No Agenda Episode 1373 - "Mass Formation"

  No Agenda Episode 1373 - "Mass Formation"
    "Mass Formation"
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  Credits
    "Mass Formation"
    Executive Producers:
      Anonymous
      John Craig
      marshall scarpulla
      Sir Martin of the Western Downs
      William Hrynko Jr
      Sir Crushalot, Black Knight of the Leelanau Grapefields michaellgoodell@gmail.com
    Associate Executive Producers:
      Sir Wonderhelm
      Anne Dunev
      Mike Robinson
      Rachel Epperson
      Asta Astrauskaite
    1373 Club Members:
      Sir Michał of Szombierki son of Jan
    Become a member of the 1374 Club, support the show here
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    Knights & Dames
      DCGirl -> Dame DCGirl of the Virginia Lovers
      Martin Radloff -> Sir Martin of the Western Downs
    Art By: Capitalist Agenda
    End of Show Mixes: Sir Chris Wilson - Tom Starkweather - Sound Guy Steve
    Engineering, Stream Management & Wizardry
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      Ryan Bemrose - Program Director
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    Chapters: Dreb Scott
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  Cover Art
    Art By: Capitalist Agenda
  Shownotes
    Covid Freedom
      Global Covid Freedom Report from Roland
        Just in case you had these things not on your radar yet:
        - Per a friend from Down Under, in the state of Victoria, you are being paid $50 by the government
        for each relative, neighor or friend you rat out to them - if they have been at an anti lockdown
        protest.
        - Another friend from NSW tells me that all 141 cases in the hospital there right now are double
        vaccinated.
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        - Los Angeles doesn't allow you to see a movie or go to a restaurant without proof of vaccination -
        because "in the last three days, over 30 people died in LA County, one a girl." LA County has a
        population of 10,000,000 people, 30 in three days is 10 per day, which is 0.00001 percent of all
        people that die from the rona. Per day. 99.9999 percent of LA County lives.
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        - Over in my native Germany, the government has overridden the vaccination committee's
        recommendation to not go all out and vaccinate kids. Some schools are doing field trips to
        vaccination sites ... guess what they do there. Additionally, the rhetoric in private and public
        forums is getting more evil by the minute - people who don't want to get vaccinated are called
        vermin, some even want to put them in camps. Yeah. Germany.
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        - Lastly, here in SF, I can't go to a restaurant, bar, gym or club anymore starting on the 24th of
        this month. SF Jazz just announced on Thursday that they will also only admit fully vaccinated
        people 12 years and older. You can bet that the symphony, opera and theater will follow their lead.
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        - Meanwhile, the EU is pondering to admit only visitors who are fully vaccinated. The US are
        contemplating the same. Looks like I'm a prisoner in a foreign country ... if I don't want to get
        the vaccine because I had the rona last year.
        All of this of course is to eliminate the control group.
        People are getting aggressive when you confront them with facts. "You're not a doctor" is the
        mildest thing I have to hear. What took the Nazis many years, modern media and networks have
        managed to do in 1.5 years only.
      CDC says travelers should avoid France, Israel and other destinations
      IL using credit agency for vaccine verification
        Link
        The state of Illinois uses the credit reporting company Experian as its identity verification provider. If an individual has a freeze on their credit,they will need to unfreeze it with Experian and wait 24 hours before completing the registration process. Once registration is complete, individuals can re-freeze their credit by contacting Experian.
    ADE PCR
      AstraZeneca lead scientist says Delta makes mass testing pointless in UK
      Delta/Lambda - Revenge of the nerds?
    Mandates
      November 1 is target date for Netherlands to end restrictions
        Mark Rutte and Hugo de Jonge outline the changes. Photo: Bart Maat
        The Netherlands is striving to abandon the remaining coronavirus restrictions by November 1, if infection rates and hospitalisations allow it, prime minister Mark Rutte told reporters on Friday.
        In addition, social distancing – the 1.5 metre rule – will go by September 20, if government experts say it is a responsible move to make, Rutte said.
        Fees will also be introduced for the ‘test for entry’ checks at a certain point, once everyone who wants to be vaccinated is fully protected, health minister Hugo de Jonge said. However, he added, there is no question of the Netherlands introducing compulsory vaccinations.
        ‘Not step is without risk,’ Rutte told reporters, in the first press conference since July. ‘We do not want to be surprised again,’ he said, referring to the surge in infections in the early summer after most restrictions were removed, prompting a u-turn over large events and clubs just a few days later.
        Link
      The most vaccine-hesitant group of all? PhDs - The Post
    Healthcare Collapse
      If all medical staff are vaccinated, what if vaxx is deadly? Who flies the plane then?
      Amion crisis-artificial medical staffing shortage
        Amion.com - Am I On - is a staffing scheduling program used by hospitals and urgent cares
        nationwide. My wife works for Sutter in Northern California. This week, it’s been discovered that
        scheduled shifts for physicians seem to be disappearing from Amion. Amion of course links to Apple
        and google calendars and most people have a sense of when they’re working but they check before the
        show up for their ER or UC shifts.
        No Amion shift, they assume they’re not on the schedule and don’t show. Result, an artificial
        shortage of medical staff to deal with the worsening pandemic…. Leading to longer delays and … wait
        for it… overflowing ER waiting rooms.
        Look out for news stories about the pandemic overwhelming ERs in the next week or two. They will
        either not mention the problem with scheduling or they’ll simply mention a staffing shortage just
        as the crisis grows.
        I note that even Sutter did not say Amion had been hacked, just that shifts are mysteriously
        disappearing.
      Oregon Hospital Staffing report
        Oregon, like everywhere, is ratcheting up the rhetoric. Stories from our CEO and in the news talk breathlessly of hospitals “on the brink” that have had to divert patients recently(diversion happens relatively frequently in a normal year, though less in the summer). One medium-size regional hospital in Bend reached 92% capacity and started delaying or cancelling scheduled surgeries even though in their own words they are “nowhere near its capacity to treat COVID patients.” This week they’ve announced they’re cancelling staff vacations, which leads me to believe the real issue that’s cancelling surgeries is just staffing.
        In other words, they’re scaling back surgeries and cancelling vacations because they have insufficient staff, but they’re blaming it on Rona. Everyone will blame the “anti-vaxxers” for grandma not getting her hip fixed, when in truth it was their own incompetence or inability to staff.
        Our hospital is nowhere near full either, but we’ve been hearing breathless statements of fear from our CEO (see the internal letter attached below blaming the surge on vaccine resistant)
      BOTG - Phoenix Hospital Mandatory Vaccine Protest
        Adam a quick BOTG report on mandatory jabs for hospital employees
        Mandatory vaccines for hospital workers is spreading with Phoenix Children's Hospital now requiring the jab by Oct 1st. I had lunch with a friend who's wife is a surgical manager at the hospital and the employees staged a walkout over the new requirement. According to her roughly 40% of the surgical staff is not vaccinated and has reported no intention of getting the jab. Hospital leadership is concerned, as she was required to call all her employees to see if they were going to participate and to ensure they had sufficient staffing coverage. If even half of them pushed back and quit over the requirement that would be a huge blow to the hospital as these are not employees that are easily replaced. Hoping people follow through and help put an end to this craziness!
        Of course this only got minimal coverage on the local news.
        Link
        TYFYC,
        Cat Herder Jay
      BOTG Tennessee staffing
        A lot of people have just quit dude. Ill try to get more measurable metrics, but my wife has commented, everyone is in the red, everyone doesn't want to do this anymore, but they just are tired of being stressed with the patients and its ramped up so damn fast. The psycholigical between their jobs, and what the administration is doing to eff with people, is just too much
      Get the vaccine or get fired? In Shenandoah Valley, some nurses choose termination
      Dayton FOP prepared to take the vaccine mandate to court
      Swiss Police Reject the 'Great Reset': 'We Work for the People, NOT the Elite'
      Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced today that the federal government will soon require that all public servants be vaccinated
        While Canada's vaccination rate is among the highest in the world — 81 per cent of all eligible Canadians have had at least one dose — Alghabra said the country "must do better."
        "We need to reach as many Canadians as we possibly can," he said.
        The vaccine will be mandatory for federal employees and those working in some federally regulated industries (airlines and railways, among others) in an effort to boost stalled vaccination rates. The government says it also "expects" that other employers in federally regulated sectors — like banking, broadcasting and telecommunication — will require vaccination for their employees.
        There are more than 300,000 federal public servants and hundreds of thousands more people are working in industries that fall under the federal labour code.
        This is not a recommendation. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that all public servants and employees in federally regulated sectors must comply with the vaccine mandate or risk losing their jobs.
        "This is a mandatory requirement to go to work in a federal workplace or work in the government of Canada," he said.
        "Obviously, there will be certain individuals for medical reasons that will not be able to be vaccinated and the appropriate officials will work with them to ensure that the appropriate measures are in place."
        Beyond the mandatory vaccination requirement for federal employees, Alghabra said, a similar mandate will be extended to "certain travellers."
        Starting soon, all commercial air travellers and passengers on interprovincial trains and large marine vessels with overnight accommodations (such as cruise ships) will have to be vaccinated, Alghabra said. He said accommodations will be made for "those few who are unable to be vaccinated," such as testing and screening.
        "Vaccine requirements in the transportation sector will help protect the safety of employees, their families, passengers, their communities and all Canadians. And more broadly, it will hasten Canada's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
        Link
    Protocols
      Liverpool Pathway \ Protocol
        Adam,
        I was just listening to Episode 1373 when you mentioned the Liverpool Protocol and I have a story to pass along.
        About 9 months ago I was speaking to my ex-wife and I asked her what became of the child of a couple we used to know. She said: "He's a Fulbright scholar and is working with the Palliative Care Institute of Liverpool on the Liverpool Pathway!" She found this impressive. "Yes", I said, "I know of the Liverpool Pathway. How many people has he murdered?" She was a little taken aback."No, it's not like that at all!" she said. " It's about end-of-life-care with dignity blah blah blah...
        I explained that between the conception and implementation, some of the subtleties had been lost. For example, where the protocol suggested that patients in steep decline be placed on a starvation diet to speed the process up, in reality, when patients arrived at hospice, they were immediately put on a starvation diet.
        These two paragraphs from this article (UK to scrap notorious Liverpool Care Pathway, criticized as gateway to euthanasia ) are chilling, especially when considered in the context of CDC Covid guidelines. The PDF in the article is monstrous; Soylent Green type stuff. Eskimos putting their eldery on an ice flow was humane compared to what is in the report.
        The LCP has been widely criticized for allowing for withdrawal of water and nourishment, and “continuous deep sedation,” if it is in the “best interests” of patients who are judged to be incurable. However, many families and doctors alleged that patients were being routinely put on the LCP, often without any discussion with family members, even though they were not suffering from any terminal illness. One eminent physician famously claimed that as many as 130,000 people were effectively euthansized while on the LCP.
        Doctors had repeatedly warned legislators that the fundamental premise of the LCP was flawed, and that it is not scientifically possible to predict when death will occur. Such doctors took risks with their careers to warn the public that the LCP is effectively operating as a “euthanasia pathway,” pointing out that once put on the LCP, death usually follows within 29 hours – whether the patient was suffering from a terminal illness or not.
        Yours truly,
        The Paranoid Listener who discovered No Agenda via Alex Jones.
      We now have prescription drug Algos? Crazy… “NarxCare
        “In essence, Kathryn found, nearly all Americans have the equivalent of a secret credit score that rates the risk of prescribing controlled substances to them. And doctors have authorities looking over their shoulders as they weigh their own responses to those scores.”
        Link
    Climate Covid Link
      New study says wildfire smoke linked to increased covid cases, deaths - The Washington Post
      Excess COVID cases, deaths linked to wildfire smoke in new study
    Fact Check False
      Snopes retracts 60 articles plagiarized by co-founder: ‘Our staff are gutted’ - Chicago Tribune
    The Purge
      Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. Homeland
        The Secretary of Homeland Security has issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin regarding the current heightened threat environment across the United States. The Homeland continues to face a diverse and challenging threat environment leading up to and following the 20th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks as well religious holidays we assess could serve as a catalyst for acts of targeted violence. These threats include those posed by domestic terrorists, individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence, and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences. These actors are increasingly exploiting online forums to influence and spread violent extremist narratives and promote violent activity. Such threats are also exacerbated by impacts of the ongoing global pandemic, including grievances over public health safety measures and perceived government restrictions.
        "Additionally, leading up to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula recently released its first English-language copy of Inspire magazine in over four years, which demonstrates that foreign terrorist organizations continue efforts to inspire U.S.-based individuals susceptible to violent extremist influences."
        Link
      Notice of Recent Cyber Threats to the Marine Transportation System – Homeland Security
      Homeland Security may use companies to find extremism on social media
      THE MOST HIGH-PROFILE AL QAEDA PLOT FOILED AFTER 9/11 WAS AN FBI SCAM
      Plymouth gunman UK - incel
    Haiti
      Quake kills hundreds in Haiti, worsening Caribbean nation's plight - POWERS
        "PORT-AU-PRINCE/HAVANA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - At least 304 people died and hundreds were injured after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, authorities said, reducing churches, hotels, schools and homes to rubble in the latest tragedy to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation.
        The 7.2-magnitude quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck 8 km (5 miles) from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey said.
        That made the temblor which was felt as far away as Cuba and Jamaica potentially bigger and shallower than the magnitude 7 earthquake 11 years ago that killed tens of thousands on the island.
        ...
        U.S. President Joe Biden said he had authorized an immediate U.S. response and named Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, coordinator of the effort."
        Link
      ALERT - M7.2 Earthquake strikes Haiti Caribbean -- MAJOR UNREST 5th M7.0 in two weeks
      Haiti re-running the script
    M5M Dying
      Rachel Maddow considering leaving MSNBC to start own venture (podcast)
      YouTube rival Rumble strikes deals with Tulsi Gabbard, Glenn Greenwald | TheHill
        Website Terms and Conditions of Use and Agency Agreement
        Link
    Jerks in Space
      Richard Branson dumps another huge Virgin Galactic stake, this one worth $300 million
    Afghanistan Poppies
      The Story Behind China’s Long-Stalled Mine in Afghanistan
      Afghanistan: 37 per cent increase in opium poppy cultivation in 2020
    Bat vs Lab
      Covid Patient Zero may have been a Wuhan lab worker infected by a bat after all, WHO chief admits
    STORIES
      'This is a very dangerous combination': New study says wildfire smoke linked to increased covid cases, deaths - The Washington Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 14:03
        In a new study published on Friday, a team of researchers at Harvard University found evidence that exposure to elevated levels of fine particle pollution found in wildfire smoke may have led to thousands more cases of covid-19 and more deaths among those who tested positive for the coronavirus.
        In some counties in California and Washington state hit particularly hard by wildfires last year, the study, published in the journal Science Advances, concluded that nearly 20 percent of the covid-19 cases were linked to elevated levels of wildfire smoke. The researchers also found that an even higher percentage of deaths could be linked to wildfire smoke in certain counties.
        ''Clearly, we see that, overall, this is a very dangerous combination,'' Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics at Harvard and one of the authors of the study, said of the interplay between smoke and covid-19. ''It's a really scary thing as we continue to face these wildfires all around the world.''
        Story continues below advertisement
        For people living in parts of the American West, the pandemic was just one of the disasters they faced last year.
        In 2020, California experienced five of the six largest wildfires in the state's recent history, a record cluster of mega-fires into which the current Dixie Fire has since elbowed its way, reaching No. 2 on the list of largest fires. Smoke from these and dozens of other fires blanketed western states last year, and huge plumes powered record-breaking ''smoke storms'' that choked Oregon and Washington.
        Days after the Dixie Fire ripped through the city of Greenville in California, Pastor Mike Anderson sifts through the rubble. (James Cornsilk, Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)Earlier studies have found evidence that air pollution can worsen the severity of covid-19 symptoms and hasten the spread of the novel coronavirus, although there is still uncertainty regarding how particles and the virus interact.
        Story continues below advertisement
        On its website, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that wildfire smoke can irritate lungs and ''make you more prone to lung infections, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.''
        A study published this year by scientists at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada found that the coronavirus positivity rate in Washoe County, Nev., increased significantly during periods of high wildfire smoke. The Harvard study sought to quantify the relationship across a wide range of counties in the American West.
        To investigate the connection between smoke and covid-19, the researchers '-- from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences '-- developed statistical models that analyzed data from 92 counties in California, Oregon and Washington state where wildfires occurred between March and December 2020. In those three states, more than 73,000 people have died of covid-19 during the pandemic.
        Story continues below advertisement
        The researchers gathered information on covid-19 cases and deaths in those counties over time. They used satellite sensors to track when wildfires were burning and ground-level sensors to follow levels of fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, a major pollutant in wildfire smoke. They included a month-long lag to allow for health impacts to develop after infection. Their models also took into account other variables such as weather, population and general trends in the pandemic to control for factors that might skew the results, Dominici said.
        The study found ''strong evidence'' of a link between increases in particulate matter and risks of covid-19 cases and deaths.
        ''We found that, in some of the counties, the percentage of the total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths attributable to the high levels of PM2.5 was substantial,'' the study said.
        Story continues below advertisement
        The counties of Butte, Calif., and Whitman, Wash., showed some of the largest impacts of wildfire smoke on covid-19 cases: The study's models found that 18.2 percent of Whitman's covid cases last year and 17.3 percent of Butte's could be linked to poor air quality on wildfire days.
        As wildfires have burned huge areas of the West in recent years, public health authorities have increasingly been confronted with ailments associated with inhaling heavy doses of smoke. Authorities say smoke can worsen respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The mental health consequences, including anxiety and depression, that come with living under a blanket of smoke also can be profound.
        In other research last year, ''the evidence started to show that [smoke] could lead to worse health impacts'' for covid-19 patients, said Kaitlyn Kelly, an air-quality policy specialist at the Washington State Department of Health. ''If you have covid, breathing in wildfire smoke may make your symptoms worse. Or wildfire smoke can you make you more susceptible to respiratory infections.''
        Story continues below advertisement
        Kelly said it was good to see the emergence of research, such as the Harvard study, that is ''getting to confirm what we started to see last season.''
        Scientists who study air quality say it is possible that smoke particles could carry the virus. There are also other possible dynamics involved, such as people tending to gather indoors to avoid wildfire smoke, which could lead to more interaction with infected people.
        ''When there are more particles in the air, these microbes actually have a greater chance of getting into your lungs,'' said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of California at Davis who studies the health impacts of wildfire smoke. ''There's a lot of plausibility that the wildfires, by massively increasing the amount of PM2.5 that people are breathing, could promote transmission of the virus.''
        Story continues below advertisement
        Hertz-Picciotto, who was not involved in the Harvard study, said that previous studies have often looked at emergency room visits and hospitalizations resulting from extreme respiratory conditions. She has been involved in a longer-term study tracking health impacts on people in California affected by wildfires since 2017.
        ''Given that these are going to be with us year after year, we have to rethink a lot of things about our safety nets and our society as a whole,'' she said. ''What kind of health resources do we have, and how can people protect themselves?''
        The same Harvard team also published a study last year linking exposure to air pollution with covid-19 death rates. The scientists involved have worked on air pollution epidemiology for many years.
        Story continues below advertisement
        ''These are hard data questions, but it's also a group with a lot of experience working on these kind of questions,'' said Lance Waller, a professor of biostatistics at Emory University who was not involved in the study. ''They're making the point that the air is unhealthy to breathe, and then if you're in a compromised situation because you're ill with covid and having respiratory problems anyway '... it's a double whammy.''
        Beyond a higher number of coronavirus cases, the Harvard study also found that health outcomes in covid-19 cases worsened as air quality deteriorated. An increase of fine particulate matter of 10 micrograms per cubic meter was associated with an increase of 8.4 percent in covid-19 deaths across all counties. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency characterizes air quality as ''unhealthy'' in the range of about 55 to 150 micrograms per cubic meter.
        In Butte County, for example, the researchers linked 41 percent of the covid-19 deaths to high levels of wildfire smoke. There have been about 14,000 covid cases and 200 deaths in Butte County during the pandemic, according to data compiled by The Washington Post.
        Story continues below advertisement
        To reach these estimates, the researchers analyzed deaths in previous years in those same counties on days when wildfire smoke wasn't present, Dominici said.
        Dominici said her team's results underscored the importance of vaccinations but also the need for individuals to do as much as possible to avoid dangerous levels of wildfire smoke.
        ''Especially in these counties, I think that absolutely everybody should get vaccinated ASAP, because this study points [out] that these counties can be more affected, both in terms of cases and deaths,'' she said.
        She added: ''I understand it's not feasible for everyone, but to the degree they can: Move and be away from this exposure to wildfires at this time we have this delta variant coming in.''
      Snopes retracts 60 articles plagiarized by co-founder: 'Our staff are gutted' - Chicago Tribune
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 13:41
        Snopes, which has long presented itself as the internet's premier fact-checking resource, has retracted 60 articles after a BuzzFeed News investigation found that the site's co-founder plagiarized from news outlets as part of a strategy intended to scoop up web traffic.
        ''As you can imagine, our staff are gutted and appalled by this,'' Vinny Green, Snopes' chief operating officer, said Friday. He said the Snopes editorial team was conducting a review to understand just how many articles written by David Mikkelson, the site's co-founder and chief executive, featured content plagiarized from other news sites.
        As of Friday afternoon, the team had found 60, he said. By Friday morning, dozens of articles had been removed from the site, with pages that formerly featured those articles now showing the word ''retracted'' and an explanation that ''some or all of its content was taken from other sources without proper attribution.'' Ads have been removed from these articles, according to Green.
        Mikkelson, who owns 50% of Snopes Media Group, will continue to be Snopes' chief executive, but his ability to publish articles has been revoked, Green said.
        In a statement, Mikkelson acknowledged he had engaged in ''multiple serious copyright violations of content that Snopes didn't have rights to use'' and praised the work of the 20 or so ''dedicated, professional journalists'' employed by Snopes.
        ''There is no excuse for my serious lapses in judgment,'' he wrote. ''I want to express how sorry I am to those whose copyright I violated, to our staff, and to our readers.''
        Doreen Marchionni, the managing editor, has been given ''full authority'' to address these issues, he said.
        In an apology to existing staff members posted on Snopes on Friday, Green and Marchionni, who has a doctorate in journalism from the University of Missouri, called the BuzzFeed News investigation, which accuses their chief executive of intentionally taking credit for other people's work to drive up web traffic, as ''an example of dogged, watchdog journalism we cherish.''
        Eight additional members of the editorial staff issued their own statement. ''We strongly condemn these poor journalistic practices,'' they said.
        David Mikkelson, founder of Snopes, the site that tracks fakery on the web is shown in his home office in a nearly 100-year old home in Tacoma, Sept. 25, 2018. (Greg Gilbert/AP)
        The BuzzFeed investigation, which was published Friday, found that from 2015-19 '-- under the Snopes byline, his own name and another pseudonym '-- Mikkelson published dozens of articles that included language that appeared to have been copied directly from The New York Times, CNN, NBC News, the BBC and other news sources. The investigation also identified cases in which entire paragraphs '-- and in at least one case, nearly an entire article '-- appeared to have been copied.
        Copying text from breaking news stories on other sites was a strategy intended to scoop up traffic, former Snopes managing editor Brooke Binkowski told Dean Sterling Jones, the freelance journalist who broke the story for BuzzFeed News.
        ''That was his big SEO/speed secret,'' Binkowski, who now manages Truth or Fiction, another fact-checking site, told BuzzFeed. ''He would instruct us to copy text from other sites, post them verbatim so that it looked like we were fast and could scoop up traffic, and then change the story in real time.''
        In a 2016 Slack message that was quoted in the BuzzFeed article, Mikkelson explicitly outlined this strategy. ''Usually when a hot real news story breaks (such as a celebrity death), I just find a wire service or other news story about it and publish it on the site verbatim to quickly get a page up,'' he wrote. ''Once that's done, then I quickly start editing the page to reword it and add material from other sources to make it not plagiarized.''
        Even if he had rewritten the text a few minutes after publication, that would not be considered ethical under widely accepted journalistic standards. But as both the BuzzFeed investigation and Snopes' internal investigation found, he frequently never got around to changing the sentences he had stolen.
        Although some of the plagiarized articles were from 2019, most were from 2015 or 2016, predating the current managing editor and editorial team, Green said.
        In an interview with BuzzFeed, Mikkelson blamed his behavior partly on his lack of formal journalism experience. Given that his site calls itself ''the definitive internet reference source for researching urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors and misinformation'' and has built its brand on properly sourcing information, this excuse may be hard for some to stomach.
        One of the more bizarre aspects of Mikkelson's plagiarizing tendencies is that he sometimes published the stolen articles under the pseudonym Jeff Zarronandia. His Snopes bio says that he is ''an American author and journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for numismatics'' '-- the study of coins '-- ''in 2006 and was one of four finalists for the prize in 2008.''
        As to whether writing under the cover of a pseudonym and the Snopes staff byline fueled Mikkelson's sense that he had license to use other people's words, Green said he was not sure.
        c.2021 The New York Times Company
      Anti-vaccine protest held near Phoenix Children's Hospital
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 12:28
        A few hundred people gathered outside Phoenix Children's Hospital on Friday evening to protest mask and vaccine mandates in schools and businesses.
        Many carried anti-vaccine signs with messages like "My body my choice" and "Stand for body sovereignty" as cars passed with some honking in support.
        A shirtless man wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat and pants with the American Flag on it paced alongside the crowd playing "We're Not Going to Take It" by the band Twisted Sister on a saxophone.
        Hospital security was stationed outside the main building and restricted protesters to demonstrating on the public sidewalk so patients and hospital staff could enter and exit the hospital undisturbed.
        The protest occurred as the state reported 3,225 new COVID-19 cases and 23 new known deaths '-- the highest daily addition of new cases since early February.
        Ana Santander of Phoenix said she was there to protest vaccine mandates instituted by schools and businesses, arguing it's her right to decide what kind of medical treatment she receives.
        "I don't think it's right for them to ask you to get vaccinated," Santander said.
        Santander said she plans on going to nursing school in January but worries she's going to need to be vaccinated to attend and fears she might seek a different profession if the school requires her to show proof of vaccination.
        Santander said she has heard from friends who work at Phoenix Children's Hospital who say it's now requiring employees to get vaccinated.
        A Phoenix Children's Hospital spokesperson confirmed to The Arizona Republic on Friday evening that employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1.
        Anni Gray of Tempe said she doesn't trust any of the COVID-19 vaccines or vaccination in general.
        "I don't trust it," Gray said. "And I don't do any vaccines. I don't do flu shots, tetanus shots, shingle shots '-- any of them."
        Gray said she traveled around multiple states when the pandemic was in full swing and remained healthy and reasoned that she would remain that way.
        The protest occurred just hours after another took place outside of Arizona State University's Tempe campus dorms, where gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake headlined a protest against the school's recently announced mask mandate.
        In a speech that began with her stepping on a blue surgical mask, Lake called for students to ignore the mask mandate on campus. ASU is requiring everyone to wear masks in classrooms, labs and other places where physical distancing is not possible.
        "We have to fight for our freedom here," the former TV news anchor said. "It's going to take you guys showing up at class without a mask on, it's going to take you walking through the campus without a mask on, and if they sneer at you, who cares? It's worth fighting for our freedom."
        While many people across the country have been hesitant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, medical experts and data show the vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration are completely safe with most people experiencing mild symptoms, if any.
        The protests also come on the first day oral arguments began for a lawsuit challenging Phoenix Union High School District's COVID-19 mask mandate. Gov. Doug Ducey has signed laws banning mask mandates, arguing that getting vaccinated is the main solution to curbing the growing infection rates.
        Reporter Lacey Latch contributed to this article.
        Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.
        Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
      Get the vaccine or get fired? In Shenandoah Valley, some nurses choose termination. - The Washington Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 12:23
        A 16-year-old son of a health-care worker yelled on loop, ''Honk for medical freedom!'' and many did. A firetruck honked. An EMT gave a thumbs-up. An ambulance bleeped its sirens and truck driver after truck driver yanked on their horns '-- until every so often, an angry voice cut through the traffic and a middle finger jutted out the car window.
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        '''I hope you all get fired!'' one driver yelled as he passed the unvaccinated protesters.
        ''We're going to!'' one woman responded. ''You'll need us next week!''
        The nurses' employer, Valley Health, the parent company of Winchester Medical Center, had given them an ultimatum: Get the shot or face termination. And those standing on the street corner Tuesday had already made up their minds.
        Valley Health announced a vaccine mandate for its 6,300 employees at its six locations on July 19, while offering religious and medical exemptions for eligible applicants. The hospital system joins a growing number of medical institutions, universities, governments and companies that have turned to employee vaccine requirements to ensure the safest possible workplaces as the highly contagious delta variant ushers in another deadly wave. For the majority of Valley Health employees, the policy was not a problem; 75 percent are fully vaccinated, the company said.
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        But in a region where vaccination rates are lower than they are statewide, Valley Health's mandate prompted a furious community debate, with numerous protests outside Valley Health's hospitals in Front Royal and Winchester, and pleas from unvaccinated people demanding intervention from local government to stop the mandate.
        While some GOP politicians toe the line between advocating for vaccines and protecting individual freedoms, legislative barriers to vaccination still exist. (Blair Guild/The Washington Post) Does respect for human life mean vaccine mandates? Among religious groups, there is wide disagreement.
        In Winchester, 57 percent of the adult population is fully vaccinated, compared with 66 percent statewide. Meanwhile, in neighboring rural Warren County, where Valley Health's newest hospital '-- Warren Memorial Hospital '-- is located, only 46 percent of the adult population is fully vaccinated.
        Those standing outside the Winchester hospital Tuesday said they had weighed the risks, and despite more than 620,000 deaths from covid-19 in the United States, they still viewed the vaccine as riskier. Some cited exceedingly rare but serious side effects '-- myocarditis tied to Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's vaccines and blood clots tied to Johnson & Johnson's. Some pointed to misinformation about fertility issues. Others said they were banking on natural immunity after contracting the virus last year.
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        But for the most part, they described a fear of the unknown, believing the vaccines had not been out long enough to convince them they were safe, while uncomfortable with the pressure '-- and now, mandates '-- falling on unvaccinated people to get one.
        False claims tying coronavirus vaccines to infertility drive doubts among women of childbearing age
        ''We are not 'anti-vax,' '' said Brittany Watson, a behavioral health nurse at the Winchester hospital, who started a group called the Valley Health Workers Association to rally others opposed to the vaccine mandate. ''We've done all the vaccines that you get when you grow up '-- but those have been around for decades. But this one, there's so much propaganda around it. It doesn't make any sense.''
        Her girlfriend, Katie Hart, a certified family nurse practitioner at Valley Health's urgent care facility in Martinsburg, W.Va, said they might be more willing to consider the shot if they didn't feel coerced.
        Now, though, they were willing to lose their livelihoods if that's what refusing the vaccine would mean. Hart said they would not budge. ''This is the hill to die on,'' she said.
        The vocal opposition has bewildered community observers who saw their hospital as the last place they would encounter vaccine resistance, only for it to become its most visible battleground.
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        Elisabet Michaelsen, a retired speech pathologist and home health-care worker, said she moved to Winchester in March 2020 from Prince William County, drawn to the historical small town in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley as an escape from the ''hustle and bustle of I-95.'' A longtime Democratic organizer in local politics, she liked that Winchester was a bit of a blue bubble, surrounded by deep-red Frederick County, and that ''almost 100 percent'' of the people she encountered in town wore masks at the height of the pandemic.
        ''I was quite surprised to see there would be vaccine resistance among such an educated and modern health system,'' said Michaelsen, 75. ''To me [the vaccine] is a no-brainer, and I don't understand how you can talk about concepts like medical freedom and so on '-- what kind of freedom? Freedom to infect the patient you're treating? I don't think so.''
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        She and a small group of fellow Democratic organizers decided to line the opposite side of the street in a small counterprotest supporting the vaccines outside both Winchester Medical Center and at Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal earlier this month.
        There were maybe four of them '-- and more than 100 vaccine mandate protesters on the other side of the street, she said.
        Federal health officials find vaccine benefits outweigh small cardiac risk for teens, young adults
        The uproar over Valley Health's policy materialized first at a Front Royal town council meeting July 26, where dozens of unmasked people, including a number of Valley Health nurses, converged. Edward Scott Lloyd, a former Trump administration Health and Human Services appointee, brought forth an ordinance seeking to ban businesses from firing employees for refusing to get vaccinated.
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        The ordinance ultimately failed '-- the town attorney and other council members pointed out that Virginia, as a Dillon Rule state, prevents localities from assuming legal powers not explicitly granted to them by the state. Still, dozens testified in support of Lloyd's ordinance, and the council later ''encouraged'' businesses not to fire unvaccinated people.
        ''The same people that always shout, 'my body, my choice' now believe we shouldn't be able to say no to becoming a government lab rat,'' one woman argued at the public hearing.
        One man, Dan Arico, said he was fully vaccinated '-- but still opposed Valley Health's vaccine mandate. He had weighed the risks too: The vaccine was ''experimental,'' he said '-- but two friends died of covid. His mother died of covid. He chose the vaccine.
        ''What I'm asking you to do is give the employees of Valley Health the same kind of choice,'' Arico said. ''Let them look at the evidence. Let Valley Health provide them with as much evidence as they can, and then let them decide.''
        Jeffrey Feit, a physician and Valley Health's population health and community health officer who worked on the policy, had tried to do exactly that. Before rolling out the mandate, he and other doctors held town halls with employees, taking questions about the vaccine's effectiveness, attempting to stamp out misinformation. ''The Internet is not peer-reviewed,'' he would say. He would bring verified data about the side effects of the vaccines.
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        They did have a choice to make, he said. And so did Valley Health. Patients had been calling, asking how they would know if their surgeon was vaccinated. The hospitals had to do whatever they could to ensure patients could feel safe and mitigate the risks of a hospital-acquired infection, Feit said, and that meant they had to require employees to get the vaccine.
        ''If people choose not to be vaccinated despite the evidence and the advice we've given and the information we've shared, and they choose to leave Valley Health or leave health care, we regret that they're leaving,'' Feit said. ''But we respect them. We respect that's a choice people can make. We believe our choice has to be to really ensure the safety of our patients.''
        It's unclear how many nurses or other staffers may ultimately choose to resign or be fired; a Valley Health spokeswoman said an accurate count won't be available until after the process for seeking exemptions is complete. Staffers have until Sept. 7 to get their first shot.
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        Lloyd, the Front Royal councilman and an attorney, said dozens of Valley Health workers '-- he estimated more than 150 '-- have since reached out to him, some seeking legal defense, and they are now weighing their options.
        ''We're going to do what we need to do to staff our hospitals'' no matter what happens, Feit said.
        Margaret Foster Riley, a public health sciences and law professor at the University of Virginia, said the unvaccinated health care workers probably do not have a case that their rights are being violated. The nation has a long history of legal vaccination requirements, especially for health-care workers, she said. What's different is that entities are requiring vaccines that are under emergency use authorization and not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
        Supreme Court won't block Indiana University vaccine mandate as Justice Barrett rejects student plea
        Still, she said, hospitals could probably make a stronger case that public health during the worst pandemic in a century ''outweighs the right to choose whether or not you get to be vaccinated.'' The case appears even stronger, she said, in light of the delta variant.
        The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labeled the vast majority of Virginia counties, including Warren and Frederick, as having ''high'' virus transmission. For the first time since April, more than 1,000 Virginians are hospitalized with covid-19, and daily new cases are back to February levels.
        Inside Winchester Medical Center, other staffers have watched their colleagues' protestations with unease.
        ''Being in the health-care profession, it's bigger than just yourself,'' said Sherri Thornton, a nurse in the emergency room. ''You've dedicated your life and your profession to taking care of people and doing no harm to anyone, and I think you have to protect not only yourself but your patients.''
        More than that, she didn't understand her unvaccinated colleagues' risk calculation.
        Since the pandemic began, as the ER's charge nurse, she has treated and interviewed covid-19 patients about their symptoms, and now, their vaccination status.
        Even though hospitalizations are up statewide, Thorton said that in her unit it's still not comparable to the first wave of the pandemic. But one thing has stood out, at least in her own experience:
        For two months, every covid-19 patient she has seen in the emergency room has not been vaccinated.
        Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the name and location of the urgent care facility where Katie Hart works. She works at Valley Health's urgent care facility in Martinsburg, W.Va, not at Martinsville Urgent Care in Martinsville, Va. Sherri Thornton's last name was also misspelled. This version has been corrected.
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        A Florida mother held her newborn one time. Ten days later, she died of covid-19.
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      A Drug Addiction Risk Algorithm and Its Grim Toll on Chronic Pain Sufferers | WIRED
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 12:20
        One evening in July of 2020, a woman named Kathryn went to the hospital in excruciating pain.
        A 32-year-old psychology grad student in Michigan, Kathryn lived with endometriosis, an agonizing condition that causes uterine-like cells to abnormally develop in the wrong places. Menstruation prompts these growths to shed'--and, often, painfully cramp and scar, sometimes leading internal organs to adhere to one another'--before the whole cycle starts again.
        For years, Kathryn had been managing her condition in part by taking oral opioids like Percocet when she needed them for pain. But endometriosis is progressive: Having once been rushed into emergency surgery to remove a life-threatening growth on her ovary, Kathryn now feared something just as dangerous was happening, given how badly she hurt.
