency to
1:48
start with a local story local stalking
1:50
locals do this locals local becomes global and local is global. And not exactly locals El Paso so it's Texas local. You recall that El Paso has a curfew two week curfew everyone stay home we've got cases on the rise. What's going on? How can it be what's up? We got the hospitals are overflowing. Oh my goodness. What are we gonna do? Well, isn't that interesting? As hold on? Yes, I'm leading. If you play your clip, then the way you lead into it. You're gonna have to play my clip the COVID Texas mess.
2:25
This is perfect. I love it when two clips come together
2:28
in Texas. Paso County has ordered it I'm sorry. Does it
2:31
need setup? No, I'm just gonna say it's our friend Amy.
2:34
Well, gee, I couldn't tell from the voice and
2:39
Paso County has ordered a two week lockdown in central businesses as a surge of COVID. has left medical workers overwhelmed by those nearing capacity. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports over 40,000 residents have died of COVID-19 and nursing homes that were given a clean bill of health by the Trump administration. The post found the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services clear nearly eight out of 10 nursing homes have any infection control violations, even homes with mountain coronavirus outbreaks before or during the inspection.
3:15
Yes, the surge. Oh my goodness, lock down what could be going
3:19
on a couple of things. She made it sound as though 40,000 people just died on nursing homes. Thanks to Trump. That's very much the way it sounds. The other one was, aren't all hospitals supposed to be nearing capacity? Because that's kind of their business model. Yeah. It's like It's like airlines, they want as many of the seats filled as possible. And it's completely dynamic. And also when they say well, in this case, you didn't say ICU but there's somewhere between six and 10% of all ICU beds are reserved for covid now or ICU units. So it's all disingenuous it's half the information it's half the information will be since we played that we might as well play the rest of her well wait, can I stick with Texas? No, we're gonna go back to Texas I'm gonna say this because I want to get these out of it because I want to make sure we're all in a fearful mood.
4:13
Want you to be very afraid? Yes.
4:14
Okay. So this is the curve. This is she's that Texas party just did was a follow up to this which was if you didn't know it, this is the worst it's ever been.
4:28
The United States confirmed nearly 90,000 new cases. virus Thursday the worst total of the US epidemic so far
4:37
with Wow.
4:39
Wow, she's she's equating cases to a toll as in a death toll nice y'all. You notice that yes, the word
4:49
For Whom the Bell Tolls Amy worse toll of the US epidemic so far, with an average of one new infection every second of the day. 43 states are seeing cases rise with 17 states breaking records for hospitalizations, and eight states reporting record daily cases. This is Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean Brown University School of Public Health.
5:14
Well, things are very, very bad in the States right now. We are having some of the largest outbreaks that we've had the entire pandemic. And 910 months into this pandemic, we are still largely not quite prepared. Right. Okay. So even before I can go into into Texas, I would like to say that we had a little viral moment. Tom Woods from the Tom Woods show. He and I have a we do a little bit from time to time and we share information. He's been all over the Boga tivity, of certainly of testing, his most recent episode in the Tom Woods show is about PCR processing. And so I gave him the this week in virology clip from our show, and which he tweeted, now he has I think he's got 90,000 followers and and their real followers, he didn't buy them. So that was kind of nice, we got a little little thing going on there. And, you know, obviously, the way this is presented has very little to do with an outbreak or a horrible toll. It is testing. And I came to the conclusion that it's really the remember that are not the RS zero number, which we talked about way in the beginning of March, which was the if you have a one or above that means that for every person who's infected, they will infect you know, more than one other person. Yeah, it was three, three a number. So with this testing with the PCR process, which is still in place, what happens is for every person who has a positive results come back from the lab, it automatically triggers at least five new tests, because of the contact tracing, it will never end this way. And if you had an are not over yet an our replication of five for the virus. Yeah, we would be looking at death. I don't think it three I think was the highest that they had or at some point. So it's a never ending story. And there's a lot of people benefiting from it and having a good time. So back to El Paso, you heard it's that it's the worst toll ever, what could be going on? How is this possible? We're also so safe and we're also careful. Please note that El Paso is a border town and we have some whistleblowers
7:38
malpaso is making international headlines for the COVID outbreak here as emergency responders are being recognized across the nation today. How
7:49
are you guys?
7:51
Oh, paso firefighters in the trenches of the covid 19 pandemic cannot talk on the record about the number of people they're picking up every day from El Paso's international bridges. But a whistleblower inside the fire department spoke to me exclusively on condition of anonymity,
8:09
there's some days where it's only three or four times or the days will be 13 or 14 spots. You'll be there for one patient and then we'll let you know hey, there's another one.
8:23
Four or five waiting
8:25
as a result of what appears to be escalating ambulance
8:27
responses to the international bridges by the El Paso Fire Department. Our source insists the city of El Paso is being left in a dangerously vulnerable position.
8:39
A disaster.
8:45
So what's happening is there are people showing up on the other side of the border at these international bridges as they're known. And the fire and the fire department and ambulances are just picking them up. It's really sick people who are in Mexico and bringing them across the border into the El Paso hospitals, which is which is okay, but let's not let's not make it look like stupid Americans in El Paso. Well, we're all gonna die because we're not socially distancing. You know, it cost two grand for one ambulance run who's picking up the tab for all these people? That is one of the questions that has been asked and not yet answered. And in fact, you kind of heard at the beginning. Are you guys picking up? foreign foreigners? The fire department? So I believe it's it's the commercial ambulance services, and they're getting paid. I think they when they arrive, they just get a check at the hospital. Hey, good work. Here's a check.
9:43
We'll be right back.
9:43
We got some more. So yeah, I mean, obviously you're going to run into problems if that was not expected. And that doesn't mean that these people don't need help doesn't mean that that they aren't actually sick. But let's not pretend like we're all dickheads here in Texas. Man, there's a number of things happening with testing. First let's let's play some scary testing music.
10:33
Something
10:35
that doesn't work now it doesn't work on her.
10:37
Something is changing in the testing regimen. As Health and Human Services led by General Girard is rolling out massive antigen tests, the anti antibody tests, these are rapid tests. And these are from Abbott, that called the binax binax. Now test, and I've read three real short reports, just so you can understand how vast this rollout is.
11:04
This is the binax now rapid antigen test card and the head of the United States COVID testing strategy, Admiral Brett gerar says you or your child will likely be asked to use one before this global health crisis is resolved.
11:20
The ideal use of these tests are really for large scale screening. Because Because that's what they're meant for they can be done at point of care, you can get the results within 15 minutes.
11:31
It's not clear yet who exactly will get the test schools in nursing homes, there are obvious priorities, the binax
11:37
test could easily be used to screen students or hockey players or a staff going into nursing homes. It's that good frontline tests that can be done basically anywhere.
11:49
accuracy and false positives are always a concern. Admiral gerar has high confidence in the binax now rapid tests,
11:56
it's very sensitive 97% compared to the best test 98% specific more testing will uncover more infection but the admiral says that's a good thing. It is true. The more testing you do, the more cases you will find we want to do that. Because why no case we can isolate them contact race that keep that one case from turning into 50.
12:18
Yeah, so there's some interesting little clip there. Yeah, there is. He says the most testing we do the most cases we'll find That's true. That's what Trump's been saying. And every time he says same exact thing. They condemn him. Well, here's what well first of all, two more just just to show you how wide This is rolling out this is where the where's this from? Arkansas,
12:43
we learned today the Arkansas Department of Education has placed HAARP elementary school on a list of 14 schools across the state to receive rapid antigen testing for staff soon harp elementary school along with Greenwood High School Greenwood junior high and Northside High School in Fort Smith will be among the first schools in the state with access to rapid antigen testing for teachers and staff and in Florida,
13:04
Florida will receive a steady flow of a new COVID-19 rapid test. federal health officials say today the state will be getting about 6.5 million by next tests. In total, they're less invasive and donate a lab to get results in 15 minutes or less. Florida will have received about 2.3 million with a test from us Health and Human Services. By week's end,
13:26
I believe that the Trump administration is rolling these out massively, and there's millions I think already 3 million of these by next tests are being deployed. It is not a PCR process, which is the good news. In fact, the the test itself will give false negatives quicker than they will false positives from what I understand. So just hearing Gerard speak Oh yeah, that's what we want. I think the idea is we're going to actually lower the the the Patriot speakers down just a little bit for me, please. I think that we're going to see much lower case count because it's a different process, which is much more accurate based on the antibodies I had. This is one of the tests that I had with Rogen. I don't know if I think it's a fingerprick so that which sucks by the fingerprick Yeah, yeah, I got the PCR process swab in the nose and I got a fingerprick and then in 15 minutes, it was like okay, and it's it's like you know, it's a little plastic thing, you put your bloody finger on it and then you wait. It's almost like a pregnancy test. You get one pink your, your negative as to Pink's your positive. However, the bad thing about this, and we heard this from a dude named Ben, who works at Abbott Labs is it comes with an app and it's all tied together. So the minute you do that, Test, your app tells you that you're clean are good to go. And, you know, this will provide you access. And right now it's going to be voluntary and yeah, okay, you know, you don't really have to take, but how long will that last? So on one hand, I think we'll see the case case rate dropped dramatically with the new testing. On the other hand, this is the beginning of the end when it comes to these damn apps that they're going to connect to connect everybody to.
15:26
I didn't know you got pricked when you're over there, Rogen? Yeah, it is to me.
15:31
It sucks. Because you feel two tests? Yeah. Yeah. One was the rapid test. And the rapid tests are much more accurate. The rapid test gives you much more, we get a letter from it, I'm not going to read it. But I made post it, it's a long note about how he went to Idaho to meet with his mother or some some family members and somebody got to COVID. And so they made them locked down. I couldn't get out of the state. They were like Dan, and, and they, and everybody kept taking the rapid test. And we're coming up native. And so they finally got out of there. Right? Right. Yeah, that's the rapid test is exactly. And there's a huge and just going back to the PCR, there's a couple things in the show notes, and not that we're gonna, we're not going to beat this horse over and over again, especially now since the rapid tests are coming. And I think this PCR is being phased is going to be phased out pretty quickly, we're just in time right after the election. So Joe Biden can save the day. Exactly. There's a there's an interesting correlation between the cycle counts and viral load. And there's some, again, we have so many scientists sending in stuff, there's an interesting chart where you can see that indeed, really around 30 to 33 cycles, the viral load is so small that you know, it's it's it's crazy to use this as a test at all, however, still used in the good old UK and my friend Michelle is he's he's going broke, he's going to go 100%, bankrupt, had huge clubs in in the UK, in Guilford. And while this is the latest, hello, Boris Johnson, let's lock it down again,
17:10
in this country. Alas, as across much of Europe, the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst case scenario of our scientific advisors, whose models, as you've just seen, now suggests that unless we act, we could see death in this country running at several thousand a day peak of mortality, alas, bigger than the one we saw in April. This is
17:40
unbelievable. Because of a positive case rate. They're locking down the country for four weeks. Because the model say, well, when you have this many cases, you're gonna have thousands of people a day dying, of which there's, at this moment, absolutely no
17:58
evidence. So now is the time to take action. Because there is no alternative and from first day until the start of December, you must stay at home, you may only leave home for specific reasons, including for education. For work, let's say if you cannot work from home, for exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household or on your own, with one person from another household, for medical reasons appointments, and to escape injury, or for harm, to shop for food and essentials, and to provide care for vulnerable people or as a volunteer. I'm afraid non essential shops, leisure, and entertainment venues will all be cleansed all the fun stuff and collect services can continue and essential shops will remain open. So there's no need to stock up. pubs, bars, restaurants must close except for takeaway. And delivery services. workplaces should stay open where people can't work from home, for example, in the construction and manufacturing sectors. single adult households can still form exclusive support bubbles with one other household and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated. I'm under no illusions about how difficult this will be for businesses which have already had to endure such hardship this year. And I'm truly truly sorry for that. And that's why we are going to extend the furlough system through November. The furlough scheme was a success. Spring it's for the people and businesses in a critical time. We will not end it we will extend furlough until December. Christmas is going to be different this year. Perhaps very different. But it's my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now we can allow families across the country to be together and there's
19:59
that lovely veiled threat that he throws out there. Hey, we're gonna close everything down until December 1, all the fun stuff Hey, construction workers f you go out there and work. But if you don't do your job if you don't do as we tell you, well, Christmas could really suck now, couldn't it so you better do what we're telling you to do. And my goodness would people hear in the media and in the scientific field love that for us. Here is Anthony Fauci along with the Shep Smith on his CNBC show, which is, it's amazing. I think I'm the only person who watches if you look at the ratings, and well here's it's on midnight or so nobody CNBC listeners, by the way, CNBC listeners are very distinct group. That's where they're easy to advertise for. They watch during the stock market. Yeah, but I think I'm just gonna disagree with you. Again, this is typically this is the Shark Tank hours. What they do in the evening is very different from what they do during the day. But it's a failed tank is different, because people do tune in to that. And that's the lead in he has nine o'clock. It's a nine o'clock show on the east coast. And which I think means he's going head to head with Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity. And he has no ratings. I mean, 200,000 people are watching. But here's what Shep really wants. Earlier today, you talk to the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, and you were talking about what an extraordinary thing has happened in Melbourne. They had 111 day lockdown started with 20,000 cases a day. And as you pointed out two days ago, they had zero cases. Why can't we do that?
21:40
Yeah. I you know, when you talk about lockdowns that certainly they were extremely successful.
21:48
What? extremely successful? No, there's no evidence. In fact, there's counter evidence, they were extremely successful, as much as just as many if not more people died in countries that have been locked down. And of course, it's not really COVID. It's all kinds of other things that are counted as code but Okay, thanks, Anthony. There is very little appetite for lockdown in this country. That's right. Is there going to be a major pushback both from above and at the local level? Yes, unless Joe Biden wins, then it will be built back better. And James locked down better James deling pod of he says, he writes for daily news, and I think he's written for The Guardian in the past, he was on Sky Australia. And you'll notice that it's all the rupert murdoch properties that are kind of going against the grain Fox News, New York Post, daily metal, Sky, this is all Murdoch just wanted to point that out. And here he is talking about what really is going on with the lockdowns and the build back betters
22:57
I started off
22:58
this pandemic thinking was just people being a bit stupid, it would all passed. But now I realized that this is organized. And you rightly mentioned the great riches now. They don't listen to the no agenda show. Wait, hold on. He did he say I just now No, no, I don't think he said that. He mentioned the great reset. Anyone who doesn't realize it, but let's go back a little people being a bit stupid, and it would all passed. But now I realized that this one now I realized, but But now, I'm just confirming what we already know. You rightly mentioned the great reset. Anyone who doesn't realize that the grace rate reset is the biggest threat to our way of life right now hasn't been paying attention. Take it deadly seriously, the people for the World Economic Forum. And so unfortunately, our political leaders when you hear the phrase build back better, and I've heard our Prime Minister use it, I've heard Dr. Joe Biden use it. This is this is the code phrase for that for the great reset of our lives.
23:58
The World Health, World Economic Forum have been tweeting today's consumers do not
24:01
want more and better goods and services rather than increasingly expect companies to contribute social welfare, etc, etc. Is this all part and parcel of it? Absolutely. They they believe is that the old world the world that you and I and I suspect most of your viewers really quite light is broken. It needs to be changed whether we like it or not. They are claiming there that we'd like it. I'm not sure that we do actually. They're talking about things like they don't want us to own property anymore. We're not going to own anything. It will be provided for us well, who doesn't own the property who's renting it out to us some sort of shadowy elite. This is a takeover by the technocrats and I urge anyone who thinks that this is a kind of conspiracy theory to do a bit of background reading. The great reset the World Economic Forum combined with UN agenda 2030, as it's now called, is a transformation of our societies around the world on lines I would call Communist or fascist mean frankly, what's the difference? This is terrifying, much scarier than the than the the flu. The flu, flu And it's being done out in the open and everyone's chuckling about the World Economic Forum videos where they say exactly this. And to add to that, a familiar with the fair trade. The Fair Trade USA fair trade certified. Yeah, of course. Yeah. So fair. In fact, I'll read from their website fair trade is a global movement made up of diverse network of producers, companies, consumers, advocates and organizations putting people and planet first Uh huh.
25:29
We had fair, it's funny. People First,
25:33
we not laugh at this bullcrap. We had fair trade USA believes that everyone wants to do what's right for their families, fellow global citizens and the planet. Well, let's listen to 15 seconds of their latest commercials sometimes
25:46
a simple choice can bring us one step closer to the future we believe
25:58
fair trade
26:00
fair to build back better fair trade together. Hey, I made another I'm it's disgusting. What these people are doing.
26:09
is funny have plenty of broad fair trade. Fair Trade is to me it's always been a marketing gimmick.
26:15
I think it is. Sure. And where it started, I think is in the coffee trade.
26:22
Yeah, that does
26:25
coffee and itinerant coffee growers in Guatemala and elsewhere. They were never getting a good deal. They're getting ripped off. And Fairtrade was supposed to correct that inequity and kind of cut out some middlemen and give them some extra cash. That was the real impetus. And I don't think just if somebody can point to me to something early than the coffee business, right, I'd be interested Well, it sounds to me like they're doing the marketing exactly what you said they don't hold back. Better. Fair Trade together. Still some poor bastard in the top of the hill, trying to pick coffee beans, give me a break. I like the the 2030 year which of course, you know, I've been on for for quite a while years, beginning years, I got a note from one of our producers who says, Who gave me some insight into the year 2030 as it is, according to him, important to many Christians as well, because it marks the 2000 year from the cross and the resurrection, which was approximately 30 ad. In case we need an end time primer, which I'm always happy to receive it goes like this. First you get three and a half years of weird times, followed by three and a half years of the worst times ever seen in history. And then the anti christ rains aka the tribulation or the time of Jacob's troubles, followed by the triumphant return of King Jesus. And then we get 1000 great years.
27:52
So I'm not quite sure how
27:54
they've been shoehorning this theory into every year now Israel, okay, this is good. This is a news. I like
28:01
it. I like it. I'm sticking to it.
28:02
I can see where you said, Well, we've had the three and a half years of weird Trump years Mm hmm. Right That's the right now we're gonna have three and a half bad years is starting off at the cove. You'll get other pandemics and Trent Tran endemics and Dr.
28:18
Trent and all the rest of them
28:19
endemics got wind
28:21
damage, that's what I was looking for, actually. And, yeah, so he has three and a half weird years. And then Biden will be kicked out of office because he's a moron. And he got a 25th amendment him and put in the laughing hyena. And so it'll be just that's Yeah, makes sense. I think it got maybe you're onto something. Well, while I'm sticking with the, with the Christianity, and with the douchebag, from Davos, the World Economic Forum. I don't know if you had a chance to read the letter from Cardinal vigano. To the president. No, I did not. So you know, it is a he's a very polarizing figure. And he's been blogging and he's, he's one of these Hey, man, this Pope is no good type of guy.
