>>110881

One Dead, Another Missing After Collision Off Sweden, Criminal Probe Underway

December 13, 2021

By Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard

Reuters

STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN, Dec 13 (Reuters) – One of two Danish crew members missing from a capsized barge has been found dead in the hull after an overnight collision on Monday with a British cargo vessel in a busy Baltic Sea route off Sweden.

The 55-meter Karin Hoj barge and 90-meter Scot Carrier were sailing in the same direction off the island of Bornholm when they crashed in fog and darkness at 3.30 a.m. (0230 GMT), maritime agencies in Denmark and Sweden said.

At least nine boats and a helicopter combed waters near the wreckage-strewn site, while the overturned Karin Hoj was towed away to shallower waters so Swedish divers could investigate the hull without risk of being dragged down.

It is impossible to survive for long without protective gear in the sea temperatures of around 4 Celsius, but there had been hope the pair might be alive inside an air pocket within the hull.

However, the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) and police said one person was found dead on the boat, while the other was still missing.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Though there was fog at the time of the accident, the Danish Meteorological Institute said it was not dense and conditions were not unusual for the time of year.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement a preliminary investigation was underway into several suspected crimes: gross negligence in maritime traffic, causing death through negligence, and marine intoxication.

It said two suspects, one British and one Croatian, had been take into custody and it could provide no further details due to the preliminary nature of the probe.

With events seeming to have unfolded fast, the Danish Defence’s Joint Operations Centre (JOC) said there was no sign lifeboats or other emergency equipment were used by the Karin Hoj’s two-person crew.

“I can confirm an accident has happened but I do not know the circumstances,” Soren Hoj, managing director of Rederiet Hoj which owns the Karin Hoj, told Reuters.

The barge was sailing from Sodertalje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark, while the Scot Carrier was sailing to Montrose on Scotland’s east coast.

The British ship’s owner Scotline said it could not comment on details but was assisting local authorities.

The SMA said the Danish vessel was empty of cargo and it was unclear what if anything the British ship was carrying.

The waters between Sweden and Denmark see large amounts of maritime traffic. Collisions are rare though in 2006 a small Danish vessel sank after a crash with a Swedish boat, with all the crew rescued alive after bailing overboard.

(Additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom, Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne, Stine Jacobsen and Niklas Pollard; Editing by Jon Boyle and Andrew Cawthorne)

https://gcaptain.com/two-missing-after-collision-off-sweden-criminal-probe-underway/

Pic:

Divers work aboard the Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej which collided with the British cargo ship Scot Carrier between Ystad and Bornholm, on the Baltic Sea December 13, 2021. Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

>>110916 (me)

British vessel SCOT CARRIER moored at Swedish port of Ystad 13 December 2021 at 15:30 Local Time (UTC +1)

Australia #20 >>>/qresearch/15185192

==Dershowitz: Ghislaine's Prosecutors Won't Call Her Main Accuser. Why?

Alan Dershowitz - 10 December 2021

Why did the government not call "one of Ghislaine Maxwell’s most prominent accusers," who is at the "forefront of the case?"

Why is such "a central player" so "conspicuously absent from the witness list?"

Why did the government leave such a "gaping hole that the jurors may find unsettling?"

Why "the empty chair?"

These obvious questions are being asked by the media and legal experts.

Still, many know the answer but refuse to share it publicly.

The answer should be obvious to anyone familiar with the facts: the government is not calling Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre because they don’t believe she is credible.

Additionally, according to the testimony of a witness, who they do believe, she herself was complicit in Maxwell’s alleged crimes.

Prosecutors don’t believe Virginia Giuffre because she has accused, in the media and under oath, many prominent people of having sex with her.

They include the late Sen. George Mitchell, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, billionaire Leslie Wexner, Britain’s Prince Andrew — and me.

All have categorically denied the accusation, but more importantly, her own lawyer, Bradley Edwards, in television and other interviews has said that, based on his 11-year investigation, no "high profile people would be implicated."

Edwards also said that Wexner was telling the truth when he said that he was not involved in any sexual activities related to Epstein.

Giuffre had sworn that she had sex with Wexner, the high-profile head of Victoria’s Secret, on many occasions. So, Giuffre’s lawyer was essentially accusing his own client of perjury.

Giuffre’s other lawyer, David Boies, in a conversation with me, said that significant parts of her claims against me did not stand up.

Moreover, Giuffre’s best friend and her best friend’s husband have both testified that Giuffre is not telling the truth.

And Giuffre’s own emails, which she tried to suppress, show that she never even met me.

