Biden to sign a dozen executive orders on day one in office — reverse Trump's travel ban, rejoin Paris Agreement

Big changes are only days away

President-elect Joe Biden will sign about a dozen executive orders on his first day in the White House, reversing several key policies enacted by the Trump administration.

Biden's transition team revealed on Saturday that the incoming administration would sign executive orders regarding climate change, immigration, student loans, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain sent a memo to his staff on Saturday, outlining a 10-day plan of action. Included in the memo to the new White House staff, the Biden administration declared it would address "four overlapping and compounding crises: the Covid-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis."

"All of these crises demand urgent action," Klain wrote. "In his first 10 days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America's place in the world."

Biden will be inaugurated on Wednesday when he will reportedly sign a number of executive orders. On day one, Biden will allegedly sign executive orders to return the United States to the Paris agreement on climate change, which President Donald Trump withdrew from in June 2017.

"The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States," Trump said at the time of the withdrawal, adding that it provided China and India a competitive advantage.

The incoming administration will also rescind Trump's controversial travel ban of nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, and certain government officials from Venezuela.

Biden will reportedly introduce a "groundbreaking legislative package" addressing immigration reform, and provide a pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States.

The Biden administration will allegedly sign executive actions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that will "change the course of the COVID-19 crisis and safely re-open schools and businesses."

Biden will purportedly introduce the "100 Day Masking Challenge," which will implement face mask mandates on federal property and for interstate travel.

The president-elect will reportedly extend the pause on repayment of and interest on student loans, and continue restrictions on nationwide evictions and foreclosures.

"Between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, Biden will sign more executive actions, memoranda and issues additional Cabinet directives, including ones addressing equity and support in communities of color and underserved communities, and criminal justice system reforms," USA Today reported.

Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, and the swearing-in of the 46th president of the United States will feature an unprecedented security presence of up to 25,000 troops. The largest security force at an inauguration in U.S. history stems from the storming of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, and the subsequent threats of violence thereafter.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/biden-administration-executive-orders-trump

When conspiracy theories come true: Sunday Times under fire for branding Covid vax passports as ‘freedom certificates’

The Sunday Times is facing a social media backlash for pushing Covid-19 vaccination passports as “freedom certificates” with many noting that the idea was considered a crazy conspiracy theory only a few months ago.

An article published in the UK newspaper on Sunday makes the case for “immunity passports,” which would allow vaccine recipients to be exempt from lockdown restrictions.

The piece, titled ‘Covid passports: a freedom certificate that may get the world travelling again’, argues that several countries will start to introduce the documents, in some shape or form, and pressure will mount on British authorities to follow suit.

“Whether or not the moral, political and medical questions of favouring the vaccinated are resolved, demand from the jabbed hordes for the necessary paperwork to travel this summer is likely to prove irresistible,” the article argues.

The piece drew the ire of many, who couldn’t help but take to Twitter to note that it appeared to be a conspiracy theory brought to life.

Beyond Orwellian: The Sunday Times promoting Covid passports as ‘freedom certificates’. https://t.co/EYjymOfmKn

— Neil Clark (@NeilClark66) January 17, 2021

“‘Freedom certificate’ is an oxymoron. This was a ‘conspiracy theory’ a few short months ago,” writer and photographer Laura Dodsworth wrote. Journalist Neil Clark branded the article “beyond Orwellian.”

Thats me ran out of all my conspiracy theories. pic.twitter.com/0myqCFYL2x

— The Wanderer (@JustWeeMary) January 17, 2021

True freedom, like true love, is unconditional. If you need a pass to be free, you are the exact opposite of free.

— Simon Mee (@midgard_misfit) January 17, 2021

The UK’s vaccines minister said in recent days that the government has no plans to introduce vaccine passports.

However, many expressed doubts that it would maintain that stance, having previously flip-flopped on a range of Covid-19 related issues including masks and lockdowns.

No plans to mandate masks, no plans for a second lockdown, no plans to cancel Christmas… legislate to make it unlawful otherwise we all know it’s coming and believe this govt less and less with every statement uttered.

— Hhh (@cfctctcyc) January 12, 2021

https://www.rt.com/uk/512800-covid-vaccination-passport-conspiracy-theory-sunday-times/

New Laws Grants ‘Protected Class’ Status to Cops, Allows Them to Sue People for Harassment

As if blue privilege in the form of qualified immunity, special treatment under the law, ability to break laws they enforce, get out of jail free cards, “blue lives matter” laws, and every other perk that comes from wearing a badge, wasn’t enough, cops in Georgia have granted themselves yet another benefit.

As of January 1, 2021, a new law went into effect with the Orwellian title of “Bias Motivated Intimidation of First Responders Prosecution Act.” On top of granting cops the ability to sue citizens for harassment, it also criminalizes said harassment.

Given the subjective nature of what can be defined as “harassment,” this new law is worrisome as it can land a person in prison for up to five years. The law is worded like it was written by the very personification of the American police state.

A person commits the offense of bias motivated intimidation when such person maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate, harass, or terrorize another person because of that person’s actual or perceived employment as a first responder.

***

Any person that violates subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of the offense of bias motivated intimidation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one nor more than five years, a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.

