>This is the moment an Australian man brutally beat a female police officer in Sydney while she was enforcing the city's strict lockdown rules.
Prince Philip's will to remain sealed for 90 years
The Duke of Edinburgh's will is to remain secret for at least 90 years, as UK High Court's most senior family judge Andrew McFarlane said is "convention" that, after the death of a senior member of the Royal Family, the courts are asked to seal their wills. McFarlane wrote in his ruling that the decision answers the "need to enhance the protection" and "maintain the dignity of the Sovereign" and her family.
https://twitter.com/SongbirdTam_83
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Michael Gunner
Freedom Pass
US based film crew with 1000s of extras and production being filmed in Melbourne CBD
https://www.9news.com.au/national/auukus-australia-us-and-uk-reportedly-join-to-share-advanced-tech-including-nuclear-submarines/c015a5ce-b1d4-40b9-a582-0bb4097f547c
Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines in historic security pact with US and UK
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has issued a stark warning about the challenges Australia faces, after the announcement of the historic AUKUS alliance this morning.
"The relatively benign security environment we have enjoyed for many decades in our region is behind us," he said today, hours after the morning announcement alongside US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"We have entered, no doubt, a new era with new challenges for Australia and for our partners and friends and countries right across our region."
>Freedom Pass
https://www.tga.gov.au/media-release/new-restrictions-prescribing-ivermectin-covid-19
New restrictions on prescribing ivermectin for COVID-19
Today, the TGA, acting on the advice of the Advisory Committee for Medicines Scheduling, has placed new restrictions on the prescribing of oral ivermectin. General practitioners are now only able to prescribe ivermectin for TGA-approved conditions (indications) - scabies and certain parasitic infections. Certain specialists including infectious disease physicians, dermatologists, gastroenterologists and hepatologists (liver disease specialists) will be permitted to prescribe ivermectin for other unapproved indications if they believe it is appropriate for a particular patient.
These changes have been introduced because of concerns with the prescribing of oral ivermectin for the claimed prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Ivermectin is not approved for use in COVID-19 in Australia or in other developed countries, and its use by the general public for COVID-19 is currently strongly discouraged by the National COVID Clinical Evidence Taskforce, the World Health Organisation and the US Food and Drug Administration.
Firstly, there are a number of significant public health risks associated with taking ivermectin in an attempt to prevent COVID-19 infection rather than getting vaccinated. Individuals who believe that they are protected from infection by taking ivermectin may choose not to get tested or to seek medical care if they experience symptoms. Doing so has the potential to spread the risk of COVID-19 infection throughout the community.
Secondly, the doses of ivermectin that are being advocated for use in unreliable social media posts and other sources for COVID-19 are significantly higher than those approved and found safe for scabies or parasite treatment. These higher doses can be associated with serious adverse effects, including severe nausea, vomiting, dizziness, neurological effects such as dizziness, seizures and coma.
Finally, there has been a 3-4-fold increased dispensing of ivermectin prescriptions in recent months, leading to national and local shortages for those who need the medicine for scabies and parasite infections. It is believed that this is due to recent prescribing and dispensing for unapproved uses, such as COVID-19. Such shortages can disproportionately impact vulnerable people, including those in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
There is only one TGA approved oral ivermectin product, Stromectol ivermectin 3mg tablet blister pack which is indicated for the treatment of river blindness (onchocerciasis), threadworm of the intestines (intestinal strongyloidiasis) and scabies.
All medical practitioners can continue to prescribe oral ivermectin for the approved indications. However, prescribing of oral ivermectin for indications that are not approved is now limited to certain specialists.
https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2021/answers-to-common-questions-about-covid-19-vaccines-and-blood-platelet-plasma-donation-eligibility.html
Q: Are individuals who received a COVID-19 vaccine eligible to give COVID-19 convalescent plasma?
A: The FDA revised its convalescent plasma donor eligibility guidance on February 11 specifically to ensure that convalescent plasma donors have sufficient levels of antibodies as a result of their illness or immune response to a COVID-19 infection versus just the vaccine. The FDA allows people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine to donate dedicated COVID-19 convalescent plasma within six months of their infection of the virus.
The Red Cross discontinued dedicated COVID-19 convalescent plasma donations on March 26 due to declining hospital demand and sufficient industry supply. The Red Cross tests all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies. Plasma from routine blood and platelet donations that test positive for high-levels of antibodies, and meets other requirements, may be used as convalescent plasma to meet potential future needs of COVID-19 patients.