Had Giuffre had been called as a witness, the government would have been obliged, under the Brady rule, to have provided all this information — and more — to the defense.

I know the government has this material because I gave it them.

But even if the government provided this information to the defense, it would have been precluded from calling Giuffre as a witness and vouching for her credibility, because they know she simply is not credible.

The other reason the government didn’t call her is that one of its key witnesses, using the name "Carolyn," testified that, when she was 14, Giuffre — who was nearly 19 at the time — received money to bring her to Epstein’s house for sexual massages.

Carolyn claimed Giuffre "would make a lot of money" from Epstein for doing so.

Carolyn also claims that when they arrived at Epstein’s massage room, Giuffre took off all her clothes, "got on top of Epstein" and had sex with him in front of the 14-year-old.

Carolyn said she was paid $300 but doesn’t know how much Giuffre received.

In order for Giuffre to testify at the Maxwell trial, she would have to be given immunity from prosecutors for her own alleged crimes. That would have made her a terrible witness.

The real reasons why Giuffre isn’t being called are obvious.

But her lawyer and the media are obscuring the truth.

Boies told The Miami Herald that he was "mystified" by the prosecution’s decision, but it probably related to the fact that it is only "bringing charges with women who were under the age of consent at the time."

But Giuffre initially swore she was 15 when she first had sex with Epstein and Maxwell.

She vividly remembered spending her "sweet 16 birthday" with them.

The age of consent in Florida is 18. When confronted with employment records, she changed her testimony and said she was 16 — still below the age of consent.

Moreover, one of the alleged victims — Kate — was well above the age of consent.

So Boies’ claim is nonsense.

Julie Brown, a reporter for the Miami Herald article, has relied on Giuffre as a major source for her prize-winning articles about Epstein and Maxwell.

But Brown won’t acknowledge Giuffre’s lack of credibility now because it would undercut the veracity of her "acclaimed" articles.

So, Brown has provided other implausible excuses, such as the age of consent — omitting to report that the age is 18 in Florida.

There is nothing mystifying about the government’s decision not to call Giuffre.

They don’t believe her nor does anyone who looks at the facts.

https://www.newsmax.com/alandershowitz/boies-maxwell-giuffre/2021/12/10/id/1048187/

https://qanon.pub/?q=Welcome%20aboard.

https://qanon.pub/?q=dershowitz

Canada #26 >>>/qresearch/15187163

Bizarre Amazon Services terms and conditions referencing zombies??

https://breaking-news.ca/bizarre-amazon-services-terms-and-conditions-referencing-zombies/

“42.10. Acceptable Use; Safety-Critical Systems. Your use of the Lumberyard Materials must comply with the AWS Acceptable Use Policy. The Lumberyard Materials are not intended for use with life-critical or safety-critical systems, such as use in operation of medical equipment, automated transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, aircraft or air traffic control, nuclear facilities, manned spacecraft, or military use in connection with live combat. However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.”

General Research #19212 >>>/qresearch/15186789

Brazilian City Cuts Hospitalizations and Mortality Rates in Half After Implementing Ivermectin as Prophylaxis for COVID

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/brazilian-city-cuts-hospitalizations-mortality-rates-half-implementing-ivermectin-prophylaxis-covid/

This didn’t make any headlines.

The city of Itajai, Brazil offered Ivermectin to its citizens during the COVID pandemic. The results were spectacular. Hospitalizations and deaths were cut in half.

Early on in the pandemic, before the vaccines were available, the Southern Brazilian city of Itajai offered Ivermectin as a prophylaxis against the disease.

Between July and December of 2020, roughly 220,000 people were offered a dose of 0.2mg/kg/day (roughly 18mg for a 200lb person) as an optional treatment for 2 days, once every two weeks.

133,051 people took them up on it, while 87,466 did not.

After analyzing the data, a team of researchers spanning several Brazilian institutes, the University of Toronto, and Columbia’s EAFIT concluded in a December pre-print study that hospitalization and mortality rates were cut in half over the seven-month period among the Ivermectin group.

General Research #19213 >>>/qresearch/15187390

Inside the abandoned sex dens Jeffrey Epstein shared with Ghislaine Maxwell

Amid the lurid ongoing trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is charged with grooming many of late pedo-perv Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, never-before-seen photos of the estates he shared with his “lady of the house” have come to light.

Two years after the disgraced financier’s death at 66 by hanging in a federal jail cell, these images — seized by officials who conducted raids into all of his homes — offer a glimpse at what’s become of Epstein’s sprawling properties, including his most off-the-radar compound located in the Virgin Islands, which remains abandoned.

