Current coronavirus pandemic ‘very severe’ but ‘not necessarily the big one’ – WHO

The head of the WHO health emergencies program Dr. Michael Ryan has warned there might be an “even more severe” pandemic in the future, as new mutant and highly infectious strains of Covid-19 spread.

Commenting during a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Ryan explained that the fatality rate of the current virus is reasonably low compared to other emerging diseases. He also admitted that the coronavirus pandemic has spread around the world extremely quickly and affected every corner of the planet.

He went on to describe the pandemic as a “wake-up call,” saying that it has given the WHO the opportunity to learn how to respond to such emergencies better.

We need to get our act together; we need to get ready for something that might be even more severe in the future.

Dr. Ryan explained that the planet is fragile and “we live in an increasingly complex global society, and these trends will continue.”

When speaking about vaccines, Dr. Ryan predicted that mass vaccination would likely reduce the virus to another low-level threat. He cited the examples of polio and measles, the diseases which were brought under control with the help of vaccines. He added, however, that a vaccine cannot guarantee that an infectious disease would be “eliminated or eradicated.”

The comments come as new mutant strains of Covid-19 were discovered earlier this month in the UK and South Africa which have already spread to more than a dozen countries.

Dr. Ryan's words were echoed by those of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has warned that more problems are expected in the coming year, referring to new varieties of Covid-19. He said the WHO was working closely with scientists around the world to better understand any changes in the virus.

It's a year this week since the WHO learned of cases of “pneumonia with unknown cause” in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which was later found to be Covid-19. The virus has already infected over 81 million people and killed over 1.7 million.

https://www.rt.com/news/511009-coronavirus-pandemic-very-severe-not-the-big-one/

Cuomo Says Addicts In State-Run Rehabs Next To Receive COVID Vaccine

Even as thousands of criminals across the Empire State (and particularly in the Big Apple) remain on house arrest, or free on parole, Gov Andrew Cuomo is prioritizing another group of institutionalized individuals: drug addicts currently undergoing treatment in state-run addiction-help facilities.

Cuomo said during Monday's press conference in Albany that residents in facilities operated by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, (better known as OASAS) will be given the vaccine (along with employees at urgent care centers and health care workers administering the vaccines).

NY delivered some of the first vaccinations in the country earlier this month, and the state is expected to receive another 259K combined doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this week. Those vaccines were delivered to front-line health-care workers and nursing home residents.

Cuomo explained that addicts in rehab were being prioritized because of the dense living conditions: "That's where you have a lot of people living in concentration."

He continued: "Nursing homes are obviously the most problematic because they’re congregate plus older, vulnerable people. OASAS facilities, what we call the O facilities, they’re congregate - not necessarily older - but congregate facilities."

Police, firemen, teachers and others in public-facing jobs will need to wait at least a few more weeks to get the vaccine but, hey, at least we know the junkies will be alright.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/cuomo-says-addicts-state-run-rehabs-next-receive-covid-vaccine

LBC radio host goes on ‘LOCKDOWN KILLS’ rant live on air, argues ‘public is being scared into backing another lockdown’

LBC radio host and anti-extremism activist Maajid Nawaz has urged Brits not to be “scared” into supporting another coronavirus lockdown, arguing they do more harm than good – and then received widespread praise online.

On his LBC show on Monday, Nawaz – better known in the UK as an anti-Islamism activist and counter-extremism adviser – declared:

Lockdown kills. It’s as simple as that.

"Lockdown kills. It's as simple as that."Maajid Nawaz questions why the British public is being "scared and bumped into supporting another lockdown".@MaajidNawazpic.twitter.com/Y76Dd4mCBa

— LBC (@LBC) December 28, 2020

Questioning why the UK government has refused to release data on how many lives lockdowns are responsible for taking versus how many they save, Nawaz complained that it’s a “simple question that should be quite easy to respond to.”

“Do we know how many people would die because of lockdown compared to how many people would die if we do not lock down?” he asked. “And if we don’t know that answer, then are we just grabbing – clutching at straws in the dark?”

https://www.rt.com/uk/510961-lbc-host-anti-lockdown-rant/

He came to Washington to drain the swamp & the swamp won: RT’s Boom Bust asks why Trump caved on stimulus bill

After attacking the Covid stimulus bill for five days US President Donald Trump finally signed a $2.3 trillion package proposed by lawmakers into law.

