This week the WEF will be holding a “virtual Davos” where they brag “The global COVID-19 crisis has acted as a worldwide accelerator for the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.”

https://www.weforum.org/events/the-davos-agenda-2022

The WEF also promises that key organizations including WHO, IMF and the World Bank are working together in order to provide extra financial support to the WHO and its COVAX partners for “providing all countries with equal access to vaccination.”

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/a-new-commitment-for-vaccine-equity-and-defeating-the-pandemic/

Walmart Creates Its Own Cryptocurrency, NFTs, Enters Metaverse With Sales Of Virtual Goods

The last time Walmart was reportedly entering the crypto space, it turned out to be a giant Litecoin-promoting hack, that was quickly reversed, after it became clear that playful hackers had fabricated a press release. But there appears to be nothing fake about the latest news involving Walmart's desire to ride the latest wave of crypto/web 3.0/metaverse/NFT euphoria, and as a result the big box retailer is boldly venturing into the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

According to CNBC, Walmart filed several new trademarks late last month that indicate its intent to make and sell virtual goods, including electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods and personal care products. In a separate filing, the company said it would offer users a virtual currency, as well as NFTs. In total, seven separate applications have been submitted.

The patent applications were among a flurry the company filed on Dec. 30, including three under “Walmart Connect” - the name of the company’s existing digital advertising venture - for a financial exchange for virtual currency and advertising. Applications also were filed for “Verse to Store,” “Verse to Curb” and “Verse to Home” for shopping services. It’s also seeking trademarks to apply the Walmart name and “fireworks” logo to heath-care services and education in virtual and augmented reality.

“They’re super intense,” said Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney, quoted by CNBC. “There’s a lot of language in these, which shows that there’s a lot of planning going on behind the scenes about how they’re going to address cryptocurrency, how they’re going to address the metaverse and the virtual world that appears to be coming or that’s already here.”

Gerben said that ever since Facebook announced it was changing its company name to Meta, signaling its ambitions beyond social media, businesses have been rushing to figure out how they will fit into a virtual world.

https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/walmart-creates-its-own-cryptocurrency-nfts-enters-metaverse-sales-virtual-goods

= NATO troops invited to deploy near Russian border==

Officials say measures are necessary to contain Moscow

Estonia is ready and able to host a contingent of up to 5,000 troops from NATO’s rapid response force if the order to deploy them is given, Tallinn has said, despite Russian concerns over the US-led bloc’s forces near its border.

Speaking on Monday to state-broadcaster ERR, the Estonian Ministry of Defense’s Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm announced that the Baltic nation was prepared to accept a detachment of soldiers at an army base in the northeast of the country, around 110km (69 miles) from the frontier with Russia.

“Estonia has everything ready in case a NATO rapid reaction force of up to 5,000 troops arrives,” the top official said. “There is an area in Tapa to receive allies, where equipment and weapons can be stored and distributed to units so that forces can move from there.”

According to him, Tallinn is willing to accommodate soldiers in special containers and tents if there is not enough room for them in existing army quarters. “The allies will not travel to us to sleep in barracks if they are required to come here in order to strengthen military power,” Salm said, adding that if NATO troops have to stay in Estonia for a long mission, new barracks will be built for them.

He insisted that “in terms of a containment policy, the Baltic region should be strengthened. There are clear plans on how to do this if necessary.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/546267-estonia-thousands-nato-troops/

Credit Suisse In Turmoil As Chairman Resigns Over COVID Violations After Just 8 Months

That didn't take long.

In less than a year, Credit Suisse Chairman António Horta-Osório has gone from new hire to freshly fired, as the Swiss megabank has decided to sack its chairman of the board, effective immediately. Horta-Osório was fired due to "COVID-related" violations, including a trip to Wimbledon last year which purportedly violated company quarantine rules. We must admit - this seems like a pretty lame excuse to fire a board chairman, especially considering that Horta-Osório didn't even take over until after the twin scandals of Archegos and Greensill that made 2021 a historically bad year for Credit Suisse.

Hopefully, as one banking analyst suggested, Horta-Osório may ultimately become a "footnote" in Credit Suisse's long, storied history. But the bank's reputation is still very much in the recovery stage, since nearly €10 billion in losses takes a long time to truly forget.

The biggest problem now is that the bank doesn't have much of a bench when it comes to its next generation of leaders.

Andrew Coombs, a banking analyst at Citigroup, said: "[Horta-Osório] will go down as a short footnote in Credit Suisse’s long history," but added that "his departure leaves Credit Suisse with a lack of strong characters at the top and leadership questions will likely be raised."

Unfortunately for Horta-Osório, the bank determined that his behavior warranted a board investigation, which found that the 57-year-old broke the quarantine rules, including on a trip to London last year to watch the Wimbledon tennis finals, and on other occasions as well. The former Lloyds Banking Group CEO was also cited for an incident where he used the bank's private jet for a personal holiday to the Maldives, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation's findings.