Freestar

According to the legislation, a person could serve 1-5 years in prison if found guilty of maliciously harassing a first responder, causing bodily harm, death or damage to property. So, if you yell at a cop because he killed a kid in your neighborhood, this could be interpreted as “bias motivation” and used to imprison of fine you.

It is already illegal to cause bodily harm and death to people as well as harassment and property damage. By making it “especially bad” to cause bodily harm, death and property damage when a police officer is involved, this law’s entire purpose becomes quite overt — it grants privileged status to cops.

The NAACP and the ACLU both agree.

“The bill creates enhanced penalties for people who target law enforcement and other first responders. It also includes a false misconduct provision that allows police officers to sue for false misconduct claims,” the NAACP said of the bill when it was presented last year, referring to is as the “Police Hate Crime Bill.

The ACLU correctly points out that it “turns law enforcement into a protected class.”

“The ACLU of Georgia opposes HB 838, the addition of law enforcement as a protected class, a dangerous step to chill every Georgian’s First Amendment freedom of speech and the right to protest to redress grievances – guarantees in the U.S. Constitution,” the ACLU said.

Naturally, police are claiming the current climate of mass protests makes the law necessary. People are protesting, according to police, because they simply hate cops and want to cause trouble, not because cops kill over 1,000 people every year and face almost no accountability for it.

“We’re finding more people challenging us now than they ever had before,” said Vince Champion from the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/blue-privilege-law-cops-sue-citizens/

Fauci warns of ‘more ominous’ strains of COVID-19 from Brazil, South Africa

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday warned that “more ominous” strains of COVID-19 have emerged out of South Africa and Brazil.

The Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said they’re looking “very carefully” at the two new mutant variants in addition to another highly-contagious one that was first detected in the United Kingdom.

“People need to realize there’s more than one mutant strain,” Fauci told NBC anchor Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.”

“There’s one from the UK that’s essentially dominated… There’s another more ominous one that’s in South Africa and Brazil.”

Fauci said he doesn’t want “people to panic,” but they’re taking the new strains “very seriously” and studying them to fully understand the threat that they pose.

“The Brits have made it very clear that [the strain detected there is] more contagious,” Fauci said.

“They say that it isn’t more virulent. But, you know, we’ve got to be careful because the more cases you get, even though on a one-to-one basis it’s not more virulent, meaning it doesn’t make you more sick or more likely to die, just by numbers alone the more cases you have, the more hospitalizations you’re going to have.”

He said they’re still determining whether these mutations will be resistant to the vaccines on the market.

“The thing we really want to look at carefully is that does that mutation lessen the impact of the vaccine?” he said. “And if it does, then we’re going to have to make some modifications… We’re looking at that really very carefully.”

https://nypost.com/2021/01/17/fauci-warns-more-ominous-strains-of-covid-19-have-emerged/

DC Coroner Still Doesn’t Know Why People Died On January 6, Even As Congress Claims Deaths Caused By Protests

We only know the cause of death for Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a police officer. The rest are still a mystery.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia answered this writer’s inquiry saying that the Washington, D.C. coroner’s office has not yet determined the causes of death of any of those who died during or around the protests.

On January 13, Democrats and 10 Republicans voted on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President Donald Trump. The debate in favor of impeachment was heavily punctuated with claims that five people died on January 6, 2020, sometimes said to be six people, as a result of the demonstrations planned starting in mid-December 2020. Therefore, they argued, Trump’s First Amendment protected speech caused five or six people to die.

But the question still remains unanswered: Other than the police shooting of Ashli Babbitt, were the other deaths caused directly by the protest?

National File’s reporting has already suggested this may not be the case. Patrick Howley once again broke national news here with indications that the police officer died of unrelated medical conditions and not as a result of the protests.

On January 13, National File asked the media relations offices for precise details about those deaths. This was while the debate for impeachment of Donald Trump was unfolding on Capitol Hill.

The coroner’s media relations office answered very quickly on the same day, claiming that “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will only release the cause and manner of death when this information is available.”

To a follow-up question, OCME’s press office clarified on January 13, when asked if this meant that “available” mean that no cause of death had been determined or that the cause of death was simply not being released publicly:

“OCME medical examiners comply with the National Association of Medical Examiners’ (NAME) standard to determine the cause and manner of death within 90 days; however, for cases that are more complex it could be longer. “

Separately, the Metro D.C.’s press office also declined to provide any information on the causes of death, saying “Please direct your questions to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as they conducted the autopsies.”

Notice that the D.C. Police references “autopsies.” It is unclear if they meant the the dictionary definition of the term, but National File has learned that decedents do not generally receive full-blown autopsies. Generally, a cursory examination would be enough to categorize why someone died, especially if it was a result of mob violence.

Officially, on the record, we still do not know why or how anyone but Ashli Babbit died. Yet, decisions are being made on a national level based on the belief that five or six people died because of the protest. It is possible that no one died “because of” the protests other than Ashli Babbitt, who died after a police officer shot her in the neck.

https://nationalfile.com/dc-coroner-still-doesnt-know-why-people-died-on-january-6-even-as-congress-claims-deaths-caused-by-protests/

From Obamacare legislation

Specific code 2012 ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Code E978

Legal execution

ICD-9-CM E978 is a billable medical code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis on a reimbursement claim, however, E978 should only be used for claims with a date of service on or before September 30, 2015. For claims with a date of service on or after October 1, 2015, use an equivalent ICD-10-CM code (or codes).