        In the hospital, doctors performed an ultrasound to rule out some worst-case scenarios, then admitted Kathryn for observation to monitor whether her ovary was starting to develop another cyst. In the meantime, they said, they would provide her with intravenous opioid medication until the crisis passed.
        On her fourth day in the hospital, however, something changed. A staffer brusquely informed Kathryn that she would no longer be receiving any kind of opioid. ''I don't think you are aware of how high some scores are in your chart,'' the woman said. ''Considering the prescriptions you're on, it's quite obvious that you need help that is not pain-related.''
        Kathryn, who spoke to WIRED on condition that we use only her middle name to protect her privacy, was bewildered. What kind of help was the woman referring to? Which prescriptions, exactly? Before she could grasp what was happening, she was summarily discharged from the hospital, still very much in pain.
        Back at home, about two weeks later, Kathryn received a letter from her gynecologist's office stating that her doctor was ''terminating'' their relationship. Once again, she was mystified. But this message at least offered some explanation: It said she was being cut off because of ''a report from the NarxCare database.''
        Like most people, Kathryn had never heard of NarxCare, so she looked it up'--and discovered a set of databases and algorithms that have come to play an increasingly central role in the United States' response to its overdose crisis.
        Over the past two decades, the US Department of Justice has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into developing and maintaining state-level prescription drug databases'--electronic registries that track scripts for certain controlled substances in real time, giving authorities a set of eyes onto the pharmaceutical market. Every US state, save one, now has one of these prescription drug monitoring programs, or PDMPs. And the last holdout, Missouri, is just about to join the rest.
        In the past few years, through a series of acquisitions and government contracts, a single company called Appriss has come to dominate the management of these state prescription databases. While the registries themselves are somewhat balkanized'--each one governed by its own quirks, requirements, and parameters'--Appriss has helped to make them interoperable, merging them into something like a seamless, national prescription drug registry. It has also gone well beyond merely collecting and retrieving records, developing machine-learning algorithms to generate ''data insights'' and indicating that it taps into huge reservoirs of data outside state drug registries to arrive at them.
        NarxCare'--the system that inspired Kathryn's gynecologist to part ways with her'--is Appriss' flagship product for doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals: an ''analytics tool and care management platform'' that purports to instantly and automatically identify a patient's risk of misusing opioids.
        On the most basic level, when a doctor queries NarxCare about someone like Kathryn, the software mines state registries for red flags indicating that she has engaged in ''drug shopping'' behavior: It notes the number of pharmacies a patient has visited, the distances she's traveled to receive health care, and the combinations of prescriptions she receives.
        Beyond that, things get a little mysterious. NarxCare also offers states access to a complex machine-learning product that automatically assigns each patient a unique, comprehensive Overdose Risk Score. Only Appriss knows exactly how this score is derived, but according to the company's promotional material, its predictive model not only draws from state drug registry data, but ''may include medical claims data, electronic health records, EMS data, and criminal justice data.'' At least eight states, including Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan'--where Kathryn lives'--have signed up to incorporate this algorithm into their monitoring programs.
        For all the seeming complexity of these inputs, what doctors see on their screen when they call up a patient's NarxCare report is very simple: a bunch of data visualizations that describe the person's prescription history, topped by a handful of three-digit scores that neatly purport to sum up the patient's risk.
        Appriss is adamant that a NarxCare score is not meant to supplant a doctor's diagnosis. But physicians ignore these numbers at their peril. Nearly every state now uses Appriss software to manage its prescription drug monitoring programs, and most legally require physicians and pharmacists to consult them when prescribing controlled substances, on penalty of losing their license. In some states, police and federal law enforcement officers can also access this highly sensitive medical information'--in many cases without a warrant'--to prosecute both doctors and patients.
        In essence, Kathryn found, nearly all Americans have the equivalent of a secret credit score that rates the risk of prescribing controlled substances to them. And doctors have authorities looking over their shoulders as they weigh their own responses to those scores.
        Eventually she came upon an explanation that helped her understand where she'd gone wrong: She had sick pets.
        Even after Kathryn had read up on NarxCare, however, she was still left with a basic question: Why had she been flagged with such a high score? She wasn't ''doctor shopping.'' The only other physician she saw was her psychiatrist. She did have a prescription for a benzodiazepine to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, and combining such drugs with opioids is a known risk factor for overdose. But could that really have been enough to get her kicked out of a medical practice?
        As Kathryn continued her research online, she found that there was a whole world of chronic pain patients on Twitter and other forums comparing notes on how they'd run afoul of NarxCare or other screening tools. And eventually she came upon an explanation that helped her understand what might have gone wrong: She had sick pets.
        At the time of her hospitalization, Kathryn owned two flat-coated retrievers, Bear and Moose. Both were the kind of dog she preferred to adopt: older rescues with significant medical problems that other prospective owners might avoid. Moose had epilepsy and had required surgery on both his hind legs. He had also been abused as a puppy and had severe anxiety. Bear, too, suffered from anxiety.
        The two canines had been prescribed opioids, benzodiazepines, and even barbiturates by their veterinarians. Prescriptions for animals are put under their owner's name. So to NarxCare, it apparently looked like Kathryn was seeing many doctors for different drugs, some at extremely high dosages. (Dogs can require large amounts of benzodiazepines due to metabolic factors.) Appriss says that it is ''very rare'' for pets' prescriptions to drive up a patient's NarxCare scores.
        As Kafkaesque as this problem might seem, critics say it's hardly an isolated glitch. A growing number of researchers believe that NarxCare and other screening tools like it are profoundly flawed. According to one study, 20 percent of the patients who are most likely to be flagged as doctor-shoppers actually have cancer, which often requires seeing multiple specialists. And many of the official red flags that increase a person's risk scores are simply attributes of the most vulnerable and medically complex patients, sometimes causing those groups to be denied opioid pain treatment.
        The AI that generates NarxCare's Overdose Risk Score is, to many critics, even more unsettling. At a time of mounting concern over predictive algorithms, Appriss' own descriptions of NarxCare'--which boast of extremely wide-ranging access to sensitive patient data'--have raised alarms among patient advocates and researchers. NarxCare's home page, for instance, describes how its algorithm trawls patient medical records for diagnoses of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, treating these as ''variables that could impact risk assessment.'' In turn, academics have published hundreds of pages about NarxCare, exploring how such use of diagnostic records could have a disparate impact on women (who are more likely to suffer trauma from abuse) and how its purported use of criminal justice data could skew against racial minorities (who are more likely to have been arrested).
        But the most troubling thing, according to researchers, is simply how opaque and unaccountable these quasi-medical tools are. None of the algorithms that are widely used to guide physicians' clinical decisions'--including NarxCare'--have been validated as safe and effective by peer-reviewed research. And because Appriss' risk assessment algorithms are proprietary, there's no way to look under the hood to inspect them for errors or biases.
        Nor, for that matter, are there clear ways for a patient to seek redress. As soon as Kathryn realized what had happened, she started trying to clear her record. She's still at it. In the meantime, when she visits a pharmacy or a doctor's office, she says she can always tell when someone has seen her score. ''Their whole demeanor has changed,'' she says. ''It reminds me of a suspect and a detective. It's no longer a caring, empathetic, and compassionate relationship. It's more of an inquisition.''
        Photograph: Sam Cannon The United States' relationship with opioid drugs has always been fraught. We either love them or we hate them. Historically, periods of widespread availability spur addictions, which lead to crackdowns, which lead to undertreatment of pain'--and then another extreme swing of the pendulum, which never seems to settle at a happy medium.
        The current anti-opioid climate has its roots in the overmarketing of Purdue Pharma's OxyContin in the mid-1990s. Between 1999 and 2010, opioid prescribing in the US quadrupled'--and overdose deaths rose in tandem. To many experts, this suggested an easy fix: If you decrease prescribing, then death rates will decline too.
        But that didn't happen. While the total amount of opioids prescribed fell by 60 percent between 2011 and 2020, the already record-level overdose death rate at least doubled during the same period. Simply cutting the medical supply didn't help; instead, it fueled more dangerous drug use, driving many Americans to substances like illegally manufactured fentanyl.
        The reason these cuts hadn't worked, some experts believed, was that they had failed to target the patients at highest risk. Around 70 percent of adults have taken medical opioids'--yet only 0.5 percent suffer from what is officially labeled ''opioid use disorder,'' more commonly called addiction. One study found that even within the age group at highest risk, teenagers and people in their early twenties, only one out of every 314 privately insured patients who had been prescribed opioids developed problems with them.
        Researchers had known for years that some patients were at higher risk for addiction than others. Studies have shown, for instance, that the more adverse childhood experiences someone has had'--like being abused or neglected or losing a parent'--the greater their risk. Another big risk factor is mental illness, which affects at least 64 percent of all people with opioid use disorder. But while experts were aware of these hazards, they had no good way to quantify them.
        That began to change as the opioid epidemic escalated and demand grew for a simple tool that could more accurately predict a patient's risk. One of the first of these measures, the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT), was published in 2005 by Lynn Webster, a former president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, who now works in the pharmaceutical industry. (Webster has also previously received speaking fees from opioid manufacturers.)
        To build the ORT, Webster began by searching for studies that quantified specific risk factors. Along with the literature on adverse childhood experiences, Webster found studies linking risk to both personal and family history of addiction'--not just to opioids but to other drugs, including alcohol. He also found data on elevated risk from particular psychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression.
        Around 70 percent of adults have taken medical opioids'--yet only 0.5 percent suffer from what is officially labeled ''opioid use disorder.''
        Gathering all this research together, Webster designed a short patient questionnaire meant to suss out whether someone possessed any of the known risk factors for addiction. Then he came up with a way of summing and weighting the answers to generate an overall score.
        The ORT, however, was sometimes sharply skewed and limited by its data sources. For instance, Webster found a study showing that a history of sexual abuse in girls tripled their risk of addiction, so he duly included a question asking whether patients had experienced sexual abuse and codified it as a risk factor'--for females. Why only them? Because no analogous study had been done on boys. The gender bias that this introduced into the ORT was especially odd given that two-thirds of all addictions occur in men.
        The ORT also didn't take into account whether a patient had been prescribed opioids for long periods without becoming addicted.
        Webster says he did not intend for his tool to be used to deny pain treatment'--only to determine who should be watched more closely. As one of the first screeners available, however, it rapidly caught on with doctors and hospitals keen to stay on the right side of the opioid crisis. Today, it has been incorporated into multiple electronic health record systems, and it is often relied on by physicians anxious about overprescription. It's ''very, very broadly used in the US and five other countries,'' Webster says.
        In comparison to early opioid risk screeners like the ORT, NarxCare is more complex, more powerful, more rooted in law enforcement, and far less transparent.
        Appriss started out in the 1990s making software that automatically notifies crime victims and other ''concerned citizens'' when a specific incarcerated person is about to be released. Later it moved into health care. After developing a series of databases for monitoring prescriptions, Appriss in 2014 acquired what was then the most commonly used algorithm for predicting who was most at risk for ''misuse of controlled substances,'' a program developed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and began to develop and expand it. Like many companies that supply software to track and predict opioid addiction, Appriss is largely funded, either directly or indirectly, by the Department of Justice.
        Other communications from the company, however, indicate that NarxCare's underlying source data may not be what it seems.
        NarxCare is one of many predictive algorithms that have proliferated across several domains of life in recent years. In medical settings, algorithms have been used to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from a particular treatment and to estimate the probability that a patient in the ICU will deteriorate or die if discharged.
        In theory, creating such a tool to guide when and to whom opioids are prescribed could be helpful, possibly even to address medical inequities. Studies have shown, for instance, that Black patients are more likely to be denied medication for pain, and more likely to be perceived as drug-seeking. A more objective predictor could'--again, in theory'--help patients who are undermedicated get the treatment they need.
        But in practice, algorithms that originate with law enforcement have displayed a track record of running in the opposite direction. In 2016, for example, ProPublica analyzed how COMPAS, an algorithm designed to help courts identify which defendants are most likely to commit future crimes, was far more prone to incorrectly flag Black defendants as likely recidivists. (The company that makes the algorithm disputed this analysis.) In the years since then, the problem of algorithmic unfairness'--the tendency of AI to obscure and weaponize the biases of its underlying data'--has become a increasingly towering concern among people who study the ethics of AI.
        Over the past couple of years, Jennifer Oliva, director of the Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law at Seton Hall University, has set out to examine NarxCare in light of these apprehensions. In a major recent paper called ''Dosing Discrimination,'' she argues that much of the data NarxCare claims to trace may simply recapitulate inequalities associated with race, class, and gender. Living in a rural area, for example, often requires traveling longer distances for treatment'--but that doesn't automatically signify doctor shopping. Similarly, while it's a mystery exactly how NarxCare may incorporate criminal justice data into its algorithm, it's clear that Black people are arrested far more often than whites. That doesn't mean that prescribing to them is riskier, Oliva says'--just that they get targeted more by biased systems. ''All of that stuff just reinforces this historical discrimination,'' Oliva says.
        Appriss, for its part, says that within NarxCare's algorithms, ''there are no adjustments to the risk scoring to account for potential underlying biases'' in its source data.
        Other communications from the company, however, indicate that NarxCare's underlying source data may not be what it seems.
        Early in the reporting of this piece, Appriss declined WIRED's request for an interview. Later, in an emailed response to specific questions about its data sources, the company made a startling claim: In apparent contradiction to its own marketing material, Appriss said that NarxCare's predictive risk algorithm makes no use of any data outside of state prescription drug registries. ''The Overdose Risk Score was originally developed to allow for ingestion of additional data sources beyond the PDMP,'' a spokesperson for the company said, ''but no states have chosen to do so. All scores contained within NarxCare are based solely on data from the prescription drug monitoring program.''
        Some states do incorporate certain criminal justice data'--for instance, drug conviction records'--into their prescription drug monitoring programs, so it's conceivable that NarxCare's machine-learning model does draw on those. But Appriss specifically distanced itself from other data sources claimed in its marketing material.
        For instance, the company told WIRED that NarxCare and its scores ''do not include any diagnosis information'' from patient medical records. That would seem to suggest, contra the NarxCare homepage, that the algorithm in fact gives no consideration to people's histories of depression and PTSD. The company also said that it does not take into account the distance that a patient travels to receive medical care'--despite a chatty 2018 blog post, still up on the Appriss site, that includes this line in a description of NarxCare's machine-learning model: ''We might give it other types of data that involve distances between the doctor and the pharmacist and the patient's home.''
        These latest claims from Appriss only heighten Oliva's concerns about the inscrutability of NarxCare. ''As I have said many times in my own research, the most terrifying thing about Appriss' risk-scoring platform is the fact that its algorithms are proprietary, and as a result, there is no way to externally validate them,'' says Oliva. ''We ought to at least be able to believe what Appriss says on its own website and in its public-facing documents.''
        Moreover, experts say, even the most simple, transparent aspects of algorithms like NarxCare'--the tallying of red flags meant to signify ''doctor-shopping'' behavior'--are deeply problematic, in that they're liable to target patients with complex conditions. ''The more vulnerable a patient is, the more serious the patient's illness, the more complex their history, the more likely they are to wind up having multiple doctors and multiple pharmacies,'' notes Stefan Kertesz, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. ''The algorithm is set up to convince clinicians that care of anybody with more serious illness represents the greatest possible liability. And in that way, it incentivizes the abandonment of patients who have the most serious problems.''
        To take some of the heat off of these complex patients, Appriss says that its algorithm ''focuses on rapid changes'' in drug use and deemphasizes people who have maintained multiple prescriptions at stable levels for a long time. But as ever, the company stresses that a NarxCare score is not meant to determine any patient's course of treatment'--that only a doctor can do that.
        Doctors, however, are also judged by algorithms'--and can be prosecuted if they write more prescriptions than their peers, or prescribe to patients deemed high risk. ''I think prescribers have gotten really scared. They are very fearful of being called out,'' says Sarah Wakeman, the medical director of the Substance Use Disorder Initiative at Massachusetts General Hospital, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard, and a doctor who regularly uses NarxCare herself. Research has found that some 43 percent of US medical clinics now refuse to see new patients who require opioids.
        Doctors are also, Wakeman says, ''just not really sure what the right thing to do is.'' A couple of academic surveys have found that physicians appreciate prescription drug registries, as they truly want to be able to identify patients who are misusing opioids. But doctors have also said that some registries can take too much time to access and digest. NarxCare is partly a solution to that problem'--it speeds everything up. It distills.
        The result of all that speed, and all that fear, says Kertesz, is that patients who have chronic pain but do not have addictions can end up cut off from medication that could help them. In extreme cases, that can even drive some chronic pain sufferers to turn to more dangerous illegal supplies, or to suicide. Among patients with long-term opioid prescriptions, research shows that stopping those prescriptions without providing effective alternative care is associated with nearly triple the risk of overdose death.
        ''The problem that really infuses the NarxCare discussion is that the environment in which it is being used has an intense element of law enforcement, fear, and distrust of patients,'' Kertesz says. ''It's added to an environment where physicians are deeply fearful for their future ability to maintain a profession, where society has taken a particularly vindictive turn against both physicians and patients. And where the company that develops this interesting tool is able to force it onto the screens of nearly every doctor in America.''
        Photograph: Sam Cannon As Kathryn became more steeped in online communities of chronic pain patients, one of the people she came into contact with was a 44-year-old woman named Beverly Schechtman, who had been galvanized by her own bad experience with opioid risk screening. In 2017, Schechtman was hospitalized for kidney stones, which can cause some of the worst pain known to humans. In her case, they were associated with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the bowel.
        Because Crohn's flare-ups by themselves can cause severe pain, Schechtman already had a prescription for oral opioids'--but she went to the hospital that day in 2017 because she was so nauseated from the pain that she couldn't keep them or anything else down. Like Kathryn, she also took benzodiazepines for an anxiety disorder.
        That combination'--which is both popular with drug users and considered a risk factor for overdose'--made the hospitalist in charge of Schechtman's care suspicious. Without even introducing himself, he demanded to know why she was on the medications. So she explained that she had PTSD, expecting that this disclosure would be sufficient. Nonetheless, he pressed her about the cause of the trauma, so she revealed that she'd been sexually abused as a child.
        After that, Schechtman says, the doctor became even more abrupt. ''Due to that I cannot give you any type of IV pain medication,'' she recalls him saying. When she asked why, she says he claimed that both IV drug use and child sexual abuse change the brain. '''You'll thank me someday, because due to what you went through as a child, you have a much higher risk of becoming an addict, and I cannot participate in that,''' she says she was told.
        ''I was asking people in these online groups, 'Have any of you been denied opioids due to sexual abuse history?' And women were coming forward.''
        Beverly Schechtman
        Schechtman says she felt that the doctor was blaming her for being abused. She was also puzzled.
        She had been taking opioids on and off for 20-odd years and had never become addicted. Wasn't that relevant? And how could it be ethical to deny pain relief based on a theoretical risk linked to being abused? She wasn't asking for drugs to take home; she just wanted to be treated in the hospital, as she had been previously, without issue.
        As would later happen for Kathryn, the experience drove Schechtman onto the internet. ''I just became obsessed with researching all of it,'' Schechtman says. ''I was asking people in these online groups, 'Have any of you been denied opioids due to sexual abuse history?' And women were coming forward.''
        Schechtman eventually joined an advocacy group called the Don't Punish Pain Rally. Together with other activists in the group, she discovered that the question about sexual abuse history in the ORT unfairly targeted women, but not men. (An updated version of Webster's tool now excludes the gender difference, but the older one seems to live on in some electronic medical record systems.)
        She also found many pain patients who said they had problems with NarxCare. Bizarrely, even people who are receiving the gold standard treatment for addiction can be incorrectly flagged by NarxCare and then denied that very treatment by pharmacists.
        Buprenorphine, best known under the brand name Suboxone, is one of just two drugs that are proven to cut the death rate from opioid use disorder by 50 percent or more, mainly by preventing overdose. But because it is an opioid itself, buprenorphine is among the substances that can elevate one's NarxCare score'--though typically it is listed in a separate section of a NarxCare report to indicate that the person is undergoing treatment. That separation, however, doesn't necessarily prevent a pharmacist from looking at a patient's high score and refusing to offer them prescriptions.
        Ryan Ward, a Florida-based recovery advocate, has taken buprenorphine for nearly a decade. He also has a history of severe back pain and related surgeries. In 2018, when his pharmacy stopped carrying buprenorphine, he tried to fill his prescription at a Walmart and was turned away. Then he visited two CVS's and three Walgreens, and was similarly stymied.
        ''I dress nicely. I look nice. And I would be friendly,'' he says. ''And as soon as they get my driver's license, oh boy, they would change attitudes. I couldn't figure out why.''
        After panicking that he might plunge into withdrawal'--and, ironically, be put at much higher risk of overdose'--he changed tactics. He approached a pharmacist at a Publix, first showing her his LinkedIn page, which highlights his advocacy and employment. He described what had happened at the other drugstores.
        When she checked the database, she immediately saw the problem: an overwhelmingly high Overdose Risk Score. Unlike her colleagues, however, she agreed to fill the prescription, realizing that it was nonsensical to deny a patient a medication that prevents overdose in the name of preventing overdose. Still, even three years later, if he tries another pharmacy he gets rejected.
        Appriss stresses that its data is not supposed to be used in these ways. ''Pharmacists and physicians use these scores as indicators or calls-to-action to further review details in the patient's prescription history in conjunction with other relevant patient health information,'' the company wrote in a statement. ''The analysis and associated scores are not intended to work as sole determinants of a patient's risk.'' Appriss also says that prescriptions for buprenorphine have increased in areas of the country that use NarxCare.
        But like the others, Ward has been unable to get his problem fixed. And since most states now require that physicians and pharmacists use these databases, millions are potentially affected. One survey of patients whose providers have checked these systems found that at least half reported being humiliated and 43 percent reported cuts in prescribing that increased pain and reduced quality of life.
        Appriss says on its website that it's up to each state to deal with patient complaints. Still, few know where to turn. ''The states have made it very difficult,'' says Oliva. Some don't even allow for error correction. And when Ward tried contacting Appriss directly, he says, he was ignored.
        Photograph: Sam Cannon In the early 2010s, Angela Kilby was seeking a topic for her PhD thesis in economics at MIT. When a member of her family, a doctor in the rural South, told her how tough it was to make decisions about prescribing opioids in a community devastated by overdoses, Kilby felt she had found her subject. She decided to study the doctor's dilemma by examining how increased control over opioid prescribing actually affected patients. To track health outcomes, she used insurance claim data from 38 states that had implemented prescription monitoring databases at varying times between 2004 and 2014.
        Going into her study, Kilby had been swayed by research and press reports'--plentiful in an era of ''pill mill'' crackdowns and backlash against overprescribing'--suggesting that opioids are not only addictive but also ineffective and even harmful for patients with chronic pain. She had predicted that reductions in prescribing would increase productivity and health. ''I was expecting to see the opposite of what I saw,'' she says.
        In fact, her research showed that cutting back on medical opioid prescriptions led to increased medical spending, higher levels of pain in hospitalized patients, and more missed workdays. ''These are people who are probably losing access to opioids, who are struggling more to return to work after injuries and struggling to get pain treatment,'' she says.
        Intrigued, she wanted to know more. So in the late 2010s, having become an assistant professor at Northeastern University, she decided to simulate the machine-learning model that generates NarxCare's most algorithmically sophisticated measure, the Overdose Risk Score.
        Although Appriss did not make public the factors that went into its algorithm, Kilby reverse engineered what she could. Lacking access to prescription drug registry data, Kilby decided to use de-identified health insurance claims data, a source that underlies all of the other published machine-learning algorithms that predict opioid risk. Using roughly the same method that Appriss lays out in accounts of its own machine-learning work, she trained her model by showing it cases of people who'd been diagnosed with opioid use disorder after receiving an opioid prescription. She sent it looking for resemblances and risk predictors in their files. Then she turned her model loose on a much larger sample, this time with those opioid-use-disorder diagnoses hidden from the algorithm, to see if it actually identified real cases.
        The larger question, of course, is whether algorithms should be used to determine addiction risk at all.
        What Kilby found was that while NarxCare's model may trawl a different data set, it almost certainly shares an essential limitation with her algorithm.
        ''The problem with all of these algorithms, including the one I developed,'' Kilby says, ''is precision.'' Kilby's complete data set included the files of roughly 7 million people who were insured by their employers between 2005 and 2012. But because opioid addiction is so rare in the general population, the training sample that the algorithm could use to make predictions was small: some 23,000 out of all those millions.
        Further, 56 percent of that group had addictions before they received their first prescription, meaning that the medication could not have caused the problem'--so they had to be excluded from the training sample. (This supports other data showing that most people with opioid addiction start with recreational, rather than medical, use.)
        The result was that Kilby's algorithm generated a large number of both false positive and false negative results, even when she set her parameters so strictly that someone had to score at or above the 99th percentile to be considered high risk. In that case, she found, only 11 percent of high scorers had actually been diagnosed with opioid use disorder'--while 89 percent were incorrectly flagged.
        Loosening her criteria didn't improve matters. Using the 95th percentile as a cutoff identified more true positives, but also increased false ones: This time less than 5 percent of positives were true positives. (In its own literature, Appriss mentions these two cutoffs as being clinically useful.)
        Kilby's research also identified an even more fundamental problem. Algorithms like hers tend to flag people who've accumulated a long list of risk factors in the course of a lifetime'--even if they've taken opioids for years with no reported problems. Conversely, if the algorithm has little data on someone, it's likely to label them low risk. But that person may actually be at higher risk than the long-term chronic pain patients who now get dinged most often.
        ''There is just no correlation whatsoever between the likelihood of being said to be high risk by the algorithm and the reduction in the probability of developing opioid use disorder,'' Kilby explains. In other words, the algorithm essentially cannot do what it claims to do, which is determine whether writing or denying someone's next prescription will alter their trajectory in terms of addiction. And this flaw, she says, affects all of the algorithms now known to be in use.
        In her paper ''Dosing Discrimination,'' about algorithms like NarxCare, Jennifer Oliva describes a number of cases similar to Kathryn's and Schectman's, in which people have been denied opioids due to sexual trauma histories and other potentially misleading factors. The paper culminates in an argument that FDA approval'--which is currently not required for NarxCare'--should be mandatory, especially given Appriss' dominance of the market.
        The larger question, of course, is whether algorithms should be used to determine addiction risk at all. When I spoke with Elaine Nsoesie, a data science faculty fellow at Boston University with a PhD in computational epidemiology, she argued that improving public health requires understanding the causes of a problem'--not using proxy measures that may or may not be associated with risk.
        ''I would not be thinking about algorithms,'' she says. ''I would go out into the population to try to understand, why do we have these problems in the first place? Why do we have opioid overdose? Why do we have addictions? What are the factors that are contributing to these problems and how can we address them?''
        In contrast, throughout the overdose crisis, policymakers have focused relentlessly on reducing medical opioid use. And by that metric, they've been overwhelmingly successful: Prescribing has been more than halved. And yet 2020 saw the largest number of US overdose deaths'--93,000'--on record, a stunning 29 percent increase from the year before.
        Moreover, even among people with known addiction, there is little evidence that avoiding appropriate medical opioid use will, by itself, protect them. ''I think undertreated pain in someone with a history of addiction is every bit, if not more, of a risk factor for relapse,'' says Wakeman. She calls for better monitoring and support, not obligatory opioid denial.
        Appriss has recognized the need to study NarxCare's effects on the health and mortality of people flagged by the system'--and not just whether it results in reduced prescribing. At a recent webinar, the company's manager of data science, Kristine Whalen, highlighted new data showing that implementation of NarxCare sped up the decline in opioid prescribing in six states by about 10 percent, compared to reductions before it was used. When asked whether the company was also measuring NarxCare's real-world effects on patients' lives, Whalen said, ''We're actively looking for additional outcome data sets to be able to do what you are describing.''
        For Kathryn, at least, NarxCare's effect on her life and health has been pretty stark. Aside from her psychiatrist, she says, ''I don't have a doctor because of this NarxCare score.'' She worries about what she'll do the next time her endometriosis flares up or another emergency arises, and she still struggles to get medication to treat her pain.
        And it's not only Kathryn's own pain prescriptions that require filling. Although her dog Moose died in late 2020, Bear continues to need his meds, and Kathryn has since gone on to adopt another medically demanding dog, Mouse. Some states have recognized the problem of misidentified veterinary prescriptions and require NarxCare to mark them with a paw print or animal icon on health providers' screens. Apparently, though, those prescriptions can still influence the pet owner's overall scores'--and the next busy pharmacist who peers warily at a computer screen.
        Let us know what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor at mail@wired.com.
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      The Story Behind China's Long-Stalled Mine in Afghanistan '' The Diplomat
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 22:26
        The Pulse Nine years after Chinese companies took control of Mes Aynak, copper extraction has yet to start.
        Credit: Flickr/ Jerome Starkey AdvertisementOne-third of the Afghan population lives below the poverty line (earning less than $2 a day) and a further 50 percent are barely above this line. With a per capita GDP of only $595, Afghans hoped to see $1 billion in annual revenue and at least 8,500 direct jobs and more than 30,000 indirect jobs from the mining sector by 2017. The $1 billion in annual revenue was expected to come from the Mes Aynak copper mine ($350 million) and from the Hajigak iron ore ($550 million), with another $150 million from hydrocarbons and gemstones. This goal was set in the first and second National Priority Programs (NPP) of the infrastructure development cluster, namely the ''National and Regional Resource Corridors Program'' and the ''National Extractive Industries Excellence Program.'' The two NPPs were part of the 22 NPP packages that were designed and approved under the Kabul Process in 2010 and reconfirmed at the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan in 2012. However, the $1 billion revenue target now looks unrealistic in 2017 and perhaps not even attainable by 2020. The problems in the Mes Aynak mine provide an illustrative case study of the difficulties.
        The year 2017 marked the ninth anniversary of the Mes Aynak concession, which was awarded in May 2008 to two Chinese state-owned companies, the China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) and the Jiangxi Copper Company Limited. The consortium later called itself MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals (MJAM) to formally operate the project. Mes Aynak mine is said to be the second largest copper ore body in the world, with the deposit estimated to contain 5.5 million metric tons of high-grade copper ore. The contract awarded to MJAM is worth $2.9 billion. It stipulates that copper production will commence in the fifth year of the 30-year lease, with the extracting, smelting, and processing of the raw copper to take place in Afghanistan. The contract also foresees the construction of a 400 MW coal-fired power plant and the building of a railway from Hairtan to Torkham dry ports. However, little has been done on the ground and MJAM has reportedly asked for substantial modifications to the contract.
        Apparently, the 400 MW coal-fired power plant option has been cancelled by MJAM, stating that their survey found that insufficient coal resources were available in Ishpushta. MJAM also argued that phosphate, which is an essential component for smelting and processing (neutralizing the sulfuric acid) copper, is not readily available inside Afghanistan. However, my ex-colleagues in the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum told me that some potential igneous phosphate resources at Khan Neshin in Helmand have been identified yet this requires further exploration by MJAM. The main argument by MJAM is that if copper cannot be smelted and processed in Afghanistan, then the mine does not need the 400 MW coal-fired power plant.
        MJAM also requested in 2013 that the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum re-negotiate the contractual terms, taking into account the points mentioned above and reducing the royalties. The Afghan government is not happy with this proposal and insists on continuing with the existing terms. Kabul and Beijing have discussed these terms during visits by former President Hamid Karzai and by current President Ashraf Ghani, and apparently no agreement has been reached thus far.
        Besides contractual disputes, the Mes Aynak mine has been plagued by persistent myths.
        Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.
        First, deteriorating security has been reported to be one of the causes for the prolonged delay in opening the mine. But looking back over the past nine years, there have only been two major incidents affecting work in the project area. One was reportedly an attack by a vehicle-borne remote controlled bomb at the MJAM camp in 2008, which resulted in the deaths of three security guards. The second incident, in June 2012, was an attack on a group of deminers who were removing landmines and Improvised Explosive Devises (IED) from the Soviet era. Other than these two incidents, the Mes Aynak camp has not been directly targeted by insurgents. It was also reported that rockets were fired at Mes Aynak checkpoints, but it was not clear whether that was done by insurgents or local residents who had grievances over land acquisition and resettlement issues. To ensure security, the government deployed 1,750 policemen in the Mes Aynak camp with 84 checkpoints and security towers.
        Logar, where Mes Aynak is found, is listed as one of the insecure provinces in Afghanistan with a strong Taliban presence and with other insurgent groups also active in several districts of Logar. The Taliban's insurgency and fight against the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) continues in Logar. It is apparent that the Mes Aynak site is not a direct target of the insurgents, nor is it their intention to force MJAM to halt their work. In fact, in November last year, the Taliban released a statement promising not to target Mes Aynak and other infrastructure projects.
        Diplomat BriefWeekly NewsletterNGet briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific.
        Get the Newsletter Second, it was widely reported in the international media that a Buddhist archaeological site and its remnants in Mes Aynak were in danger and would be demolished by the Chinese miners if action was not taken. That was not the case. From the outset of the project, the Afghan government was fully aware of the archaeological site and assumed responsibility for preserving the relics and assuring their safety. During Daud Khan's reign (1973-1978), the Mes Aynak site was surveyed and labeled as a Buddhist archaeological site. In 2003, the Afghan government restarted surveying and protecting the area site. When the Mes Aynak mine contract was awarded, Archeologique Francaise en Afghanistan (DAFA) was requested by the Ministry of Information and Culture in April 2009 to provide technical assistance in excavating and transferring the relics to a safe place. The World Bank also provided technical support through UNESCO to assist the Afghan government in taking care of the archaeological site. More than a dozen international archaeologists, numerous national experts, and up to 500 laborers have been part of the excavation since 2012.
        AdvertisementAccording to Ministry of Information and Culture, not a single Buddhist artifact has been damaged or affected during excavation thus far. My colleagues in the Ministry of Information and Culture told me that more than 2,000 Buddhist relics have been safely transferred to the Kabul museum and remnants that are not transferable have been allotted a temporary shelter site in Mohammad Agha district for storage. Therefore, the various alarming-sounding reports and documentaries that claimed Buddhist relics are under serious threat by the mine workers are not supported by the facts on the ground.
        Did the excavation of the archaeological site force MJAM to postpone its physical work on the ground? Actually, no, because MJAM has so far only managed to proceed with preliminary paperwork, such as surveys, a feasibility study, and environmental impact studies, and has yet to start copper extraction. Secondly, the archaeological site is just 0.45 square kilometers in size compared to the area of the whole site which is 28 sq km. The area occupied by the archaeological portion, just 1.5 percent of the total mining site, is not sufficient to have halted the work of MJAM to such an extent as to have made extraction impossible.
        Kabul and Beijing clearly understand what is going on. It is neither the security situation nor the archaeological site that has kept the Mes Aynak project from moving forward over the past nine years. It is all about agreeing on the contractual terms. The success of Mes Aynak is of great significance. It would be an important source of revenue for the Afghan government and an essential step toward realizing self-reliance in the transformative decade ahead. It would also serve as a model for the other large-scale private investments planned in Afghanistan.
        Without a doubt, an enduring Afghan-Sino partnership is very important and Kabul and Beijing will want to play things smartly.
        Mohsin Amin is a Fulbright Scholar, Energy Policy Analyst and Former Energy Advisor to the Afghan Government. He tweets at @MohsinAmin_
      High-Profile Al Qaeda Plot Foiled After 9/11 Was FBI Scam
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:20
        The biggest Al Qaeda plot the FBI claimed to have foiled in the years following the 9/11 attacks involved no weapons, no plot, and no Al Qaeda. Instead, the vague, implausible threat by a group of construction workers in Florida to blow up U.S. buildings, including Chicago's Sears Tower, was mostly the making of the FBI, whose undercover operatives sought out the men, promised them money, and coached them over months to implicate themselves in a conspiracy to commit violent acts they never actually intended or had the means to carry out.
        The ''Liberty City Seven'' case '-- known by its connection to the poor, violence-ridden Miami neighborhood where the men involved lived '-- was the most high-profile FBI investigation of a supposed terrorist cell after the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. It came as the bureau, which had failed to act on intelligence it had received before 9/11, faced enormous pressure to predict and stop the next attack, setting off its transformation, in the words of former Deputy Director John Pistole, ''from reactive crime-solving agency to preventative national security agency.''
        The ordeal of the seven Black men, most of them Haitian American, who were manipulated by two paid FBI informants into pledging allegiance to Al Qaeda is recounted in a new Frontline documentary, ''In the Shadow of 9/11,'' by British director Dan Reed.
        ''It was kind of really absurd, almost unbelievable,'' said Reed, who has previously directed documentaries about terror attacks in Moscow and Mumbai. ''I didn't really understand how the Liberty City guys could have got themselves in this predicament.''
        The story of the seven men, five of whom were sentenced to a cumulative 43 years in federal prison in connection to the case, is a largely forgotten tale about the lengths to which government agencies were empowered to go in the panicked aftermath of 9/11 and about the absurdities the U.S. criminal justice apparatus sold to the public in the name of national security. The case is indicative of how quickly the so-called war on terror morphed into a battle to shape a narrative: that there was a real threat '-- and that the U.S. government was winning.
        The case set the stage for hundreds of FBI sting operations in the following years, as the bureau continued to frame individuals who were often poor, credulous, and had dubious ability to independently plan any attacks. In doing so, the agency leaned on a sprawling surveillance apparatus set up after 9/11 and used constitutionally protected speech as a basis for monitoring people, even as bureau officials regularly denied doing so. FBI agents relied heavily on well-paid informants operating with little accountability. And they expanded the stings to an ever-growing list of supposed threats: not only foreign-inspired ideologies but also domestic ones, like that posed by what the FBI called ''black identity extremism.''