The cache of evidence, released as part of Maxwell’s federal sex-trafficking trial, reveals what FBI agents discovered, which included a trove of discs that give a glimpse into their jet-setting lives together.

Prosecutors entered many of the photos — including first looks at his infamous massage rooms — as exhibits last week during the testimony, accusing Maxwell, 59, of recruiting and grooming underage teens who were sexually abused by Epstein between 1994 and 2004. She faces six criminal counts at trial, including enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.

As bits and pieces of her past life are laid bare for the public, Maxwell continued to maintain her innocence and pleaded not guilty. At the start of her trial two weeks ago, her lawyers argued that she was a scapegoat who wasn’t indicted until nearly a year after Epstein died in a federal jail while awaiting his own sex-trafficking trial. The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a suicide.

Since Epstein’s death in 2019, dozens of alleged victims have come forward with sexual assault claims, forcing the executors of his estate — Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn — to set up a victims’ compensation fund to dole out damages.

The accusers who have all spoken out have detailed the locations where they claim to have been subjected to rape and sexual torture.

Maxwell’s trial is set to resume later this week.

The Post has obtained current aerial images of the vast properties where Epstein and Maxwell lived large, in addition to haunting interior photographs that were recently revealed in court.

Virgin Islands — Little St. James & Great St. James

Most notorious is Epstein’s island, commonly referred to as “pedo” island, where victims have described in detail trying to swim off the shore in shark-infested water, almost drowning to escape the abuse they faced at the hands of Epstein and his colleagues.

https://nypost.com/2021/12/13/inside-the-abandoned-sex-dens-jeffrey-epstein-shared-with-ghislaine-maxwell/

General Research #19213 >>>/qresearch/15187394 and >>>/qresearch/1587419

>they gonna be pissed now kek

Biden Won’t Extend Student Loan Relief And Confirms Student Loan Payments Restart February 1 - Forbes

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1470458686804054022

General Research #19213 >>>/qresearch/15187418

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2021/12/13/el-salvadors-president-accuses-biden-administration-of-corruption-and-drops-private-text-messages-when-challenged-n490611

Chief Justice Roberts rejects lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled boy to end mask mandates for air travel

While the Justice axed the request for an emergency injunction, the broader challenge seeking to overturn the measure through litigation has progressed through the lower courts.

Mon Dec 13, 2021 - 12:54 pm EST

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – A Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request of a father and his disabled 4-year-old son to end the mask mandate required for air travel.

Last Thursday Chief Justice John Roberts rejected an emergency request seeking to block the federal mask mandate for air travel. Michael Seklecki, a Florida resident, had filed the lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on behalf of himself and his disabled 4-year-old son. Seklecki cited medical reasons as the need for an immediate injunction. Also joining as a plaintiff on the case was Washington resident Lucas Wall, who says he has been stranded in Florida since the beginning of the pandemic due to his inability to wear a mask.

According to an analysis by the New York Times, “The chief justice did not ask for a response to the application for emergency relief or refer the application to the full Supreme Court, and he gave no reasons for his ruling. Those were all signs that he viewed the legal question in the case as insubstantial.”

While Roberts axed the request for an emergency injunction, the broader challenge seeking to overturn the measure through litigation has progressed through the lower courts, and is awaiting an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, according to the Axios news website.

Despite the widespread implementation of masks mandates as a measure to fight the so-called COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing body of data coming out of the scientific community calling the practice into question.

Currently, there are at least 47 studies showing the ineffectiveness of masks, with an additional 32 studies finding that not only is their use unnecessary and futile, but harmful to people’s health.

Notably, masks have been linked to lower oxygen levels in the blood, an increase in the growth of bacteria and fungi, the harmful proliferation of microplastics, increased psychological distress, and developmental and emotional dysfunction in children.

While the TSA’s mask mandate is due to expire on March 18, the agency has a history of extending their unscientific mandates to keep in line with the mainstream media’s narrative that “social distancing,” experimental vaccinations, and inhibited breathing are necessary measures to combating a virus the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reports as having an infection survival rate of greater than 99.95% for those under age 50.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/chief-justice-roberts-rejects-lawsuit-filed-on-behalf-of-disabled-boy-to-end-mask-mandates-for-air-travel/

General Research #19213 >>>/qresearch/15187489

It's all YOUR fault:Facebook exec blames users for spreading misinformation and says social media firm doesn't have enough money or staff to eliminate it

10304791/Facebook-exec-blames-users-spreading-misinformation-says-company-never-eliminate-it.html

General Research #19213 >>>/qresearch/15187506

https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1470473014705856512?t=1HOy8t_bUUm9rJ5ZBlSvbg&s=19

Rudolph Changes Name To Rolanda, Dominates Female Reindeer Games

General Research #19213 >>>/qresearch/15187524

Nothing to see here, just the New York Times casually mentioning that Merck’s new miracle COVID drug…

Might actually mutate healthy human DNA by accident.