The 57-year-old chairman held most of his talks with the board about his decision to resign after just 8 months over the weekend, meaning this decision is still very fresh.

"I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally," Horta-Osório said. "I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and its stakeholders at this crucial time."

According to the FT, Horta-Osório's abrupt departure is "a severe embarrassment for Credit Suisse, which recruited the Portuguese banker to help reset its strategy after scandals involving Greensill Capital and family office Archegos damaged the bank’s reputation for risk management".

For its next chairman, the bank has decided to elevate Axel Lehmann, the former chief operating officer and head of the Swiss business at UBS, Credit Suisse's crosstown rival, has already been hired as the bank’s new chair, Credit Suisse said. He previously joined the bank's board in October.

While Lehmann told Reuters that the bank's "strategic focus" on asset management won't change with him leading the board, JPM analyst Kian Abouhossein reiterated his underweight rating on the news, saying the bank's lingering issues will lead to ongoing regulatory scrutiny and risk aversion, hurting profits even as interest rates are expected to rise.

Lehmann said he plans to stick with the new strategy adopted by the bank's leadership in the wake of the Greensill and Archegos blowups. He also told the FT that "we are in a constant dialogue with shareholders."

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/credit-suisse-chairman-resigns-after-just-8-months-due-covid-violations

Drones over nuclear power plants attract attention from spy agency

Sweden's domestic intelligence service is looking into drones spotted hovering near three nuclear power plants last week

The Swedish Security Service confirmed on Monday it was leading an investigation into drones seen near the nation's three nuclear power plants, amid concerns the country isn't prepared for the threat of the aerial devices.

Sweden’s police force was initially tasked with probing the drone sightings after they were reported over two sites in Forsmark, north of Stockholm, and Oskarshamn, in the southeast.

The Swedish Security Service, known as SAPO, took over the investigation after a third reported sighting near the largest nuclear power site in the nation, located in Ringhals on the western coast.

Police were first alerted to the situation on Friday but lost track of the unmanned aerial device. Officials claimed it had been large enough to cope with the strong winds in the area at the time.

“With regard to the cases of drone overflights at three nuclear power plants, the assessment is made that they are of such a nature that preliminary investigations have been taken over from the police authority in order to be able to investigate the incidents in more detail,” SAPO said in a statement.

Authorities have not announced any suspects behind the drone incidents so far.

Associate professor with the Swedish National Defense College Hans Liwang, quoted by local media, said that the country is not prepared for potential drone threats, as officials “have not really adapted … to today’s reality.”

The Ringhals 2 reactor was shut down in 2019 due to maintenance costs and a lack of profitability. It followed the decommissioning of two facilities elsewhere in the country, in Agesta and Barseback.

https://www.rt.com/news/546307-swedish-spy-agency-drones-nuclear/

Joint Chiefs Chairman and Marine Corps Chief Have COVID-19

WASHINGTON—Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing very minor symptoms, a spokesperson said Monday. The Marine Corps said its commandant, Gen. David Berger, also has COVID-19.

Milley, who has received the vaccine and a booster shot, tested positive on Sunday, Joint Chiefs spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said in a statement. Milley was isolating himself and working remotely from a location where he can perform all his duties, Butler said.

The Marine Corps said in a statement that Berger also tested positive, giving no other details except to say his ability to work is unaffected. Other Joint Chiefs of Staff members tested negative, Butler said.

Milley’s most recent contact with President Joe Biden was on Wednesday at the funeral of Gen. Raymond Odierno, who died of cancer in October. Milley, 63, tested negative several days before the contact with Biden and every day after until Sunday, the Joint Chiefs statement said.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms while quarantining at home. Austin, who said he was fully vaccinated and received a booster in October, tested negative about a week later.

https://www.ntd.com/joint-chiefs-chairman-and-marine-corps-chief-have-covid-19_728435.html

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board Calls for National Guard to Bar Unvaccinated from Going ‘Anywhere’

If Utah was a “truly civilized” state, the governor would have deployed the National Guard to ensure those without proof of vaccination would be barred from going anywhere, the Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board wrote Saturday.

Per the article:

Were Utah a truly civilized place, the governor’s next move would be to find a way to mandate the kind of mass vaccination campaign we should have launched a year ago, going as far as to deploy the National Guard to ensure that people without proof of vaccination would not be allowed, well, anywhere. But it may be too late for that, politically and medically.

“In the meantime, get vaccinated. If you are sick, stay home. And let your elected officials at all levels know that you expected them to lead us out of this mess, not stand by and meekly express concern,” the piece continued.

The board also claimed there was “lots of blame to go around”:

Gov. Spencer Cox and the new state epidemiologist, Dr. Leisha Nolen, let it officially be known Friday morning that there are so few tests available in the state, and so many people who reasonably fear that they have contracted the coronavirus, that anyone who is feeling the kind of symptoms associated with the disease should just assume they are infected and stay home.

