"F**king Scandalous" - SAGE Modeller Admits They Don't Model Good Outcomes For Lockdown Policymakers

The latest Sage papers have been published, envisaging anything from 200 to 6,000 deaths a day from Omicron depending on how many more restrictions we’ll get — up to and very much including another lockdown. Earlier today I had an unexpected chance to ask questions of Graham Medley, the chair of the Sage modelling committee.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fking-scandalous-sage-modeller-admits-they-dont-model-good-outcomes-lockdown-policymakers

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1042204/S1439_SPI-M-O_Consensus_Statement.pdf

IT’S A FREE-FOR-ALL – Chinese Cities Are Taking Possession of Evergrande Properties After Giant Debtor Fails to Pay Its Debt

The Evergrande crisis in China has reached new heights. The company was unable to meet obligations so Chinese cities are taking over the company’s possessions this week. It’s a free-for-all.

US News and World Report shared hours ago:

The city of Chengdu has taken back two plots of land from China Evergrande Group the latest move by authorities to seize assets from the cash-strapped property developer.

The land planning authority in the southwestern city said it was taking control of the plots, totalling over 300,000 square meters, as Evergrande had not developed them after holding them for over a decade.

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The notices on the two plots, posted by the authority on Dec. 17, followed the same move by the Haikou city authority early last week, taking back a plot without compensation in the country’s island province of Hainan.

The Chinese government is calling the shots at Evergrande after the real estate giant missed payments on two overseas bonds, triggering a restructuring to deal with its more than $300 billion in liabilities.

The authorities are scrutinising the assets of Evergrande and its wealthy chairman Hui Ka Yan but expect no fire sale for now, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week.

China bankruptcy law is relatively new and per Jiawei Wang, partner at Roedl & Partner:

In China, bankruptcy procedures are mainly regulated by the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, which came into force on June 1st, 2007. As in Germany, bankruptcy procedures in China are filed with the competent court (People’s Court). In practice, the investor may encounter problems. Bankruptcy procedures in China differ greatly from procedures in Germany. The main difference between the two bankruptcy systems is that the concept of delaying bankruptcy does not yet exist in mainland China in a form comparable to that in Germany. The Chinese Enterprise Bankruptcy Law does not set a fixed deadline for when a company must file for bankruptcy. From a German perspective, bankruptcy petitions are often filed too late in China. This is the legal ground on which Evergrande currently still rests.

Moreover, it should not be overlooked that, in its current form, Evergrande’s influence extends beyond China’s borders. The Evergrande Group is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and registered in the Cayman Islands. In this case, the company must comply with the laws of the Cayman Islands, as well as the listing rules of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In this regard, it cannot be ruled out that a mandatory measure, such as delisting, may occur earlier than the bankruptcy filing in China.

What does Evergrande’s liquidity crisis mean for foreign creditors? Unlike Chinese creditors, foreign creditors are mostly institutional investors. Chinese bankruptcy law certainly does not exclude foreign creditors. To this end, the principle of equality applies: neither disadvantage nor advantage. Preference over Chinese creditors or consumers would be an illusion. On the other hand, nerve-racking creditor meetings are likely. It remains interesting to see, if and how Evergrande – and also the state – will overcome the crisis. “Too big to fail” does not exist in the Middle Kingdom.

Chinese localities with massive amounts of off-balance sheet debt are happy to take over Evergrande property. This helps their balance sheet. But the long-term effect is that foreigners will lose their investment in Evergrande and won’t be so eager to invest in the communist nation again. This seems to the be pattern with foreign investments in China.

We are now seeing that cities are just taking Evergrande’s property. Good luck to foreign investors in ever seeing any of their portion of the $300 billion in debt owed by Evergrande.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/free-chinese-cities-taking-possession-evergrande-properties-giant-debtor-fails-pay-debt/

PANIC INCREASES: Democrats in PA Now Suing PA Senate Over Whether It Has the Subpoena Power to Request Voter Data in Senate’s 2020 Election Forensic Audit

The panic continues as the Democrats in Pennsylvania turn to lawfare to prevent the PA Senate’s forensic audit of the 2020 Election results in the state.

Yesterday we reported on the immense fear that the Democrats in Pennsylvania possess in reaction to the PA Senate’s decision to have a forensic audit of the state’s results in the 2020 Election.

The Democrats are now using lawfare in their attempt to prevent an audit of the 2020 Election results in the state. Spotlightpa reports:

An appellate court leveled sharp questions Wednesday in the opening round of a closely watched court case over whether Republicans in the state Senate have the power to subpoena sensitive voter information as part of a partisan inquiry into the 2020 election.

A coalition of Democrats is seeking an order quashing the subpoena and argues it goes too far by requesting information — including the names, addresses, and partial Social Security numbers — for nearly 9 million registered voters in the state.

Republicans who control the state Senate say they believe the sweeping review is necessary to ensure there were no irregularities in the 2020 election, citing the state’s evolving guidance last year about how counties should handle mail-in and other ballots.