Oh yeah, and the FDA says it might also impact male fertility. But don’t worry!!!

https://twitter.com/cabot_phillips/status/1470470516750364674

Newt Gingrich: Democrats trying to 'pay off their allies' before 2022 midterm 'catastrophe'

Gingrich says it's DC elites against rest of country

By Fox News Staff | Fox News December 13, 2021

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich reacted Monday to the Democrats' scramble to pass Build Back Better amid rising inflation.

CONGRESSIONAL DEMS ROILED BY DIVISION ON ISSUES FROM MASSIVE SPENDING BILLS TO VACCINE MANDATES

NEWT GINGRICH: If you're Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer you’re already discounting next year and assuming you’re gonna get wiped out, so you’re trying to drive through everything to pay off your allies before the catastrophe hits. And I think it’s a little bit like people trying to build a house on a beach while a tsunami’s coming, and they’re trying desperately to finish the house and this wave gets bigger every week. I’m amazed by it, and it will be very interesting to see if Joe Manchin caves because what you’re seeing is a network of political power in Washington against the entire rest of the country.

Video at:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/newt-gingrich-democrats-2022-republican-tsunami-midterms

New China Import Rules Bring Headaches

By Dominique Patton and Siddharth Cavale December 13, 2021

Makers of Irish whiskey, Belgian chocolate and European coffee brands are scrambling to comply with new Chinese food and beverage regulations, with many fearful their goods will be unable to enter the giant market as a Jan. 1 deadline looms.

China's customs authority published new food safety rules in April stipulating all food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities abroad need to be registered by year-end for their goods to access the Chinese market.

But detailed procedures explaining how to get the required registration codes were only issued in October, while a website for companies allowed to self-register went online last month.

"We're heading for major disruptions after Jan. 1," said a Beijing-based diplomat from a European country who is assisting food producers with the new measures.

China's food imports have surged in recent years amid growing demand from a huge middle class. They were worth $89 billion in 2019, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture, making China the world's sixth largest food importer.

China has tried to implement new rules covering food imports for years, triggering opposition from exporters. The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), overseeing the latest iteration of the rules, has provided little explanation for why all foods, even those considered low-risk such as wine, flour and olive oil, are covered by the requirements.

Experts say it is an effort to better oversee the large volumes of food arriving at Chinese ports, and place responsibility for food safety with manufacturers rather than the government.

GACC said in a statement sent to Reuters that it had sought public comment on the rules prior to April.

It has "fully considered and actively accepted reasonable suggestions" and strictly followed WTO agreements on implementing food safety measures, it said, adding that it had also responded to company questions.

The European Union has sent four letters to Customs this year requesting more clarity and more time for implementation, said Damien Plan, agriculture counsellor at the European Union Delegation in Beijing.

Last week, GACC agreed that implementation should only apply to goods produced on or after Jan. 1, effectively granting a delay for products already shipped, said the European diplomat, though it has not yet published an official notification.

Still, several diplomats and exporters said they saw the rules as a trade barrier for overseas products.

"We have never had anything this draconian out of China," said Andy Anderson, executive director of the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association (WUSATA), a trade group that promotes U.S. food exports.

He described the rules as a "non-tariff trade barrier".

Food, especially chilled and frozen food, has already faced severe delays clearing Customs in China in the last year due to coronavirus testing and disinfection measures.

Foods including unroasted coffee beans, cooking oil, milled grains and nuts are among 14 new categories deemed high risk that were required to be registered by the end of October by food authorities of the exporting countries.

Facilities making low-risk foods can register themselves on a website that launched in November but has not always worked.

"The Chinese system is working now but the English one is on a trial version," said Li Xiang, business development manager at Chemical Inspection and Regulation Services Ltd (CIRS) Europe, which is helping companies with the registration process.

The rules only apply to facilities making finished products to be exported to China, but it provides little flexibility to change sourcing or labels.

Some U.S. spirits companies have registered but are still unclear on labelling requirements, said Robert Maron, VP International Trade at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

"There is not a lot of time to understand what the requirements are and I think that is the main concern from our membership," he said.