One of the Red Cross requirements for plasma from routine blood and platelet donations that test positive for high-levels of antibodies to be used as convalescent plasma is that it must be from a donor that has not received a COVID-19 vaccine. This is to ensure that antibodies collected from donors have sufficient antibodies directly related to their immune response to a COVID-19 infection and not just the vaccine, as antibodies from an infection and antibodies from a vaccine are not the same.
Q: What is the different between COVID-19 antibodies that you develop from exposure to the virus and antibodies you develop as a reaction to the vaccine?
A: Antibodies that an individual produces when they’ve been exposed to the virus are slightly different from the antibodies that an individual produces when they’ve been vaccinated. When an individual has been infected with a virus, they produce antibodies to multiple regions of a virus, including the nucleocapsid protein. An individual who has received a COVID-19 vaccine will produce antibodies to the spike protein of the virus, but not the nucleocapsid protein, which will only occur in the event of a COVID-19 infection.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/ato-pilots-facial-verification-on-mygovid-569488
ATO pilots facial verification on myGovID
Public beta gets underway.
The Australian Taxation Office has quietly started trialling face verification technology from UK company iProov in its myGovID digital identity credentialing app to verify the identity of users.
iTnews can reveal the “liveness solution” public beta kicked off last week, allowing users to create a “strong” digital identity for the first time.
A strong identity, otherwise known as identity proofing level three (IP3), is the highest level of verification expected to be offered through the app, which has been available since mid-2019.
IP3 requires a “high confidence in the claimed identity and is indented for services with a risk of services consequence from fraud”, according to the trusted digital identity framework (TDIF).
It will be necessary for those myGovID users wanting to access the complete range of online services that are eventually offered by the government.
The ATO, which manages myGovID on behalf of the federal government, has been working to integrate liveness detection since entering a $10 million deal with iProov in February.
Having finished building myGovID IP3 by July, the national revenue agency has spent at least the past two months testing the solution privately.
A spokesperson told iTnews the “public beta commenced on August 31 2021 and is available to all myGovID users via the Apple and Google app stores”.
Users wanting a strong myGovID are required to verify their passport, birth certificate or citizenship certificate and driver’s licence or Medicare card.
The other identity levels are “standard”, which requires users to verify at least two identity documents, and “basic”, which requires one identity document or less.
For "strong", once the three documents are verified, users are asked to complete a face verification check against their passport photo using the liveness detection solution.
At this point, users can perform a face scan by taking a series of photos against different coloured backgrounds to confirm that they are live and physically present.
“This one-off face verification process scans your face to check that you are a real person, the right person and verifying in real-time,” the spokesperson said.
“The face verification is a one-to-one match and the process is only completed with a user’s consent.”
The spokesperson added that the public beta follows the successful TDIF accreditation for myGovID to offer IP3 which ensures the service adheres to strict privacy and security safeguards”.
iTnews was able to verify a photo in its tests of the solution, but encountered error messages on several occasions.
It is possible the errors messages occur when an image is rejected by the solution.
The ATO is planning to continue to “test, iterate and take on feedback to inform any further improvements” to myGovID before concluding the beta.
myGovID can now be used to access 78 online services from 30 federal and state government agencies, including myGov.
More than 2.7 million myGovID identities have been created to date.
Last week, iTnews revealed the ATO had extended its digital identity contract with Accenture at a cost of $39 million, quadrupling the value of the existing contract.
The government set aside $256.6 million for the ongoing development of the digital identity system as part of the digital business plan in last year’s budget.
Maybe they forgot to give him the placebo.
"growin memes right outta the ground"
>Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of having a will?
https://apnews.com/article/canada-health-elections-toronto-coronavirus-pandemic-ad9b4a4fb7ef6d476ae80dc8ff9cf31f
To unseat Trudeau, Conservative leader seeks middle ground
The man who could oust Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from power advertised himself a year ago as a “true-blue conservative.” He became Conservative Party leader with a pledge to “take back Canada” - and almost immediately started working to modernize the party by pushing it toward the political center.