The president said he wanted Congress to increase payments to Americans from $600 per person up to $2,000 per person. Trump also asked them to remove wasteful spending from the bill.

RT’s Boom Bust talked to Jeffrey Tucker, editorial director of the American Institute for Economic Research, to discuss Trump’s sudden change of heart.

“He came to Washington to drain the swamp, and the swamp won,” the expert said. “It’s a grotesque capitulation, he knows it, he’s giving up, he’s fed up, he realizes the whole system is corrupt and there’s nothing for him to gain by fighting and fighting this.”

https://www.rt.com/business/511027-trump-caves-stimulus-bill/

Spain Will Keep List of People Who Refuse Vaccinations, Share with Other EU Nations

Spain will keep a registry of people who refuse to have a vaccination for the Chinese coronavirus, and will share the data with other European Union member-states.

Health Minister Salvador Illa announced the plans on Monday, saying that while the vaccine would not be mandatory and there would be no repercussions for refusing the injection, the government would be tracking those who declined to have it.

“What will be done is a register, which will be shared with our European partners… of those people who have been offered it and have simply rejected it,” Mr Illa said during an interview with La Sexta television channel on Monday, according to the BBC.

The minister said that the register was to avoid confusion in record-keeping, of why some people are vaccinated and others not, saying: “People who are offered a therapy that they refuse for any reason, it will be noted in the register… [so] that there is no error in the system, not to have given this person the possibility of being vaccinated.”

He added that the data would not be shared with members of the public, including employers.

“It is not a document which will be made public and it will be done with the utmost respect for data protection,” Mr Illa said.

More than one-quarter, 28 per cent, of Spaniards have said they will not have the vaccine, according to a recent poll. However, that figure fell from nearly half — 47 per cent — in November.

The announcement came the same day that the health minister revealed that American pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer had delayed delivery of a new shipment of its vaccine — which it developed with German company BioNTech — by one day due to logistics problems related to refrigeration.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be kept at minus 70 degrees Celcius ( minus 112 Fahrenheit), while the British product by AstraZeneca — which is currently being assessed by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency — can be stored in standard medical fridges. If approved, the vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, would be the second coronavirus jab to be approved for use in the United Kingdom.

UK Minister: You Might Be Banned from Venues Without Vaccine Passport https://t.co/f0UOh7YnkY

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 1, 2020

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/12/29/spain-will-keep-list-of-people-who-refuse-vaccinations-share-with-other-eu-nations/

Mexican Government Covers Up Christmas Cartel Attack near Texas Border

Officials are trying to cover up a Christmas morning cartel attack that sent five federal police officers to emergency rooms–one for gunshot injuries. Gunmen used at least three armored vehicles in the incident in Nuevo Leon, 34 miles south of the border with Texas. The region is controlled by the Gulf Cartel but is threatened by a faction of Los Zetas.

The attack took place on Christmas in Los Aldamas when at least 15 gunmen in three vehicles ambushed a squad of Mexican National Guard patrolling the region, U.S. law enforcement sources who operate in Mexico revealed to Breitbart Texas.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/12/29/exclusive-mexican-government-covers-up-christmas-cartel-attack-near-texas-border/

Argentina on brink of historic vote to legalise abortion

Senate to debate bill that would make it first major Latin American country to allow terminations

Argentina is on the verge of making history as the first major Latin American country to legalise abortion.

Its 72-member senate will convene on Tuesday to debate a bill that was approved by the lower house earlier this month to the delight of pro-choice activists.

Pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners will gather in the plaza near Buenos Aires’s congress building on Tuesday afternoon and remain there until the early hours of Wednesday when a vote is expected.

Projections in Argentinian media suggest the “green” camp pushing for change holds a slender advantage over its “blue” opponents: 33 senators reportedly plan to back the legislation while 32 will vote against it. Five senators are officially undecided.

Mariela Belski, Amnesty International’s executive director in Argentina, said she was confident the “voluntary interruption of pregnancy” bill would be approved, sending a loud message to a region with some of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws. “The numbers look very good,” she said.

Belski said she felt overjoyed and excited about what would be the culmination of a decades-long struggle by women’s rights activists.

“The day after tomorrow this country will be a much better place than before,” she said. “This country will be better for my daughter and for the younger generations, so I’m really happy this is going to happen.”