However, elderly people and individuals with underlying conditions were still encouraged to be tested.

The board also said President Joe Biden attempted to “pull a couple of useful levers by ordering vaccine mandates for health care workers and vaccine-or-test rules for workplaces of more than 100 employees.”

But the Supreme Court recently dealt a huge blow to Biden’s coronavirus policy, striking down the vaccine mandate on employers yet upholding a smaller mandate on healthcare workers.

The board then criticized the president, stating, “Not that Biden is blameless in all this.”

“Seeing the obvious reluctance of so many people to get, or to require, vaccinations has only now moved him to push to make tests and the most effective kind of masks available to everyone. It’s the right thing to do, but months late,” the article read.

However, Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently revealed 50 million coronavirus tests were waiting in warehouses, Breitbart News reported.

“While HHS acknowledged it has not shipped 50 million tests, Biden promised to have enough testing kits available for all Americans. Yet after the omicron variant reached the nation’s shores, Americans found testing kits in short supply,” the outlet said.

In addition, millions of Americans were being slapped with mandates to receive one of three approved vaccines for the coronavirus, but recent data showed thousands of illegal aliens were refusing the shot.

“We always push vaccines, but even vaccinated ppl are catching it. It’s easy to take shots from the cheap seats but this is the sort of nonsense that makes editorial boards irrelevant,” she concluded.

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2022/01/17/salt-lake-tribune-editorial-board-calls-for-national-guard-to-bar-unvaccinated-from-going-anywhere/

Germany to End Ban on Doctors Advertising Abortion Services

Germany’s justice minister on Monday launched a drive to remove from the country’s criminal code a ban on doctors “advertising” abortion services, a provision that he said is untenable.

The move is the first of several liberal social policies planned by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition, which took office last month.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party, now in opposition, had defended the criminal code’s paragraph 219a, that bans advertising abortions. It carries a fine or prison sentence of up to two years.

Under a compromise in 2019, Merkel´s government left the ban formally in place but allowed doctors and hospitals for the first time to say on their websites that they perform abortions. They were not, however, allowed to give more detailed information.

“We want to end an untenable legal situation,” Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said, announcing that he had drawn up legislation to scrap the paragraph. “The current legal situation is that doctors who give factual information about their work, and for example give information on the methods they use to carry out terminations, have to expect criminal investigations and convictions.”

“It can’t be the case that everyone can put everything about these issues on the internet, but the people who are particularly qualified can’t,” Buschmann said. He added that there was no reason to fear “objectionable” advertising because other legal provisions and doctors’ professional code rule that out.

Buschmann said the move doesn’t mean any change to the law on abortion itself. In Germany, it is allowed within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and women seeking an abortion must undergo counseling three days before the procedure is carried out.

The government hasn’t yet said when it will tackle other reforms that Scholz’s coalition of three socially liberal parties – his own center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and Buschmann’s pro-business Free Democrats – has committed itself to carrying out.

Those include legalizing the sale of cannabis for recreational purposes, easing the path to German citizenship and lifting restrictions on dual citizenship.

The government also wants to scrap 40-year-old legislation that requires transsexual people to get a psychological assessment and a court decision before officially changing gender, a process that often involves intimate questions. It is to be replaced with a new “self-determination law.”

It plans to introduce a new form of legal partnership that would allow people not in a romantic relationship, such as two single parents who want to help each other out or elderly people who want to live together, to take legal responsibility for each other. And it hopes to reduce the age for voting in national and European parliamentary elections to 16 from 18.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/01/17/germany-to-end-ban-on-doctors-advertising-abortion-services/

US Naval HQ shaped like a swastika

You can find it yourself; just point Google Earth/Google Maps to: 32°40’44.16″N with 117° 9’42.89″W

Far-right French presidential hopeful Eric Zemmour, 63, who waved a gun at reporters and is expecting a love child with his 28-year-old PA is found guilty of provoking racial hatred by calling migrants 'thieves, rapists and murderers'

The far-right French firebrand hoping to become his country’s new President was today found guilty of provoking racial hatred by calling child immigrants ‘thieves, rapists and murderers’.

Eric Zemmour, 63, was not in the Paris Criminal Court on Monday when judges read out the verdict, and said he would have to pay a fine equivalent to £8000.

Zemmour, a magazine journalist turned television pundit, has already been convicted twice on similar charges.

His latest conviction followed a trial in November when Zemmour denied a charge of ‘complicity in provoking racial hatred and racial insult.’

It is the latest in a turbulent few months for the presidential hopeful, who was revealed to be having a love child with his 28-year-old assistant in November and waved an assault rifle at reporters while telling them to 'back off' in October.

Despite this, Zemmour is standing to replace Emmanuel Macron as President of France in April.