        As The Intercept has detailed in the ''Trial and Terror'' database, most of the nearly 1,000 people the U.S. has prosecuted for terrorism since 9/11 never came close to committing an act of violence. Like the Liberty City Seven, most had no connection to terrorist groups and many were set up in FBI stings.
        Those cases were not only unnecessary, colossal wastes of investigative and prosecutorial resources that destroyed people's lives, but they also distorted the American public's understanding of security threats after 9/11.
        ''What terrorists want to do is spread terror, they want to make people afraid that there will be more terror attacks,'' said Reed. ''And when the government goes in and essentially makes terrorists that way, then that's achieving the terrorists' aims. It's making the American public more afraid.''
        Fabricated FearThe story of the Liberty City Seven, pieced together in the documentary through interviews as well as hours of surveillance footage and audio recorded by the informants, is so tragic and farcical it is hard to fathom that it was a real FBI operation.
        The supposed terror cell's ringleader, Narseal Batiste, was a construction business owner and eccentric spiritual guru with a small following of men faithful to the Moorish Science Temple of America, a mix of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam whose primary belief is the improvement of African Americans' condition. His associates were mostly poor, young men hustling on the streets of Miami. With Batiste self-styled as their ''divine leader,'' they mostly offered martial arts training and spiritual teachings to neighborhood kids.
        The FBI learned of the group when a Yemeni convenience store clerk who had once worked as an informant for the New York Police Department claimed to the bureau that the group had asked him to make a connection with Al Qaeda. The tip seemed improbable even to the FBI, but the agency hired the clerk as an informant and concocted a scheme to introduce the group to yet another informant who claimed to be connected to Osama bin Laden. Batiste, who was struggling to pay off business-related debts, seized on what he thought was an opportunity to scam the two men out of money, which they kept promising while leading Batiste to make progressively more compromising statements of support for Al Qaeda. He played along.
        In one of the exchanges that sealed his fate, Batiste agreed to provide one of the informants with a list of items he supposedly needed to carry out an attack in Chicago '-- including, for some reason, knee-high boots. ''I had to make up something up right then and there,'' says Batiste, whom FBI surveillance video shows struggling to differentiate a pistol from a machine gun before his unrelenting handler. ''I didn't know any names of guns. I had never owned a gun.''
        Pressed by the informants, Batiste repeated a bizarrely written oath of allegiance to Al Qaeda and, crucially, convinced his six associates to do so as well. Led on further, he made bombastic statements about a made-up plot to blow up buildings and shoot survivors, at one point boasting that it would be ''greater than 9/11.'' After yet more pressure, he agreed to drive around Miami, in a vehicle and with a camera the FBI had provided, to snap photos of federal buildings.
        Throughout the ordeal, Batiste believed that he was conning the FBI informants, who themselves were manufacturing a threat they knew was not real. The end goal for both parties was to cash in.
        Not even the FBI agents working with the informants to set up the sting believed that the threat was real, yet the Justice Department cited Batiste's ''overt acts'' to bring terrorism-related charges.
        The Justice Department touted the case as a major victory in its newly launched war on terror, even as officials were aware that the seven ''weren't really the terrorists that we were seeking out,'' said Michael Mullaney, a former chief of the Justice Department's Counterterrorism Section, in the documentary.
        It became apparent that the case was staged by the government as soon as the seven were arrested in June 2006. Justice Department officials tried to rationalize their decision to prosecute the men by insisting that they were guilty of the acts they were convicted of: swearing allegiance to a terrorist organization and taking photos of federal buildings. They justified stings as a tool to predict who might plot an attack, rather than traps set out for individuals who likely would have never had thought to do so had the FBI not written the script for them.
        ''The problem with terrorism cases is you have to stop the act, and so you really in a way have to predict who is going to do what,'' said Mullaney. ''And so stings are very important.''
        The documentary, telling the story of a scam, seems to conclude that the victims are not just the seven men and their families but also the American people, whose government fabricated fear to justify its powers.
        The film poster for ''In the Shadow of 9/11.''
        No Lead Goes UncoveredIn the film, Mike German, a former FBI special agent who did undercover work for terrorism investigations before 9/11, says that had he told his superiors that he wanted to initiate an operation targeting individuals who did not belong to a terrorist group, did not have any weapons, and did not have a plot '-- and that the FBI itself would provide all those things in the course of the operation '-- ''they would have sent me for counseling.''
        The 9/11 attacks changed that, ushering in a ''no lead goes uncovered'' policy at the bureau that forced agents to pursue any tip that came in, no matter how far-fetched or improbable and regardless of the civil rights implications. That those tips often came from informants with clear financial agendas did not stop the bureau.
        In the Liberty City case, the FBI went much further than checking out an unlikely tip. Even as the agents quickly realized that Batiste and the others posed no credible threat, they kept pushing forward, investing countless hours and resources into the sting. After the first trial ended with a hung jury, prosecutors tried it two more times before getting any convictions in 2009.
        Rather than abandoning stings as pointless and harmful, the FBI doubled down on them.
        The operation became a cautionary tale within the bureau, which used it as a case study to train informants on how not to cross a line and to master the art of manipulation while steering clear of the legal threshold for entrapment. Rather than abandoning stings as pointless and harmful, however, the FBI doubled down on them, in some cases even providing weapons to the individuals they set up.
        Trevor Aaronson, a contributor to The Intercept and the author of a book about FBI stings, says in the documentary that the bureau's takeaway from the case seemed to be that ''if they can convict these guys in Miami, they convict just about anybody.''
        In the following years, the FBI did just that, prosecuting hundreds of people, including at least 350 who were set up in sting operations, mostly through paid informants.
        The bureau manipulated a group of Black men in Newburgh, New York, to plant what they thought to be functioning bombs by two synagogues. In Ferguson, Missouri, after the police killing of Michael Brown led to widespread protests, federal agents framed two young protesters and coached them into a plan to blow up St. Louis's iconic Gateway Arch, before retroactively referring to their conviction to describe a new category of domestic extremism and expand surveillance of Black activists. At Standing Rock, the agency relied on an FBI informant who became romantically involved with an Indigenous activist and whose gun was used in what ended up becoming the most severe prosecution in connection to protests against the Dakota Access pipeline.
        ''I was hoping they would learn that this case'' '-- Liberty City '-- ''was an overreach, they had gone too far, and perhaps undermined public trust in the counterterrorism tactics that they were using,'' German says in the documentary, referring to the FBI. ''But they seem to have taken the opposite lesson.''
      NAACP And CBS Enter Multi-Year Partnership To Develop Diverse Content '' Deadline
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:17
        As the film and TV landscape continue to shift in the wake of civic unrest and demand for social change, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and CBS Television are bolstering progress by entering a multi-year partnership to develop and produce scripted, unscripted and documentary content for linear television networks and streaming platforms.
        The announcement of the agreement was made today by George Cheeks, President and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group, and Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. Under the agreement, CBS Television Studios' creative leaders will work with the NAACP to establish a dedicated team of executives and infrastructure to acquire, develop and produce programming. The partnership will focus on producing premium content that expands the number of diverse voices contributing to an ever-evolving society, and by telling inclusive stories that increase the visibility and impact of Black artists in a growing media landscape.
        Related StoryViacomCBS Sued By A+E Studios Unit Over 'The Lincoln Lawyer' Cancellation; David E Kelly-EP'd Project "Lost Millions," Plaintiff Claims''An important way to diversify and grow our storytelling is to expand our horizons beyond the traditional studio-producer system,'' said Cheeks. ''There is no better partner than the NAACP '' the preeminent civil rights organization in our country '' to help us find, develop and tell these inclusive stories. ''At the same time, this is a strategic opportunity for CBS to build upon as well as re-imagine our pipeline for existing and emerging creative talent.''
        ''In this moment of national awakening, the time has never been better to further tell stories of the African American experience,'' said Johnson. ''Programming and content have the power to shape perspectives and drive conversations around critical issues. This partnership with CBS allows us to bring compelling and important content to a broad audience.''
        The partnership between CBS and NAACP includes a commitment to develop content for the CBS Television Network as well as the ability to sell programming to third-party platforms across the media landscape.
        With this news, CBS continues to forge ahead and possibly lead the charge in an entertainment landscape that is demanding change and inclusivity. On Monday, the network announced that they are committing 25% of its script development budget to projects from creators, writers and producers who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. The initiative is set to kick off with the 2021/22 development season. In addition, it is also mandating that writers' rooms for CBS shows must be staffed with a minimum of 40% BIPOC representation for the 2021/22 broadcast season. This will be increased to 50% for the 2022/23 season.
        On top of that, ViacomCBS merged the diversity and inclusion teams from Viacom and CBS to form a singular D&I team. Marva Smalls, ViacomCBS' Global Head of Inclusion, also created a team of leaders to work with her to help move the needle when it comes to diversity and inclusion at ViacomCBS and foster initiatives that help promote representation.
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      Nate Burleson becomes 'CBS This Morning' co-host: 'The NFL Today' analyst lands new long-term deal with CBS - CBSSports.com
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:17
        Eight years after last playing in the NFL, Nate Burleson is still making plays. CBS announced Wednesday a new long-term deal with "The NFL Today" analyst, expanding the former wide receiver's platform across CBS News and CBS Sports. Most notably, starting this September, Burleson will join "CBS This Morning," the network's flagship morning program, as co-host alongside Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil.
        Burleson, 39, has been a CBS regular since 2017, when he joined "The NFL Today," the network's pregame, halftime and post-game TV show. He'll continue in his game-day role as analyst alongside host James Brown and co-analysts Phil Simms, Bill Cowher and Boomer Esiason under his new deal. From Monday through Saturday, however, he'll now join King and Dokoupil on "CBS This Morning" in place of longtime journalist Anthony Mason, who will also remain with CBS.
        "Nate is an extremely gifted broadcaster, interviewer and storyteller, whose deep curiosity and enthusiasm is the perfect fit for mornings on CBS," said Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. "His wide range of experience and interests -- from news to sports, from music to poetry, and from fashion to cryptocurrency -- provides a unique perspective that will deepen the show's connection with our viewers. He excites audiences in every arena, and we're fortunate to have Nate joining Gayle and Tony at the table in September."
        Burleson, who appeared on "CBS This Morning" as a guest host in May, will also have select yearly appearances on Nickelodeon as part of his new contract. Nickelodeon debuted special kids-themed NFL coverage in 2020, including with a full playoff broadcast, complete with Burleson serving as part of the broadcast team.
        "We are so pleased that Nate will be expanding his role across the ViacomCBS family, bringing his passion for news, sports, entertainment and kids' content all under one umbrella," said CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus. "Nate is a very special talent with the unique ability to connect and engage with a variety of audiences, ages, newsmakers and athletes. We know his star will shine bright on 'CBS This Morning' and during his projects with Nickelodeon, while he continues to elevate us all at 'The NFL Today.'"
        Burleson will also continue to have a role on NFL Network, where he most recently served as a host for the Emmy-nominated "Good Morning Football." He is slated to appear on several shows, including "NFL GameDay" and "NFL Total Access," as well as provide onsite coverage of Super Bow week, NFL Honors and training camp.
      Covid Patient Zero may have been a Wuhan lab worker infected by a bat after all, WHO chief admits | Daily Mail Online
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:14
        The world's first Covid-19 patient may have been infected by a bat while working for a Wuhan lab in China, a World Health Organization chief has admitted.
        Dr Peter Embarek, who led the WHO probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in China, made the shocking claim despite initially dismissing the notion that the virus escaped from a lab as extremely unlikely.
        Now, Embarek has admitted that the lab leak theory could have happened, suggesting that a Chinese researcher could have been infected by a bat while taking samples in connection with research at a Wuhan lab.
        The world's first Covid-19 patient may have been infected by a bat while working for a Wuhan lab in China, Dr Peter Embarek has admitted
        Dr Peter Embarek, who led the WHO probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in China, made the shocking claim despite initially dismissing the notion that the virus escaped from a lab as extremely unlikely. Pictured: Scientists in the Wuhan Institute of Virology
        Embarek told Denmark's television station TV2: 'An employee who was infected in the field by taking samples falls under one of the probable hypotheses.
        'This is where the virus jumps directly from a bat to a human.'
        He explained: 'In that case, it would then be a laboratory worker instead of a random villager or other person who has regular contact with bats. So it is actually in the probable category.'
        The Danish scientist stressed that the WHO investigators found no direct evidence of this.
        But China have long been accused at home and abroad of covering up the initial outbreak and concealing information when it first emerged in Wuhan in December 2019.
        Dr Embarek's comments are a marked reversal on those he made while still in China on the fact-finding mission when he called on scientists to stop investigating the possibility the virus escaped from a lab.
        He also initially insisted there is no evidence of transmission 'in Wuhan or elsewhere' before December 2019.
        But a week later he backtracked and said his team had discovered there were at least 13 Covid variants in Wuhan in December, suggesting the virus had been in development for some time to allow these different strains to develop.
        He also revealed that up to 1,000 people in Wuhan could have been infected in early December - an estimate based on Chinese data that showed 174 severe cases of the disease.
        Dr Peter Embarek visisted the Wuhan Institute of Virology Lab (pictured) during the probe. The lab is where scientists were reportedly conducting experiments on bats and studying bat-based coronaviruses similar to Covid-19 before the pandemic began
        While China has tried to insist the virus originated elsewhere, academics, politicians and the media have begun to contemplate the possibility it leaked from a high-level biochemical lab in Wuhan - raising suspicions that Chinese officials simply hid evidence of the early spread
        Chinese scientists and officials have been keen to point the finger of blame outside their own borders - variously suggesting that the virus could have originated in Bangladesh, the US, Greece, Australia, India, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia or Serbia
        Did Covid originate in Chinese laboratory? The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been collecting numerous coronaviruses from bats ever since the SARS outbreak in 2002.
        They have also published papers describing how these bat viruses have interacted with human cells.
        US Embassy staff visited the lab in 2018 and 'had grave safety concerns' over the protocols which were being observed at the facility.
        The lab is just eight miles from the Huanan wet market which is where the first cluster of infections erupted in Wuhan.
        The market is just a few hundred yards from another lab called the Wuhan Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (WHCDC).
        The WHCDC kept disease-ridden animals in its labs, including some 605 bats.
        Those who support the theory argue that Covid-19 could have leaked from either or both of these facilities and spread to the wet market.
        Most argue that this would have been a virus they were studying rather than one which was engineered.
        Last year a bombshell paper from the Beijing-sponsored South China University of Technology recounted how bats once attacked a researcher at the WHCDC and 'blood of bat was on his skin.'
        One of the researchers at the WHCDC described quarantining himself for two weeks after a bat's blood got on his skin, according to the report. That same man also quarantined himself after a bat urinated on him.
        And he also mentions discovering a live tick from a bat - parasites known for their ability to pass infections through a host animal's blood.
        'The WHCDC was also adjacent to the Union Hospital (Figure 1, bottom) where the first group of doctors were infected during this epidemic.' The report says.
        'It is plausible that the virus leaked around and some of them contaminated the initial patients in this epidemic, though solid proofs are needed in future study.'
        The Huanan wet market, where scientists say the first cluster of infections were officially reported, is just a few hundred yards from the Wuhan Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
        It is also only a few miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virology Lab, where scientists were reportedly conducting experiments on bats and studying bat-based coronaviruses similar to Covid-19 before the pandemic began.
        Questions have since been asked about the role the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab has played in the Covid-19 pandemic.
        In May, Joe Biden ordered US intelligence agencies to conduct a fresh probe of Covid's origins - admitting they are 'split' on whether the virus leaked from the lab.
        The so-called lab leak theory has long been the subject of informed speculation among intelligence services and scientists, but was dismissed as little more than a conspiracy theory after it was touted by then-President Trump last year.
        A WHO report into Covid's origins published earlier this year also dismissed the theory, saying it was 'extremely unlikely' and should not be investigated further.
        Instead, researchers said the virus likely originated in a bat before transferring to an intermediary host and then into humans - while also giving credence to other theories emanating from Beijing, such as it being imported on frozen meat.
        Their report was widely dismissed as a whitewash, including by the US - with diplomats telling the UN last month that the study was 'insufficient and inconclusive'.
        But the WHO has changed their position as WHO director Tedros Ghebreyesus - who has been accused of cosying up to China - said the lab leak theory remained on the table and that all possible origins of Covid should continue to be investigated.
        The report's release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China.
        Ghebreyesus also accused China of failing to share vital raw data during their investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
        Dr Embarek has now laid bare just how difficult it was for his team to access documents and even discuss the lab leak theory with Chinese scientists and officials.
        'Until 48 hours before we finished the whole mission, we still had no agreement that we would talk about the laboratory part of the report, so it was right up to the end that it was discussed whether it should be included or not,' he told the television network.
        The team visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where scientists research bat coronaviruses, Wuhan Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. But during the visits, the WHO investigators were not allowed to look at laboratory documents or books.
        'We did not get to look at laboratory books or documents directly from the laboratory,' Dr Embarek said.
        'We got a presentation, and then we talked about and asked the questions we wanted to ask, but we did not get to look at any documentation at all.'
        The Wuhan Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has not published a report about working with bats since 2013, but Dr Embarek warned that this 'does not mean they have not worked with bats since'.
        And the lab was moved in December 2019 just hundred yards from the wet market where scientists found the first cluster of Covid-19 infections.
        'It is interesting that the laboratory moved on 2 December 2019,' said Dr Embarek. 'This is the period when it all started, and you know what when you move a laboratory, it is disruptive to everything.'
        He added: 'You also have to move the virus collection, sample collection and other collections from one place to another.
        'This whole procedure is always a disruptive element in a laboratory's daily workflow, so at some point it will also be interesting to look at that period and this laboratory.'
        The scientist joined the WHO in 2001 and worked at the agency's China office and advised the Chinese government on food safety and nutrition issues.
        Embarek, who initially dismissed the lab leak theory now says that there should be further investigations into the idea.
        He said: 'When I still think we should investigate the hypothesis of a laboratory leak, it is for several different reasons. One of them is the way the Chinese government has behaved.
        'They have tried to suppress all research in this area. We do not know if it is because they just want to try to control the story, or if it is because they have something to hide.'
        A member of a World Health Organization team is seen wearing protective gear during a field visit to the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center for another day of field visit in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province
        China's official timeline vs new evidence Official timeline
        Dec 8, 2019 - Earliest date that China has acknowledged an infection
        Dec 31 - China first reported 'pneumonia of unknown cause' to the World Health Organisation
        Jan 1, 2020 - Wuhan seafood market closed for disinfection
        Jan 11 - China reported its first death
        Jan 23 - Wuhan locked down
        Jan 31 - WHO declared 'outbreak of international concern' as China admitted having thousands of cases
        Feb 23 - Italy reports cluster of cases in first major outbreak in the West
        New evidence
        Sep 2019 - Blood samples are taken in a lung cancer screening trial in Italy which later test positive for coronavirus
        Oct-Dec - Rise in 'flu and pneumonia' cases in northern Italy which could be linked to coronavirus
        Nov - Sewage samples taken in Florian"polis, Brazil, suggest virus was present
        Nov 10 - Milanese woman has a skin biopsy, producing a sample which later shows signs of the virus
        Nov 17 - Leaked documents suggest case detected in China on this date
        Dec 1 - Chinese researchers report an infection on this date in a peer-reviewed study, but it has not been acknowledged by Beijing
        Dec 18 - Sewage samples taken in Milan and Turin suggest virus was circulating in the cities
        Jan 2020 - Sewage samples from Barcelona suggest virus was in the city
        WHO Chief Ghebreyesus dismissed his own agency's expert report earlier this year after it described the lab-leak theory as 'extremely unlikely'.
        Ghebreyesus accused China of withholding data from a WHO panel and said the lab-leak theory should be studied further, only moments after the publication of the long-awaited report which rejected the idea altogether.
        'Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation,' said Tedros earlier this year.
        'I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing,' he added - in an astonishing rebuke to China for a figure who has long been accused of being too close to Beijing.
        Others have suggested the source of the virus was the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a Chinese lab that is the world's largest centre of research on coronaviruses.
        They believe the virus was either uncovered at the lab - which collects coronaviruses from wild animals - or else engineered through 'gain of function' research.
        Such research involves adding properties such as increased transmissibility to already-existing viruses to study the effects and develop treatments before such diseases crop up in the wild.
        But the research is hugely controversial, with many scientists arguing the risks of creating such viruses far outweigh the potential benefits.
        According to proponents of this theory, the virus then leaked from the lab - possibly by infecting staff who then unwittingly passed it to the general population.
        One intelligence report passed to agencies in Washington claims three members of staff at the laboratory sought hospital treatment in November 2019 - a month before the first official cases of Covid were detected, the Wall Street Journal reported.
        Their symptoms were 'consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness', the report says, calling for further investigation.
        That tallies with a body of evidence suggesting Covid may have been circulating for months before China first reported it to the world - either as a result of the often-mild disease going undetected, or the result of a cover-up.
        Scientists in Italy claim to have detected evidence of Covid in blood samples taken as far back as September 2019, while researchers in Spain say the disease could have been present there in January 2020 - months before the first official case.
        Even the authors of the much-derided WHO report admitted they could not rule out the possibility that Covid was circulating before December 2019.
        But it was not until December 31, 2019 that the WHO's China office was informed of a mystery pneumonia which had sickened 44 people in Wuhan.
        Later, the WHO was informed that at least one patient in Wuhan - a major transport hub - had been showing symptoms as early as December 8.
        A separate WHO-backed report said it was 'clear' that 'public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China' last January.
        It said there was 'potential for early signs to have been acted on more rapidly' by both China and the WHO.
        The criticism was at odds with the WHO's public statements at the time, when it praised China for the 'remarkable speed' with which it responded to the outbreak.
        Beijing has touted its recovery from the early outbreak as a triumph for its Communist leaders, with China's economy the only major one to grow in 2020.
        But numerous reports have detailed how China withheld key details about the virus in its early stages, including from the WHO which has praised China in public.
        The WHO findings will be a PR coup for Beijing and leader Xi Jingping (pictured shaking hands with WHO leader Dr Tedros) with diplomats repeatedly jumping on any evidence that the pandemic which has blighted the world did not start in China
        A young doctor, Li Wenliang, was reprimanded by police after trying to raise the alarm about the disease - and later died of it.
        Human Rights Watch director Ken Roth said the WHO was guilty of 'institutional complicity' when it gave credence to some of Beijing's early claims about the outbreak.
        'WHO has absolutely refused as an institution to say anything critical about China's cover-up of human-to-human transmission, or its ongoing refusal to provide the basic evidence,' he told reporters last month.
        'What we need is an honest, vigorous inquiry rather than further deference to China's cover-up efforts.'
        China has vehemently denied any suggestion that Covid leaked from the lab and has accused the US of 'playing politics' by reigniting suspicion in the theory.
        Instead, Beijing has made a number of incendiary and unsubstantiated allegations that Covid actually originated outside of the country and was imported.
        So-far, researchers and diplomats have pointed the finger of blame at nine countries including the US, Australia and India - all rivals of Beijing.
        The Covid pandemic has so-far infected at least 175million people in virtually every country in the world and killed 3.7million, though both numbers are thought to be large under-estimates.
        The first cases of the virus were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, in what was then reported as 'pneumonia of unknown origin'.
        In January the infections were attributed to a novel virus which was eventually named by the WHO as SARS-CoV-2.
        Many of the original cases were linked to a wet market in the city which sold a mixture of farmed and wild animals, leading to the theory that the disease originated in an animal host before crossing into humans.
        But few now believe the wet market was the original source of the virus, and think the virus may have found its way there from another source before spreading.
        The true source of the virus remains a mystery, with 'patient zero' - the first person to have caught the disease - yet to be identified.
        That has led to competing theories about where, when and how the virus first crossed into humans - though researchers all agree that answering these questions are vital to understanding Covid, and preventing future pandemics.
        Many researchers and a portion of the US intelligence community still back the 'zoonotic spillover' hypothesis which suggests the virus originated in animals before crossing into humans during contact between the two species.
        Proponents of this theory say the virus likely originated in bats, because other similar viruses have been found in the animals before.
        The virus is then said to have jumped directly from bats into humans - or, because contact between bats and humans is rare, it may have infected a secondary host that is more commonly found around people before making the jump.
        The great cover-up of China: Beijing punished Covid whistleblower, claimed it came from US and 'lied about death figures' China has lied and covered up key information during virtually every stage of its coronavirus response - from the initial outbreak to the number of cases and deaths, and is still not telling the truth, observers, experts and politicians have warned.
        Beijing initially tried to cover up the virus by punishing medics who discovered it, denying it could spread person-to-person and delaying a lockdown of affected regions - meaning early opportunities to control the spread were lost.
        Then, once the virus began spreading, the Communist Party began censoring public information about it and spread disinformation overseas - including suggesting that US troops could have been the initial carriers.
        Even now, prominent politicians have warned that infection and death totals being reported by the regime are likely to be wrong - with locals in the epicenter of Wuhan suggesting the true tolls could be ten times higher.
        Initial outbreak
        Doctors in China, including Li Wenliang, began reporting the existence of a new type of respiratory infection that was similar to SARS in early December last year.
        But rather than publicise the reports and warn the public, Chinese police hauled Wenliang and eight of his colleagues who had been posting about the virus online in for questioning.
        Wenliang, who would later die from the virus, was forced to sign a document admitting the information he published was false.
        While China has been widely-praised for a draconian lockdown that helped slow the spread of the virus, evidence suggests that the country could have acted much quicker to prevent the spread.
        Dr Li Wenliang, one of the first Chinese medics to report the existence of the new coronavirus, was forced by police to confess to spreading false data. He later died from the virus
        Samples analysed as early as December 26 suggested a new type of SARS was circulating, the Washington Post reported, but Wuhan was not locked down until January 22 - almost a month later.
        Wuhan's mayor also admitted an error that allowed 5million people to travel out of the city before the lockdown came into place without being checked for the virus, potentially helping it to spread.
        Chinese authorities have also been reluctant to had over information on the country's 'patient zero' - or the first person known to have contracted the virus.
        While Beijing claims the first infection took place on December 8, researchers have traced the virus back to at least December 1 and anecdotal evidence suggests it was spreading in November.
        A lack of information about the first patient has meant scientists are still unclear how the disease made the leap from animals into humans.
        Theories include that it could have been carried by a bat or pangolin that was sold at a market in Wuhan and then eaten by someone, but this has not been confirmed.
        Early reports
        Chinese authorities initially reported that the virus could not spread person-to-person, despite evidence that it was spreading rapidly through the city of Wuhan including doctors being infected by patients.
        This was used as justification for keeping the city of Wuhan operating as normal through a major CCP conference that was held between January 11 and 17, with authorities claiming zero new cases in this period.
        China did not confirm human-to-human transmission of the virus until late January, when large parts of Hubei province including Wuhan were put into lockdown.
        Despite reporting the existence of a 'novel type of pneumonia' to the World Health Organisation on December 31, Wuhan's largest newspaper also made no mention of the virus until the week of January 20.
        That meant people in the city were not taking precautions such as social distancing to stop it spreading.
        It also meant that people had begun travelling for the Lunar New Year holiday, which was due to start on January 24 and sees millions of people visit relatives, spreading the virus further.
        Furthermore, China delayed reports suggesting that some 14 per cent of patients who initially tested negative for the virus or who appeared to have recovered tested positive a second time, only confirming such cases in February.
        That further hampered efforts at early containment of the virus in places such as Japan, where patients who tested negative on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship were allowed to leave - only to test positive later.
        Authorities in Beijing were also slow to report the deaths of two doctors from the virus, including one who was killed on January 25 but whose death was not reported by state media until a month later.
        The market was shut on January 1 after dozens of workers there had contracted the disease
        Origin of the virus
        Despite early admissions that the virus began in the city of Wuhan, China later back-tracked - even going so far as to suggest American troops had brought the infection over after visiting the province.
        Lijian Zhao, a prominent official within the Chinese Foreign Ministry, tweeted out the claim on March 12 while providing no evidence to substantiate it.
        'When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals,' he wrote.
        Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused American military members of bringing the coronavirus to Wuhan
        Referencing a military athletics tournament in Wuhan in October, which US troops attended, he wrote: 'It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.
        'Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!'
        In fact, America's 'patient zero' was a man who travelled from China to Washington State on January 15. The case was confirmed by the CDC six days later.
        Chinese has also tried to push the theory that the virus originated in Italy, the country with the most deaths, by distorting a quote from an Italian doctor who suggested the country's first cases could have occurred much earlier than thought.
        Zhao spread the theory in a tweet, while providing no evidence to back it up
        Giuseppe Remuzzi said he is investigating strange cases of pneumonia as far back as December and November, months before the virus was known to have spread.
        Chinese state media widely reported his comments while also suggesting that the virus could have originated in Italy.
        In fact, Remuzzi says, there can be no doubt it started in Wuhan - but may have spread out of the province and across the world earlier than thought.
        Infection total
        China has reported a total of some 82,000 infections from coronavirus, claiming a domestic infection rate of zero for several days in a row recently - even as it eased lockdown restrictions in placed like Hubei.
        But, by the country's own admission, the virus is likely still spreading - via people who have few or no symptoms.
        Beijing-based outlet Caixin reported that 'a couple to over 10 cases of covert infections of the virus are being detected' in China every day, despite not showing up in official data.
        Meanwhile foreign governments have heaped scorn on China's infection reporting cannot be trusted.
        Marco Rubio, a prominent Republican senator and former presidential candidate from the US, tweeted that 'we have NO IDEA how many cases China really has' after the US infection total passed Beijing's official figure.
        'Without any doubt it's significantly more than what they admit to,' he added.
        Meanwhile the UK government has also cast doubt on China's reporting, with Conservative minister and former Prime Ministerial candidate Michael Gove claiming the Communist Party could not be trusted.
        'Some of the reporting from China was not clear about the scale, the nature, the infectiousness of this [virus],' he told the BBC.
        Meanwhile sources told the Mail that China's true infection total could be anything up to 40 times as high as reports had suggested.
        Marco Rubio, a prominent Republican senator, has said that China's figures cannot be trusted and a far higher than has been reported
        Death total
        Doubt has also been cast on China's reported death toll from the virus, which currently stands at around 3,300.
        Locals in epicenter city Wuhan have been keeping an eye on funeral homes since lockdown restrictions were partly lifted, claiming they have been 'working around the clock' to dispose of bodies.
        China has reported 3,300 deaths from the virus, but social media users in Wuhan have suggested the toll could be in excess of 42,000
        Social media posts estimate that 3,500 urns are being handed out by crematoriums each day, while Caixin reports that one funeral home in the city placed an order for 5,000 urns.
        Locals believe that efforts to dispose of the bodies began March 23 and city authorities have said the process will end on or around April 5.
        That would mean roughly 42,000 urns handed out in that time frame, ten times the reported figure.
        Chinese aid packages
        As it brought its own coronavirus epidemic under control and as the disease spread across the rest of the world, China attempted to paint itself as a helpful neighbour by sending aid and supplies to countries most in need - such as Italy.
        In fact, while the Chinese Red Cross supplied some free equipment to the Italians, the country purchased a large amount of what it received.
        Meanwhile officials in Spain said that a batch of coronavirus testing kits bought from China had just 30 per cent reliability - unlike the 80 per cent they were promised.
        China has said it is willing to help supply the world with much needed aid and supplies, but has been accused of hoarding protective equipment and selling test kits that don't work
        China is also the world's largest manufacturer of disposable masks of the kind being worn to slow the spread of the virus by people while out in public.
        But as the disease began gathering speed in the country in January, China began limiting exports of the masks while also buying up supplies from other countries, the New York Times reported.
        As well as halting virtually all exports of masks, China also bought up some 56million masks and respirators from overseas while fears of a pandemic were still far off.
        Despite reports from US mask manufacturers of factories in Shanghai being effectively nationalised, China denies it has any such policy in place and has said it is 'willing to strengthen international cooperation' on the issue.
      ECU-tuned cars will now automatically flunk California smog testing - Roadshow
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:09
        Smog checks aren't anything new in CA, but this rule change is something to be aware of.
        Barry Lewis/Getty Images Here's a good reminder to anyone running a tuned car out in California : As of today, July 19, the state's notoriously strict smog testing will automatically fail any car when it detects modified software onboard, aka, a tuned ECU. Drivers can't register a car in the state unless it's passed a smog check. Car Bibles first spotted the updated policy and the California Bureau of Automotive Repair confirms the changes on its website.
        All is not lost for those driving a modified car in need of a smog check, though. The state government says drivers can simply restore the ECU to the OEM standard, pass the smog test and then do whatever they'd like after that. As long as your car won't puke its guts out running a stock map, drivers should be all right. This is, more than anything, a good reminder of the policy change.
        In addition, California smog testing will still have zero issues with cars running ECU tunes with a California Air Resources Board Executive Order. These EO tunes receive approval from CARB, so companies can still sell their tuning services in the state without any emissions repercussions. If you're running an EO ECU tune, there's no need to worry about this new policy at all. In addition, the policy doesn't change anything regarding vehicles from the 1975 model year and older. They still don't need a smog check for registration in the state. Cars nine years or older than their sale date still require a smog check every other year.
        Climb in the driver's seat for the latest car news and reviews, delivered to your inbox twice weekly.
      Illinois Now Has a COVID-19 Vaccine Verification System | Chicago News | WTTW
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 18:05
        Individuals are issued a COVID-19 vaccination card when they're vaccinated. (Kristen Thometz / WTTW News)
        Illinois residents ages 18 and older no longer need to worry about carrying their COVID-19 vaccine cards with them to provide proof of inoculation against the virus.
        The Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday launched a new immunization portal dubbed Vax Verify that will allow residents to access their COVID-19 vaccination record online.
        ''As more businesses, events, organizations, and others require proof of vaccination, Illinois residents will be able to confirm using Vax Verify that they have been vaccinated for COVID-19,'' said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike in a statement. ''With the current surge in cases, more people are making the decision to get a COVID-19 vaccine and this new tool will aid residents in confirming their vaccination where needed.''
        Nearly 6.5 million Illinois residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with more than 7 million receiving at least one dose of a vaccine, according to IDPH vaccine data.
        In order to download proof of vaccination, residents must go through a brief, one-time identity verification process to gain access to their immunization history, according to officials. The state of Illinois uses the credit reporting company Experian as its identity verification provider. If an individual has a freeze on their credit, they will need to unfreeze it with Experian and wait 24 hours before completing the registration process. Once registration is complete, individuals can re-freeze their credit by contacting Experian.
        After the verification process, individuals can see their own record in the Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry Exchange (I-CARE), according to officials, who say immunizations are confidential and can only be accessed by the individual they belong to. Residents with common names will need to take additional steps to securely prove their identities.
        The announcement comes a day before the Illinois State Fair opens in Springfield, which requires proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for access to some events.
        Contact Kristen Thometz: @kristenthometz | (773) 509-5452 | [email protected]
      COVID Vaccine in Pregnancy Means Healthier Births, Babies: Studies - Consumer Health News | HealthDay
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:56
        THURSDAY, Aug. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Since COVID-19 and three vaccines to help prevent it arrived in the United States, questions have swirled about their impact on pregnant women, new moms and infants.
        How would the virus affect them and their health risks? Should women get the vaccine while pregnant or breastfeeding?
        The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered an emphatic answer to those questions on Aug. 11, recommending all women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy get vaccinated. The vaccines are safe and effective, CDC leaders said.
        The announcement came the same day JAMA Network Open published a pair of groundbreaking studies addressing the issues.
        One focused on the potentially devastating impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on pregnant women, and the other on whether a new mom's COVID shot might confer benefits on her breastfed baby.
        "Vaccination is the best method to reduce maternal and fetal complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection," said Dr. Jennifer Jolley, co-author of the new study on outcomes for expectant moms. "There are no specific exclusions to the recommendation for vaccination, and pregnant patients that have additional [diseases or medical conditions] are at elevated risk of adverse maternal outcomes from COVID-19 disease."
        In the study, her team reported that the virus increases the risk of serious infection and death for pregnant women. It can also lead to a preterm birth with serious, long-term health effects for babies.
        "Anything we can do to lower the chance that a mom and therefore a baby could be critically ill, I think, is absolutely warranted," said Jolley, an associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Irvine.
        She and her colleagues reviewed data from close to 870,000 women who gave birth at nearly 500 U.S. medical centers between March 2020 and February 2021.
        About 2% of the women -- 18,715 in all -- had COVID-19. Most were 18 to 30 years of age; they were more likely than those without the virus to be Black or Hispanic patients, the study said.
        Besides being more likely than others to have a preterm birth, the women with COVID had significantly higher rates of admission to the intensive care unit, respiratory intubation and mechanical ventilation.
        "The CDC has determined that pregnant individuals are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared to non-pregnant people," said study co-leader Dr. Ninh Nguyen, head of surgery at UC Irvine. "This study expands our knowledge about risk for adverse outcomes."
        Specifically, it reported that women with COVID had 15 times the risk of dying while in the hospital to give birth, compared to women without the virus.
        And, researchers noted, respiratory failure requiring intubation in a pregnant patient can also impact the fetus, which depends on oxygen supplied by the mother through the placenta.