No Irish whiskey makers assisted by CIRS Ireland have been able to register so far, said Li.

It is not clear what will happen if goods arrive without the required registration codes stuck onto packaging.

"For the moment, the information we got from (Chinese) authorities is that there won't be a grace period," he added.

https://www.marinelink.com/news/new-china-import-rules-bring-headaches-492800

LA, Long Beach Container Dwell Fee on Pause Until December 20

December 13, 2021

The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach announced Monday that consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” would be held off another week, until December 20.

Since the fee was announced on October 25, the twin ports have seen a combined decline of 47% in aging cargo on the docks. The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after another week of monitoring data.

Under the temporary policy approved October 29 by the Harbor Commissions of both ports, ocean carriers can be charged for each import container that falls into one of two categories: In the case of containers scheduled to move by truck, ocean carriers could be charged for every container dwelling nine days or more. For containers moving by rail, ocean carriers could be charged if a container has dwelled for six days or more. Currently, no date has been set to start the count with respect to container dwell time.

The ports plan to charge ocean carriers in these two categories $100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.

Before the pandemic-induced import surge began in mid-2020, on average, containers for local delivery remained on container terminals under four days, while containers destined for trains dwelled less than two days.

Any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.

The policy was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation and multiple supply chain stakeholders.

https://www.marinelink.com/news/la-long-beach-container-dwell-fee-pause-492801

[the comments are quite enjoyable]

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15187975

BREAKING:California reimposes statewide indoor mask mandate starting Wednesday

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1470514836836605961

Pfizer Buys Pharma Rival Arena In All-Cash Deal Worth $6.7 Billion

Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals have doubled in price in premarket trading after Pfizer announced that it had struck a deal to acquire its smaller rival for $100/share in a deal that values the San Deigo-based Arena at $6.7 billion. Pfizer believes it can finance the deal with cash on hand, and thanks to covid, it sure can.

Fattened up with its vaccine profits, Pfizer is clearly seizing the opportunity to put some of that money to work by diversifying and paying growth.

Investors in both companies should keep in mind that, as part of the deal, warrants will immediately cease to be outstanding and instead will be converted into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to the product of the excess, if any, of the Merger Consideration over the per-share exercise price of such of the options, multiplied by the number of shares then subject to such Company Option.

In the press release, Pfizer's Mike Gladstone said buying Arena would complement Pfizer's expertise in immunology, specifically allowing it to better serve patients with immuno-inflammatory diseases.

"The proposed acquisition of Arena complements our capabilities and expertise in Inflammation and Immunology, a Pfizer innovation engine developing potential therapies for patients with debilitating immuno-inflammatory diseases with a need for more effective treatment options," said Pfizer's Mike Gladstone. "Utilizing Pfizer's leading research and global development capabilities, we plan to accelerate the clinical development of etrasimod for patients with immuno-inflammatory diseases."

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/81399/pfizer-buys-pharma-rival-arena-in-allcash-deal-worth-67.html

>>110957 (me)

Check out the second image

"Temanogrel is currently ii Phase 2 for the treatment of microvascular obstruction and Raynaud's phenomenon secondary to systemic schlerosis. APD418 is currently in Phase 2 for acute heart failure."

S0…bloodclots and heart attacks?

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188003

Warning for Australians to 'get your booster shot BEFORE Christmas' as party season kicks off – and then get ready for your FOURTH dose

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said Aussies should get booster jab

Dr Chant said many people due for a third Covid vaccine dose before Christmas

An epidemiologist has said a fourth dose would likely be required in 2022

With the COVID-19 Omicron strain spreading rapidly amid large Christmas gatherings, New South Wales' top doctor is urging people to book in for a booster shot as soon as possible.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says anyone who received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine five months ago should now 'get vaccinated before Christmas'.

Anyone who is immunocompromised may need a booster as part of their primary course and should consult their GP, she said on Monday.

The Kirby Institute's epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre agrees, saying adults need to start thinking about three shots of a COVID-19 vaccination as being the number required to be fully vaccinated.

'Thinking you're fine with two doses, if Omicron is going to spread in Australia, is a false sense of security,' she told ABC radio.

Early data indicated that even after three doses antibody levels 'start to wane pretty quickly as well'.

'So it may well be that we need another fourth dose within less than a year,' she said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10303297/Warning-Australians-booster-shot-Christmas-ahead-party-season.html

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188010

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1470519740187779090?t=5LvUuicFg4I6Mt5KHn0mBQ&s=19

NEW -Police arrested "Santa Claus" today at a Christmas market in Germany because he was not wearing a mask.

