12,000 NYC Students Banned From School For Not Consenting To Random Covid Testing

Today in “how far can your rights be infringed upon before people start to push back” news…

About 12,000 New York City students are being prevented from attending in-person learning because their parents “failed to sign consent forms for weekly random testing”, Bloomberg reported last week. The students are part of a larger group of 190,000 pre-school through elementary students who returned to classrooms in December.

While about 60,000 pre-school and kindergarten students are exempt from testing, there are still about 130,000 students who are required to participate in random testing.

Nathaniel Styer, a spokesman for the city Department of Education, said:

Due to the extensive efforts of our staff, 91% of students who need a consent form have one on file. Students without consent forms, and who do not have approved exemptions, are transitioned to remote instruction.

Random testing is conducted on 20% of everyone in each school building, every week. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza are responsible for implementing the standards that went into place after NYC schools had previously shut down.

Meanwhile, high school and middle school students that are part of NYC’s 1 million plus student body are all receiving remote instruction. “Tens of thousands” of elementary school parents have voluntarily opted out of the random testing in favor of remote learning as well, Bloomberg concluded.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/12/12000-nyc-students-banned-from-school-for-not-consenting-to-random-covid-testing.html

Obama-Appointed Judge Delays Sentencing For Kevin Clinesmith Until After Inauguration Day

Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, delayed sentencing for a former FBI lawyer charged in US Attorney John Durham’s probe into the origins of Spygate until after Inauguration Day.

Former FBI Attorney Kevin Clinesmith plead guilty in August to one charge of making false statements 18 USC 1001 a(3) “makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry.”

Clinesmith altered Carter Page evidence to support the FISA warrant used to spy on the Donald Trump campaign in 2016.

38-year-old Clinemsith altered an email from CIA investigators used to request a FISA warrant and renewals on Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.

Carter Page previously worked as a source for the CIA, however Clinesmith falsely said Page was “never” a CIA source.

Durham asked Judge Boasberg to sentence Kevin Clinesmith to up to 6 months in prison to “send a message that people like the defendant — an attorney in a position of trust who others relied upon — will face serious consequences if they commit crimes that result in material misstatements or omissions to a court.”

Clinesmith’s lawyer argued for a more lenient sentence and requested probation and community service because his client’s “reputation has been ruined, his professional career is in shambles, and he has been unable to support his family financially at a time when he and his wife are expecting their first child.”

Judge Boasberg ultimately decided to delay Clinesmith’s sentencing to January 29, a week after Inauguration Day.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/obama-appointed-judge-delays-sentencing-kevin-clinesmith-inauguration-day/

150 House Democrats Support Return to Iran Nuclear Deal

Support for JCPOA in the House is a good sign for the deal's future

At least 150 House Democrats signed onto a letter supporting Joe Biden’s plan to work with Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, The Hill reported on Thursday.

The letter reads: “We are united in our support for swiftly taking the necessary diplomatic steps to restore constraints on Iran’s nuclear program and return both Iran and the United States to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a starting point for further negotiations.”

The letter first began circulating in the House earlier this month. The effort was led by Reps Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and David Price (D-SC).

Such strong support from House Democrats is a good sign for the future of the JCPOA. Biden has said he plans to return to the JCPOA but will face a lot of pressure from opponents of the deal, including Israel, the Gulf states, and Republicans in Congress.

Some Republican Senators have signaled that they will attempt to block Biden’s efforts to revive the JCPOA through legislation. But with 150 House Democrats in favor of the deal, any bill aimed at sabotaging the JCPOA would not have a veto-proof majority in the House.

Iranian leaders have made it clear that they are willing to immediately return to the JCPOA if the Biden administration lifts sanctions.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/12/27/150-house-democrats-support-return-to-iran-nuclear-deal/

House poised to override Trump veto for first time

The House appears poised to override President Trump’s veto of the must-pass annual defense policy bill, a dramatic rebuke of Trump in the final days of his presidency.

House lawmakers will vote Monday on overriding Trump’s rejection of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed both chambers of Congress with more than the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a veto.

Some Republicans have said they would sustain Trump’s veto despite supporting the bill earlier this month. Still, dozens would need to flip their vote for the override to fail, and some Democrats who previously voted against the measure could switch their votes to override Trump.

Top House Democrats are projecting confidence they have the votes needed to deliver the first veto override since Trump took office.

“The FY21 NDAA passed with overwhelming, veto-proof support in both the House and Senate, and I remain confident that Congress will override this harmful veto,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a statement after Trump vetoed the measure on Wednesday. “While the president may not care about our service members and their families, Congress still places an immense value on their service and sacrifice.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), calling Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness,” said in her own statement the chamber will “take up the veto override with bipartisan support.”

Including this year’s defense bill, Trump has issued nine vetoes during his presidency.

Republicans have been largely reluctant to vote against Trump over the past four years. But Trump may have met his match in the NDAA, a bill he has never before vetoed.

Lawmakers are immensely proud of the bill’s 59-year streak of becoming law and do not want to be remembered as the Congress that failed to deliver. The $740 billion legislation authorizes funding for jobs, military bases and weapons manufacturers that affect nearly every congressional district and state. Troops would lose out on a host of special pay and bonuses without passage of the NDAA.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have also been stressing the importance of cybersecurity provisions in this year’s bill after a massive hack suspected to have been carried out by the Russians compromised myriad government systems at key agencies.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/531624-house-gears-up-for-first-trump-veto-override

“A Taste of the Future” – Global Elites at World Economic Forum Promote Fake ‘Meat’ Produced From a 3D Printer

Global elites at the World Economic Forum promoted fake ‘meat’ produced from a 3D printer as “a taste of the future.”