Opinion polls currently put him behind in the presidential race to Mr Macron and Marine Le Pen, of the far-Right National Rally, as well as Valerie Pecresse, the Republican’s candidate.

His defence barrister Olivier Pardo said his client did not attend the hearing today 'in order to prevent the judicial compound from turning into a non-stop TV news studio'.

The case centered on Zemmour’s appearance during a live debate on the CNews TV channel in September 2020.

It followed a Pakistani national being arrested for wounding two people with a meat cleaver outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.

The attacker originally claimed to be 18, but it then emerged that he was in fact 25.

Despite this, Zemmour told the program that there were too many unaccompanied child migrants from Muslim majority countries in France, saying: ‘All these young people are from an immigrant background. They have no place here.

‘They are thieves, they are murderers, they are rapists, that's all they are – they must all be sent back, and they shouldn’t come in the first place.’

Complaints poured in, including from numerous local authorities in France who are charged with looking after child migrants.

‘These are young people who have the right to protection and a dignified welcome,’ said Stéphane Troussel, president of the Seine-Saint-Denis departmental council.

‘We cannot tolerate the combined actions and racism which this gravedigger of the French Republic is accustomed,’ Mr Troussel added.

In turn, Zemmour denied any wrongdoing, while his defence counsel argued that the trial has become politicised because of their client’s presidential ambitions.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2022/01/far-right-french-presidential-hopeful.html

http://www.stationgossip.com/2022/01/far-right-french-presidential-hopeful.html

The US Enables Criminal Israeli Behavior

Given all the attention focused on the covid-19 pandemic, the Build Back Better bill, the January 6th attack on the Capitol and the media-hyped crises over Ukraine and Taiwan this past year, many other important issues have not received much attention. One example is the Palestinian/Israeli situation.

Views of Israel

There have been some major breakthroughs in the perception of Israel in 2021 with two major human rights organizations, B’Tselem in Israel and Human Rights Watch, concluding that Israel is an apartheid state. In addition, this past May, 93 US rabbinical students wrote a letter challenging the Zionist perception of Israel. They wrote: “As American Jews, our institutions tell stories of Israel rooted in hope for what could be, but oblivious to what is. Our tzedakah money funds a story we wish were true, but perpetuates a reality that is untenable and dangerous. Our political advocacy too often puts forth a narrative of victimization, but supports violent suppression of human rights and enables apartheid in the Palestinian territories, and the threat of annexation.”

Israel violates international law with impunity

There was also a particularly strong statement to the UN General Assembly this past October by Michael Lynk, the “Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967”. Ian Williams wrote about Lynk’s statement in the Jan-Feb 2022 issue of the Washington Report on the Middle East Affairs.

Williams quoted from Lynk’s statement:

"the international community has been perplexingly unwilling to meaningfully challenge, let alone act decisively to reverse, the momentous changes that Israel has been generating on the ground. This is a political failure of the first order. This very same international community – speaking through the principal political and legal organs of the United Nations – has established the widely accepted and detailed rights-based framework for the supervision and resolution of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Accordingly, the protracted Israeli occupation must fully end."

Williams noted that Lynk also addressed the lack of action in following up on UN Security Council resolutions. Lynk said: "Regrettably, the international community’s remarkable tolerance for Israeli exceptionalism in its conduct of the occupation has allowed realpolitik to trump rights, power to supplant justice and impunity to undercut accountability. This has been the conspicuous thread throughout the Madrid-Oslo peace process, which began in 1991."

https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2022/01/16/the-us-enables-criminal-israeli-behavior/

Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel Promoted Far-Left Dogma, Banned Guns at Synagogue Before Islamic Hostage Situation

On Saturday, an Islamic terrorist besieged Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Tex., taking four hostages. The jihadist was killed and the hostages were freed due to the immense bravery and heroism of law enforcement on the scene.

Charlie Cytron-Walker, the full-time Rabbi at the Congregation Beth Israel, was among the hostages who were freed.

Cytron-Walker has a long history of supporting far-left causes which may have empowered the Muslim radical to commit his act of terror on Saturday. One former attendee said that he was forced to leave Congregation Beth Israel because of Cytron-Walker imposing liberal dogma, including gun control, upon the Synagogue.

“This is my old synagogue, I left due to a few issues, first, the Rabbi called Israel an apartheid state against Islam, and a second, he didn’t allow his members (including myself) to be armed during services. Now he is held hostage by a Muslim man with a gun,” the former attendee of Congregation Beth Israel wrote on social media.