Why would the Democrats protest so much? Are they scared the audit will show 400,000 ballot issues like the Arizona Audit did?

If everything was fine, then why not let the audit move forward?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/panic-increases-democrats-pa-now-suing-pa-senate-whether-subpoena-power-request-voter-data-senates-2020-election-forensic-audit/

New COVID Microchip Implanted Under Your Skin Will Show Your Vaccination Status

A Swedish company is promoting its microchips embedded in a person’s arm or hand to verify vaccination records.

The company, Epicenter, posted video showing how their implants will work with the general public.

A video from the South China Post went viral Friday for showing the microchip technology recently introduced by the Stockholm-based startup, Epicenter. The company’s “chief disruptor” Hannes Sjoblad demonstrated how their product, the size of a grain of rice, has been adapted as a Covid passport, implanted under the skin in the arm or hand.

Sjoblad said the company developed the tech for other purposes, but quickly realized it had potential for use as a kind of Covid passport, storing data about vaccine status that can then be read by any device using the near-field communication (NFC) protocol. “Implants are a very versatile technology that can be used for many different things,” he said, adding, “Right now it’s very convenient to have Covid passports always accessible on your implant.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/12/video-new-covid-microchip-implanted-skin-will-show-vaccination-status/

Biden Staff Did 'Inexcusable' Things: Manchin

Update (1034ET): Sen. Joe Manchin said during a local radio interview that Joe Biden's staff did some 'inexcusable' things which drove him to reject the Build Back Better plan.

"They figured surely to God we can move one person. We surely can badger and beat one person up. Surely we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough that they'll just say, 'OK I'll vote for anything,'" Manchin continued. "Well, guess what? I'm from West Virginia. I'm not from where they're from and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they'll be submissive, period."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/our-entire-democracy-line-squad-fires-manchin-killing-build-back-better

World Economic Forum In Davos Postponed For Second Straight Year

Members of the global business elite will no doubt be disappointed to learn that the World Economic Forum in Davos has been cancelled for the second year running due to the concerns tied to the global COVID pandemic (and not - it's worth pointing out - because of all the emissions created by the private air force of PJs that travel to the remote Alpine skiing village for the annual event).

The event, which had been scheduled to take place between Jan. 17 and 21 of 2022, will instead be "postponed", according to a statement released Monday morning by the WEF.

Due to "continued uncertainty" over the omicron variant, the WEF has been forced to rethink its plans and it's now planned to host the meeting in early summer.

"Current pandemic conditions make it extremely difficult to deliver a global in-person meeting,” it said. "Despite the meeting’s stringent health protocols, the transmissibility of omicron and its impact on travel and mobility have made deferral necessary."

Instead, the global thought leaders, political leaders, and business leaders will gather for a scaled back all-online version of the speeches, talks and forums that make up the bulk of the event (which is better known for its influential parties and backroom dealings).

Last year's brouhaha was cancelled because of the pandemic, then tentatively rescheduled to take place in Singapore over the summer, before ultimately being cancelled because of the global pandemic.

The most recent annual meeting netted the Swiss economy around CHF80 million ($87 million) in 2020, with businesses and hotels taking in some CHF63 million in revenues.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/world-economic-forum-davos-postponed-second-straight-year

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/world-economic-forum-davos-postponed-second-straight-year

EU regulator approves fifth Covid-19 vaccine

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the use of a Covid-19 vaccine made by US-based biotech firm Novavax for people aged 18 and older. Trial data suggests the vaccine is 90% effective.

On Monday, the EMA backed the use of Nuvaxovid, a vaccine developed by Novavax, for adults, making it the fifth Covid shot to date to be given the green light by the bloc’s drugs regulator.

“After a thorough evaluation, the EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) concluded by consensus that the data on the vaccine was robust and met the EU criteria for efficacy, safety and quality,” the agency said.

The EMA cited two large studies undertaken by the biotech firm in which the vaccine demonstrated efficacy of around 90% against strains of Covid-19 prevalent during the trials. The body admitted that there was limited data on some variants of concern, including Omicron.

The shot has been billed by some as an important development in overcoming vaccine hesitancy as Novavax’s jab is a protein vaccine which uses the same inoculation technology already used for decades against hepatitis, shingles, and other viral infections.

It requires two doses and is stable at refrigerated temperatures of between two and eight degrees Celsius. Data suggests only mild to moderate side effects are experienced by recipients.

Later on Monday, the European Commission approved the use of the US-developed vaccine. “With five approved vaccines, the EU has a varied portfolio, based both on novel technologies, such as mRNA, and classic ones, like Novavax, which is protein-based,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said on Twitter.

The approval comes amid a sharp wave of new Covid-19 infections, driven by the Omicron variant. The vaccine had been undergoing a rolling review since February, and Novavax said it would start delivering to the EU in the first quarter of 2022.

It is expected that the UK will also approve the jab in the coming weeks. Novavax is yet to apply for approval in the US, where it has had to resolve manufacturing issues.

