Israel to bar unvaccinated people from some jobs, says health minister

Israel’s health minister has confirmed the country plans to stop unvaccinated people from working in certain jobs but failed to elaborate on what they might be, adding anyone found forging vaccine certificates will be jailed.

“There will soon be jobs where, in order to work, the workers will have to either be vaccinated or undergo a Covid-19 test every 48 hours,” Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Thursday.

Flanked by senior Ministry of Health officials, Edelstein did not elaborate on which jobs people would be excluded from, but he urged everyone to get vaccinated in order to help bring life back to “almost normal.”

“[The] vaccinated and those people who have had the virus will be able to go to gyms, concerts, hotels, synagogues from Sunday,” the minister stated, as he discussed the impact of Israel’s ‘green pass’ system which comes into force on February 21.

The pass, which will be granted to those who have taken the jab and those who are recovering from Covid-19, will allow many Israelis to take advantage of a Covid-19 restrictions rollback which also takes effect on Sunday.

Edelstein said that authorities had already confiscated a number of fake vaccination documents and warned that anyone found forging vaccine certificates would face jail time.

Israel is leading the world in vaccinations, with almost seven million jabs administered – the equivalent of 79 doses per 100 people. The nation has also seen falling Coivd-19 deaths, reporting zero fatalities in an observation of 523,000 people who were fully vaccinated.

https://www.rt.com/news/515939-israel-covid19-certificates-vaccination-green/

BBC names as new chair ex-Goldman Sachs banker who advised Boris Johnson and gave £400k to UK's ruling party

A former Goldman Sachs investment banker who donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the UK’s ruling Conservative Party has been officially named as the BBC’s new chairman, the government said on Wednesday.

The BBC board chair is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the government and comes with a £160,000 ($221,000) annual salary for three to four days work per week.

Richard Sharp, who was offered the role last month, will serve a four-year term, during which he will be responsible for safeguarding the state-run broadcaster’s independence.

The 65-year-old held several senior posts in his 23 years at Goldman Sachs and at one point was the boss of UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, whom he has also advised in an unpaid role during the pandemic.

Sharp was also economic adviser to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London and has donated more than £400,000 ($554,000) to the Conservative Party.

The ex-banker, who is reported to be a “bipartisan” appointment to the BBC, will be tasked with leading the broadcaster through a tumultuous time.

Last week the BBC became embroiled in a row with China, which banned its international World News channel after the UK media watchdog Ofcom revoked the license of Chinese broadcaster CGTN.

The BBC has also been slammed for alleged diversions from its supposed impartial approach, with accusations of bias in its Brexit coverage among others.

https://www.rt.com/uk/515849-bbc-chair-banker-johnson-adviser/

YouTube Removes President Trump’s Interview with Greg Kelly from Newsmax on Rush Limbaugh and 2020 Election

Greg Kelly spoke with President Donald Trump on Wednesday night following the reported death of conservative legend Rush Limbaugh.

President Trump told Greg Kelly, “Rush Limbaugh thought we won the election. We did win the election. It was disgraceful what happened.”

Trump praised his friend Rush Limbaugh who was a devoted supporter. Trump also praised Greg Kelly for his success.

Trump continued to condemn the stolen election.

The Gateway Pundit posted the video of President Trump’s interview with Greg Kelly on YouTube.

We broke up the interview into two segments.

By Thursday morning YouTube took down Trump’s interview with Greg Kelly.

Google and the tech giants run the world today. Don’t forget it.

We later uploaded the video to Rumble.

The video of the former president is allowed on Rumble.

Just wondering… Who elected the anti-American leftists at YouTube to run the world?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/youtube-removes-president-trumps-interview-greg-kelly-newsmax-rush-limbaugh-2020-election/

Vatican says employees who refuse Covid-19 vaccine could lose their jobs

The Vatican has effectively made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for its employees, warning those who decline to receive the shot that they could face dismissal.

In a seven-page decree, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, head of the commission governing Vatican City State, said that getting the jab was "the responsible choice" and that those who refuse to do so could risk termination. The guideline points to a 2011 law which stipulates that employees who refuse “preventive measures” could be disciplined.

Read more

Pro-lockdown Pope gets political on Covid-19 again, condemns those who traveled over the holidays despite pandemic Pro-lockdown Pope gets political on Covid-19 again, condemns those who traveled over the holidays despite pandemic

The new policy will allow people with legitimate health reasons to forgo the shot, but such personnel might be reassigned to positions that would have contact with fewer people. Their pay would remain the same even if the new assignment is a demotion.

Bertello himself tested positive for Covid-19 in December and was quarantined in his apartment until he was cleared to return to his regular duties.

Vatican City State, the world’s smallest independent nation-state, has a population of around 800 people, but employs more than 4,000 people.

Pope Francis has been an outspoken proponent of global vaccine drives against the virus. In an interview last month, the pontiff said that getting the shot was an “ethical choice” because “you are gambling with your health… [and] also gambling with the lives of others.”

However, none of the vaccines currently on the market have undergone studies showing that they prevent transmission or slow the spread of the virus.

Francis received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug a day after the Vatican began its vaccination program on January 13. He received his second shot in early February.

https://www.rt.com/news/515930-vatican-vaccine-mandatory-covid/

Michigan Removed 177,000 Voters from Voter Rolls in January After Certifying Biden Won Michigan by 154,000 Votes in November

Michigan now admits after ‘certifying’ the 2020 Presidential election, that more voters should be removed from their voter rolls than there were votes won by Joe Biden in the race. Mixed with other suspected fraud, (like 141,000 ballot drops at 6am the day after the election) all the ballots in this state should be forensically audited to determine the full extent of the election fraud.

There was so much fraud in Michigan in the 2020 election it is difficult to know where to start. There were late-night ballot dumps in Michigan like other states:

There were vans delivering ballots in the early morning after the election under the Detroit TFC Center where votes were being counted:

Republicans were harassed and prevented from viewing the ballot counting in the same TFC center the next day. When finally some Republican observers forced their way into the room they found the poll workers counting Xerox copies of military ballots all for Biden:

The Washington Free Beacon now reports:

The Michigan secretary of state removed 177,000 inactive voters from the state’s voter rolls after settling a legal challenge.

The stateremoved the names from the voter rolls in late January because the voters no longer live in the state or did not respond to the state’s inquiries about their addresses, according to a Tuesday district court announcement. The state performed the post-election audit during a legal battle with the Honest Elections Project, an election watchdog.

Michigan certified the election results in November claiming Joe Biden won by 154,000 votes.

Michigan’s 2020 election was run by crooks. A forensic ballot count of all the ballots in Detroit, if not the entire state, should be performed.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/michigan-removed-177000-voters-voter-rolls-january-certifying-biden-won-michigan-154000-votes-november/

Jerome Powell Says We Must Sacrifice… But For What?

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called for a “society-wide” commitment to reaching full employment. As Peter Schiff put it, Powell basically handed the US government a blank check in order to achieve this “maximum employment goal.”