        The CDC said an analysis of data from the v-safe COVID-19 Vaccine Pregnancy Registry found no increased risk of miscarriage among nearly 2,500 women who received an mRNA COVID vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy. It added that three safety monitoring systems found no safety concerns for women vaccinated late in pregnancy or for their babies.
        "If you haven't gotten the vaccine yet and you are pregnant, get it right away, as soon as possible," said Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, a New Jersey pediatrician who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding. She wasn't part of the study but reviewed the new research.
        "This study just highlights the importance of prevention," she said, noting that COVID is preventable through vaccination and the vaccines are safe. Meanwhile, babies delivered preterm are susceptible to development issues and lifelong respiratory illnesses, Feldman-Winter added.
        In a second study published Aug. 11 in JAMA Network Open, researchers in Spain reported that breast milk of 33 women who had the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine contained antibodies for COVID-19 that increased after the second dose.
        None of the women in the study had been infected with COVID before getting the vaccine. The main limitation of the study was its small size. The researchers, led by Dr. Vicens Diaz-Brito of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de D(C)u in Barcelona, also did not determine if antibody levels in breast milk decrease or plateau later after vaccination.
        But Feldman-Winter noted that human milk has immune components that can teach an infant's immune system to respond to antigens, substances in blood that trigger the body to fight back. Other studies have shown that kids who are breastfed can get more robust responses to vaccines, Feldman-Winter said. This study reported the moms are making good immune responses to the vaccine, she said.
        "If she's breastfeeding, that immune response is carried over and lasts at least a month," Feldman-Winter said.
        While doctors don't know how much longer it lasts, she said the benefit probably continues as long as the mother produces milk, providing continued protection as the baby breastfeeds.
        If so, that's a plus, Feldman-Winter said, "because we don't have a vaccine yet for babies and babies can get COVID."
        More information
        The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information on COVID-19.
        SOURCES: Jennifer Jolley, MD, associate clinical professor, obstetrics and gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of California, Irvine; Ninh Nguyen, MD, chair, Department of Surgery, University of California, Irvine; Lori Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH, chair, American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Breastfeeding, and pediatrician, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, N.J.; JAMA Network Open, Aug. 11, 2021
      Opium-Smuggling Taliban Leader's Release from Prison Raises Questions | Asharq AL-awsat
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:51
        Eleven Taliban commanders have been released from a high-security prison in Afghanistan, according to Taliban officials, in an apparent deal that included a prominent regional leader caught five years ago personally escorting a shipment of nearly a ton of opium.
        Afghan and American officials have remained silent about the releases from the prison, near the Bagram Air Base outside Kabul. A senior Afghan official said the 11 Taliban prisoners had been released in return for three Indian engineers after months of negotiations with local Taliban commanders in northern Baghlan province, where the engineers were kidnapped last year. The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan declined to comment.
        The releases, which took place on Sunday, came just days after Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States diplomat and chief negotiator with the Taliban, went to Islamabad, Pakistan, and met with Taliban representatives. It was Khalilzad's first meeting with them since President Trump called off negotiations with the insurgents on the eve of a potential breakthrough.
        The potential release of thousands of Taliban prisoners was part of those negotiations. But that issue was a main point of contention with Afghan officials who were furious that their government was excluded from those talks, and that the United States was negotiating the release of prisoners being held under Afghan authority.
        It was unclear whether the releases on Sunday had anything to do with negotiations between the United States and the Taliban. In Afghanistan, however, rumors were rife '-- not only among Afghan and Taliban officials, but also some diplomats '-- that a separate prisoner exchange had been a major topic of discussion in the Islamabad meeting between the Khalilzad and the Taliban.
        The insurgents have been holding three American University of Afghanistan professors since August 2016, one of them an American said to be in poor health. In return for their release, the Taliban have demanded the release of Anas Haqqani, a member of the feared Haqqani network, a wing of the Taliban. He is a stepbrother of the network's leader and is one of the most prized prisoners of the Afghan government.
        Some Afghan and Taliban officials suggested the two sides might have reached an agreement on the swap, possibly as a trust building measure that could help revive the broader peace negotiations.
        The release of prisoners in itself was not unusual, with the Afghan government on occasions of religious festivals often pardoning dozens whose prison terms are near completion.
        But what has drawn attention to this latest release is the notoriety of one Taliban figure in particular: Abdul Rashid Baluch, who was on the United States Treasury Department's ''Specially Designated Global Terrorist'' list and was arrested in a narcotics raid five years ago.
        Baluch was a Taliban shadow governor, a regional official in charge of military and political operations in the southwestern province of Nimroz, when he was caught with a huge shipment of opium. The drug bust was held up as a major revelation in how the line between Taliban insurgents and the narcotics mafia had blurred in Afghanistan. (Taliban officials have denied that Baluch was involved in drug trafficking.)
        Despite evidence of Baluch's involvement in terrorist attacks, Afghan prosecutors deliberately tried him on stricter counternarcotics charges. They feared that the counterterrorism process was vulnerable to political deal-making.
        Now, the release of Baluch, especially if it is tied to the United States peace talks with the Taliban, once again brings to the fore the concern that the American negotiations did not address the complexity of the conflict '-- and particularly how to consider the Taliban's increasing hold on the massive drug trade in the country.
        If his release was a unilateral Afghan government decision, it is unlikely that the Afghan government would decide on the fate of a United States-designated terrorist figure without first consulting the Americans.
        Baluch was arrested in Nimroz, a smuggling hub on the border with Iran, in July 2014. An Afghan special forces helicopter swooped down on two vehicles racing through the desert, seizing nearly a metric ton of opium, light and heavy weapons, ammunition and satellite phones. The main person they detained had insisted he was a carpet seller, giving his name as Muhammad shaq, but investigators confirmed his identity as Abdul Rashid Baluch when he was transferred to Kabul, the Afghan capital.
        Both Afghan and Western officials at the time played up his case, and his arrest in a counternarcotics operation rather than a counterterrorism raid. He was tried in the country's high-security drug court and given an 18-year sentence.
        His release now, under circumstances lacking transparency, is the latest instance of a major drug smuggler going free.
        The United States has spent more than $8 billion on narcotics operations in Afghanistan, according to the United States Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Throughout the course of the war, American officials have shifted antidrug strategies several times.
        The New York Times
      Moderna CEO predicts another 12 to 18 months of coronavirus mutations | Healthcare IT News
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:29
        LAS VEGAS '' When the COVID-19 pandemic first began to set off alarm bells among epidemiologists in late 2019, Moderna had 800 employees. That year, it had made 100,000 doses of product. It planned to launch its first vaccine around 2024.
        But when Chief Executive Officer St(C)phane Bancel got the call to develop a vaccine against the emerging disease, he felt confident that the company could go from a genetic sequence of the virus to a clinical-grade product in a matter of months.
        "They all thought I was nuts '' the funny French guy with the French accent," Bancel said during a HIMSS21 View from the Top session on Wednesday, hosted by VMware president Sumit Dhawan.
        Fast forward to a now familiar story: millions of Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, many of them with the mRNA vaccine that Moderna produced.
        We're of course not out of the woods. The Delta variant has torn through the world. And although unvaccinated people feel the effects particularly severely, vaccinated people are also experiencing breakthrough infections.
        "The virus is never going to go away from the planet," said Bancel. He guessed that it would continue mutating "a lot" through the summer or the end of 2022.
        "I think there's another 12 to 18 months of '... mutations coming," he predicted, and those mutations could combine. He believes the so-called Beta variant, first identified in South Africa, and the Delta variant are likely to do so soon.
        "The good news is the vaccines are working well at preventing hospitalization and severe disease," he said.
        Moderna's team, he said, is working on booster shots and tweaking the sequence to try and respond to those variants.
        "The next 12 to 18 months are still going to be pretty intense, pretty complicated," he said.
        After that, he sees a future in which few enough people get infected that the mutation rate slows '' that, similar to the flu, people will get a shot every year aimed at protecting them from the most recent variant.
        In fact, one of Moderna's goals is to create a vaccine that would combat both respiratory illnesses.
        In the meantime, he said, it's important for unvaccinated people to get inoculated, "because the virus is only going to grow more and more virulent, more and more infectious."
        Bancel also described initiatives at Moderna to enhance digital capabilities, such as its partnership with a California university to get all employees up to speed on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
        "We as leaders in enterprise have to understand that sometimes technology is way ahead of where the human brain is, and part of our job is to get people to the place where they can embrace and leverage it," he said.
        Looking ahead, Dhawan noted advances in 5G as a heartening signal of innovation, saying VMware is investing in research and development as well as working with telecommunication providers to expand connectivity.
        For his part, Bancel foresees what he called a democratization of healthcare.
        "I believe the pandemic made a lot of people realize that they didn't know much about [their] health," he said.
        He predicted the development of technology that provides actionable, customized advice to patients based on their individual circumstances.
        Even with the challenges posed by the last few years, "It's an exciting time to be alive ... and to contribute to science and technology to make the world a better place."
        HIMSS21 CoverageAn inside look at the innovation, education, technology, networking and key events at the HIMSS21 Global Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas.
        Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.Twitter: @kjercichEmail: kjercich@himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
      Deadly Lambda Covid-19 variant could be vaccine-resistant
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:28
        As the US struggles to suppress the rapidly advancing coronavirus Delta variant, new evidence has emerged that the latest Lambda mutation '-- ravaging parts of South America '-- won't be slowed by vaccines.
        In a July 28 report appearing on bioRxiv, where the study awaits peer review prior to getting published, researchers in Japan are sounding the alarm on the C.37 variant, dubbed Lambda. And it's proven just as virulent as Delta thanks to a similar mutation making them even more contagious.
        The strain has been contained in 26 countries, including substantial outbreaks in Chile, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador.
        ''Notably, the vaccination rate in Chile is relatively high; the percentage of the people who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine was [about] 60%,'' the authors write.
        ''Nevertheless, a big COVID-19 surge has occurred in Chile in Spring 2021, suggesting that the Lambda variant is proficient in escaping from the antiviral immunity elicited by vaccination,'' they warn.
        The Lambda variant is thought to have emerged somewhere in South America between November and December 2020, and has since turned up in countries throughout Europe, North America and a few more isolated cases in Asia, according to GISAID data.
        Researchers have provided new evidence that the ballooning Lambda variant may be as contagious as Delta, while also evading vaccine efforts. Izumi Kimura et al.The proportion the Lambda variant has of COVID-19 cases in the US is low with just one-tenth of 1% of the share '-- about 911 cases. Compare that to Delta, which has infected some 77,692 Americans so far.
        ''In addition to increasing viral infectivity, the Delta variant exhibits higher resistance to the vaccine-induced neutralization,'' the authors said. ''Similarly, here we showed that the Lambda variant equips not only increased infectivity but also resistance against antiviral immunity.''
        Lambda has so far been labeled a ''variant of interest'' by the World Health Organization, compared to the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta strains, which have all risen to ''variant of concern,'' or VOC, status.
        The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published scant literature on the Lambda variant, though a COVID-19 vaccine briefing from July 27 cited another pre-print study, dated July 3, which concluded that the mRNA vaccine in particular is thought to effectively neutralize the Lambda variant.
        In Chile, where C.37 is proliferating, their notably aggressive vaccine campaign relied predominantly on the Sinovac Biotech vaccine, which employs the inactivated virus to promote the production of COVID-19 antibodies.
        Meanwhile, doctors are urging patients to get fully vaccinated in order to mitigate the severity of illness if infected with COVID-19 and its variants. Studies have shown that vaccines are effective at reducing deadly outcomes of COVID-19 '-- and a booster shot may be even better, prompting the Food and Drug Administration to consider providing third vaccine doses to people with compromised immune systems.
        In a recent appearance on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci concluded, ''There's no doubt that over time, you're going to have an attenuation of protection.''
        Medical personnel remove the corpse of a COVID-19 victim in Arequipa, Peru. AFP via Getty Images
      New York Supreme Court Sides With Project Veritas--NYT Will Now Be Deposed
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:25
        Beat Big Tech: Join Our New Telegram Channel!Follow us on GETTRFollow us on RumbleFantastic news.
        The New York Supreme Court is siding with Project Veritas.
        This will lead to the New York Times being deposed.
        BREAKING: New York Supreme Court sides with Project Veritas and they will now be permitted to depose The New York Times. pic.twitter.com/SvdCQtnj9b
        '-- Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 12, 2021
        From James O'Keefe:
        Fresh off the press: The New York Supreme Court has sided with Project Veritas: Project Veritas will be permitted to depose The New York Times. And for the first time in history, you'll be right there with us to witness it.
        As you know, we sued the Times for claiming our Minnesota ballot harvesting video was ''deceptive.'' The New York Times attempted to dismiss the case and we won a historic victory when the New York Supreme Court denied the motion, ruling that the terms ''deceptive'' and ''disinformation'' apply to the New York Times' reporters' actions and claims. The Times appealed and then asked the Court to issue a stay that would effectively prohibit us from depositing the Times until the appeal is resolved '' a process that could last up to three years.
        The Court today issued a mic drop of an opinion: ''Here, having failed to convince the Court that [Project Veritas'] case should be dismissed, [The New York Times] also failed to demonstrate the extraordinary justification required for the imposition of the drastic remedy of a stay pending appeal.'' The Court noted that ''despite the fact that [the New York Times has] been permitted to file anti-SLAPP motions to dismiss for decades, the [New York Times] here failed to cite any cases in which an unsuccessful moving was granted a stay pending appeal[.]''
        Ladies and gentlemen: Let the depositions begin. Stay tuned. We're about to drop the first New York Times
        Another win for Project Veritas!
        The Palmieri Report is a Pro-America News Outlet founded by Jacob Palmieri four 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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      Parents Choice Wauwatosa
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:24
        UPDATE: Thank you fo visiting. Our Twitter account lasted only 24 hours before it was suspended. The reasons Twitter gave for the suspension were; creating serial and/or multiple accounts with overlapping uses, evading a permanent suspension by creating or using another account, cross-posting Tweets or links across multiple accounts, aggressive following, particularly through automated means. We did not break any of these rules. Dissent is not allowed, they fear organized parents.
        We are a group of parents who have one simple goal; we demand the freedom to make medical and educational decisions that we deem are in the best interest of our children.
        Our initial goal is to respectfully resist the Wauwatosa School District's Re-entry Plan for the 2021-22 school year and demand the district stays with an in-person, 5 day-a-week education model at all costs and leave masking decisions up to the child's parents.
        Do you agree?
        We believe a 5 day-a-week, in-person mode of education should be the default, not something that is held as a carrot on a stick.
        We believe parents should decide if their children should or should not wear a mask, not bureaucrats.
        We believe child welfare decisions are the parents' choice.
        Take the pledge.The only way we will achieve change is to join together and take a stand.
        I pledge to send my child to their first day of school without a mask if I deem one not to be necessary.
        I pledge to respectfully resist the Wauwatosa School District's Re-entry Plan for the 2021-22 school year and demand the district stays with an in-person, 5 day-a-week education model at all costs.
        Please fill out the form so we can measure our success and keep everyone up-to-date on how many families have taken the pledge. We do not sell, rent, or lease our contact data or lists to third parties, and we will not provide your personal information to any third-party individual, government agency, or company.
      TN pastor claims governor has authorized creation of 'quarantine camps'
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 17:17
        by: Josh Breslow
        Posted:
        Aug 10, 2021 / 10:05 AM CDT / Updated:
        Aug 10, 2021 / 10:05 AM CDTPastor Greg Locke (Photo: WKRN)
        MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) '-- The pastor of a Mt. Juliet church claims Governor Bill Lee has allowed for the creation of ''quarantine camps'' for Tennesseans who refuse to get vaccinated.
        During service on Sunday at Global Vision Bible Church, Pastor Greg Locke told the crowd that the governor has ''authorized the Tennessee department of FEMA to build what they call, in his own authorized pages of a signature, 'quarantine camps.'''
        He continued, ''I ain't talking about East Germany, I'm talking about Tennessee.''
        '''Quarantine camps,' for the uninformed people that are still in refusal to be vaccinated,'' Locke explained. ''If that don't bother you, you might as well show up at another church next week because I'm gonna keep raising Cain about all this nonsense. I don't care what Bill Lee says.''
        The portion of Gov. Lee's Executive Order 83 that Locke appeared to be referencing is bullet point #18, which states:
        ''Temporary quarantine and isolation facilities may be constructed. The provisionsof Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-11-202( c )( 1 )-(8), are hereby suspendedto allow for the construction of temporary structures, the plans for which wouldotherwise be subject to review for new construction, additions, or substantialalterations, as directed by the Commissioner of Health and the Director of TEMAin response to COVID-19; provided, that there shall be inspections of suchstructures to ensure safety, as necessary.''
        While the Tennessee Department of Health reports 11% of hospital floor beds and 8% of ICU beds are available in the state, Pastor Locke expressed his disagreement.
        ''They're talking about all these hospitals are overflowing with people. Why don't you carry a camera in one of these hospitals that's supposed to be overflowing with COVID patients and show me how empty they are? These chicks are in there doing TikTok dances,'' the pastor told his congregation.
        Pastor Locke said last month during another service that his congregation should not buy into the Delta variant ''nonsense,'' and added that he would kick out members who show up in a mask.
        During the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Pastor Locke announced he had no plans to stop holding service despite a warning from Gov. Bill Lee, who had urged churches to move their services online.
        The Tennessee Department of Health reports nearly 46% of people statewide have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while approximately 40% of residents are fully vaccinated.
        There are 38,563 people actively infected with the virus in Tennessee, as of Tuesday morning, according to state health officials.
      Opinion | Behold Barack Antoinette - The New York Times
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:57
        Maureen Dowd
        Aug. 14, 2021
        Robert Redford with his Daisy, Mia Farrow, in 1974's ''The Great Gatsby.'' Credit... Paramount Pictures, via Everett Collection WASHINGTON '-- Jay Gatsby gave big, lavish, new-money parties at his sprawling mansion on the water because he wanted to seem cool. He wanted Daisy to notice him.
        Barack Obama gave a big, lavish, new-money party at his sprawling mansion on the water because he wanted to seem cool. Being cool is important to him.
        One difference is that Gatsby opened his house to the uninvited. Obama closed his house to many of the invited after getting flak for hosting ''a celebrity mosh pit,'' as Stephen Colbert called it, while officials were telling people to mask back up.
        It's hard to stop thinking about the over-the-top fete the former president held at his Martha's Vineyard manse for his 60th birthday. It is such a perfect taxonomy of the Obama arc.
        As president, he didn't try hard enough on things we needed. He was a diffident debutante with a distaste for politics. Post-presidency, he is trying too hard on things we don't need. The culture is already swimming in Netflix deals, celebrity worship, ostentatious displays of wealth, not to mention podcasts. Did the world really need ''Renegades,'' his duet with Bruce Springsteen?
        We already knew Obama gravitated to stars but it was disillusioning to see it on such a grand scale last weekend.
        ''I think the nouveaux riches Obamas are seriously tone-deaf,'' said the authority on opulence, Andr(C) Leon Talley. ''We all love Beyonc(C). But people have so many things to worry about with Covid, voting rights, climate warming. People are afraid of being evicted from their homes. And the Obamas are in Marie-Antoinette, tacky, let-them-eat-cake mode. They need to remember their humble roots.''
        Obama was a cool cat as a candidate in 2008, but after he won, he grew increasingly lofty. Now he's so far above the ground, he doesn't know what's cool. You can't be cool if you diss the people who took risks for you when you were a junior senator '-- only a few years out from paying off your student loans '-- taking on the fearsome Clinton machine.
        Many of those who helped Obama achieve the moonshot, becoming the first African American president and then becoming uber rich, were disinvited.
        The party crystallized the caricature of the Democratic Party that Joe Biden had to fight against in order to get elected. It was as far from Flint and Scranton as you can imagine: an orgy of the 1 percent '-- private jets, Martha's Vineyard, limousine liberals and Hollywood whoring '-- complete with a meat-free menu.
        The disinvitados, as one referred to them, were in four camps: Some didn't care; some pretended they didn't care; some were annoyed; and some were deeply hurt, especially loyal former staffers who felt they had contributed more to the Obama legacy than the likes of George Clooney, John Legend and Don Cheadle.
        There were pop-up Plan B gatherings on the island and gallows humor among the iced. One joked that he would have liked to go mostly to see the old Obama gang from campaigns, except, oops, they weren't there.
        Colbert, who was disinvited, joked that he was axed because the president had to limit the guest list to ''only his closest Beyonc(C)s.''
        Only one person was thrilled to be disinvited and you can guess who it was. When he got a call from the former president's assistant, Larry David (who has a home on the island) figured he was going to be asked to perform. He went into a tailspin, trying to think of what routine he could come up with in three days.
        ''I was pretty glum when I finally called back his assistant,'' David said in an email. ''When he told me I was eighty-sixed from the party, I was so relieved I screamed, 'Thank you! Thank you!' He must have thought I was insane. Then I hung up the phone, poured myself a drink and finished my crossword puzzle.''
        Whether the party was 500 or 300 or 30, Obama should have made sure to have the people there who made the moment possible, the ones who worked so hard to get him elected and cement his legacy.
        David Axelrod, Pygmalion to Obama's Galatea, was a disinvitado, which he handled with his usual grace. Rahm Emanuel, the former Obama chief of staff who helped him navigate the first two successful years of his presidency, was also disinvited and quipped in the Times story by Annie Karni that getting voted off the island was character-building.
        Obama would not have been president if Nancy Pelosi had not subtly put her high-heeled shoe on the scale for him against Hillary Clinton and her chances to be the first woman president. And he would not have gotten health care passed without Pelosi. She wasn't there.
        It was a bombshell when Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama in 2008 along with her uncle Teddy, a turning point in the primary against Hillary. After being disinvited from the party, Kennedy had the speaker at her home on the island for dinner. ''I would have disinvited me if I was him,'' she joked.
        David Geffen, whose endorsement of Obama and break with Hillary was instrumental, didn't even get an invite.
        One disinvitado joked that he's going to throw a surprise 61st birthday party for Obama. ''As long as they had anything to do with passing health care, rescuing the auto industry and saving the economy from a Great Depression,'' he said, ''they're invited.''
      Swiss Police Reject the 'Great Reset': 'We Work for the People, NOT the Elite' | Neon Nettle
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:47
        Cops in Switzerland rise up against government-imposed restrictions
        on&nbsp12th August 2021 @ 12.00pm
        (C) press Swiss police are refusing to support 'the great reset'Police in Switzerland are rising up against the "Great Reset" by refusing to enforce government-imposed restrictions on the general public.
        A group representing Swiss police officers wrote a letter to the Swiss Federation of Police Officers (FSFP) declaring that cops work for the people and not the global elite.
        The group warned they will not enforce restrictive measures that disproportionately undermine the fundamental rights of citizens.
        ''If the measures were to conflict with the general opinion of the population, disproportionately limiting their fundamental rights, many police officers would no longer be willing to apply them,'' the group wrote in the letter.
        While the letter was received favorably by the Swiss public, the FSFP attempted to downplay the uprising by claiming it only represents a small number of police officers.
        Adrian Gaugler of the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders went further, threatening the officers with sanctions if they refused to enforce the measures.
        (C) press Swiss police say they work for the people, not the global elite''An officer who refuses to enforce the law can be punished,'' said Gaugler.
        ''Police refusing to enforce coronavirus measures is not unique to Switzerland,'' writes Chris Tomlinson.
        ''Earlier this year, police in the Canadian province of Ontario rejected new powers given by the provincial government that would have allowed them to stop any motorist or pedestrian and demand to know where they live and why they were not at home.''
        It's not just in Europe where restrictive measures are being rejected, however.
        Lawmakers in the United States are now also calling on the public to demand freedom.
        (C) press Sen. Rand Paul is calling on the public to 'resist' the 'great reset'As Neon Nettle first reported last week, Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has released a statement calling on patriotic Americans to rise up against Joe Biden's tyrannical government to "resist" the "Great Reset" through mass civil disobedience.
        Senator Paul has called on the public to stand up against unconstitutional lockdowns, mandates, and harmful policies being imposed by "power-hungry" elites.
        In an op-ed for Fox News, Paul slammed Democrat leaders Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "tyrants."
        "They can't arrest us all," Paul declared as he urged patriots to "resist" the Democrats' attempts to "destroy America."
        "We are at a moment of truth and a crossroads," Paul declared.
        "Will we allow these people to use fear and propaganda to do further harm to our society, economy, and children?
        "Or will we stand together and say, absolutely not.
        "Not this time.
        "I choose freedom."
        [RELATED] Rand Paul: 'Resist' the 'Great Reset' - 'They Can't Arrest Us All'
      Infection-enhancing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies recognize both the original Wuhan/D614G strain and Delta variants. A potential risk for mass vaccination ? - Journal of Infection
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:19
        Highlights 'Infection-enhancing antibodies have been detected in symptomatic Covid-19
        'Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) is a potential concern for vaccines
        'Enhancing antibodies recognize both the Wuhan strain and Delta variants
        'ADE of Delta variants is a potential risk for current vaccines
        'Vaccine formulations lacking ADE epitope are suggested
        Abstract Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection is a safety concern for vaccine strategies. In a recent publication, Li et al. (Cell 184 :1-17, 2021) have reported that infection-enhancing antibodies directed against the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein facilitate virus infection in vitro, but not in vivo. However, this study was performed with the original Wuhan/D614G strain. Since the Covid-19 pandemic is now dominated with Delta variants, we analyzed the interaction of facilitating antibodies with the NTD of these variants. Using molecular modelling approaches, we show that enhancing antibodies have a higher affinity for Delta variants than for Wuhan/D614G NTDs. We show that enhancing antibodies reinforce the binding of the spike trimer to the host cell membrane by clamping the NTD to lipid raft microdomains. This stabilizing mechanism may facilitate the conformational change that induces the demasking of the receptor binding domain. As the NTD is also targeted by neutralizing antibodies, our data suggest that the balance between neutralizing and facilitating antibodies in vaccinated individuals is in favor of neutralization for the original Wuhan/D614G strain. However, in the case of the Delta variant, neutralizing antibodies have a decreased affinity for the spike protein, whereas facilitating antibodies display a strikingly increased affinity. Thus, ADE may be a concern for people receiving vaccines based on the original Wuhan strain spike sequence (either mRNA or viral vectors). Under these circumstances, second generation vaccines with spike protein formulations lacking structurally-conserved ADE-related epitopes should be considered.
        The aim of the present study was to evaluate the recognition of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variants by infection enhancing antibodies directed against the NTD. The antibody studied is 1054 (pdb file #7LAB) which has been isolated from a symptomatic Covid-19 patient
        1Li D. et al.In vitro and in vivo functions of SARS-CoV-2 infection-enhancing and neutralizing antibodies.
        . Molecular modelling simulations were performed as previously described
        2Fantini J Yahi N Azzaz F Chahinian H Structural dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants: A health monitoring strategy for anticipating Covid-19 outbreaks.
        . Two currently circulating Delta variants were investigated, with the following mutational patterns in the NTD :
        - G142D/E154K (B.1.617.1)
        - T19R/E156G/del157/del158/A222V (B.1.617.2)
        Each mutational pattern was introduced in the original Wuhan/D614G strain, submitted to energy minimization, and then tested for antibody binding. The energy of interaction (Î--G) of the reference pdb file #7LAB (Wuhan/D614G strain) in the NTD region was estimated to -229 kJ/mol''1. In the case of Delta variants, the energy of interaction was raised to -272 kJ.mol''1 (B.1.617.1) and -246 kJ.mol''1 (B.1.617.2). Thus, these infection enhancing antibodies not only still recognize Delta variants but even display a higher affinity for those variants than for the original SARS-CoV-2 strain.
        The global structure of the trimeric spike of the B.1.617.1 variant in the cell-facing view is shown in
        Figure 1A. As expected, the facilitating antibody bound to the NTD (in green) is located behind the contact surface so that it does not interfere with virus-cell attachment. Indeed, a preformed antibody-NTD complex could perfectly bind to the host cell membrane. The interaction between the NTD and a lipid raft is shown in
        Figure 1B, and a whole raft-spike-antibody complex in
        Figure 1C. Interestingly, a small part of the antibody was found to interact with the lipid raft, as further illustrated in
        Figures 1D-E. More precisely, two distinct loops of the heavy chain of the antibody encompassing amino acid residues 28-31 and 72-74, stabilize the complex through a direct interaction with the edge of lipid raft (
        Figure 1F). Overall, the energy of interaction of the NTD-raft complex was raised from -399 kJ.mol
        ''1 in absence of the antibody to -457 kJ.mol
        ''1 with the antibody. By clamping the NTD and the lipid raft, the antibody reinforces the attachment of the spike protein to the cell surface and thus facilitates the conformational change of the RBD which is the next step of the virus infection process
        2Fantini J Yahi N Azzaz F Chahinian H Structural dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants: A health monitoring strategy for anticipating Covid-19 outbreaks.
        .
        Figure 1 Infection enhancing antibodies recognize the NTD of Delta variants. A. Molecular model of the Delta B.1.617.1 spike trimer as viewed from the host cell surface (chains A, B and C in cyan, yellow and purple, respectively), with the NTD and RBD of each chain indicated. The 1054 antibody is in green. B. Spike trimer with the B subunit bound to a lipid raft (with 6 ganglioside GM1 molecules). C. Trimolecular [spike-antibody-raft] complex. D. Focus on the NTD-antibody complex bound to the lipid raft. E. Secondary structures of the NTD (yellow) and the antibody (green) bound to lipid raft gangliosides. F. The 1054 antibody clamps the NTD and the edge of the lipid raft.
        View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)This notion of a dual NTD-raft recognition by an infection enhancing antibody may represent a new type of ADE that could be operative with other viruses. Incidentally, our data provide a mechanistic explanation of the FcR-independent enhancement of infection induced by the 1054 antibody
        1Li D. et al.In vitro and in vivo functions of SARS-CoV-2 infection-enhancing and neutralizing antibodies.
        . The model we propose, which links for the first time lipid rafts to ADE of SARS-CoV-2, is in line with previous data showing that intact lipid rafts are required for ADE of dengue virus infection
        3Puerta-Guardo H Mosso C Medina F Liprandi F Ludert JE del Angel RM Antibody-dependent enhancement of dengue virus infection in U937 cells requires cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains.
        .
        Neutralizing antibodies directed against the NTD have also been detected in Covid-19 patients
        4Chi X et al.A neutralizing human antibody binds to the N-terminal domain of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.
        , 5Liu L et al.Potent neutralizing antibodies against multiple epitopes on SARS-CoV-2 spike.
        . The 4A8 antibody is a major representant of such antibodies
        5Liu L et al.Potent neutralizing antibodies against multiple epitopes on SARS-CoV-2 spike.
        . The epitope recognized by this antibody on the flat NTD surface is dramatically affected in the NTD of Delta variants
        1Li D. et al.In vitro and in vivo functions of SARS-CoV-2 infection-enhancing and neutralizing antibodies.
        , suggesting a significant loss of activity in vaccinated people exposed to Delta variants. More generally, it can be reasonably assumed that the balance between neutralizing and facilitating antibodies may greatly differ according to the virus strain (
        Figure 2).
        Current Covid-19 vaccines (either mRNA or viral vectors) are based on the original Wuhan spike sequence. Inasmuch as neutralizing antibodies overwhelm facilitating antibodies, ADE is not a concern. However, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants may tip the scales in favor of infection enhancement. Our structural and modelling data suggest that it might be indeed the case for Delta variants.
        In conclusion, ADE may occur in people receiving vaccines based on the original Wuhan strain spike sequence (either mRNA or viral vectors) and then exposed to a Delta variant. Although this potential risk has been cleverly anticipated before the massive use of Covid-19 vaccines
        6Iwasaki A Yang Y The potential danger of suboptimal antibody responses in COVID-19.
        , the ability of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to mediate infection enhancement in vivo has never been formally demonstrated. However, although the results obtained so far have been rather reassuring
        1Li D. et al.In vitro and in vivo functions of SARS-CoV-2 infection-enhancing and neutralizing antibodies.
        , to the best of our knowledge ADE of Delta variants has not been specifically assessed. Since our data indicate that Delta variants are especially well recognized by infection enhancing antibodies targeting the NTD, the possibility of ADE should be further investigated as it may represent a potential risk for mass vaccination during the current Delta variant pandemic. In this respect, second generation vaccines
        7Fantini J Chahinian H Yahi N Leveraging coronavirus binding to gangliosides for innovative vaccine and therapeutic strategies against COVID-19.
        with spike protein formulations lacking structurally-conserved ADE-related epitopes should be considered.
        References Li D. et al.In vitro and in vivo functions of SARS-CoV-2 infection-enhancing and neutralizing antibodies.
        Cell. 2021;
        184 : 1-17 Fantini J Yahi N Azzaz F Chahinian H Structural dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants: A health monitoring strategy for anticipating Covid-19 outbreaks.
        J. Infect. 2021;
        83 : 197-206 Puerta-Guardo H Mosso C Medina F Liprandi F Ludert JE del Angel RM Antibody-dependent enhancement of dengue virus infection in U937 cells requires cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains.
        J. Gen. Virol. 2010;
        91 : 394-403 Chi X et al.A neutralizing human antibody binds to the N-terminal domain of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.
        Science. 2020;
        369 : 650-655 Liu L et al.Potent neutralizing antibodies against multiple epitopes on SARS-CoV-2 spike.
        Nature. 2020;
        584 : 450-456 Iwasaki A Yang Y The potential danger of suboptimal antibody responses in COVID-19.
        Nat. Rev. Immunol. 2020;
        20 : 339-341 Fantini J Chahinian H Yahi N Leveraging coronavirus binding to gangliosides for innovative vaccine and therapeutic strategies against COVID-19.
        Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2021;
        538 : 132-136 Article InfoPublication HistoryPublication stageIn Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentificationDOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2021.08.010
        Copyright(C) 2021 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
        ScienceDirectAccess this article on ScienceDirect Related Articles
      TV: 14 Israelis who got 3rd shot later infected with COVID-19 | The Times of Israel
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:17
        Fourteen Israelis have been diagnosed with COVID-19 despite having been inoculated with a third COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to Health Ministry data reported by Channel 12 news on Sunday.
        According to the network, two of those infected after receiving the booster shot have been hospitalized.
        It was not immediately clear whether the 14 contracted the virus before or after receiving the booster. Such sporadic instances would not be enough for medical officials to draw conclusions as to the third dose's general effectiveness in fighting off the Delta variant of the disease.
        Eleven of the 14 cases were over the age of 60, and the remaining three were immunocompromised individuals under 60, the network said. The two that were hospitalized were over 60.
        Some 420,000 Israelis have been administered a third booster shot so far, in a drive that began last week.
        Meanwhile, in a Sunday meeting, government ministers fought over the prospect of a nationwide lockdown during the upcoming High Holiday period amid surging COVID-19 cases, according to leaks published on Hebrew-language media.
        Reports on Channels 12 and 13 and elsewhere said Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who has courted controversy by calling plans to vaccinate students in schools a ''crime,'' said during the cabinet meeting that the option of a lockdown must be ''taken off the agenda.''
        Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) attend a cabinet meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on August 8, 2021. (Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL via Flash90)
        She said such talk was leading to economic instability and ''people are anxious for'... their livelihood,'' the reports said. ''We have seen the charts '-- it doesn't matter whether countries imposed lockdown or not, the morbidity charts look the same.''
        Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern concurred: ''We need to eliminate the word 'lockdown' from our lexicon. We are causing people to live under threat.''
        Hamad Amar, a minister in the Finance Ministry, noted that Australia is currently in its eighth lockdown yet cases are still on the rise, claiming that ''lockdown isn't a solution.''
        Other ministers emphasized the need for a lockdown and the importance of talking publicly about a lockdown before imposing one.
        Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90)
        ''I also don't think we should intimidate the public, but the truth is that reality is frightening,'' Public Security Minister Omer Barlev reportedly said. ''The worst situation is not to mention the word 'lockdown' and then in four weeks come to a lockdown.
        ''We need to tell the truth '-- it's in the hands of the public,'' Barlev added, apparently meaning that increased public awareness and care for health regulations could stave off a closure.
        Also in Sunday's meeting, Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen was reported to join ministers' protests against excluding synagogues from new restrictions on gatherings under the revived Green Pass system.
        Starting Sunday, gatherings of any size, indoors and out, are limited to those who have been vaccinated, recovered from the virus, or who present a negative COVID test. While the plan originally included synagogues and other houses of worship, these were eventually exempted in prayer services with fewer than 50 participants.
        ''It hurt to read about the coronavirus cabinet's decision to exclude synagogues from the Green Pass. As if we did not learn a lesson from the previous waves,'' Cohen said. ''There is no justification for this exception. It has also led in the past to the deaths of dozens if not hundreds of people who visited synagogues, and this also greatly harms social solidarity,'' she added.
        Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo responded to Cohen by saying the move was a legal instruction, and not a political decision. The exemption of religious services stemmed from an agreement between Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri, who had raised concerns over clamping religious freedom by effectively barring the unvaccinated from communal prayer.
        When Cohen asked Shlomo to provide a document instructing the exemption of synagogues, he said there wasn't one.
        Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, right, and Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen in Jerusalem, July 27, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
        Prime Minister Naftali Bennett then reportedly broke up the argument and said the issue of synagogues would be examined ''in a smaller forum,'' likely referring to the coronavirus cabinet, a forum of ministers whose portfolios deal directly with the pandemic.
        Meanwhile, the Health Ministry released new figures Sunday morning showing a continued rise in serious coronavirus cases, with 21 new patients on Saturday bringing the total number to 348, up from 257 on Thursday.