Erin O’Toole, a military veteran and a member of Parliament for nine years, has only quickened his pace while campaigning for Canada’s snap federal election. Despite criticism that the former lawyer would say and do anything to get elected, polls show O’Toole’s Conservatives could defeat Trudeau’s Liberal Party on Monday.
O’Toole’s strategy, which has included disavowing positions held dear by his party’s base on issues such as climate change, guns and balanced budgets, is designed to appeal to a broader cross-section of voters in a country that tends to be far more liberal than its southern neighbor. Whether moderate Canadians believe O’Toole is the progressive conservative he claims to be has become a central question of the election campaign.
“O’Toole tells Conservative friends what he’s really going to do and pretending to Canadians something completely different,” Trudeau said during a campaign stop in Montreal on Thursday. “Whether it’s been on guns, on the environment or whether its been on vaccines, Mr. O’Toole has been misleading Canadians, not leading.”
A Conservative win would represent a rebuke of Trudeau, 49, who called the election despite the pandemic in hopes of shoring up his minority government but now is at risk of losing office to the head of the opposition, a politician with a fraction of the name recognition.
John Baird, a former Conservative foreign minister, said O’Toole is the opposite of Trudeau, who has made the cover of Rolling Stone and been featured in Vogue magazine.
“He’s not the sizzle, he’s the steak,” Baird said of the Conservative Party chief.
O’Toole calls himself a Conservative leader with a new style and says he rejects the politics of celebrity and division. He describes his views as pro-abortion rights and pro-LGBTQ rights. He told the crowd at a Quebec campaign event: “You’ve been let down by all parties of all stripes, mine included, at times.”
“From the first day of my leadership, my priority has been to a build a Conservative movement where every Canadian can feel at home: inclusive, diverse, forward-looking, progressive, worker-friendly,” O’Toole said Wednesday. “We’re not your dad’s Conservative Party anymore.”
That’s dramatically different language from what O’Toole used during his bid to become Conservative Party leader last year. O’Toole won the post with the support of social conservatives and gun enthusiasts, and by disparaging a centrist opponent’s Conservative credentials.
Since then, many of his actions more closely resemble those of the leadership candidate he beat than of a right-wing standard-bearer.
For example, he reversed the party’s position on guns at the beginning of the month, contradicting the Conservative platform he put out in August by pledging to maintain Trudeau’s list of prohibited firearms. O’Toole also now favors a carbon tax to fight climate change, a policy of Trudeau’s which his party vehemently opposed for years and O’Toole had promised to overturn.
He also tempered his support for allowing health care workers to exercise so-called “conscience rights” by refusing to participate in abortions, assisted suicide or other procedures on moral or religious grounds.
Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, said an O’Toole victory would give moderate Republicans in the United States evidence to argue that a more centrist, big tent party can win elections.
““This is an indication that if you run to the center, which the Republicans always used to do, it works,” Bothwell said. “If I were a moderate conservative, I’d be pleased, and I would point to it as much as I could.”
Ian Brodie, a University of Calgary professor who served as chief of staff to former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said he thinks hatred of Trudeau will prevent the most conservative voters from abandoning O’Toole on Monday.
Brodie said many Conservatives in Western Canada think Trudeau, who has talked about a day when oil is not needed, has a condescending view of the oil industry that is central to Alberta’s economic vitality.
“I can’t overstate how much people want to get rid of Trudeau here, so it’s all hands on deck,” he said.
Political observers have been quick to note O’Toole’s new stripes. Robyn Urback, a columnist for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, wrote, “If there are still those who don’t like Mr. O’Toole’s position on something, well, all they have to do is wait a few minutes.”
University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman described O’Toole as “two faced” but said the party leader’s policy reversals do not seem to have registered with voters even though “everyone is calling him out on it.”
But Wiseman thinks that O’Toole not requiring Conservative candidates to get vaccinated against the coronavirus and refusing to say how many of them are not could cost him Monday, especially after a provincial Conservative government in Alberta apologized this week for mishandling the pandemic.
“The Conservative position on vaccinations is hurting the party and O’Toole because growing numbers of the vaccinated are becoming increasingly upset with those who refuse to get vaccinated,” the political scientist said.
Like Trudeau, the son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, O’Toole was born in Montreal and is the son of a longtime politician. His father served as a Conservative member of Ontario’s provincial legislature for almost 20 years.