We’re told we shouldn’t even worry about the massive deficit spending and additional debt this will incur. It’s all hands on deck and everybody needs to sacrifice. But what exactly does the Fed mean by “maximum employment?” What are we to sacrifice for?

Nobody knows. Not even the Fed.

As Robert Aro put it, “The Fed cannot reach this lofty goal, as they are unable to articulate exactly what the goal is.”

But we must sacrifice to get there!

The following article by Robert Aro was originally published by the Mises Institute. The author’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of SchiffGold or Peter Schiff.

Keep the definition of “maximum employment,” as explained by the Federal Reserve, forever in mind; and remember it every time an economist or central planner uses it to justify their interventions in your life:

Maximum employment is the highest level of employment or lowest level of unemployment that the economy can sustain while maintaining a stable inflation rate.”

However, the Fed cannot reach this lofty goal, as they are unable to articulate exactly what the goal is. This is concerning. Maximum employment is one of the primary mandates of the Federal Reserve. However, they make no apologies. They explicitly state that the Fed —

seeks to judge how far the economy is from maximum employment, the Fed will assess a wide range of information on the labor market and not rely too much on any single estimate of a sustainable longer-run unemployment rate.”

Jerome Powell told the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday (Feb 10):

maximum employment will require more than supportive monetary policy … It will require a society-wide commitment, with contributions from across government and the private sector.”

For us to attain this goal, supposedly, we need more than “supportive monetary policy” (from the Fed). Therefore, it will require more threats of violence, theft, and coercion by the government. Although Powell did not explicitly state these methods, there is no other way to implement a national policy other than with a certain degree of force.

It seems odd to build a society around such vague ideas. But this is the society we live in. It comes as no surprise that Powell’s speech includes a subtitle called, “The Broad Responsibility for Achieving Maximum Employment.” He refers to the wake of World War II, 75 years ago:

Congress’s response was the Employment Act of 1946, which states that ‘it is the continuing policy and responsibility of the federal government to use all practicable means…to promote maximum employment.’ As later amended in the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, this provision formed the basis of the employment side of the Fed’s dual mandate.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/jerome-powell-says-we-must-sacrifice-what

Russia to present new concept of national digital currency – Central Bank

After discussing the launch of the digital ruble with local banks, the country’s financial watchdog says it will present a more detailed concept for the national digital currency by summer.

The head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, said on Thursday that the regulator received detailed feedback from the banking community in its October report, in which the regulator introduced the digital ruble as a possible new form of national currency. According to the official, most lenders support a two-level model of the digital ruble, which allows banks to open wallets for their clients on the central bank’s platform and conduct operations.

https://www.rt.com/business/515916-russia-digital-ruble-concept/

Ex-Australian Facebook CEO urges users to ‘delete the app’ over news ban

The former chief executive of Facebook’s Australian business urged users to delete the social network’s app in response to Mark Zuckerberg’s “sad” decision to block news from the platform in the country.

Stephen Scheeler, the ex-boss of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, said in an interview that Facebook’s controversial move “looks and feels ugly” and blasted CEO Zuckerberg’s motivations.

“It shouldn’t have happened. But unfortunately it did,” Scheeler told The Australian. “But there’s no good answers … But at Facebook nobody ever loses their jobs.”

“I’m a proud ex-Facebooker, but over the years I get more and more exasperated. For Facebook and Mark it’s too much about the money, and the power, and not about the good,” Scheeler said. “Imagine if a Chinese company for example had done this, we would be up in arms. All Australians should be quite alarmed by this.”

The former CEO, who resigned from the tech giant in 2017, encouraged Australians to send a strong message to the company by deleting the app, while calling for “more regulation” of Facebook.

see also

Australia moving ahead with news content law despite Facebook blackout

The outrage comes a day after Facebook said it would block Australian users from reading or sharing news on its platform — a decision that came in response to Australia’s proposed new Media Bargaining law, which would require tech giants to make such payments.

On Thursday, Australians woke up to find large swaths of non-news pages in Australia banned as Facebook attempted to remove news content from its platform.

Dozens of Facebook pages belonging to charities, small businesses, public services and governments were scrubbed from the site, raising concerns that people could miss out on vital information.

For instance, Save the Children Australia, the Hobart Women’s Shelter, and the Kids Cancer Project had their pages pulled from the platform, as did the Brisbane City Council, South Australia Health and the Bureau of Meteorology. By the evening local time on Thursday, some of these pages had already been restored.

In a move that has caused some amusement, Facebook also blocked its own page in Australia.

https://nypost.com/2021/02/18/ex-australian-facebook-ceo-urges-users-to-delete-the-app/

Former Sen. Bob Dole reveals he has stage 4 lung cancer

Bob Dole, the 97-year-old former Republican senator and 1996 presidential candidate, announced Thursday that he is battling lung cancer.

“Recently, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My first treatment will begin on Monday,” Dole said on Twitter.

“While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” he added.

Dole represented Kansas in the US Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the GOP leader during the final 11 years of his tenure.

He served in the House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969.

https://nypost.com/2021/02/18/former-sen-bob-dole-reveals-he-has-stage-4-lung-cancer/

Biden’s Presumptive China Ambassador Headlined An Event Sponsored By Chinese Communist Party Propagandists.

Rahm Emmanuel – noted as a likely pick for President Biden’s Ambassador to China – spoke at a conference sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation – a Chinese Communist Party-linked group that serves to “influence foreign governments” to “take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” The National Pulse can reveal.

The unearthed connection follows NBC reporting that President Biden is “considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a high-profile ambassadorship, potentially to China, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.”

Emmanuel, also a former Chief of Staff to President Obama, spoke at a China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) event in 2013 to promote the organization’s study, “US-China 2022: Economic Relations in the Next 10 Years.”

The study, which calls for closer economic ties between the two countries, was sponsored and “conceived by” CUSEF Founding Chairman Tung Chee-hwa. Among its authors were former Chinese Communist Party and academics, economists, and professors from state-run universities and think tanks.

With launch events occurring in New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Beijing, and Los Angeles, Emmanuel addressed the Chicago event alongside Obama administration alumni Henry Paulson and William Daley:

Former senior government officials, global business leaders, and distinguished economists were present at the conference to offer their own perspectives on the future of the US-China economic relationship. Notable speakers included the Honorable Rahm Emanuel, the Mayor of the City of Chicago, the Honorable Henry M. Paulson Jr., former Secretary, US Department of the Treasury; Chairman, The Paulson Institute; The Honorable William M. Daley, former Chief of Staff, The White House; former Secretary, US Department of Commerce; Board of Directors, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs; and The Honorable C.H. Tung, Chairman, The China-United States Exchange Foundation; former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Tung , however, serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which has been identified as the “highest-ranking entity overseeing” the Chinese Communist Party’s United Work Front, according to the U.S.-China Security and Economic Review Commission.

The effort, according to the U.S. government report, aims to “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party” and “influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies.”

Tung’s CUSEF, a United Front-linked group, employs a similar strategy.