E978 describes the circumstance causing an injury, not the nature of the injury.

You are viewing the 2012 version of ICD-9-CM E978.

More recent version(s) of ICD-9-CM E978: 2013 2014 2015.

No ICD-10-CM code(s) convert to ICD-9-CM E978

Applies To

All executions performed at the behest of the judiciary or ruling authority [whether permanent or temporary] as:

asphyxiation by gas

beheading, decapitation (by guillotine)

capital punishment

electrocution

hanging

poisoning

shooting

other specified means

E977 ICD9Data.com E979

ICD-9-CM codes are used in medical billing and coding to describe diseases, injuries, symptoms and conditions. ICD-9-CM E978 is one of thousands of ICD-9-CM codes used in healthcare. Although ICD-9-CM and CPT codes are largely numeric, they differ in that CPT codes describe medical procedures and services. Can't find a code? Start at the root of ICD-9-CM, check the 2012 ICD-9-CM Index or use the search engine at the top of this page to lookup any code.

http://www.icd9data.com/2012/Volume1/E000-E999/E970-E979/E978/E978.htm

https://ncit.nci.nih.gov/ncitbrowser/ConceptReport.jsp?dictionary=ICD-9-CM&version=2014&ns=ICD-9-CM&code=E978

Ocasio-Cortez demands taxpayer dollars to 'deradicalize' white supremacists: 'Their world will never exist'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says that taxpayer funds should be used to "deradicalize" white supremacists.

What did AOC say?

Speaking with supporters during a virtual town hall Friday night, Ocasio-Cortez blamed recent violence — including the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 — on white supremacy.

"The white supremacist cause is futile, it's nihilist — it will never be realized," Ocasio-Cortez said. "The path forward for all of us is a multiracial democracy that fights for the economic and civil rights of every American."

She added of white supremacists, "Their world will never exist. That's why we're seeing violence right now."

Ocasio-Cortez was speaking in response to a question about how Americans should respond to those who believe in conspiracy theories, but were not part of the violence at the Capitol. Ocasio-Cortez warned that "this is a problem that doesn't go away on Jan. 20," and said it will require "many, many, many millions of hands" to help "pick up the pieces."

Ocasio-Cortez explained that, during her time on the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, she has learned about programs that "deradicalize" white supremacists. Ocasio-Cortez blamed President Donald Trump for "pulling the plug" on funding for such programs.

But if America wants to adequately address the problem of white supremacy, Ocasio-Cortez said taxpayer funding for "deradicalization" programs should be significantly increased.

"We need to double, triple or quadruple, or increase funding for these deradicalization programs en masse," Ocasio-Cortez said.

Just last week, Ocasio-Cortez suggested that all of Trump's supporters, and perhaps the entire Republican Party, is guilty of white supremacy.

"I don't want to hear or see the Republican Party talk about blue lives ever again. This was never about safety for them, it was always a slogan because if they actually cared about rule of law they would speak up when people break the law," Ocasio-Cortez said. "They would speak up. They would enforce fairness and equity, but they don't give a damn about the law. They don't give a damn about order. They don't give a damn about safety."

"They give a damn about white supremacy, they care about preserving the social order and the mythology of whiteness," she added. "They lust for power more than they care about democracy."

@AOC AOC: Trump’s “white supremacist” supporters believe in a myth; thus "they have to resort to violence” https://t.co/HlILuy24DB

— Tom Elliott (@Tom Elliott)1610534828.0

https://www.theblaze.com/news/aoc-taxpayer-funds-deradicalize-white-supremacy

Report: Biden Team Already in Talks with Iran over Return to Nuclear Deal

The Biden administration has already unrolled its plan to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and has begun holding quiet talks with Iran, an Israeli TV station reported Saturday.

Officials for the incoming administration have also updated Israel about the conversations, Channel 12 News said.

A separate report by the Israel Hayom daily said Israel, wary of Biden’s promise to return to the deal, is crafting military options to “undermine Iran’s nuclear efforts or, if need be, counter Iranian aggression, which will soon be presented to the government.”

The paper also quoted Defense Minister Benny Gantz as saying: “Israel needs to have a military option on the table.”

President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal with Iran in 2018 and has since imposed crippling sanctions on Tehran.

During the Obama administration, which spearheaded the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Israel on occasion threatened to act militarily to prevent Iran from acquiring the bomb.

Also over the weekend, France’s Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian warned Iran aimed to acquire nuclear weapons and blamed Trump for allowing it to happen by quitting the deal.

“The Trump administration chose what it called the maximum pressure campaign on Iran. The result was that this strategy only increased the risk and the threat,” Le Drian told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

“This has to stop because Iran and – I say this clearly – is in the process of acquiring nuclear [weapons] capacity,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also said to be putting together a team, which will include representatives form Israel’s security apparatus as well as the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, the army, the Mossad, and the Atomic Energy Commission, to discuss the deal with the incoming administration, Israeli media reported.