Claudia Piñeiro, a writer and pro-choice activist, said: “This will be a transcendental and unforgettable moment, something we’ve been waiting for at the end of a very hard year for everybody.

“I only hope the senate realises that there is no turning back now. The women’s movement will not allow them to decide any longer about our bodies, about our health, or continue to oblige us to resort to clandestine abortions.

“We still have to endure their senseless arguments that we need to have children to populate the nation, as if we were nothing more than reproduction machines, nothing more than a uterus. This is going to change tomorrow. I have no doubt about it.”

A previous attempt to legalise abortion was voted down by Argentina’s senate in August 2018, with many blaming the then president Mauricio Macri’s failure to support the change.

This time, however, the country’s leftwing leader, Alberto Fernández, and his vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, have championed the legislation and reportedly been battling to convince senators to back the bill.

The political analyst Andrés Malamud said two key things had changed since the 2018 vote. “One is that the government now has a majority in the senate,” he said. “And the second most important thing is that Argentina’s current president Alberto Fernández is behind the bill, because legal abortion was an electoral promise.”

While activists are optimistic, Malamud said it would be impossible to predict the result until the last minute.

“Although the government holds the majority vote, some of its senators will probably vote against the bill. The outcome will then depend on the pro-abortion minority within the opposition’s bloc, who are delaying announcing how they’ll vote just to deny the government the political success of passing abortion for as long as possible.”

http://www.scoopyweb.com/2020/12/argentina-on-brink-of-historic-vote-to.html

Evidence of Foreign Influence in 2020 Election: Nevada Secretary of State Caught Sending Voter Data List to Pakistani Firm Linked to ISI

This is just stunning!

Catherine Engelbrecht is the Founder and President of True The Vote the nation’s largest voters’ rights group.

The organization for over ten years now has been on the front lines of election fraud prevention by building action-oriented election integrity movements in key states, counties, and precincts. ‘True the Vote’ does not advocate for particular parties or candidates only for fair elections at all levels.

In November True the Vote wrote the Nevada Secretary of State for the eligible voter list report.

When the Secretary of State responded True the Vote was shocked to see that waqas@kavtech.net was cc’ed.

Breitbart.com wrote about this earlier in the month.

http://www.domigood.com/2020/12/evidence-of-foreign-influence-in-2020.html

Coca-Cola will cut 2,200 jobs worldwide as part of restructuring plan

Coca-Cola will cut about 2,200 jobs in its global workforce as part of a broader restructuring plan that was accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the United States, Coke will use layoffs and buyouts to eliminate about 1,200 jobs, accounting for about 12% of the workforce in its home market. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

At the end of 2019, the Atlanta-based company had 86,200 global employees. But the pandemic battered its revenue and raised costs for the beverage giant. About half of its sales typically comes from consumers drinking its beverages away from home. In the third quarter, its net sales slid 9%.

Coke has responded to the crisis by expediting its plans to restructure its business and slim down its portfolio. It has stopped producing drinks such as Tab and its Odwalla brand that don’t sell well and don’t present much opportunity for growth. The company plans to build new operating units focused on the regional and local level that will work closely with five global marketing leadership teams, divided up by category.

https://dailyclosings.com/coca-cola-will-cut-2200-jobs-worldwide-as-part-of-restructuring-plan/

Things China Doesn't Want You To Know

@TruthAbtChina

Shunyi District in Beijing has declared 'wartime status' with two villages completely sealed off.

The video shows thousands of people in a queue for mandatory testing in the neighboring district of Chaoyang, which includes the east side of downtown Beijing.

December 26-27, 2020

https://twitter.com/truthabtchina/status/1343451819222192129

Operation Hide Hunter: Mounting Evidence That Socials & Big Tech Colluding With Dems

Democrats, along with associates in Silicon Valley and the news media, have contained the Hunter Biden story despite growing evidence that President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s son had secret, profitable financial bonds with oligarchs and a powerful communist-connected Chinese businessman. Some have dubbed the organized effort 'Hunter's Not Here' as a play on President Trump's election rally call "WHERE'S HUNTER'?

Since September, it has been an unusual combination of blacklisting, pushing the theory of a Russian plot against the Bidens or simply ignoring the story. Liberal news websites acknowledged the scandal only after Mr. Biden won the election and Hunter Biden publicly stated that he is under a criminal probe for suspected tax fraud.