        An additional 2,886 people were diagnosed with the virus Saturday at a positive test rate of 3.83 percent, bringing the total number of cases in Israel since the start of the pandemic to 898,433.
        Israel's virus death toll is now at 6,535, with 16 fatalities recorded over the weekend.
        The ministry said that out of Israel's population of some 9.3 million, over 5.8 million have received at least one vaccine dose, nearly 5.4 million have gotten two and over 420,000 have been administered a third booster shot.
        Over one million Israelis eligible for the vaccine have not yet received a single dose, according to the Health Ministry.
        Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli reportedly suggested during Sunday's meeting that health maintenance organizations should preemptively schedule vaccination appointments for those who haven't yet received their COVID-19 shots.
        Bennett, as well as Health Minister Horowitz, expressed interest in the proposal, and it will be examined by the latter's office, reports said.
        Israelis present vaccination certificates at the entrance of the Kadosh Cafe in Jerusalem, August 8, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
        Ministers on Thursday approved significantly expanding restrictions on gatherings under the Green Pass system, which will now extend to hotels, restaurants and gyms. Gatherings of any size, indoors and out, are also now limited to those who have been vaccinated, recovered from the virus, or who present a negative COVID test.
        Channel 12 reported on Friday that Health Ministry officials have indicated that a lockdown would be necessary if and when Israel reaches 600 to 700 seriously ill patients.
        ''The coronavirus will be here for many years and there will be many more variants, and we need to learn to live with it,'' Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman reportedly said at Sunday's meeting.
      Man Claims QAnon Conspiracy Led Him To Kill His Children, Feds Say : NPR
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:10
        Officers hold a police cordon at the scene where two young American children were found dead in Rosarito in the Mexican state of Baja California on Monday. Reuters/Stringer hide caption
        toggle caption Reuters/Stringer Officers hold a police cordon at the scene where two young American children were found dead in Rosarito in the Mexican state of Baja California on Monday.
        Reuters/Stringer A California father took his two young children to Mexico and killed them with a spearfishing gun after he claimed he had been "enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories," federal authorities say.
        According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in California, Matthew Taylor Coleman reportedly told investigators he had been "receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife possessed serpent DNA and had passed it onto his children" and that by killing them he was "saving the world from monsters."
        QAnon is a conspiracy popular among some on the far right that claims Democratic politicians operate a cabal that kidnaps and tortures children, using their blood in satanic rituals.
        It wasn't the first time authorities responded to a crime based on a conspiracy theory that originated on the internet.
        In 2016, Edgar Maddison Welch entered a Washington, D.C., pizzeria and fired a rifle into a door, claiming he was investigating the debunked "Pizzagate" rumor. That conspiracy theory claimed that the Comet Ping Pong restaurant was the hub of a satanic child sex abuse ring associated with top Democratic politicians.
        Welch was later sentenced to four years in prison.
        How authorities tracked down Matthew Taylor Coleman Coleman, 40, was first reported missing by his wife '-- identified in the complaint as A.C. '-- on Saturday. She was unable to reach him by phone after he left in the family's van with their two children, a 2-year-old boy and a 10-month-old girl.
        The next day, at the suggestion of police, A.C. used the Find My iPhone application to track Coleman's last known location to an "open-air shopping center" in Rosarito in the Mexican state of Baja California.
        When Coleman arrived Monday at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in San Ysidro without his children, law enforcement officers took him into custody. Earlier that morning, Mexican authorities had discovered the bodies of two children with puncture wounds in their chests.
        Coleman apparently told investigators he knew that killing his children was wrong but said it was the "only course of action that would save the world."
        Mexican officials also recovered the weapon, bloody clothes and a baby's blanket, authorities said.
        Coleman has been charged with the foreign murder of U.S. nationals.
      David Ignatius - Wikipedia
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 15:54
        American journalist and novelist
        David Reynolds Ignatius (born May 26, 1950) is an American journalist and novelist. He is an associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post. He has written eleven novels, including Body of Lies, which director Ridley Scott adapted into a film. He is a former adjunct lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and currently Senior Fellow to the Future of Diplomacy Program. He has received numerous honors, including the Legion of Honor from the French Republic, the Urbino World Press Award from the Italian Republic, and a lifetime achievement award from the International Committee for Foreign Journalism.
        Personal life [ edit ] Ignatius was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1] His parents are Nancy Sharpless (n(C)e Weiser) and Paul Robert Ignatius, a former Secretary of the Navy (1967''69), president of The Washington Post, and former president of the Air Transport Association.[2][3] He is of Armenian descent on his father's side, with ancestors from Harput, ElazÄ±ÄŸ, Turkey;[4][5] his mother, a descendant of Puritan minister Cotton Mather, is of German and English descent.[6]
        Ignatius was raised in Washington, D.C., where he attended St. Albans School. He then attended Harvard College, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1973. Ignatius was awarded a Frank Knox Fellowship from Harvard University and studied at King's College, Cambridge, where he received a diploma in economics.[7]
        He is married to Dr. Eve Thornberg Ignatius, with whom he has three daughters.[7] His brother, Adi Ignatius, is editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review.[8]
        Career [ edit ] Journalism [ edit ] After completing his education, Ignatius was an editor at the Washington Monthly before moving to The Wall Street Journal, where he spent ten years as a reporter. At the Journal, Ignatius first covered the steel industry in Pittsburgh. He then moved to Washington, where he covered the Justice Department, the CIA, and the Senate. Ignatius was the Journal ' s Middle East correspondent from 1980 through 1983, during which time he covered the wars in Lebanon and Iraq. He returned to Washington in 1984, becoming chief diplomatic correspondent. In 1985 he received the Edward Weintal Prize for diplomatic reporting.
        In 1986 Ignatius left the Journal for The Washington Post. From 1986 to 1990 he was the editor of the "Outlook" section. From 1990 to 1992 he was foreign editor and oversaw the paper's Pulitzer Prize''winning coverage of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. From 1993 to 1999 he served as assistant managing editor in charge of business news. In 1999 he began writing a twice-weekly column on global politics, economics and international affairs.
        In 2000, he became the executive editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris. He returned to the Post in 2002 when the Post sold its interest in the Herald Tribune. Ignatius continued to write his column once a week during his tenure at the Herald Tribune, resuming twice-weekly columns after his return to the Post. His column is syndicated worldwide by The Washington Post Writers Group. The column won the 2000 Gerald Loeb Award for Commentary[9] and a 2004 Edward Weintal Prize. In writing his column, Ignatius frequently travels to the Middle East and interviews leaders such as Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese military organization Hezbollah.
        Ignatius's writing has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, Talk Magazine, and The Washington Monthly.
        Ignatius's coverage of the CIA has been criticized as being defensive and overly positive. Melvin A. Goodman, a 42-year CIA veteran, Johns Hopkins professor, and senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, has called Ignatius "the mainstream media's apologist for the Central Intelligence Agency," citing as examples Ignatius's criticism of the Obama administration for investigating the CIA's role in the use of torture in interrogations during the Iraq War and his charitable defense of the agency's motivations for outsourcing such activities to private contractors.[10][11][12] Columnist Glenn Greenwald has leveled similar criticism against Ignatius.[13]
        Ignatius supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.[14]
        On a number of occasions, however, Ignatius criticized the CIA and the U.S. government's approach on intelligence.[15] He was also critical of the Bush administration's torture policies.[16]
        On March 12, 2014, he wrote a two-page descriptive opinion on Putin's strengths and weaknesses that was published in the Journal and Courier soon after.[17]
        On March 26, 2014, Ignatius wrote a piece in the Washington Post on the crisis in Ukraine and how the world will deal with Putin's actions. Ignatius's theory of history is that it is a chaos and that "good" things are not preordained, "decisive turns in history can result from ruthless political leaders, from weak or confused adversaries, or sometimes just from historical accident. Might doesn't make right, but it does create 'facts on the ground' that are hard to reverse." His piece mentioned four-star USAF general Philip M. Breedlove, the current NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Deshchytsya. Putin, says Ignatius, "leads what by most political and economic indicators is a weak nation'--a declining power, not a rising one." He places great hope in Angela Merkel.[18]
        Novels [ edit ] In addition to being a journalist, Ignatius is a successful novelist. He has written ten novels in the suspense/espionage fiction genre that draw on his experience and interest in foreign affairs and his knowledge of intelligence operations. Reviewers have compared Ignatius's work to classic spy novels like those by Graham Greene. Ignatius's novels have also been praised for their realism; his first novel, Agents of Innocence, was at one point described by the CIA on its website as "a novel but not fiction."[19] His 1999 novel, The Sun King, a reworking of The Great Gatsby set in late-20th-century Washington, is his only departure from the espionage genre.[citation needed ]
        His 2007 novel, Body of Lies, was adapted into a film by director Ridley Scott. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have acquired the rights to Ignatius's seventh novel, The Increment.[20]
        The Quantum Spy, published in 2017, is an espionage thriller about the race between the United States and China to build the world's first hyper-fast quantum computer. His most recent book is The Paladin: A Spy Novel (2020).
        Opera [ edit ] In May 2015, MSNBC's Morning Joe announced that Ignatius would be teaming up with composer Mohammed Fairouz to create a political opera called The New Prince, based on the teachings of Niccol² Machiavelli. The opera was commissioned by the Dutch National Opera.[21] Speaking with The Washington Post, Ignatius described the broad themes of the opera in terms of three chapters: "The first chapter is about revolution and disorder. Revolutions, like children, are lovable when young, and they become much less lovable as they age. The second lesson Machiavelli tells us is about sexual obsession, among leaders. And then the final chapter is basically is the story of Dick Cheney [and] bin Laden, the way in which those two ideas of what we're obliged to do as leaders converged in such a destructive way."[22]
        Other [ edit ] In 2006 Ignatius wrote a foreword to the American edition of Moazzam Begg's Enemy Combatant, a book about the author's experiences as a detainee at the Guantnamo Bay detention camp. In 2008, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft, and Ignatius published America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy, a book that collected conversations, moderated by Ignatius, between Brzezinski and Scowcroft. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times named it one of the ten best books of 2008.[23]
        Ignatius has been trustee of the German Marshall Fund since 2000. He has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations since 1984. From 1984 to 1990 he was a member of the governing board of St. Albans School.[citation needed ]
        In 2011 Ignatius held a contest for The Washington Post readers to write a spy novel. Ignatius wrote the first chapter and challenged fans to continue the story. Over eight weeks, readers sent in their versions of what befalls CIA agents Alex Kassem and Sarah Mancini and voted for their favorite entries. Ignatius chose the winning entry for each round, resulting in a six-chapter Web serial. Winners of the subsequent chapters included Chapter 2, "Sweets for the Sweet," by Colin Flaherty; Chapter 3, "Abu Talib," by Jill Borak; Chapter 4, "Go Hard or Go Home," by Vineet Daga; Chapter 5, "Inside Out," by Colin Flaherty; and Chapter 6, "Onward!," by Gina 'Miel' Ard.[24]
        In early 2012 Ignatius served as an adjunct lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, teaching an international affairs course titled Understanding the Arab Spring from the Ground Up: Events in the Middle East, their Roots and Consequences for the United States. He is currently serving as a senior fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Program at Harvard University.[25]
        In 2018, he won a George Polk Award, for his coverage of the Jamal Khashoggi murder.[26][27]
        According to the 2018 membership list, Ignatius is a member of the Trilateral Commission.
        Controversy [ edit ] 2009 Davos incident [ edit ] At the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ignatius moderated a discussion including then Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, Israeli president Shimon Peres, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, and Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa. As the December 2008''January 2009 conflict in Gaza was still fresh in memory, the tone of the discussion was lively.[28] Ignatius gave ErdoÄŸan 12 minutes to speak and gave the Israeli president 25 minutes to respond.[28] ErdoÄŸan objected to Peres's tone and raised his voice during the Israeli president's impassioned defense of his nation's actions. Ignatius gave ErdoÄŸan a minute to respond (ErdoÄŸan repeatedly insisted "One minute,"[29] in English), and when ErdoÄŸan went over his allocated minute, Ignatius repeatedly cut the Turkish prime minister off, telling him and the audience that they were out of time and that they had to adjourn to a dinner.[30] ErdoÄŸan seemed visibly frustrated as he said confrontationally to the Israeli president, "When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill."[28] Ignatius put his arm on ErdoÄŸan's shoulder and continued to tell him that his time was up. ErdoÄŸan then gathered his papers and walked out, saying, "I do not think I will be coming back to Davos after this because you do not let me speak."[30]
        Writing about the incident later, Ignatius said that he found himself "in the middle of a fight where there was no longer a middle. [...] Because the Israel''Palestinian conflict provokes such heated emotions on both sides of the debate," Ignatius concluded, "it was impossible for anyone to be seen as an impartial mediator." Ignatius wrote that his experience elucidated a larger truth about failure of the United States' attempt to serve as an impartial mediator in the Israeli''Palestinian conflict. "American leaders must give up the notion that they can transform the Middle East and its culture through military force," he wrote, and instead "get out of the elusive middle, step across the threshold of anger, and sit down and talk" with the Middle Eastern leaders.[31]
        Works [ edit ] Novels [ edit ] Agents of Innocence. W. W. Norton & Company. 1987. ISBN 0-393-02486-5. Siro. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1991. ISBN 0-374-26506-2. The Bank of Fear . Avon Books. 1995. ISBN 0-380-72280-1. A Firing Offense . Random House. 1997. ISBN 0-517-36839-0. The Sun King . Random House. 2000. ISBN 0-8129-9243-1. Body of Lies. W. W. Norton & Company. 2007. ISBN 978-0-393-33158-5. The Increment . W. W. Norton & Company. 2009. ISBN 978-0-393-33831-7. Bloodmoney . W. W. Norton & Company. 2011. ISBN 978-0-393-34179-9. The Director . W. W. Norton & Company. 2014. ISBN 978-0-393-07814-5. The Quantum Spy. W. W. Norton & Company. 2017. ISBN 978-0-393-25415-0. The Paladin. W. W. Norton & Company. 2020. ISBN 978-0-393-25417-4. Non-fiction [ edit ] America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy . Basic Books; First Trade Paper Edition. 2009. ISBN 978-0-465-01801-7. References [ edit ] ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-15 . Retrieved 2011-06-18 . CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ^ "Paul R. Ignatius". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. AbrilBooks. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009 . Retrieved 12 August 2010 . ^ (AP) (September 2, 1967). "Secretary of Navy Sworn Into Office". ^ "Turkey Should Comprehend Its Past". Azg Daily. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. ^ Ignatius, David (October 14, 2007). "The Dignity Agenda". The Washington Post . Retrieved August 12, 2010 . ^ Ignatius, Paul R. (2006). On board: my life in the Navy, government, and business . Naval Institute Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-59114-381-9. cotton. ^ a b "The Post Writers Group". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009 . Retrieved August 12, 2010 . ^ "Story Details - Alumni - Harvard Business School". www.alumni.hbs.edu . Retrieved 2020-08-12 . ^ Lipinski, Lynn (May 23, 2000). "UCLA'S Anderson School Announces Winners of Loeb Competition and the Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award". UCLA . Retrieved February 1, 2019 . ^ Goodman, Melvin A. "David Ignatius: The Mainstream Media's Chief Apologist for CIA Crimes". The Public Record. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009 . Retrieved August 24, 2011 . ^ Goodman, Melvin A. "WPost's Ignatius Forgives the CIA Again and Again". The Public Record. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011 . Retrieved 24 August 2011 . ^ Ignatius, David (August 26, 2009). "A Sigh of Relief From the CIA". The Washington Post . Retrieved August 24, 2011 . ^ Greenwald, Glenn. "Establishment Washington unifies against prosecutions". Salon. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009 . Retrieved August 24, 2011 . ^ Merry, Robert. "Fantasies of the Iraq Hawks". ^ Ignatius, David (2 December 2010). "Is killing our only option for terrorists?". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 10, 2011 . ^ Ignatius, David (June 15, 2004). "Small Comfort". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 10, 2011 . ^ David Ignatius (March 12, 2014). "David Ignatius: On Ukraine, where next". Journal and Courier . Retrieved March 30, 2014 . ^ David Ignatius (March 26, 2014). "Putin's actions in Crimea alter how the world will deal with him". The Washington Post. Brussels. ^ John Carlin (March 23, 1997). "Spooked! How betrayal, inertia, and disaster felled the CIA". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. ^ Bruckheimer, Disney buy 'Increment': Duo nab rights to Ignatius' thriller, by Michael Fleming (Variety, May 13, 2008) ^ Morning Joe: Composer and Journalist Team Up for Opera ^ The New Librettist of The New Prince ^ "Holiday Gift Guide '' Michiko Kakutani's 10 Favorite Books of 2008" . The New York Times. November 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. ^ "Summer Spy Serial". The Washington Post. ^ Harvard Kennedy School Archived August 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine ^ "Karen Attiah and David Ignatius receive Special Polk Award for their writing on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi". The Washington Post. February 19, 2019. ^ "Winners | LIU". liu.edu . Retrieved 2019-03-25 . ^ a b c Katrin Bennhold (January 30, 2009). "Leaders of Turkey and Israel clash at Davos panel". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009 . Retrieved February 1, 2009 . ^ "One minute" means "Bir dakika" in Turkish when translated literally, but also "Bir dakika" means "wait a minute". (https://tureng.com/en/turkish-english/one_minute , https://tureng.com/en/turkish-english/bir_dakika) ^ a b "Turkish PM storms off in Gaza row". BBC News Online. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009 . Retrieved January 30, 2009 . ^ Ignatius, David (15 April 2009). "Caught In the Middle". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. External links [ edit ] Official website Column archive at The Washington PostColumn archive at The Daily StarColumn archive at The Harvard CrimsonAppearances on C-SPANDavid Ignatius at IMDbWorks by or about David Ignatius in libraries (WorldCat catalog)½
      Major earthquake strikes Haiti, felt across Caribbean | Daily Mail Online
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 15:31
        'High number of casualties' in Haiti after 7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Caribbean nation: Quake is stronger than the 2010 disaster that killed thousandsA major earthquake struck about 7.5 miles west of Haiti's capital around 8.30am local time on SaturdayThe US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated 'thousands of fatalities' and 'tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities' although there has yet to be any confirmed deathsUSGS issued a tsunami warning but soon lifted it despite a series of smaller aftershocks that shook the islandThe quake was felt in Cuba and Jamaica and had a magnitude 0.2 stronger than the one 11 years ago that killed 250,000 people and left more than 1.5million homelessIt struck just over a month after Haiti's president, Jovenel Mo¯se, was assassinated by a team of gunmen at his home in Port-au-Prince By Shannon Thaler For Dailymail.Com
        Published: 09:23 EDT, 14 August 2021 | Updated: 11:28 EDT, 14 August 2021
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        A major earthquake struck western Haiti on Saturday and was felt across the Caribbean where people fled their homes for fear that buildings might collapse.
        The 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 7.5 miles west of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince.
        Within hours the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated 'thousands of fatalities' and 'tens of thousands of injuries in poor mountainous communities'.
        Jerry Chandler, who heads the country's civil protection agency, said: 'I can confirm there are deaths, but I don't yet have an exact toll.'
        The USGS issued a tsunami warning, saying waves of up to ten feet were possible along the coastline of Haiti but it soon lifted the warning despite a series of smaller aftershocks that continued to shake the island.
        A major earthquake struck western Haiti on Saturday and was felt across the Caribbean where people fled their homes for fear that buildings might collapse
        Photos circulating social media show the earthquake's damage, which was 0.2 stronger than the 2010 quake that killed 250,000 people and flattened swathes of buildings, leaving many homeless
        The 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck five miles from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 7.5 miles west of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince
        The 7.2-magnitude earthquake was felt across the Caribbean, including in Cuba and Jamaica
        The quake - which had a depth of six miles - was felt in Cuba and Jamaica. It struck just over a month after Haiti's president, Jovenel Mo¯se, was assassinated by a team of gunmen at his home in Port-au-Prince.
        Mo¯se's murder shook a country already battling poverty, spiraling gang violence and Covid-19.
        'Everyone is really afraid. It's been years since such a big earthquake,' said Daniel Ross, a resident in the eastern Cuban city of Guantanamo, adding that his home stood firm but the furniture shook.
        Port-au-Prince resident Naomi Verneus, 34, told the Associated Press she was jolted awake by the earthquake and that her bed was shaking.
        She said: 'I woke up and didn't have time to put my shoes on. We lived the 2010 earthquake and all I could do was run.
        'I later remembered my two kids and my mother were still inside. My neighbor went in and told them to get out. We ran to the street.'
        Twitter users have shared devastating photos and videos of the destruction. They mentioned hearing people buried under the rubble crying for their lives
        The US Tsunami Warning System has not issued a tsunami warning after the quake
        Photos on Twitter showed buildings reduced to rubble and smashed vehicles in the towns of J(C)r(C)mie and Les Caye
        Residents of Port-au-Prince fled their homes after feeling the earth shake
        The quake had a depth of six miles, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said
        'Everyone is really afraid. It's been years since such a big earthquake,' said Daniel Ross, a resident in the eastern Cuban city of Guantanamo
        Sephora Pierre Louis, another resident of Haiti's capital, said: 'In my neighborhood, I heard people screaming. They were flying outside. At least they know to go outside. In 2010, they didn´t know what to do. People are still outside in the street.'
        The National Hurricane Center has forecasted that Tropical Storm Grace will reach Haiti late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
        'This country just never finds a break!' said Haitian entrepreneur Marc Alain Boucicault on Twitter.
        The impoverished country, where many live in tenuous circumstances, is vulnerable to earthquakes and hurricanes.
        The country is still recovering from a magnitude 7 earthquake closer to the capital 11 years ago that killed 250,000 people and flattened swathes of buildings, leaving more than 1.5million homeless. A 5.9-magnitude earthquake that struck in 2018 that killed more than a dozen people.
        The 2010 quake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, not to mention 60 per cent of Haiti's healthcare system.
        The rebuilding of the country's main hospital remained incomplete as of this morning's earthquake and nongovernmental organizations have struggled to make up for the state's many deficiencies.
        Homes have been destroyed and thousands are likely to have been killed, according to USGS
        The earthquake rippled through Haiti at about 8.30am local time
        In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake (pictured) 1.5million Haitians were left homeless and administrative buildings and schools were destroyed, not to mention 60 per cent of Haiti's healthcare system
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      Job postings requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 jump in the last month | Daily Mail Online
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 15:31
        The number of job postings requiring COVID-19 vaccinations from applicants have started to increase across industries - but still remain a 'small fraction' of overall listings, according to a new study.
        The number of job postings requiring vaccinations were up 90 percent by August 7 from the month prior, nearly doubling from the number of postings in July, according to the report by AnnElizabeth Konkel - an economist with the job board Indeed.
        Konkel noted in the report that vaccination requirements in job postings increased in many sectors that had not previously mandated vaccines. Some simply required 'vaccination' and others 'explicitly' required inoculation against COVID-19.
        'The share of job postings per million that require being vaccinated against COVID-19 explicitly is up 34 percent compared to one month prior,' the report reads.
        In comments made to CNBC, Konkel noted that even listings that don't specifically outline vaccines for COVID-19 it remained clear: 'They don't mean the polio vaccine.'
        A line graph from Indeed shows the share of job postings per million that require the COVID vaccine explicitly, in blue, and broadly, in red, from February 1 to August 7
        A chart from Indeed compared the share of job postings per million that require vaccination by various sectors between February 2021 and July 2021
        The report specifically highlighted the software development sector, which only had 3.5 job postings per million that stated vaccination was required in February.
        The number of software development job postings per million requiring vaccination had jumped to 437.9 by July, an increase of more than 10,000 percent.
        'It's a similar story for other sectors like accounting, retail and marketing that don't normally require vaccination but are now starting to,' the report reads.
        Of the sectors highlighted in the report, the one with the most job postings per million requiring vaccination in July was education. There were 2,166 job postings per million requiring vaccination that month, according to Indeed.
        'COVID-19 vaccinations only became widely available during late spring and summer, so vaccination requirement trends may rapidly change in coming months,' Honkel wrote in the report.
        'With vaccination rates still not where they need to be to beat COVID-19, employers are doing what they can to keep their doors open and their staff safe by requiring vaccination.'
        DailyMail.com has reached out to Konkel for more information and additional comment about the report.
        Companies like McDonald's, Disney, Walmart, Google, Tyson Foods and United Airlines have said that they will require at least some workers to be fully vaccinated
        Some economists believe that unvaccinated workers may change their minds about getting the jab if they feel their careers are threatened
        Companies like McDonald's, Disney, Walmart, Google, Tyson Foods and United Airlines have said that they will require at least some workers to be fully vaccinated.
        The Indeed report did not specifically address it, but DailyMail.com has spotted several job postings not requiring vaccination - instead providing small signing bonuses for those who are inoculated against COVID-19.
        'New hires who show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination earn a $100 bonus their first day,' reads a job posting for an Amazon warehouse attendant.
        Other postings, particularly among healthcare providers, simply requested the COVID-19 vaccine among all the vaccinations they require their workers to have.
        'Adventist Health is committed to the safety and wellbeing of our associates and patients,' one posting reads.
        'Therefore, we require that all associates receive all required vaccinations, including, but not limited to, measles, mumps, flu (based on the seasonal availability of the flu vaccine typically during October-March each year), etc., as a condition of employment, and annually thereafter. Medical and religious exemptions may apply.
        Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 167,699,170 Americans are now fully vaccinated, though that number still represents only 50.5% of the population.
        A number of job postings found by DailyMail.com on Indeed require COVID-19 vaccination
        CDC data shows that some states are still lagging in getting residents vaccinated, particularly states like Mississippi and Wyoming where only 53.4% of adults have received at least one dose.
        Vermont leads the nation, with 85.8% of adults having received at least one dose of a vaccine, CDC data shows.
        However, the number of cases have continued to rise amid the alarming spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
        A map shows the total number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the United States
        A graph shows the number of new coronavirus infections per day since the start of the pandemic
        A graph shows the number of new coronavirus infections per day in July and August
        A graph shows the number of new coronavirus deaths per day since the start of the pandemic
        A graph shows the number of new coronavirus deaths per day in July and August
        CDC data shows that the current seven-day moving average of daily new cases increased 18.4% compared with the previous seven days. There was an average of 114,190 new cases per day this week compared to an average of 96,454 last week.
        The currently seven-day moving average is only 65% lower than the peak observed on January 10, when the number of daily COVID cases were at their highest.
        'Nationally, the combined proportion of cases attributed to Delta is estimated to increase to 97.4%,' the CDC wrote in its weekly report.
        The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its July jobs report released last Friday that the unemployment rate declined by 0.5 percentage point to 5.4 percent. The number of unemployed people fell by 782,000 to 8.7 million.
        'These measures are down considerably from their highs at the end of the February-April 2020 recession. However, they remain well above their levels prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,' the bureau noted.
        A new survey from the University of Michigan released on Friday shows that consumers have started to worry that the economy could weaken in coming months because of the Delta variant, the Wall Street Journal noted.
        Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist, told the outlet that 'the extraordinary surge in negative economic assessments also reflects an emotional response, mainly from dashed hopes that the pandemic would soon end.'
        Economist Michael Farren told the Wall Street Journal that those who are unvaccinated may change their mind about getting the jab if they feel their decision not to has started to threaten their career.
        'Some employers will require vaccines to limit the potential for production disruptions, or to cater to customers' desires,' Farren said.
        'In the same way, some employers will not require vaccines as a way of indulging their own social preferences, or to cater to customers with those social preferences.'
      National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin - August 13, 2021 | Homeland Security
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 15:18
        Summary of Terrorism Threat to the U.S. HomelandThe Secretary of Homeland Security has issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin regarding the current heightened threat environment across the United States. The Homeland continues to face a diverse and challenging threat environment leading up to and following the 20th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks as well religious holidays we assess could serve as a catalyst for acts of targeted violence. These threats include those posed by domestic terrorists, individuals and groups engaged in grievance-based violence, and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences. These actors are increasingly exploiting online forums to influence and spread violent extremist narratives and promote violent activity. Such threats are also exacerbated by impacts of the ongoing global pandemic, including grievances over public health safety measures and perceived government restrictions.
        Duration Issued: August 13, 2021 02:00 pm
        Expires: November 11, 2021 02:00 pm
        Additional Details Through the remainder of 2021, racially- or ethnically-motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) and anti-government/anti-authority violent extremists will remain a national threat priority for the United States. These extremists may seek to exploit the emergence of COVID-19 variants by viewing the potential re-establishment of public health restrictions across the United States as a rationale to conduct attacks. Pandemic-related stressors have contributed to increased societal strains and tensions, driving several plots by domestic violent extremists, and they may contribute to more violence this year.Additionally, leading up to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula recently released its first English-language copy of Inspire magazine in over four years, which demonstrates that foreign terrorist organizations continue efforts to inspire U.S.-based individuals susceptible to violent extremist influences.Historically, mass-casualty domestic violent extremist attacks linked to RMVEs have targeted houses of worship and crowded commercial facilities or gatherings. Some RMVEs advocate via online platforms for a race war and have stated that civil disorder provides opportunities to engage in violence in furtherance of ideological objectives. The reopening of institutions, including schools, as well as several dates of religious significance over the next few months, could also provide increased targets of opportunity for violence though there are currently no credible or imminent threats identified to these locations.Foreign and domestic threat actors, to include foreign intelligence services, international terrorist groups and domestic violent extremists, continue to introduce, amplify, and disseminate narratives online that promote violence, and have called for violence against elected officials, political representatives, government facilities, law enforcement, religious communities or commercial facilities, and perceived ideologically-opposed individuals. There are also continued, non-specific calls for violence on multiple online platforms associated with DVE ideologies or conspiracy theories on perceived election fraud and alleged reinstatement, and responses to anticipated restrictions relating to the increasing COVID cases.Ideologically motivated violent extremists fueled by personal grievances and extremist ideological beliefs continue to derive inspiration and obtain operational guidance through the consumption of information shared in certain online communities. This includes information regarding the use of improvised explosive devices and small arms.Violent extremists may use particular messaging platforms or techniques to obscure operational indicators that provide specific warning of a pending act of violence.Law enforcement have expressed concerns that the broader sharing of false narratives and conspiracy theories will gain traction in mainstream environments, resulting in individuals or small groups embracing violent tactics to achieve their desired objectives. With a diverse array of threats, DHS is concerned that increased outbreaks of violence in some locations, as well as targeted attacks against law enforcement, may strain local resources.Nation-state adversaries have increased efforts to sow discord. For example, Russian, Chinese and Iranian government-linked media outlets have repeatedly amplified conspiracy theories concerning the origins of COVID-19 and effectiveness of vaccines; in some cases, amplifying calls for violence targeting persons of Asian descent.How We Are RespondingDHS will continue to identify and evaluate calls for violence, including online activity associated with the spread of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and false narratives, by known or suspected threat actors and provide updated information, as necessary.DHS continues to encourage the public to maintain awareness of the evolving threat environment and report suspicious activity.DHS is coordinating with state and local law enforcement and public safety partners to maintain situational awareness of potential violence in their jurisdictions and maintain open lines of communication with federal partners.DHS is also advancing authoritative sources of information to debunk and, when possible, preempt false narratives and intentional disinformation, and providing educational materials to promote resilience to the risks associated with interacting with and spreading disinformation, conspiracy theories and false narratives. More broadly, DHS remains committed to identifying and preventing terrorism and targeted violence while protecting the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of all persons.How You Can HelpReport suspicious activity and threats of violence, including online threats, to local law enforcement, FBI Field Offices, or local Fusion Center.If you know someone who is struggling with mental health issues or may be a danger to themselves or others, support is available.Be Prepared and Stay InformedBe prepared for emergency situations and remain aware of circumstances that may place you at risk.Maintain digital media literacy to recognize and build resilience to false and harmful narratives.Make note of your surroundings and the nearest security personnel.Government agencies will provide details about emerging threats as information is identified. The public is encouraged to listen to local authorities and public safety officials.If You See Something, Say Something®. Report suspicious activity to local law enforcement or call 911.
      Pop-up camp of displaced Victorians emerges just north of the Murray
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:04
        Displaced Victorians unable to return home from NSW have started gathering at the Albury Showgrounds in caravans and tents in scenes reminiscent of the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago.
        Dozens of travellers have stopped at the site just north of the border in recent weeks to complete 14 days' quarantine inside the ''border bubble'', prompting the Showgrounds Trust to cancel the usual five-day limit for campers.
        Albury Showgrounds has become a pop-up quarantine hub for displaced Victorians, next door to a COVID-19 testing centre. Jason Robins
        As NSW recorded an all-time daily high of 390 new cases on Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews reiterated his commitment to the toughest border rules since the start of the pandemic where only those with rare exemptions can enter the state.
        Data released to The Age by the Victorian health department on Friday shows that just 770 of 12,606 applications for an exemption '' or about 6 per cent '' have been approved since July 20. Reasons such as moving from NSW for work or non-urgent medical purposes are ''unlikely to be granted'', a spokesman said.
        In addition, some Victorian residents have been allowed to return home after quarantining and receiving multiple negative tests on the NSW side of the border.
        Not since 1919 have the Albury Showgrounds acted as a quarantine camp, when rows of tents housed Victorians unable to cross the border. In that case, the NSW government had banned them from entering as Spanish flu case numbers rose in Melbourne.
        A more formal quarantine camp at Albury Showgrounds during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1919. Foto Supplies Camera House, Albury
        Over the past month, numbers have fluctuated at Albury Showgrounds with about six caravans set up on Friday, including that of Kevin and Pauline Davis.
        Their home is in Corryong, a 90-minute drive away, but the couple has been stuck at the showgrounds for a week. Mr Davis celebrated his 79th birthday there on Friday.
        They travelled north on June 13, when NSW recorded just six cases and Victoria five.
        ''We thought we'd be fine if we stayed away from Sydney and the coast, we made it up to Kingaroy [210 kilometres north-west of Brisbane],'' Mr Davis said.
        Kevin Davis celebrated his 79th birthday at the Showgrounds on Friday with wife Pauline and Tilly the dog. Jason Robins
        ''Once we got there I was suffering extreme heartburn then had a heart attack and had to spend a week in hospital.''
        Mr Davis was discharged and the couple left Queensland for Victoria, only getting as far as Dubbo in central NSW by the time Victoria declared the entire state a red zone and banned all entrants on July 11.
        ''Now we've hit the bloody Murray River and can't get past it. My granddaughter tried to get us a medical exemption. I'm short of breath and need to see my cardiologist, I may need a stent or pacemaker put in,'' Mr Davis said.
        ''That was rejected and we've now been told if we stay here for two weeks and get tested three times, we can go home.''
        Postcard account of a five day stay in the Spanish Flu Quarantine Camp at Albury in 1919. Foto Supplies Camera House, Albury
        Mr Davis said each caravan awaiting their trip across the border had kept to themselves the last week '' a stark contrast to 1919, when the camp was host to cricket games and a local magazine.
        Mary Sheehan, who is studying a PhD at Melbourne University specialising in the Spanish Flu pandemic, said the political circumstances were similar albeit with the tables turned: the NSW government grew frustrated at Victoria's inability to contain cases.
        ''The showgrounds camp accommodated 220 people in army tents, where they were told to stay for seven days before travelling on,'' she said.
        State MP Bill Tilley said the pop-up camp illustrated the unnecessary burden on residents from border communities.
        ''Our border should be a COVID-19 bubble for those who live around it, not a wall. This is not Berlin or Belfast,'' the Liberal member for Benambra said.
        Yet with cases growing in NSW almost six weeks into the state's lockdown, the Premier said on Friday that the ''incredibly difficult'' choice to close the border and only approve exemptions in the most exceptional circumstances remained necessary.
        ''The permit's there to keep everyone safe. I know it's incredibly heartbreaking to say no to some people who genuinely want to come here for the best of reasons ... [but] if it can get to Byron Bay, only a fool would think it couldn't get to Albury. We've got that border shut for a reason.''
      Jake Davison, Suspected Mass Shooter, Said He Was an American, Trump-Supporting Virgin
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:03
        The man suspected of killing five people before turning the gun on himself in a mass shooting in England on Thursday night was an incel Trump supporter who posted about ''devil worshipers'' in government.
        The suspected shooter has been named by police as Jake Davison, a 22-year-old who is reported to have worked in construction. In a six-minute rampage, Davison killed his mom, Maxine Davison, a 3-year-old girl named Sophie Martyn, the girl's father, Lee Martyn, as well as two bystanders, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd.
        It was the worst mass shooting in Britain since 2010.
        Davison's mother disapproved of her son's misogynistic views, and the two clashed frequently, an acquaintance told The Telegraph. Davison also ''beat up his father a couple of months ago,'' according to another source. Davison urgently needed mental health treatment but wasn't able to get help in time, a family friend reportedly wrote on Facebook.
        ''The NHS basically said they are short staffed and that was it,'' the friend wrote. ''The family even asked the police to come out to see him'... they didn't do a welfare check. And now six people are dead.''
        Before the shooting, Davison expressed his admiration for Donald Trump on Facebook and posted multiple self-pitying YouTube videos in which he identified himself as part of the incel community. On his Facebook page, Davison claimed to be from Arizona, but his distinctive accent is typical of people from the southwest of England.