According to Walla News, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen may be appointed to lead the team.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2021/01/17/report-biden-team-already-in-talks-with-iran-over-return-to-nuclear-deal/

Schiff: Trump ‘Can’t Be Trusted’ to Receive Intel Briefings When Out of Office

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there was “no circumstance” under which President Donald Trump should receive intelligence briefings once he leaves office.

Schiff said, “There is no circumstance in which this president should get another intelligence briefing, not now, not in the future.”

He added, “I don’t think he can be trusted with it now, and in the future, he certainly can’t be trusted. Indeed, there were any number of intelligence partners of ours around the world who probably started withholding information from us because they didn’t trust the president would safeguard that information and protect the sources and methods. That makes us less safe. We’ve seen this president politicize intelligence, and that’s another risk to the country.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2021/01/17/schiff-trump-cant-be-trusted-to-receive-intel-briefings-when-out-of-office/

High Decibel Social Distancing ‘Dog Collars’ for Factory Workers Deployed

A Swedish manufacturer in France has been accused of treating their employees like dogs after the company asked its workers to wear a social distancing device that emits a high decibel sound if employees are too close to each other.

The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), the largest union representing workers at Essity, a Swedish global hygiene and health company, compared the device to a dog collar, saying it is “a system comparable to that which deters dogs from barking”.

The CFDT said according to the French newspaper Le Monde, that the necklaces emit a sound of 85 decibels as soon as “social distancing is no longer respected”.

CFDT union representative Christine Duguet said that “the idea is to discipline employees and call them to order,” going on to say that the implementation of the system represents “an attack on individual freedoms”.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we have scrupulously respected distancing and wearing masks. We wear them all day, we are responsible people!” she protested.

Essity, which produces tissue paper, baby diapers, and feminine care products, said that the introduction of the social distancing devices was in order to “strengthen employee safety”.

“With this system, the site’s Covid referent would be able to alert potential contact cases more quickly and comprehensively,” the company said.

The manufacturer said that the devices do not have a geolocation system, adding that they would not be tied to the personal information of the wearer. Essity also claimed that the devices would be deactivated when employees are using the toilet or in the cafeteria.

Essity went on to reject the comparisons to dog collars, saying that the social distancing device is not meant to be worn around the neck but rather around the waist or in a pocket, as necklaces are banned in the factory for safety reasons.

According to Le Parisien, the company has already deployed the system in the United Kingdom and has been testing it in the Netherlands.

A company spokesman told the AFP that it is just being “tested” in France.

Responding to the story, the president of the Popular Republican Union party in France, François Asselineau, said: “The next stage will be an electric shock of 380 volts between the 2 offenders.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/01/17/social-distancing-dog-collars-introduced-at-factory-in-france/

Google Bosses Have Far Too Much Power to Decide What Americans Know – Their Censorship Is Completely Out-of-Control

Google Bosses Have Far Too Much Power to Decide What Americans Know – Their Censorship Is Completely Out-of-Control

» Google Bosses Have Far Too Much Power to Decide What Americans Know – Their Censorship Is Completely Out-of-Control t.co/kFKULSIPcW

— Jerry Dean Bowers (@vipertoxin) September 1, 2020

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Octopus of Big Tech is strangling America. “Two days after the 2020 election, a defiant Kathy Griffin retweeted the notorious picture of her holding a prop that looked like the bloody head of a decapitated Donald Trump. Earlier last year, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tweeted out a call to his followers to destroy Israel. Both tweets passed the censorship rules of Twitter’s 20-something judges in San Francisco.”

It’s all about being on the right team, or the wrong one.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/google-bosses-have-far-too-much-power-to-decide-what-americans-know-their-censorship-is-completely-out-of-control/

Sean Spicer video: They’re stopping ever car leaving D.C., checking IDs

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/sean-spicer-video-theyre-stopping-ever-car-leaving-d-c-checking-ids/

‘Software error’ blamed for huge discrepancy in Vatican money transfers to Australia

The Australian financial regulator, AUSTRAC, says that a 'computer coding error' led to their statement that over $1.7 billion had been sent from the Vatican to Australia between 2014 and 2020

VATICAN CITY, Italy, January 15, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Holy See Press Office released a statement on Wednesday clarifying recent reports documenting that over $1.7 billion (AUS $2.3 billion) had been sent from official Vatican financial bodies to Australian accounts. The Holy See claims that the shocking number was actually the result of a “software error,” and that the value of the transfers did not exceed $7.4 million.

Last month, LifeSiteNews reported on the news that the Vatican had sent $1.7 billion to accounts in Australia between 2014 and 2020, based on a statement from Australia’s financial watchdog, AUSTRAC. The money was reported to have been sent between the two nations in over 40,000 transactions. Curiously, the yearly transfer value peaked in 2017, when Cardinal George Pell left his position as prefect for the Secretariat for the Economy to face trial in his native Australia on historical child sex abuse charges.