The difference is striking for President Trump’s associates whom the media criticized during the long FBI Russia probe, which did not prove a conspiracy in the 2016 election.

“It was an unprecedented cover-up across so many entities inside and outside of the government,” J.D. Gordon, the 2016 Trump campaign’s national security adviser, told The Washington Times. “Silicon Valley suppressed an actual scandal related to Hunter Biden while hyping a manufactured scandal over Trump-Russia.”

Mr. Gordon, now an analyst for One America News, was determinedly asked by the news media and the special counsel’s office over how he handled a proposed amendment to the Republican Party platform on supplying the Ukrainian military. Inspectors found no illegal conduct.

News of Hunter Biden’s huge cash flow from shady foreigners was documented in a Sept. 23 report by Senate Republicans. It showed a series of Treasury Department suspicious activity reports on Hunter Biden from Europe to Asia.

The pre-election report, by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, got coverage from conservative media. From the dominant liberal press, it was a blackout.

“We found that [the Bidens]

engaged in potential criminal financial deals across the globe, including China, which created counterintelligence concerns,” Mr. Grassley said on the Senate floor. “I think it’s outrageous that the Fourth Estate would choose to ignore facts when they are uncovered by Republicans.”

Committee Democrats responded to the report, which relied on official bank wire transfers, by charging Mr. Johnson received Russian disinformation. Democrats had published the conspiracy beforehand to liberal news outlets.

https://www.blabber.buzz/blab/pop/1022757-operation-hide-hunter-mounting-evidence-that-socials-big-tech-colluding-with-dems?utm_source=c-alrt&utm_medium=c-alrt-email&utm_term=c-alrt-GI&utm_content=1D_AgrAkxCwg4wwQDkK5kDXy_m1doW-jzFME.A

Rudy Giuliani Reveals that Hunter Biden is Only the Beginning!

Advanced Israeli malware: no interaction, no trace

There is advanced Israeli malware that can hack into your device without requiring you to interact with it or leaving a visible trace.

In earlier versions, the malware produced by Israeli spy firm NSO Group required a target to click a link or open a document.

In more recent versions, the targeted person may still receive a message or phone call containing the malware, but their device can be infected without them having to click on anything.

None of that is required any longer.

The phones of dozens of media personnel have been infected with the advanced spyware, the Canadian cybersecurity organization Citizen Lab has revealed.

Suspected government agents used malware produced by NSO Group to hack into the phones of 36 journalists, producers, anchors and executives at Al Jazeera, and the phone of a journalist at the London-based Al Araby between July and August.

Citizen Lab named Palestinian investigative journalist Tamer Almisshal and Moscow correspondent Ranya Dridi as two of the Al Jazeera journalists whose phones were breached.

Dridi’s phone was hacked at least six times within nine months, according to Citizen Lab.

Citizen Lab concludes with “medium confidence” that the United Arab Emirates was behind hacking 15 of the phones, while Saudi Arabia was behind another 18 intrusions. Four other phones were breached by two other operators.

One of the phones targeted by the operator linked with the UAE used the same internet domain name that was used to hack Emirati human rights advocate Ahmed Mansoor with NSO Group software in 2016.

The UAE has also previously used NSO Group malware in attempts to spy on Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and a Saudi prince, The New York Times reported in 2018.

No interaction, no trace

Earlier versions of NSO Group’s Pegasus software required the targeted person to interact with the malware by clicking on a link or opening a document sent by those doing the spying.

That would then allow for the installation of sophisticated malware on the device that can go undetected and send the user’s personal data to the spies.

This can include locations, recordings, screenshots, emails, text messages, passwords and pictures.

Since at least 2016, newer versions did not require the recipient to interact with the malware.

More recently, it appears that NSO Group’s software has advanced to the point that not only does it require no interaction with the malware, but it also leaves no visible trace on the infected device.

Spies appear to have used iMessage, the messaging application on all Apple computers, phones and tablets, to infect targeted devices.

One reason the Apple devices were vulnerable, according to Citizen Lab, is that iMessage has historically not been “sandboxed.” This is a programming technique that isolates apps in the system from each other to avert security vulnerabilities.

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/advanced-israeli-malware-no-interaction-no-trace?utm_source=EI+readers&utm_campaign=2c724b0258-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e802a7602d-2c724b0258-290660781

FLASHBACK: Gates Admits 700,000 People May Die from his Vaccine

Personally, I think Gates has just proven he is a psychopath. He just admitted that 700,000 people would die from his vaccine and that’s OK, its collateral damage I suppose.