It has set out to “effectively disseminate positive messages to the media, key influencers and opinion leaders, and the general public” regarding the Chinese Communist Party, according to Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings with the Department of Justice.

https://thenationalpulse.com/news/biden-china-pick-headlined-cusef-events/

2024 Hopeful Ted Cruz Skips Town, Goes To Cancun As Millions Of Texans Suffer Without Power

Ted Cruz skipped town in the middle of a power outage. He's vacationing in Cancun.

As millions of Texans are without power due to poor central planning of the electric grid and an overly optimistic reliance on now-frozen and useless wind turbines, Sen. Ted Cruz left the country for the tropical paradise of Cancun.

Cruz’s office confirmed to the AP that he and his family left the country for a “planned” family trip to Cancun, and, apparently after being discovered, announced he would return immediately.

The sitting U.S. Senator from Texas “went with his family for a long-planned trip to Cancun and was expected to return immediately,” the AP reported, “according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations.”

National File contacted Cruz’s Senate office to inquire about when he might return from the tropical paradise, and did not receive an immediate response. Cruz’s office also did not respond to the Associated Press.

Cruz, who referred to President Donald Trump as a “pathological liar” during his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, is widely expected to run for president a second time in 2024.

He may face an increasingly difficult time doing so, even as he faces pressure to find a new job, as he barely managed to hold his Senate seat in 2018 against insurgent candidate Beto O’Rourke.

Further complicating Cruz’s presidential aspirations is a recent poll shows Cruz getting a meager 4% of the Republican Party vote, should President Trump run for reelection in 2024. In the poll, President Trump would easily win the Republican Party’s nomination with 53% of the vote. His nearest competition, disgraced Vice President Mike Pence, came in at 12%.

Much of President Trump’s base is also likely to remember that Cruz, despite promising to object to the electoral college certification of six states plagued with credible accusations of widespread voter fraud, completely abandoned his promise and handed the White House to Joe Biden without a fight following the Capitol Hill protests on January 6.

https://nationalfile.com/2024-hopeful-ted-cruz-skips-town-goes-to-cancun-as-millions-of-texans-suffer-without-power/

Report: Joe Biden Plans Second Coronavirus Package with $3 Trillion More in ‘Build Back Better’ Spending

President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda is morphing into an even bigger spending plan of action, as his administration seeks to spend $3 trillion more on Green New Deal-like policies after Congress finalizes his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief legislation.

Although plans remain fluid, the package is expected to appease the left wing of the Democrat Party, a building block for Biden’s agenda, which could encompass his party’s long-awaited wish-list of green energy, carbon tax hikes, as well as child and elder care legislation.

As the next must-pass legislation in a divided Congress, the package has opened the door to many other unrelated spending demands, such as the left’s ambition to destroy fossil fuels and provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

The Democrats, who are in control of all three branches of government, expect disagreement over the priorities of the package due to the failure of not including a $15 minimum wage hike and tax increases in the present coronavirus relief legislation.

The battle will be particularly difficult for Biden, who must carve out his presidential agenda amid competing interests, namely, the left’s demands for climate legislation, special interest group requests, and Biden’s own wishes for legacy-drawing success.

On Wednesday, Biden met with senior leadership of the AFL-CIO and other labor unions at the White House and discussed both the current relief package and the second recovery bill. The labor leaders asked Biden to approve as much as $4 trillion in infrastructure spending, citing estimates of need produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers, according to the Washington Post.

“We are so far behind the curve. We rank like 38th in the world in terms of infrastructure, everything from canals to highways to airports, to everything we can do and we need to do to make ourselves competitive in the 21st Century,” Biden said during the meeting in the Oval Office.

But Biden’s words are not indicative of the pressures he faces from outside forces, which have put him in office to achieve their agenda.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/18/biden-plans-second-coronavirus-package-3-trillion-more-build-back-better-spending/

‘Loud Enough For My Wife To Hear’: Ron Kim Details Threatening Phone Call From Gov. Cuomo

Democratic New York Assemblyman Ron Kim gave details Thursday about the threatening phone call he said he received from the governor.

Kim told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called him at home, demanding that he issue a new — false — statement about a meeting he attended with six other lawmakers. During that meeting, Kim said that Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa conceded that the administration had hidden the real nursing home coronavirus numbers.

Kim said that Cuomo called him while he was at home with his family, demanding that he issue a statement contradicting what he had seen in that meeting.

“For 10 minutes he berated me. He yelled at me. He told me that my career would be over,” Kim said, adding that Cuomo gave him only until that night to issue a new statement. “He has been biting his tongue for months against me. And I had tonight — not tomorrow, tonight — to issue a new statement essentially asking me to lie. I heard and saw a crime the other day. And he’s asking me [to say] that I did not see that crime.”

Kim went on to say that his wife had also been impacted by the governor’s threats, telling Scarborough and cohosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist that the initial phone call “was loud enough for my wife to hear. She was in shock. She didn’t get any sleep that night,” he said. “And we were terrified.”

Kim said that Cuomo called him four more times after that — and his staffers made several additional calls as well.

“When we get closer to the truth behind the growing nursing home scandal in New York, Governor Cuomo tries to implicate you in the cover-up, or threatens your livelihood if you don’t lie for him. And that’s what happened to me in the last week,” Kim said.

Cuomo, Brzezinski noted, had been invited to appear on “Morning Joe” and had not responded to the invitation.

https://dailycaller.com/2021/02/18/ron-kim-threatening-phone-call-andrew-cuomo/

Texas Hospitals and Homes Lose Water Due to Winter Storm

Utility shortages in Texas spread to the state’s water supply as the winter storms continue. Hospitals and millions of homes do not have reliable water service.

A dependable water supply is now on the list of Texan’s concerns after enduring days of power outages and freezing weather conditions. Hospitals in multiple cities are reporting disruption of water supplies and nearly 12 million Texas residents are without dependable, clean water.

Nearly 600 public water systems in 141 of Texas 254 counties reported disruptions in water service. Boil water notices and outright failures of systems impacted nearly 12 million people, a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesperson told the Texas Tribune.

In Austin, multiple hospitals reported losing water pressure on Wednesday.

“Water feeds the facility’s boiler, so as a result, it is also losing heat,” David Huffstutler, CEO of St. David’s HealthCare, said in a statement published by the Tribune.

Some patients are being relocated to hospitals that currently have water and heat.

Ascension Seton Hospital reported intermittent water issues at several of their facilities in the Austin area as well.

In Houston, Texas’ largest city, hospitals are also reporting water issues.

“Quite honestly, I think we probably could have handled everything up until the water,” Roberta Schwartz, executive vice president at Houston Methodist Hospital, told the Houston Business Journal. “The water has thrown a completely new loop onto everything.”

In Houston’s Texas Medical Center, workers report they cannot even flush toilets, KHOU CBS 11 reported.