O’Toole’s mother died of breast cancer when he was 9. After his father remarried, he grew up the oldest in a blended family with five children. Influenced by his father’s public service, he entered the military at 18 and went on to attend the Royal Military College of Canada.
One of his professors there, Lubomyr Luciuk, said O’Toole impressed him.
“Was he my most intelligent student? No,” Luciuk said. “But he was one who asked good questions and listened and learned. He wasn’t afraid to put himself forward and say, ‘What should I read about this?’”
After graduating in 1995, O’Toole was commissioned as a Canadian Air Force officer. He flew on a Sea King helicopter as a navigator for naval search and rescues, and eventually left military service for law school.
After earning his degree, O’Toole worked on Canada’s version of Wall Street in Toronto. He first was elected to Parliament in 2012, representing a suburban district outside Toronto, and three years later joined Harper’s Cabinet as minister of veteran affairs.
He lost a bid to become party leader in 2017 but won last year with help from the ranked-choice voting system the Conservative Party uses. Longtime friends say the married father of two is neither an ideologue nor a Trump-style populist.
Luciuk said he thinks his former student’s lack of celebrity appeals to Canadians after more than five years of Trudeau’s leadership.
“He’s not debonair. You don’t say, ‘Oh wow, what a handsome man.’ He’s not,” the professor said. “I see a pretty ordinary guy, but most of us are. He’s resonating with people because he’s got commonsense, he’s pragmatic. He’s not doctrinaire. He’s not beholden to some of the wingnuts, frankly, who are in the Conservative Party.”
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-china-joint-chiefs-of-staff-1b23ba339e50a7c17c43c1281a0b4e04
Milley: Calls to China were ‘perfectly’ within scope of job
The top U.S. military officer said Friday that calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the final stormy months of Donald Trump’s presidency were “perfectly within the duties and responsibilities” of his job.
In his first public comments on the conversations, Gen. Mark Milley said such calls are “routine” and were done “to reassure both allies and adversaries in this case in order to ensure strategic stability.” The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to The Associated Press and another reporter traveling with him to Europe.
Milley has been at the center of a firestorm amid reports he made two calls to Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army to assure him that the United States was not going to suddenly go to war with or attack China.
Descriptions of the calls made last October and in January were first aired in excerpts from the forthcoming book “Peril” by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. The book says Milley told Li that he would warn Li in the event of an attack.
Milley on Friday offered only a brief defense of his calls, saying he plans a deeper discussion about the matter for Congress when he testifies at a hearing later in September.
“I think it’s best that I reserve my comments on the record until I do that in front of the lawmakers who have the lawful responsibility to oversee the U.S. military,” Milley said. “I’ll go into any level of detail Congress wants to go into in a couple of weeks.”
Milley and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are scheduled to testify Sept. 28 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, in what initially was going to be a hearing on the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation of Americans, Afghans and others from that country.
Now, however, Milley is expected to face tough questioning on the telephone calls, which came during Trump’s turbulent last months in office as he challenged the results of the 2020 election. The second call, on Jan. 8, came two days after a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s White House victory.
A special House committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol has asked for details about Milley’s calls. U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., leaders of the committee, have also sought records related to the November election, the transfer of power from Trump to Biden and the riot.
>Milley: Calls to China were ‘perfectly’ within scope of job
Milley was appointed Joint Chiefs chairman by Trump in 2019 and has remained in that post in the Biden administration. As chairman, Milley is the top military adviser to the president and to the defense secretary.
The White House and the Pentagon chief have said they continue to have full trust and confidence in Milley.
The new book says Milley, fearful of Trump’s actions late in his term, twice called his Chinese counterpart to assure him that the U.S. was not going to attack China. One call took place on Oct. 30, four days before the American election. The second call was on Jan. 8, less than two weeks before Biden’s inauguration and two days after the insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of Trump.
Some U.S. lawmakers have said Milley overstepped his authority, and they have called for Biden to fire him. Trump blasted Milley as treasonous, called him “a complete nutjob” and said Milley “never told me about calls being made to China.”
Biden told reporters after the disclosures in the book that “I have great confidence in Gen. Milley.”
Milley’s office, in a statement this week, said the calls were intended to convey “reassurance” to the Chinese military and were in line with his responsibilities as Joint Chiefs chairman.
The statement from Milley spokesman Col. Dave Butler also said that the calls were “staffed, coordinated and communicated” with the Pentagon and other federal agencies.