The firm’s share price jumped by more than 10% on Friday after the World Health Organization approved the shot made on license by the Serum Institute of India.

https://www.rt.com/news/543772-ema-covid19-novavax-jab-coronavirus/

America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) organization, which opposes vaccination and other government measures to stem the spread of Covid-19, has promised to open its own clinics, inviting medical staff and pharmacists to join.

AFLDS and its associated companies are currently under investigation by Congress, while the California medical board is looking into the right-wing organization’s founder, Simone Gold, after mounting calls to strip her of her license in the state.

However, all the pressure and legal woes don’t seem to have affected the group’s plans to further expand its operations in the US.

“AFLDS is opening its first medical clinic in the coming months, with many more planned shortly after,” Gold said in a newsletter, which was distributed among supporters last week. The location of the maiden clinic and the date of its opening were not mentioned in the email.

She reiterated the claim that American medical workers are “having their rights stripped away by corrupt state and government actors” during the pandemic.

The newsletter included a special form so that doctors, looking to care for their patients “without interference,” and pharmacists, for whom “practicing good medicine means more… than bowing to corporate mandates,” could join AFLDS and work at its medical facilities.

Gold was among the Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, and now faces several charges over those events. The emergency physician turned political figure has some 380,000 followers on Twitter.

Her account and the AFLDS page with over 200,000 followers are being used by the group to distribute videos and other materials relating to the supposed dangers of vaccination and coronavirus restrictions.

The probes into the activities of America’s Frontline Doctors and its founder were launched after media revelations in August and September. Time magazine and The Intercept reported that online healthcare companies associated with the group had earned millions of dollars after doctors who back the AFLDS cause prescribed hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19 in thousands of patients through a telemedicine service. It was done despite there being no peer-reviewed studies to prove that those drugs were effective against the virus.

Back then, the chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, James Clyburn, branded AFLDS “predatory actors… touting misinformation and using it to market disproven and potentially hazardous coronavirus treatments.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/543776-aflds-clinnic-vaccine-investigation/

Twitter censors account that alleged another CNN pedophilia scandal

Twitter has suspended an account linked to Project Veritas after the media outlet posted a video accusing a CNN producer of soliciting nude photos of an underage girl and fantasizing about molesting another child.

The account, called ‘@investigatecnn’, was suspended on Saturday for unspecified violations of Twitter’s rules. The move came two days after Project Veritas released a video in which former sex worker Janine Bonanni alleged that a CNN producer – later identified as Rick Saleeby – asked for nude ‘mother-daughter’ pictures with her 15-year-old child and spoke of the sexual things he wanted to do with the 14-year-old daughter of his fiancé.

Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe said the suspension came shortly after his investigative journalism outlet released Saleeby’s name – with the permission of his now ex- fiancé. The video of O’Keefe’s interview with Bonanni had been viewed about 1.3 million times.

Saleeby is a producer for CNN’s ‘The Lead With Jake Tapper’. O’Keefe said Tapper’s name was trending on Twitter at the time the social media giant suspended the account that posted the video. Saleeby’s ex-fiancé sent a note to Project Veritas thanking the outlet for having “saved us all from him.” She added that she was pushing for the producer to be criminally charged.

“The real question is, is CNN putting pressure on Twitter to take down this video?” O’Keefe said. “This is about potential pedophilia, potential abuse against an underage girl.” CNN is yet to comment on the case.

https://www.rt.com/usa/543705-twitter-censors-cnn-pedo-scandal/

Anti-vaxxers said to book Covid jab appointments & not show up

Anti-vaxxers have been booking up Covid-19 vaccine appointments and then not turning up to get jabbed, according to the Telegraph, as Britain rushes to vaccinate millions against Omicron.

Appointments at mass vaccination centers, including Wembley Stadium which is being used to roll out thousands of shots before Christmas, are being block-booked by people who have no intention of getting inoculated, according to the Telegraph on Sunday.

The paper claimed that Wembley Stadium, where the anti-vaxxers had reportedly been employing their tactic, was quiet on Sunday morning. Staff told the Telegraph that patients had not arrived for their bookings and the center was “really quiet” by mid-morning.

However, a spokesman for North West London Integrated Care System said that the center would still make a big contribution to the UK’s inoculation effort. “Any suspected disruption has been offset by the number of walk-ins, including thousands of local residents, many of whom have made a big step in coming forwards to start their vaccination journey, as well as very high numbers of boosters,” the spokesperson stated.

The site was hoping to inoculate 10,000 people on Sunday, but only 2,500 had been administered by mid-afternoon, according to the Telegraph. It is understood that anti-vaxxers have employed similar tactics at other vaccination sites around the country.

The UK has administered more than 28 million boosters to fight back against the spread of the Omicron variant during the festive season. More than 900,000 shots were administered on Saturday alone.

Health Minister Sajid Javid has said that nine of out 10 patients needing the most care against Covid-19 were unvaccinated. “And I just cannot emphasise enough the impact that they are having on the rest of society,” he stated.

https://www.rt.com/uk/543764-anti-vaccine-britain-covid19-omicron/