        In one post from 2018, Davison shared a Trump quote and, when his friends ridiculed him in the comments, the suspect hit back: ''You may not agree with his political views (I do) but he is different from the scum like Hillary or the people running our country like the neo-con sellout that is [then-British Prime Minister] Theresa May.''
        Elsewhere in the comments, Davison wrote about conspiracy theories that sound similar to those pushed by QAnon believers. He wrote, ''Scepticism of government is key and everyone should be ready and prepared for anything bad that could happen. I am aware much of the government is deeply flawed there are many paedophiles and even reported devil worshipers people that sell us out to foreign countries.''
        Davison's Facebook likes suggest he was obsessed with conservative U.S. politics. He followed the pages of Trump, all of his children, and several Trump businesses, as well as pages for the NRA, Fox News, Breitbart, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and one called ''Ted Nugent for President.'' In one comment, he said it was his dream to move to the States.
        In disturbing YouTube videos posted just weeks before the shooting, Davison appears to be deeply unhappy about his life. Under the username ''Professor Waffle,'' he refers to people like him as ''blackpillers,'' incels who believe unattractive men will never be romantically successful regardless of how much effort they put into how they look. In one comment under his video, he wrote that he'd been ''consuming the blackpill overdose.''
        In one video, he grabs his belly fat and bemoans his lack of motivation to get fit, complains about women being ''simple-minded,'' and justifies sexual assault by saying women ignore ''average men and below average.''
        ''When you've worked so fucking hard... and you see other fuckers that work nowhere near as hard as you, then you wake up and look at the wall and think 'Nothing's changed,''' he whines in one clip. ''I'm still in the same position, same period in life, still a fucking this, that, virgin, fat, ugly, whatever you want to call it. What's changed? Nothing.''
        Another video sees Davison spending 14 minutes complaining that he missed out on experiencing teenage love because of his weight, and saying that he has no desire to get a relationship with an adult woman.
        ''Let's say I get with a woman my age,'' he says. ''She's had a million relationships. Likely been destroyed and broken and torn apart by a fucking chad. She's probably completely incapable of loving anyone like she did when she was 16, 17, 15, when she first got with that fucking chad.''
        At the end of his final video posted before the shooting, Davison compares himself to The Terminator, telling viewers: ''I know it's a movie, but I like to think sometimes that I'm The Terminator. Despite reaching almost total system failure, he keeps trying to accomplish his mission.''
        A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed that Davison's channel was removed from its site Friday morning and said in a statement: ''Our hearts go out to those affected by this terrible incident. We have strict policies to ensure our platform is not used to incite violence.''
        In a Friday morning press conference, police refused to comment on Davison's social media posts and said that they have not determined a motive for the shooting. Officers did confirm that Davison was a licensed gun owner and said witnesses saw him wielding a ''pump-action shotgun.''
        Chief constable Shaun Sawyer told reporters that multiple witnesses saw Sophie Martyn, 3, and her father being shot dead on the street, calling that specific part of the shooting spree a ''truly shocking event.''
        Britain has had some of the strictest gun laws in the world since the Dunblane massacre in 1996, when a gunman murdered 16 children and a teacher inside a Scottish primary school. Would-be gun owners must go through several stages of police checks before they can obtain a license, which then has to be renewed for approval every five years.
        Britain hasn't seen a mass shooting on the scale of what happened in Plymouth since 2010, when 52-year-old taxi driver Derrick Bird went on a rampage that saw him shoot 12 people dead in west Cumbria.
        Safi Hilton, one of Davison's Facebook friends, posted a tribute to the victims of the Plymouth shooting, writing: ''In a world where you can be anything, be kind. Thoughts are with the families, friends and also witnesses of this incident tonight. Remember to reach out and talk.''
      Excess COVID cases, deaths linked to wildfire smoke - Axios
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 13:49
        Exposure to high levels of fine particle pollution produced by wildfires may have led to thousands more COVID cases and deaths, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances.
        Why it matters: Research has shown that smoke can have dangerous health impacts, a correlation that is putting more and more at risk as the pandemic collides with the climate crisis.
        Details: Researchers tracked more than 90 counties in California and Washington that were ravaged by wildfires last year, and found that nearly 20% of COVID cases in certain counties were linked to elevated levels of wildfire smoke.
        In some counties, an even higher percentage of COVID deaths could be associated with wildfire smoke.Their models accounted for other variables, including weather, population and general COVID trends, to control for factors that might influence the findings."Scientists who study air quality say it is possible that smoke particles could carry the virus," the Washington Post writes. "There are also other possible dynamics involved, such as people tending to gather indoors to avoid wildfire smoke, which could lead to more interaction with infected people."What they're saying: "This illustrates the systemic and contingent nature of crises and how the effects of one global crisis (climate change) can have cascading effects on concurrent global crises (the COVID-19 pandemic) that play out in location-specific ways (increased COVID-19 cases and deaths due to wildfire)," the authors wrote in the study.
        The big picture: Climate change is increasingly inducing wildfires, and they won't stop anytime soon. Rapid global warming is reaching across the globe and making the world a more volatile place, per a recent UN-sponsored report.
        Extreme heat and wildfires are plaguing the United States, Canada, Siberia, Europe and northern Africa. In some of these regions, the fires are likely to continue to burn until the onset of winter snows.Go deeper... In photos: Where wildfires are blazing around the world
      Treasury Seeks to Quell Fears Crypto Tax Rules Are Overly Broad - Bloomberg
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      Texas Republicans love to punish Austin. Now the pandemic is doing it for them. - The Washington Post
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 03:41
        AUSTIN '-- In May, during that blissful window when rising vaccine numbers made things seem almost normal, I visited family in Connecticut. One afternoon, we took a tour of places that marked the area's participation in the slave trade, part of an educational project centered on undoing the popular myth that the Northeast was filled with nothing but morally superior upstanding abolitionists. All of us found it fascinating and important, but the leader of the tour kept addressing me when he spoke. His eyes found mine whenever he talked about the role of the South. He seemed oddly defensive when I asked a question. At some point, my aunt buttonholed me to explain in a whisper, ''I'm so sorry, I told him you were from Texas, but I didn't say Austin.''
        I still believe Austin is different than the rest of Texas, but covid-19 leveled the state in more ways than one. The pandemic hit Austin with as much force as any place else in the state; at times, we had it worse. And now, as the delta variant fills hospitals to capacity and strains health-care providers to the limit, the city is bound '-- just like the rest of the state '-- from taking the most obvious steps to fight it.
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        On July 29, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order banning local governments as well as any entity subsidized by the state from mandating that masks be worn inside. This applies to obvious places like city courthouses and museums, but also to less obvious beneficiaries of state largesse, like crowded outdoor spaces such as Austin's brand-new soccer stadium. More urgently, the ban on mask mandates also applies to the schools about to host millions of children for hours and hours each day.
        There was immediate pushback from local school districts in the places where politics has not deterred officials from treating the coronavirus as an active threat, which it is. Most of the state's urban districts, including Austin, put out statements that they would require masks regardless. Abbott responded by invoking ''parental rights'' and declaring, ''The time for mask mandates is over; now is the time for personal responsibility.''
        On Wednesday, the mayor of Austin, Steve Adler (D), and the executive officer of Travis County (which encompasses the capital) announced they would stand with the local school district in requiring masks. They will also defy the governor in mandating masks in county and city buildings.
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        After the Austin announcement, Abbott tweeted, ''Any school district, public university, or local official that decides to defy GA-38 '-- which prohibits gov't entities from mandating masks '-- will be taken to court.''
        We'll see if Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) make good on that ''any.'' Nearly all the big cities in Texas are about as blue as we are now. But he is almost certainly going to go after Austin. ''The governor and the attorney general love to sue Austin and they love to sue Travis County,'' Andy Brown (D), the Travis County judge '-- basically a county chief executive '-- told me. ''Even when the science and our local community supports us.''
        Texas banned me from providing abortions '-- using coronavirus as an excuse
        To Brown and Adler, mask measures aren't precautionary. The time to head off the current surge in Texas has passed; they (and other city officials) are just trying to keep the tragedy from metastasizing further. Covid-19 hospitalization rates in the state are higher than they were when Abbott did issue a statewide mask mandate in July 2020. Indeed, 87.1 percent of all hospital beds across the state are in use '-- the same as at the height of the pandemic. Out of 5,788 ICU beds in Texas, only 394 are available. In the entire Austin medical service area, which stretches across 11 counties and serves a population of 2.2 million people, the number of ICU beds available, as of Monday: two.
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        Abbott has repeatedly used the pandemic as an excuse for performative ''personal responsibility'' rhetoric. He was formally censured by the Republican committees of eight counties for ordering masks last year (he rescinded the order in March), but he quickly found other opportunities to portray himself as a defender of those who claim that health-related orders are an infringement on their rights. It did not matter that the authorities imposing those orders were the duly elected representatives of the local population; in fact, that seems to be the point.
        In December, when Travis Country declared that bars and restaurants had to close by 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve to help contain the opportunities for the virus to spread, Abbott and Paxton filed a suit fighting for the right to party (and encouraged diners to defy the order no matter what the court ruled). When Travis County responded to Abbott's lifting of statewide covid restrictions by requiring city and county businesses to continue following the stricter guidance of local officials, they sued again.
        We who live here see the city slogan '-- ''Keep Austin weird'' '-- as a manifesto. Conservative politicians such as Abbott and Paxton see it as an exclusionary command: Keep the weird in Austin, and only in Austin. We are a convenient placeholder in the culture wars, a metro area that red Texas imagines to be populated with nothing but childless cat ladies and emo soy boys, Critical Race Theory instructors and bakers of cakes for same-sex marriages. We allow people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity and have a city park designated as clothing optional. (Those last two things are true.) And I already told you about the soccer stadium.
        Texas declared itself a small-government paradise. Now we're frozen in it.
        So, of course, Paxton and Abbott's Fox News-friendly campaign against Austin extends beyond pandemic matters. The state has also sued Austin over banning guns in city hall, over its attempts to regulate Airbnb-style rentals and over who can serve on the city planning commission. Abbott has even accused the city of having a particular odor, not what you might sniff over by Willie Nelson's house but rather: ''When you leave Austin and start heading north '... it starts smelling different. And you know what that fragrance is? Freedom! It's the smell of freedom that does not exist in Austin, Texas.''
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        And often, that litigation amounts to empty measures without any real-world impact. The local business mask mandate has been upheld by a district judge. The Texas State Supreme Court did eventually agree to overturn the New Year's Eve business shutdown order '-- in a decision announced on New Year's Day.
        Those losses are probably just fine with Paxton and Abbott, though; a lot of the time they can count on the headlines to do the dirty work for them. Headlines generate fundraising and the loyalty of primary voters. And in the case of covid restrictions, the work is more literally unclean: Each time the state government relaxes its guidelines, it's sending another message that the virus should not be our biggest worry.
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        But we see with our own eyes that you can't gerrymander a disease. To keep the virus from jumping from red areas to blue, you'd need a physical barrier and impose strict travel prohibitions. I don't know, maybe build a wall.
        My sincere hope is that they never have to visit anytime soon.
      Iran to join Shanghai Cooperation Organization - Tehran Times
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 03:24
        TEHRAN '-- The Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev made a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, discussing Afghanistan, Syria, and Persian Gulf on Wednesday afternoon, as well as the news that Iran will soon join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
        Patrushev and Shamkhani discussed continuous Russian-Iranian cooperation in the field of security.
        Shamkhani also wrote on his Twitter account on Wednesday, "An hour ago, in a phone call with my friend and colleague Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian National Security Council, we examined the developments in Afghanistan, Syria and the Persian Gulf."
        The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council stated, "Fortunately, the political obstacles to Iran's membership in the Shanghai agreement have been removed and Iran's membership will be finalized through technical formalities."
        The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is the continuation of Shanghai 5 Organization.
        Shanghai 5 was a five-member organization founded in 1996 with primarily military and security objectives. Since then, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has evolved, both in terms of increasing the number of members and in terms of the mechanism and scope of activities and goals.
        According to available sources, in June 2002, during a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, the leaders of the organization's member states signed the SCO charter, which provided detailed information on its objectives, principles, structure and operation, and thus the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was formally established under international law.
        In 2005, three countries, Iran, India and Pakistan, joined the organization as observer members, and India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017. Iran also applied for permanent membership in 2006 and 2015. Since accepting any country's application requires the consent of all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Iran has so far been unable to join due to opposition from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
        Without Iran's active presence and its role as the link between East and West in China's plan, it will be difficult to achieve the goals of reviving the Silk Road, and China is well aware of this. Because in both land and sea routes, Iran's geopolitical position on the Silk Road is vital.
        The plan, which includes two trade routes, the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, involves investing in the economic infrastructure of more than 65 countries.
        The "economic belt", which covers the land route of the Silk Road and is the ancient route of the Silk Road, connects China to Eastern and Western Europe through Central Asia and West Asia, and the countries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine. It includes Poland, Belgium, France and finally Italy.
        The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road also connects China to Southeast Asia, Africa, and even Europe, such as Greece and Italy, north of the Mediterranean Sea by sea.
        Many countries that are in the path of China's economic belt and are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are in the perspective of Iran's trade relations. Experts believe that Central Asia is one of the potential regions for export development.
        Also, the Islamic Republic of Iran has placed the perspective of the country's economic position on the horizon of 1404 at the top of the countries of the Southwest Asia region and has divided this region into four subdivisions "Central Asia", "Caucasus", "Middle East" and neighboring countries.
        The Central Asian region includes five countries: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This area covers about 34% of the total area of the landscape document and about 13% of the total population of the said document area.
        A study of the level of development of the countries in this region shows that they provide good opportunities to advance Iran's export goals. Although after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of new countries, a lot of efforts were made by Iran to enter the markets of these countries, but the desired result was not achieved.
        According to the latest statistics of the Trade Development Organization, unfortunately, except for Turkmenistan, none of these countries are among the most important target markets for goods in 1396 and 1397. In 2017, Iran's exports to Turkmenistan reached $418 million and in 1397, it decreased by about 4% to $400 million.
        Meanwhile, Iran can expand its exports to these countries in various fields, including energy (including oil, gas and electricity). Iran's role in economic relations, the geopolitical situation of the region, the transportation route of Central Asia out of the impasse, facilities and infrastructure such as Sarakhs-Tajan-Mashhad-Bandar Abbas and the ports of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas, can be very effective.
        Central Asian countries do not have access to open waters. Therefore, in the economic plan of one Belt-One Road, China will inevitably be one of the access routes of these countries to the open waters of Iran. Therefore, Iran can provide better transportation, better and more access to the Persian Gulf by strengthening and developing communication infrastructure. In other words, Iran is their connection point to open waters.
        SA/PA
      Someone In Colorado Is Putting The Funniest Signs, And The Puns Are Priceless (35 New Pics) | Bored Panda
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        Archived Version
        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:34
        There's something about funny road signs that everyone seems to have a soft spot for. Think of the internet's beloved sign at Tex-Mex restaurant El Arroyo or the legendary Wallingford Sign at Seattle Propane, famous for making anyone who crosses paths with it giggle.
        No less puntastic (if not even more!) is the Indian Hills Community Sign that has gained almost a cult following for its smashing one-liners, hilariously cheeky jokes, puns, and you name it. The sign makes road wisdom meet dad comedy, and the result will surely make you chuckle.
        "It all began 5 years ago, on April Fools Day, when I put up a street sign that stirred up the area," the creator behind the sign told Bored Panda earlier. Turns out, Colorado native Vince Rozmiarek not only managed to put his lovely town, Indian Hills, on the map, but united all the sign humor aficionados on this Facebook page that keeps on growing.
        Scroll down, check out our favorite road sign comedy, and be sure to take a look at more of Vince's comical bits in our previous articles here and here.
        More info: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | VinceTheSignGuy.com
        This post may include affiliate links.
        With more than 161k followers, the Indian Hills Community Sign has become one of the internet's most liked road signs. Created by Vince Rozmiarek, the goal of the sign board is to spread ''puntastic humor to lighten your world,'' says the project's description on Vince's website.
        Moreover, fans from all over the world can submit their jokes online, and they may well end up on the famous board. Punny one-liners like ''The only thing flat-Earthers have to fear is sphere itself,'' ''I call my horse Mayo and sometimes Mayo neighs'' and ''Looking back, I really hurt my neck'' are very welcome, so if you have one, be sure to hit Vince up here.
        Indian Hills, a small census-designated place tucked in Jefferson County, has been Vince's home for 12 years. Seven years ago, Vince became a volunteer at the community center where one of his first tasks was to build a new sign for announcements, weddings and other notes for locals.
        On April Fool's Day, he posted the first Indian Hills sign joke and the rest is history. Turns out, there was a popular speed trap nearby on Highway 285 in Morrison, so Vince's first sign was a tribute to that, reading: ''Indian Hills annexed by Morrison, SLOW DOWN.''
        He recounted: ''I got several phone calls'--one from the police department asking what was going on in Indian Hills. I explained it was an April Fool's prank and that I would pull it down at the end of the day. They said 'Thanks, we just need to know what to tell people.' Thus, it began.''
        Vince told The Denver Channel that his proudest creation is the pun from July 2, 2017: ''Cows have hooves because they lactose.'' He added: ''It's just plain funny and I laugh even now when I say it,'' he said. ''That one went viral and everyone seemed to love it. I didn't offend any cows.''
        From then on, Vince decided to put bad puns and jokes up a couple of times a week. "I also try to create unique holiday puns/sayings, and current events that I feel are important. It is hard to keep coming up with the material, but I do try," he told in an earlier interview with Bored Panda. He added that the reason he does it is straightforward'--he simply likes to make people laugh.
      Website Terms and Conditions of Use and Agency Agreement
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        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:16
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        AGENCY AGREEMENTIf you are a creator of Content submitted to the Rumble Service through your Rumble account, the relationship between you and Rumble is one of principal and agent ("Agency") and is subject to the terms and conditions set out herein which specifically govern this relationship (the "Agency Agreement").
        Appointment of Agent. You, as the principal (the "Principal" or "you"), may submit video Content to be published and managed by Rumble as your agent ("Agent") for the purposes of same. By submitting Content to Rumble and by Rumble accepting such Content on the Rumble Service pursuant to either Agency Option "A" or Agency Option "B", as defined below, you are appointing and do hereby appoint Rumble as your exclusive, worldwide, perpetual Agent for such Content, and grant Rumble the exclusive right to distribute, display, reproduce, license, rent, sell, monetize, and otherwise exploit the Content in any medium, on any kind of display device, worldwide, for the duration of the "Term of Agency" as defined below (the "Agency Rights"). As discussed in more detail below, the Agency Rights will also include Rumble's right to bring suit in its own name as plaintiff for infringement or other inappropriate or illegal use of the Content and to seek in such suit all damages or other relief available under law and equity to which you and/or Rumble are entitled. By appointing Rumble as your Agent and granting Rumble the Agency Rights, you agree that you shall not distribute, display, reproduce, license, rent, sell, monetize, and otherwise exploit the Content in any medium, on any kind of display device, worldwide, for the duration of the Agency Term, as defined below. The Agency Term means a 50 (fifty) year period commencing as of the date you enter into this Agreement. The Agency Term shall automatically renew for additional consecutive renewal terms of 50 (fifty) years each, unless either party gives written notice of its intent not to renew the Agency Term, ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the then expiring Agency Term.
        There are four (4) types of "Agency Option(s)" offered and governed by this Agreement, as described below, namely, Agency Option "A", Agency Option "B", Agency Option "C", and Agency Option "D". You must select a single Agency Option during the Content submission process, and that selected Option cannot thereafter be changed without Rumble express written permission. If you select any of Options "A" or "B," you cannot remove the video from the Rumble Player for the duration of our Agency agreement.
        Video Management Option (Option "A")You will receive all Net Earnings, less an Agency Fee equal to 40%, collected in relation to your Content.
        Video Management (Excluding YouTube) Option ("Option B")You will receive all Net Earnings, less an Agency Fee equal to 40%, collected in relation to your Content. Rumble shall not publish your Content to YouTube.com and publication of your Content shall be limited to all media and channels except YouTube.com which is specifically excluded.
        Rumble Only Option (Option "C")Rumble will publish your Content through the Rumble Player and will act as your Agent only in respect of publication via this channel. All other media and channels are specifically excluded from Rumble's Agency.
        You will receive all Net Earnings collected in relation to publication of your Content on the Rumble Player less an Agency Fee equal to 40%. If you select this Option, and notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, you shall be entitled to remove Content from the Rumble Player at any time.
        Personal Use Option (Option "D")Rumble shall only publish your Content on Rumble's Video Player or Rumble-owned websites.
        Rumble shall not monetize your Content. No Net Earnings will be payable to you and no Agency Fees shall be charged. If you select this Option, and notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, you shall be entitled to remove Content from the Rumble Player at any time.
        TERMS APPLICABLE TO RUMBLE'S CUSTOM VIDEO PLAYER SERVICEIf you have elected to subscribe to Rumble's Custom Video Player Service (the "Custom Player Service" or "CPS Subscription") or participate in an available trial CPS Subscription, the following specific terms and conditions shall apply in addition to all other applicable terms and conditions pursuant to the Terms of Use on the Rumble Site.
        Selection of a CPS SubscriptionBy selecting a CPS Subscription as offered by Rumble from time to time the terms, features, and pricing of your selected CPS Subscription will be as described during the CPS Subscription selection procedure through the Rumble Site (the "CPS Features and Pricing"). All CPS Subscriptions terms are monthly and are automatically renewed for successive months until terminated.
        Rumble reserves the right to change any terms, features, or pricing of CPS Subscriptions at any time with all such changes having effect upon thirty (30) days' notice or as otherwise notified to you by Rumble.
        PaymentBy selecting a CPS Subscription you are agreeing to pay the associated fees (the "CPS Subscription Fee") for the CPS Subscription and hereby authorize Rumble to charge or debit your agreed payment method on a monthly basis for the CPS Subscription Fee and any other applicable charges. All CPS Subscription Fees are payable in advance and charged monthly, subject to the Upgraded Plan provisions set out below.
        Bandwidth UsageEach CPS Subscription provides for a certain maximum allotted amount of bandwidth (the "Maximum Allotted Bandwidth") which may be used by you throughout each monthly CPS Subscription period ("Monthly Subscription Period"), commencing at the start-date of your CPS Subscription ("Subscription Start Date") and ending at the monthly anniversary date of your Subscription Start Date ("Subscription Anniversary Date"). Any portion of the Maximum Allotted Bandwidth that you do not use during any particular Monthly Subscription Period will not "roll over" and may not be used or applied to a subsequent Monthly Subscription period.
        It is your responsibility to monitor and manage bandwidth usage, available via the Rumble dashboard, during the Monthly Subscription Period. Rumble may but is not obliged to notify you if you have expended or are likely to expend your Maximum Allotted Bandwidth.
        Bandwidth Overage ProcedureUnless otherwise specified in the CPS Features and Pricing applicable to your CPS Subscription, once you use the Maximum Allotted Bandwidth, and absent a duly received Notice of Overage Disablement (as defined below), your CPS Subscription will automatically and immediately (the "New Subscription Start Date") be upgraded to the next superior CPS Subscription plan available and as described in Subscription Features and Pricing on the Rumble Site ("Upgraded Plan"). Your Subscription Anniversary Date shall be immediately and automatically reset with all features and pricing of the Upgraded Plan becoming effective and applicable to your CPS Subscription as of the New Subscription Start Date. This Bandwidth Overage Procedure will continue to apply to each Upgraded Plan so that your CPS Subscription is automatically and immediately upgraded to the next superior plan each time you reach the Maximum Allotted Bandwidth, including but not limited to an already Upgraded Plan. You hereby agree to the automatic implementation of your Upgraded Plan upon reaching the Maximum Allotted Bandwidth for your original or any subsequent Upgraded Plan pursuant to the Bandwidth Overage Procedure, and hereby authorize Rumble to charge or debit your agreed payment method for the applicable CPS Subscription Fee in respect of the Upgraded Plan commencing upon the new Subscription Start Date in respect of each applicable Upgraded Plan.
        If you do not wish to use or be upgraded to an Upgraded Plan pursuant to the Bandwidth Overage Procedure, you are required to notify Rumble in writing via rumble billing email prior to any Bandwidth Overage, of your intention to disable any Bandwidth Overage in connection with your CPS Subscription effective as of the point that you reach the Maximum Allotted Bandwidth ("Overage Disablement") for your current CPS Subscription ("Notice of Overage Disablement"). Your Notice of Overage Disablement shall only apply to your then current Monthly Subscription Period and you will be required to notify Rumble again in respect of any requested Overage Disablement for any subsequently Monthly Subscription Period. In the absence of a duly received receipt of Notice of Overage Disablement in accordance with these provisions, you will be automatically upgraded to the Upgraded Plan once you use the Maximum Allotted Bandwidth in accordance with these provisions.
        Refunds and CancellationNo refunds are available in respect of any fees to Rumble. In order to cancel, contact rumble billing email at least five days prior to your Subscription Anniversary Date or New Subscription Start Date in order to ensure that you will no longer be billed.
        Upgrading a Subscription on Your OwnIf you decide on your own to upgrade your CPS Subscription to an Upgraded Plan that provides additional bandwidth, you may do so via the Rumble dashboard available on the Rumble Site. By selecting an Upgraded Plan as described in the CPS Features and Pricing, you acknowledge that the selected Upgraded Plan will commence immediately thereby constituting a New Subscription Start Date and your Subscription Anniversary Date will be adjusted accordingly. Your Upgraded Plan will continue to be subject to the Bandwidth Overage Procedure.
        Free TrialsRumble may from time to time offer a "Free Trial" of a CPS Subscription pursuant to the description of any such "Free Trial" on the Rumble Site. You acknowledge and agree that all Free Trials are of a maximum duration of 30 days unless otherwise specified by Rumble, and shall be automatically converted to a CPS Subscription requiring payment of CPS Subscription Fees in accordance with the applicable CPS Features and Pricing upon the expiry of the initial 30-day Free Trial period. You also acknowledge that all terms and conditions applicable to Free Trials, including but not limited the Bandwidth Overage Procedure, shall apply to Free Trials, both before and after the expiry of the initial 30-day Free Trial period. You hereby authorize Rumble to charge or debit your agreed payment method on a monthly basis for the applicable CPS Subscription Fee commencing as of the expiry of the initial 30-day Free Trial period unless at least five days prior to such expiry you notify Rumble of your intent to cancel at rumble billing email.
        Payment MethodsRumble may from time to time offer certain payment methods in respect of CPS Subscription Fees. In the event that a credit card or debit card is permitted as a payment method and the applicable CPS Subscription Fees are not chargeable or debitable to such payment method, you acknowledge and agree that if the credit card or debit card does not work, either because of expiry or otherwise, then upon expiry of any paid portion of your CPS Subscription period, all CPS Subscription services may be deactivated without notice to you. You are solely responsible for ensuring that all permitted payment methods are up-to-date and are able to cover all applicable CPS Subscription Fees, including but not limited to all CPS Subscription Fees payable for Upgraded Plans.
        Content and Advertisements for CPS Subscription ServiceYou acknowledge and agree that when you monetize your Content on the Rumble Site or perform activity as a Rumble Publisher, as outlined in the Terms of Use, all provisions applicable with the Rumble Player as otherwise set out in the Terms of Use shall apply.
        In the event that your CPS Subscription contains Content and/or advertising provided by you, you acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible and/or liable for all such Content and/or advertising and that you indemnify and hold Rumble harmless in accordance with all indemnification provisions otherwise set out in the Terms of Use.
        PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT VIA THE RUMBLE SERVICERumble may, but is not obliged to, have your Content published and displayed through various media channels and in various formats via the Rumble Service, in its sole commercial discretion based upon the Agency Option which you select. Rumble reserves the right to decline or reject any Content submitted to the Rumble Service.
        INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYYou affirm, represent, and warrant that you have the legal right to submit the Content to the Rumble Service, that you have all necessary right and authority to appoint Rumble as your Agent in accordance with the selected Agency Option as described herein, and that you are legally entitled to enter into the Agency Agreement.
        You further represent and warrant that any Content submitted does not contain third party copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third party proprietary, intellectual property or contractual rights or interests, unless you have express written permission from the rights holder of the Content to enter into this Agreement. In the event you claim to have been granted such rights from a third party, you agree to furnish evidence of same in writing forthwith upon request by Rumble. You are required to obtain such written permission before submitting such Content to the Rumble Service. Such written permission must not be limited in any way, shall be exclusive, and shall remain in effect for the duration of this Agreement.
        Any infringement or other violation of a third party's rights with respect to the Content submitted by you to the Rumble Service and which has been identified as such by Rumble or by a third party, may immediately and without notice to you result in the removal of such Content. It is Rumble's strict polity to comply with all applicable intellectual property laws and regulations of which it is aware. You hereby agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Rumble, its agents, employees, contractors, directors, officers, and shareholders, as to any allegations, demands, claims, investigations or disputes arising from your submission of Content to Rumble and/or monetization of your Content, insofar as it relates to any infringement or violation of the intellectual property rights, proprietary rights, contractual rights, or other rights of a third party.
        You acknowledge and agree that except for the Assignment Option discussed below, this Agency Agreement does not assign ownership of any copyright for or in the Content to Rumble, and that all payments made to you pursuant to this Agreement are amounts earned by you from the monetization of your Content, less expenses and Rumble's Agency Fees (as defined below) and are not royalties or license fees. If you receive payments from Rumble as the person authorized by the creator or rightsholder to retain Rumble as Agent, you indemnify and hold harmless Rumble from and against any claim by the creator or rightsholder in respect of your receipt of such payments and in respect of Rumble's Agency.
        Monetization and Rights Applicable Under Option "A" and "B"In the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B", in order to monetize your Content, Rumble may in its sole unfettered commercial discretion, on your behalf, grant, sell and enter into License(s) (as defined below) to the Content with you being the Licensor, subject to Rumble being your attorney in fact for effecting such License(s) with the Licensee, as defined below, and you further authorize such Licensee to use such licensed Content in any media for any purpose including but not limited to use in advertising, promotion, marketing and packaging for any product or service, worldwide. For the purposes of this paragraph, a "License" means any contractual arrangement arranged between Rumble as your sole and exclusive Agent, and a third party (a "Licensee") in respect of the Licensee's use of your Content. In the event that Rumble desires, in its sole discretion, to enter into a Licence for your Content only, and/or to include Content from other creators with your Content in a single License, you hereby authorize and grant to Rumble the actual authority, permission and right: i) to do so; ii) to do so without seeking your further consent and without providing notice to you; and iii) to do so in its own name. In that event Rumble, acting as your Agent, will be listed as the sole nominative "licensor" in that License. You (and any other creator whose Content is included in the License) will each be an Undisclosed Principal in that License. It is further understood and agreed that you (and any other Content creator whose Content is included in the License) are each the real party-in-interest Licensor, and to the extent any compensation or other consideration is paid by the licensee, it will not be deemed licensee fees or royalties to Rumble. You also hereby grant to Rumble the actual authority, permission and right at its discretion to disclose or not to disclose your name as a real-party-in-interest Licensor. You also hereby grant to Rumble the actual authority, permission and right to prosecute in its own name any claims against the other party to the License or to defend claims asserted by the other party to the License ("Litigation") without seeking further consent from you or providing notice to you. Rumble will control all aspects of the Litigation, will be responsible for all costs and attorneys' fees, and will be entitled to seek, recover and retain any damages or other compensation, consideration, or other relief or recovery from the other party to the License in the Litigation, without providing any notice or accounting to you. Rumble will defend and indemnity you with respect to any claims made against you by the other party to any License entered into by Rumble in which you are an Undisclosed Principal as to any asserted breach by you of the License unless you are alleged to have committed the act or acts that are alleged to constitute the breach. In that instance, Rumble reserves the right to demand that you defend and indemnity it as to such claims, which you hereby agree to do.
        In the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B", by submitting Content to Rumble, you are irrevocably agreeing to appoint Rumble as your sole, worldwide, exclusive and perpetual Agent with respect to the Content and all rights pertaining thereto, including without limitation, all rights enumerated in United States Code, Title 17, § 106 , and you herein authorize and grant Rumble the exclusive authority to make all decisions and take all actions Rumble deems reasonably appropriate with respect to the management, commercial and non-commercial monetization of the Content under the terms of this Agreement.
        You specifically authorize Rumble as your Agent to combine the Content with other images, text, graphics, file, audio, audio-visual works; and alter, modify and crop the Content at Rumble's sole discretion, and hereby waive any reservation of moral rights in and to the Content.
        In the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B", as your Agent in respect of the Content, Rumble may choose in its exclusive and absolute unfettered and/or arbitrary commercial discretion, to , register copyrights in any jurisdiction or jurisdictions worldwide on your behalf, with you (or the party which has expressly provided you with authorization to enter this Agreement and is the rightsholder) listed as the copyright claimant, author, or similar, and to record Rumble as your sole and exclusive Agent therein for the purposes of administering all rights and permissions thereto. Rumble shall not be liable to you or any third party for any delay or defect in it attempt to registerthe copyright in any Content, or if Rumble does not attempt to register such Copyright.
        In the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B", as your Agent in respect of the Content, Rumble may choose in its exclusive and absolute unfettered and/or arbitrary commercial discretion to pursue any legal remedies available in order to, as your Agent, assert or enforce your (or if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third party rights holder, that third party's) copyright or other intellectual property rights in and to the Content, including but not limited to making a claim or commencing legal proceedings with respect to all payments owing to you by third parties with respect to infringement of the Content, and you agree to fully cooperate in same (or if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third party rights holder, you agree to procure the cooperation of such third party). Notwithstanding the foregoing, you acknowledge and agree that Rumble shall at no time and in no manner be obliged to make any efforts as your Agent pursuant to this provision. You hereby appoint Rumble as your (or if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third-party rights holder, that third-party's) attorney in fact for executing any instrument or document or taking any step in furtherance of the rights granted herein.
        Where Rumble as Agent takes steps to enforce the copyright in your Content or breach of a license agreement on your behalf as Principal, or where the law allows Rumble (as an agent having a pecuniary interest in the subject matter and outcome of the suit) to file suit in its own name as your agent), or whether directly by way of the Assignment Option, as defined below, or otherwise, Rumble shall have sole control and decision-making power over any demand, claim, proceeding or settlement. If required by applicable law that you be a named plaintiff in any such enforcement action relating to your Content, you hereby so consent to be so named. In that instance, Rumble will continue to have sole control of the action as described above, will continue to pay all fees and costs incurred in that action, and you agree to cooperate with Rumble with respect to such action.
        It is understood and agreed that any C-Suite officer (CEO, COO, CTO, CFO) of Rumble may execute documents pursuant to, and exercise for Rumble, any power of attorney you have granted to Rumble herein.
        Recovery Through Copyright EnforcementYou, or if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third party rightsholder, that third party, shall not issue any demand, or commence any claim or proceedings to enforce any rights in any Content submitted to Rumble under Agency Option "A" or Agency Option "B", except with Rumble's express authorization which may be denied in the event that Rumble elects to assume carriage and control of such enforcement measures, and in such event Rumble shall indemnify and hold you (or the applicable third party rightsholder) harmless from and against any damages, legal fees and costs, directly attributable to such enforcement measures. If, however, Rumble authorizes you to take enforcement action, then you will be solely responsible for all fees, costs, damages or other expenses in that action.
        Recovery by Rumble as AgentIn the event that any claim or demand is made by Rumble or if legal proceedings are commenced by Rumble on your behalf and in your name as your Agent (as opposed to Rumble being the copyright owner pursuant to the Assignment Option as set out below) and such claim, demand, or proceeding results in a payment from a third party to Rumble, Rumble shall be entitled to deduct from such proceeds: a) all associated legal fees and expenses incurred or payable by Rumble; and b) if the payment amount exceeds the subsection (a) amount by at least USD $1,000.00, a management and enforcement fee equal to the remainder of the proceeds less the sum of USD $1,000.00, meaning that the maximum that you can receive in such event is USD $1,000.00.
        RUMBLE'S OPTION TO ACQUIRE CONTENT COPYRIGHT VIA ASSIGNMENT UNDER OPTION "A" or OPTION "B"Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, in the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B" only, if Rumble determines that it requires your copyright to be assigned to Rumble along with all related claims and causes of action (collectively, "Copyrights"), so as to enable Rumble to have standing to enforce the Copyrights against a third party, then Rumble shall have the option at any time, in consideration of the Copyright Assignment Fee (as defined below) to cause and consummate such assignment of Copyrights to Rumble, and this Agreement shall be your written instrument effecting same (the "Assignment Option"). Alternatively, if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third party rightsholder as may be permitted herein, you represent and warrant that you have authority herein to agree to same on behalf of such third-party rights holder.
        If you have chosen either Opton "A" or Option "B" only, you hereby appoint Rumble as your Attorney in Fact as to any such Assignment, and grant to Rumble the actual authority, right and permission, as your Attorney in Fact, the execute a separate Assignment document in the following form:
        "For Value Received, the sufficiency of which is acknowledged, [your name], an individual residing in the state of [your state of residence] ("Assignor") hereby assigns all copyright in [description of the Content being assigned] (the "Content") to Rumble, Inc. ("Assignee"). Assignor represents and warrants that a copyright exists in the Content, that Assignor owns all right, title and interest in and to that copyright, that the copyright has not been previously assigned or licensed, that Assignor has the right to assign the copyright in the Content to Assignee, that there is no dispute or potential dispute of which Assignor is aware regarding the copyright in the Content or Assignor's ownership thereof and right to assign to Assignor; and that Assignee may hereafter register the copyright in Assignee's name. This Assignment includes assigning to Assignee the sole right to seek, recover and retain any and all damages (and related forms of recovery and relief) for past, present and future infringement of the assigned copyright, without notice or accounting to Assignor. Executed this __ day of ___________, 20__, at Toronto, Canada. By: _________________________________ Name: ___________________________ Title: Rumble ___________________ Attorney in Fact for [your name].