“Due to a loss of water pressure, a lot of folks are out of water, including our hospitals,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters on Wednesday.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) announced Wednesday morning that residents using City of Houston water should boil before drinking, Breitbart Texas reported.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2021/02/18/texas-hospitals-and-homes-lose-water-due-to-winter-storm/

‘Facebook Attacked a Sovereign Nation – We Will Not be Intimidated’ – Australian Prime Minister Responds to Facebook’s Shakedown and Threats

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government will not be intimidated by Facebook’s threats.

Google threatened to shut down operations in Australia in January after a bill moved forward that forces the internet giant to pay news publishers.

Google and Facebook believed this was unfair.

So they announced they may close down their operations Down Under.

On Thursday Facebook followed up on their threats and blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism.

According to CBS News Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can’t be viewed or shared by Australian audiences, the U.S.-based company said in a statement.

But in the process, Facebook blocked readers from access to The Bureau of Meteorology, state health departments, the Western Australian opposition leader, and charities as a result of the company’s wide-ranging ban on sharing or viewing news.

Australia’s Prime Minister said on a statement that Facebook attacked a sovereign nation:

Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing. I am in regular contact with the leaders of other nations on these issues.

These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them. They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.

We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code. Just as we weren’t intimidated when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms.

I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/02/facebook-attacked-sovereign-nation-will-not-intimidated-australian-prime-minister-responds-facebooks-shakedown-threats/

Children to be Tested for Corona Twice a Week After Returning to UK Schools

Parents will be expected to test secondary school children, aged 11 to 18, twice a week under government plans to reopen schools from next month, according to reports.

The government is set to have agreed on a compromise with schools unions in the plans after the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) dismissed suggestions schools become “field hospitals” responsible for the regular testing of older pupils.

Sources speaking to The Telegraph on Wednesday said that while secondary schools will conduct the first round of mass-testing as part of their staggered reopening, parents will be required to conduct bi-weekly testing of their children thereafter.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce his “roadmap” for loosening England’s third lockdown on Monday. He is expected to announce that children may return to school from March 8th, with secondary schools allowed to reintroduce classes to groups in phases to allow schools to manage the first lot of testing.

Parents would reportedly be using the lateral flow tests, which involve taking a swab from the nose or the back of the throat near the tonsils. Unlike the PCR test, it does not need to go to a laboratory for processing, and results are visible after 30 minutes.

Masks will also be mandatory in secondary schools in places where social distancing is not possible outside of classroom ‘bubbles’.

Care Minister Helen Whately would not confirm whether the Telegraph report was true, only telling Sky News on Thursday that “next week, more will be set out about how the return to school is going to work.”

Mrs Whately, however, later suggested that testing of children would be part of the plans to reopen schools, telling the BBC: “There is work being done to look at how testing will help schools come back. But there will be more details set out about that next week.”

When schools reopened in September after the summer holidays, following several months of disruption after the beginning of the outbreak of Chinese coronavirus in the UK, schools introduced temperature-checking at the gates. Some demanded children wear masks and carry their own hand sanitiser. Others also segregated playtime between the year groups and enforced strict “no touching” rules.

The British government has been criticised in recent months for its handling of schooling since the beginning of the pandemic, notably with regards to supporting poorer children after it was revealed that contractors were sending massively inadequate food parcels to families of children who would ordinarily receive free schools lunches, worth a fraction of what taxpayers were paying for them.

On Thursday, the Daily Mail reported on the cost of lockdown to children, claiming that pupils in England will have lost some 850 million hours of face-to-face classroom teaching by the time schools reopen on March 8th.

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies from earlier this month calculated that school closures due to lockdown, which resulted in two years of exams being cancelled, could cost each pupil up to £40,000 in lost income throughout their lifetimes unless there is a concerted effort to catch children up on months of lost learning.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/18/uk-parents-told-test-children-twice-week-coronavirus-report/

Police Called on Disabled Man Who Didn’t Wear ‘Mask Exempt’ Yellow Badge

Security guards at an English supermarket called the police on a disabled man who refused to wear a yellow sticker exempting him from wearing a mask.

Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first police-enforced lockdown on March 23rd, 2020, Britons have subjected to overzealous policing of their activities and a suppression of their freedoms.

After British supermarkets made mask-wearing mandatory, security guards have taken to demanding shoppers cover their face before entering or be banned. Those with disabilities, young children, or others with exemptions do not have to wear one. But some supermarkets offer lanyards or badges to designate those that they deem can enter their stores with their faces uncovered.

The Sun reported on Wednesday the case of man, who said he was disabled, being threatened with police action unless he wore a yellow exemption badge to reassure other shoppers.

Footage shared on social media showed him being confronted by two security guards, one appearing to call the police, with the shopper helpfully offering she call the non-emergency number, 111, rather than 999, whose operators he said would not be “happy” to be bothered with a non-emergency call.

“I’m not conforming to no sticker laws. Sorry,” the shopper said, noting that the requirement to wear such a mark was not law, calling the shop’s policy “totalitarian”.

When the male guard told him it was to “explain” to other people that he was exempt, the shopper responded: “I shouldn’t need to explain. I’ve got a medical exemption. That should be enough. I shouldn’t have to declare my medical exemption. That’s a Discrimination Act thing.”

“If they ask me, I can tell them. I don’t need a sticker. I’m perfectly capable of communicating with somebody,” he added, as the female guard walked off, apparently to call the police.

Morrison’s, one of the largest supermarkets in the UK, apologised to the man, saying there was no policy forcing someone with an exemption to wear a mask. However, it reiterated that it would ban shoppers without exemptions who refuse to wear one.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a rise in police, politicians, and members of the public backing a hard crackdown on supposed lockdown rule-breakers.

Police have also shared stories on social media of them punishing or shaming rule-breakers with some relish, including when they cracked down on rural dog walkers and fined a man for going to his friend’s house for a cup of tea.

UK police have also busted baptisms, women’s dinner parties, and harassed shopkeepers over the sale of chocolate Easter eggs which officers claimed were ‘non-essential’.

British police could not have done it without the help of citizens, however.

Government ministers calling on Britons to inform on their neighbours if they suspected them of breaking social distancing rules led to incidents including one woman calling the police on a funeral wake in a pub garden because she thought people were standing too close to each other.

The woman, who had shot footage of the wake from quite some distance, had claimed it was her “public duty” to inform on the mourners.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/18/supermarket-calls-cops-disabled-man-refused-wear-yellow-mask-exemption-sticker/

‘No Jab, No Job’ – UK Firms Set to Make Vaccines Mandatory

Companies in Britain have been tasking law firms to craft “no jab, no job” contracts that would bar prospective employees from being hired unless they have been vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus.

While the government has publicly claimed that it has no intentions of requiring domestic vaccine passports, ministers have admitted that private businesses may take up the mantle of imposing it on the British public.

Speaking to the Financial Times, law firms said that they have already been contacted by companies, including care homes and multinational corporations, which are looking to draw up contracts that would require employees to be inoculated against the virus.