29:14
As right,
29:15
he wrote an open letter to President Trump in the show notes and a show notes.com. And he said, this is all a scam. Mr. President, and he mentioned specifically build back better mentioned specifically the great reset for the World Economic Forum. It's fantastic. It's really like Yes, sir. Following this guy and his blog, and if, yeah, and also he's not on CNBC. He's not on TV. I think he gets more audience with his blog than CNBC. So
29:48
well, that wouldn't take much. That's true
29:50
today in the United States. Daylight Saving Time went into effect, which is, I've always said is one of the global elites. New World Order way of making us dance like monkey boys and girls. Haha let's change the clock on them. One of our one of our producers sent an interesting calculation. He said by setting the clock back 60 minutes since normal light change per day is one minute. As you move into the to the darker, the darker days, that 60 days really gives you a jet lag. It's almost like a reset of two months, 60 days reset in your in your circadian rhythm or your your, your body or whatever. There's never it's never been enough exploration of what this is doing to people.
30:46
No, that's probably true.
30:47
Yes, it's just this it's always like, okay, whatever
30:51
way I look at it and having that right before the election. Yeah, it's always interesting. I don't know does it does it? That's a good point. There's an interesting point does it set people back would you do it? Just Why would you because they've changed these you know, they never used to be this. Oh, yeah, it was different times. Absolutely. And so now they moved to just before the election. Mm hmm.
31:11
Although with the with the mail in voting, all the rest of which has now become a laughable it's doesn't make as much difference. I see. We're almost done
31:19
here with I don't think we have much. Any other updates other than Pat, you know, of course, parrot France shutting down was beautiful pictures of Paris, everyone. Everyone rushing to get the heck out
31:32
of the day before the the full on lockdown starts.
31:36
You have to go back to the Boris Johnson and same with McCrone.
31:44
Macron Macron.
31:47
Don't these leaders have a sense of any obligation to really try to figure out what's really going on? No, I think Boris Johnson is I think they're sincere. I don't think no. Like Boris Johnson is part of some scheme. I don't think he's sincere. I think he went into the hospital. And they had they had a chat with him. Somebody had little chat. And he came out with a build back better crap. No, no, no, no, no, no. He's all and he's been compromised one way or the other. Well did the hospitalization thing which was sketchy. I mean, when Trump went into the spill, he saw him get out of there as fast as he could. Well, I'd say Trump's hospital visit was pretty sketchy to could have been, he was in he was out. And it might even be not even the same Trump but I bet I'm looking at as materials the same guy again, you can't can't there's certain things you can't fake. You know, if you're a different person, you can't fake somebody kiss. There's other aspects to the body language, you can tell and but stand up comedy, you know, is a certain style Trump has and he's the same guy. So it's, uh, it was fantastic to see. And this came out. A couple of things happened on show day on Thursday. Is the the record increase in GDP for the United States? Yeah, 33%. Everybody.
33:21
I love that.
33:24
And I don't know how to interpret it other than pay attention. 33 there it is our favorite number. We've never, this is kind of the goal of this show is the holy grail of this no agenda show, which is to figure out what the hell is with 30 threes and people come with all all those Masonic, you know, 33 this now there's no no something else
33:48
who knows what's going on?
33:51
Anyway, it looks like indeed the United States is, is really not planning on getting or being locked down as it stands today. As it stands today, North Carolina, you see this there was a city council meeting. And they expected I know 5060 people to show up. There were hundreds of people no mask. And it was about mass. It was a mandatory mass law. And they ultimately they had to you know, accept that people were not going to wear masks and they had to actually move the whole meeting outside people are pissed.
34:27
pissed.
34:29
And everybody. Well, no in New York, in New York, where the shutdown is complete, and I think this will be done with the rapid test. If you travel to New York now. You will, you can only travel. Why, right. If for some reason you're going to New York, you need to have a test before you arrive. And if your test is negative, you must stay in three day quarantine and be retested on the fourth day just to make sure This is how this is how crazy is gotten.
35:06
I guess I'm not going to New York this weekend.
35:08
Now why would you? And
35:12
then just a little boots on the ground
35:14
that never sleeps, you know?
35:16
Yeah, right.
35:18
I got an email for one of our producers this week, john and john and Adam, I became an infected human resource. I had a couple days where I felt like I had mild stomach bug then all of a sudden a fever so hot, I fogged my glasses. At 103. I gave in and took some Tylenol, died a few days of fever and body aches controllable with Tylenol. I also had some loss of taste and smell. After about five days, my symptoms were gone and all that lingers is a little tiredness. My husband never caught it. I believe I caught this at work from someone who was very ill, but had tested negative. Oh, and I didn't want the PCR so I managed to get a rapid antigen through the National Guard. They have a great testing operation. So this is what we're talking about five stars, the guardsman that gave me the result, though, thought I was crying and told me Hey, it's not a death sentence. I said no, no, I just feel like crap. Don't worry about me. At the end of the day, this ended up being less than the flu. I sent a note to my doctor and five days later they bothered to reply by saying take Tylenol because it's basically the flu. And she ends by saying good thing the country shut down. Just thought I'd share Thank you. That's pretty much par for the course of what we've been hearing.
36:31
Yeah, in Thailand on make sure that it's not aspirin should be Tylenol. Yeah,
36:35
yeah. Exactly. Tylenol. Why? Why do we have to make sure it's a
36:39
well aspirin is has to do with the with viral shedding or something along those lines, the aspirin kind of encourages the viruses to replicate. Kala nada has no those effects. Okay. And it was it was particularly dangerous. With hemorrhagic diseases like Ganga. If you take aspirin, you know, to drop you don't you bleed out or something? I mean,
37:05
your lungs
37:06
mediately dead. And I hate to say it, but for all the COVID stuff we've been doing in the past month, I really don't have much more. I mean, we're into the next phase, the next phase is rapid testing. So we will see better results, less false positives, I believe, then, then we have with any less? Yes, well,
37:31
we hope so.
37:33
You can't quite This is maxed out the way it is. Now, this is unbelievable. But the problem is that the app is coming into play, and this will be used everywhere. This and you'll eventually I think you'll get what a rapid test at home. And you'll have to do the rapid tests. And then you probably Bluetooth that thing to your phone, it goes back to home base and it gives you a green QR code that you're safe to go and just like you know, we lost cash during this. We're going to lose these freedoms. I just can't see it. And certainly if time to move to North Carolina,
38:14
if if Biden becomes president. I don't think it'll make much difference.
38:20
No, we'll find out.
38:22
There's there. Well, while we're talking about that, I think we might as well start talking about the election. Yeah, Election Day Special we had we need some music or some orange or something. celebratory horn Okay, hold on. We just, you know, I do have to crank that up. It makes you it has to, there we go. It's Election Day, everybody. We're so so we're so happy. Before before we get into coverage, I'd like to play one clip. You know, Don Lemon always has the handoff with Chris Cuomo on CNN. Well, you don't but they do. They have a handoff when that Don lemons done. I know. They they're a little cross chat. So Don Lemon, who apparently has lived in several what he would call red states. He's he's, you know, all this entire this entire season. This entire Trump presidency. I mean, it's it's really hit him hard. And he has just had to take people out of his life. You know what the sad thing is, and I'll be honest with him.
39:29
I have met many people who I love in my life, and I come from a red state have lived in several red states. There are a lot of friends who I had to really get rid of, because they are so nonsensical. When it comes to this issue. They have the whole every single talking point that they hear on state TV, and that they hear from this president. They repeat it and they are blinded by it. And I just when I said to you the other night, there's no way they can't believe they can't, you know, I was just goosing you in a way. Right. You know, they say I was, you know, embrace it. breaking your you know,
40:01
like that'll be continued.
40:04
But here's the thing, um,
40:06
I had to get rid of them because they are too far gone, I try and I try and I try, they'll say something really stupid, and then I'll show them the science and I'll give them the information. And they still repeat those talking points. And all the while the state was a hotspot. Many if you look at the information that we put up last night that came up yesterday showed you how the red states have now taken over where the blue states where people came in, because they're bigger cities and there's more transmission, obviously, where, where there are more people are closer together. And so now the red seats are the problem. And I just had to get rid of a lot of people in my life, because sometimes you just have to let them go, I think that they have to hit rock bottom like an addict, right? And they have to want to get help. They have to want to know the truth. They have to want to live in reality, they have to want to be responsible, not only for other people's lives, but for their lives. So you know what I have had, it's so sad. And I don't know if after this, I will ever be able to go back and be friends with those people. Because at a certain point, you just say they're too far gone. And I gotta let them go. And if they're willing to come back, and if they're willing to live in reality, then I welcome them with open arms. But I can't do it. I can't do it anymore.
41:18
Yeah, yeah, I don't understand these people, I had to understand what they don't understand how Putin is running this country that Russians are controlling everything and put Putin's calling the shots. I want to give you the opposite side of that argument. You remember the Hollywood media guy that I had a zoom call with? It was, you know, a rare, a rare kind of show business opportunity that I was looking at. And you go, they had the license to all of my, all of my interviews and stuff from the Netherlands, all the music stuff. And they were talking about putting a TV show together and the guy went off on Oh, you're in Texas. Wow. I'm in Austin. Oh, the only place you can be a democrat member this guy? vaguely. Okay. And then, you know, after I put a I put that kind of person out of my life. I just, I just want he's from San Diego. I just want to because there's a follow on to this. So you know, it was like, oh, and then he and then he went on about because I said, you know on Texas, we don't really give a crap. We don't make a big deal about who we're voting for. He says, Don't you hate those hats? I hate him. This is a big cowboy hats to know what's wrong with this guy that
42:27
Trump is Trump is Trump is Trump.
42:30
So he's dead. And this guy's a sales guy. No, he's he owns thousands and thousands of hours of musical performances that he licensed as an archivist. Okay, no, it's more than an archive is he's a very successful business. This is huge business licensing these kids say disparagingly just an archive. No, you're just an archivist. He likes successful businessman. Okay. So. So we would they would they were trying to say was a guy in Holland who I know. And then this is his partner in San Diego, and they're trying to set up a follow up call. And the guy says, Hey, how about Wednesday, the fourth. And he emails back? Wednesday morning, I'm either going to be very happy or ready to kill myself. Based on the election results. I'll be in no mood to talk business unless Trump loses. So that so the Dutch guy goes back and says, Okay, how about Friday, then, in the guy comes back with his Trump loses? I will not have killed myself. So yes, I can make that. To which I replied. I have no interest in doing any business with you. You did not take the opportunity for that one that that I would have thought about it. I thought about it. I said no. I said it's a shame you didn't take the hint in our previous call. I don't mix politics with business. Your insults. My state did not go unnoticed, either. I prefer to work with partners who understand appropriate business discourse withdrawing from this opportunity.
44:13
Which he said, Well, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone.
44:18
I said, Well, now you've learned because that gets no one stood up to you and said, EFF you, hollywood douchebag.
44:25
Please, no one can call him out for his privilege. You
44:28
tried. I tried. It didn't work. It didn't work. And this wasn't a joke. This was an actual business opportunity. I'm like, No, dude. Just because no one has told these people. That's what I realized. Because he came back so meek. No one has said no. Do you realize that not everyone is like you or we might have different ideas or maybe we don't want to talk about politics. I'm here to talk about music licensing not who you're voting for and what your personal issues are. And to me it was it was a good example of people just accepting it. No, no, you've got to we have to start talking to people. And I don't care if you're, if you're pro Trump or pro Biden, either way, shut up, vote and shut up.
45:17
That's my motto.
45:20
I think that's a good way of looking at it. But I think especially if the guy's trying to do a deal, what kind of a he's a businessman. So he's collected all these licenses, which is a good is a good business. And he's gonna try to package it but he's more interested in packaging his own opinions about Trump. Yeah. And I just said I just said I'm not I'm not gonna do I'm not interested at all and we're whole
45:44
industry is I don't know how they got this way.
45:49
Well, he's in San Diego that may give us a clue.
45:53
But he's in the movies in the entertainment industry. That's, I think, you can't even broach the topic. You know how that will john legend, as we've heard him say, Oh, yes, you know, I, of course, I have friends who are conservatives or Republicans, but they're very quiet about it. Well, it's because of this bullying. Is this bullcrap bullying and the guy just lost his opportunity with me? I mean, go ahead license the stupid shit. See, someone else can make a show out of it.
46:21
Not it won't be possible.
46:22
Now. I'm not I'm not interested in this. It's just like, yeah, it's bullying this all he was doing. He was from the get go. Yeah, it wasn't even know he he felt you out and said, Well, I want maybe this guy's maybe this guy's you know, I don't know. He's living in Texas. Maybe he likes cowboy hats. Maybe he wears them now? Yeah, no, no, no, he doesn't even bother to do that. So it's just starts off with a bullying attitude. Yeah. Well, that. That brings me to the c span clip. Okay. Ah, hello, caller, Republican line. This is the this is the the c span call in about Trump. And this again, and this is a guy in probably in an area where there Trump's support. And you can hear the problem, which is going to resolve itself on Tuesday
47:08
floor and I live right up the road from Baldwin Wallace. And I take great issue with some of the comments you're making on there today.
47:19
In fact, I finally had a nerve to put my Trump sign on my front yard. My neighbors are also Trump fans, and
47:28
they're too scared to because of radical Democrats, they're worried about getting a brick thrown through their window, or paint ball shot at their home. So and I totally disagree that where you're saying, Joe Biden is leading in the suburb. And I think that's a fake. And I think you're just trying to see what you want to see with your research. So I totally disagree with your comments. And I'd like to hear your response.
47:56
Well, here's my response, whatever political predispositions I might have, or my colleagues might have at the community Research Institute at Baldwin Wallace University. More than anything else in the world, we want our polling to be accurate, and we take great measures to make sure that it is. And so my comments on Biden leading in the suburbs are based strictly on the data and not on my opinion. Some of the things that we do in our polls to make sure that we are not under estimating Trump's support in Ohio is that we wait by education so that people with a college degree without college degrees are represented in the sample. And we also have caps in place on the urban and suburban vote. So the rural vote is not underrepresented in our polls. So everything that I'm saying is based strictly on the numbers and not based on what I'd like to see or what my political predispositions might be. Of course, it's your you're free to disagree with me but all I'm doing is reporting what the data say.
49:08
Oh, explain this waiting by call. I mean, I don't have a college degree you do. Explain that. How would I get put in a different bucket if I'm pulled because I'm dumb get put in a dumb bucket. Duck it that's what the implication is. Because the dumb shit that's what will make sure to put you in you're obviously a dumb shit to be supporting Trump. I mean, all these things are predispositions that she's saying don't exist. Let's listen to Chuck Todd. Discussing the NBC polling on a sports talk show, which is a clip by say from the last show, you've heard this clip.
49:45
It's pretty Look, I would say this. I'd rather be betting the money line. I know Biden's the point spread favorite. I'd be I'd rather bet the money line then and see if he would cover a spread.
49:57
Look, I do think I'm wrong. One of those that's going to say this way, if you hold the election 10 times, I think there's only one maybe two occasions that Trump wins. I think there's four occasions that Biden wins in a blowout. And I think there's four occasions where you know, it's a nail biter, but he wins. I think I think that the most where we're really headed is
50:19
I think it's possible that all of the battleground states when you're watching us on Tuesday night, everything appeals competitive and close. Yep. Whether it's Florida, whether it's Iowa, whether it's Wisconsin, and everything will feel within that three to five point range. And you're like, boy, I don't know. But it looks like this, and then it all tips in one direction. And then Biden could get to that, you know, 350 to 400 electoral vote mark.
50:41
You know, there is an outside chance he could touch 400. And that would mean carrying Texas, I still think there's a lid on Texas,
50:49
of about, you know, the 47 or 48. for Democrats, that at the end of the day is going to come up a pointer to short.
50:56
But I'll say this, I think the adjustment that many of many pollsters have made. I know what we the adjustments we've made to make sure that that we feel good about our numbers, but a lot of these other I wrong.
51:10
in the other direction, meaning we may be under a they there is a judge we're under estimating. But yeah,
51:17
we're under estimating Biden's than what we did four years ago. But the biggest difference is that he's an incumbent. And he's just not given the benefit of doubt the way he was when he was a challenger. And that, you know, how voters think forget, be simplistic about this. incumbents in an in a year where things aren't going well. incumbent losers. Yeah.
51:38
That's what I would have thought. I mean, anyone thought we'll see. I'll talk to you next week. Thank you,
51:42
Chuck. And that's the fundamentals matter.
51:44
Yeah. Thanks, Chuck. I love the adjustments we made. Is that another Oh, these are dumb people in Texas. They must be dumb. We'll adjust that number. Yeah. Did you see what happened in Texas when the the the Biden Harris bus was in Houston. And they were gonna drive to Austin. And there was a Trump train convoy of trucks and cars with Trump flags. And I'm talking at least a mile behind and in front of and next to it, so they decided not even to go to Austin. Like This is no good. There was there was there was a convoy a convoy surrounding the buyten Harrah's bus. It was fantastic. I never heard this was recorded. Ah, it's everywhere on on the YouTubes. You can find you can find video of it. It you know, the minute they left Houston, it was boom truck and you know, the other pickup trucks with the flags. And we see him around here sometimes. Oh, yeah. on the freeway going as fast as they can. So they were just surrounding the bus. And then they got to Austin. Yeah, I was like, Oh, no, we don't even want to we don't even want to go in Austin. So they just they gave up.
53:01
Ah.
53:04
Well, here was since you brought it up. here's here's ABC was reporting on Texas and this is of course NBC would agree with this Texas flipping read.
53:13
Oh, sorry. got the wrong.
53:17
Word. Is it here? Is ABC Texas flipping right. No, no, it's Texas flipping red. ABCs at the end. I don't have it. Texas flipping red. Yes. Oh, yeah, I do. I'm sorry. This.
53:28
Biden's team thinks voters are fired up and they see new opportunity and those long lines to vote across the country. In Texas more than 9 million people have already voted. That's more than cast there in 2016. But today, Biden's running mate Kamala Harris was there trying to get out the vote and slip the red state blue. Today is the last day of early voting in Texas and you all have been doing your thing
53:56
there's no time to let up on the pedal though. Right?