>>110961 (me)

I know what what happens later

Air Force discharges 27 for refusing to get COVID vaccine

Updated: Dec. 13, 2021, 6:04 p.m. | Published: Dec. 13, 2021, 6:04 p.m.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots.

The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an exemption. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Monday that these are the first airmen to be administratively discharged for reasons involving the vaccine.

She said all of them were in their first term of enlistment, so they were younger, lower-ranking personnel. And while the Air Force does not disclose what type of discharge a service member gets, legislation working its way through Congress limits the military to giving troops in vaccine refusal cases an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions.

The Pentagon earlier this year required the vaccine for all members of the military, including active duty, National Guard and the Reserves. Each of the services set its own deadlines and procedures for the mandate, and the Air Force set the earliest deadline. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the vaccine is critical to maintaining the health of the force and its ability to respond to an national security crisis.

None of the 27 airmen sought any type of exemption, medical, administrative or religious, Stefanek said. Several officials from the other services said they believe that so far only the Air Force has gotten this far along in the process and discharged people over the vaccine refusal.

As a result, they were formally removed from service for failure to obey an order. Stefanek said it is also possible that some had other infractions on their records, but all had the vaccine refusal as one of the elements of their discharge.

It is not unusual for members of the military to be thrown out of the service for disobeying an order— discipline is a key tenet of the armed services. As a comparison, Stefanek said that in the first three quarters of 2021, about 1,800 airmen were discharged for failure to follow orders.

According to the latest Air Force data, more than 1,000 airmen have refused the shot and more than 4,700 are seeking a religious exemption. As of last week, a bit more than 97% of the active duty Air Force had gotten at least one shot.

Members of the Navy and the Marine Corps had until Nov. 28 to get the shots and their Reserve members have until Dec. 28. Army active duty soldiers have until Wednesday, and members of the Army National Guard and the Reserves have the most time to be vaccinated, with a deadline of next June 30.

By Lolita C. Baldor

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2021/12/air-force-discharges-27-for-refusing-to-get-covid-vaccine.html

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188050

Thanks Brandon!

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188087

San Francisco Drug Overdose Deaths Nearly Triple COVID

San Francisco continues to face a drug overdose epidemic. The number of overdose deaths nearly tripled that of COVID deaths in 2020.

The city’s data reveals there were a total of 713 overdose deaths, compared to 261 COVID-19 deaths in 2020.

“Bad is an understatement. I would say it’s horrific, it is negligent, it is an epidemic in and of itself, and it was not always this way,” Jenny Shao, a freelance multimedia video journalist and San Francisco native, told NTD Television.

She says drug overdoses have been an ongoing crisis for the city but have gotten much worse over the last five years.

“Before, you were able to walk through the streets … and you did not have to try and tiptoe over bodies not knowing whether they were dead or alive.” Shao said.

Shao continued, “And, also, you did not have to hopscotch through anything like drug paraphernalia … and you were not literally walking through a scene, of say, ‘The Night of the Living Dead,’” Shao said.

One drug addict’s mother has described it as a “Zombie Apocalypse.” Her 32-year-old son is addicted to fentanyl, which has left him homeless and physically “bent over” so that he “walks like an old man.”

People have also described the city as a Third-World country with human waste and needles on the street. City officials have made efforts to tackle the problem.

According to one report from the Department of Public Health, San Francisco distributes 4.45 million needles every year to drug users.

In July, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the city will invest $13.2 million to prevent drug overdoses. It includes opening centers to provide beds and treatment for the intoxicated and expanding access to buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat opioid-use disorder.

Recently, city officials are pushing for safe injection sites as part of their overdose prevention program, which could start as soon as next spring.

But according to Shao, not a single center offered alternatives to drugs. She said that’s like putting a Band-Aid on the problem and “fast-tracking a way to self-destruction.”

“The idea is sobriety, and that’s the golden key,” Shao said.

“You do not want to be dependent on these drugs. And from what I understand of these harm-reduction sites—as the city likes to call them—is that you are putting yourself at less risk, of say, overdose or harm. But, nevertheless, you are still locked in that state of constantly abusing yourself. And, so to speak, teetering on the border of death.”

Shao says the city needs to invest in more mental health programs.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/san-francisco-drug-overdose-deaths-nearly-triple-covid

>>110968

Brazilian Ministry of Health suffers cyberattack and COVID-19 vaccination data vanishes

Hackers claimed to have copied and deleted 50TB worth of data from internal systems.