One unnamed attorney told the paper that such requirements could be risky as they might trigger discrimination claims from people who refuse to take the vaccine on religious grounds, pregnant women, or those who have health conditions, such as allergies, which prevent them from taking the jab.

The lawyer did note that in sectors in which employees are surrounded by at-risk people, such as in care homes, so-called “no jab, no job” contracts may ultimately be defensible.

Some of the law firms contacted claimed that businesses have also begun inquiring about how to require that those already employed receive the vaccine.

However, companies seeking to change the contracts of people already employed would need to gain the consent of the worker, a partner at the law firm Lewis Silkin, James Davies, cautioned.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said that there was no justification for businesses to require vaccines for employees, saying that mass testing would be a preferable option.

The chief executive of the human resource firm CIPD, Peter Cheese, said: “The UK government hasn’t made the vaccine compulsory, so neither can employers.”

Mr Cheese added: “Nor should they be restricting people coming into work based on whether they have had the vaccine.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/18/no-jab-no-job-uk-firms-set-to-make-vaccines-mandatory/

Hackers Claim to Be Selling Almost All of Ukraine’s Personal Data

Cybercriminals claim to be selling the personal details of as much as 93% of Ukraine’s population in a dataset supposedly stolen from the country’s scandal-ridden, largest public lender, PrivatBank – something the bank has been quick to describe as incredulous, even impossible.

The alleged hacker’s listing on Raid Forum (Credit: OCCRP)The alleged hacker’s listing on Raid Forum (Credit: OCCRP)The purported cache of sensitive information, which was listed via the online marketplace Raid Forum on February 8, allegedly contains bank customers’ full names, dates of birth, passport numbers and contact details.

The anonymous vendor claims this data relates to more than 40 million customers at PrivatBank. Ukraine has a population of 43 million people.

However, a reported internal investigation at the lender has called the veracity of the vendor’s claims into serious doubt.

A PrivatBank representative told cybersecurity research and analysis outfit CyberNews that since 2017, the bank had not recorded a single breach or incident in which information was transferred from its database.

The numbers also don’t add up: When PrivatBank was nationalized in 2016, the lender had just 20 million customers.

“We were pleasantly surprised that 40 million people were attributed to the number of the bank’s clients, but this figure exceeds the total number of the country’s adult population,” the representative reportedly said.

The online vendor has been granted “trusted status” by Raid Forum, indicating that customers have not had problems buying from them before.

They are currently selling the alleged dataset at a going rate of US$3,400 in BitCoin.

It does not appear the vendor has yet made any sales, but there remains a possibility they may be hiding these by generating a new platform for receipt of payment each time.

This isn’t the first time PrivatBank has encountered trouble supposed, or actual from cybercriminals.

In 2016, the bank allegedly lost more than $10 million after hackers were able to exploit a loophole in the SWIFT banking system.

This is an ordinarily secure network that allows more than 10,000 financial institutions around the world to send and receive information about monetary transactions.

Earlier in 2014, pro-Russia hacker group CyberBerkut mined customer data from the bank’s records before publishing the information via Russian social media.

Nor is it merely cybercriminals who have sought to profit from PrivatBank via deceptive means.

The lender’s nationalization in 2016 followed soon after allegations surfaced that former owners Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Boholiubov had embezzled at least $5.5 billion from customers.

Representing deposits made by a third of the country’s population, the amount the pair allegedly stole was equivalent to around five percent of Ukraine’s GDP at that time.

Multiple investigations into Kolomoisky and Boholiubov’s financial dealings remain ongoing.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13896-hackers-claim-to-be-selling-almost-all-of-ukraine-s-personal-data

Belarus Authorities Jail Two Journalists Despite International Protests

A Belarus court sentenced on Wednesday journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva and camerawoman Daria Chultsova of the Poland-based Belsat broadcaster to two years in prison for “organizing activities violating public order.” The two were covering a peaceful demonstration last year.

Belarus Andreyeva and ChultsovaBelsat's camerawoman Daria Chultsova and journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva, sentenced in Minsk to two years jail. (Photo: Igor Ilyash, Facebook)The Frunzensky District Court in Minsk based its decision on charges that the two were allegedly orchestrating a riot in Minsk on November 15, when hundreds of people gathered to commemorate Raman Bandarenka — an activist who was beaten to death, which the authorities have been denying.

“The sentencing of Andreyeva and Chultsova is one of many ways Belarus’ government has retaliated against journalists for reporting on peaceful protests and human rights violations,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) Coordinator, Europe and Central Asia, Anastasiia Zlobina, said in a statement.

Andreyeva and Chultsova, according to HRW, live-streamed the protest from a nearby apartment for about five hours.

“After police dispersed the peaceful demonstrators, ten riot police officers broke into the apartment, detained both journalists, and seized their equipment,” HRW said in a statement.

Police did not stop there, but also searched Andreyeva’s apartment, her relatives’ home, and the apartment of Chultsova’s parents, read the statement.

Five days after Andreyeva and Chultsova were detained, Belarus authorities initiated a criminal case against them.

Polish President, Andrzej Duda, instructed his diplomats in Minsk to convey to Belarus his “strong opposition to the repression against freedom of speech and civil rights,” his cabinet said. He called for the reporter’s immediate amnesty and for the EU to “respond in solidarity, consistently and resolutely to this subsequent manifestation of suppression of fundamental rights and freedoms.”

Belsat Deputy Director, Aleksy Dzikawicki, also condemned the ruling, stressing that “the regime in Belarus has committed an obvious crime by sentencing the two journalists… to two years imprisonment for performing professional duties.”

“This is not only a violation of international standards, but also of Belarusian law;” Dzikawicki said on Facebook.

Andreyeva and Chultsova are not isolated cases. HRW warned that “at least seven other journalists are behind bars awaiting trial on similar criminal charges,” in Belarus, and that on Tuesday “authorities raided homes and offices of at least 40 journalists and human rights defenders who are promoting freedom of the press.”

The Belarus Association of Journalists (BAJ) said that police thoroughly searched its office, digging even the garbage. Officers seized laptops, cell phones and other equipment. At the same time, they searched apartments of several association’s officials.

“Belarusian authorities must put an end to their relentless harassment of journalists and press freedom organizations,” Deputy Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Robert Mahoney, said.

Andreyeva’s husband, also Belsat’s reporter, Igor Ilyash, called on journalists in Belarus to tell the truth about the crimes authorities are committing.

“We must tell the truth about the violence in the streets, about the bullying and the torture in prisons, about corruption and abuse at all levels, about the readiness to sell the sovereignty of the country for the opportunity to extend the regime of personal power for even a little bit,” he told Belsat.

He added that the verdict against his wife and colleague ”is not just repression.”

“This is an act of terrorism aimed at intimidating the journalistic community. Let's call a spade a spade: a war is being waged against us,” he said and concluded that the best response would be “more truth, more facts.”

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13898-belarus-authorities-jail-two-journalists-despite-international-protests

Draghi Says New Italian Gov’t to Be Pro-European, Atlanticist in International Relations

The new Italian government will be pro-European and Atlanticist in its foreign policy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Wednesday.