54:00
Well, you sure did you let it you You didn't let up on the pedal. You scooted right by Austin scaredy cat
54:09
democrat of all the say well well I'm going to say that I think things have changed dramatically in Austin there's been rumors that Austin could go red although we know we the mayor is not up for election he is up for recall only three of the city council are up for for re election but you know this is the the nutjobs here defended the police hundred million dollars they say well they didn't do it but they did the city council Did you know they're moving that that money over to the to the social workers and the community code officers who are normally good to see if you're if you have a bunch of code violators you know the community code guys are like little police. Yeah. Oh, yeah. But but they have they have historically have no power. They can write your ticket or summons. If you put your sprinklers on the wrong day or too early, which I've actually had happen. They they send you a ticket for summons for that. Yeah, but the but the issue here is, is the homelessness in the tense and the the actual nonprofits who are given grant money for the people camping camping is has been handing out more tents. That's what they've done with the money. And then you know, the keeper night we went to vote yesterday and or Friday and that we have two propositions. And and one of them well one is to raise property taxes to pay for the second one, which is something that's come up every every election cycle I've been in Austin so far is the Austin Connect, where they want to have light rail and we definitely have transportation issues. But it's a $7 billion package and it's just to get started. So there's I believe there's such low trust in these douchebags and we during the lockdown every austinite has a one point watched one of these city council meetings on zoom. And well now I think people are done. And here is lieutenant governor Dan Patrick. Talking about Austin,
56:24
the city of Austin is a disaster if you haven't been there, a great city. Now one of the most dangerous cities in
56:30
America.
56:34
And definitely in Texas. We've already been talking with the governor and I've talked with others about taking over Austin, the state taking over policing that city. And if that is the plan, that will be a that will be a high priority bill for the Senate to pass the budget usually number one, that'll be in the top five, and we will pass that bill. And if we have to protect the citizens of Austin from the from the from the bridge to beyond UT campus
57:00
when he says the bridge to beyond the UT campus. He's talking specifically about the tents everywhere,
57:05
where parents now are afraid to send their students because Mayor Adler has defended has defunded the police and the City Council has defended the police endangering the police and all the citizens. That's what we're going to do. And the next the next session, we know the budget will be tight. But there are always dollars to defend the police and protect our citizens lives. That's our number one job. We are not going to tolerate people's lives being at risk in our state. We're not going to tolerate judges for letting criminals walk the street.
57:36
Yeah, exactly. So we'll see. We'll see how blue Texas is. We'll see how how blue Austin is I? I'm not so sure. And remember America. I picked the hits? Well, there is here's the report from john Karl the head of the correspondents group that does the White House, the White House Correspondents pool. Yeah, he's the head of that. He's the one who picks the guys, we get to go there. Yeah. And here's the story about the male imbalance and what's going on. And this is an ABC report. It's a little long, but it's kind of summarizes things, at least from the perspective of these guys. And I want to play a couple of clips a little later. I would say that right now the media in particular and a lot of and and the democrats are spiking the ball go into early and too early. Way too early. Yeah. And they're spiking the ball. And they're just I mean, you could hear it in the voice of Chuck Todd when he was on that. Oh, yes. I know, I might play straight line. I'm not gonna take the spread, you know, is he talking about Was he a sports professional sports bettor, and it's got to do with the president, the presidential election. We've been probably estimated really low, you know, that kind of thing. But there's other examples which I which I have here, but let's play this clip. with Scott Malan story. The key factor here is the massive increase in mail in and absentee voting due to the covid 19 pandemic. Those mailed ballots take time to process, local officials must compare names to voter rolls and make sure everyone is eligible to vote and not voting twice. And in some states votes are counted even if they come in days after the election, as long as they are postmarked by election day. And eight states Don't even start looking at the mail and balance until Election Day. Pennsylvania for one is going to take a long time, more than 2 million ballots in the state have been returned. And they won't even start processing them until Election Day.
59:46
I feel confident that the overwhelming majority will be counted by Friday if not before
59:51
but that doesn't mean we won't know who won the presidency earlier than that. It depends on how close the races in several key states. States Donald Trump must win. The counting is expected to happen quickly. Florida, Georgia and Arizona, for example, are among the states where most or nearly all of the votes are expected to be in by election night. In Florida, they have been processing ballots for over a month. And with more than half of registered Floridians voting early, we could have a very good idea of who won the state shortly after the polls close. All right.
1:00:25
So let's get right to Jonathan Karl with us last night, john, I want to go back to that map of states that don't even open those melon ballots until Election Day. And the counting process. Of course, state officials say we'll take a time even days here's the map tonight, you can see some of those key battlegrounds, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, right there on the map. And, john, as you said, we could know some other key states though, including Florida, where they had begun processing, they'll start earlier, the results in those states could really tell us a lot about where the presidential election is going and how long it could actually take to know who wins.
1:00:56
So David on election night, I would watch for early Florida, Georgia, Texas, in North Carolina, if Donald Trump wins all four of those, and those are all states that he won four years ago and states for we should know the results pretty early. We are in for a very long process waiting for states like Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin. But if Donald Trump loses any of them, it will be very difficult, if not impossible for him to win the presidency again,
1:01:25
you know it either way it goes. It's going to be interesting if now, as I've said, If Biden Harris if they win, then it's built back better locked down, and we'll go into some very dark winter. On the other hand down better. Yes. On the other hand, if Biden Harris lose, we're going to I would presume political polling is going to be done with forever. It'll never be believed again. To 102 in a row. Well, no, you're right. Yeah, people will still live. Yeah. What am I thinking? But, shoot, there was another point I was going to make about that. Well, you were talking about the things that are gonna change if Trump wins again, there's gonna be some people screaming at the wind. Oh, man. There's gonna be accusations of crookedness and how they stole the election again. Well, I get it I get the feeling that the media in general has done you know, they've they've done their job. They've done all the reporting on the polling. I mean, CNN, they almost have, they're almost like Bloomberg. Now. They don't have any more space for numbers on the screen. So we have COVID deaths number of cases. Then we have number of people who have voted the polling data. It's like It's like a number percentage soup everywhere. And they Korean website.
Yeah, yes, exactly. Like a Korean website. And I think that in these in this next day or two, they're all gonna throw their hedges out there, like well, you know, stuff could be wrong, you know, burps so they've done all this propaganda. And then stuff like this starts to appear on CNN, one place
1:03:10
that may defy your math and logic. David is Miami Dade County in Florida. So what I think the numbers are showing is that many more Republicans have already gone in person to vote in early voting. Then democrats and Congresswoman Frederica Wilson of that district is trying to sound the alarm. She talked to Politico and said that what she's seeing is very concerning for her she has said, a quarter two, I screamed, hollered, I called I lobbied from the top to the bottom. Wilson said of her efforts to get to the turnout operation started in the community, including sending written proposals to the Biden campaign and having virtual zoom meetings with his advisors. She is worried because what she's saying she says in terms of the black community and Hispanic it's not going buttons what
1:04:01
Oh, there it is. We guess we didn't count on the black and Hispanic communities, which is the same zip code apparently. So the black race,
1:04:13
love each other so much. It's
1:04:15
so integrated and they have figured it out. They know how to live in harmony as a community. Now, the way I see it, I'm in total agreement that they're gonna do a little hedging, but I still think they're so overcome. There's not you're not gonna see as much as you could see, despite what happened last time, so I think there's gonna be a lot of spiking the ball. I think there's going to be in it. Let's say Trump wins. It's going to be it's going to be that what we got wrong week.
1:04:47
You're gonna leverage it.
1:04:48
Yeah, they will they? No, no, not not what we got wrong. What the pollsters got wrong. They'll never take responsibility for being even though they all own a pollster. Yes. C's got I think they work with the washington post with some phony baloney poll. They've all ABC samples, but that's okay. Yeah, they can they can kind of gloss that over, but it's what we got wrong, or what they got wrong and why and why, what. And it's just gonna be a lot of gave nasal nasal nasal nasal gates. I'm writing that down. So nasal gazing is a good title. Yeah. But a lot of navel gazing where there's just so well, you know, oh, yeah, this is the reason Oh, you know, why have we seen this comment? Well, we didn't under we underestimated this. We underestimated that. We could have done better job of this and that. Meanwhile, they're promoting and promoting and promoting the whole time. This is going to be pathetic. I would prefer Trump to win because it'll be pathetic to watch the media grovel. on election night. We have all kinds of people on standby to make sure to make sure no one calls anything wrong or Russians somehow screw us up so yeah, beat some Russian Yeah, listen to this. They won't do that immediately cuz that'll be too obvious. That'll come later
1:06:10
now but now this is the plan. Listen to this is the plan. They have
1:06:13
Harmon of Homeland Security. We'll have a rapid response cyber war room set up election night to tamp down disinformation. And so local election officers can call in if they see anything unusual. Also, the National Guard is putting forth cyber experts and units, especially in places like Washington state where they have national guardsmen who are experts in cyber security back to you.
1:06:38
We will not the warning went out in New York City and let's keep it all calm. Thank
1:06:42
you, Jennifer grant from the Pentagon. Nice to see you
1:06:44
know, yes, from the Pentagon. We got cyber experts, making sure nothing happens. It's all gonna be safe. It's gonna be great. Let's listen to this clip, which is Mindy Robinson, a little blonde bombshell republican Trump supporter in Nevada, who written keeps running for Congress. Yeah. Sorry, I'm sorry, bitching about the mail in ballots there. She got kicked off the Twitter for this.
1:07:11
That was an incredible story. Kay, tell us about
1:07:13
what happened in Nevada when
1:07:14
you had for Congress and all the voting shenanigans.
1:07:19
So basically, I was running for Congress, and we got stuck. Everyone was getting a mailing balance. So normally, I would have to appeal to the 36,000 or so republicans that vote every primary. Everyone was getting a ballot, dead or alive. The Democrats fought for that dead or alive. And we had loose ballots showing up. I actually think the picture I tweeted is what James would and Trump ended up picking up actually sense of address. That was me. And like we have a problem. Pick up ballots anyone can pick up and drop in a mailbox. Why would you want dead people voting or anything like that? That was a problem. So I did because I was running like, Look, guys, we're stuck with these. Let's his website, you can check where your ballot is going do it. So mail it out, because we're stuck with them. Go to the website, you know, after a week or so and make sure that they got it make sure it's counted. So naturally, people want to do that. And people started messaging me like Mindy. It says I'm ineligible to vote like, what? I'm gonna screenshot. I'm eligible to vote. I've been voting. I've been living here for 10 years. I don't know what's going on. I'm like, okay, fuck.
1:08:17
This isn't eligible to vote. And I'm like, I had Randy check. He's eligible to vote. Now. We're like, are you What's going on?
1:08:24
Where's our vote? I do
1:08:26
a tweet, you know, blah, blah, blah. Suddenly my voting history reappears wrong. My midterm election was just not there. So Something's definitely going on and I had people that were republicans that were settling democrats we had every kind of mismanagement thing you could
1:08:41
possibly
1:08:42
so I do a tweet to the Secretary of State who's right now she's
1:08:47
the stuff happened she left the mail in ballot she left the ballot harvesting happened she left no voter id happen all this stuff. And like you got a problem you got people whose voting history is gone change and I was really vote What's going on? Because it's a glitch.
1:09:06
glitch everybody. Hey, keep her in Florida. What a What an idiot. I don't want this woman anywhere near me. What is
1:09:17
she is she part of the Laura Loomer gang? Because she sounds like she should be. She's a fast talker.
1:09:22
Oh, this is not my kind of person. Yeah, at all. At all. And I think when it comes to mail in voting, may I just assert I'm pretty sure republicans are better at cheating with that. They've had more experience with it certainly in Florida, or to the 2000s that was mail in voting that was hanging Chad time
1:09:48
that we're hanging chads are for was from the punch punch style voting machine.
1:09:52
right but but we even have Debbie was well there's some
1:09:56
evidence I we brought this up on the show. The Republican Maybe better and maybe crying wolf 3030 seconds of Debbie Wasserman Schultz before the 2000 election,
1:10:07
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz argues a mail in ballot has wrong written all over. It may be a risky experiment for us with an election that has stakes as high as a presidential elections as we've never done a mail invalid statewide. Wasserman Schultz is worried about signature fraud, disenfranchising college students getting addresses wrong, and having private donors instead of states footing the bill. She favors seating the delegates already chosen, there's a way to solve this without totally redoing this and causing more chaos.
1:10:38
Yeah, well, that's because the republicans have had a lot of experience cheating. So I'm not so sure that it's that it's gonna be such a huge problem.
1:10:49
I do balance.
1:10:51
That cheating on both sides of balance that that's what I'm hoping. I didn't By the way, Mindy's from Nevada, and she's not from Florida. Okay. And I like her. So that's fine. make that clear. I'm good.
1:11:06
I'm getting jammed on Twitter.
1:11:08
I'm happy you like her. A great clip from the that one of the common law advances the intro somebody gives her?
1:11:17
Oh, yes.
1:11:21
I heard this.
1:11:23
I stood up and I was countered. Without further delay. I am so honored to introduce the next president of the United States Senator.
1:11:37
I have another one of those. And this is her husband. What's her husband's name? Doug or something? He looks like a dog. That's the same guy that used to read the news on the old No, agenda street is that guy indeed? Doug is still in the in the troll room. Yeah. So Doug came out to talk to I guess, a little a little group of people who were all excited. And this is what he did.
He's married, decided their brain.
1:12:18
No, but it's so obvious. That's what's gonna happen. I think we all know.
1:12:25
I know. Exactly. There's nothing
1:12:27
to lose. And if you're it doesn't matter, Joe Biden is the whole Biden crime family the laptop after after our first break? Well, I have a couple things to share about that. But Joe is toast no matter what if he loses, he loses. And if he wins, he know, he'll be in fact, I even thought that President Trump he did, I think four different appearances yesterday. And clearly. The Biden campus trying to keep up they're even doing hangars now with the airplane behind it. I think Trump is just trying to make Joe kill himself. keel over. I had I want to play a couple of these laughable Biden clips. Of course, you have the two bonus clips. Yes, I've had bonus clips. Okay, they'll just play either one of them, then play the next one, folks. I'll do what he's unable to do an effective strategy to mobilize
1:13:29
for depression, isolate and punish China.
1:13:33
This has got to be my favorite one, the means of a shooter her diverse depression. What did he say? I think he's saying, Let's go What do you know you're you think he's trying to say something. But what did he actually say?
1:13:46
It's something about depression,
1:13:48
effective strategy to mobilize
1:13:51
pressure through international pressure, maybe true international coverage of pressure.
1:13:59
Doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It should be on T shirts. That should be bumper stickers. It's beautiful,
1:14:05
folks, we got a lot of work to do. I need you to get me elected. I need you once I'm elected.
1:14:16
I really want him to be our president now. I mean, can you imagine the fun we're gonna have on the show? I mean, this is this is not
1:14:23
the money but wow,
1:14:24
everyone will be broke. But we'll have a good ass time. That's for sure. Oh, man,
1:14:29
what did he say there? I don't want you to help me get elected. But I want you to help me after I'm elected. Well, let's just say it's all corrupt. And you know, he doesn't need votes. Let's check it again. Folks.
1:14:43
We got a lot of work to do. I need you to get me elected. I need you.
1:14:49
Okay, since I don't need you just to get me elected. I also need you after I'm elected. I think that's what he's saying. Oh, very good. You should be working for the Biden campaign as his translator You know, he says something and then you say something in the other mic explaining what he said. Be a great bit. It's like from a Woody Allen. I'm gonna try this one again, folks, I'll do what he's unable to do. I'll do what he's unable to do an effective strategy to mobilize. I'll lead an effective strategy to mobilize for depression. Depression.
1:15:26
Straight up.
1:15:28
Okay, we got this one. This is Biden on the stump. This comes from Democracy Now.
1:15:34
President Trump and Joe Biden health competing campaign rallies just miles apart Thursday in the battleground state of Florida, which is also a red zone hotspot for the Coronavirus buy, hold a drive and rally in Tampa where supporters were required to wear masks and to practice social distancing.
1:15:56
She showed video the best view they had there was no social distancing. People are snuggling with each other. Oh crap,
1:16:03
decides that we shouldn't be
1:16:05
politicizing the race for vaccine. We should be planning for it safe use and free and equitable distribution. Providing TP for national standards for schools. Businesses open safely. Atlanta plan back in May how to do that.
1:16:23
I'm gonna ask you. She runs this clip. I don't know why. And what the hell is the
1:16:28
skull? a skull? It's where you drink? I think skull skull It's a place where you drink. I know
1:16:36
I have this as this as ISO ISO byton sentence ISO.
1:16:43
standards for schools, businesses dopin safely standards for schools.
1:16:49
I mean, it it's almost not funny anymore because I already went through my mind mites feeling sad for elderly abuse. And now it's just pathetic. It's truly pathetic. Did you see Obama? Did you see Obama trying to you know, trying to shill for the whole thing. I mean, so Obama's goes up after Joe Obama is yelling himself hoarse. He of course, there's no there's no crowd feedback, because there is no crowd or, you know, they're all standing in little circles. And Obama needs an audience just like Trump. He does, of course. And then Joe comes back up. And and he's like, and he's hanging with Barack. And then they're walking offstage, and Barry puts on his mask, and then emotions to Joe. Hey, man, you Where's your mask, and Joe goes back to the podium. And for at least two minutes. He's looking underneath. He's looking on the top. He's feeling his pockets is inside. He can't find this math. There's no one there to help him. There's no one who says Mr. Vice President. here's a here's a mask. Let's go. He's standing there on this. It's like there was the headline act. k pack. We all go off stage and he comes back looking for his mask for two minutes. The optics are so messed up.
1:18:09
A little did I didn't see that. They don't show this stuff.
1:18:12
Yeah, well, it was it was on I think I was watching msnbc so yeah, they just kept going there. Well, they screwed the pooch. But that clip they just kept it right on there.
1:18:24
Ah, truly bizarre, truly bizarre.
1:18:28
Well, even though you say it's not funny anymore. I think it's hilarious.
1:18:32
And with that, I'd like to thank you for your courage and say in the morning to you the man who put the C stands for the c and c span john c. devorah. AK blending morning to you Mr. Adam Curry also in the morning fellowships to see boots on the ground feet near subs in the water, water, water and danger nights out in the morning to the trolls in the troll room. Hands up trolls. Let's see what we got going on today. We have whoo There we go. 2117 that's what you get our pre election show. Which ones? Yes. 2117. It may be it may be a record. Yeah, it's it's pretty big. Sunday pre show pre election. This is interesting, right? Our show should write that down. That's
1:19:13
a good that's good. Number 21. Seven good number we got
1:19:16
our show really seems to draw and that definitely a reflection of the total listenership this show course. But
1:19:24
we have at least 23
1:19:26
you had to be dedicated as far as I'm concerned to be in that room. But these
1:19:29
people are cool. They're on this drive.