The total worldwide death from his scare tactics is 263,346. That is far less than 700,000 assuming its only 1% who die from his vaccines. In 1976, concerns in the United States about a possible influenza pandemic involving a virus similar to the deadly 1918 pandemic strain resulted in a large-scale vaccination program for the entire country. Approximately 45 million people were vaccinated in 10 weeks with what became known as the “swine flu vaccine.” The US government abruptly stopped the vaccination program when no swine flu cases were detected outside the military base where the disease originated and when an unexpectedly high number of cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome were reported in vaccinated individuals. The vaccine was estimated to have caused approximately one Guillain-Barré syndrome case per 100,000 persons vaccinated, resulting in 53 deaths. As a result of the association between the 1976 swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome, this condition is closely monitored every influenza season as part of the influenza vaccine safety monitoring in the United States.

I do not think 700,000 people should sacrifice their lives for Bill Gates and what kind of person would even demand the entire world be vaccinated? This seems to me to be more of an effort to be exonerated from any liability, a complete denial of human and civil rights to FORCE people to be vaccinated, by a man who has no medical background and whose body language of always waving his hands in the air appears to me as hiding the truth behind his scheme.

I will publish a piece on Gates in two days which is personal. I do not like to attack people on a personal level. I think that is unprofessional. Unfortunately, this seems to be a war we are clearly in for the lives of our families as well as ourselves and our communities.

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/corruption/gates-admits-700000-people-may-die-from-his-vaccine/

CDC reports record-low positive flu tests

As coronavirus cases surge nationwide, the flu has seen a remarkable dip. Reported cases of influenza reached record lows last week, with fewer than 40 diagnoses recorded during Dec. 13-19.

In week 51 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "FluView" data monitoring system, 36 positive flu tests were documented. This marks a steep decrease from last year's total of 7,703 cases during the same time frame. The positivity rate has sharply declined this calendar year as only 0.10% of tests taken this year came back positive. The five-year average is 15.80% positive.

The data comes in defiance of the "twindemic" concerns perpetuated by medical experts, or the idea that the raging coronavirus pandemic and the seasonal increase in reported flu cases would converge with catastrophic results. Dr. Brian Garibaldi, the medical director of Johns Hopkins University’s Biocontainment Unit, told the Washington Examiner that “we have to be concerned about the possibility of having a surge in flu at the same time as we're seeing a surge in COVID.”

“In any given winter, hospitals are taxed by the flu,” Garibaldi said. “There’s always a concern that our emergency departments will be overwhelmed and ICU capacity will be strained [due to the concurrence of flu and COVID-19 outbreaks], particularly with people who have coexisting conditions that then get influenza.”

Some elected officials acknowledged the possibility of a so-called "twindemic" and laid out their proposals to combat a shortage of resources. In September, Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona expressed concerns about dwindling supplies, vowing he was taking preventive action.

“The overlap of COVID-19 and flu season presents a perfect storm, and we aren’t taking any chances,” Ducey said. “We are approaching this fall with a proactive mindset and plan of action to limit the impact of the flu and preserve hospital resources."

Other governors are taking disease containment plans a step further, shutting their states down for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. States such as California and New York began their second rounds of heightened restrictions earlier this month.

According to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, more than 19 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with the coronavirus to date, with more than 333,000 reported deaths attributed to the virus.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/cdc-reports-record-low-positive-flu-tests

The US money tree: The untold story of American aid to Israel

On December 21, the United States Congress passed the COVID-19 Relief Package, as part of a larger $2.3 trillion bill meant to cover spending for the rest of the fiscal year. As usual, US representatives allocated a massive sum of money for Israel.

While unemployment, thus poverty, in the US is skyrocketing as a result of repeated lockdowns, the US found it essential to provide Israel with $3.3 billion in 'security assistance' and $500 million for US-Israel missile defence cooperation.

Although a meager $600 dollar payment to help struggling American families was the subject of several months of intense debate, there was little discussion among American politicians over the large funds handed out to Israel, for which there are no returns.

Support for Israel is considered a bipartisan priority and has, for decades, been perceived as the most stable item in the US foreign policy agenda. The mere questioning of how Israel uses the funds – whether the military aid is being actively used to sustain Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, finance Jewish settlements, fund annexation of Palestinian land or violate Palestinian human rights – is a major taboo.