Written by Angelica Mari, Contributing Editor

Posted in Brazil Tech on December 10, 2021 | Topic: Security

Websites under Brazil's Ministry of Health (MoH) have suffered a major ransomware attack that resulted in the unavailability of COVID-19 vaccination data of millions of citizens.

Following that attack that took place at around 1 am today, all of MoH's websites, including ConecteSUS, which tracks the trajectory of citizens in the public healthcare system, became unavailable. This includes the COVID-19 digital vaccination certificate, which is available via the ConecteSUS app.

According to a message left by the Lapsus$ Group, which has claimed responsibility for the attack, some 50TB worth of data has been extracted from the MoH's systems and subsequently deleted. "Contact us if you want the data returned", the message said, alongside contact details for the authors of the attack.

Just before 7 am, the images with the message left by the hackers were removed, but the websites remained unavailable.

Following the attack, Brazilian health minister Marcelo Queiroga said his department holds a backup of the data allegedly copied and erased from the national health service's databases. The National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) said it is following up on the case.

ANPD said the Ministry of Health was notified to provide clarifications on the case, as determined by the country's General Data Protection Regulations. It added Institutional Security Office and the Federal Police will be contacted to cooperate with the investigation and inspection of the attack.

In September, the incident follows a previous attack on the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa). The attack was focused on the healthcare declaration for travelers, compulsory for individuals entering Brazil via airports.

The attack took place soon after the cancellation of the World Cup qualifier match between Brazil and Argentina, whereby Anvisa interrupted the game after four Argentinian players were accused of breaking COVID-19 travel protocols.

Similarly, the latest issue faced by the Ministry of Health occurs amid increasing pressure on the Brazilian government to demand COVID-19 vaccination certificates from international travelers coming to Brazil as a response to the rise of the omicron variant.

This is not the first major security issue faced by Brazil's Ministry of Health over the last few months. In November 2020, the personal and health information of more than 16 million Brazilian COVID-19 patients were leaked online after a hospital employee uploaded a spreadsheet with usernames, passwords, and access keys to sensitive government systems on GitHub.

Less than a week later, another major security incident emerged. The personal information of more than 243 million Brazilians, including alive and deceased, was exposed online after web developers left the password for a crucial government database inside the source code of an official MoH website for at least six months.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/brazilian-ministry-of-health-suffers-cyberattack-and-covid-19-vaccination-data-vanishes/

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188098

Biden Joint Chiefs Nom Embraces ‘Gender Advisers’ for Troops

Afghanistan vet says 'gender advisers' nothing more than 'liberal pet projects'

President Joe Biden's nominee for the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate "gender advisers" for combat troops are critical to the United States' success, a position some veterans say is nothing more than a left-wing initiative that distracts from the military's core duties.

The revelation came during a Dec. 8 exchange with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), who asked how Adm. Christopher Grady intends to implement "women, peace, and security" legislation within the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The role of a gender adviser is a way to attack a very significant issue, and if confirmed, I look forward to leveraging those advisers who can make me think better and smarter about the issues that you raise," Grady said. "So I look forward to, if confirmed, understanding that ecosystem and helping advance that cause going forward again."

The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 required the Department of Defense to require training in "security initiatives that specifically addresses the importance of meaningful participation by women" and to develop "effective strategies and best practices for ensuring meaningful participation by women."

Grady's answer drew outrage from veterans such as Jason Church, who earned a Purple Heart when serving in Afghanistan. Church told the Washington Free Beacon that "gender advisers" are nothing more than "liberal pet projects" to score points with Democratic lawmakers.

"When someone nominated to be the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says something like this, it tells me top brass is aligned with radical political elements in the country," he said. "You have people's lives on the line. These positions aren't about how to communicate with Afghan women, we have a diplomatic corps for that."

Military gender advisers occupy a nebulous role within the armed services. A 2016 paper in the Military Law Review traces the position back to a 2000 United Nations resolution that "recogni[zed] the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women" and called for more formal female-centric roles within militaries.

In the last decade, NATO and the U.S. military have made concerted efforts to expand the number of gender advisers in their ranks. The proliferation of gender advisers are part of a general cultural shift in the U.S. military. In May, a group of 30 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to "take action to fight back against the creeping left-wing extremism in the U.S. military."

Vid:

https://youtu.be/wQy_RA3CZ0c

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-joint-chiefs-nom-embraces-gender-advisers-for-troops/

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188109

Democrats’ Massive Entitlement Plans Include Banning Christians From Government Childcare

Research shows programs that separate small children from their parents reduce children's learning and increase their aggression, risky behavior, and later likelihood of committing crimes.