The post can be seen here:

The former attendee claimed that there was an “exodus” from the synagogue that he believed was in repsonse to Cytron-Walker’s gun control edicts as well as his “socialist liberal agenda,” which included kowtowing to Black Lives Matter thuggery. He also said that Cytron-Walker cared more about fundraising for his liberal causes than actually providing comfort and solace to his flock. The public record with regards to Cytron-Walker confirms his far-left radicalism.

https://bigleaguepolitics.com/rabbi-at-congregation-beth-israel-promoted-far-left-dogma-banned-guns-at-synagogue-before-islamic-hostage-situation/

Brace yourself for Impact: Luciferian elite launch ‘Great Collapse’ of Western civilization

You know time is running out on the false reality in which most Americans live when the corporate-owned mainstream media starts to report some of the things that we in the alternative media have been reporting for years.

I’ve been warning since 2018: America is heading toward civil war. For the last six months or so many of us have been warning about the creaky supply chain.

That chain is getting ready to buckle and break like a water pipe in the dead of winter, when frigid air sneaks in from the north.

It usually happens in the middle of the night, while everyone is sleeping in their warm beds. Under the stress of steadily dropping temperatures, the pipe starts to expand. Now compromised, the pipe starts to drip, then suddenly it pops. Water gushes out and into the house.

At that point, you have a big mess on your hands. If only you’d seen the cold weather coming, you would have wrapped your pipes and protected them from the damage.

That’s how I see the U.S. supply chain right now. The pressure is building while the façade of normalcy reigns in the lives of 90 percent of American families. As they sleepwalk through life, they have no idea what kind of pressure is building on those pipes that keep money flowing throughout the global economy.

But when the dishonest mainstream media starts to take notice and give gentle, half-hearted warnings, you know the breaking point is near.

Take, for example, the article that appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of the Detroit News. In a story headlined Michigan faces acute impact from Canada’s refusal to let in unvaccinated U.S. truckers, we are given a small glimpse of the truth – the engine that drives the American economy, truckers, are about to be dealt a devastating blow by the socialist government in charge of Canada.

One key word in that headline jumped out at me – “impact.”

More

https://leohohmann.com/2022/01/15/brace-yourself-for-impact-luciferian-elite-launch-great-collapse-of-western-civilization/

Compulsory vaccination in #Austria starts at the beginning of February for all citizens over 18, fines up to a maximum of 3,600 euros from mid-March – Chancellor Nehammer

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/compulsory-vaccination-in-austria-starts-at-the-beginning-of-february-for-all-citizens-over-18-fines-up-to-a-maximum-of-3600-euros-from-mid-march-chancellor-nehammer/

UAE used convicted child-sex offender to gain US political access

A convicted child-sex offender and adviser to the UAE, George Nader, has pleaded guilty to helping the Gulf state pump millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions into the US political system during the 2016 presidential election, The Intercept has reported. It cited documents submitted in federal court last month and the prosecutors' sentencing memo.

Nader, a Lebanese American businessman, was charged along with seven other people in December with conspiracy to hide the "source of excessive contributions" made by groups supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He was also charged with sex offences in 2019. Newly-published details of Nader's plea show that the 62-year-old agreed months earlier to plead guilty to a conspiracy to defraud the US government by funnelling millions in donations to Clinton.

Nader conspired to hide the funds "out of a desire to lobby on behalf and advance the interests of his client, the government of the United Arab Emirates," according to the prosecutors' sentencing memo. He received the money for the illegal donations from the UAE government, the memo said, making it the first time that the US government has explicitly accused the UAE, a close ally, of illegally seeking to buy access to candidates during a presidential election.

Prosecutors have alleged that Nader took his instructions from the UAE Crown Prince, Mohamed Bin Zayed, and that he regularly updated the 60-year-old on the progress he was making in getting close to Clinton. As much as five million dollars may have been paid by the UAE to gain political access and influence.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220117-uae-used-convicted-child-sex-offender-to-gain-us-political-access/

$800 Billion Stimulus Program Failed Terribly and Mostly Benefited the Wealthy, MIT Economist Finds

The federal government has spent an astounding $42,000 per federal taxpayer on so-called “stimulus” efforts since the pandemic began. Where did all that money go? Well, as it turns out, one of the biggest stimulus programs, the Paycheck Protection Program, failed miserably.

At least, that’s the finding of a new study from MIT economist David Autor and nine coauthors. They examined the $800 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which gave “loans,” most of which won’t have to be paid back, to businesses. It was created by Republicans and Democrats in Congress alike in hopes of helping businesses preserve their employees’ jobs for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.

The study tracks the money to see where it ended up and what it achieved. The results… aren’t pretty.

The analysis shows that even though 93 percent of small businesses received loans from the program, only between 2-3 million jobs were preserved. The program spent an astounding $170,000-$257,000 for each job it helped preserve! That’s, erm, a lot more than most of those jobs even pay.

Moreover, the study finds that only 23 to 34 percent of the program’s dollars went to workers who would’ve otherwise lost their jobs—meaning the vast majority went to “business owners and shareholders.” (Oh, and a whole bunch was lost to fraud, too).