One of the few members of Congress to demand that aid to Israel be conditioned on the latter's respect for human rights is Democratic Senator, Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, who was also a leading presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. "We cannot give it carte blanche to the Israeli government … We have the right to demand respect for human rights and democracy", Sanders had said in October 2019.

His Democratic rival, now President-elect, Joe Biden, soon countered: "The idea that I'd withdraw military aid, as others have suggested, from Israel, is bizarre," he said.

It is no secret that Israel is the world's leading recipient of US aid since World War II. According to data provided by the US Congressional Research Service, Israel has received $146 billion of US taxpayers' money as of November 2020.

From 1971 up to 2007, a bulk of these funds proved fundamental in helping Israel establish a strong economic base. Since then, most of the money has been allotted for military purposes, including the security of Israel's illegal Jewish settlement enterprise.

Despite the US financial crisis of 2008, American money continued to be channelled to Israel, whose economy survived the global recession, largely unscathed.

In 2016, the US promised even more money. The Democratic Barack Obama Administration, which is often – although mistakenly – seen as hostile to Israel, increased US funding to Israel by a significant margin. In a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding, Washington and Tel Aviv reached a deal whereby the US agreed to give Israel $38 billion in military aid covering the financial years 2019-2028. This is a whopping increase of $8 billion compared with the previous 10-year agreement, which concluded at the end of 2018.

The new American funds are divided into two categories: $33 billion in foreign military grants and an additional $5 billion in missile defence.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201229-the-us-money-tree-the-untold-story-of-american-aid-to-israel/

Joe Biden Calls For ‘Modernizing’ US Defenses to Face Russia and China

Biden warns of threats in cyberspace in wake of SolarWinds hack

In a speech on Monday, Joe Biden stressed the need for “modernizing” US defense capabilities in the face of threats from China and Russia. Biden also addressed the recently discovered hack of the software company SolarWinds that affected several government agencies.

Biden said he spoke with a member of his transition team about the “different strategic challenges we’re gonna face from both Russia and China and the reforms we must make to put ourselves in the strongest possible position to meet those challenges.” He said those reforms include “modernizing our defense priorities to better deter aggression in the future.”

“We have to be able to innovate, to reimagine our defenses against growing threats in new realms like cyberspace,” Biden said. “We’re still learning about the extent of the SolarWinds hack and the vulnerabilities that have been exposed. As I said last week, this attack constitutes a grave risk to our national security.”

In comments last week, Biden slammed President Trump for not prioritizing cybersecurity and, like many have, blamed Russia for the SolarWinds hack, despite a lack of evidence that Moscow was involved. The former vice president has also vowed retaliation for the SolarWinds hack, and Biden’s chief of staff said the incoming administration’s response would be more than “just sanctions.”

Sources close to the transition team told Reuters that responses being mulled by the administration are financial penalties and hacks on Russia’s infrastructure. In recent years, the US has stepped up offensive operations in the cyber realm.

After the November presidential election, Cyber Command Chief Gen. Paul Nakasone said the US took action against “adversaries” to prevent election interference. In September, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing that the FBI has been feeding intelligence to the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies to carry out offensive cyber operations.

In July, sources told Yahoo News that President Trump gave the CIA new authorities in 2018 that allowed the agency to increase cyber attacks. The report said the CIA used the new powers to carry out operations against Iran and other so-called “adversary” nations.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/12/28/joe-biden-calls-for-modernizing-us-defenses-to-face-russia-and-china/

Thyroid Cancer and Cell Phone Radiation: Research Says There’s a Link

Research has determined that exposure to cell phones and other sources of wireless radiation can

increase cancer (see 1, 2, 3, 4) and tumor risk

cause hair loss

cause rashes, other skin irritations, and premature skin aging

cause and/or increase blood sugar fluctuations

cause and/or increase cardiac health issues

cause and/or increase insomnia

compromise respiratory health

disrupt the blood-brain barrier (see 1, 2, 3)

increase risk for “Microwave Sickness,” Electromagnetic Sensitivity and Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity

reduce immunity to viruses and other illnesses

and MORE

Abstract

The aim of this review was to investigate the effects of possible harmful waves from either cell phone use or being within the range of the cell phone from 450 to 3800 MHz on the thyroid cells and hormones. Eight electronic datasets were systematically searched using MeSH terms, including “cell phone,” “mobile phone,” “GSM,” “radio frequency,” “smartphone,” “triiodothyronine,” “thyroxin,” “thyroid-stimulating hormone,” “T3,” “T4,” “TSH,” and “morphological” and all possible combinations, to identify relevant studies published up to Dec 2018. We also manually searched the reference lists of potentially selected studies to identify further relevant publications. About 161 relevant studies were initially found. After screening titles and abstracts, 139 studies were excluded, and finally 22 studies (comprising 7182 cases) were included in the qualitative synthesis.