        In the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B", and if Rumble so requests, you shall cooperate in executing any additional instruments or assignments of Copyrights (and related claims) reasonably required to give effect to the assignment, transfer and enforcement of the Copyrights in the Content (or if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third party rights holder, you agree to procure the cooperation of such third party). In the case where you have chosen either Option "A" or Option "B", you hereby appoint Rumble as your (or if you are entering into this Agreement under authority of a third party rights holder, that third party's) attorney in fact for executing on your or their behalf any instrument or assignment reasonably required to give effect to this provision and to effect the assignment and transfer of Copyrights.
        The Copyright Assignment Fee payable by Rumble to you shall the combination of;
        the maximum publicly available licensing fee for your Content as displayed in the Rumble catalogue, to a maximum of USD $500; andan additional USD $500.00 in consideration of the assignment.Upon assignment of Copyright in accordance with these provisions, all right, title, interest, and goodwill, together with the right to pursue and collect damages for all past, present, and future claims and causes of action in relation to enforcing intellectual property rights in and to the Content, including but not limited to Rumble's exclusive right to seek, recover and retain all past, present and future damages, attorneys' fees, enhanced or punitive damages, license fees, and/or royalties related to the Content, shall be transferred to Rumble.
        COLLECTION OF EARNINGSAs Agent, Rumble is authorized to collect any applicable earnings derived from the publication, licensing, display and/or other use (collectively, the "Use") of your Content on your behalf pursuant to this Agreement, and to remit to you on a monthly basis the Net Earnings less Agency fees ("Agency Fees"). The term "Net Earnings" is defined below and the calculation of the amounts of Net Earnings are determined by the Option you select below (see description of Agency Options above).
        As used herein, "Net Earnings" means the aggregate cash amounts actually collected on your behalf by Rumble as a result of the Use of your Content pursuant to this Agreement, less any amounts due to a Rumble Publisher / Syndication Partner, hosting costs, taxes, defensive litigation costs, exchange rates, and any other direct costs. The calculation of "Net Earnings" will be performed in accordance with Rumble's standard accounting practices.
        All payments to you of Net Earnings less Agency Fees will normally be remitted to your Rumble account thirty (30) days after Rumble receives payment on your behalf from third parties for the Use of your Content.
        If an upfront payment amount is provided for under this Agreement, the entire amount indicated will be issued to your Rumble account. Your future Net Earnings, less Agency Fees, will be applied against this upfront payment until the upfront payment amount is fully utilized.
        The first month for which payment is to be made shall: (a) begin on the first day of the month following the month of execution of this Agreement; and (b) include the portion of the month of execution following the Effective Date (unless this Agreement was executed on the first day of a month, in which case the month shall be deemed to begin on the first day of such month).
        EARNING PAYMENT REDUCTIONS / SET-OFFSPayments are subject to being reduced to offset bad debts, refunds and other charge-backs relating to Use of your Content within sixty (60) days of the payment to which the bad debt, chargeback or fund relates.
        LIABILITYRumble does not in any way endorse any Content submitted, including any opinion, recommendation, claims, advice or position expressed therein, and Rumble expressly disclaims all liability in connection with the Content and its publication. For the purposes of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or similar legislation or regulations, all Content is considered user-generated content and Rumble's capacity as Agent is not Content owned by Rumble (unless expressly assigned to Rumble under the terms of this Agreement) or uploaded by Rumble.
        In order to submit Content to Rumble you acknowledge that you are solely responsible for what is submitted and indemnify and hold Rumble harmless from any and all claims arising from a breach of your representations, warranties, and covenants as set out in this Agreement, and also indemnify and hold Rumble harmless from and against all third party claims with respect to the Content and acting as Agent in respect of the Content.
        RUMBLE PUBLISHER ACCOUNTIf your account qualifies for a Rumble Publisher account, any activity on the Rumble Player using the Monetized Embed Code will apply to your account as follows: as used herein, "Net Advertising Revenues" means aggregate amounts collected by Rumble arising from the license or sale of the pre-roll, mid-roll, post roll or overlay advertisements included within the Rumble Player less any amounts due for hosting, taxes, litigation costs, exchange rates, and any other direct costs. Rumble shall retain all amounts derived from all other advertisements, promotions, links, pointers and similar services or rights. Rumble Publisher is entitled to the Net Advertising Revenue less an Agency fee equal to 50% payable to Rumble, within thirty (30) days following the end of each month whenever a Rumble Publisher uses the Rumble Monetized Embed Code. Analytics will be directly reported into the Publisher Dashboard within your Rumble account.
        PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTTo file a copyright infringement notification with us relating to Content on the Rumble Player, you will need to send a written communication that includes substantially the following (please consult your legal counsel or see Section 512(c)(3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to confirm these requirements):
        A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material. Providing URLs in the body of an email is the best way to help us locate content quickly.Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.To expedite our ability to process your request, such written notice should be sent to our designated agent as follows:
        Service Provider(s): Rumble Inc.Name of Agent: Claudio R.Address: Rumble Inc., 218 Adelaide Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 1W7Email: our emailIf there are many videos to be removed, or you expect to have an ongoing need to remove potentially infringing content from Rumble, we suggest that you email us at our email with the subject as "ONGOING DMCA" where we increase the speed at which we are able to remove any infringing content on Rumble and also offer industry-leading content identification tools and personal management for your requests.
        Please note that under Section 512(f) any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability for damages.Don't make false claims!
        Please also note that the information provided in this legal notice may be forwarded to the person who provided the allegedly infringing content.
        Claimant information will be published on the Rumble site at anytime.
        COUNTER NOTIFICATIONIf you believe that material you posted has been removed in error, you should send to our Copyright Agent, using the contact information listed above, a counter notice that includes the following:
        Your physical or electronic signature.Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.Your name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of, at Rumble's discretion, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at Torontoor the United States Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in the United States and that you will accept service of process by mail from the person who provided notification of copyright infringement, or an agent of such person.Please note that under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability.
        Please also be advised that we enforce a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of subscribers who are repeat infringers.
        PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS OF PRIVACY OR PUBLICITYIf you believe that your privacy rights or publicity rights have been violated by information or material that is accessible on the Rumble site, you may notify Rumble.com. Please emailus so we can investigate the matter further.
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      YouTube rival Rumble strikes deals with Tulsi Gabbard, Glenn Greenwald | TheHill
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        Archived Version
        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:08
        Video platform Rumble, which has grown in popularity among conservatives as an alternative to YouTube, has reached agreements with eight "thought leaders" to provide content, including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and journalist Glenn Greenwald.
        "These prominent new voices add to Rumble's deep pool of content talent and further enhance the platform's breadth and depth of offerings to our viewers," the company said in a blog post Thursday.
        The platform said it had also reached agreements with comedian Bridget Phetasy, satirist Matt Orfalea, former Washington Examiner writer Siraj Hashmi, Twitter personality Mujahed Kobbe, writer Shant Mesrobian and journalist Zaid Jilani for original content.
        "Although very diverse, this group of individuals does share one characteristic: a commitment to challenge the status quo, seek the truth, and share it," Rumble added.
        Rumble has exploded in popularity in the last year, becoming a haven for conservative voices that frequently violated content moderation policies of more mainstream platforms.
        As part of the agreement, the creators will get new resources from Rumble to produce videos that will be available exclusively on the platform for some period of time.
        The platform, and others like it such as Parler and MeWe, have grown amid unsubstantiated criticism from conservatives that major social media platforms are biased against them.
        Gabbard, for her part, blasted "Big Tech monopolies" in an inaugural video for Rumble, accusing major platforms of working to "censor those whose speech they deem unacceptable."
        Both Gabbard and Greenwald have more than 1 million followers on Twitter. Gabbard also has more than half a million followers on Facebook, while Greenwald has nearly a quarter of a million followers there.
        While Rumble does have rules around racism and hate speech - although enforcement remains an open question - it is much more lenient with other types of content, including health misinformation.
        A cursory search of "vaccine" on Rumble brings up videos including "The Vaccine Causes The Virus To Be More Dangerous," with nearly 2 million views, and "MASSIVE: WORLD RENOWNED DOCTOR BLOWS LID OFF OF COVID VACCINE," at almost 1.5 million views.
        Online misinformation has been identified as a major driver of vaccine hesitancy by the White House and researchers.
      Xi Jinping's assault on tech will change China's trajectory | The Economist
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        Archived Version
        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 08:55
        Aug 14th 2021
        O F ALL CHINA'S achievements in the past two decades, one of the most impressive is the rise of its technology industry. Alibaba hosts twice as much e-commerce activity as Amazon does. Tencent runs the world's most popular super-app, with 1.2bn users. China's tech revolution has also helped transform its long-run economic prospects at home, by allowing it to leap beyond manufacturing into new fields such as digital health care and artificial intelligence (AI). As well as propelling China's prosperity, a dazzling tech industry could also be the foundation for a challenge to American supremacy.
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        That is why President Xi Jinping's assault on his country's $4trn tech industry is so startling. There have been over 50 regulatory actions against scores of firms for a dizzying array of alleged offences, from antitrust abuses to data violations. The threat of government bans and fines has weighed on share prices, costing investors around $1trn.
        Mr Xi's immediate goal may be to humble tycoons and give regulators more sway over unruly digital markets. But as we explain, the Communist Party's deeper ambition is to redesign the industry according to its blueprint. China's autocrats hope this will sharpen their country's technological edge while boosting competition and benefiting consumers.
        Geopolitics may be spurring them on, too. Restrictions on access to components made with American technology have persuaded China that it needs to be more self-reliant in critical areas like semiconductors. Such ''hard tech'' may benefit if the crackdown on social media, gaming firms and the like steers talented engineers and programmers its way. However the assault is also a giant gamble that may end up doing long-term damage to enterprise and economic growth.
        Twenty years ago China hardly seemed on the threshold of a technological miracle. Silicon Valley dismissed pioneers such as Alibaba as copycats, until they leapt ahead of it in e-commerce and digital payments. Today 73 Chinese digital firms are worth over $10bn. Most have Western investors and foreign-educated executives. A dynamic venture-capital ecosystem keeps churning out new stars. Of China's 160 ''unicorns'' (startups worth over $1bn), half are in fields such as AI, big data and robotics.
        In contrast to Vladimir Putin's war on Russia's oligarchs in the 2000s, China's crackdown is not about insiders fighting over the spoils. Indeed, it echoes concerns that motivate regulators and politicians in the West: that digital markets tend towards monopolies and that tech firms hoard data, abuse suppliers, exploit workers and undermine public morality.
        Stronger policing was overdue. When China opened up, the party kept a stifling grip on finance, telecoms and energy but allowed tech to let rip. Its digital pioneers used this near absence of regulation to grow astonishingly fast. Didi, which provides transport, has more users than America has people.
        However, the big digital platforms also exploited their freedom to trample smaller firms. They stop merchants from selling on more than one platform. They deny food-delivery drivers and other gig workers basic benefits. The party wants to put an end to such misconduct. It is an ambition that many investors support.
        The question is how? China is about to become a policy laboratory in which an unaccountable state wrestles with the world's biggest firms for control of the 21st century's essential infrastructure. Some data, which the government says is a ''factor of production'', like land or labour, may pass into public ownership. The state may enforce interoperability between platforms (so that, say, WeChat cannot continue to block rivals). Addictive algorithms may be more rigorously policed. All this would hurt profits, but might make markets work better.
        But make no mistake, the crackdown on China's unruly tech is also a demonstration of the party's untrammelled power. In the past its priorities often fell victim to vested interests, including corrupt insiders, and it was constrained by its need to court foreign capital and create employment. Now the party feels emboldened, issuing new rules at a furious pace and enforcing them with fresh zeal. China's regulatory immaturity is on full display. Just 50 or so people staff its main anti-monopoly agency but they can destroy business models at the stroke of a pen. Denied due process, companies must grin and bear it.
        China's leaders have spent decades successfully defying Western lectures on liberal economics. They may see their clampdown on the technology industry as a refinement of their policy of state capitalism'--a blueprint for combining prosperity and control in order to keep China stable and the party in power. Indeed, as China's population starts to decline, the party wants to raise productivity through state direction, including by automating factories and forming urban mega-clusters.
        Yet the attempt to reshape Chinese tech could easily go wrong. It is likely to raise suspicion abroad, hampering the country's ambitions to sell services and set global tech standards worldwide in the 21st century, as America did in the 20th. Any drag on growth would be felt far beyond China's borders.
        A bigger risk is that the crackdown will dull the entrepreneurial spirit within China. As the economy shifts from making things towards services, spontaneous risk-taking, backed by sophisticated capital markets, will become more important. Several of China's leading tech tycoons have pulled back from their companies and public life. Wannabes will think twice before trying to emulate them, not least because the crackdown has jacked up the cost of capital.
        Startup slowdownChina's biggest tech firms now trade at an average discount of 26% per dollar of sales relative to American firms. Startups, such as the minnows taking ride-hailing business from Didi with mapping apps, have been nibbling at the government's main targets. Far from being emboldened by the crackdown, they are likely to feel exposed. Economic development is largely about creative destruction. China's autocratic leaders have shown that they can manage the destruction. Whether this tech tumult will also foster creativity remains much in doubt. '–
        This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "China's attack on tech"
      Rachel Maddow Seriously Considers Leaving MSNBC
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        Archived Version
        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 03:55
        Rachel Maddow has been MSNBC's most high-profile on-air personality for more than a decade, long embodying the network's liberal ethos and raking in an obsessive following for her nightly primetime broadcast.
        But when MSNBC viewers tune in next year, she may not be there.
        According to six people familiar with the situation, Maddow, 48, is seriously considering leaving the network when her contract ends early next year as negotiations drag on and the temptation to take her brand elsewhere or start her own lucrative media company has grown.
        Insiders who spoke with The Daily Beast said while the star host has occasionally entertained other offers in the past, she has in recent months increasingly expressed openness to exiting when her deal ends, citing a desire to spend more time with her family and the toll of hosting a nightly program since 2008.
        Maddow seems unlikely to jump to a rival television news network. Instead, she has been intrigued by opportunities in the streaming and podcasting space, which would allow her more freedom, time for her personal life, and for other projects, people familiar with her thinking said.
        The high-profile TV host has gotten aggressive in exploring her next career moves: In recent months, she left her longtime agents at Napoli Management Group, linking up with powerful talent agency Endeavor and its CEO Ari Emanuel and '‹'‹president Mark Shapiro, who are representing her in contract negotiations with NBCUniversal.
        ''Nothing has been decided. We are deep into it with NBCUniversal and Rachel has an excellent relationship with them,'' Shapiro told The Daily Beast. ''We don't comment on employee matters,'' MSNBC spokesperson Lorie Acio wrote by email.
        Former MSNBC president Phil Griffin, who left the network earlier this year and has a close relationship with both Maddow and Emanuel, has been consulted about the situation as negotiations have grown ''heated'' and has offered advice, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
        Maddow has occasionally dropped hints about professional burnout. During her Monday evening broadcast, she informed viewers that a two-week break she took earlier this month was the longest vacation she's taken in her entire life. And during a 2019 interview with The New York Times, Maddow said she realized that between writing a book and hosting her show, she barely has any time to herself.
        ''I'm realizing now'--10, 11 years into this'--that it's fine to work long days,'' she told the Times. ''But it's not good for you to work incessant long days, five days a week, 50 weeks a year for 10 years.''
        Maddow's decision may represent the first major test for new network president Rashida Jones, who replaced Griffin earlier this year and took the reins at a somewhat precarious moment for the left-leaning cable network.
        Sources told The Daily Beast that MSNBC is taking major steps to keep Maddow on board. People briefed on the matter say NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde also remain focused on retaining her, and are gearing up to offer her a major contract extension in order to do so. One idea higher-ups have floated includes a reduced schedule to accommodate Maddow's desire to lighten her hosting load.
        In the 12 years she's occupied the 9 p.m. slot, Maddow's success has reoriented the network's programming around her show and on-air tenor. For years, the 8 p.m. slot hosted by Maddow's bombastic mentor Keith Olbermann was seen as the coveted airspace on the network. But following his acrimonious departure, Maddow emerged as the face of the network'--the wonky, chipper, and loquacious Obama-era antithesis of Olbermann's fire and brimstone screeds. And thanks to her dogged coverage of the Trump era, Maddow has forged a unique connection with the MSNBC audience, spawning a class of viewer dubbed the ''MSNBC Mom'' (earlier this month, fill-in host Ari Melber aired a viral TikTok in which one such viewer expressed frustration with how Maddow hadn't been on the air for weeks).
        MSNBC has been hard hit by the ratings plunge that has befallen the cable networks in the months following Trump's exit from the White House. But Maddow is coming off some of the best years of her career in terms of viewership. Her ratings skyrocketed following Trump's 2016 electoral victory, and haven't let up much since. She remains the highest-rated host at the network, forming a major ballast for MSNBC's primetime lineup that consistently beats all shows at CNN and occasionally outpaces top primetime hosts at Fox News.
        It has not been lost on network higher-ups that MSNBC does not have an immediate or obvious successor if Maddow chooses to leave.
        While insiders said even the discussion of replacements was premature, many doubted MSNBC would replace her with 10 p.m. anchor Lawrence O'Donnell, whom network executives almost sent packing several years ago amid tense contract negotiations that spilled out into public view. And 8 p.m. host Chris Hayes, who was described for years as a Maddow prot(C)g(C), has also never managed to rack up major viewership numbers in the hour leading into her show.
      Texas restaurants backtrack on COVID-19 vaccine requirement
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        Archived Version
        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 02:54
        AUSTIN (KXAN) '-- Austin restaurants Launderette and Fresa's will no longer require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for indoor dining after being contacted by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
        Earlier this week, the two restaurants announced intentions to require vaccination proof at its restaurants but backtracked after communication with TABC.
        TABC says managers at the Austin restaurants ''weren't aware of the full requirements of the law and immediately took steps to comply.'' Launderette confirmed on its Instagram page vaccinations are not required, but guests are required to ''wear masks indoors when not seated at a table.''
        Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 968 in June, which prohibits Texas businesses or government entities from requiring COVID-19 vaccine passports or any vaccine information from customers.
        TABC posted an announcement Thursday, reminding businesses of the legislation. Businesses not in compliance could risk having liquor licenses or permits revoked.
        ''While the agency has not taken formal action against any businesses to date, we have requested to meet with representatives of businesses where potential noncompliance could be taking place. Our goal is to educate and inform, rather than penalize, these businesses,'' TABC said in a statement to KXAN.
      Ebola nurse Kaci Hickox: 'Flaming' liberals love her. 'Bully' conservatives hate her. - The Washington Post
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        Archived Version
        Thu, 12 Aug 2021 22:35
        Kaci Hickox may not have intended to become the center of a political debate, but she is one now.
        When the registered nurse '-- fresh from fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone '-- spoke out against a mandatory quarantine in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie was the first Republican into the breach. While refraining from attacking Hickox personally, Christie took up an unusual rallying cry for a member of the party of Reagan: the need for big government to contain a crisis.
        ''The government's job is to protect [the] safety and health of our citizens,'' Christie said on ''Fox News Sunday.'' ''And so we've taken this action, and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it.''
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        Christie had second thoughts on Monday, when he freed Hickox from quarantine after taking heat from, among others, President Obama. By then, Hickox was well on her way to becoming the left's poster child '-- though those of that political persuasion do not typically object when government intervenes in the name of public health.
        '' When Kaci Hickox stood up to Governor Chris Christie for quarantining her against her will and claiming she was 'obviously ill' when she wasn't, she did more than bring a little sanity to our Ebola-panic politics,'' the Nation wrote. ''She also struck a blow for all the teachers , nurses , public employees , minimum-wagers and workers of all kinds that Christie has bullied, belittled and silenced over the years.''
        When back at home in Maine, Hickox '-- now a stand-in for the entire labor movement '-- defied another mandatory quarantine from another Republican governor, the partisan divide over her irresponsibility or moxie only deepened. To the right, she was a do-gooder who fell from grace, trading praiseworthy humanitarian work for obnoxious grandstanding as she and her boyfriend set off on a defiant bicycle ride with a scrum of TV camera crews in tow. To the left, she was a hero standing up to ''bully governors.''
        Kaci Hickox vowed to defy Maine's voluntary quarantine for health care workers who treated Ebola patients and followed through on her promise Thursday, leaving her home for an hour-long bike ride. (Reuters)''There is something uniquely jarring about a display of selfish insolence from someone who is so praiseworthy in other respects,'' Townhall wrote in a piece called ''Kaci Hickox, Self-Absorbed Hero.'' ''Maddening traits usually come from maddening people, as their true character surfaces.''
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        This contrasted with Salon's take: ''America's new Ebola hero: Defying hysteria, Kaci Hickox bravely goes for bike ride.''
        CALLER: I think she's a flaming liberal. The rules don't apply to me. The rules apply to everyone else.
        RUSH: Well, that could be partly true. And she didn't find any lawyer. She went and found Norm Siegel of the ACLLU.
        CALLER: Exactly.
        RUSH: The American Civil ''Liberal'' Liberties Union. But there's even more of an answer to this I think. Is this not a little bit sanctimonious? I mean, here you volunteer and you let everybody know, by the way. '... ''I am a good person. I have volunteered to go to Africa, and I am helping Ebola patients. Look at me. See me? I am a good person.'' You come back, ''I have just returned from Africa helping Ebola patients, and you are not going to quarantine me so that I can't be noticed.''
        CALLER: Absolutely ridiculous.
        To make matters worse, the Daily Caller revealed that her lawyer once attended a dinner at the Obama White House.
        Meanwhile, over at MSNBC, Rachel Maddow was worried. In a segment called ''Uncowed Kaci Hickox supported by state health leaders,'' Maddow said Maine wanted to ''force her into basically house arrest '-- involuntary strict quarantine even though she does not have Ebola.''
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        The culprit infringing upon Hickox's individual rights as Ayn Rand might have imagined them? According to Maddow: ''Maine's bombastic walking carnival of a governor, tea party republican Paul LePage,'' who ''has basically now threatened that that nurse may not be safe in Maine.''
        '' Hickox is smart, well-spoken, and determined to teach politicians a direct lesson about science and about public health,'' Joan McCarter wrote. ''She's a strong voice of reason in the midst of Republican-induced Ebola panic, and has already made a fool of Christie. LePage should think twice before taking her on.''
      The most vaccine-hesitant group of all? PhDs - The Post
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Thu, 12 Aug 2021 22:29
        Chart
        07:00
        A new study found that the most educated are the least likely to get jabbedby UnHerd
        The percentage of each education group that is somewhat vaccine hesitant. Source: Carnegie Mellon University
        There has been much debate over how to get the unvaccinated to get their jabs '-- shame them , bribe them persuade them , or treat them as victims of mis- and disinformation campaigns '-- but who, exactly, are these people?
        Most of the coverage would have you believe that the surge in cases is primarily down to less educated, ' brainwashed ' Trump supporters who don't want to take the vaccine. This may be partially true: the areas in which the delta variant is surging coincide with the sections of red America in which vaccination rates are lowest.
        But according to a new paper by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh , this does not paint the full picture. The researchers analysed more than 5 million survey responses by a range of different demographic details, and classed those people who would ''probably'' or ''definitely'' not choose to get vaccinated as ''vaccine hesitant.''
        In some respects the findings are as predicted '-- for example the paper finds that there is a strong correlation between counties with higher Trump support in the 2020 presidential election and higher hesitancy in the period January 2021 '-- May 2021.
        But more surprising is the breakdown in vaccine hesitancy by level of education. It finds that the association between hesitancy and education level follows a U-shaped curve with the highest hesitancy among those least and most educated. People with a master's degree had the least hesitancy, and the highest hesitancy was among those holding a Ph.D.
        What's more, the paper found that in the first five months of 2021, the largest decrease in hesitancy was among the least educated '-- those with a high school education or less. Meanwhile, hesitancy held constant in the most educated group; by May, those with Ph.Ds were the most hesitant group.
        So not only are the most educated people most sceptical of taking the Covid vaccine, they are also the least likely the change their minds about it'...
    ALL CLIPS
      VIDEO - Meet the group of Philadelphia teens fighting to stop COVID vaccine misinformation - CBS News
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        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 12:44
        Children will be heading back to school in the next couple of weeks. But those under 17 years old are the least vaccinated of any eligible age group able to receive a COVID vaccine . Teenagers like 17-year-old Angely Keosann are taking it upon themselves to encourage their age group to get vaccinated.
        Keosann is one of 27 "Philly Teen VAXX Ambassadors" '-- teenagers who volunteered through the Philadelphia school district to educate their peers about the vaccine.
        For Keosann, the mission is personal after her entire family got COVID. "There's a lot of false information out there, especially with social media being around. So that's where Philly Teen VAXX comes in. We're there to spread real information, let them know what's up," she told CBS News' Adriana Diaz.
        The group's tag line: "We provide the facts, so you can get the vax." The ambassadors '-- including 17-year-old Keren Abraham and 13-year-old Devon Hester '-- organize events, canvas neighborhoods, and on social media try to debunk vaccine rumors.
        "The main ones we've definitely heard were the magnet one, which was very popular on TikTok. Basically, it's like you get the vaccine, and you can stick the magnet to where you got your shot," Abraham said.
        Most teens CBS News spoke to at one of the VAXX Ambassador events were hesitant. Dr. Sage Myers, who runs community vaccinations for the children's hospital of Philadelphia, said social media memes and threads had been a detriment to teens getting the vaccine, but the program has found a way to counter the negative with their positive messages.
        "I think the teenagers like everyone else have seen all of the sort of memes that have gone out, and then the videos, and sometimes they're just a little afraid in general of have of getting a shot," Myers said. "That's one of the reasons the Philly Teen VAXX Ambassadors have been amazing. Just having that peer with them has really made a huge difference."
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      VIDEO - Quake kills hundreds in Haiti, worsening Caribbean nation's plight | Reuters
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        Archived Version
        Sun, 15 Aug 2021 12:34
        PORT-AU-PRINCE/HAVANA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - At least 304 people died and hundreds were injured after a major earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday, authorities said, reducing churches, hotels, schools and homes to rubble in the latest tragedy to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation.
        The 7.2-magnitude quake, which was followed by a series of aftershocks, struck 8 km (5 miles) from the town of Petit Trou de Nippes, about 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Survey said.
        That made the temblor which was felt as far away as Cuba and Jamaica potentially more severe than the magnitude 7 earthquake 11 years ago that killed tens of thousands on the island.
        This one - which occurred around 8:30 a.m. local time - hit farther away from the capital, however. In Port-au-Prince, it was strongly felt but did not appear to have caused major damage, according to Reuters witnesses.
        Still, Haiti's Civil Protection service said the preliminary death toll stood at 304, with at least 1,800 injured and more people unaccounted for. Preliminary rescue operations by emergency teams and ordinary citizens had enabled many people to already be recovered from the debris.
        At least 949 homes, seven churches, two hotels and three schools had been destroyed, it said. A further 723 homes, one prison, three health centres and seven schools had been damaged although there was no major damage to port, airport or telecoms infrastructure.
        The area shuddered again late on Saturday when a 5.8 magnitude aftershock hit, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. It was not immediately clear what impact it caused.
        Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who flew over the region to survey the damage, declared a month-long state of emergency.
        The nearest big town was Les Cayes, where many buildings collapsed or suffered major damage, authorities said.
        "I saw bodies being pulled out of the rubble, injured and perhaps dead people," said Les Cayes resident Jean Marie Simon, 38, who was at the market when the earthquake struck and ran home to see if his family was safe. "I heard cries of pain everywhere I passed through."
        His wife and 2-year-old child had been bathing and rushed out to the street, naked, just before the front of the house crumbled. Simon gave his wife his shirt and they took refuge in the courtyard of a church with other locals. His mother's house had also collapsed.
        "There are a lot of aftershocks and every time there's one, people run and shout," he said. "My legs are still trembling."
        Videos posted to social media showed citizens pulling others from debris and crowds of people waiting for medical attention at overwhelmed hospitals.
        USGS said a significant amount of the population was at risk of landslides, with road obstructions likely. Haiti's Civil Protection service said a landslide had blocked the highway between Les Cayes and the town of Jeremie.
        Likely to complicate relief efforts is the fact Haiti is now in the probable track of Tropical Storm Grace, which could bring heavy rains and winds early next week.
        People stand in front of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in Jeremie, Haiti August 14, 2021, in this picture obtained from social media. Courtesy of TWITTER @JCOMHaiti/ via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO
        Also, access by road to the southern region, where the quake struck, has been restricted by gang control of key areas although Henry said police would accompany any convoys going to the south. read more
        'NEVER A BREAK'
        The earthquake comes just over a month after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who had been ruling by decree, which deepened the country's political turmoil.
        Meanwhile, swaths of Haiti are facing growing hunger and healthcare services are already overwhelmed by COVID-19.
        That region had only recently recovered from Hurricane Matthew, which struck in 2016, killing hundreds and causing widespread devastation.
        "This country just never finds a break! Each year of mismanagement did not hurt but the cumulative effects made us vulnerable to everything," said Haitian entrepreneur Marc Alain Boucicault on Twitter.
        "It's going to take years to fix things and we have not even started!"
        In Port-au-Prince, residents traumatized by the 2010 quake rushed, screaming, into the streets and stayed there as the aftershocks rumbled on.
        "In my neighborhood, I heard people screaming. They were flying outside," said resident Sephora Pierre Louis. "At least they know to go outside. In 2010, they didn't know what to do. People are still outside in the street."
        The quake sent shock waves as far as Cuba and Jamaica although there were no reports of material damage, deaths or injuries there.
        "Everyone is really afraid. It's been years since such a big earthquake," said Daniel Ross, a resident in the eastern Cuban city of Guantanamo.
        He said his home stood firm but the furniture shook.
        "I feel it, man. It wake me up. My roof kind of make some noise," said Danny Bailey, 49, in Kingston.
        U.S. President Joe Biden said he had authorized an immediate U.S. response and named Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, coordinator of the effort.
        Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also said he was ordering the government to prepare immediate relief.
        Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-au-Prince, Sarah Marsh and Nelson Acosta in Havana, Kate Chappell in Kingston and Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru and Frances Kerry in London;Editing by Daniel Flynn, Aurora Ellis and Matthew Lewis
        Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
      VIDEO - Dr. Ryan Cole #StoptheMandate - YouTube
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      VIDEO - thehardhatintellectual on Twitter: "They are saying it out loud https://t.co/nXekjcWK9W" / Twitter
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        thehardhatintellectual : They are saying it out loud https://t.co/nXekjcWK9W
        Sat Aug 14 18:02:03 +0000 2021
      VIDEO - Osler on Twitter: "Dr.Ryan Cole - horrifying if true... https://t.co/VAqgyHopVx" / Twitter
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        Osler : Dr.Ryan Cole - horrifying if true... https://t.co/VAqgyHopVx
        Sat Aug 14 07:23:25 +0000 2021
      VIDEO - Jeroen on Twitter: "@vtchakarova @adamcurry Joe Biden last month.. not sure if you had this on the show already" / Twitter
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        Jeroen : @vtchakarova @adamcurry Joe Biden last month.. not sure if you had this on the show already
        Sun Aug 15 07:56:35 +0000 2021
      AstraZeneca lead scientist says Delta makes mass testing pointless in UK
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        London: The Delta variant of COVID-19 has wrecked any chance of herd immunity, according to the Oxford scientist who led the AstraZeneca vaccine team, as he called for an end to mass testing so Britain could start to live with the virus.
        Scientists who addressed Britain's all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus said it was time to accept that there is no way of stopping the virus spreading through the entire population, and monitoring people with mild symptoms was no longer helpful.
        Professor Andrew Pollard, who led the Oxford vaccine team, said it was clear that the Delta variant can still infect people who have been vaccinated, which made herd immunity impossible to reach, even with Britain's high uptake.
        Sir Andrew Pollard thinks testing may soon only be used to diagnose COVID in someone with symptoms. Supplied
        The Department of Health confirmed on Tuesday that more than three quarters of adults in Britain have received both jabs and calculated that 60,000 deaths and 66,900 hospitalisations have been prevented by the vaccines.
        Speaking to the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, Sir Andrew said: ''Anyone who is still unvaccinated will, at some point, meet the virus.
        ''We don't have anything that will stop transmission, so I think we are in a situation where herd immunity is not a possibility, and I suspect the virus will throw up a new variant that is even better at infecting vaccinated individuals.''
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        Analysis by Public Health England has shown that when vaccinated people catch the virus, they have a similar viral load to unvaccinated individuals, and may be as infectious.
        Paul Hunter, a professor at the University of East Anglia and an expert in infectious diseases, told the committee: ''The concept of herd immunity is unachievable because we know the infection will spread in unvaccinated populations and the latest data is suggesting that two doses is probably only 50 per cent protective against infection.
        ''We need to move away from reporting infections to actually reporting the number of people who are ill. Otherwise we are going to be frightening ourselves with very high numbers that don't translate into disease burden.''
        On Tuesday, Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, confirmed that third dose booster shots would be given from next month. However, Pollard argued that Britain could be continually vaccinating the population for no real health benefit if mass testing continued.
        ''I think as we look at the adult population going forward, if we continue to chase community testing and are worried about those results, we're going to end up in a situation where we're constantly boosting to try and deal with something which is not manageable,'' he said.
        ''It needs to be moving to clinically driven testing in which people are willing to get tested and treated and managed, rather than lots of community testing. If someone is unwell, they should be tested, but for their contacts, if they're not unwell, then it makes sense for them to be in school and being educated.''
        Dr Ruchi Sinha, consultant paediatrician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, told MPs and peers that choosing not to vaccinate children would be unlikely to cause problems in the health service.
        ''What matters is the burden of patient hospitalisation and critical care and actually there hasn't been as much with this Delta variant,'' she said. ''They tend to be the children who have got their comorbidities, obesity, or severe neurological problems and those children are already considered for vaccination. COVID-19 on its own in paediatrics is not the problem.''
        The Telegraph, London
      VIDEO - Australia Prison Planet / Hugo Talks Some More #lockdown - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Dr. Reiner Fuellmich - Prof. Mattias Desmet (English) - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Travel restrictions: Avoid France, Israel, more due to COVID, CDC says
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        Americans should avoid travel to France, Israel, Iceland and other destinations regardless of vaccination status, according to new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
        The health agency moved several destinations into its highest travel advisory tier, "level 4: very high level of COVID-19," on Monday. Travelers should avoid travel to those destinations, but those who must travel should make sure they are fully vaccinated, the CDC said.
        The countries that moved up to Level 4 include:
        ArubaEswatiniFranceFrench PolynesiaIcelandIsraelThailandThe changes to come on the same day France began requiring a virus pass to access cafes, restaurants and long-distance travel.
        '–ºCOVID travel:CDC says travelers should avoid Greece, Ireland and other destinations, regardless of vaccination status
        '–º'Do not travel':CDC, State Department raise UK travel alert after spike in COVID cases
        France's special pass is issued to people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have proof of a recent recovery from the virus, or who have a recent negative coronavirus test. The measure also applies to tourists visiting the country.
        Greece, Ireland, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other destinations were added to the CDC's Level 4 advisory list earlier this month as countries around the globe grapple with the highly contagious delta variant.
        In an interview with the USA TODAY Editorial Board last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said CDC guidance urging people to limit themselves to travel only when necessary still holds.
        The CDC recommends all travelers, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks, self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested three to five days after they travel. On top of those travel precautions, the agency also recommends that unvaccinated travelers get tested one to three days before leaving the U.S. and that they self-quarantine after travel for up to 10 days.
        All passengers ages 2 and older flying into the United States must present a negative coronavirus test taken no more than three days before their flight or proof they recovered from the virus within the past three months.
        Contributing: Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY
      VIDEO - 8/14/2021 -- ALERT - M7.2 Earthquake strikes Haiti Caribbean -- MAJOR UNREST 5th M7.0 in two weeks - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Nassau County Executive Curran proposes plan to give hundreds in COVID-19 relief to homeowners
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        News 12 Staff Aug 03, 2021, 1:03am
        Updated on: Aug 03, 2021, 4:37pm
        County Executive Laura Curran announced a plan to give $375 cash payments to up to 400,000 households in Nassau, but the county Legislature is not moving to vote on the measure just yet.
        Curran, who is running for re-election, filed an ordinance Monday in the Legislature to take $100 million given to the county under the American Rescue Plan Act and turn that into one-time cash payments of $375 to qualifying households.
        The plan would include renters, homeowners and people living in co-ops whose income is up to $168,900.
        Residents with incomes above $168,900 up to $500,000 would need to fill out an application that shows that they have seen negative financial impacts because of the pandemic.
        In a statement to News 12 Long Island about what she calls the Nassau County Household Assistance Program, or HAP, Curran said, "As we continue to recover from the pandemic, Nassau County is committed to delivering relief for our residents and businesses. Having achieved a hard-earned budget surplus, the County will utilize funding from the American Rescue Plan to provide cash relief to up to 400,000 households. I believe this assistance will not only help those who continue to struggle, but also provide a boost to our local economy."