1:19:33
But the it shows that people actually do gravitate toward this show when they when they're looking for some answers. And we hope to do is provide ridicule. I don't know what they're looking for. Maybe they're maybe they're coming for the ridicule and it's handy to get some answers. It could be that way as well.
1:19:51
There's answers around.
1:19:53
Thank you for showing up trolls. We do appreciate you. The troll room is at no issue. To stream.com so you can listen to the show live. Of course Darren O'Neil does the rock'n'roll pre show, but we have Nick the rat the night before and on. On Wednesday nights, we have the grumpy old Ben's, we get hogs story, all bunch of people doing live live podcast, they released this podcast, but they record them live. And then we have just 24 hours, seven days a week of cool podcasts that have been carefully selected by the community, the community, and that community is trolls. And they all live in the same community. And that is no agenda stream.com. You heard us talking about Doug earlier, Doug does still exist in the troll room. He's at Doug, if you ask him, he'll give an invite to no agenda social, which is our federated social network, which is completely open source. It has no algorithms that will mess you up with your timeline, you kind of go in you look down and when you get when you hit something that you've seen before That's it you can only go back up to the top there's not going to be something just floating down or all of a sudden, a spew of likes that your boosts that you hadn't seen before. And we have about six and a half thousand people there and more joining every single day. It is federated. So you can tune in, you can subscribe or you can follow anybody who was on no agenda social come from your own mastodon account or your own mastodon server or wherever you may pick up the Federated social network. And that leads us to thank our artists for Episode 1290. This was a very this was interesting. First of all, it was it was done by Tamara nail, which is so now we have three women in a row three in a row. Don't call us misogynists. It was interesting. It was Darren O'Neal. He's the misogynist he's official designated misogynist. He pointed out the two in a row and I picked up on the three was pointing it out I know agenda social But what was interesting even someone sent me a note and says you know I hit a friend of mine in the mouth but she didn't want to listen because she saw the Biden Harris logo on your artwork. Which is interesting. If she had looked very closely she would have seen there were three red flags with F on it which we found to be very entertaining This is the three f strategy from China yep which is meant to bring the United States down to its knees and Tom to nail we thank you very much. I was just two in a row for Tom to nail or or no he was one wish Taunton nail then. It was a bat has been a back and forth with right
1:22:37
women. Then it was a
1:22:41
j bird. J mountain j and then Tom toenail again, I guess. I think that's the that was it. Yeah. You want to or was mountain j into Tonton hills. I don't know. We don't. It's not that granular. And it was a great piece. I also want to point out that I used a piece in the new in which I think would have been qualified for today's show, which was Oh, arrow shamrock did a Trojan horse piece that I used in the newsletter that I just thought was a stunner came in afterwards. But yeah, I could see what yeah, I had I had a little cringe when I saw the Tata Neil piece as the show art because it did look like a promotion for Biden Harris. It did and what else was there that we liked in this there's must be something else that we have been getting a lot of pieces people trying to do cheese cake the hairy legs bunch of hairy legs. Yeah, the hairy legs this I mentioned this little thing again one of my pet peeves one thing that always gets me to veto art into something is is disgusting. In terms of it's like an open sore or worms. For even the Coronavirus itself. I would just veto it. I will not allow that to be and yeah, Adam can do the same thing. But that's one of my pet peeves is the is something that's kind of gross or makes you itch or makes you go ooh, cuz that's not attracting anyone to the show. That's my rationale. And so the hairy legs was not gonna cut it. Well, clearly the the Biden Harris logo wasn't attracting certain people to the show either. But that's neither here nor there. Right. It was just a best piece and maybe maybe we have new listeners who came in thinking oh, this will be great. And they've been delighted. Sacher delightfully surprised. So there was no other art that we need to discuss. I think that was it. Right?
1:24:43
I'm looking. Yeah, I don't see any
1:24:45
I mean, there is so much it's, and it is really, it's really appreciated how much fantastic art comes in. And I want to say, because that's part of our value for value model is where people can contribute their time, their talent or their treasure. Thank you to the multiplex and multitude of producers who have learned how to do clips. And while not all clips are used, and some are way too long, people are exercising, they're, you know, they're, they're, they're getting getting used to it. And I always provide feedback. Hey, you know, this is too long cut out this cut out that, because this is what makes our show so great is that that type of producer ship that people just take upon themselves? Because there's no engagement. It's Yes, it's it's called engagement. Because he um, instead, he can send me a 35 minute video and say, This is great. I'm sure you can get some clips from it. So let's wait a minute. What about the two and a half hour video? So we got it, we got those two. So people often send timecode which is fantastic. And some take it upon themselves through the actual clips, I just want to say it is so that's just as important as as the artwork. And of course the people who came in today to not only support the show, support the work but receive a special executive producer or associate executive producer credit Jhansi Dvorak is here with more information. Yeah, Yes, I do. I have more information, and which is the list of executive and associate executive producers beginning with sure on amis of dogpatch and Laura Sloboda. It's the first of the month there is once again, he comes 1661 dot 00 1600 and $61. So he's a palindrome if you eliminate the zeros and his code number for this show, he writes, and he also has a scolding. He's gonna scold me once, but I wish I understood how his code works. Now you never will. Works. Okay. You're not a code code breaker. No. Thank you, for all for you too. And all the producers that make this the best podcast in the universe, it seems to me that the US presidential races between a candidate that needs the economy open for his personal fortune versus the other who needs it closed for his political fortune. Here scenarios, folks, although I'm hearing more anti trumpers not wanting to vote at all, really, as well. from his perspective, as your take on the early voting suggests, get them to vote before the truth is revealed. says many producers are in health care. Are they observing the increase in violence at the hospital ers from the lockdown? mental health, drug and alcohol issues are boiling over from my context and I know of two er nurses that have resigned after attacks while some hospitals have or are discussing increased security staff. Wow. This is not in the news. No mental health, retirement and Alzheimer's facilities are suffering serious issues. As the lockdown continues without end. The lockdown is cleansing advanced societies populations of the weak and unfit so will the next target be the Jews and the gypsies.
1:28:16
yellow stars for everybody.
1:28:19
As your show is observed, the M five M is suffering financially during the lockdown even as they feed the beast of fear. Industry analysts note that right in with Biden will slow or stop consolidation and bonuses in the industry. And more polarized viewership will further reduce advertiser interest in their smaller audience. ad dollars flow into digital advertising it will accelerate, which is the hope of the Podcast Network investors. This is true, yes, it's the hope with this should be all caps for hope. A Biden administration will restart net neutrality, burning profit margins at a time where more capital is required for five g as well as to fund the infrastructure build from the legislation demanding universal broadband access for remote learning and lower income or remote regions. media industry, the night of the long knives is coming from your political leadership. That's right. You've got to love people that reuse history's playbook referring to himself Of course, in this case, john, periodically particularly with anyone associated with the CIA, you make an aside, quote, and probably a Muslim. I understand the implications of Brendon not revealing a conversion to Islam when he became head of the CIA. But how can I hit friends in real life? In the mouth with a rifle, but if periodic aside suggests something is wrong with our faith. Come on, man. We all have family that died fighting these so called Muslim zealots, zealots, which is true. And I've discussed this, I've said, if you look at Muslim websites, you'll find you'll find a lot of them bitching and moaning. And because all the Muslims never speak up, they speak up constantly. Now, my aside regarding Brennan, the CIA, besides the fact that he didn't, he never mentions it as a couple of things. I'll try to I'll try to clear my name. First of all, he joins us yet he joins the faith in Saudi Arabia, which indicates to me is a Salafist, which means he's a borderline radical, right, right. This is never discussed. He's never asked about it. And He never says anything about it. And he's a creep. So I bring it into the picture. And once well, and it and I will say this, let's say, I don't think the head of this Saudi Arabia intelligence agency, and there is one would necessarily benefit from being Jewish, or christian fundamentalists. And I don't think that they would like to have that in in that position. It's just a matter of taste into various areas. I would say the same thing, probably in Kuwait and Qatar, Oman, all those places, they if they have intelligence services, I'm sure Qatar does. They would expect them to be Muslim, but they had not Christian fundamentalist, so it bothers so that does bother me. And I do not like the idea of a Muslim radical Muslim, in particular, being the head of the CIA. Uh, I think that just like any other culture, the main focus of the head of the some, like the car should be pretty much reflective of the population at large. Another words, in our case, should be an atheist. But it technically should be a Christian, but everyone seems to be an atheist in this country, even when they say they're Christians. The point is, I don't like having I wouldn't want any buddy from some radical, a faith or Buddhist I wouldn't want a Buddhist I wouldn't want anything that's a little offbeat for the at the head of the CIA. I just feel that way. And I think the Saudis feel the same way about their kind of their CIA. So that's all it is. And and it annoys me that no one ever talks about Brennan. So I've done this to an extreme.
1:32:29
I got some good stuff for Brennan later on.
1:32:32
Believe it or not, anyway,
1:32:32
I hope that helps. But
1:32:37
maybe
1:32:38
I see I think we need to work on decoding his code. And he's probably sitting there laughing. That we can't figure it out. But he may be he's randomizing us. Just to mess with us. That's a good one. I like that. I like that a lot. Yeah, well, all right, sir. On amis of dog Patrick lower slo mo via It is always wonderful to have you come into our our executive producer segment. He refuses to have any, any further titles. He's never asked us to do that. We'd be happy to. But just knowing that he's out there is it's like a warm blanket. A monthly warm blanket and we really really appreciate your courage. A to patron Victoria saucy as Next on the list are more in New Hampshire. $1,000 and one cent Wow. There, palindrome. All right. Let me take that Penny and put it into the pot for the next person. Oh, yes. The next guy. Just somebody. I think somebody does need it. Okay. I've been listening since July when I heard Adam on. Tom woods. There you go. Top podcasting history. I was shocked to hear that Adam has been doing a podcast with JC D, a guy whose columns I used to read decades ago. Say the girl comes up to you to he Hi, john. And you look at Wow, this woman's beautiful. I've been reading these uses since I was nine. Okay, thank you for that's okay. I hope that I've been I had to listen and I've been hooked. You guys are amazing. I truly appreciate what you do. I don't know when someone turns into a douchebag by listing without donating. But I figure I'm dangerously close to douchebaggery so here's my 0010000 133 donation. Yes 30 binary 33 binary. That's we should put that on the list of donations. With that I aim to be deemed it could be known as Dame Tori of Anaconda and a capistan and capistan and capistan and encapsulate those negative rights someone else asked for a few months back at the roundtable sound delicious negative road jingles no karma yours truly Victoria B Warren and new Hampshire what is the negative rights do is that do I just ordered negative rights? I don't understand. I don't remember I'm putting up whatever it is I'm giving you negative rights.
1:35:09
Okay, negative i
1:35:10
don't know what you're asking for Thank you so much. Thank you for supporting for supporting the show no jingles no karma that seems like we're not doing enough. Aaron xid or reside or xid as di D in Seattle Washington another thousand dollars but rollers No. I'm held hostage in Seattle by the City of Seattle City clowns whenever I listen to you guys reminds me of a better day specifically 1231 2019 so I need a Bynes whole load okay out of my vagina and shut up slave played for me. I'm gonna give you the whole load.
1:36:05
slave.
1:36:06
There you go.
1:36:10
Jason Tullio pull us up a loose opa loose. Greek name Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania $700 in the morning, I thank you both for doing the work and protecting our amygdalas in honor of our fifth wedding anniversary. I'm donating the remaining balance to make my husband Emilio and Knight. Ah, what's this is coming from
1:36:33
Jake. Jason. That's possible. Okay. It could be husbands
1:36:37
it is Jason okay. Immediately Okay. Hello. Hello. 2020 Hello. And let me check the clock all Daylight Savings Time is screwing me I'm
1:36:48
jet lag.
1:36:48
Please de douche me.
1:36:52
You've been
1:36:54
both of us. And job him sir. Moulton cheese protector of Toronto, Pittsburgh and all the lands in between. Can you please have coffee and a one year old? pentatonic Tony pan at Tony ready for him at the roundtable. He punched me in the mouth five years ago short of marrying me is the best thing he's ever done for me. We've really had a rough time the past few years. We watch close friends and families to come to identity politics and Trump derangement syndrome. Yeah, it's to the point that playing the gay card doesn't work anymore. The guy gay. Yeah, it's difficult. It's difficult for that for for the gays. It's hard for I was watching some some local show and there's this guy. He goes on and on calling. He's gay. And he's calling and he's saying the gays constantly.
1:37:46
I love it when the gays called the gays call themselves the gays. Because it makes me think of you.
1:37:53
Okay, we're still two male. whites. Ah, that's your problem. There you go. You guess is no Benny's gay? white and male. Mm hmm. Double problem. Yeah, two whites, two males, oh boy. We refuse to drink the BLM centrist CCP Kool Aid. So we're constantly branded as Trump supporting privileged racists, their friends. And anyone refused to capitulate to Wow, we've been out as gay for 10 years. And it feels more and more like we have to go back into the closet because because of our views. Wow. It's nice to hear you guys remind us that normal people still exist in the world. Can you please give us both some jobs, karma. And thank you both for your courage. for all that you do on john, please do stay safe. Everyone just tried all that and we're just trying to get you to do it. They're trying to get you to do it. No, no, no. Yeah. All right. Well, Jason, and what's Emilio? Emilio? Yes. And we'll see. So we'll see Emilio at the roundtable. Of course, we'll use some jobs karma and thank you for your courage, jobs,
1:39:04
jobs, jobs and jobs. That's
1:39:11
karma.
1:39:14
Jason de Howard and Allison Park are pasc It says here Pennsylvania 33333. There's no email from him that I can find it under Jason Howard and I are under the subject line donation so we'll assume that he wants to know jingles book karma. You can always write this later. Unless you got some you can look something up. Well, I read the next note. I am looking William Cornell 33333 he wants to he wants some jingles out you probably already have these done frogs gay. It's true and shut up. slavens science Trick or treat. I like to think I was going around here trigger or a treat. And these trunk trunk over these called trunk. Wars trunk. trunk or trunk or treat trunk or drive into a parking lot you open your trunk it's like a flea market there's like a shot of flop the flop meet. Hmm. And most of my kairali neighbors. He writes bailed on the kids and either didn't offer candy this year or stuck in it in a bowl on a table in the driveway. Oh, man. An arrow. COVID cowards. COVID cowards all by the way. It's a good show name to COVID coward. Yeah, I'm writing down. A also at do everyone out there who thinks homeschooling is too hard. I've got seven kids. All homeschooled with two of them being two year old twins, which is just a two year old twins is harder than all homeschooling. Kidding. And this is until they get older and take care of themselves by just hanging out together. And this Well, my wife has been battling cancer for five years. That adds a little difficulty to it. Yeah, and you have to make some sacrifices, but it's worth it. homeschooling is great. I wouldn't because we did it with a couple of kids on and off. And people would have to realize there is a huge massive support network community. Yeah, that's what they don't people don't understand. Remember, you're not responsible for what your kids learn what you are remember you are responsible for what your kids learn regardless of who is teaching them. So just do it already. Contact h s LD a the homes, homeschool help and legal insurance today. Birthday shout out to my brother Jimmy on November 4. I don't think he's on the list. Yeah, I think he, um, I'll check. Jimmy. Jimmy, please. Credit $100 of this donation towards his knighthood you do that? Okay. Do that loving light and everybody stopped wearing the damn masks? Sir. daddio of the seven wonders. So hold on a second. This is Sir daddio. To brother Jimmy. Brother Jimmy. Okay. We got another huge list today, sir. Daddy is an outrageous arrest. Jimmy and do we have an age for brother Jimmy?
1:42:10
No, no age.
1:42:11
Okay. All right. Well, he's on the list now. We needed frogs gay. It's true. Shut up already. It's science trigger tree.
1:42:20
I don't like putting chemicals in
1:42:22
the water that turn the friggin frogs
1:42:25
are learning through
1:42:27
science.
1:42:29
It's the new one is the new one.
1:42:32
The new one. I like the new one too. You know, she must have picked up on the fact that we read that other one. Oh, no kidding. Of course. Of course. It's their thing now. That's That's her catchphrase. She she's everywhere.
1:42:46
Yeah, learning through
1:42:47
science.
1:42:49
Yeah, yeah. Okay. nonnamous comes up the road with $333 and 33 cents no jingles no karma? Yeah. Kevin Fitzpatrick 333 33. Another one. from Houston, Texas. These will all these 333 33 donations are all special executive producers for the election special right. Kevin Fitzpatrick, Houston. Houston, Texas. A birthday request November 3, you're on the list. jhingo request China is as bowl That's true. And the new trio jobs karma. ITM gentlemen, 30. threes everywhere. I can't avoid them. My car even hit 133,533 miles on the odometer. Today's 3333 was the beacon that might end the 30 threes that follow me at every turn. will it stop after this? With that, I guess it's time to work towards my knighthood since we already have a newly minted Dame living here. Daily Lisa B of the verdant Meadows just received her ring to is all giddy about it. And in quotes, now she walks around the house singing the dame song all day. It's very cute. The Trump jobs Pelosi karma worked for her again, but not the way we expected. I won't write Warren Piece about it. You want it update? So enough about her? Let's talk about me. Get this My birthday is on election day. But no, no. I don't want your pity. I'll take one for the team this time. But I want a raise. Here's the deal. I turned 2545 the day before people are voting on the 45th orange Dynamo or the 46 mumbles Joe mumbles Joe's Uncle Joe. Yeah. mumbles Joe. With that flimsy number Association, I'm backing Adam's assertion that Trump will stay in office. I hope I remember that correctly, Adam. Anyway, what you to do every week is vital. The way you guys weed out. The bs is refreshing. A million times. Thank you. Keep it up and put yourselves in for a rage. Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, we'll do to ask the boss oops.
1:44:56
Exactly.
1:45:00
jobs. Oh wait, she wanted a sleepy Joe karma. No. Am I am i doing the big boy? She wanted a trio. Oh the three okay. Yeah, I'm sorry that was my mistake. I'm one ahead here we go. I'm gonna do it one more time make it make it all work for you. And what was the first one? I've totally missed this that's true so many today it's quite an administrative
1:45:25
feat and amazing
1:45:29
jobs, jobs jobs
1:45:34
there we go.