The authors conclude that the program’s benefits were “highly regressive,” meaning it benefited the wealthy more, with about 75 percent of the benefits flowing to the top 20 percent of earners.

Does all this sound like an effective use of $800 billion in taxpayer money?

Some might be tempted to focus on the positives, and note that the program did help some people. But we cannot evaluate government policies without considering the opportunity cost, the trade-offs. What could private individuals have done with that $800 billion? After all, every dollar the government spends must, directly or indirectly, come from taxpayers.

Between donating to private charity and investing in private businesses and jobs, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where that money doesn’t create more jobs and wealth if left in private hands. But then politicians wouldn’t have a shiny “stimulus” program to point to as an “accomplishment” on the campaign trail.

It’s sad, but not very surprising, that political expediency trumped economic efficiency in such a major federal spending program.

https://www.activistpost.com/2022/01/800-billion-stimulus-program-failed-terribly-and-mostly-benefited-the-wealthy-mit-economist-finds.html

DARPA UNMASKED BY JASON WATTON A MUST WAKE UP WATCH

https://www.bitchute.com/video/NgwjIqmnG7Ty/

Israeli trial, world’s first, finds 4th dose ‘not good enough’ against Omicron

Expert at Sheba Medical Center says jab raises COVID antibody levels, but there are ‘still a lot of infections’ among those who received it

Nearly a month after Sheba Medical Center launched a landmark study to test the efficacy of a fourth COVID shot, the hospital said Monday that this fourth booster was only partially effective in protecting against the Omicron strain.

“The vaccine, which was very effective against the previous strains, is less effective against the Omicron strain,” Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay, a lead researcher in the experiment said.

“We see an increase in antibodies, higher than after the third dose,” Regev-Yochay said. “However, we see many infected with Omicron who received the fourth dose. Granted, a bit less than in the control group, but still a lot of infections,” she added.

“The bottom line is that the vaccine is excellent against the Alpha and Delta [variants], for Omicron it’s not good enough,” she said.

Regev-Yochay added that it is still probably a good idea to give a fourth shot to those at higher risk, but intimated that perhaps the current campaign, which also offers the jab to the over-60s, should be amended to only include even older groups. She did not elaborate.

The hospital did not release more specific data. Regev-Yochay said the results of the research are only preliminary, but indicated that she was providing the initial information since there was high public interest in the matter.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-trial-worlds-first-finds-4th-dose-not-good-enough-against-omicron/

‘And Then We Drank Each Other’s Blood’: Megan Fox And Machine Gun Kelly Get Engaged And Celebrate With Bodily Fluid Swap

Apparently this is supposed to be accepted in our society. Megan Fox, who used to be regarded as one of the hottest women on the planet is now engaged to Machine Gun Kelly, who looks like an insane version of Edward Scissorhands.

“In July of 2020 we sat under this banyan tree,” Fox wrote in the caption of her Instagram post. “We asked for magic. We were oblivious to the pain we would face together in such a short, frenetic period of time. Unaware of the work and sacrifices the relationship would require from us but intoxicated off of the love. And the karma.”

“Somehow a year and a half later, having walked through hell together, and having laughed more than I ever imagined possible, he asked me to marry him,” she continued. “And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes.…and then we drank each other’s blood. 1.11.22 ✨.”

“‘Yes, in this life and every life’ 💍 beneath the same branches we fell in love under, i brought her back to ask her to marry me,” MGK wrote.

“I know tradition is one ring, but i designed it with Stephen Webster to be two: the emerald (her birth stone) and the diamond (my birth stone) set on two magnetic bands of thorns that draw together as two halves of the same soul forming the obscure heart that is our love. 1-11-2022 ✨.”

What are your thoughts America, did you ever drink someone’s blood before marriage?

https://thedcpatriot.com/and-then-we-drank-each-others-blood-megan-fox-and-machine-gun-kelly-get-engaged-and-celebrate-with-bodily-fluid-swap/

Dr. Robert Malone Posts Irrefutable Proof on Ivermectin and the Uttar Pradesh India Success Story

On Sunday Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of the mRNA vaccine posted on the Uttar Pradesh and Ivermectin success story.

Here’s the inconvenient truth. The Federal Government’s Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America has developed an atrocious track record during the many waves of COVID-19 disease which have swept across the country. As if it were not bad enough that the evidence implicates Dr. Anthony Fauci and his minions as having created the pathogen SARS-CoV-2 in a biodefense strategy that would make Rube Goldberg’s Professor Butts proud, the United States is listed by Worldometers as having the most deaths attributed to the disease in the entire world.

If adjusted for mortality as a function of population (total cases per 1M population), the US ranks 19th out of 234 nations (2,614 deaths/1 million). In contrast, India comes in at 130 out of 234 with 347 deaths/1 million. The overall world average for deaths/million population is 712.

What public policies are responsible for this amazing difference in outcomes?