        However, Richard Nicolello, presiding officer of the Nassau Legislature, released a statement of his own, which said in part,
        "After the county executive promised a middle class relief plan, we now learn that there are strings attached. Mindful of the mistakes she made in rolling out this plan and in her Reassessment project, the Majority will do it's due diligence to make sure taxpayers are protected. At the same time, Majority Legislators are committed to meaningful and enduring tax relief, such as the $9 million in tax cuts that we proposed and the County Executive vetoed."
        For now, the county executive's plan to give some people in Nassau $375 is just that, a plan.
        A spokesman for the Nassau Legislature's presiding officer said the county executive's plan would not be voted on Monday.
        In response, Curran said, "I am deeply disappointed that the Nassau County Legislature stalled a vote today on my plan to provide $375 in direct cash payments to qualified Nassau County households that have experienced negative economic impacts due to the pandemic. By delaying a committee vote, this important legislation now unnecessarily languishes in legislative red tape when it should have been one step closer to going into the pockets of residents who need it the most."
        A legislative spokesperson tells News 12 that there were no committees on the calendar on Monday and so the proposal couldn't go through committees until the next meeting.
      VIDEO - Bill Gates Reduce World Population With New Vaccines - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Easy graduation | New law in Oregon allows finishing school without proof of proficiency in skills - YouTube
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      VIDEO - PG&E, Gavin Newsom, and the French Laundry connection | FIRE - POWER - MONEY Investigation | abc10.com
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        ABC10 investigation: Gov. Newsom brokered a bankruptcy plan that prioritized PG&E, French Laundry friend's clients over PG&E fire victims.
        SACRAMENTO, Calif. '-- A plate of dinner at Napa County's award-winning French Laundry restaurant starts at $350, but dining there during the pandemic cost Gov. Gavin Newsom quite a bit more than that.
        It was an unforced political error that immediately put Newsom on defense from the appearance of hypocrisy for going against his own COVID safety advice to Californians.
        Newsom apologized profusely for the dinner. He was only human, he said. And it was a birthday party for ''a friend that I've known for almost 20 years.''
        The friend was lobbyist Jason Kinney, who shared more than a meal with the governor.
        The two men shared an interest in PG&E.
        Newsom had inserted himself as ''broker'' of PG&E's plan to exit bankruptcy. Bankruptcy documents show the company offered to support the plan only if its terms were ''acceptable to the Governor's Office.''
        '–º IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: FIRE - POWER - MONEY
        Kinney ran a lobbying shop, Axiom Advisors, which landed a major client in PG&E's bankruptcy: a committee of companies to whom PG&E owed money.
        They included obscure outfits like The Davey Tree Expert Company, but also major interests like Deutsche Bank, the IBEW 1245 union, and NextEra Energy Inc.
        Axiom advisors said it ''met periodically with the Governor's office'' in a $400,000 fee statement filed in bankruptcy court. Kinney was listed as performing 31.5 hours of billable work.
        The plan delivered for Kinney's clients. They got cash ''paid in full'' plus interest.
        Axiom Advisors did not reply to a written request for comment on this story.
        The deal was done four months before he and the governor sat down for their now-infamous dinner.
        'STEPPING ON US TO GET THERE'
        In the town of Paradise, Lawrence Graham prepares his meals inside of a small trailer he's called home since PG&E committed the felonies that burned his house down.
        ''All they care about is their bottom line,'' Graham said. ''I understand business is business, but this is our lives they're messing with.''
        Like tens of thousands of other people displaced by the Camp Fire, Graham is a crime victim. PG&E owes them restitution for the harm it caused.
        The vast majority of people who lived in Paradise during the Camp Fire have since moved away. The people camping there are a minority.
        But if they don't start building by the end of September, the town government threatens to evict them from their own land.
        Even though PG&E exited bankruptcy more than a year ago, the restitution money hasn't come.
        That's because the bankruptcy plan approved by Gov. Newsom didn't pay PG&E's victims cash in full.
        PG&E's bankruptcy rolled their restitution into a trust fund to settle civil damages for more than a dozen other PG&E wildfires, some of whom have been waiting for payment since 2015.
        In Paradise, fire victims lost not only their homes and livelihoods: They lost their community. Paradise will take years to be reborn.
        ''They're helping each other get ahead and stepping on us to get there,'' Graham said.
        ''I don't like living like this,'' said David Breed, who's still camping in an RV where his house once stood. ''I'm a big guy and I live in a tiny RV. It's claustrophobic.''
        David Breed lost his job after the fire, but found work removing burned trees. The insurance from his mobile home didn't pay enough to construct a stick-built home and mobile home parks have yet to be re-established.
        If he at least had an idea of how much money to expect, David could at least work out a plan for his future life in Paradise, but as of this summer no one had even given him an estimate.
        ''I would have been happier with a full cash payout from PG&E,'' Breed said.
        '–º STAY UP TO DATE: Get updates in your email with the Daily Blend newsletter. Sign up at www.abc10.com/email
        'WE'LL MAKE THEM OWNERS AND THEN WE'LL MAKE THEM PAY THEMSELVES'
        At the beginning of 2021 wildfire season in June, thousands of PG&E fire victims watched the retired judge in charge of paying them deliver a stern message on their phone and computer screens:
        ''It's important for you to want PG&E to do well,'' the voice told them.
        The message came from retired state appellate court judge John Trotter, who earns $1,500 an hour from the victims' settlement to manage their money.
        It's a shocking thing to tell 70,000 people whose homes and loved ones PG&E incinerated.
        He said it for a reason: ''half'' of the victims' $13.5 billion settlement was supposed to come from holding and selling shares of PG&E stock.
        '–º IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: FIRE - POWER - MONEY
        Trotter declined to be interviewed for this series, but has cited federal tax concerns as a reason for delays in selling PG&E stock shares to obtain cash for victim payments.
        Asked whether fire victims will ever be made whole in an interview that aired in August on public radio station KQED (@ 8min) he cut to the point: ''They never will.''
        The Fire Victim Trust run by Trotter has paid out the first 30 percent of some claims and hopes to be able to pay out 50 percent by this fall, he told the station.
        The victims were nearly $2 billion short on stock value when Trotter made the video.
        ''You are 25 or 24 and a half percent owners of PG&E,'' Trotter said. ''The story of the stock has not been a very good one. And that's in the face of a very buoyant stock market.''
        The stock has never been worth the $6.75 billion victims were told by the bankruptcy court. They were warned that the value could go up or down, but on the day PG&E exited bankruptcy the victims would have needed the stock to go up another 56 percent to be made whole.
        The stock value plummeted even further the next month after PG&E admitted its power lines may have caused the massive Dixie Fire, which is still growing after burning more than 500,00 acres in the same region where the Camp Fire burned.
        As the flames consumed the town of Greenville, attorneys who pushed for the plan struggled to make sense of Wall Street's lack of faith in the company, given that Gov. Newsom's office commissioned and then passed a law intended to ensure there was ''no real financial danger to PG&E.''
        Delays in payment also delay healing for people like former firefighter Steve Bradley, who raced toward Paradise on the morning of the Camp Fire to try to rescue his grandma, Colleen.
        ''I'm pretty sure she knew the house was on fire and that she wasn't going to make it,'' Bradley said. ''I don't talk about it enough, but that really keeps me up at night. Was she expecting me? Was she expecting me to show up, [to] be able to get there at the last second?''
        The remains of Ethel Colleen Riggs were found cremated in her own laundry room, too badly burned to make a positive identification by DNA.
        The fact that delays in payment are happening because victims were paid in shares of stock is ''infuriating'' to him.
        ''That's really insidious,'' Bradley said. ''This is like next-level movie, you know, the bad guy in the background smoking the cigar manipulating all these things: 'we'll make them owners... and then we'll make them pay themselves.'''
        ''There should be some adult in the room in the government somewhere, some type of leader that would say 'No. You shouldn't be making it the victim's responsibility to pay the victims.''
        Newsom's office did not respond to that comment from Bradley or to his simpler question: ''Why? Why would you prioritize a corporation over the victims?''
        Bradley has watched in horror as PG&E has been named as the cause of more fires, including the 2020 Zogg Fire, which killed an eight-year-old girl and her mother along with two other people. Prosecutors say they've decided to file criminal charges, to be decided in the coming months.
        ''Continue killing people so we can get paid for when you killed our family,'' Bradley quipped. ''It doesn't seem right.''
        '–º STAY UP TO DATE: Get news updates in your email with the Daily Blend newsletter. Sign up at www.abc10.com/email
        'PICKING THE SCAB OFF AGAIN'
        Victims did vote on PG&E's bankruptcy plan. Although there are still lingering questions surrounding missing ballots, the plan was overwhelmingly approved.
        It's important to know that the ballots gave victims no alternative plan.
        It was deal or no deal, said Meriel Wisotsky, Riggs' daughter.
        She wanted to be done dealing with PG&E instead of voting for more rounds of negotiations.
        ''They would have to start all the way back over again if you said no,'' Wisotsky said. ''I signed and said, yes, please. And that was why. It was very painful to go through all this.''
        Every day that goes by for Meriel Wisotsky, every extra step she has to take to settle PG&E's killing of her mom, keeps the trauma fresh in her mind.
        ''I have spent a lot of the last couple of years trying not to think about how horrible it must have been,'' Wisotsky said. ''Every time it comes up, it's picking the scab off again.''
        '–º IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: FIRE - POWER - MONEY
        The official voting materials from the bankruptcy court told victims that the plan was the ''fastest'' way to be paid, pointing to a June 30, 2019 deadline in AB 1054, the state law that granted PG&E state safety certificates.
        As first reported by ABC10, that law was authored by lawyers working for Gov. Gavin Newsom's office and the CPUC, consulting with investment bankers paid by the state.
        A no vote, the bankruptcy court warned, would cause their payments to be ''delayed'' and possibly ''reduced.'' Delays could take ''months and perhaps years.''
        The victims voted for the plan. They voted to avoid delays.
        They got delays anyway.
        U.S. bankruptcy judge Dennis Montali, whose court sent the voting materials, declined to answer questions about what the victims were told and why they are still waiting for payment.
        ''Judge Montali thanks [you] for your email, but he will not otherwise respond or comment on the report you are preparing,'' wrote courtroom deputy Lorena Parada.
        None of the victims has been paid fully.
        'IT CAUSES YOU TO LOSE FAITH IN GOVERNMENT'
        After declining to answer ABC10's questions by a July 30 deadline, Newsom's office did address some of them in an email to ABC10 a week and a half later.
        The late response ignored some questions, including whether the governor has a plan to make the victims whole for the $6.75 billion value of the stock shares in the trust.
        ''The legislation signed by Governor Newsom ensured PG&E couldn't use the bankruptcy process to duck its obligation to victims,'' wrote Amelia Matier, a spokesperson for the governor. ''The Governor advocated for a competitive process to improve leverage for victims and ratepayers and force shareholders to put more money on the table.''
        Matier said Newsom enacted policies that required a ''fair settlement with fire victims.''
        ''It's infuriating and disgusting. It causes you to lose faith in government,'' said Steve Bradley. ''It's not like they fixed PG&E.''
        On the day he tried to save his Grandma Colleen, Bradley couldn't make it past the roadblocks into the town of Paradise.
        He drove home that night, dejected, watching the flames burn the hill where his grandmother lived.
        ''This is going to sound weird, but I feel more helpless now than I did back on the day of the fire,'' Bradly said. ''I understand how fire works, but I don't understand why this is allowed.''
        '–º HAVE A TIP? Send it to Brandon
        '–º WATCH MORE FIRE - POWER - MONEY: As California's wildfires continue to break records due to overgrown forests and climate change, the state faces another crisis. The biggest power company is a convicted felon with a tendency to spark new fires. PG&E is guilty of America's largest corporate manslaughter case. Experts say PG&E has avoided accountability for its crimes and worried the power company will kill again. But how did we get here? Can anyone force PG&E to be safer?
      VIDEO - FOP prepared to take Dayton vaccine and testing mandate to court, president says '' WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio
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        DAYTON '-- Dayton police union leaders said they are strongly opposed to the city's new COVID-19 vaccine protocol and they are prepared to go to court to fight it.
        Dayton city leaders earlier this week that employees with the city will be required to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 20 or be subjected to weekly COVID-19 testing.
        ''When they come out and say they're worried about workplace safety, they're worried about worker safety, that's a bold-faced lie,'' said Jerry Dix, president of the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police, which represents Dayton police officers.
        >> City of Dayton to mandate weekly COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated city employees
        The union represents one of the largest employee groups at the city.
        Dix said if the city manager and human resources director were concerned they would have spoked with the unions during the process of planning a policy and not after it had been developed.
        ''He said they spoke with the unions. That's not true, they spoke at us,'' Dix said.
        The City of Dayton declined to release any additional comments about the policy when News Center 7 went to city hall Thursday.
        When City Manager Shelley Dickstein unveiled the new vaccine and testing mandate she said she has the responsibility to make sure city employees have safe workplaces and that they are able to deliver the services taxpayers require.
        >> Some concert venues in region requiring proof of vaccination; Maroon 5 show impacted
        The city is strongly encouraging all of its workers to get the COVID-19 shot and are offering a $100 incentive for workers to get vaccinated. Employees who do not get vaccinated by Sept. 20 will have to submit to the weekly testing and if they refuse they will be terminated.
        Dix said the union believes the policy is ''a violation of their privacy, a violation of HIPPA and a violation of their constitutional rights, forcing them to undergo a procedure they don't want to.''
        The FOP President said there are plenty of Dayton officers who are vaccinated, but there are also those who haven't and are now in fear of their jobs and in fear of losing their rights.
        ''If you run out of time you will be fired, how is this not punitive? How is this not strong-arm tactics?'' Dix told News Center 7'²s Mike Campbell.
        The FOP hopes to get an injunction in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court that stops the police from being implemented, then take the issue to the state employee relations board to come up with a solution that works for both sides.
        (C)2021 Cox Media Group
      VIDEO - Afghanistan: 37 per cent increase in opium poppy cultivation in 2020, while researchers explore novel ways to collect data due to COVID-19
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        Vienna (Austria), 4 May 2021 - The total area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was approximately 224,000 hectares in 2020, which is an increase of 37 per cent or 61,000 hectares when compared to 2019, the executive summary of the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2020, states. At 224,000 hectares, the area under cultivation was one of the highest ever measured.
        The Survey was jointly released by Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) and UNODC.
        While the area under cultivation significantly increased in all main opium poppy-growing provinces, the South-western region remained country's major opium producing region, accounting for 71 per cent of total opium production in Afghanistan.
        The number of poppy-free provinces in the country decreased from 13 to 12 in 2020, with Kapisa Province in the north-east losing its poppy-free status.
        From the collected data, the potential opium production was estimated at 6,300 tons.
        Data collection during COVID-19 posed an unprecedent challenge to researchers. In-person field work was not possible during the current pandemic, which has led NSIA and UNODC to develop and use a new methodology to estimate yields based on satellite data.
        The farm-gate value of opium production in 2020 was estimated at US$ 350 million, which is an important indicator for the overall income of farmers from opium cultivation. With US$ 55 per kilogram, farm-gate prices were at their lowest level since beginning of the monitoring, indicating that the economic situation for poverty- stricken opium farmers might soon become even worse.
        Multiple factors drive opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, such as political instability, scarce employment opportunities, lack of quality education and limited access to markets.
        Opium poppy cultivation is not a local problem. Converted into heroin it is not only consumed in Afghanistan and surrounding countries, but also in Europe which is the main destination for heroin produced in Afghanistan.
        More detailed information on the location and extent of opium poppy cultivation and potential opium production will be presented in the forthcoming full Survey Report. These information are key for planning, implementing, and monitoring global counter-narcotic efforts.
      VIDEO - Eric Holder: 'Citizens Need to Be in Streets' Getting Arrested over Voting Rights
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        Former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday on MSNBC's ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' that protesters needed to be ''in the streets'' getting arrested in the political fight over voting laws.
        Anchor Rachel Maddow said, ''What do you make of the direct action strategy that is being brought by voting rights advocates? Obviously, Vice President Harris and President Biden are very much in support of the reforms like The For the People Act, and they've advocated for it. We know that. We've heard all the speeches. We know their position. Yet you're seeing increasingly relentless focus by moral leaders getting arrested at the Senate office building, at the Supreme Court, at the White House. We're expecting this summer of direct action on voting rights to accelerate to where there will be considerable civil disobedience outside the White House, people trying to set off a moral alarm here. What do you make of that strategically, as someone who has been a target of that in the past and someone who knows the people being targeted by these activists?''
        Holder said, ''Power concedes nothing without demand. We too often underestimate the power we have as regular American citizens by marching, by protesting, by raising our voices. That's a really important part of the thing that I'm leading, The National Democratic Redistricting Committee. We have a big advocacy campaign to get American citizens involved in this fight. If we make our voices known if we demand the kind of change, the fair change we're seeking, I think it will help in the process.''
        He added, ''Raising the consciousness of people by demonstrating, by getting arrested, by doing the things that ending segregation. If you asked people back in the 1950s, do you think marching, demonstrating will bring down a system of American apartheid? You probably would have said, no, that won't happen. We shouldn't lose faith right now. We shouldn't lose faith. Citizens can make a change. Citizens need to be in the streets. Citizens need to be demonstrating. Citizens need to be calling representatives to demand the kind of change that will make this country more representative, make our democracy more fair. ''
        Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
      VIDEO - Heated Vaccine Debate - Kennedy Jr. vs Dershowitz - YouTube
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      VIDEO - AEW Dark August 3, 2021 Max Caster Rap - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Concerns about holding federal election during 4th COVID-19 wave - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Minnesota wastewater has predicted each COVID wave | kare11.com
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        The U of M is tracking COVID in sewage across the state, and using it to develop an early warning system.
        ST PAUL, Minn. '-- Inside an unassuming lab in St. Paul, tiny samples of RNA extracted from wastewater are helping the University of Minnesota develop a statewide COVID-19 early warning system.
        "Both symptomatic and asymptomatic (cases), people who are tested or not tested, it doesn't matter," said Steven Balogh, a research scientist at the Metropolitan Wastewater Plant in St. Paul. "We collect it here and that's why we can see it."
        Balogh has spent more than 30 years monitoring wastewater for mercury and other contaminants, but it wasn't until a research team from the University of Minnesota reached out to him last year that he learned how to extract RNA from wastewater in order to detect COVID-19.
        It didn't take long for him to understand how significant that kind of testing could be.
        "1.95 million people send their wastewater to us every day," Balogh said. "All of our treatment plants collect a daily, 24-hour, composite sample, so we know what's coming into our plant. We see the whole picture."
        Similar testing has also been happening across a large portion of wastewater facilities across the state during the last year, thanks to the network developed by the University of Minnesota Medical School.
        "We're sampling 65% of the population of the state twice a week with this technique," said Dr. Tim Schacker, vice dean of research for the University of Minnesota Medical School. "So it really, truly, has the potential to be an early warning system."
        Dr. Schacker says research from two professors on the Duluth Campus, Dr. Richard Melvin and Dr. Glenn Simmons Jr., first tapped into wastewater's potential last summer. The professors tracked a COVID surge in wastewater that preceded a nearly identical wave that showed up in human testing 17 days later.
        Kent Erdahl: "We talk about the term, canary in a coal mine..."
        Dr. Schacker: "That's what this is. I mean, if this just told us what testing is telling us at the time that testing is telling us, this adds nothing. Where the value of this is, we think, is the ability to predict what's going to happen in a week or two down the road."
        Though the predictive value of the wastewater testing is still under peer review and awaiting publication, the U of M team has repeatedly seen the same kind of early spike through each of the state's subsequent COVID waves in the last year.
        Before the state's largest surge in the fall of 2020, a map of participating wastewater testing sites across the state again indicated a quick spike in cases.
        Erdahl: "When you saw that map light up last fall, what were you thinking?"
        Schacker: "We were headed into trouble."
        Roughly two weeks later, state testing sites began to mirror the steep spike in cases. Hospitalizations and deaths also climbed in the weeks that followed.
        Wastewater testing also alerted the research team to the smaller surge this spring, and then, around the Fourth of July, they began to track another sudden jump in COVID levels, which foreshadowed the current surge of the delta variant.
        "That got a lot of us concerned," Dr. Schacker said.
        Unfortunately, according to the latest two week wastewater snapshot, COVID levels do not appear to be leveling off.
        According to an additional DNA sequencing study underway at the metro plant, the delta variant is even more prominent than levels indicated in human testing.
        "Our numbers suggest that it's beyond 90%," Balogh said.
        But what that ultimately means remains unclear, especially at this stage in the pandemic.
        "What I don't know is, who is getting infected?" Dr. Schacker said. "We'll just have to wait and see. To me it's concerning."
        In the meantime, the Minnesota Department of Health is now incorporating the wastewater data into it's planning. The CDC has also begun working to develop a nationwide network to help better inform public health.
        Ultimately, Dr. Schacker said wastewater could even help individual communities before they become overwhelmed.
        "It gives them some time to get in there and stop things or slow things down," Dr. Schacker said. "That's the new, unique, really important part of this."
        Important for the COVID-19 pandemic and likely far beyond it.
        "We're going to start looking to see if we can measure influenza," Dr. Schacker said. "Ultimately, what we want to do is to look at all of the DNA and RNA that's in wastewater and see if we can tease out a new infection. One that we weren't expecting."
        For Balogh, it's an exciting new frontier that he couldn't even imagine just two years ago.
        "I think it's taken everybody by surprise," Balogh said. "But as scientists, we really do want to change the world. We want to make it a better place and we feel responsible when something like this happens. If I can help, how can I do that?"
        In addition to predicting all of Minnesota's spikes in COVID cases, the wastewater surveillance has also foreshadowed each peak and corresponding drop in cases, which could also prove valuable to public health and local governments in the near future.
      VIDEO - ICU NURSE: "You're being lied to about COVID."
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:09
        Rumble '-- There are extremely effective ways of treating and preventing covid and big pharma and the government are doing everything they can to keep people from knowing it because they are making insane amounts of money selling you vaccines.
      VIDEO - Afghanistan Could Mark Beginning of the End For the Petrodollar. - YouTube
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      VIDEO - Canada to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for all federal workers by fall - National | Globalnews.ca
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 15:35
        Canada is making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all workers in federal service by this fall, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc announced on Friday.
        ''We are also calling on all federally-regulated industries and sectors, and we are also calling on crown corporations to follow suit,'' LeBlanc told reporters in French at a news conference.
        The implementation will take place no later than October, he added.
        ''We expect the federal public service to want to comply with this mandatory requirement,'' LeBlanc said. ''This is the best way to end the pandemic and allow the economy to safely remain open.''
        The requirement will extend to travellers on commercial flights, interprovincial passenger trains and cruise ships.
        However, testing and screening measures will be put in place for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, LeBlanc said, but did not specify how the government would deal with workers who refuse to be vaccinated.
        Story continues below advertisement
        ''Those will be cases that will be dealt with individually by the appropriate public service managers,'' he said. ''But what we're saying to the federal public service is that this is now a mandatory requirement to go to work in a federal workplace or to work for the Government of Canada.''
        1:06 Canada to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all federal workers Canada to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all federal workers Read more: Can your employer mandate you to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
        There are close to half a million people who work directly for the federal government, a Crown corporation, the military or the RCMP.
        Nearly a million more work in federally regulated industries, which includes banks and airlines.
        Trending Stories
        Couple of months ago, the federal government had resisted the idea of vaccine mandates, but LeBlanc said the new landscape changes things.
        Story continues below advertisement
        ''This is an evolution of the government's posture in protecting the health and safety of Canadians since the beginning of the pandemic,'' he said. ''We have scientific data but also real-world evidence on how remarkably effective are the vaccines that have been approved for use by Health Canada.''
        Read more: Calls are growing for mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in health workers. Here's what we know
        Speaking at the same press conference, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra stressed that by the fall, there will be a vaccine requirement for all transportation workers as well.
        ''No later than the end of October, the government of Canada will require employees in the federally regulated air, rail and marine transport sectors to be vaccinated,'' he said.
        The vaccination requirement will also extend to all commercial air travellers, passengers on interprovincial trains, and passengers on large marine vessels with overnight accommodations, such as cruise ships, he added.
        Several organizations representing federal employees have already come out in favour of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
        2:10 Mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirements to include federal transportation workers, certain air and rail travellers Mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirements to include federal transportation workers, certain air and rail travellers''As the union representing the scientists who approved the COVID-19 vaccines, PIPSC welcomes all efforts to increase vaccination coverage in Canada,'' Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, told Global News on Friday.
        Story continues below advertisement
        ''That includes a vaccine policy in the federal government that makes vaccines more accessible to our members and accommodates legitimate reasons for which an employee may not be vaccinated.''
        Dr. Katharine Smart, president of the Canadian Medical Association also expressed her support for the decision in a tweet on Friday.
        ''This is the science based, common sense and principled way forward to keep [Canada] as safe as possible. We don't need fear we need action on the things we know work,'' her tweet read.
        The National Airlines Council of Canada has also welcomed the announcement.
        ''As these new policies are implemented, Canada's major carriers will maintain their ongoing support for vaccination campaigns, while continuing to invest heavily in the safe restart of travel and tourism in order to drive our national economic recovery in every region of the country,'' Mike McNaney, President and CEO of the National Airlines Council of Canada, said in a statement Friday.
        The council will be seeking ''further details and clarifications from government concerning new vaccination requirements for domestic air travel,'' he added.
        '' With files from Reuters and The Canadian Press
        View link >>(C) 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
      VIDEO - Plane Crash Video From Go ProðŸ¤¯ (full video in description) #shorts #tiktok - YouTube
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 15:12
      VIDEO - Smoke, Air Pollution Could Contribute to COVID-19 Infection Rates: Study - YouTube
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:51
      VIDEO - Wildfire smoke and COVID-19 complications - YouTube
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:50
      Wildfire Smoke and COVID-19 | CDC
        Link to Article
        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:48
        Wildfire smoke can irritate your lungs, cause inflammation, affect your immune system, and make you more prone to lung infections, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing for wildfires might be a little different this year. Know how wildfire smoke can affect you and your loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic and what you can do to protect yourselves.
        Prepare for wildfires.Prepare for the wildfire smoke season pdf icon [PDF-215 KB] external icon as you would in any other summer.Get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you can. COVID-19 vaccines help protect you from getting sick or severely ill with COVID-19 and may also help protect people around you.Give yourself more time than usual to prepare for wildfire events. Home delivery is the safest choice for buying disaster supplies; however, that may not be an option for everyone. If in-person shopping is your only option, take steps to protect your and others' health when running essential errands.Talk with a healthcare provider. Plan how you will protect yourself against wildfire smoke.Stock up on medicines routinely taken. Store a 7 to 10-day supply of prescription medicines in a waterproof, childproof container to take with you if you evacuate.As part of your planning for a potential evacuation, consider developing a family disaster plan.Cloth masks will not protect you from wildfire smoke.
        Cloth masks that are used to slow the spread of COVID-19 by blocking respiratory droplets offer little protection against wildfire smoke. They might not catch small, harmful particles in smoke that can harm your health.
        N95 and KN95 respirators can provide protection from wildfire smoke and from getting and spreading COVID-19. CDC does not recommend the use of N95 respirators in non-healthcare settings because N95 respirators should be reserved for health care workers. KN95 respirators are commonly made in China and are similar to N95 masks commonly used in the United States. Look for KN95 masks that meet requirements similar to those set by CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for respirators.
        Take actions to protect yourself from wildfire smoke during the COVID-19 pandemic.The best way to protect against the potentially harmful effects of wildfire smoke is to reduce your exposure to wildfire smoke, for example, by seeking cleaner air shelters and cleaner air spaces.Limit your outdoor exercise when it is smoky outside or choose lower-intensity activities to reduce your smoke exposure.Keep in mind that while physical distancing guidelines are in place, finding cleaner air might be harder if public facilities such as libraries, community centers, and shopping malls are closed or have limited their capacity.
        Create a cleaner air space at home to protect yourself from wildfire smoke during the COVID-19 pandemic.Use a portable air cleaner in one or more rooms. Portable air cleaners work best when run continuously with doors and windows closed.If you use a do-it-yourself box fan external icon filtration unit, never leave it unattended.During periods of extreme heat, pay attention to temperature forecasts external icon and know how to stay safe in the heat.Whenever you can, use air conditioners, heat pumps, fans, and window shades to keep your cleaner air space comfortably cool on hot days.If you have a forced air system in your home, you may need to speak with a qualified heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professional about different filters (HEPA or MERV-13 or higher) and settings (''Recirculate'' and ''On'' rather than ''Auto'') you can use to reduce indoor smoke.Avoid activities that create more indoor and outdoor air pollution, such as frying foods, sweeping, vacuuming, and using gas-powered appliances.Know the difference between symptoms from smoke exposure and COVID-19.Some symptoms, like dry cough, sore throat, and difficulty breathing can be caused by both wildfire smoke exposure and COVID-19.Learn about symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms like fever or chills, muscle or body aches, and diarrhea are not related to smoke exposure. If you have any of these symptoms, the CDC COVID-19 Self-Checker can help you determine whether you need further assessment or testing for COVID-19. If you have questions after using the CDC COVID-19 Self-Checker, contact a healthcare provider.If you have severe symptoms, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, immediately call 911 or the nearest emergency facility.People with COVID-19 are at increased risk from wildfire smoke during the pandemic.
        People who currently have or who are recovering from COVID-19 may be at increased risk of health effects from exposure to wildfire smoke due to compromised heart and/or lung function related to COVID-19.
        Know whether you are at risk from wildfire smoke during the COVID-19 pandemic.Some people are more at risk of harmful health effects from wildfire smoke than others. Those most at risk include:
        Children less than 18 years oldAdults aged 65 years or olderPregnant womenPeople with chronic health conditions such as heart or lung disease, asthma, and diabetesOutdoor workersPeople who have lower socioeconomic status, including individuals experiencing homelessness or those who have limited access to medical carePeople who are immunocompromised or taking drugs that suppress the immune systemKnow what to do if you must evacuate.Pay attention to local guidance about updated plans for evacuations and shelters, including potential shelters for your pets.Whether you decide to evacuate or are asked to evacuate by state or local authorities, evacuate safely.When you check on neighbors and friends before evacuating, be sure to follow social distancing recommendations (staying at least 6 feet from others) and other CDC recommendations to protect yourself and others.If you need to go to a disaster shelter, follow CDC recommendations for staying safe and healthy in a public disaster shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic.Stay informed. Know where to find information about air quality and COVID-19 in your area.Use the Air Quality Index external icon (AQI) to check the air quality in your area.Visit airnow.gov external icon to find reliable information about wildfire smoke and air quality.If there is a large wildfire in your area, then there is likely an Air Resource Advisor external icon assigned to provide wildfire smoke outlooks external icon .For further information about wildfire smoke and your health, visit, https://www.cdc.gov/air/wildfire-smoke/default.htm.Visit the CDC COVID Data Tracker for more information about COVID-19.Check resources from state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments for more information on COVID-19 cases and deaths in a given area.Page last reviewed:
        June 23, 2021
      VIDEO - Manufacturing Militarism: U.S. Government Propaganda in the War on Terror - Cato Daily Podcast
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        Archived Version
        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:15
        Friday 6 August 2021
        https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast Open in Pocket Casts 00:00
        00:00
        How does our own government's propaganda shape our views of efforts to fight wars or to even go to war in the first place? Abigail R. Hall is coauthor of Manufacturing Militarism: U.S. Government Propaganda in the War on Terror. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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      VIDEO - 'Your child will wait for another child to die.' Amid Covid-19 surge, Dallas County has no pediatric ICU beds left, county judge says - CNN
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:08
        (CNN)Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging and in Dallas County, Texas, there are "zero ICU beds left for children," county judge Clay Jenkins said in a news conference Friday morning.
        "That means if your child's in a car wreck, if your child has a congenital heart defect or something and needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have Covid and need an ICU bed, we don't have one. Your child will wait for another child to die," Jenkins said. "Your child will just not get on the ventilator, your child will be CareFlighted to Temple or Oklahoma City or wherever we can find them a bed, but they won't be getting one here unless one clears."
        The judge added no ICU beds have been available for children for at least 24 hours. The Texas Department of State Health Services told CNN the shortage of pediatric ICU beds is related to a shortage in medical staff.
        "Hospitals are licensed for a specific number of beds and most hospitals regularly staff fewer beds than they are licensed for. They can't use beds that aren't staffed. With the increase in COVID cases, hospitals are experiencing a shortage of people to staff the beds that they are licensed for," department spokesperson Lara Anton said in an email, adding that staffing agencies in the state are working on recruiting medical surge staff from across the US.
        Earlier in the week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than 2,500 medical staff would be deployed to hospitals in the state to help with the increasing number of Covid-19 patients. More than 11,200 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 in Texas, according to
        state data, with roughly 323 ICU beds left available statewide.
        Jenkins spoke alongside other elected officials as well as leaders from the Workers Defense Action Fund and other groups who said Abbott's handling of the pandemic is putting residents in danger.
        In July, Abbott issued an executive order combining many of his earlier Covid-19 orders, which included language that no governmental entity, including school districts, could require masks.
        Dallas was
        among several Texas counties that sued the governor this month and asked for a restraining order against Abbott's order to be able to implement mask mandates in hopes of curbing the spread of the virus. On Tuesday, Judge Tonya Parker determined Dallas County residents "have and will continue to be damaged and injured" by Abbott's order and ruled that Jenkins, the county judge, should be allowed to implement mitigation strategies at the local level to protect the community.
        Jenkins on Wednesday issued an emergency order mandating masks in certain public spaces in the county, including at county offices and buildings and commercial entities "providing goods or services directly to the public." The emergency order also mandates masks indoors for students, teachers, staff and visitors at county child care centers and schools, regardless of vaccination status.
        "Our hospitals and our people desperately need some time to get bed capacity and doctor capacity up so their hospitals won't be overrun," Jenkins said Friday morning.
        In an attempt to block the local mask mandate, Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition saying the county's emergency order violates the governor's order.
        "This isn't the first time we have dealt with activist characters. It's d(C)j vu all over again," Paxton said in a statement Wednesday. "Attention-grabbing judges and mayors have defied executive orders before, when the pandemic first started, and the courts ruled on our side -- the law. I'm confident the outcomes to any suits will side with liberty and individual choice, not mandates and government overreach."
        But with health care staff overworked and hospital resources strained, "stakes are very high," Jenkins said in the Friday conference, and added that it's "not asking that much of people to wear a mask."
        "We do need to push back on these attempts to erode local control because government works best when it's closest to the people," Jenkins said. "But we need to remember also ... this is not a battle between Gov. Abbott and local leaders who happen to be Democrats or school board members."
        "We are all on team public health," the judge said. "And every person needs to understand that the enemy is the virus, it's not each other."
        CNN's Keith Allen contributed to this report.
      VIDEO - NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast - August 13th, 2021 - YouTube
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        Sat, 14 Aug 2021 13:34
      VIDEO - (35) Vivek Ramaswamy on Twitter: "American Express - an elite brand whose flagship ''Black Card'' is only available to multimillionaires - now hires speakers to teach that capitalism is racist. Meanwhile, they're under federal investigation fo
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        Vivek Ramaswamy : American Express - an elite brand whose flagship ''Black Card'' is only available to multimillionaires - now hires sp'... https://t.co/Y5DniWvEie
        Fri Aug 13 00:37:50 +0000 2021
      VIDEO - Covid Pneumonia: death by CDC protocol | Fakeologist.com
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        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 14:47
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      VIDEO - Jen Psaki Recalls Trump Bleach COVID-19 Cure in Response to Fox News
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        Fri, 13 Aug 2021 02:58
        The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, on Wednesday. Alex Wong/Getty Images A reporter asked Jen Psaki whether she believed Joe Biden was responsible for US vaccine hesitancy. Psaki responded by bringing up Donald Trump's COVID-19 disinfectant comment from last year. The uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations slowed in the US over the summer. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, called out one of President Donald Trump's most infamous coronavirus comments Wednesday in a cutting response to a Fox News reporter's question.
        Fox News' White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, had asked Psaki at a daily press briefing whether President Joe Biden had "created some vaccine hesitancy" when he said in September that he didn't trust Trump, who was overseeing the early stages of the vaccine rollout.
        Uptake of COVID-19 vaccines slowed in the US over much of the spring and summer after the country was among the first to have widespread access to them. Officials continue to stress the safety of the vaccines as the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant causes a surge in cases.
        Read more: These millennial and Gen Z staffers are part of Jen Psaki's 11-person army that keeps the White House on message
        When pushed for a response, Psaki told Doocy there was no data to suggest Biden had contributed to vaccine hesitancy.
        She added: "I would note that at the time, just for context, the former president was also suggesting people inject versions of poison into their veins to cure COVID. So I think that's a relevant point."
        She appeared to be referring to a daily briefing in April 2020 when Trump suggested the US should study whether disinfectant '-- which is used to clean surfaces but is toxic to humans '-- might be injected as a COVID-19 cure.
        "I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute, and is there a way you can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning?" Trump mused at a press conference.
        "Because you see it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it'd be interesting to check that. So you're going to have to use medical doctors, but it sounds interesting to me, so we'll see."
        Doocy's question came after Kayleigh McEnany, the Trump press secretary who is now a Fox News host, on Monday accused the Biden administration of being the country's "biggest contributor to vaccine hesitancy."
        Biden consistently promoted vaccines both before and after taking office. He received both his first and his second dose on camera as part of an effort to reassure people the process was safe.
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