However, after a number of weeks in collaboration with the Holy See’s Financial Information and Supervisory Authority, AUSTRAC has rescinded its previous allegation of such a high value in transfers. The Holy See Press Office, acknowledging the enormous discrepancy, announced that the reduced figure of around $7.4 million “is attributable, among other things, to a number of contractual obligations and the ordinary management of resources.” It added that The Holy See “takes this opportunity to reaffirm its respect for the country's institutions and expresses its satisfaction for the collaboration between the entities involved.” The peak in the revised transfer figures was also in 2017.

At the time of the initial reports, senior Australian clergymen expressed incredulity at the vast sums of money alleged to have been received in the country from the Vatican. Speaking to Reuters, Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane said, “I can assure you that no diocese or other Church entity saw any of the money.” Additionally, an anonymous Vatican official said “[t]hat amount of money and that number of transfers did not leave the Vatican City,” The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The anonymous source added that he was absolutely stunned by the figure, saying “It's not our money because we don't have that kind of money.”

In a statement to the Australian Senate, AUSTRAC announced that the actual value of the transfers was not $1.7 billion, but just $7.4 million, and that the money was transferred over 363 transactions, instead of the 46,000 originally reported. The financial crime regulator blamed the gross overestimation on a “computer coding error.”

The regulator reportedly discovered the error after it opened a “detailed review” of its initial findings, according to The Australian newspaper.But AUSTRAC has said that they will continue to investigate individual transfers that they suspect to be irregular.

“AUSTRAC reaffirmed its confidence in the original financial intelligence about suspicious money transfers, which are being probed by Vatican prosecutors examining hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud and money laundering,” The Australian reported.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/software-error-blamed-for-huge-discrepancy-in-vatican-money-transfers-to-australia?utm_source=top_news&utm_campaign=standard

Fake News: CNN Has Now Resorted To Making Up Stories About Trump Cabinet Resignations

“Contrary to the @CNN chyron, I am still here serving the American people at HHS,” he cleared up in a statement, referring to the Department Health and Human Services.

Azar stated he was helping with the transfer of government to President-elect Joe Biden, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe it is my duty to help ensure a smooth transition to President-elect Biden’s team during the pandemic and will remain as secretary through Jan. 20,” Azar noted. “I handed in my letter this week along with every other political appointee, effective Jan. 20 at noon.”

CNN reported earlier Friday that Azar had resigned due to the fact that he was allegedly upset with the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. The report was pushed by wire service Reuters and other agencies, which added no further information but cited CNN.

During Anderson Cooper’s show, a chyron, or a block of text on the screen, portrayed Azar’s resignation as abnormal and as happening immediately. CNN commentator Keith Boykin shared a video of the report, saying Azar “has resigned with only five days left on the job.”

CNN has yet to respond to requests for comment.

Political appointees are those appointed by President Donald Trump. Most political appointees resign when a new administration enters the White House, though an elected president may request for some to stay on.

Biden recently nominated

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has no health background, for health secretary.

Azar published his full resignation letter, noting that the Trump administration was able to speed the development of COVID-19 vaccines to under one year. Drug regulators granted emergency authorization to two vaccines last month.

Azar told President Donald Trump in a letter that the attack on the Capitol could tarnish the legacy of the administration.

In the Jan. 12 letter, Azar cited what he called the administration’s successes, including the rapid development of coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics, which he said saved “hundreds of thousands or even millions of American lives.”

“While we mourn every lost life, our early, aggressive, and comprehensive efforts saved hundreds of thousands or even millions of American lives,” he wrote in the statement.

Azar additionally pointed out how his department has made health information more personal and portable, drove drug prices down, and brought price transparency to health care services.

Azar did mention the Capitol attack, saying “the actions and rhetoric following the election, especially during this past week, threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this administration.”

“I implore you to continue to condemn unequivocally any form of violence, to demand that no one attempt to disrupt the inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere, and to continue to support unreservedly the peaceful and orderly transition of power on Jan. 20, 2021,” Azar told Trump.

https://www.blabber.buzz/blab/pop/1023523-fake-news-cnn-has-now-resorted-to-making-up-stories-about-trump-cabinet-resignations?utm_source=c-am&utm_medium=c-am-email&utm_term=c-am-GI&utm_content=4-Zh-Dmgi8vfPg8xW50vqCn5fgZ9iIG9qT_I.A

EU to Impose Travel Ban without Vaccine

Manfred Weber (CSU) of Germany has joined the initiative from Greece to grant all citizens vaccinated against Corona free travel in Europe. He was also seeking a ban on plastics. He has joined the movement to introduce a new EU-wide vaccination certificate. “We support the proposal of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for an EU-wide recognized vaccination certificate that enables free travel in the Schengen area,” he told the Bild newspaper. The alternative is that “every country sets its own rules, a fragmentation that nobody wants,” he added. According to the information, the topic will be discussed by the 27 heads of state and government on January 21, 2021, at a virtual EU special summit.

We are approaching the very same exact policy of Adolf Hitler. The freedom to travel will be suspended using COVID as the excuse to keep you safe from non-conformers. I stated that our 2020 WEC in Orlando may be the last. I could see what was coming and it is arriving rapidly. To stop civil unrest and the threat of revolution, they are going to use COVID to restrict movement. They are turning our free society into a prison camp and there is nobody willing to stand up in our defense. This is why Schumer and Pelosi are doing their utmost to crush all resistance — “Papers, please!”