Democrats’ current proposed $3.5 trillion welfare expansion would effectively ban faithful Christians from profiting from federal subsidies for separating infants and toddlers from their families.

The current text of Democrats’ massive “Build Back Better” entitlement bill contains provisions that would require religious child-care providers to disavow longstanding theology about sex in order to receive federal child-care funds under a massive new early childhood program.

“The Democrats went out of their way to make sure and prohibit religious care providers from receiving any of these funds, and unanimously rejected an amendment to allow all child-care providers to be eligible for grants, including religious providers,” said Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Indiana, the ranking member on the House’s subcommittee on Worker and Family Support.

Democrats’ legislation would create a new federally controlled child-care entitlement available to the majority of families in the nation. The legislation authorizes up to $20 billion in the program’s first year, $30 billion in its second, $40 billion in its third, and an unlimited amount after that. The estimated cost of this program over the next ten years is $400 billion.

“Making faith-based providers of child-care and pre-kindergarten into recipients of federal financial assistance triggers federal compliance obligations and non-discrimination provisions,” note the leaders of several religious organizations in an opposition letter to Senate Democrats last week.

This means potentially forcing religious organizations to deny all theology that acknowledges basic truths about human biology and reproduction. Given the state of federal “nondiscrimination” law, this could include forcing religious organizations to allow males into female bathrooms, hire transgender babysitters, and teach small children that men can turn themselves into women and that theologically condemned sex acts are in fact morally good.

Just one-third of American children younger than five are placed in center-based care, according to federal statistics. Sixty-three percent of American kids ages five and younger are cared for by family, and 11 percent by a babysitter or nanny. Most American kids ages 0 to 5 who do have regular childcare are away from their parents only part-time.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/13/democrats-massive-entitlement-plans-include-banning-christians-from-government-childcare/

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188118

Defending Pedophilia Is The Logical Conclusion Of Queer Theory

In the name of 'dismantling' sexual 'power structures,' queer theorists must make things that were once taboo (like sexualizing children) no longer taboo.

Allyn Walker, a former professor at Old Dominion University who identifies as non-binary, resigned last month following criticism stemming from Walker’s views on pedophilia. Walker argued that pedophiles should be destigmatized by identifying them as “minor-attracted persons” (“MAPs”) rather than the pejorative term “pedophile,” because attraction to children is a sexual orientation and not immoral.

The pretense is that pedophiles are more likely to seek treatment if their sexual proclivities are destigmatized. Instead of relying on empirical evidence to determine the reasons for those proclivities or strategies that will keep children safe, Walker relies on queer theoretical tools to argue that pedophiles are wrongly oppressed by society’s power structures as a group of the most “hated folk devils of our time.”

What Is Queer Theory?

Walker is a queer sociologist and criminologist who uses the lens of queer theory to explain human society and crime. Like other critical theories, queer theory seeks a collective critical consciousness that will identify and dismantle identity power structures and dynamics.

Queer theory seeks to unite oppressed groups that fall outside the privileged normative language categories of sex (male or female) and sexuality (straight, gay, bisexual) into a single, oppressed banner of queer. To do this, it relies on the postmodern knowledge principle, which rejects objective knowledge and favors “knowledges” that arise from the lived experiences of individuals of certain identity groups.

Queer Theory’s Application to Pedophilia

Walker uses theoretical tools to problematize the treatment of pedophilia as a sexual perversion to achieve her agenda. She uses the power of language to advocate for the new acronym “MAP” and blurs boundaries of sexuality. The focus is on the collective oppression of pedophiles.

Using a “deconstructionist” perspective, Walker argues that pedophilia is a “social construct.” She boldly concludes that sexual attraction to minors is not morally offensive and claims that the vilification of pedophilia is more about control of sexual minorities than it is about the health or safety of children.

Shockingly, this normalization of pedophilia is not unique to Walker. Another professor at ODU, Vanessa Panfil, has worked extensively with Walker on at least one scholarly article advocating for the destigmatization of pedophilia. Panfil appears to still be gainfully employed at ODU. In addition, Michel Foucault (whom Walker cites extensively) petitioned for the removal of sexual consent laws in France. Similarly, Gayle Rubin defended pedophilia in her 1984 essay “Thinking Sex.”

https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/13/defending-pedophilia-is-the-logical-conclusion-of-queer-theory/

General Research #19214 >>>/qresearch/15188201