The curious case of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is often sited. Densely populated, relatively poor, and they have absolutely crushed the COVID-19 death curve. Widespread availability of a package distributed throughout the region, rumored to contain the repurposed drug Ivermectin, have often been credited for this amazing success. But until now, these rumors have remained unsubstantiated.

As I mentioned recently on the Fox segment in response to the unprovoked attack by Mr. Berenson, a close colleague of mine recently returned from a vacation in the region. Prompted by my specific request that she seek out evidence of the contents of these “care packages” which have been made available throughout the region, she returned with the following photograph of the list of ingredients. As is often observed, a picture is worth a thousand words.

So, without further ado, I am glad to finally be able to provide photographic evidence of what is responsible for the miracle of Uttar Pradesh. I have nothing more to add, other than that an apology is owed (By Mr. Berenson and many others) to the many brave physicians who have persisted, against enormous coordinated media and governmental pressure, to prescribe this agent as a key component of the staged early treatment protocols responsible for saving countless lives across the USA and the world.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/01/dr-robert-malone-posts-irrefutable-proof-ivermectin-uttar-pradesh-india-success-story/

Sri Lanka Sentences Prison Official to Death for Killing 27 Inmates

A High Court in Sri Lanka sentenced on Wednesday a top prison official to death over the 2012 brutal execution of 27 inmates that triggered global condemnation.

The Colombo-based court convicted Emil Lamahewage, the Prison Commissioner, but acquitted co-accused police commander Moses Rangajeewa for lack of evidence.

The judges read the sentence and ordered to take Lamahewage to the same prison where the massacre happened.

According to Sri Lankan media, Lamahewage told judges that the case against him was “built on a political conspiracy.”

A riot erupted inside the Welikada prison in the capital Colombo when police started a crackdown against drugs in November 2012. Troops were called in to restore order and witnesses claimed eight of the 27 killed inmates were called out by name and executed. The clash left nearly 50 people injured.

According to court documents, the crime scene was later manipulated to make it look as if the victims attacked the guards.

The mass killing triggered global condemnation of the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is the current prime minister of the island nation.

It was the worst mass killing since the massacre of inmates at the same prison that took place during the 1983 ‘Black July’ pogrom against the Sri Lankan Tamil minority in Colombo.

Only 20 of the 73 Tamil political prisoners survived an organized attack by Sinhala prison officials and other convicts. Nobody was processed for the death of the 53 inmates.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/15784-sri-lanka-sentences-prison-official-to-death-for-killing-27-inmates

Iraq Issues Arrest Warrants Against 21 Top Officials over Graft

Iraq Issues Arrest Warrants Against 21 Top Officials over Graft

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Published: 14 January 2022

Written by Lara Dihmis

Iraqi authorities last month issued arrest warrants against 21 high-ranking state officials, including a current minister, following an investigation that has seen 77 other officials summoned, according to a statement released on Wednesday by a commission that investigates corruption.

The statement by the Federal Commission of Integrity comes just days after the European Union Ambassador to Iraq announced on Twitter that the EU has removed Iraq from its list of countries at high risk of money laundering, six years since being added.

The move, welcomed by Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, will “pave the way for deepening financial cooperation and investment,” Ambassador Ville Varjola said.

But Iraq’s troubles with corruption and money laundering run deep.

In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly last September, President Barham Salih attributed Iraq’s struggles with corruption to “the heavy burden left behind by wars and conflicts that have squandered a huge part of the resources of the country, thus depriving Iraqis of the riches of their land.”

His remarks came months after declaring on national TV that an estimated US$150 billion of stolen money has been smuggled out of the country since 2003.

In both speeches, President Salih conveyed the need to introduce new legislation into the legal system, which seeks to “recover the proceeds of corruption,” hold the corrupt accountable and bring them to justice.

Ranking in the bottom 20 of Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index, the anti-corruption watchdog said in an analysis of Iraq that “corruption enshrined in the system deprives people of their basic rights, including access to safe drinking water, health care, uninterrupted electricity, employment opportunities and an adequate infrastructure.”

The country declared in 2017 a national war on corruption, but progress has been slow. In 2020, as the pandemic was gripping the globe, Baghdad has been wracked by anti-corruption protests for months. Protestors even called on the coronavirus to take the corrupt politicians.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/15783-iraq-issues-arrest-warrants-against-21-top-officials-over-graft

Cops register 161 cases, arrest 10 in Kerala for circulating child abuse material online

ADGP Manoj Abraham said the arrested suspects included IT professionals and youth having white collar jobs

The Kerala Police have registered 161 cases and arrested 10 people who allegedly uploaded and circulated child sexual abuse material in cyberspace. The arrests were made after the police's Countering Child Sexual Exploitation (CCSE) team conducted statewide raids on Sunday.

The raids were part of Operation P-Hunt, which is meant to bust rackets and individuals involved in circulation and sharing of child abuse content.