"As for our international relations, this government will be firmly pro-European and Atlanticist, in line with historic ties of Italy: the European Union, Atlantic alliance (NATO), the United Nations. …Our commitment to efficient multilateralism is deep and based on indispensable role of the United Nations," Draghi said at the Senate where the vote of confidence in the new government would take place later in the day.

The prime minister added that Italy would continue to pay particular attention to the relations with the Balkans, greater Mediterranean region, Libya and Africa.

"Italy will work to maintain mechanisms of dialogue with the Russian Federation. But we are watching with preoccupation what is happening there and in other countries where the rights of citizens are often challenged," Draghi said.

On Healthcare Reform

The new Italian government should launch a wide reform of the healthcare system, Draghi said.

"Based on our experience of the past months, we need to address to the full extent the issue of a healthcare system reform. The central point is to reinforce regional healthcare systems, create a strong network of basic services, create community hospitals, consulting centres etc," Draghi said at the Senate ahead of the vote of confidence in the new government.

As for the vaccination efforts, Draghi said there was still more to be done, and it had to be done faster.

"We should not limit vaccinations only to specific places that often are not ready yet. We need to use all possible available structures, public and private," the prime minister said.

Quick and efficient delivery of vaccines is one of the main challenges, Draghi said.

"It is necessary to learn also from the countries that acted faster than us by immediately having adequate quantities of vaccines," the Italian prime minister added.

On Renewable Energy Sources

The new Italian government will strengthen the recovery program with a special focus on renewable energy, Draghi said.

"In the coming weeks we will reinforce the strategic dimension of the program [recovery plan], in particular in what regards the objectives relating to the energy production of renewable sources, water and air pollution, fast railways network, production and distribution of hydrogen, digitalisation and 5G communication nets," Draghi said at the Senate.

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202102171082104081-draghi-says-new-italian-govt-to-be-pro-european-atlanticist-in-international-relations/

Disappearing Freedoms in America

The self-styled land of the free and home of the brave exists only in Hollywood films, television productions, mind-manipulating classrooms at all levels, and Big Media propaganda reports.

The real thing disappeared long ago.

Activist attorney, law professor, author and public advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sounded the alarm in a straight talk letter and report to 100,000 lawyers on the urgency of “protecting individual rights” at a time when they’re disappearing altogether that demands action to halt the US road to tyranny.

Seasonal flu-renamed covid is the invented driving force behind what’s going on.

RFK Jr.: Covid is “an opportunity of convenience for totalitarian elements who have put individual rights and freedoms globally under siege.”

“A (diabolical) medical cartel composed of pharmaceutical industry, government regulators, financial houses, and telecom and internet billionaires are systematically obliterating freedom of speech and assembly, religious worship, property rights, jury trial, due process, and — ultimately” what remains of a free and open society in the US, West, and elsewhere to be eliminated for unchallenged control by Big Government and Big Money.

Looking ahead, the alternative for freedom-loving people is either mass-activism against what’s going on or face serfdom under totalitarian rule, enforced by police state harshness.

Shockingly, over half of US children “have chronic health issues, (including) allergies, ADHD, autism, eczema, asthma, obesity, autoimmune conditions and more,” RFK Jr. explained.

What was rare when he was growing up is commonplace today.

US children now “receive 72 mandated doses of 16 vaccines, prior to age 18” — their young bodies pumped full of dangerous toxins

They don’t protect and are destroying their health and well-being.

Numerous “peer-reviewed studies (show) vaccines (are) the primary culprit in this public health calamity.”

“That isn’t stopping our health authorities from mandating more hugely subsidized, shoddily tested, zero-liability vaccines for children.”

Highly toxic covid vaccines to be shunned, not taken as directed, represent a potential motherlode of big bucks for Pharma bandits — who don’t give a damn about protecting health and well-being, just the opposite.

They’re poisoning millions of Americans and countless abroad with what just societies would ban.

https://stephenlendman.org/2021/02/disappearing-freedoms-in-america/

Congress holds reparations for slavery hearing for first time since BLM protests rocked the nation - with Dems pushing for bill to 'consider a national apology'

Congress held its first hearing on reparations for slavery since the May 2020 death of George Floyd, which reignited the Black Lives Matter movement.

Members of the Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties met over Zoom Wednesday to discuss H.R. 40, which aims to 'establish a commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery.'

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who's spearheading the effort, argued her case with images, holding up pictures of a beaten slave and lynched black Americans.

'This was our life, the back of a beaten slave. This was our life in to the 20th century, hangings of African-Americans, men and women. This was our life, when we were in public display, brutalized,' the Texas congresswoman said, showing several grisly images.

She put those images in the Congressional record.

Democrats brought in academics, civil rights leaders and California's new secretary of state, Shirley Weber, as witnesses, to discuss why H.R. 40 should be passed.

The resolution to study reparations was first introduced by the now late Rep. John Conyers in 1989 and was named after the '40 acres and a mule' that freed black Americans had been promised, but then the federal government didn't act on.

It would green light a commission to study the issue.

A number of Democratic witnesses argued that the term 'reparations' stands for more than just financial hand-outs.

'Popular conceptions of reparations are often fairly narrow, focusing only on financial compensation. But by contrast the international system places emphasis on a more comprehensive approach, according which financial compensation may certainly be necessary, but not sufficient,' explained UCLA law professor Tendayi Achiume, who advises the United Nations. 'Other required measures may include transforming the political, economic and social institutions and mechanisms for disclosing truth and restoring dignity for those subject to racial subordination, resulting from legacies of enslavesment,' Achiume explained.

http://www.yourdestinationnow.com/2021/02/congress-holds-reparations-for-slavery.html

Spain: Second Pfizer Shots Halted After 46 Nursing Home Residents Die After the First Shot

LOS BARRIOS, SPAIN — The Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary) nursing home is reeling due to mass deaths after mRNA inoculations.

All residents and workers at the facility received the first dose of Pfizer mRNA in early January, according to Spain mainstream media outlet ABC de Sevilla.

Most residents became extremely ill shortly after the shots. It is believed many came down with COVID-19, despite being “vaccinated against it.”

The Andalusian Health Service reported that at least 46 residents have died since January. For perspective, Our Lady has a maximum capacity of 145 residents.

The Junta de Andalucía (regional government) intervened in early February to curtail the death count. But people continued dying. Spain’s Ministry of Health is now in charge of mitigation.

The Ministry said in a statement:

“In view of the imminent risk to public health, and in particular for the [residents] and workers of this center, as the current protocol for disinfection and isolation of positive cases cannot be guaranteed.”

The situation remains dire, as at least 28 residents and 12 staff members were COVID-19 positive last week. Health officials halted all further mRNA shots as a result.

The Federation of Public Services criticized Our Lady for not taking action sooner.

The workers’ union said the response was inadequate after eight people died by January 18. The death count grew to 30 by January 28.