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/eu-to-impose-travel-ban-without-vaccine/

'This is NOT justice': Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor slams Trump administration's federal execution 'spree' as convicted killer Dustin Higgs becomes the 13th put to death since July

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has slammed the Trump administration's federal execution spree saying 'this is not justice', as convicted killer Dustin Higgs became the 13th person put to death since July.

Sotomayor issued a scathing written dissent Friday after the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in favor of plowing ahead with Higgs' execution despite his lawyers pleaded for clemency after he caught COVID-19.

Higgs, 48, was pronounced dead at 1.23am on Saturday after receiving a lethal injection of pentobarbital in the federal death chamber at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Higgs conspired with two other men to kidnap and murder three young women in Washington DC on one night in January 1996.

His federal execution marks the 13th and final to be completed by the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump after a 17-year hiatus.

Trump will go down in history as the most prolific modern president for carrying out death sentences as he rushed through the death sentences in his final six months in power.

http://www.domigood.com/2021/01/this-is-not-justice-supreme-court.html

Microsoft, Cigna form coalition for digital records of COVID-19 vaccination

Microsoft Corp, health insurer Cigna Corp and Mayo Clinic are part of a coalition pushing for digital records of people who get vaccinated against COVID-19.

A key aim of the project, called Vaccination Credential Initiative, is to help people store encrypted digital copies of their immunization records in a digital wallet of their choice, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.

These records could eventually be used, with an individual’s consent, by colleges that are trying to re-open or even for entry into concerts in the future, Joan Harvey, an executive at Cigna unit Evernorth told Reuters.

The coalition wants to provide governments and employers access to a “solid, widely accepted verification program” that could help them bring people back to work and resume public events, Harvey added.

The coalition has initially partnered with organizations such as hospitals and pharmacies that are administering the vaccines, said Brian Anderson from Mitre Corp, one of the members of the initiative.

Other companies that are part of the initiative include Salesforce, Oracle Corp and Cerner Corp .

In the United States, where vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc have been authorized for emergency use, vaccinated individuals receive a vaccination card or printout.

The current system does not readily support convenient access and sharing of vaccination records, the companies said.

Individuals without smartphones would receive paper-based QR codes which link to their vaccine records.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccines-records/microsoft-cigna-form-coalition-for-digital-records-of-covid-19-vaccination-idUSKBN29J1OH

China threatens Australia with a 'counterstrike' after government condemned Beijing's assault on democracy in Hong Kong

China has threatened a 'counterstrike' against Australia after Canberra condemned Beijing's mass arrest of 55 politicians and activists in Hong Kong.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao, who has a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to a child's throat pinned to the top of his Twitter account, said anyone who gets in the way of China's affairs would suffer.

'The Chinese people's resolve to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity is unshakeable and we will not permit any person or force to stop the process of China's reunification,' he told a press briefing on Monday.

'Any actions which harm China's core interests will be met with a resolute counterstrike and will not succeed.'

The threat is the latest in a torrent of abuse calling Australia 'evil' and 'meddling' as the Chinese Communist Party lashes out against criticism of its authoritarian crackdown.

The outburst comes after Canberra joined three key allies to condemn China's mass arrests in Hong Kong, accusing it of breaching its international obligation to respect the city's autonomy.

Hong Kong is a former British territory whose democratic rules, human rights and economic freedoms were guaranteed by the terms of a 1997 handover treaty as it transitions to become part of China in 2047.

Beijing rounded up its opponents at dawn in the territory on January 6 for 'subversion' under a new National Security Law imposed in June.

Police arrested more than 50 politicians and activists over an independent and unofficial ballot in July to select democratic candidates for a legislature election that has been postponed.

Beijing warned the election may violate the controversial new law which critics say crushes the freedoms established in Hong Kong by 156 years of British rule.

The joint statement that infuriated Beijing was released last Sunday by Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne along with her counterparts in Canada, the U.S. and U.K.

It called on Beijing to conduct Hong Kong's upcoming September elections fairly and to guarantee the rights of its people without fear of arrest.

'The National Security Law is a clear breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and undermines the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework,' the statement said.

'It has curtailed the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.'

'It is clear that the National Security Law is being used to eliminate dissent and opposing political views.'

China's retribution was voiced on Tuesday on Global Times' Twitter which declared it 'strongly condemned' the joint statement on its arrest of '53 anti-govt figures for illegal primary election'.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2021/01/china-threatens-australia-with.html

UN Predicts US Houthi Terror Designation Will Lead to Famine ‘Not Seen in 40 Years’

Yemenis fear the designation will cut off remittances and imports

A top UN official called for the reversal of the US decision to designate Yemen’s Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, warning the move will lead to a massive famine.

The UN’s humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock spoke out against the designation in remarks on Thursday. “First, what is the likely humanitarian impact? The answer is a large-scale famine on a scale that we have not seen for nearly 40 years,” he said.

