By far the most fraught handover of the Football from one president to another followed the shooting of John F. Kennedy in Dallas on 22 November 1963. Kennedy’s vice-president and successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, had, inexplicably, refused to be briefed on the secrets of the Football. With US forces on worldwide alert after the assassination, the United States thus had for a brief period a commander-in-chief who could not have responded to a Soviet missile attack. During the flight back from Dallas on Air Force One, Kennedy’s former military aide, General Chester V. Clifton, explained to the new president the contents of the Football. All subsequent vice-presidents, including Kamala Harris, have agreed to be ‘indoctrinated’ into the use of the Football in case the president dies or is incapacitated.

Several presidents, however, have sometimes mislaid their Biscuit. On one occasion, Jimmy Carter left his in the pocket of a jacket which the White House sent to the dry cleaners. After the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in March 1981, his Biscuit disappeared while he was being operated on in Washington University Hospital. After a frantic search it was eventually discovered in a hospital plastic bag.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s last telephone call to president George H. W. Bush, on Christmas Day 1991 in the final days of the Soviet Union, was to reassure him that he had safely passed the Chemodanchik (the Russian Football) to the Russian president Boris Yeltsin. When Yeltsin visited Washington in 1994, bringing the Chemodanchik with him (as Reagan had previously taken the Football with him on a visit to Moscow), he privately suggested to Bush’s successor, Bill Clinton, that they devise a better and safer system.

Clinton gave the non-committal reply: ‘I’ll have to think about this.’ There’s little evidence that he did so. In 2000, according to the then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Hugh Shelton, Clinton lost his Biscuit: ‘The codes were actually missing for months. This is a big deal, a gargantuan deal.’

*

Soon after his inauguration four years ago, Trump said that being briefed on the nuclear Football had been ‘very, very, very scary’:

‘When they explain what it represents and the kind of destruction that you're talking about, it is a very sobering moment.’

An innovation of the Trump era was the appointment in 2020 of the first female bagman, Major Jayna McCarron. Her role was cut short last October when she contracted Covid-19, quite possibly from the president and his unmasked White House entourage. When Trump was flown to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, he was accompanied on the presidential helicopter Marine One by the nuclear Football.

President Joe Biden was first briefed on the Football and the Biscuit when he became Obama’s vice-president twelve years ago. In case the president is incapacitated, a bagman with an identical Football follows the vice-president everywhere. Since Obama was almost twenty years younger than his vice-president, however, the prospect that Biden, rather than the president, would authorise nuclear retaliation, was always very slim

The Week in 60 Minutes with Andrew Neil

Though vice-president Biden (codenamed CELTIC after his partly Irish roots) got on well with the Secret Service detail responsible for his personal security, he disliked the presence of the bagman during his travels outside Washington. Anxious to preserve his image as ‘a regular Joe’ during weekly visits to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, he forbade the usual vice-presidential motorcade in which the bagman travelled in a limousine immediately behind his own.

In the new administration, Biden will no longer be able to keep the bagman at a distance when he is out of Washington. And, since he is the oldest elected president in US history and almost certainly will not serve a second term, vice-president Kamala Harris will have a far more important connection with the Football than Biden in the Obama administration. Their first priority should be to rethink a system for authorising the use of nuclear weapons which is no longer fit for purpose.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/trump-s-departure-is-a-good-chance-to-ditch-the-nuclear-football-

Astana guarantor states reaffirm commitment to sovereignty, territorial integrity of Syria

1 February 2021

The three guarantor countries of Astana process, “Russia, Iran and Turkey” reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic.

According to a statement published by Russian Foreign Ministry on its website on Monday, representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey held a tripartite meeting on the sidelines of the fifth round of the committee of discussing the constitution which was held in Geneva from January 25th to 29th, as well as consultations with Syrian delegations and the UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.

The Guarantor states stressed their readiness to continue support for the work of the committee through permanent cooperation with the Syrian parties and Pedersen as a facilitator to ensure the work of the committee permanently.

They also affirmed their intention to continue discussing the above-mentioned issues in the course of the next round of Astana talks due on February 16th and 17th in Sochi.

Pedersen announced in a press conference last Friday the conclusion of the fifth round of the Committee of Discussing the Constitution meetings without making a progress despite lengthy of discussions and interventions, as he described, adding that he intends to hold a number of meetings in preparation for the next round without setting any date.

http://sana.sy/en/?p=220322

>>12817868

Edible insects still vying to become a mainstream meat alternative

Momentum for edible insects has been building over the past decade. In a progressive move, Loblaw added cricket powder to its President’s Choice (PC) line in March 2018. The country’s largest food retailer putting stock in the future of insects marked a significant jump towards the mainstream. PC-branded bags made it clear: This food belongs on the shelf.

In another breakthrough moment, the EU food safety agency recently declared yellow mealworms safe for human consumption. The landmark ruling allows producers to sell a range of insect-based foods across Europe for the first time.

But as the industry grows, are Canadians any closer to embracing insects as food?

When Lesnik considers the possibility of edible insects taking off in western culture, she approaches it from an evolutionary point of view. More than two billion people around the world enjoy insects as a nutritious and sustainable food. And as Lesnik outlines in her book, Edible Insects and Human Evolution (University Press of Florida, 2018), they were an important part of diet throughout human evolution.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/its-a-marathon-not-a-sprint-edible-insects-still-vying-to-become-a-mainstream-meat-alternative/ar-BB1dk00m

>>12817897

According to Nielsen data, sales of plant-based protein have grown by 31 per cent since January 2020. But rather than taking a bite out of the insects-as-food industry, exploring other, non-meat protein options could be a stepping stone to insect-based alternatives, says Lesnik. The more aware people are of the options, the more critical they’ll be of the environmental impacts of their choices.