ADGP Manoj Abraham, who is the nodal officer of the Cyberdome that monitors P-Hunt, said about 410 locations were identified and the information was passed on to 280 teams that operated under the district police chiefs.

During the raids, 186 devices were seized and 161 cases were registered across the state, Manoj added.

During the raids, gadgets including mobile phones, modems, hard disks, memory cards, laptops and computers were seized. The gadgets contained graphic abuse videos of children. Some of the content appeared to be that of local children between the age of five and 16.

Manoj said the arrested suspects included IT professionals and youth having white collar jobs. Most of them were tech savvy and hence used encrypting softwars to upload and download abuse content from the dark web.

The sustained police action acted as a deterrence for the offenders for a short period, but most of them repeat the crime using better tools that give them anonymity. The police said the suspects now watch the video and delete it immediately using special software that aids them to avoid detection. They also format their phones every three days making it difficult for the law enforcement agencies to track them.

In some cases, it was noticed that the offenders used malware to activate the webcams of the victims. Compounding the woes of the agencies, some offenders used online live sex sessions involving children that could be attended by users over restricted links available on payment.

The police since 2017 have conducted 2280 raids and registered 1235 cases under Operation P-Hunt. As many as 1693 devices were seized and 258 people have been so far arrested under the special drive.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2022/jan/17/cops-register-161-cases-arrest-10-in-kerala-for-circulating-child-abuse-material-online-2407811.html

Woke LA DA George Gascon says he doesn't want to send transgender woman, 26, who sexually assaulted girl, 10, when she was 17 to adult jail over fears she'll be attacked because of her gender identity

In 2014, a 17-year-old named James Tubbs attacked a 10-year-old girl - following her into the bathroom of a Denny's in Palmdale, California

Tubbs, who now goes by Hannah, sexually assaulted the child and only stopped when someone walked into the restroom and scared him off, and he ran away

Tubbs was two weeks off turning 18 at the time, with Los Angeles DA George Gascon now refusing to sentence her as an adult as a result

In 2019, Tubbs was tracked down thanks to DNA, which was entered into a database that year when arrested on suspicion of battery in Idaho

Tubbs was brought back to California, having racked up a criminal record including assaults with deadly weapons

Tubbs has arrests for battery, drug possession and probation violations in Idaho and Washington

Since the 2014 attack, Tubbs has transitioned and is now known as Hannah Tubbs, age 26

Tubbs has pleaded guilty to the 2014 sexual assault but the district attorney of Los Angeles County, George Gascon, is refusing to sentence Tubbs as an adult

Gascon has angered many by his concerned Tubbs could be victimized in an adult facility as a trans woman and recommending home confinement instead

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10409449/LA-DA-doesnt-want-send-transgender-woman-26-sexually-assaulted-girl-10-adult-jail.html

Israeli Military, Intel Agencies to Enlist High Schoolers for Weapon Development Program

The full program, which appears to involve the development of autonomously guided weaponry, involves a 12-year commitment and experts warn against the use of children by the military

Israel’s defense and education ministries launched a program about two weeks ago for gifted students that has the involvement of the Mossad intelligence service, the Shin Bet security service and the IDF. The involvement of the defense establishment in the education system, although not new, has raised some eyebrows when it comes to the program.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israeli-military-intel-agencies-to-enlist-students-for-weapon-development-program-1.10542360

Communist Takeover: Without Firing a Shot, China Seizes Control of America's Farmlands

The Chinese Communists have their tendrils in nearly every American industry, from food production to farming, transportation, education, medicines, media, movies, etc.

U.S President Joe Biden told the media earlier in 2021 after a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping that China was “going to eat our lunch.” Heads up, they already are- literally eating our lunch as they buy up American farmland and invest in thousands of American companies.

“The current trend in the U.S. is leading us toward the creation of a Chinese-owned agricultural land monopoly,” Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA) warned in a recent House Appropriations hearing.

According to American Military News, Newhouse raised his concerns about Chinese land ownership as he proposed an amendment in a new agricultural appropriations bill, H.R. 4356. The amendment would block any new agricultural purchases by companies wholly or partly controlled by the Chinese government. Furthermore, it would ban existing Chinese-owned farms in the U.S. from drawing from federal agricultural support programs.

Rep. Newhouse is an agricultural scientist and served as Director of Agriculture in Washington from 2009-2013. Democrats were fearful that the amendment might cause an anti-Asian backlash through the country, but the legislative package passed the House on a bipartisan vote. The issue now is the Senate.

Robby Starbuck, a candidate for U.S. Congress in the Middle Tennessee 5th district race, recently drew attention to the threat of Communist China buying America’s farmlands. The candidate stated on Twitter,

https://rairfoundation.com/communist-takeover-without-firing-a-shot-china-seizes-control-of-americas-farmlands/