1:45:38
mumbles Joe. You're next. United States ladies and gentlemen. from Brooklyn New York shut down and well 333 33 gets that special election day special executive producer ship. Hey guys, thanks for the good last show. I donated Sunday morning on the 25th and you did wish Liberty my guide dog Happy birthday. But the donation made it to the next show. Actually, we did it twice if I recall. We're all good. And now I'm stepping it up and like to be one of the executive producers for show 1291 even though my pay pal cases Vinnie badulla got it that's what I tend to use. That's why my executive producer ship is under so yes, we've kept you at Vinnie Padilla with this donation I will be more than halfway towards knighthood. Can I please have a sleepy Joe karma. That would be the longer Ileana clip chanting sleepy Joe that I sent you back in the beginning of October with karma added to it. Let's hope that I'll it'll keep sleepy Joe out of the White House and keep us from being handed over to the globalists. Again Keep up the great content and deconstruction of this insanity. We're living through your producer Vinny from Brooklyn. Okay, Vinnie from Brooklyn. I found it
1:46:54
you've got
1:46:56
karma
1:47:00
kids jingles always a winner. Always a winner. Just always love the kids. Oh, yeah. So I think it's always been a winner in in the broadcasting world.
1:47:09
In fact, Robert,
1:47:11
kids say the darndest things. You can't just play one for myself. I can clear that 50 times a day.
1:47:21
Because you hear the fear and the actual fear in the kids voices there. It's beautiful. Yeah, beautiful.
1:47:30
Rubber curb back in Essex Ville, Michigan. 33333. A jingles he wants Florida in my cup and wg seven will go away and Alex Jones babies and cows interesting. All right. And he's got a birthday call for Brielle. 11 year old on November 3, right. And he's got a knighting and he's got some things he wants. I think I have a note. That's a little more lengthy. Yes, because I have this. I have this wood grilled ribeye already at the table he wanted. Right. Okay, let's make sure it's just real note which came in email. Thank you for your great work on the show. In addition, you know, let me get the right reading. Here. There you go. Hold type. Yes. In addition to you, I'd like so I have actually go to the doctor. That because I got to have my eyes checked every so often because I get the eyeball and that I need another cataract operation the right eye. What? Whoa, you have to have another one of these. Yo, you're very rare that you only have one identity moatize usually get when you get cataracts. You get them in both eyes. We usually one is worse than the other and then the other one gets bad knees. Okay. Yeah, I gotta have it done again. But he says you want to you know, he says you want to have it done right now. You know, I'd rather wait till things shake out a little bit. He says yeah, I understand what you mean. Because, you know, they they're hiring, you know, guys from Home Depot to do the anesthesia. I mean, they're just putting anyone in the operating room they can find Yes, COVID everywhere and everyone freaked out, right. So I'm so I'm going in there and I'm getting the he says Well, it looks like you're damn near legally blind. And you're right ice and well, I can still see Yeah, kinda but you're gonna have this operation. And I don't know where I was gonna go with this. This whole story? Well, I'll come to it later. Let me go back to the note. This is how it starts by the way
1:49:23
before you need
1:49:26
or you know what you're running for president Keep it up.
1:49:29
I had a point to make. Uh huh.
1:49:32
It was something I have Uh huh. Oh, no. Okay, I just read that you reminded me by making that mumbling sound. So I go in there so I need a refraction because I you know I need I need glasses you can tell. I said right now I have to use a 1.25 reading glasses to read a computer screen but didn't have to switch to reading glasses about to do any reading. And it is a pain in the ass to get that one pair of glasses. I'm doing it on the show. If you haven't noticed and he says And now if that works just keep doing that he seems like a practical guys is just wasting your money if you're going to get some you know some special glasses you get 2020 vision his own good is this so you're gonna it's the same eye that you have to have the thing done no no good to go oh it's the
1:50:23
other eye
1:50:24
yeah oh man and you have to get this is another thing you got to figure out what kind of lands so I'm gonna do a little book on how to be able to assuage their their fear Are you happy with the previous lens because I didn't think you were fine except I think I made a wrong choice this okay what this isn't a I talk about hearing aids you've got the vision covered so give it up big boy let's hear what's going on this is interesting. Well I've been nearsighted all my life and war you know, wear glasses to see it. But But as you're visiting as you get older, your Bible changes a bit, you start to turn farsighted, naturally, and then now you can see even past the driver's license test. You don't need to wear glasses when you drive. And I find that to be cool. And it's also kind of you know, all the jocks are always farsighted. So I said, Well, you know, and I started liking it being farsighted. And so I you have a choice with the crystal ends, which is the special you get, there's a bunch of choices you'll make it'll be in the book, but I picked a lens that did flips and flops inside the eyeball, but it gives me medium vision and and far vision very accurately so I can see a mile away, okay, but I stumble around and if I'm in close quarters, and so I have to wear either reading glasses or something to see anything or read. And after a while it gets on your nerves. I'm thinking I you know, maybe I should take a gun back to being nearsighted. And it's a, I think about it's ever so I'm late now I'm nearsighted. So I'm, I'm just I'm very interested in this because I, first of all, I never had any operation in my life of any kind. I can't imagine this happening to my eyeballs. I think I'd probably rather stick it out for as long as I can. Just imagine nothing to it. You're Darren they backed up and they a bunch of people looking around in a big knife comes right through your eyeball and they gouge it into your eye.
1:52:19
So looking forward to this.
1:52:23
Lovely, Mm hmm. Okay. Anyway, that's really anything but the the way it actually works is pretty amazing is simple. It's doesn't painless, and it doesn't even if you don't, you know, it's not like you'd think. But you don't know that unless you go through it right. Now. Go back to the note reading with the pair of reading glasses.
1:52:45
Thank you for your great work.
1:52:47
Yeah, yeah, I'd like to thank you, artists, musicians, and dudes named Ben and Bernadette and producers that make the show possible. I've been trying to figure out it's gonna be interesting it printed on both sides of this sheet. I've been trying to figure out how the show has been outstanding has been or how it's been out shining the one before it for all of 2020. So he's claiming even though we're spending more hours on this on this segment, because of my anecdote that the show keeps improving each and every show one to the other. Oh, it's a trick. It dawned on me that there's a direct relationship between how much nonsense the M five M is pumping
1:53:29
out and how good our show is.
1:53:33
And how important the deconstruction is for a continued sanity. And they have had the propaganda pump on full blast all year for sure. I think I can agree with that. I'm bringing my treasure in the amount of 333 do my part claim Election Day Special executive producers ship I've been qualified to be a night for a while but not but no. But note the anxiety is real. I am requesting to be knighted Sir Robert Knight of the naughty bits of the round table and he's got his Jamison and vernors and we got that. I would like to wish our daughter Oh, well. Here we go again. I she may not be on the list. Okay. Now this makes one 100 and second person. I would like to wish our daughter Brielle, B ri E. LL. e. Happy 11th birthday. For her Election Day celebration. Yes, she's on the list. But she is okay. If you would please play fluoride in my cup wg seven. I think we got these listed ness wishes to you and your families during the upcoming holidays. Yeah. Thank you for the best wishes for the upcoming holiday season. This
1:54:44
is Florida.
1:54:51
God for 25 years, they've been growing babies and cows.
1:54:57
I want to mention something is since I'm already two And uptime
1:55:02
so yesterday and j My daughter is a big Halloween nut. So really, what did she go? What did she dress up as what was her or she can't get the dress up as anything because they cancel Halloween in the whole area. But yeah, she's gonna go to something tonight there's a party, but there used to be parties and all kinds of she wishes to get dolled up when she was young and really fancy stuff. And there's some great pictures of her. And she's very bummed and and then the joke of it is here in California. And everyplace else actually. It was Halloween. This is a great setup. Halloween basically canceled in the Bay Area. But look at the things that came together. Halloween on a Saturday with a full
1:55:48
moon Blue Moon,
1:55:50
a Blue Blue Moon and Mars in the sky. And you can see Mars assured I look at this Mars. And it was perfect. And it was nice. And some places is rainy. But here it was nice. It was a to me a unbelievable disaster, because of just all these elements that came together and then yeah, just reject it. Well, thank you democrat kid kids. We're kids. We're definitely out in Austin. I know there were lots of Halloween parties for the older kids. I spoke to mo he's in Northern Virginia. He was going trick or treating. So it's I think it's just a California thing.
1:56:31
Yeah. Cheese.
1:56:33
David Nelson. 333 33.
1:56:36
I guess you're skipping Dred Scott
1:56:38
go I thought we just I'm sorry. Dred Scott Earl at large 333 33. He is at large and as no jingles no Carmen, but he does receive that coveted special producer ship for today, as does David Nelson who comes in with the same 333 33 from Bellaire, Texas couldn't resist the offer just had to chip in on the election special. YouTube have kept me calm with your info same and over these many troublesome months. And the value has just been immense, hoping that whatever outcome of the election, we'll get back to being able to bring a tiny bit more rationality to general disclosure. unlikely, but I'm not betting on it. There you go. So I'll keep listening to prevent amygdalar enlargement. By the way, Adam, you're spot on about the excess number of cycles in PCR assay. I've been doing PCR since the 1980s when Kary mullis inventor gave a talk about the method at my school before publishing his first paper. I do have a small gripe about your description. And this is good. There's no spinning involved. I talk about cycles. It is a thermal cycle heating, cooling, heating, cooling you use the term spin
1:57:43
up.
1:57:44
I did, I did. And that was completely incorrect. But there you go. Once again, we have the best producers in the universe. Please keep up the great work. No matter the outcome, your analysis will be vital. We all could use some goat karma for a mostly peaceful election week. And I'd like a dealer's choice, Reverend Al in honor of everyone working the polls. And I too would say thank you all very much for working with us. I always think that people when I go vote and do this, and I noticed that they are often surprised when I say that, I say Hey, thank you. Thank you so much for doing this. And like oh, in fact, so we have I have not seen these voting machines that we had that their touchscreen that the different ones from previous times voted in Texas. And now of course because of the COVID they're handing out little finger protectors which is literally a It looks like a meanie condom and you just have people yeah, yeah bank bankers using you just can't help but make jokes about it. Which I did of course, and hilarity ensued obviously
1:58:52
there's a sign in front of all these points there's no
1:58:54
joke no joke. No joke and douchebags Yeah, we're gonna give you see Was there any karma associated with that? Yes, I got karma. You got it.
1:59:07
You've got
1:59:09
karma.
1:59:13
Well, Robert Randall I can't find a note from him. Randall Robert or donation.
1:59:19
So what do you mean he for donation?
1:59:24
The word donation in the subject? My requirements Yes. find these last notes. Yeah, Robert ran Oh, Portland, Oregon, $333 and 33 cents. And he's importantly, probably couldn't didn't have time dodging, you know, Molotov cocktails. probably didn't have time to write a note. But thanks for the donation. Cheryl Coxon Austin, Texas. Hello 333. This is for Josh. Josh Cox wishing him a happy birthday on November 3 when he gets gets a president for his birthday. That's nice. This is Josh's mom ah and he hit me in the mouseman many, many years ago, I really appreciate the show and the work involved. Thank you. Thank you both, you know and welcome. That is I we don't get that often do we? I think maybe two or three times we have moms and sons who are rare, rare. Very rare thing. It's nice. Thank you Cheryl. And congratulations, Josh, you're on the you're on the list. is mostly why you
2:00:23
listed those guys.
2:00:27
Yeah, that's mostly what it is. Yeah. Sure. Addison, CEO of shitpost. Sir, in Chesterfield, Missouri. 333 Travis Addison here, Adam, your reporting on the PCR processes has been invaluable lately and really gets to the core of the scam. Your analysis is a perfect eye opener without sounding like a crackpot. Keep up the great work and please don't ever find that exit strategy as usual. No agenda royalty and douchebags alike can save 33% on every order from Ebola. Ebola z AB CBD with the code no agenda at ea bls.com oh yeah your audience or is my favorite customers and they keep me paid so I can keep you paid if I could get a standard job is Carmody keep me focused and dialed in on my businesses that would be great. You have a listener in life from a myself and my friends and I'm hitting people in the mouth left and right. Thank you for all you do for truth and reason and keeping and bringing the solid gold sir Addison CEO of shitpost Adam did your package make it to the P o box did it did sir Addison Thank you very much. And both myself and the keeper have enjoyed and and we didn't even have to use the checkout code. No agenda evils.com it just showed up in the P o box. Definitely outstanding product. And it's always nice to have multiple vendors for all of Gitmo nation so thank you very much. Yes and you
2:01:53
wanted to save a lot of them we do and he
2:01:55
wanted a standard jobs karma here you go Yeah, standard jobs,
2:01:58
jobs and jobs.
2:02:04
Karma
2:02:06
name is 203 $8 becomes the first associate executive producer for today's show. 1291 in Dutch They say he writes the value real valuable things are intangible on us Vaughn var dat is very loose, very good very close and it's young, young and he says almost fun vida is veer los veer loose beyond Yon novice okay. However that will pay for groceries. Not even here. So a little added value numerological taxonomy Roman history from new born producer Chronicle Is there any make the old world sane again karma we could use that yes there
2:02:51
is it's called goat karma here it comes you've got karma
2:02:59
next is anonymous. And I think this is interesting that this was missed 234 or five six but you know Smart Money puts this right at the beginning of a note I wanted mentioned anonymously. That's not as right to be I do not like reading an entire note at the very essence please keep up at the end. It's it's a real bummer. I Virginia is going to get a john brennan innocent until you're accused nice that's true and Camila is pretty good karma that's Amy that's Amy cold clover char. Greetings crackpot and buzzkill thank you for as always for the invaluable info saying that you provide my fellow Canadian Canada avians are freaking out over the Rona. Yeah, yes, I'm sure they are not the ones that listen to this show. I've been able to maintain my small amygdala thanks for your incredible work I donate last March and requested some low law jobs karma now I won't say this karma didn't work as like as kept my great job in my business skyrocketed over the summer, however, it didn't quite land the job in the legal field I was after. If you would please give me an extra strength Pelosi jobs cover for an interview I have this week. I would be incredibly thankful. Thanks again. Well, I think that calls for a TPP then if he wants some extra strength and give it a shot, okay, so just because there's so much confusion about it being common law instead of Amy I'm gonna do Brennan not guilty. That's true. Amy pretty good. I'll throw in and enslave me comma, and we'll wind it up with a TPP people are innocent until
2:04:41
well alleged to be involved in some type of criminal activity.
2:04:44
I think that sounds pretty good.
2:04:49
Oh boy, the kid ruined it all.
2:04:56
You've got karma.
2:04:59
Love me. Some copies
2:05:03
take a look and see if I can find this email while you read it. Take note.
2:05:08
Okay, Christina Thomas $200 from drums, Pennsylvania drums. I apologize in advance for Warren Piece below. It's not all that bad actually. Thank you for all you do get my nation keeping my nation sane, especially for helping me navigate the liberal paranoia that is the United States university system. Whoa, yes. When I started listening in 2018, while pursuing my undergraduate degree, I was grateful for your balanced view on the news and the state of the world after being bombarded with
2:05:35
we're all gonna die
2:05:37
scenarios in my classes. Now, as I pursue my graduate degree. Hey, you don't make the dumb bucket like I do. I am still grateful for getting a dose of reality in between my classes where professors consistently clamor for a globalist agenda to combat the world's problems. Keep up the great work and please never find an exit strategy. Now on to the good stuff. Six months ago, I told myself that I would be a Dane by my birthday on November 2, and this donation marks my $1,000 donation total accounting attached. While I was hoping to join the roundtable before my stepdad, he managed to beat me to the mark during Episode 1287 when he was knighted, surmount wandering Night of the two wheeled steed, thus depriving me of any further opportunity to call him out as a douchebag. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to joining him as well as the other illustrious knights and dames at the roundtable in honor of my love of judo exploring Pennsylvania's forest, please de mi Dame Christina dhoka of Penn woods and make sure there's plenty of coffee and ramen at the roundtable did not order that but we always have a supply of coffee and ramen because it is something that's asked frequently. And let me put that on order here. I'm sorry, we have so much this is whenever we do these special producer ships man goes off the charts but dealer's choice of any Obama or al sharpton, I actually selected and I selected this one for him. We'll throw in a karma to
2:07:06
a rowdy crowd.
2:07:10
Come on, guys.
2:07:12
You're my house. Oh, hold on.
2:07:16
No, no, no, no, no, no.
2:07:21
No, no, no, no, no.
2:07:23
Hey, okay. You know,
2:07:36
you've got karma.
2:07:39
And I do have a note from Ryan, Brian Miller who will be last or last associate executive producer. 225 bucks. He's into Whittier. Whittier. Quick Meteor. Yes. Whittier. Yeah. Oh, again. Get your pen out. We got 10 more birthdays and 90. Okay. I don't think we've ever had this many people on the birthday list is first congratulations on 13 years of podcasting. Excellent. Thank you. All right, no agenda listening family decided to rebel and go trick or treating in our local neighborhood. In honor of the Rona. We chose to act out a modified version of money pythons bring out your dead sea. Classic where's the Where's Where did this take place? What state this needs to know. As a note continues you'll get the clue candidate gets in a video which I was boring to you where they're actually showing how they did this. And it may be something we'll put in the show notes or something later, our daughter was saddened to see a lack of kids trick or treating the few families who were handing out candy we're having small neighborhood party seems you weren't the only rebels take that Governor knew scum. Ooh. No jingles no karma. So there's a Californian and in Whittier is matter of fact down with the with our with the Baron. Ah, and yeah, it's a problem. For kids. I feel bad. It's just as a perfect night. I'm sure it was in Southern California. We must have been dynamite. So that's our group of associate executive producers and executive producers for show 1291 this special election day special on the agenda show now what is the exact title that people will be are warranted to use for this for this executive order. sosiale Bridgend Election Day executive producer election Election Day Special executive producer perfect and coming up. We do have two Black Knights. I'll just say that right up front. We have who will be the Black Knights here. Michael Goodell. Who in a black knight is when you oh yes you were recognized. Everything is good. We mentioned you and somehow I wound up not knighting you That is how you achieve a blind give me a lot you could also fall into a vortex which brings me to our last note for this segment. Okay, thank you for bringing that up sir crush a lot. Who, whose note appeared in I think it was a sisters or some one of his relatives as a card that came in with a sister. Yeah. And he's donated his donation has already gone through at some point. And but I'll reiterate it was I think the donation was four. I'll give him the credit right now which was for $350 and 95 cents. And he wrote and he's gonna be knighted as a black nine his note kept getting lost he was in the vortex. I flown to California several times since the COVID pandemic said in his cancer ran a race with dimension my father's cancer came in at the end of August it was a horrible thing to witness. So what I happily accept an F cancer we can give you that, for sure. Other than that, no jingles no karma. During my latest visit last month I was sitting outside vino volo, and the disturbingly uncrowded San Francisco International Airport is creepy. I'm sharing a bottle of rosae with Dame shark dream Chardonnay, Chardonnay. Dame Chardonnay, and she's the one I think of something Snowden when she pointed out a bottle of monkey and goat Chardonnay. At the bottom of the label it read BTL 00033 of 0300 sharing me really crazy That's crazy. It was a sign with this donation I sent a knighthood accounting below you're on the list as a black knight who would like to be known as sir crush a lot. Knight of the leelanau great fields. I think we got that correct on there.