The World Economic Forum is an organization whose stated goal is “improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.” Founded in 1971, its headquartered is in Geneva, Switzerland.

The globalists plan to solve the world’s problems by starving you, not producing more.

WEF gave three reasons why peasants should eat lab grown meat:

Every year, billions of animals are raised and slaughtered for food.

This uses huge amounts of water and energy.

Some experts believe alternatives could be better for people and the environment.

WATCH:

Last month, the global elites at WEF told the public to start eating weeds.

The strange diet plan comes from a recent virtual event hosted by the WEF, called Bold Actions for Food as a Force for Good. The WEF highlighted 5 main reasons that you should start grazing on some weeds:

1. They’re easy to grow

2. They can be rich in nutrients

3. We need to diversify our diets

4. They know more about the soil than we do

5. They taste great

Globalists at the anti-American World Economic Forum are doing what they do best: Soviet-style degradation and humiliation of hard-working Americans who are made to feel guilty for enjoying a cheeseburger.

Every day working class people are the only problem they see.

The global elites will continue to nosh on steak and lobster while the peasants eat lab grown ‘meat’ and weeds.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/taste-future-global-elites-world-economic-forum-promote-fake-meat-produced-3d-printer-video/

Washington Appeals Court Order Blocking TikTok Restrictions From Taking Effect

US District Judge in Washington, Carl Nichols, was the last to reaffirm the block on the restrictions against the Asian social media platform, which were due to come in effect on 12 November.

The US Justice Department has appealed a court order from 7 December blocking restrictions on the TikTok social media platform by the Commerce Department. Should the Commerce Department's measures take effect as a result of the appeal, the popular short video hosting app, owned by Asian ByteDance, would be barred from being downloading and used in the US.

The measures against TikTok were blocked from taking effect on the original date on 12 November by Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Pennsylvania – her decision was later upheld by District Judge in Washington, Carl Nichols. The US government has been seeking to revert the decision since.

New: US District Judge in DC says Trump administration exceeded its authority in its TikTok restrictions, calling actions "arbitrary and capricious." Judge orders that Commerce Department's ban be blocked "in full." pic.twitter.com/aRPLVOUwtQ

— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) December 7, 2020

12 November was the last deadline that the Trump administration gave to ByteDance to finalise the deal with American companies, Oracle and Target, to hand over control of the platform's operations in the US. The White House threatened to ban ByteDance's media platform should it not comply with its demands, citing alleged censorship and possible meddling in domestic US affairs from the Chinese company through video hosting.

Tik Tok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo in this illustration taken November 27, 2019.

© REUTERS / DADO RUVIC

US Commerce Department's Ban on TikTok Once Again Blocked

The two judges, however, said the Trump administration's arguments did not hold water, with District Judge Carl Nichols calling the White House orders to restrict access to TikTok in the US "arbitrary and capricious” – he issued an injunction to stop the platform from being banned. Washington will now try to appeal Nichols' ruling in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

https://sputniknews.com/us/202012281081591182-us-appeals-court-blocks-restrictions-on-tiktok-from-taking-effect/

Fauci says he altered public scientific estimates based on opinion polls

Admission he lowballed estimated herd immunity threshold follows earlier acknowledgement he misled on efficacy of masks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared to admit last week that he has deliberately misled the public regarding the coronavirus — for the second time since the pandemic began.

In a Christmas Eve interview with the New York Times, Fauci acknowledged he had offered a lower estimate of the level of herd immunity necessary to stop the COVID-19 pandemic because he thought Americans would be discouraged by hearing his true thoughts on the issue.

He recently raised his estimate on the herd immunity threshold "partly based on new science," the newspaper reported, "and partly on his gut feeling that the country is finally ready to hear what he really thinks."

Fauci himself told the paper that he had withheld the higher estimates because polling results made him think such estimates would be viewed unfavorably.

“When polls said only about half of all Americans would take a vaccine, I was saying herd immunity would take 70 to 75 percent," he told reporter Donald McNeil. "Then, when newer surveys said 60 percent or more would take it, I thought, 'I can nudge this up a bit,' so I went to 80, 85."

Fauci admitted that scientists "really don't know what the real number is," though he himself estimated that the "real range is somewhere between 70 to 90 percent."

"But, I'm not going to say 90 percent," he added, because "doing so might be discouraging to Americans," according to the Times.

Fauci's reported admission that he altered his public scientific estimates on the basis of polling numbers is not the first time the doctor has admitted to misleading the public during the COVID crisis.

At the outset of the pandemic, Fauci — like most public health authorities — advised against wearing face masks, telling the public that doing so was unnecessary unless an individual was showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Fauci in subsequent weeks and months made a sharp 180-degree turn on the subject of masks, advocating their universal usage and arguing that mask-wearing is critical to stopping the spread of COVID-19.

When pressed in June on why he had initially argued against masks, Fauci said that the public health community was "concerned that it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply."

"And we wanted to make sure," Fauci continued, that the scarce PPE was reserved for "the people, namely the health care workers, who were brave enough to put themselves in [harm's way], to take care of people who you know were infected with the coronavirus and the danger of them getting infected."

In a September interview with ABC, Fauci repeated this admission.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/fauci-doctor-statements-misleading-public