Spain is continually in the news related to mRNA shots. Health Minister Salvador Illa said in December that his agency is keeping a database of all citizens who refuse the mRNA. He said the list will be shared with all EU members.

A healthcare worker in Spain also recently reported that several mRNA recipients have been admitted to Hospitals in the Region of Murcia for encephalitis.

https://humansarefree.com/2021/02/spain-pfizer-shots-halted-after-46-nursing-home-residents-died.html

SolarWinds attack hit 100 companies and took months of planning, says White House

The White House warns SolarWinds attack was more than espionage because the private sector targets could lead to follow-up attacks.

The White House team leading the investigation into the SolarWinds hack is worried that the breach of 100 US companies has the potential to make the initial compromise a headache in future.

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology at the White House, said in a press briefing that nine government agencies were breached while many of the 100 private sector US organizations that were breached were technology companies.

"Many of the private sector compromises are technology companies including networks of companies whose products could be used to launch additional intrusions," said Neuberger, a former director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency.

Attackers that the US says are of "likely Russian origin" had compromised the software build system of US software vendor SolarWinds and planted the Sunburst backdoor in its widely used Orion product for monitoring enterprise networks.

That 100 private sector firms were breached in the attack paints a different picture to what was known in December, when Microsoft and FireEye, that were both breached, disclosed the attack.

At that stage there were eight federal agencies confirmed to have been breached, including the US Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of State, the US Department of Energy, and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

However, back then Microsoft and FireEye were the two most significant private sector companies known to have been compromised by the tainted Orion update (the Orion updates weren't the only way that companies were infiltrated during the campaign, which also involved the hackers gaining access to cloud applications).

"When there is a compromise of this scope and scale both across government and across the US technology sector to lead to follow-on intrusions, it is more than a single incident of espionage. It's fundamentally of concern for the ability of this to become disruptive," Neuberger explained during questioning.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/solarwinds-attack-hit-100-companies-and-took-months-of-planning-says-white-house/

Government slams Facebook for sick double-standards by creating the 'perfect' platform for paedophiles to share child abuse - while stopping YOU from reading the news

Facebook has been blasted by the Australian Government for making it easier for paedophiles to get away with sharing child abuse material on the platform - on the same day as the company's 'disgraceful' decision to block Australian news.

The US tech giant has infuriated Australians after blocking them from reading and sharing local news in response to a world-first law to make tech giants pay media companies for the content they use.

The extraordinary move has also stopped Australians from accessing vital information in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic with public health, charity and emergency services pages also being blocked by the company's algorithm change.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told Daily Mail Australia the brazen act showed the company's 'arrogance' in dealing with Australian government policy and law.

A furious Mr Dutton said the company will introduce encrypted messaging later this year that will make it even harder for Australian authorities to intercept sick pedophile conversations and child abuse image and video sharing.

'Facebook's arrogance isn't restricted to their decision to ban Australian news,' Mr Dutton said on Thursday.

'Their push for end-to-end encryption will make it easier for paedophiles to share child sexual exploitation material.'

End-to-end encryption, which is already used by Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Apple's iMessage, means that only the people communicating can see their messages, protecting users' privacy but also preventing police from accessing vital evidence.

Accessing suspects' online footprint has proved crucial to police investigations and recently helped snare 'bin bag paedo' Richard George Aldinger, 63, who live-streamed the abuse of a 12-year-old girl in the Philippines.

Former A Current Affair journalist Ben McCormack was also famously busted for promoting child abuse after police trawled through his sick Skype messages with a Catholic primary school teacher who fantasised about raping little boys as young as three.

Mr Dutton fears that thousands of paedophiles will never be caught under the new secret messaging system.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2021/02/exclusive-government-slams-facebook-for.html

73 Percent of the U.S. Covered in Snow, the Most Widespread Coverage in 17 Years

A siege of winter storms since late January has contributed to the most widespread snow cover across the contiguous U.S. in at least 17 years.

Snow was on the ground in 73.2% of the Lower 48 on Feb. 16, according to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC). That's the highest snow cover extent for any day in the NOHRSC database dating to fall 2003, according to NOAA.

Winter Storm Uri's snowfall deep into the South played a big role in this large expansion. Snow covered about half of the U.S. three days earlier prior to when Uri tracked from coast to coast.

Parts of the Southeast and Southwest are the largest areas without snow cover right now. Some locations in central and western Dakotas also have no snow, which is an odd exception when compared to the rest of the northern U.S.

Only one other year in the NOHRSC database has had snow cover 70% or greater, according to Steve Bowen, a meteorologist with the reinsurer, Aon. That was Jan. 12, 2011, when snow covered a broad area of the country, including the Southeast.

https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/2021-02-17-snow-cover-united-states-most-widespread-since-2003

Biden pushes expanded pathways to citizenship as immigration bill lands in Congress

The Biden administration formally rolled out its major immigration bill Thursday, introducing legislation that would give 11 million people a path to U.S. citizenship.

The bill, which will be shepherded by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), represents President Biden’s chance to deliver major changes to a system where both parties see a need for reform but are sharply divided on how to deliver it.

White House officials called the bill a chance to “reset and restart conversations on immigration reform,” labeling the bill as Biden’s “vision of what it takes to fix the system.”

But even with a Democratic-led Congress, passing an immigration bill will be a heavy lift given that Senate Democrats would need to secure 10 GOP votes to pass the bill through the regular legislative process.

The bill would deliver on several of Biden’s campaign promises, including providing a path to citizenship for the young people brought to the U.S by their parents as children, known as Dreamers.

In addition to Dreamers, it would also allow immigrant farmworkers and those with Temporary Protected Status, who came to the U.S. as far back as the 1990s amid natural disasters and other unrest in their countries of origin, to quickly gain green cards. Undocumented individuals living in the U.S. would also be able to seek green cards after five years.

Each of the groups could seek citizenship three years after gaining their green card, creating a maximum eight-year path to citizenship.

But beyond creating a pathway for those already in the U.S., the bill makes efforts to ease immigration timelines abroad, increasing numerous types of visa caps while seeking to reduce wait times for those who may currently wait as long as 20 years to join family in the U.S.

It also changes the term alien in law to noncitizen to “better reflect the President's values on immigration.”

Immigration has already led to roadblocks for Biden after some Republicans stalled his nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security in protest of the president’s plan to pause construction of the border wall.

And Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee have slammed a number of Biden’s immigration executive orders, with ranking member John Katko (R-N.Y.) calling it a “catch and release program” that will lead to an unimaginable surge on the border.

Congressional Democrats signaled Thursday there will be little room for compromise on the bill's big picture mandates.

"We know the path forward will demand negotiations with others. But we are not going to make concessions out of the gate. We're not going to start with 2 million undocumented people instead of 11 million. We will never win an argument that we don't have the courage to make," Menendez said in a call with reporters to unveil the bill.

If the bill passes, it would be the first major immigration bill approved by Congress since 1996, when lawmakers voted to create the enforcement and deportation system largely still in use today.