2:11:42
Right of the leelanau
2:11:44
lella now l e n a
2:11:48
l e m l a n. Au grape fields Zoo and grape fields okay. At first I plan to ask for pesto pasta puttanesca at the round table but have decided instead to go with my own creation. Pasta chef rent boy rd
2:12:11
okay.
2:12:14
Rent boy rd. I like that. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. Holy crap. 13 years Finally we
2:12:24
rent boy rd Wow. Nice. I know it's always surprises me these these creations. Please serve that with an AMA Rita's vineyard 2018. Pinot Blanc.
2:12:35
Oh my god. And what
2:12:39
am arretez am? Oh, yeah, vineyard affiliates. We're going long. Emery 20 years. 2018. Pinot Blanc? Pino blonk. Okay. Gee, I mean, you're lucky we have such good service here because that's not an easy one. But we'll get that I'll get that for you. I think you'll get here in time. If you ordered special. I mean, my previous donation is represent one cent per word of my pandemic novel. However, at this time, I have had to reduce the rate to one cent, one half cent per word. The novel continues to track current events, rather, current events continue to track my novel. And I'm increasingly concerned that the government will in fact be taken over by the public health authorities and the committee for preservation of health and safety will soon be directing our lives. Well stop. Yes, that without a doubt, when it comes to these passports, which now is going to be a covid passport, but very soon will be a health passport. You bet. You bet that the medical community, the big pharma, they're all in on this. They want to control you. And just look at Bill Gates. These are the people behind it. They absolutely want to control you based upon your health to yes based upon your money. Well, he but it's I think that is a big part of what's going on. Absolutely. Absolutely. A lot of put in his next novel. Yeah. Then he finishes last paragraph, any who a variant on the other popular ever popular anyways, a couple of definitions for you. Those who are aggressive aggressively attack people for not wearing masks are defiantly submissive, defiantly submissive, that's good. Those who exude a smug arrogance over their complicit mask wearing can be said to be a gala terian elitists. Okay, I think keeps up Keep up the good work and that will conclude our know he gets cancer as requested.
You've got karma and then briefly the main good from James Fukumoto, who is Sir James Fukumoto, but we'll make him a black knight today because he missed he was missed on the ceremonies. Listen, 12 show 1290 with excitement and Glee and being called to the roundtable it seemed that perhaps I slipped off To enjoy the bourbon a tad too soon for I was not called up to be pronounced dictated. The show notes indicate me as Sir James Fukumoto was requested however, I was missed. I listened to the knighting ceremony several times and if I'm correct, I can now be knighted Sir James who Komodo black night also my jingles were missed mac and cheese and goat karma for all. Okay, no problemo. You slaves can get the mac and cheese. macaroni and cheese melted together
2:15:28
mac and cheese mac and cheese.
2:15:32
You've got karma.
2:15:35
And that does indeed conclude our segment. I can tell you as yes the affiliates we are going very long. We have 1-234-567-8910 1112 and we have 17 people on the birthday list. Interestingly enough, I had to manually put Mimi on there for November 4, but Okay, just just want to say it's not like her son has anything to do with the list or her husband has anything to do with it with the show. I put you on the list Mimi, just so you know.
2:16:05
Maybe she doesn't appreciate it. I don't know what I
2:16:09
listen to anymore. She's, she's overboard.
2:16:12
Well, on them that opens a whole new can of worms. Thank you all so much. These are your official especial titles, the no agenda election special executive producer, associate executive producer, thank you for your, your talents, your times. And of course your treasures is very much appreciated. And use those credits because they are valid they work on IMDB, good old Marcus couch is maintaining an entire IMDb credit section for the show. So make sure you look for that, which is just fantastic. And he probably needs some help with some of the night names. So he's been doing thousands of though once. So it's another great way to participate in our value for value network. If you want to help us some more, we'll be doing another show. It'll be on Thursday. And it should be a fun one. Because who knows what we're going to talk about. We can't know now can we? So for information on supporting us for that show, go to wcco.org slash n A again, thank you very much for your time, your talent and certainly your treasure working on the best podcast in the universe is this. We go out people in the mouth
fun little multi partner just to take us in a different direction today. As an old Well, I wouldn't say buddy of the show, but someone who I deconstructed or looked at what he was doing previously, a couple years ago, his former overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.
2:17:51
Do you remember Patrick burns story?
2:17:54
I know I don't actually know Patrick
2:17:56
Byrne actually had to resign from overstock as CEO noodled No, no, no. He he came out with the story that he was involved in the FBI, Russia collusion, he was dating Maria butina. You remember the redhead? And and she was being she was probably working for perhaps the Russians, but also was being set up by the FBI. And he came out and we played a couple of clips. I should actually see when that was. And exactly did we do this? Patrick Byrne and that was I mean, just take a look at the that was another 117 No. 2019 2019 August, August of 2019. Yeah, that makes sense around that time. But he came out and he did a he did a thing I think with Maria Bartiromo, and then also did he did Chris Cuomo and was really weird. And he's like, I got to go away this crazy stuff happening. And he's been. He's showed up again, a couple of days ago on his deep capture.com. deep deep capture is his website, where he explains everything that's happened to him, but he did a couple of podcast interviews with undercover DC, which I think is you know, this this real journalists who work over there at undercover DC. And so I take that with the with the respect that they put into it. And he told that he gave us the continuation of his story which has some gems in there, as it relates in a way to what's happening or what isn't happening now with the Biden crime family with the Clintons who are still under investigation, apparently for their, for their foundation. And just to revisit how he got involved in with the FBI initially was in 2002, I think 2003 he was kind of a gadfly on Wall Street. He was poking around. He was not the overstock CEO. I think people actually found them a little bit annoying, but he saw that there was a huge problem. In the walls, the way Wall Street functions with settlements, and that basically, there's 10 times as much stock or gold futures or anything in the system than actually exists in reality. And he believes that what he did lead in part two, or at least understanding of the 2008 meltdown, but a couple of other things that happened earlier than that, which you and I actually know about. So to revisit his credentials, he was asked by the FBI and actually was brought to a meeting with nine senators bipartisan, are led by arlen specter, who asked him to take down this cabal within Wall Street. Here's a little reminder of of that meeting and what he recalled of it back there had nine senators, eight other senators, and they gave me this speech. And they said, We think you're right. In fact, we It's worse than you think your something is taking over Washington, DC something is corrupting our government. And we can't even tell you what it is. It's like it's a foreign nation is subverting us. And, you know, we agree that Washington is just getting complete what what you say, a yell China, oh, I couldn't hurting us. And, you know, we agree that Washington is getting completely corrupted, but we can't even tell you what's underneath it. And we're going to give you a letter that's going to sit and they will and that is going to sit in a safe the rest of your life. And they showed me this letter. And they told me this had not been done since World War Two. And they told me that and then they pulled out this letter, they said there's a new Attorney General being sworn in tomorrow night, we're all gonna be over at the white Oval Office, both sides of the aisle and this ball. Nine senators are sitting around nodding to me through this whole speech. And they say we're going to, we're going to give the president the Attorney General this letter, and it's going to be sitting the rest of your life over the DOJ. And there's this letter on on Senate Judiciary stationery, and the first paragraph. I was not allowed to even touch it. I had to bend over while someone held it and keep my hands behind my back and they gave me about 10 seconds to scan it. But what it said I in the first paragraph it says something about how concerned they had become about evidence of systemic corruption infiltrating the origins of our federal government. I tried to fix the audio a bit on the fly is really really crappy. So while he was walking around Wall Street, trying to figure out where exactly the corruption was, he was actually responsible for the arrest of someone we know john,
you're going to see handcuffs come out this week. You need to live the rest of your life. Knowing that everyone we are you see us arrest now is going to suspect your fingerprints are on his problems. Three days later, they arrested a guy named Raj Raj an American from galleon remember this the first big arrest in like a decade ago. Do you remember galleon? No, I don't actually galleon, I think you might have been there. It was one of these hedge funds in Silicon Valley. And I think we were meevo at that point, Poncho become me vo and we were trying to get them to invest money. And I thought you were there for sure. And we went to galleons office and the head guy. He was on his way to New York. And he's like, Oh, yeah, it was all Indian guys. And yeah, well, we're gonna we're gonna do this. We do. We see great potential. And literally two weeks later, we see the guy getting arrested in New York, for you know, whatever, insider trading and they arrested 200 people and Patrick Byrne was responsible for that arrest in like a decade ago on Wall Street.
2:23:48
There was three days later, and then they went on and I recall arrested about 200 people on about 120 actually didn't time.
2:23:56
Okay. So that's his credentials. And that is that is verified. And he was I don't know about his letter that he says he had. But now we get to the good meat of it. And this is all new information. So through a number of circumstances, he winds up dating Maria butina, the redhead who was showing up at republican get togethers and at first, you know, he was a little weird. Now he's not married or anything. So he could do whatever you want with anybody. But at first he kind of kept her at arm's length. And because he had previously been working with the FBI who went over, he's going to go over to Russia. He called him and said, Hey, I'm going to go over to Russia. And this on upon invitation of Maria butina. So long story short, she comes back and they're still kind of together, and the FBI gets in contact with him again. And basically what happened was looking back, they were over already engineering it and in fact, I didn't really understand The details, you'd have to read the capture. But what was going on? They were already engineering it with her. And I stumbled over it is what happened?
2:25:09
Oh, oh, yeah. Engineering. And
2:25:13
they were I know that they were working on it by September 2015. I think they were working on it by July of 2015. They may have all started in March of 2015. And all that really happened was they knew all about me, then. I mean, they knew all about her when I reported her already. And that's why their actions from then on were quite strange with me, that man and black and I could tell something, they weren't being honest with me. But I couldn't tell what. Well, in retrospect, with everything that came out of sands and putting all the things very clear, this was all being set up by the summer of 2015, the whole Russia gate thing. So he kind of accidentally stumbled into this Russia gate because he's hanging out with this Russian girl. But then the feds take them aside, and they say, you know what, you got to come back to work force, we need you to do something. And this is the most incredible part of the story. They told me Hillary had taken a bribe. They only told me a couple times, he said, Hillary, just you know, it's Hillary, because it's not easy to understand. They told me Hillary had taken a bribe, they only told me a couple things. They said First, there's two groups that bureau investigating Hillary Clinton. This is late 2015. They said one group is going after her emails, and we think that's a whitewash. But the other group is in New York, and they're looking into Clinton financials, and they really want to get her and Kami has been blogging that group, Patrick, from going aggressive, like using a sting. But information has come in that Hillary has taken abroad, and they told me who it was from and how much foreign government it was in the low 10s of millions, I won't say how it was done was the foundation. And they said, because we have that information. That group in New York now got the cloud to force commies hand, and force comi to approve a sting. And now we're reaching out to you just set up this thing. And this thing was there was a second government that they believed wanted to pay her bribe. And it was, it was in the teens of millions. And my assignment was a country I'd never been to, but my assignment was to be friend, that government sign the bag man, they had a, they, they had a belief of who the bag man within the government was going to be. So it was my assignment to, to get to that country, befriend the government, befriend the bag, man, and get that person 10 minutes alone in a room with Hillary Clinton. And that was the that was the objective that sometime in the next two months, there's going to be a room that Hillary Clinton walks in and the bag man is in and then 10 minutes alone. You take it from there pack. So so the first bribe I'm pretty sure is the uranium one because it was about 20 or $25 million. That then went into the Clinton Foundation. I don't know who the second country was that were trying to bribe her. It could have been a number of maybe Ukraine, maybe Kazakhstan grant could be China could be China, it could be anything. So he sets it up. And I'm just telling I'm filling in the blanks, because it's very long winded as you can tell. He says that he sets it up. And the way it's gonna work is so it's not on her calendar. Hillary is going to stay at a hotel. She's going to go down in the elevator, but she gets off on the fourth floor. So spend 10 minutes in the room, she grabs the bag, and then she goes down to the lobby and no one knows that this took place. He set it up. It did take place. But then the curtain came down total blackout. And and he was waiting for the FBI to come back to him and say, Well, great job. We nailed it. We got a good job. But no, that wasn't it. This happened and I should I don't get it. I don't get it. And they gave me this story. That was, look, it's been we've figured out the bureau knows Hillary is going to be president, nothing can stop that now. And first thing she's going to do, which day she becomes president is she's going to send her goons over to the FBI. And they're going to say who investigated Hillary and all of us who were part of it, Patrick will be destroyed. And that includes you. So this mission has been scrubbed from the highest levels. This has been scrubbed. So the mission had been scrubbed from the highest levels. Yes. In fact, he says when he was he went back to the feds a couple months later, and said, You know, this really doesn't sit well with me. And I guess they were in the room that was bugged. And when they were talking about this came from someone higher than than the FBI. They were pointing to the ceiling as in, you know, a we can't talk here, but he realized that it was indeed President Obama. And this is this is the best part. Now remember, everyone thought Hillary was going to win. And so the FBI they got freaked out miss it all, man We can't we can't be trying to take her down, because she's gonna win. And she'll have our heads on sticks like a no agenda meetup.
And here is the entire reason for Obama calling it off at least the exposure of her corruption, wait for this. And next they let their hair down. And they told me the truth. They told me, Patrick, what's really going on is this. President Obama has his people across the federal bureaucracy at this point, but especially the DOJ. Think of them as being a Bunsen burner at the heart of the DOJ. And that information about the bribes you were part of gathering is going to be sitting on that Bunsen burner. Hillary is going to be president for eight years, and nothing's going to change that. But while she's president, the hand on that knob is going to be one of Barack Obama's people. The whole time Hillary is president. If she's a good girl, and defends Obamacare, knob stays the flame stays low. She's a bad girl, and thanks for yourself that flame gets turned up high. And that way, brock obama is going to manage Hillary Clinton for the eight years. She's president and then she's going to step down and Michelle's gonna run and Patrick, that's the plan.
2:31:14
When you hear it like this is totally logical. Totally logical.
2:31:19
Well, you can see that being there thinking, yeah. And I love that they were they wanted to have Michelle run after after Hillary, which sounds like a bunch of boneheads. Well, yeah. Yeah. Well, we'll see after Tuesday, how boneheaded they are. So just two straggling clips of this fantastic tale. This is how the FBI was being controlled by someone we know. Months later, they come back and say, We want you to get her back in your life. We want him to know this never happens in America and all of our three careers. We've never heard of this when he says hurry. The talking about butina
2:31:58
is being asked to sleep with anyone to get information. Wow. You're being asked. Merman rekindled,
2:32:05
they literally were asking him to start a relationship again with her. And here's why. Well, wait. Didn't the guy say? We've never asked somebody to sleep with someone to get information? Is that what he said?
2:32:19
The FBI?
2:32:21
Not to see I just to
2:32:24
not American citizens agents do all the time. But I don't think America I don't think plain citizens are asked to do that. Oh, God. Yeah, you're right. He's not he's not a member of the agency. Yeah, at this point, he's just a good confidential informant. He's the CEO of Overstock. makes it even better. information. Wow. You're being asked to resume a romantic rekindle your romantic relationship. And Maria, I get to the bottom of anything to do with Maria and Russia, here in the United States. And this war, these instructions are your chain of command. Oh, the chain of command gets very interesting. They also explained that Director Brennan had of the CIA there that a law had been passed in Oh, wait, that said under certain conditions, the CIA director can sign a piece of paper and kind of take control of the FBI. The CIA itself was not involved, but its director was running the FBI for the purposes of what I'm telling you. And they said this, so this is you're still working for you're working for the FBI, you're gonna be back with Maria, you'll be working the FBI, Director of the CIA is commanding the FBI for this mission. And this whole thing is being done at the request of brock obama, and President Obama. And that is executive order 12 333 couldn't get any nicer. And indeed, now the language is complicated, but if you parse it, the CIA director can indeed take over and direct the FBI according to executive order 1233, which I don't know if it's still on the books, if that was if there was an override by by Trump. But that seems to fit within how Brennan was a part of this whole thing continuously doing spying and affairs internally. We know that Brennan has always been Barack Obama's handler. entered john Durham into the conversation. Oh, yes. We've been waiting. This is why Patrick Byrne came out. Now. He said that the FBI everyone had promised him they were going to tell all this before the election. He says now they're not doing it. They're all talking about Durham's. Now Derm. is supposed to be the it's supposed to be the thousands of sealed indictments report. This is what we've been waiting for. Patrick Byrne says he's been waiting for it for months and months but COVID slowed it all down and, and Durham is such a great guy because he's the guy That unwound the whole whitey Bolger corruption FBI scandal. And he's working on it. So the guy who cleaned that up was john, john Durham has in the in the real in real life john Durham is the prosecutor one and put together this massive federal prosecution that unwound a 20 year conspiracy. So there's no one more experienced than in the country than than he is, I suppose other than Rudy Giuliani, if you go back far enough, but who took down the mafia in the in the late 80s or early 90s in New York, so that's john Durham now, but I think what's happened is, this just is what would sprawling I think, everywhere they dig it just sprawl, I think that they're, what they're discovering is like what I discovered when I bubble heads with Wall Street, At first, I thought it was dealing with like a couple criminals on the fringe. And it turns out, and I eventually started realizing I was like, in a ship wouldn't ship that you're down in the hole and you find that the whole thing is Warmington, the whole you thought it was just a couple timbers that needed to be replaced? No, the whole thing the wood is just rotten. Warmington? Well, I think that's what john Durham is finding. I think there are so many places this sprawls into. And, and I think that he's probably my guess. And so this is pure guesswork. I don't think that's not in the press. I mean, that's why
2:36:34
I think that he's trying to be really complete and deliver everything in one go. And I think that if it had to do over again, I wonder if they would, would make the same decision because it just gets so sprawling.
2:36:51
And right now, the latest count, oh, the latest count is over 200,000 sealed indictments across the United States. Yeah. It in line with this, these clips, I've got one to just kind of spice things up. Okay. This is from October 9. And we have heard nothing since. And you remember this, we will all remember when we hear it. You'll remember I was close to this. Even when I was a member of congress when I served on the Benghazi committee. Now what seems like a little bit time ago, we've got the emails, we're getting them out, we're gonna get all this information out so the American people can see it, you'll remember how there was classified information on a private server should have never been there. I should never have done that. I was unacceptable behavior. It's not the kind of thing that leaders do. They don't put that kind of information out. And you can see whether it's Russia or China or Iran, or the North Koreans who want to get their hands on this kind of information, classified information needs to stay in the right places. Secretary Clinton, when she was here at the State Department did not do that.