According to the book, which the AP obtained, Milley assured his Chinese counterpart in the first call that “the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay.” It said he told Li, “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”
“If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise,” Milley reportedly said.
Milley spoke with a number of other military leaders around the world after the Jan. 6 riot; they included leaders from the United Kingdom, Russia and Pakistan. A description of those calls in January referred to “several” other counterparts that Milley spoke to with similar messages of reassurance that the U.S. government was strong and in control.
The second call was meant to placate Chinese fears about the events of Jan. 6. But the book reports that Li wasn’t as easily assuaged, even after Milley promised him: “We are 100 percent steady. Everything’s fine. But democracy can be sloppy sometimes.”
In response to the book, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., urged Biden to fire Milley, saying the general worked to “actively undermine” the American commander in chief, Trump.
>“If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise,” Milley reportedly said.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-elections-campaigns-capitol-siege-51f4727ad3e1f16dbab612e310e91bb8
Organizer of Saturday rally looks to rewrite Jan. 6 history
The architect of a Washington protest planned for Saturday that aims to rewrite history about the violent January assault on the U.S. Capitol is hardly a household name.
Matt Braynard worked as an analyst for the Republican Party, crunched data for a small election firm and later started a consulting business that attracted few federal clients, records show. He started a nonprofit after he was dismissed by Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign following several months on the job, but struggled to raise money. The group’s tax-exempt status was revoked last year.
But Braynard’s fortunes changed abruptly after Trump’s 2020 election loss. He joined an aggrieved group of Trump allies seeking to overturn the election — and in the process reaped recognition, lucrative fees and a fundraising windfall that enabled him to rekindle his nonprofit.
Now, Braynard and his group, Look Ahead America, are using his newfound platform and resources to present an alternate history of the Jan. 6 attack that was meant to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory, rebranding those who were charged as “political prisoners.”
Although many members of Congress, including those who are allied with Braynard’s cause, have been mum on whether they will attend Saturday’s protest, the event has put law enforcement on edge, led to stepped-up security measures and created worries that members of the same extremist groups that were present on Jan 6. could also be in attendance.
How much of a draw his “Justice for J6” rally ends up being will test the reach and potency of the emerging far-right movement, as well as the extent of Braynard’s own reach.
Braynard, who is in his 40s, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. The Associated Press earlier declined to accept his condition that an interview of him be broadcast live.
But a review of court records, campaign finance disclosures and social media postings, as well as Braynard’s past interviews with journalists that he has posted online, document his efforts to build his influence over the past year, culminating in Saturday’s event.
“At no point will I cancel this rally,” Braynard told WTOP radio in Washington. “This is happening even if I’m there by myself with a megaphone.”
The seeds of the rally were planted the day after the 2020 election as Trump made false claims of widespread voter fraud, which were later rejected by numerous courts, election officials and his own attorney general at the time, William Barr.
Braynard suggested on Twitter that there could have been fraud in the election, while promoting an online fundraiser he created to defray the cost of analyzing voting data in states where the Trump campaign insisted it was winning.
He told BuzzFeed News in a summer interview that he brought some early findings to the attention of the Trump campaign. The campaign, which had declined to rehire him earlier in the 2020 campaign as a low-level field staffer, initially agreed to hear him out. But after he arrived at campaign headquarters, campaign officials changed their minds, he said.
“I stood on the sidewalk for an hour while they fought inside about whether or not to let me in,” he said. “Ultimately, I was told I would not be let in and I went home.”
His online fundraising, however, took off. After the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.com took down an early effort, citing misleading information, Braynard migrated to an conservative friendly site and quickly took in over $675,000.
A subsequent report he wrote on his findings — which one expert excoriated as “riddled with errors” and violating “basic standards for scientific evidence” — was embraced by Trump’s allies and served as an evidentiary cornerstone in numerous court cases that were later dismissed.
His participation also earned him at least $230,000 in consulting fees, court records show.
Since then, Braynard has used the influx of resources to revive Look Ahead America and reapply for tax-exempt status, which has yet to be approved, according to an IRS database. The group now lists 11 staffers on its website.
The Jan. 6 attack quickly became an organizing principle for Braynard’s efforts.