Of the 22 included studies, 11 studies reported changes in T3 and T4 levels (six reported a decrease in T3 levels and one reported increase in it); moreover, five found decreased T4 levels and two studies an increased level. In other 10 studies, TSH alteration was reported. Of these, two studies reported a decrease in TSH level and one reported an increase in the hormone levels, while in the remaining studies non-significant changes were reported. Finally, seven studies examined histological changes in the thyroid gland follicles and showed that the volume of these cells was reduced.

Based on the evidence discussed above, the reduction in diameter of thyroid follicles is potentially linked with cell phone radiation. Exposure may negatively influence the iodine uptake in the thyroid gland or increases temperature effect on the thyroid gland. However, further research are needed in order to show that the level of TSH and thyroid hormone suppression by microwave.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31062236

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/12/thyroid-cancer-and-cell-phone-radiation-research-says-theres-a-link.html

McConnell signals Senate has votes to override Trump's defense veto

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is signaling lawmakers have the votes to override President Trump's veto of a mammoth defense policy bill as soon as Wednesday.

"The House voted to reapprove the conference report on this must-pass legislation. Today the Senate will set up a final vote for tomorrow, Wednesday, with this chamber to follow suit," McConnell said from the Senate floor on Tuesday.

"For the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces, failure is simply not an option. So when it's our time in Congress to have their backs, failure is not an option either. I would urge my Republican colleagues to support this legislation one more time when we vote tomorrow," McConnell added.

But whether the Senate holds a veto override vote on Wednesday is in limbo. McConnell tried to set up the vote earlier but that effort was blocked by Democrats, who are trying to get a separate stand-alone vote to increase the amount of recently passed stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

If McConnell has to break a rare filibuster of the veto override effort, that would set up a 60-vote threshold procedural hurdle for Thursday.

The veto override will ultimately need a two-thirds majority to pass the Senate. If every member voted, 67 votes would be needed. The National Defense Authorization Act passed the Senate earlier this month in an 84-13 vote.

The House voted on Monday to override Trump, marking the first time either chamber has successfully voted to nix a veto during his presidency.

The Senate has to hold its final vote before noon on Jan. 3, when the 117th Congress will be sworn in.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/531965-mcconnell-signals-senate-has-votes-to-override-trumps-defense-veto

Sidney Powell: FOUR NEW Oval Office meeting revelations

Sidney Powell discusses (for first time) pivotal Oval Office meeting with President Trump…

https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/new-interview-sidney-powell-discusses-oval-office-meeting-with-president-trump/

https://theduran.com/sidney-powell-four-new-oval-office-meeting-revelations/

Strategist For Ousted CA Governor Gray Davis Advising Gavin Newsom, Set Up ‘War Room’ to Smear Anyone Associated with Recall Efforts

The longtime strategist for ousted California Governor Gray Davis is now advising Gavin Newsom as recall efforts gain steam.

Recall organizers have until March 17th to collect 1,495,709 signatures and they already have more than 870,000.

Californians are fed up with Newsom’s authoritarian Covid lockdown orders that have destroyed thousands of small businesses.

Newsom came under fire after he ordered businesses to close while keeping his own winery, Plumpjack Winery open.

Governor Newsom was also caught dining at The French Laundry in Napa Valley at $800 per person while telling Californians they couldn’t gather for Thanksgiving.

After getting caught having dinner at The French Laundry, Newsom came out with new regional stay-at-home orders and imposed a 10PM to 5AM curfew.

Former California Governor Gray Davis (D) was recalled in 2003 over the state’s energy crisis, rolling blackouts and skyrocketing car registration fees.

The effort to recall Newsom is gaining so much traction that he is now working with Gray Davis’ strategist to smear anyone involved in efforts to oust him from office.