2:37:53
The President has the authority to declassify anything he wants off all authority is to him?
2:37:58
Could he declassify it and order it released if he wanted to? And if you order?
2:38:03
Absolutely, we're gonna get there. We're gonna get this information out so the American people can see it.
2:38:08
If he worked order that would there be concerns about maybe health and safety of sources or methods that could possibly be in these emails, if there's classified information.
2:38:20
And I've been at this a long time with President Trump for four years now almost. I've never seen him do anything that would put any kind of asset any kind of one of our officers in any harm's way. He wouldn't do that. We'll get the information out that needs to get out. And we'll do it in a way that protects the intelligence sources that we need to
2:38:37
protect. And last question on that. Well, that happened before the election. Do it
2:38:41
as fast as we can. I certainly I certainly think there'll be more to see before the election. Well,
2:38:48
no.
2:38:50
Unless it happens today.
2:38:53
Oh, hold on. Hold on. Hold on. JOHN. I'm sorry. For some reason you went on mute. Say again. I said that this was this is not happening. This pump pail just full of shit is obviously not happening, although we do have the Biden crime syndicate. The hunter Biden laptop from hell, as it's been built by the president, which you know, comes directly from Mannion, Steve Bannon over there with his war room and Dimmick and his host, Steve benyon they have a new document
2:39:30
it's the Deadman switch
2:39:35
just when you thought it couldn't get crazier with anthony wiener having a folder named insurance policy with thousands of emails Ah, let's go to the war room to listen in to see what they've discovered now on hunter Biden's laptop jag max he's gonna have more he and Noah Benjamin they've got the receipts anything they can't get in the show. They're gonna be putting up on the day we put it up on the on the site, right? This is where we got these guys Have you know you're the You're the worst nightmare these major dump and what's so frightening is there's more we've been going through this for days and days and in Hunter's little secret PDF file. Every single thing is a crime. He is holding this over every single person he knew. So people start coming forward because he is not on your side. You think he held all this reasonable? 100% No treasure chest? No, no, no, no, no, no chance that this had a Deadman switch on it. They were all put there by Hunter in a special file designed to betray everybody he is crimes with it. Because it's. It's so mind boggling. Tom wonders, NBC News. We invite you to come over today. Hey, you said what jacket? No, I said what the team will show you all the receipts show you all the evidence. We're already handing out thumb drives. You may as well come get one. Come on. Come on. Come on over it. We got all that we got the receipts. These guys are all Judy about. Yes. got nowhere. Well, I don't know. Let's see the PDF. I'm sure. It'll have to go somewhere. Sometime. There's something else probably on Wednesday. Yeah, the minute if Joe wins right away, take down. If Joe loses, who cares? That's pretty much what we're dealing with. Yeah. Yeah, I know. I ran into this and this is only the same lines that as that. Of that what you just played? Hmm. So I ran into this. I've ran into it online. I cannot find it. It's not on the ABC rundowns. It's not when you run the news like for example, I do have an ABC to Friday rundown of the news, which is a minute 46 you want to hear all the news rolled into their 30s.
2:41:36
to the finish, President Trump and Joe Biden criss crossing the Midwest, dueling rallies in Minnesota and Wisconsin, as the Midwest and the West see that alarming surge in COVID cases? The President downplaying the virus, saying doctors get more money if someone dies from COVID at his son, Don Jr, saying overnight, why are they talking about deaths, the numbers almost nothing, just as Americans learned of another thousand deaths in 24 hours that Joe Biden tonight said Donald Trump has surrendered to the virus at the major headline emerging this evening involving the early vote at what we're now seeing it Texas four days ago. But when will we know the results? Even as President Trump insists on knowing the results on election night the reality check here tonight. eight states including key battlegrounds won't even begin opening mail in ballots until Election Day. So which states could we know first? At which key battlegrounds are warning tonight Be prepared to wait for days possibly for final results. JOHN Carlin Mary Bruce standing by live the highest number yet more than 92,000 new cases of COVID in just 24 hours. That was the concern as the colder weather arrives record numbers from Wisconsin to Ohio to Illinois tonight weather halting eating in restaurants again. At the state health director they're saying they're now seeing the flu and COVID in some patients. Tonight a deadly earthquake the magnitude 7.0 earthquake toppling buildings hitting parts of Turkey and Greece here at home outrage this evening. One of the officers in the Breanna Taylor case now suing Taylor's boyfriend for shooting him. After Lori Loughlin reporting to prison tonight as the first major snow in the northeast and what to expect from Chicago to Boston this weekend.
2:43:21
Wow, ladies and gentlemen, stay with us now. Right now you go. That's your that's your ABC Friday. Mo so so I run I ran into this. This is Tom yamas. Yes, this is this is fantastic. Where did this come from? What
2:43:37
do you mean? Where did it come from? Why did he do it? You mean? It's
2:43:41
Tom yamas. We know is ABC correspondent. And where did this play? didn't play on ABC. Not NBC Nightly News. You just heard the rundown. It wasn't. It wasn't on that one before. Was it on GMA? Was it on ABC News stream, which is my suspect interest? I can't find it. All I have is the clip that I stole from Twitter. And it's a good clip and it looks like they're trying to do the job and I'm sure they're gonna we reported on it reported on it.
2:44:10
Yeah. But it's, it's like like, like wolf blitzer saying, well, I push back on Nancy Pelosi, I push back on the DNC. Yeah, it's
2:44:19
the clip. It's a hedge at issue was Hunter butterhead. profiting
2:44:22
off his dad's work as vice president? And did Joe Biden allow it? We're talking about millions of dollars in at least two countries. Mr. Vice President Tom yamas. ABC News. How you doing? I got a quick question for you. It's a question we tried to ask repeatedly. Can we ask you about Ukraine and China
2:44:39
but kept getting blocked questions about foreign deals his son hunter Biden pursued my father, Joe Biden, in countries with Joe Biden is
2:44:48
working as America's top diplomat.
2:44:52
In 2014, Ukrainians sick of corruption revolted.
2:44:57
Vice President Joe Biden went to Kiev To help the new government you have to fight
2:45:03
the cancer of corruption.
2:45:05
But then something strange happened.
2:45:09
Just three weeks later, a Ukrainian natural gas company who was accused of corruption appoints hunter Biden, seen here in their promotional videos to their board of directors paint his firm
2:45:21
more than a million dollars a year.
2:45:23
Hunter, a lawyer who had just been discharged from the Navy reserves for testing positive for cocaine, Mr. Hunter. He has served on other boards,
2:45:33
but had no known experience in Ukraine or natural gas. We went to Kiev and found even among Joe Biden supporters in Ukraine, hunters hiring was troubling. How do you judge what hunter Biden was doing? I think
2:45:47
that hunter Biden did a very bad thing. And he was very warm. He allows his name to be abused. I think
2:45:57
I found the piece on ABC News on ABC news website. I think it's probably didn't run it didn't air but they did produce this video piece in a huge article about all the problems. It is Biden sidesteps questions about his son's foreign business dealings but promises ethics pledge and then ledge well that killed me. Oh, okay. Nevermind. But we're all good, Rafik. Because that play? Drop it? Yeah. He's pledged something. I'll put that in the show notes. It's interesting. It's good reporting. Actually, it's in their blood. They do a good job. And they cover all the bases. But so what, and we're bitching about mainstream? I think we should probably talk about don't rap grand green row. Well, for you want to talk? Yes. You've mentioned it. This happened right at the end of our last show. I want to start that discussion. By No, what was show was greenwater. All in all the time he come in and help them out democracy? No. He was there constantly. Oh, two. They loved him. So
2:47:03
they throw him under the bus.
2:47:04
Well, wait, should we should we first explain what happened? Not everybody? I'm sure you wouldn't. Right. Why don't you explain what happened? You caught it before I did. Yeah. So Glenn Greenwald, who? We've always been admirers of his work.
2:47:18
Yeah, he does good work. He's, he he's kind of
2:47:21
straight down the middle kind of guy.
2:47:24
At least when it comes
2:47:25
to aggressive angle. It's impressive angle, right. And he's not dishonest. We followed him since he started what we call the $250 million blog. Because that's what we were joking about it because it was set up and financed by Pierre Omidyar from the Omidyar network. And he's a PayPal billionaire. And he's a very, very, he's kind of like a Soros guy. And he sponsors a lot of liberal left, groups, etc. So we are all kind of looking at the intercept, which we jokingly call the $250 million blog, as Okay, we'll see how long it takes until the corruption sets in. And Glenn Greenwald, kind of happily went on his way and continue to do great reporting. And this was after the Snowden revelations when he was working for The Guardian. And and the New York Times was in that Gambit as well. Of course, that all turned sour. Because everyone loved what Snowden was top of the bill. Everybody loved him until Wikileaks started, you know, doing stuff that was anti Hillary Clinton emails, etc. Then glean Glenn Greenwald, somehow by association became kind of tainted and like, Oh, he's kind of geeky, cuz he stands up for Wikileaks and WikiLeaks is no good. WikiLeaks also used to be loved by everybody, for those of you who haven't been around for, you know, seven or eight years. And all of a sudden he abruptly resigns from the intercept, saying that he wanted to publish a any has contractually, he can publish whatever he wants. And if the intercept doesn't want it, then he can take it to some other outlet. So they refused to publish his article, at least without heavy editing. Where he I think it was kind of only mentioning the hunter Biden issues, not necessarily much about the hunter Biden coverage. I read it. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. It's out. It's on substack. All right. With Ty ABS stuff. Right. It was about in the he said that they they would let him run the piece in, except he has to take off out anything about Joe Biden in any anti Joe Biden stuff. Right. And as he described it on his various interviews, he ended up on Tucker show. He described it as they they want Joe Biden to be the president and so they wouldn't let me run this piece and so he quit in a huff. And for which we congratulate him and I immediately value for value I immediately subscribe to him on substack Tina subscribe to we I love him I love what Ty Eb I don't agree obviously with everything but that's how it's supposed to go. These guys are good journalists and they need to be supported and I will gladly help him with this podcast because he needs some sound help. Starting with that, I bought that damn mic that he has to see you and it's crap. The shore 55 it's not it's not the mic for me, that's for sure.
2:50:15
Yeah, well, it's not the mic. I would recommend
2:50:17
No, no. Anyway, so he also used to be in fact, we've probably played many clips of Glenn Greenwald from Democracy Now because that's the beat lots of because He's good. He's a little wordy. He's a little wordy when he writes too. He's not a he's not the writer. He is the guy you want to read what are just recently tight writing is dynamite. Greenwald is wordy, and he goes on and on he may say wrote this thing. So and he did so that what got me was listening to Amy, basically throwing him under the bus. And then read from a press release by the editor in chief of the intercept some woman who if you look at a picture of you go oh my god, I can just see this coming. Jesus SJW Max, and just harsh, harsh woman and she reads this press release and just base and leaves it at that without defending him or anything. I thought this was one of the lowest creepiest things Amy has ever done on that show to throw out her guy that has done nothing but help that show and throw him under the bus like this. It was disgusting.
2:51:28
Immediate news, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald has resigned from the intercept after accusing the news outlet of censoring an article he wrote about Joe Biden. Greenwald, who co founded the intercept accused editors of refusing to quote publish the article unless I agree to remove all of the sections critical of the candidate they want to win. Greenwald's article focused on disputed corruption allegations about Biden's son hunter that first appeared in The New York Post. In a statement the intercept said in part while he accuses us of political bias, it was he who is attempting to recycle the dubious claims of a political campaign, the Trump campaign and launder them as journalists Oh
2:52:10
wow.
2:52:12
And there was no words you know, there was nothing like that didn't mention anything of the work that he's done with her on the show none of that she is such a creep for doing this report. Yeah, I mean, I've always thought she was a creepy but she is a total creep for doing this to grant Glenn Greenwald and by the way, Scott Adams just to make you feel a little better talked about this a little bit in column Jeff Greenwald. I don't know why that's You make me feel better. It is funny. I do enjoy it. But this was this was just gusting Wow. She never asked for his comment never brought you know, normally in a normal day and he would have brought him on he would come on. Anybody that is normal, yak yak yak thing, but no, no, she didn't invite him. She just read that press release from the from the intercept, slamming him and a lot of it goes back according to time it actually goes back to Greenwald's not going along with the program with Russia gate. Right. Right. He was a very he was a naysayer from the beginning. Yeah. But he was skeptical about it. And he asked questions and didn't get answered. I mean, any answers? I mean, it's kind of like Dershowitz. You know, Dershowitz was the constitutional lawyer of America. And the minute he said, Hey, you know, I don't see it that way. Then all of a sudden he's the douche. He's done. He's He's, yeah, he's completely into a speaking of noodle. Let me just give you a few. We got some interesting noodles going on. We should probably play the play the noodle gun song. That's not it. Where is it? He is
locked in loaded. Gun is where people try to virtue signal, usually Black Lives Matter or something of that ilk. And it backfires on them. And this is for Northwestern University. So during a recent online town hall meeting, several employees admitted, and you know how this goes, you see this in corporate emails all the time, they admitted publicly, they are racists, and even admitted to acting as gatekeepers of white supremacy. This was just written word. You know how it goes like, Hi, I'm the president of the school. And I realize I'm a racist. I have acted as a gatekeeper of white supremacy, I'm sorry, blahdy, blahdy blahdy, blah. Well, now they're being sued for being racist, because they basically admitted it. Now, now, there's this There's an investigation underway to take them to court for doing exactly what they admitted they had done. So they were virtually they were virtue signaling and getting called out on it is fantastic.
2:55:12
That's the best story ever.
2:55:14
That's a great story. I feel sad for the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts of America. Boy, you know they already noodle gun, the Boy Scouts. But there was a tweet, a tweet that went out. That said Hold on, I got it. Here it is. Congratulations, Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the fifth woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789. And they go on to show that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and I think Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett were in the Girl Scouts, so they're proud of this. Oh,
2:55:59
oh,
2:56:00
noodle gun. Oh, no, because the meat they did take the tweet down. Because immediately Amy Coney Barrett believes trans girls shouldn't be in the Girl Scouts. Because she doesn't believe that trans girls are girls. This is horrible.
They're ruining everything. noodle, it's a big ask noodle. And then a minor minor noodle. Costco has dropped a particular brand of coconut milk. Because yes, this is a great story. This is Harley minor. Costco joins 25,000 retailers including Walgreens Food Lion, and more which following as Peters investigation, people for Ethical Treatment of Animals have banned the sale of these coconut products because they use forced monkey labor to retrieve coconuts forced monkey labor. I thought that's what we were on this podcast. But no, no, no, no, there's real forced monkey labor. And we're very sad to hear about it all. And that's your apparently, to get these coconuts down these monkeys run up the coconut tree and then they shake the tree. Or they grabbed the coconut and maybe throw them down and they think it's fun. I don't know. But there's a lot of monkeys that do this. But somehow being forced to do this. I don't know how that works. Are they in Shane's in bondage? They're dragging him out there to
2:57:30
somebody pounding a drum in the corners, the monkeys are all going up and down and saying, Oh, we got to break out of here. Just doesn't make any sense. It's just monkeys.
2:57:43
Imagining Imagine all the people who could do that.
2:57:54
And indeed, we do a few people to thank and maybe there's a monkey in the group. I'm not sure. At least his life great. It's a great time to be alive and to be doing a podcast, horse, horse monkey labor, and then they knuckle under. I know, Costco. That's what's so fun. I'm gonna turn in my card. Say I can't be a part of your your club anymore. I have to get a clip from a thing called driving while black. It's a documentary and it's mostly about the Green Book.
2:58:25
Yes,
2:58:26
yes. And it's a great documentary. And they talked to the publishers division original push a black guy who dreamed up the Green Book back in the 30s I believe in he took it to publishers to try to get it printed. And one guy I think it was in New Jersey says yeah, we'll print it. But people will refuse it be a black and not gonna print your book. And so he says he starts to print a book and a bunch of his employees. exactly the same as today. They're all virtue signaling because then it was okay to be racist, right? So we're not printing this book. We're gonna we're not gonna print this book. I'm not printing his book, all his employees. He said, Well, if you don't print the book, you're fired. I just get somebody else in here to print the book and they all knuckled under and print the book. Nobody does that anymore.
2:59:06
No, no.
2:59:08
Okay, this is what happened. Woody Allen's book. Okay, you tier two You're the boss. I'm gonna we're gonna let that print the book cuz you said so. I just thought it was great to the guy so yeah, you can go some work somewhere else asshole. Well, there's no there's only one true things you can say to that when when someone wants to do that to you or your company.
Starting with Valerie Steen's Linden, Kirkland and Kirkland, Washington of all places where Costco is under 30 bucks. And she loves the show. Baroness Monica. These are our donors for show 1291 our producers, Baroness Monica from Drayton Valley, Alberta. 129 10 Nicolas vossler in Marina Del Rey 12345 and just want to just one quick Stop by Nicholas says My grandmother was just diagnosed diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Could I get an F cancer? Yes, we'll put that at the end. She survived a political concentration camp as a young girl during World War Two led the development of several mental health facilities throughout my hometown in Colorado, and somehow raised my dad's a turn out pretty All right. If anyone can miraculously beat this thing at her age, she would be the one yes, we will definitely do an F cancer for her. Yes and wish her wish her well rush. Andrew J. Jin Tino Jenna t No. A 8888. He says this is interesting. After coming out with a head cold got a COVID test last week I turned on no agenda and use Google Maps to give me the address. Lo and behold, the ETA was 33 minutes. Neil bottom leaves now he came in at 88 Neal bottomly 88 in Barnsley, UK. d. Plain old d 77. dot 77. In Castle Rock, Colorado, Michael D. Verdi, a in Dublin 75. Found a founder through Tom woods. All right, thank you another time for last time. Do
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you spend
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Sherry Laurie? from Victoria Australian dollar ruse 70 le fettig. In union Ville, Indiana 6771 birthday call out. Skyler Sanders hit 6659 subcode pet In Metairie, Louisiana. I haven't seen some boat on the list for a long time. Welcome back. Sorry, I haven't seen him for a while. But he's back. JOHN Monaco in Highland heights Kentucky 5510. Cary glofx in locka, Sha Wisconsin 5353. He's got a douchebag call out I want to call up my friend dude. dee doo
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dee doo.