His first post after creating an account on the conservative-friendly social media site Telegram came days after the attack and featured a picture of the 1933 fire at Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, which the Nazi party used as a pretext to seize power. Braynard’s caption: “The real coup is being conducted by Silicon Valley right now,” a reference to a widespread complaint by conservatives that they are being silenced on social media.
Since then, he’s shared a link to a fundraiser for Ethan Nordean, a member of the Proud Boys extremist group, who was charged in the attack. “If you don’t share this post I don’t ever want to hear y’all say you’re fighting back against this oppressive government,” he wrote.
Look Ahead America also tweeted from its account last February that the group would be present at the America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, which was a one-day event hosted by Nick Fuentes, a far-right internet personality who has promoted white supremacist beliefs.
But Braynard has also sought to make inroads with more mainstream conservatives.
Look Ahead America was a sponsor at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering that typically draws Republican presidential contenders. The group garnered considerable attention for a large golden statue of a “surfer” Trump, complete with red, white and blue shorts, that was part of their booth.
But they have also done things to irk organizers of the conference.
After Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has repeatedly trafficked in conspiracy theories and endorsed violence against Democrats, wasn’t recognized at the event, Look Ahead America claimed credit for “uncancelling” her by giving her a speaking slot at one of their side events.
At a subsequent CPAC event in Texas in July, Look Ahead America billed a speech at a side event by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as an “official” CPAC event. Gaetz is a pro-Trump provocateur under federal investigation for sex trafficking allegations; he has denied wrongdoing.
After CPAC organizers released a statement saying Look Ahead America’s Gaetz event wasn’t part of the official programming, Braynard tweeted that was a “100% Lie” because “the room/event was part of our sponsor package.”
He has once again thrust himself into the spotlight, this time with Saturday’s rally, and has repeatedly downplayed the possibility of violence there.
Trump has not endorsed the rally but did release a statement Thursday claiming people charged in the Jan. 6 attack are “being persecuted so unfairly.”
Still, Republicans in Congress appear to be keeping their distance.
So far, the only guest speakers Braynard has announced are clients of his who are running against sitting GOP members of Congress who voted to impeach Trump. And the permit granted for the rally allows it to be no larger than 700 people, according to a person who was briefed on the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential details.
“I don’t know what it is,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said when asked about the event.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who along with Cruz led the Jan. 6 objections to Biden’s certification, also dismissed the idea.
“I’m not going,” Hawley said. “I’m not following it at all.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, has voiced sympathy for those charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack. But Johnson, who said he would not be attending Saturday’s event, offered some advice to those who are.
“Don’t break any laws whatsoever.”
https://apnews.com/article/simone-biles-gymnastics-sexual-abuse-larry-nassar-cb63ffbfd09d9d4ffe21561aa63d3ca5
Biles: FBI turned ‘blind eye’ to reports of gymnasts’ abuse
Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles told Congress in forceful testimony Wednesday that federal law enforcement and gymnastics officials turned a “blind eye” to USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of her and hundreds of other women.
Biles told the Senate Judiciary Committee that “enough is enough” as she and three other U.S. gymnasts spoke in stark emotional terms about the lasting toll Nassar’s crimes have taken on their lives. In response, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was “deeply and profoundly sorry” for delays in Nassar’s prosecution and the pain it caused.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion — widely considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time — said she “can imagine no place that I would be less comfortable right now than sitting here in front of you.” She declared herself a survivor of sexual abuse.
“I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse,” Biles said through tears. In addition to failures of the FBI, she said USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee “knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge.”
https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-capitol-siege-dd924dfb82b0d6029d4d04156fd9936d
EXPLAINER: Congress asks tech companies for Jan. 6 records
A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection has requested that telecommunications and social media companies preserve the personal communications of hundreds of people who may have somehow been connected to the attack. It’s a sweeping public demand from Congress that is rare, if not unprecedented, in its breadth and could put the companies in a tricky position as they balance political and privacy interests.
The committee, which is just beginning its probe, did not ask the 35 companies to turn over the records — yet. In letters Monday, the panel asked them to confidentially save the records as part of the investigation into the violent mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters who stormed the building that day and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
Republicans immediately criticized the request, which includes Trump himself, along with members of his family and several Republican lawmakers, according to a person familiar with the confidential request and who requested anonymity to discuss it.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-business-ap-fact-check-economy-dbd2db08a3c0e6d3b75116e65b563652
AP FACT CHECK: Biden’s shaky claims on jobs, gasoline
BIDEN: “We’re also going after the bad actors and pandemic profiteers in our economy. There’s a lot of evidence gas prices should be going down, but they haven’t. We’re taking a close look at that.”