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/539336-biden-pushes-expanded-pathways-to-citizenship-as-immigration-bill

Twenty days of infamy: the January 2017 red flags the FBI blew past on Russia collusion

Declassified memos details evidence that devastated FBI theories on Trump … but did not stop the probe.

From its earliest moments, the FBI's Russia collusion probe was always fraught with warning signs.

Agents were told Christopher Steele provided faulty information, had likely been compromised by Russian intel disinformation, wanted to defeat Donald Trump, had leaked to the media and was being paid by Hillary Clinton, who herself might be carrying out an epic dirty political trick to vilify Trump with false information to distract from her own scandals.

Those intelligence reports alone should have given agents pause. The fact that Steele had been terminated by the FBI as an informant for leaking also should have weighed heavily.

File

SteeleFBIClosingMemi.pdf

But if ever there were red lights screaming for the FBI to end the counterintelligence probe, they were flashing during a harrowing 20-day window in January 2017 as Barack Obama was leaving office and Trump was coming in.

Between Jan. 4, 2017 and Jan. 24, 2017, nearly every major assumption of the FBI's Russia collusion theory was gutted, according to recently declassified evidence reviewed by Just the News.

Months of investigating Trump adviser Mike Flynn had turned up "no derogatory information," and agents recommended shutting down that part of the inquiry after concluding Flynn wasn't aiding Moscow. Two separate informant recordings of Trump adviser Carter Page — the target of an ongoing FISA warrant — produced stunning evidence of innocence.

U.S. intelligence had concluded a key allegation in the Steele dossier was Russian disinformation. And Steele's primary sub-source — whom the FBI assessed was likely tied to Russian intelligence — discounted much of the information attributed to him in the dossier. Even Director James Comey was telling colleagues there wasn't much corroborated in the dossier.

File

AG Letter to Chairman Graham 9.24.2020.pdf

And yet somehow, some way, the FBI accelerated the investigation even though overwhelming evidence showed — as lead investigative agent Peter Strzok would later text his colleague — there was "no big there, there."

"The evidence yelled stop, and we just hit the go button anyways," a senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the probe told Just the News.

Responsibility for finding out why — and whether any of those decisions were criminal — currently resides with Special Counsel John Durham.

Here is a timeline of evidence available to Durham that Just the News has gleaned from more than 10,000 pages of declassified memos, reports and documents we have reviewed since last summer:

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/thu-twenty-days-infamy-january-2017-red-flags-fbi-blew

Wuhan Institute of Virology authorized to receive U.S. taxpayer funding: NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirmed Tuesday that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is authorized to receive U.S. taxpayer funding for animal research through January 2024, The Daily Caller reported.

The WIV is under fire for allegedly causing the COVID-19 pandemic through a suspected accidental lab leak.

The WIV has already received $600,000 in U.S. taxpayer dollars between 2014 and 2019 for research purposes.

EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization, received a $3.7 million grant from the NIH in 2014 to research bat-based coronaviruses in China, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The grant was terminated by the NIH in April because of EcoHealth Alliance’s relationship with the WIV.

In a letter, the NIH said EcoHealth Alliance’s work in China did not align with “program goals and agency priorities.”

In July, the NIH told EcoHealth Alliance they would restore the grant only if EcoHealth Alliance would allow them to arrange an independent team to investigate the WIV to determine if the COVID-19 virus was present in the lab prior to the first known cases in December 2019, as suspected by the U.S. State Department.

The president of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, told NPR that the NIH’s conditions were “preposterous.”

“I’m not trained as a private detective,” Daszak said. “It’s not really my job to do that.”

Fox News “The Next Revolution” host Steve Hilton revealed evidence last month that linked EcoHealth Alliance to the WIV.

Hilton reported that the president of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, sub-contracted an EcoHealth Alliance project to the WIV.

The WIV then began to genetically engineer new viruses from the feces of bats and infected human cells with the virus.

“The genetic changes they made in the lab, unlocked a highly specific doorway into the human body. The virus that causes COVID-19 uses that same exact doorway,” Hilton said.

Daszak was the only U.S. member in the World Health Organization delegation who investigated the origins of COVID-19 in China. The WHO delegation has yet to release a report on its findings.

Daszak told the White House it should accept the delegation’s conclusion and said it’s highly unlikely the virus could have leaked from the Wuhan lab.

https://saraacarter.com/wuhan-institute-of-virology-authorized-to-receive-u-s-taxpayer-funding-nih/

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Dr. Lee Merrit: The Vaxx Is Preparing World For Mass Death Event

The following interview is an explosive one! It was so explosive, that like my interviews with people like The Sons of Liberty’s health and wellness expert Kate Shemirani, Dr. Andrew Kaufman, Dr. Kevin Corbett and Dr. Carrie Madej, it was scrubbed by YouTube’s Ministry of Truth. However, The New American’s Alex Newman interviewed Dr. Lee Merrit who warns that the COVID Vaxx not only failed in previous animal testing but is also setting the world up for a mass death event.

Every Experimental COVID Jab Is Produced By Official Partners Of World Economics #TheGreatReset

Dr. Carrie Madej On Hydrogels, DARPA Implantable Biosensors & The Coming Vaccine

A History Of Vaccines To The Present Pfizer COVID Vaccine & Their Dangers With Dr. Carrie Madej

Dr. Carrie Madej Confirms In Most Recent Video What Many Of Us Said About Coronavirus Vaccine

#AskTheExperts – Shemirani, Corbett, Madej & Kaufman – The Vaccine Rollout Has Begun, Here’s What You’re Not Being Told!

America’s Frontline Doctor Simone Gold Warns Of Risks In “Experimental COVID Vaccine” (Video)

First, Alex explains why the video was pulled and why supporting outlets like The New American is so important.

https://www.dcclothesline.com/2021/02/18/dr-lee-merrit-the-vaxx-is-preparing-world-for-mass-death-event-video/

Parliament House rape allegations: New text messages reveal trouble for PM’s office

Scott Morrison’s claim that no one in his office knew about the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins has been undermined by new text messages.

Scott Morrison’s claim that no one in his office knew about the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins has been undermined by new text messages revealing his staffer was “mortified” by the story and had pledged to take action.

The text messages were exchanged between Ms Higgins and another Liberal staffer in April, 2019, after she had confided that she had been sexually assaulted but had got “jack-sh*t” support from the Liberal party.

Outraged, the man asked if he could take the matter to a friend who worked for the Prime Minister and ask for help on her behalf.

The man said he did so and on April 3, 2019, just 11 days after the alleged rape in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ office, he reported back to Ms Higgins what happened in a text message.

“Spoke to PMO (Prime Minister’s Office). He was mortified to hear about it and how things have been handled,” the text reads.

“He’s going to discuss with COS (Chief of Staff) — no one else. I flagged need for councillor (sic) and desire to be closer to home during election.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/parliament-house-rape-allegations-new-text-messages-reveal-trouble-for-pms-office/news-story/66f05b6f6820a5ee3d91e283ef2a93b9