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And calling my friend Jeff as a douchebag for never donating. All right. Andrew Brown in London, Ontario 50. These are following people or $50 donors name and location. where applicable Dorian konecki in Rockledge, Pennsylvania. JIM LEHRER away in Fort Lauderdale john Carpenter in St. Louis, Missouri. Andrew oxen ham in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is going to be knighted I believe today. And he's got us Nick Ronis and garlic bread is on there already. Cameron Dodd in Pearland Texas 50 anonymous, in Greenwood, Indiana, Timothy more in Arlington, Texas. And that's our short little list there. And that concludes our producers for show 1291 I want to thank each and every one of them for helping us out on this show. And it really makes a difference. It makes a huge difference. We appreciate everyone bringing it as usual. This is our value for value system. We've developed it. We've been using it for a long time, over a decade, probably closer to the 13 years we've been in existence. We don't take any corporate money, any commercials, which is why we can go as long as we want. as short as we want. We can talk about whatever we want. We are only beholden to the producers who give us their time, their talent and their treasure and we appreciate it very much we do look forward to doing another show which will be the post election show the big one. We will deconstruct everything if we're still here on earth to support us that go to
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vorak.org slash n A as
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Well, we do have quite the list for today. Here we go. Jordan turnipseed 36 pieces Happy birthday. We're smoking on husband Matt who turns 38 anonymous girlfriend Happy Birthday to our amazing douchebag boyfriend Nathan return 30 on the 29th Lisa elemis my sister in law celebrate her birthday yesterday. Dave Bazar Happy Birthday to his wonderful daughter Kim kimera who celebrated on November 1. That's today. 33 today, no agenda meetups dude named Daniel. He is calling out his smokin hot wife Amanda was also a listener. It's her magic birthday today. 33 Congratulations, sir Mark Hall celebrating we had dinner with him the other day. Congratulations Mark sir daddy osis Happy Birthday to Brother Jimmy. Sir john Fletcher from hug story. No agenda stream.com 37 today, Christina Thomas celebrates tomorrow sir code monkey Happy Birthday to his brother Joe vobu 40. Tomorrow, Robert cornerback Happy Birthday to his daughter Brielle who Turns 11 on the third Riley fettig 26th on November 3, Cheryl Cox Happy Birthday to her son Josh also on the third Kevin Fitz factory 45 he will turn on the third Lindsay Heitmann says Happy Birthday to Ravi case will be celebrating the fourth and Mimi will be celebrating her birthday in the fourth we send love and happy birthday to her and happy birthday to Satoshi Nakamoto his Bitcoin white paper 12 years ago was published and they never had to fight Happy Birthday for everybody here at the best podcast in the universe. Holy crap a Moly we got a long list of stuff to do here we have a huge This is we need a big blade for our knighting and big boy here. That is a big right on the stage. I might as well just say now we need Christina Thomas James Fukumoto, Michael Goodell, Robert quarterback, Andrew oxen ham, Victoria saucy a Emilio and Robert kerbeck. Do we already have Robert No, we already have Robert Okay, I got that. So he we're not gonna let Robert do it twice. Not today. All right up on the stage. All of you are about to receive your official title. Thank you very much for the no agenda showing the amount of $1,000 or more and I am very proud to pronounce the name Christina of Penn's woods. Sir James Komodo he is indeed a Black Knights are crushed a lot of lean. Now great fields, and he is a black knight Sir Robert becomes Knight of the naughty bits of the scruffy city, Jane Tory and capistan and Emilio becomes sir Moulton. She's got a quite a list of quite a list. Which I'll read to you now we have hookers and blow red boys and Chardonnay, Jamison and vernors printers and a wood grilled ribeye negative rights, coffee and a one year old pentatone coffee and ramen pasta Chef Boyardee ameritas vineyard 2018, Pinot Blanc, nut groanings and garlic bread and then we'll continue with some beer and blends Brazilian hotties and cash cow girls and coffee varnish rubenesque woman and rosae hits and bourbon sparkling cider escorts gerbils, breast milk and diet soda and video games. You can head over to no agenda nation.com slash rings, handoff all your info to Eric the shill. And you too will get that beautiful signet ring which is your your your method to hitting people in their mouth that leaves a nice little mark and ITM and some Latin stuff on you got your ceiling wax and your official certificate and thank you again for supporting no agenda. It is the best podcast in the universe and clearly also your best podcast and universe. No one
party's taking place everywhere. No agenda meetups, this is a this is how you can get together. It's a great way to get together actually especially since we've had all of this lockdown and months of panic if you just want to hang out with people who get it who won't be triggered by anything that you say even if they don't agree with you. It's a great time to hang out with people at the meetups. No agenda meetups calm is where you can find out where someone's tastes where one is taking place near you. You can schedule one and we love getting reports Bellingham Come on in in the morning this is Thomas and a meet up in Bellingham Washington the city of subdued excitement. Please don't enslave me Kamala, this is Taylor in Bellingham Washington. I would like some ask her to bear feelings please. This is
3:08:46
Jake in Bellingham about to go home and take a nap for humanity.
3:08:50
Danny up in Bellingham and I got hairy legs
3:08:53
in the morning.
3:08:56
There you go Bellingham doing their business. We have a report from Kansas City. Hey,
3:09:00
no agenda nation and sir Spencer wolf of Kansas City coming at you live from knuckleheads. It's Halloween. It's a full moon. We're having a great time. It's like a part of the
3:09:10
same dunboyne here at knuckleheads on Halloween. My nose is stuffed but my amygdala is still small. Thank you for your courage. It's always a party in Kansas City. This is one of the maps in the morning everybody. Hi, this is Lance. Stay safe. This is
3:09:25
Matt Leroy from Wichita, Kansas currently a douchebag not for too much longer. I'm out here during the work we drove up three hours. Factory hours tonight have
3:09:32
fun out there. donation Special thanks to see Mike for lending us his professional grade recording equipment and as always keep an eye on knoji to meetup.com for future KC meetups.
3:09:44
meetup.com Yes indeed. And with the producer who posted the Albuquerque election night meetup please contact me me so she confirm the time with you. She has some other questions that is the back office happening today the tiny amigos of Anchorage, which probably is already underway. One o'clock Alaska time. Philadelphia local 76 they meet up at six o'clock at the good dog bar get out the hoax is the title of that one slavery for President 2020 on Tuesday election watch party Bunker Hill seven o'clock at Sage house and that's in Connecticut. Also on election day live no agenda meetups election night this is a virtual one this is Paul the book I organizing that on Wednesday the hurricane no agenda rooftop meeting at St. Pete's beach in Florida. Wow that's going to be great they also have a web RTC meetups either website for for details that is of course no agenda meetups calm and next Thursday guy Fox coffee stroll and troll in Quebec at St. Roche rush coffee shop. Pablo will be organizing for you and on the horizon for November the seventh we've got Dallas Texas Midland, Texas, Burlington, Ontario and Boston, Massachusetts on the 10th Inland Empire California on the 13th Tucson Charlotte North Carolina Low Country South Carolina on the 14th friendsgiving Nashville from the 14th Catskill Mountains on the 14th Michigan mobile on the 14th and many many more all you need to do is go to no agenda meetups.com find out where there's one taking place near you. If there isn't one all you got to do is set it up yourself it's easy and it's just like a potluck. No agenda meetup calm
3:11:50
I got it a few things left the
3:11:51
first thing Do you have an end of show I so
3:11:55
let's go over the
3:11:57
your mic fall off the stand again you can't you can't cover that I hear it I
3:12:03
I've heard it three times in the show at least two times in the shell.
3:12:07
This is the only time when you were hearing Okay.
3:12:09
Well how does that happen? Just tighten that stuff up tighten it up
3:12:12
let's I got a tight as I can. Oh, let's start with Biden divide. Nice. So just to start this off. We heard this already.
3:12:20
Yes. The Biden ISO. Is this the one you're talking about standards
3:12:25
for scrolls? business is done safely.
3:12:30
Okay, let's just go to this one doing things. Is that an
3:12:34
ISO? Just doing thing ISO.
3:12:38
Doing thing got it doing your thing? Oh, I like that one is nice. Oh, that's kind of guy like that.
3:12:45
Yeah, it's good in this show. We're
3:12:47
doing that thing. Yes. Okay. Anyone else? There's that it
3:12:50
got two more. Okay. reckless.
3:12:54
Okay. Reckless,
3:12:57
reckless and competence and intentional cruelty.
3:13:01
Hmm, no, no, I'm not. I'm not calling for Amy. That's fine.
3:13:05
I do. I didn't. There's a Tucson one from last time.
3:13:09
Do we? Oh, we didn't play that one last time.
3:13:11
No. No, I think doing
3:13:15
your thing. That's the one I think doing your thing is the one that's the future president of America. Yeah, you might as well go.
3:13:22
Might as well go for that. Maybe we're ahead of the curve. Mm hmm.
3:13:27
So I've got a couple more clips just to wrap things up. For one day have a WTF clip from democracy. Now. Tell me what do you think this this is about
3:13:35
30 year old immigrant from Mexico who was killed by Border Patrol last week in the town of San Ysidro is demanding an independent investigation into his fatal shooting.
3:13:45
Wait a minute, the dead guy is demand. No, this can't be over here that again.
3:13:49
30 year old immigrant from Mexico who was killed by Border Patrol last week in the town of San Pedro is demanding an independent investigation into his fatal shooting.
3:13:58
Now there's got to be something before that. that's beside the point. Or since we're sewing Do you could easily clip this out. It shows how easy you can do this. If you want to screw with Trump. You can do it. You can screw with Amy. I'm just screwing with
3:14:11
Oh, okay. Well done. show how easy it is. Yeah, well done.
3:14:16
Here is a this is another one. This is. This is again from democracy now. Not that I'm just hounding this show on this show. But I want to play this clip is called How is this news and it ran right with her news presentation as if it was any sort of news that anybody cares about. And it begs the question, how is this news
3:14:38
and longtime peace and justice activist Ted Gluck is continuing a month long hunger strike ahead of the presidential election as he hopes to encourage undecided voters to support Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Glick launched a hunger strike on October 3 and will conclude it on election day. He spoke to Democracy Now last night.
3:14:57
I'm on day 27 What'll end up being a 32 day fast to defeat Trump? I've lost 30 pounds so far. I'm doing this to underline the urgency of our situation and how people who get it on how bad Trump is. They need to vote for Biden, in the battleground states in particular, we do stand up now for our rights, our people our climate, and doing it by getting Trump out of there.
3:15:26
Sad.
3:15:28
I was this news. But the guys on a
3:15:30
hunger strike. I mean, the whole thing is just this is a promotion for Biden guy starving himself for Biden, great.
3:15:37
This guy's name Glick. Is that Is it? Do we know Glick?
3:15:41
No, that's the other thing. I don't know who this guy is James Glick. No, no. Well, that would be funny. No, it's not James. All right. Hmm.
3:15:51
Very taut.
3:15:53
I got another clip here. Who's talking about spiking the ball? Yeah. So john Lithgow writes this this children's book of rhymes is all about Trump and he's a jerk and it goes on and on. So they so they put a bunch of Hollywood guys together the same old you know, the same old usual suspects. And they read segments from the book and I just goes on forever, but I clipped a bit of it. I kept 29 seconds from a few of the people now jump in. Now this is this is the latest thing that the Hollywood celebrities have been doing is they'll get on a zoom call and they'll take either a like I saw a Fast Times at ridgemont High and they were doing that every table reads Exactly. And it's supposed to be a little sizzle. Cool. It's so cool.
3:16:41
Oh my god, I couldn't believe they're doing a table read mine was fantastic.
3:16:46
This is a variation because this is a book that Lithgow wrote and they just start reading from it. And you get this you get a genuine sense of spiking the ball when you just listen to these 29 seconds of the very beginning.
3:17:01
The Tory or the tiger King.
3:17:05
Take a moment to pity the poor GOP there is lost and confused as a party can be inspired by their recent calamitous stories. Here's a family fable. We'll call it the Tories.
3:17:19
generations have passed but the Tories endured a Washington family proud and assured their forebears had left them with money and power rake in the bushes and Dwight Eisenhower.
3:17:32
What
3:17:33
completely made no sense to me any of that I
3:17:36
just know it's a poem about some Lion King and it's supposed to be Trump and they don't like
3:17:45
it's just you watch this and you go specific. What do these people think they are for one thing? Very well, I I predict that as we as we slowly come out of what we're in. Hollywood is dead. Movies are gone. Movies are not going to come back to streaming companies can't make money. Netflix does not make money. Amazon, okay, but they're not. They just have video on demand. They're not really an algorithmic type of deal. Disney doesn't want half of the crap that control by China. These actors have been out of work for a year. And people are sick and tired of a whole celebrities complaining about sitting in their mansions. I think it's over. I think Hollywood is his stuff is changing. This is the year of the podcast. That's clear.
3:18:38
I think I didn't see that coming. I think Hollywood
3:18:42
Hello. In Hollywood who made 100 million dollars this year, Joe Rogan a podcaster? Yeah, that's true. Excuse me. Okay, the last clip I have I got other clips rising. I got one more maybe after this. But this is this is john. This is a clip that forgettable clip from years ago. This is john kerry talking about that Ukrainian deal that word Biden got the guy fired for a billion dollars. I will tell you because as Secretary of State, I was deeply
3:19:07
involved in this. All of us in the administration.
3:19:12
Were trying to get rid of that prosecutor
3:19:15
the secretary of state to the vice president all of us were working on
3:19:18
that Ambassador and and we knew
3:19:21
if Ukraine was going to survive and win the revolution in the end the mind on they had to get rid of that prosecutor. Oh, man, I would it would make my day to have all these people locked up. I mean, just just for that head alone and for and by the way, nice way to violate the no carry rule. But okay, you know, and so we've played the clip before, so I guess you could call it a throwback clip. Yeah, but we do have rules about john kerry clips. I know but this is not he's not too boring here. That was actually animate. I'd forgotten that he was so intimately involved. Yeah, he's another part of The whole scam douchebags,
3:20:02
all of them.
3:20:03
All right? Well, nothing bad's gonna happen. If you want to play one last clip from me, we can go out. Yeah,
3:20:08
sure, sure, sure. I have the seaspan call and typical. This is a typical, this is a Biden Biden supporter calling in. And it's all sounds so reasonable and kind of isn't. He wants to keep a chaotic type government and he's doing a good job of
3:20:26
supporting,
3:20:27
that's fine. How
3:20:28
did you vote in 2016?
3:20:32
And 2016?
3:20:34
Is that your course? Yes.
3:20:37
Yes. Ah, I did not vote for Trump in 2016.
3:20:42
Okay, you voted for Hillary Clinton.
3:20:44
Okay.
3:20:47
He's always in Georgia. The South Georgia is gonna go gonna go blue. And it goes on and on. He said, sounds like he's from Georgia. And then he's been he's been a Hilde bot since the beginning. I mean, come on, get these guys off the air. Ladies and gentlemen, as I always say, every country gets the government she deserved so we too shall get whatever we deserve tomorrow here in the United States. This time. It's a little more interesting. Because he's Tuesday, Tuesday. It's not tomorrow.
3:21:14
Yeah, should we wish Tuesday,
3:21:17
tomorrow, Tuesday, whatever. I've already voted. I got my sticker. And on Thursday show regardless, or as we can say, irregardless, since it's in the dictionary. I will have a review of my pine phone, my Linux phone which just arrived which also functions as a desktop computer. So I'm very Oh, yes, it does. I'm very jacked about all that. Yeah, sure. Yes. Uh huh. I'll let you know how it goes. And of show mixes we have of course I'm Jessie Koi Nelson. We've got Rex Oh, without clothes. Oh, Coco is taking care of his brand new human resource. And we'll kick it off with Nostradamus and on no agenda. stream.com we'll have grumpy old Ben's Episode 106 stay tuned for that. And we will return on Thursday. If there is still a country left. We haven't burned it all down like everyone's afraid. Certainly douchebags in San Diego.
3:22:20
And I'm coming
3:22:21
to you from the capital of the drone Star State opportunity's own 33 here in Austin, Texas. We are in FEMA Region number six in case you're looking for it. Please remember us no matter what happens for Thursday by going to divorce.org slash na to support the work for our value for value model in the morning, everybody. I'm Adam curry and from Northern Silicon Valley where I'm going to rename it douchebag Central and Jhansi devorah we returned on Thursday again right here on no agenda if you listen live no agenda stream.com remember us the vortec.org slash na happy election day everybody. until Thursday. Adios
Right now a historic moment that we cannot reject the winner of the presidential
3:25:30
race see that projects Joe Biden wins the presidency. I know
3:25:35
the man I know the man Personally, I know him. Well. I know his family. They are all about integrity of service. We love Joe, Uncle
3:25:43
Joe, I got Ukraine, I remember going over convincing our teams to convince the United that we should be providing for loan guarantees. And I went over, I guess 1230 time to keep going I was supposed to announce that there's another billion dollar loan guarantee. And I had gotten a commitment from Poroshenko and from the oxen yoke that they would take action against the state prosecutor and they did so they said they had it they walk out to press conference and I said I'm not gonna we're not gonna give you the
3:26:15
effective strategy to mobilize
3:26:18
for depression.
3:26:23
Some researchers even suggest that severe stress can lead to premature death. What if the President is incapacitated or worse before the election and what
3:26:31
happens between the election and the electoral college
3:26:34
we need to bring you some breaking news the President of the United States Joe Biden
3:26:41
Joe Biden
3:26:46
what's gonna happen
3:27:15
stressed out in
3:27:21
the majority
3:27:26
so stressed out and anxious no doubt going off the deep end on a weekend I can't seem to put my phone down I could read this tomorrow No, I got to know now. Of all time I want to miss the scene I want to slow down every fourth Halloween I don't even dress some Halloween I become a whole clown political junkie to the new cycle so excited for the next rollout so embarrassing I become someone else's demons
3:28:07
This is gonna be detrimental to my
3:28:11
job Please save me I feel like the world's trying to drive me crazy twice a week
3:28:18
if nothing else just during election season
3:28:21
is so stressed out in
3:28:28
the majority country
3:28:32
is so stressed out and
3:28:37
going off
3:28:42
on a weekend and witness sofa no matter the conclusion. I will make a bunch of promises to myself that I probably won't keep like a new year's resolution like next time I don't care who was running I'm not gonna do this. Four years later that a Sunday service losing my mind listening to Kanye somebody that the system most important election of our lifetime and you know I'm right back. I will fall victim to election season just a slave to the system listening to no one's going to break it down with the never ending wisdom thinking what if this country gave and said that Kanye West's directions to be driven driven Trump one that was such a great tradition to make the decision to run away from these lifelong politicians. I'm already getting so stressed out in the next shoe season. Sometimes I wish I was like the majority of this country is so stressed out in election season. No doubt going off the deep end is torture.