THE FACTS: There actually is little evidence something nefarious is behind the higher gasoline prices, as Biden suggests.
https://apnews.com/article/business-science-health-coronavirus-pandemic-1cd1cf6a5c5c02b63f8a7324807a59f1
FDA panel is first key test for Biden COVID-19 booster plan
The Biden administration’s embattled plan to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans faced its first major hurdle Friday as a government advisory panel met to decide whether to endorse extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Scientists inside and outside the government have been divided in recent days over the need for boosters and who should get them, and the World Health Organization has strongly objected to rich nations giving a third round of shots when poor countries don’t have enough vaccine for their first.
The panel, made up of outside experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration, weighed a less than clear-cut case: While research suggests immunity levels in those who have been vaccinated wane over time and boosters can reverse that, the Pfizer vaccine is still highly protective against severe illness and death, even amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
>RELEASE THE TRANSCIPT!
Secretary of Defense & Joint Chiefs Chair Respond to Rep. Matt Gaetz on Critical Race Theory
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Extremism & Critical Race Theory: "I trust my leadership from top to bottom that they will give me fair and balanced and unvarnished input. And for you to say that people are telling me what I want to hear. I get it but I'm smart enough to know…"
Gen. Mark Milley also responds: "I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned, non-commissioned officers of being quote woke or something else"
>We've all had blood tests throughout our lives one way or another so there must be some sort of DNA record of us somewhere, with or without our consent.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/crwd-stock-has-plenty-of-momentum-even-after-logging-huge-gains-1030797761
CrowdStrike Stock Has Lots of Momentum Behind It and Should Keep Adding Value
Few names gained more than CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) stock over the summer months.
The company’s share price has risen 45% since mid-May when the hack on the Colonial Pipeline threatened America’s energy supply and drove home the growing importance of cybersecurity.
Now trading at $265 a share, and up 105% over the past 52-weeks, many shareholders and analysts are rightfully wondering if CRWD stock has any gas left in the tank or is due for a pullback this fall.
The good news for current shareholders and investors who have been circling CRWD stock is that the professional analysts on Wall Street forecast more growth ahead for the shares.
A Closer Look at CRWD Stock
The median price target on CrowdStrike stock is currently $313, suggesting that the share price could climb 15% higher from current levels over the next 12 months.
The continued optimism comes from the fact that CrowdStrike continues to innovate its cybersecurity offerings and take market share in an extremely competitive sector.
In its most recent quarterly results, CrowdStrike reported that its revenue grew 70% year-over-year to $337.7 million, beating analysts’ estimates by nearly $15 million.
Subscription revenue for its cybersecurity products climbed 71% higher and accounted for 94% of its top line revenue. The company’s net income grew an impressive 228% to $25.9 million, or $0.11 per share, also beating analysts’ forecasts.
CrowdStrike continues to lead on innovation in the cybersecurity space. Its cloud-based cybersecurity solutions are miles ahead of the older, primarily software-based cybersecurity products that are peddled by its competitors.
CrowdStrike employs artificial intelligence and behavioral techniques to achieve best-in-class threat detection, enabling its marquee “Falcon” platform to block even the most advanced cyberattacks and online threats.
NASDAQ Inclusion
Growth and innovative products have helped grow CRWD stock 313% since the company’s 2019 initial public offering (IPO).
Now, a catalyst for the latest rally in the share price has also been CrowdStrike’s upcoming inclusion in the technology-focused NASDAQ 100 stock index.
CrowdStrike stock will need to be bought by large institutional investors as well as mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the index or seek to replicate its performance.
That means CrowdStrike stock will be more widely held than it is today over the coming months.
Additionally, CrowdStrike continues to grow its product offerings and remains on the bleeding edge of cybersecurity.
In the past two years, the company has grown the modules it offers clients to 19 from 10. CrowdStrike has also acquired identity provider Preempt Security and log management specialist Humio.
These strategic acquisitions have enabled CrowdStrike to improve its signature Falcon cybersecurity platform.