According to UN numbers, around 80 percent of Yemenis rely on aid, and 13.5 million people face acute food insecurity. These dire conditions are a direct result of the US-backed Saudi-led war on Yemen that started in 2015. The coalition regularly bombs civilian infrastructure and is enforcing a blockade on the country.

About 70 percent of Yemen’s population lives in Houthi-controlled areas, where malnutrition is the most severe. Designating the Houthis a terror organization could criminalize the work that aid organizations do since the Houthis are the authority they deal with.

The Trump administration has said it will allow exemptions for Humanitarian goods, but Lowcock says that is not good enough. “Would licenses and exemptions for aid agencies prevent that [famine]? The answer is no,” he said.

Lowcock said the only thing that would prevent famine is a “reversal of the decision” to designate the Houthis as a terror organization.

While the UN never officially declared a famine in the country, Yemenis are starving to death and have been for years, something Lowcock acknowledged. “Already, about 50,000 people are essentially starving to death in what is essentially a small famine. Another 5 million are just one step behind them,” he said.

Yemenis fear the designation could cut off remittances from family members living overseas, something the World Bank estimates one in 10 Yemenis rely on to survive.

The designation is set to take effect on January 19th, President Trump’s last day in office. The UN, NGOs, and members of Congress are calling on Joe Biden to reverse the designation as one of his first acts in office.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/01/14/un-predicts-us-houthi-terror-designation-will-lead-to-famine-not-seen-in-40-years/

Really it's interfering in the UN child trafficking operation

=Billionaires Enraged That SpaceX Gets $900M in FCC Subsidies for Broadband Satellites

U.S. Satellite Opposition Increases Due to Safety Risks

High-speed internet is achievable, safer and more secure with a wired internet connection (see 1, 2) – not WiFi or 5G. Americans have actually paid to have access to safe high-speed internet already (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Nevertheless, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is continuing to subsidize telecom installation of unsafe 5G and WiFi. This includes providing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for satellites to blast 5G and WiFi at us.

Warnings and opposition to these satellites being launched continue to be published and publicized (see 1, 2, 3, 4). In the meantime, Elon Musk is also being condemned by other Big Tech billionaires because his notorious company, SpaceX, has received more subsidies than theirs.

From Axios:

Elon Musk is under siege by fellow billionaires at Amazon and Dish as he tries to get his fledgling space-based broadband service off the ground, with clashes involving airwave overload and the threat of satellite collisions. Of note: SpaceX won nearly $900 million in subsidies from the FCC recently to support deployment of Starlink.

Meanwhile: Amazon engaged in a months-long lobbying battle urging the FCC to block a SpaceX request Amazon says would threaten its own plans for a satellite broadband constellation.

SpaceX sought FCC permission last year to lower the planned altitude of more than 2,800 satellites.

On Friday, the FCC allowed SpaceX to launch 10 satellites at the lower altitude in an order that largely followed a suggested path forward from Amazon. The FCC deferred action on the rest of the SpaceX request.

Amazon has argued that SpaceX’s request to lower the altitude of its constellation would increase the risk of collision with its yet-to-be launched network of satellites.

What’s next: The broadband satellite war at the FCC will heat up as companies fight over increasingly crowded airwaves and orbital space.

The FCC is supposed to protect Americans by regulating the telecom industry. It has catered to industry for decades instead (see 1, 2). Despite repeated requests by doctors and scientists (see 1, 2), the agency refuses to update 24-year old federal radiation exposure guidelines. Lawsuits have been filed against it for NOT protecting the public from unsafe levels of cell phone and WiFi radiation (see 1, 2) as well as 5G on Earth (see 1, 2, 3, 4) and in space. Municipalities have also filed 5G lawsuits against the agency. Some have passed resolutions to ban deployment until studies prove it’s safe (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and ordinances (see 1, 2) to limit and/or control installation. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and several American tribal groups filed a 5G lawsuit against the agency as well (see 1, 2). Additionally state representatives in Hawaii and Illinois have introduced 5G bills to protect constituents.

https://www.activistpost.com/2021/01/billionaires-enraged-that-spacex-gets-900m-in-fcc-subsidies-for-broadband-satellites.html

Israelis to be exempted from quarantine a week after getting 2nd vaccine dose

Virus czar says authorities are finalizing distribution of ‘green passports’ to those deemed immune from coronavirus

People who receive the second and final coronavirus vaccine dose will be exempt from any need for quarantine, starting a week after getting the shot, government coronavirus czar Nachman Ash said Sunday.

In a press briefing, Ash added that restrictions will be eased for those who have been fully vaccinated as part of the so-called “green passport” program, details of which will be given in the coming days. The document is expected to provide access to cultural and other events currently unavailable to the public. Ash said eligible citizens will be able to get the certificate via an online system that is currently undergoing final testing.

Ash repeated comments he made Sunday morning, saying he would likely recommend extending the current lockdown restrictions beyond the January 21 expiration date, citing still-rising infections. But he expressed hope that the trend is starting to reverse.

“Over the past days we can see immense strain on the health care system,” Ash said. “There are about 1,200 serious patients, COVID-19 wards are 85 percent full, and hospitals are scaling back non-urgent procedures. The strain is expected to continue for several more days until we see a drop in infections.

Coronavirus czar Nachman Ash visits the Ziv hospital in Safed, December 24, 2020 (David Cohen/Flash90)

“We are following the numbers of confirmed patients and are cautiously hoping that the slowdown trend from the weekend will continue. The direction is encouraging,” he said, but warned: “The odds that we will recommend extending the lockdown are high.”

Updated COVID-19 figures by the Health Ministry on Sunday afternoon showed 5,011 new cases were confirmed Saturday, with 7.2 percent of the 63,278 tests coming back positive. The positivity rate was the lowest in a week, though the lower-than-normal testing levels over the weekend meant it did not necessarily indicate a trend.

The number of active cases stood at 82,877, and the total cases confirmed since the pandemic began was 546,087.

The number of serious patients was at an all-time high of 1,237, including 332 in critical condition and 276 on ventilators.

The death toll was at 3,979.

The data showed that more than a quarter million Israelis have gotten the second dose of the vaccine: 255,260. The number of those who received the first shot was 2,067,389.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israelis-to-be-exempted-from-quarantine-a-week-after-getting-2nd-vaccine-dose/

Declassified Documents Confirm More Bombshell Revelations About The Steele Dossier

The first batch of documents that President Trump ordered to be classified is already giving us a deeper dive into how corrupt the swamp really is.

According to transcripts, the FBI knew that Christopher Steele’s dossier was “all political” in the summer of 2016, yet they still pursued Trump anyway.

The infamous “Steele Dossier” was the document used by James Comey’s FBI to obtain a FISA warrant in order to spy on President Trump and his campaign.

Turns out the FBI knew it was garbage, yet they used it against Trump regardless.

“Summer 2016: The FBI handling agent knew “without a doubt” that Steele’s reporting was political. “It was completely obvious that this information intended to be used by one of the parties against the other,” twitter user TechnoFog pointed out.

Read the transcript below:

n another look at the transcripts, it appears that files were missing from the FISA application for Carter Page, yet it was still granted anyway:

https://thedcpatriot.com/declassified-documents-confirm-more-bombshell-revelations-about-the-steele-dossier/

Gantz: Whoever prays in a synagogue, mosque puts life of others in danger

Defense Minister calls to reopen education system before anything else

There is no point in continuing the ongoing lockdown in Israel unless all violators are treated equally, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Sunday just two days before the cabinet is set to meet to discuss a Health Ministry recommendation to extend the current closure.

Gantz singled out Ultra-Otrthodox (haredi) Jews and Israeli-Arabs who stand out as the most prominent violators. His comments came amid reports that haredi schools were continuing to operate in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and other parts of the country despite a government decision to shut down the entire education system.

“Whoever opens a talmud-torah; whoever prays in a synagogue, a mosque, or a church; whoever meets with a large number of people - is putting lives of others in danger,” Gantz said.

“The law in Tel Aviv, Shfaram, Beitar Illit, and Ashdod is the same law,” he said. “All should abide by the rules.

“If the law enforcement is not equal, there is no use continuing with the closure,” he said.

The defense minister toured the IDF's Alon Command Center on Sunday and said that later this week he will reevaluate his position regarding the continuation of the current closure. He also said that he supports reopening the education system before anything else.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/gantz-whoever-prays-in-a-synagogue-mosque-puts-life-of-others-in-danger-655753

FBI arrest Florida 'hardcore leftist' who plotted armed attack on pro-Trump protesters at state Capitol

Daniel Baker was kicked out of the Army, fought with terrorists, and supported Antifa, prosecutors claim

A self-described "hardcore leftist" was arrested Friday for allegedly issuing a call to arms online to recruit like-minded individuals to join him in violently confronting pro-Trump supporters expected to gather at the Florida state Capitol in Tallahassee on Sunday, just days before the presidential inauguration.

Daniel Alan Baker – an alleged Antifa supporter who participated in several anti-police protests last year around the country, including in Seattle’s CHOP/CHAZ zone – was arrested "without incident" by FBI agents early Friday with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Tallahassee Police Department.

Baker, who prosecutors say was kicked out of the Army and was homeless for several years in the Tallahassee-area before choosing to fight alongside a U.S.-designated terrorist group in Syria, is now charged with violating a federal law that makes it a felony to "transmit in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another."

He appeared before Magistrate Judge Charles A. Stampelos on Friday and is scheduled to remain at a federal detention center in Tallahassee until his next court appearance scheduled on Jan. 21, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday granted Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey’s request to have the National Guard brought in to help protect the state Capitol. This comes as an FBI internal memo warned of potential armed protests at state Capitol buildings in all 50 states in the days leading up to the inauguration. The Tallahassee City Hall and the Leon County Courthouse will be closed early this week.

In social media posts that have escalated over the past few months,Baker, 33, has attempted to recruit and train others to further his anti-government or anti-authority violent extremism ideology, has made multiple violent threats to those he claims are White supremacists, fascists, and U.S. citizens and allies with different ideologies than his, and has promoted the killing of U.S. military officers, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-florida-hardcore-leftist-armed-attack-trump-supporters-state-capitol-tallahassee-antifa