“The alternatives to meat might not always be that great either. And so not-meat isn’t necessarily the answer,” says Lesnik. “So if people start trying to figure out what not-meat option they want, insects really check all of the boxes.”

Goldin is of a similar mind: “Overall, the idea of plant-based diets being healthy and more sustainable can only give fuel to our fire.” Offering a similar nutritional profile to conventional meat, in that they provide essential amino acids, he sees insects as being in their own lane: Insects are rich in fibre, which meat isn’t; and high in B12, which plants aren’t.

Throw away everything you think about eating insects; it's the future of protein and the future is now

Two National Guard members died after contracting COVID-19, bringing the total virus-related death toll since the onset of the pandemic to 19 in the military, according to Department of Defense data.

a man standing on top of a snow covered road

© Provided by Washington Examiner

The two service members were an Alabama Air National Guard member and an Army National Guard member from California, a Pentagon spokesperson said, according to the Hill. Their identities have not yet been revealed.

With the pair of deaths, a total of eight National Guard members have died after contracting the coronavirus, and eight reservists have also died from the virus. Three active-duty soldiers have been killed by the coronavirus, including two members of the Army and one Navy sailor.

The Defense Department accrued nearly 226,000 COVID-19 cases since the onset of the pandemic, with 164 civilian deaths, nine military dependent deaths, and 60 contractor deaths, in addition to the 19 deceased military members. The Army maintains the most virus positives of any branch, with nearly 51,000 cases, followed by the Navy, with about 30,000 cases.

The Marine Corps reported roughly 18,000 positives, the National Guard about 18,000, and 975 across other Defense Department agencies.

Roughly 3,300 people have been hospitalized by virus throughout the Pentagon, including around 1,300 military members.

Twenty-six thousand National Guard members from across the country swarmed Washington, D.C., following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that saw five deaths, including one police officer. Nearly 200 troops stationed in the area tested positive for the virus, leading Maj. Gen. William Walker, commander of the District of Columbia National Guard, to be "deeply troubled" by the spread.

The National Guard on Jan. 21 announced the withdrawal of 15,000 troops following the inauguration of President Biden, an event that was preceded by numerous threats to interrupt the process.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/two-more-national-guard-members-die-of-covid-19-pentagon/ar-BB1dn6Sb

>>12817964

From Jan 19

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/us/politics/national-guard-capitol-biden-inauguration.html

Nuclear war with Russia or China has become a “very real possibility” and the United States must adapt urgently to meet the threat, one of its most senior military commanders has warned.

Over the past two decades Moscow and Beijing have challenged international norms and global peace “in ways not seen since the height of the Cold War — and in some cases, in ways not seen during the Cold War”, according to Admiral Charles Richard, the head of US Strategic Command, which is responsible for nuclear strike capabilities and missile defence.

(Paywall)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nuclear-war-with-russia-or-china-now-a-very-real-possibility-warns-us-admiral-9kqfb9m83

Did a dirty bomb threat alter Q’s timeline for the plan?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-122544/US-prevents-dirty-bomb-attack.html

>>12818040

Attorney General John Ashcroft today said U.S. authorities had captured an al Qaeda operative and prevented an attack on the United States with a radioactive dirty bomb.

"We have captured a known terrorist who was exploring a plan to build and explode a radiological dispersion device, or dirty bomb in the United States," Ashcroft said in a televised announcement from Moscow.

The United States blames Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the September 11 hijacking attacks on the United States that killed 3,000 people.

Ashcroft said Abdullah al Mujahir, also known as Jose Padilla, was detained on May 8 after flying into the Chicago O'Hare International Airport from Pakistan.

"On apprehending al Mujahir as he sought entry into the United States, we have disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive dirty bomb," Ashcroft said.

A so-called dirty bomb involves exploding a conventional bomb wrapped in radioactive material that can kill victims in the immediate area and spread highly toxic material to humans, causing mass death and injury.

Ashcroft, in Moscow for meetings with Russian officials, said the U.S. government had "multiple, independent and corroborating sources" that al Mujahir was closely associated with al Qaeda and was "involved in planning future terrorist attacks on innocent American civilians in the United States."

Al Mujahir was being held by the Defence Department as an "enemy combatant" despite the fact that he is a United States citizen.

>>12818040

To clarify this is from 2002, not recent, but some have suggested a similar threat was made.

Health workers start anti-coup protests in virus-hit Myanmar

Medical workers across Myanmar began a civil disobedience protest against Monday’s coup, wearing red ribbons and declaring they won’t work for the new military government.

The army takeover that ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi over allegations of fraud in November’s elections could not have come at a worse time for a country battling a steady rise in COVID-19 cases with a dangerously inadequate health system.

“We want to show the world we are totally against military dictatorship and we want our elected government and leader back,” said Dr. Zun Ei Phyu, who lives in Yangon, the biggest city and commercial capital. “We want to show them we will follow only our elected government. Not the military.”

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Health workers in government hospitals and facilities issued a statement Wednesday opposing the coup. Photos were shared on social media showing workers with red ribbons pinned to their clothes or holding printed photos of red ribbons. Others used a three-finger salute that has become a symbol of pro-democracy protests in neighboring Thailand, where a former general has led the government since a 2014 coup.

Some medical staff went on strike while others who continued work in government-run clinics made public their opposition to the new military rulers.

https://apnews.com/article/aung-san-suu-kyi-myanmar-health-indonesia-civil-disobedience-b12481f01765c8a90b03c4ab9dc12505

>>12818097

>>12818087

Desperately trying to control the narrative.

>>12818159

The seemingly local and separate Movements/color revolutions in each nation are all part of the globalist Great Reset, which they want to look as if came “from the grassroots.”

>>12818185

No.