Republican California legislator Kevin Kiley said his team will be “ready” to deal with Newsom’s goons.

“The longtime strategist for Gray Davis says there’s a 50/50 chance the Recall qualifies and is advising Newsom to set up a “war council” to smear anyone associated with it. We’ll be ready,” Kevin Kiley said.

It is time for California to give Newsom the boot.

Do not sign the petition to recall Newsom online. You must physically sign the petition in order for it to count.

Click here for a petition locator tool to find a recall location near you.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/strategist-ousted-ca-governor-gray-davis-advising-gavin-newsom-set-war-room-smear-anyone-associated-recall-efforts/

Coronavirus: Israel vaccinates 500,000th person against COVID-19

Netanyahu: "Israel is the world champion in vaccines."

The 500,000th Israeli was vaccinated against the novel coronavirus on Tuesday at a Clalit health fund clinic in Jerusalem.

Herzl Levy was vaccinated in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein. Levy’s wife, Padilla, was also vaccinated. The couple is from Neveh Ya'acov.

“We are ahead of the world in bringing and administering vaccines,” the prime minister said. “Israel is the world champion in vaccines, in first place. My task now is to ensure that we continue at this pace, and we work on it together.”

He said that “we will strive to administer as many vaccines as possible, quickly, but first of all, to put the population at risk, as that is where most of the tragic mortality and morbidity is concentrated. Only then can we open the economy, help businesses, and return to normal life. This is our goal: to get life back on track as quickly as possible.”

The event was also attended by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, as well as the head of the Clalit health fund Prof. Ehud Davidson and the fund’s chairman Yohanan Locker.

“Prime minister,” said Edelstein, “at this rate, we will also invite you to the millionth vaccination.”

Earlier in the day, Edelstein celebrated that the number of Israelis vaccinated against the coronavirus is now higher than the number who have been infected with the virus since the beginning of the outbreak - around 410,000 people.

A quarter of all 70- to 79-year-olds in Israel were vaccinated against the virus as of Tuesday morning, while 20% of Israelis in their 60's, 18% of citizens in their 80's and 11% of citizens 90-years-old and older were vaccinated as well, the Health Ministry reported.

Some 1,765 Israelis under the age of 20 were vaccinated, with some 12 children under the age of 10 vaccinated despite regulations banning children under the age of 16 from receiving the vaccination.

The city leading the country in the total number of vaccinations is Tel Aviv, with almost 27,000 vaccinations as of Tuesday morning, followed by Jerusalem, Haifa, Petah Tikva, Rishon Lezion, Holon, Ramat Gan, Beersheba, Netanya, Ashkelon, Rehovot, Herzliya, Bat Yam, Ashdod and Modi'in-Maccabim-Reut.

The city which had the highest percentage of its population vaccinated as of Tuesday morning was Arad, followed by Kiryat Shmona, Kiryat Tivon, Mevaseret Zion, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Bialik, Nahariya, Karmiel, Eilat, Ramat Hasharon, Haifa, Ganei Tikva, Dimona, Herzliya and Yeroham.

A number of Arab communities in Israel were listed among the bottom 15 cities in terms of vaccinations, with some cities listed with only a few dozen citizens vaccinated so far.

UK Signs Free Trade Agreement With Vietnam

The United Kingdom and Vietnam signed an agreement on free trade, Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss said Tuesday.

​According to the VNA news agency, the ceremony took place in London and involved the ambassadors as the Vietnamese trade minister and high-level officials were unable to visit the UK over the situation with COVID-19.

The agreement will come into force on Friday and stipulates elimination of 99 percent of tariffs within seven years.

"Today our Ambassadors signed the UK Vietnam trade deal securing continuity for businesses", Truss tweeted, adding that the deal will gradually remove 99 percent of tariffs.

December 29, 2020

Earlier in the month, the country's government announced signing a free trade deal with Singapore and concluded negotiations with Vietnam.

After the UK officially left the EU on January 31 it has been working to secure various bilateral economy-related deals with various countries amid the transition period, which will end this Thursday. Earlier in the day, the UK signed a trade agreement with Turkey.

https://sputniknews.com/uk/202012291081602864-uk-signs-free-trade-agreement-with-vietnam/

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https://www.jpost.com/health-science/coronavirus-israel-vaccinates-500000th-person-against-covid-19-653638

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