Earlier this year, CrowdStrike debuted “Falcon X Recon” to help clients monitor threats on the dark web, as well as “Falcon Horizon” that automates some parts of cloud security for corporations.
CrowdStrike currently sees its addressable market at $36 billion but forecasts that it could grow to as much as $106 billion by 2025, providing a big future opportunity for the fast-growing technology company.
Buy CRWD Stock for the Long-Term
There’s no question that CRWD stock has run far in a short period of time, but the company continues to demonstrate that it is nimble, innovative and fast-growing.
As such, Wall Street remains bullish on CrowdStrike’s future and sees the company’s share price continuing to appreciate over the next year.
With a potential 15% gain possible and plenty of momentum behind it, CrowdStrike’s shares are a definite buy. Investors can hold this stock in their portfolio and benefit from it over the long term.
>23&me
https://www.fastcompany.com/3018598/for-99-this-ceo-can-tell-you-what-might-kill-you-inside-23andme-founder-anne-wojcickis-dna-r
Inside 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki’s $99 DNA Revolution
The $126 million genetic-testing company can tell you how to live smarter, better, and longer. It can also tell you what might kill you.
There’s a lot you can do for your child with 99 dollars.
You can purchase 14 gallons of organic milk or 396 lollipops. You can give her 33 rides on the Ferris wheel at the state fair, or you can get him a couple of violin lessons. You could put the money in a savings account, you could buy her her very own LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer digital learning tablet, or you could buy enough pizzas to feed all of her friends on the block. So many options, so many choices.
I took that money and got my daughter’s genes tested, ordering up an analysis of the composition of her very small self and its odds of living a long and healthy life. And in so doing, I in some small way tied her fate to the success of the company doing the analysis, a genetic-testing startup called 23andMe in Mountain View, California.
Last May, Angelina Jolie revealed in a New York Times op-ed that she had chosen to have a double mastectomy after testing positive for a likely lethal BRCA1 mutation. Her generous manifesto spoke to the value of knowledge and the ability to act upon it. That morning, emails, texts, and calls came pouring in for Anne Wojcicki, founder and CEO of 23andMe. “Did you see this? Did you see this? Do you test for that?” Yes, she had seen it. Yes, her company might test for it (Jolie’s exact mutation was not disclosed)–it tests hundreds of possible risk associations, including the three most common BRCA1 and 2 mutations. “Angelina Jolie talking about a technical subject and saying, ‘I did this, you can do this’ is a great thing for us,” says Wojcicki. “She did something to prevent disease, and that’s exactly what we want people thinking about.”
Wojcicki has been thinking deeply about this for years. A former Wall Streeter with a degree in biology, she has parlayed a personal interest in wellness into a thriving, potentially groundbreaking business. Since founding 23andMe in 2006–with the backing of an impressive list of investors including her husband, Sergey Brin, and the company he then ran, Google–she has been working toward two goals: bringing the power of genetic testing to everyday consumers so they can better manage their own health care, and using the aggregated data from those tests to help doctors, scientists, hospitals, and researchers discover new cures for diseases that emanate from troublesome genetic mutations. (Wojcicki and Brin announced their separation in August. A 23andMe spokesperson says, “He remains committed to the company.”) It has not been a business for the faint of heart–the three other similarly positioned startups in the field have changed course–but Wojcicki has deep pockets, having raised more than $126 million since 23andMe’s inception, with Yuri Milner, the Russian billionaire who’s invested in Facebook, Twitter, and Airbnb, joining as a backer last December.
>her husband, Sergey Brin, and the company he then ran, Google
Sergey Brin, Director at Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), made a large insider sell on September 9, according to a new SEC filing.
What Happened: A Form 4 filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday showed thatBrin sold 13,889 shares of Alphabet at a price of $2901.68 per share. The total transaction amounted to $40,307,198.
Following the transaction, Brin still owns 18,993,601 shares of the company, worth $54,689,794,847.
Alphabet shares are trading up 0.35% at $2879.38 at the time of this writing on Tuesday morning.
>Brin still owns 18,993,601 shares of the company, worth $54,689,794,847
Could he lend Rumsfeld $2,300,000,000,000?
>long weekend at the beach
https://downdetector.com/
>Stew Peters is a clown
You guys ready?
>Pfizer Recalls All Chantix Stop-Smoking Medication Over Cancer Concerns
>Good morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZsNxvLTiT8