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To Punish Putin, U.S. Firms Develop Social Credit System That Would Make Him Proud
Breaking News Alert*** BREAKING ***Emails Surface More Evidence Hillary Clinton Paid For Anti-Trump Disinformation Operation
PINK POLICE STATE
PINK POLICE STATE
MARCH 08, 2022
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IMAGE CREDITMICHAL JARMOLUK / PIXABAY
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Such actions move us one step closer to blurring the line between ourselves and the authoritarian tyrants we purport to denounce.
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Such actions move us one step closer to blurring the line between ourselves and the authoritarian tyrants we purport to denounce.
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American institutions are taking anti-Russian sanctions into their own hands, further normalizing a financial social credit system that can ostracize users for holding unacceptable beliefs — a move purported to punish Russia but that actually evokes the authoritarian country’s own system of tracking its citizens’ political views.
Visa and Mastercard have suspended operations in Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, blocking “cards issued by Russian banks from working in other countries and block[ing] people with cards issued elsewhere from purchasing goods and services from companies in Russia.” American Express has also dropped its Russian operations. Meanwhile, tech companies like Apple and Microsoft have ceased sales of their products in the country.
It could be tempting to cheer the move for targeting Russia’s authoritarian regime and condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attacks on the people of Ukraine. But the actions by private companies against Russians are part of a larger swing by U.S. corporations to deny services to those whose opinions they deem unacceptable — and that’s exactly the kind of social credit system Russia is building to impose on its own people.
Moscow will use “digital profiles” to track citizens’ “loyalty,” according to a Moscow Times 2020 report. “Moscow City Hall has since 2017 been collecting the gender, age, income level and relationship to other people signed up to its mos.ru website as part of the internet activity monitoring system,” the report notes. “The digital profiles will now include information about Muscovites’ violations, fines, debts and participation in various events, according to the cited documentation.”
Lest you think the system is limited to the capital city, Russian officials have said that 80 percent of Russians will have such a digital profile by 2025 through the government’s $53 billion Digital Economy Program.
And now, with Visa and Mastercard cutting ties, Russian banks are turning to China — a country with an even more invasive social credit system. The Chinese Communist Party tracks its people’s economic decisions and even things like being a good or bad driver to reward or punish behavior.
Punishment might include anything from slower internet speeds to being barred from flying or staying in certain hotels. There have also been reports of people being denied higher education and having their pets confiscated.
If you think comparisons between Russia and China’s authoritarian credit systems and the increasing dragnet in the United States are outlandish, just think about how Mastercard and American Express blocked donations to Americans whose beliefs about the 2020 election were found unacceptable, while Visa’s political action committee used the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 to “temporarily suspend[] all political donations.” Paypal, Venmo, and Shopify all went after people who were supposedly involved in the riot.
Just last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cracked down on truckers who were protesting Covid mandates, freezing hundreds of bank accounts purported to be associated with the peaceful protest. Crowdsourcing fundraising platform GoFundMe confiscated millions of dollars from protest organizers.
Previously, GoFundMe suspended a fundraising campaign for Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of all charges after he shot three men in self-defense. The platform also used the Jan. 6 riot to nix fundraisers for “travel to a political event where there’s risk of violence by the attendees,” and those that “spread misinformation about the election, promote conspiracy theories and contribute to or participate in attacks on U.S. democracy.”
Meanwhile, Big Tech companies use their powers of censorship to shut down users whose speech is deemed unacceptable, and to nuke alternative platforms from app stores.
We shouldn’t cheer U.S. firms for appointing themselves the arbiters of who deserves to participate in our economy (and by extension, our society). If they can do it to Russia, they can do it to you.
But we also shouldn’t cheer such actions because they move us one step closer to blurring the line between ourselves and the authoritarian tyrants we purport to denounce. If we defeat Russia or China by making our differences unrecognizable, we’ve already lost.
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Biden staffers lead 50-country pledge to ‘reclaim’ internet, fight ‘disinformation’
By
Steven Nelson
April 28, 2022 7:14am
Updated
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled an international “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” with 50 other countries, slamming the policies of “authoritarian” governments — while endorsing efforts to curb online “disinformation” and “harassment.”
The document outlines ideas for “reclaiming the promise of the Internet” and US officials described it as an effort to counter the practices of countries including China and Russia. It notably doesn’t mention domestic US struggles over internet freedom, such as politically motivated censorship of news stories by private companies and alleged illegal government mass surveillance.
“Access to the open internet is limited by some authoritarian governments and online platforms and digital tools are increasingly used to repress freedom of expression and deny other human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the three-page declaration says.The declaration’s goal is to counter the spread of harmful content that can threaten the safety of individuals and contribute to violence.AP/Ted S. Warren
The “Declaration for the Future of the Internet.”
“State-sponsored or condoned malicious behavior is on the rise, including the spread of disinformation and cybercrimes such as ransomware, affecting the security and the resilience of critical infrastructure while holding at risk vital public and private assets,” it continues.
“At the same time, countries have erected firewalls and taken other technical measures, such as internet shutdowns, to restrict access to journalism, information, and services, in ways that are contrary to international human rights commitments and obligations.”
It adds: “Online platforms have enabled an increase in the spread of illegal or harmful content that can threaten the safety of individuals and contribute to radicalization and violence. Disinformation and foreign malign activity is used to sow division and conflict between individuals or groups in society, undermining respect for and protection of human rights and democratic institutions.”
“State-sponsored or condoned malicious behavior is on the rise, including the spread of disinformation and cybercrimes such as ransomware, affecting the security and the resilience of critical infrastructure while holding at risk vital public and private assets,” it continues.
“At the same time, countries have erected firewalls and taken other technical measures, such as internet shutdowns, to restrict access to journalism, information, and services, in ways that are contrary to international human rights commitments and obligations.”
It adds: “Online platforms have enabled an increase in the spread of illegal or harmful content that can threaten the safety of individuals and contribute to radicalization and violence. Disinformation and foreign malign activity is used to sow division and conflict between individuals or groups in society, undermining respect for and protection of human rights and democratic institutions.”
The Post broke the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop and its files.
The term disinformation has been used to censor content that later gains broad acceptance — such as The Post’s reporting on documents from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which Twitter blocked and Facebook throttled, and speculation that COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, which Facebook banned before US intelligence agencies later found the scenario one of two “plausible” pandemic origin theories.
The document is non-binding and vague. For example, it doesn’t describe a specific remedy for disinformation, but does call for governments to “[f]oster greater exposure to diverse cultural and multilingual content, information, and news online.”
“Exposure to diverse content online should contribute to pluralistic public discourse, foster greater social and digital inclusion within society, bolster resilience to disinformation and misinformation, and increase participation in democratic processes,” it says.
The internet declaration comes just days after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, reached a deal to purchase Twitter for $44 billion and establish a new pro-free speech vision of not censoring content unless required by law. Musk specifically condemned Twitter’s decision in October 2020 to suspend The Post’s account for publishing what the billionaire called “truthful” news.
The term disinformation has been used to censor content that later gains broad acceptance — such as The Post’s reporting on documents from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which Twitter blocked and Facebook throttled, and speculation that COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, which Facebook banned before US intelligence agencies later found the scenario one of two “plausible” pandemic origin theories.
The document is non-binding and vague. For example, it doesn’t describe a specific remedy for disinformation, but does call for governments to “[f]oster greater exposure to diverse cultural and multilingual content, information, and news online.”
“Exposure to diverse content online should contribute to pluralistic public discourse, foster greater social and digital inclusion within society, bolster resilience to disinformation and misinformation, and increase participation in democratic processes,” it says.
The internet declaration comes just days after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, reached a deal to purchase Twitter for $44 billion and establish a new pro-free speech vision of not censoring content unless required by law. Musk specifically condemned Twitter’s decision in October 2020 to suspend The Post’s account for publishing what the billionaire called “truthful” news.
Elon Musk is committed to making Twitter a place for free speech.Reuters/Dado Ruvic
The new document is signed by many US allies, including the governments of France, Israel, Japan and the UK, but the list doesn’t include many of the largest but relatively poor democracies, such as Brazil, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines.
The international declaration calls for a “free” and “open” internet and condemns “censorship.” Its wording also broadly condemns “harassment” and “intimidation” and calls for signers “to make the internet a safe and secure place for everyone, particularly women, children, and young people.”
The countries “[r]eaffirm our commitment that actions taken by governments, authorities, and digital services including online platforms to reduce illegal and harmful content and activities online be consistent with international human rights law, including the right to freedom of expression while encouraging diversity of opinion, and pluralism without fear of censorship, harassment, or intimidation,” it says.
On a White House-organized call, a Biden administration official said “we have seen a trend of rising digital authoritarianism.”
The new document is signed by many US allies, including the governments of France, Israel, Japan and the UK, but the list doesn’t include many of the largest but relatively poor democracies, such as Brazil, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines.
The international declaration calls for a “free” and “open” internet and condemns “censorship.” Its wording also broadly condemns “harassment” and “intimidation” and calls for signers “to make the internet a safe and secure place for everyone, particularly women, children, and young people.”
The countries “[r]eaffirm our commitment that actions taken by governments, authorities, and digital services including online platforms to reduce illegal and harmful content and activities online be consistent with international human rights law, including the right to freedom of expression while encouraging diversity of opinion, and pluralism without fear of censorship, harassment, or intimidation,” it says.
On a White House-organized call, a Biden administration official said “we have seen a trend of rising digital authoritarianism.”
Russia spread disinformation to create its own narrative about the Ukraine war.Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
“Some states have been acting to repress freedom of expression to censor independent news sources, to interfere with elections, promote disinformation around the world and deny their citizens other human rights,” the official said.
“The last few months that provide an extreme example of such behavior in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia has aggressively promoted disinformation at home and abroad, censored internet news sources, blocked or shut down legitimate sites and gone insofar as they physically attack the internet infrastructure in Ukraine.”
The official added: “Russia however is hardly alone, but is just one of the leaders of a dangerous new model of internet policy, along with the People’s Republic of China and some of the other most censorial states in the world.”
“Some states have been acting to repress freedom of expression to censor independent news sources, to interfere with elections, promote disinformation around the world and deny their citizens other human rights,” the official said.
“The last few months that provide an extreme example of such behavior in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia has aggressively promoted disinformation at home and abroad, censored internet news sources, blocked or shut down legitimate sites and gone insofar as they physically attack the internet infrastructure in Ukraine.”
The official added: “Russia however is hardly alone, but is just one of the leaders of a dangerous new model of internet policy, along with the People’s Republic of China and some of the other most censorial states in the world.”
The US official described the internet effort as a practice to hinder countries like China and Russia.Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images/ Alexei Druzhinin
Security personnel keep watch outside Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization.Reuters/Thomas Peter
A reporter asked about Big Tech’s role in the framework.
“[Big Tech] are obviously stakeholders in this and we’ve consulted — like any other stakeholder, any other members of civil society,” the official replied. “But the primary impetus here was to get this question of state behavior and to meet what we see as a very negative trajectory and what we’ve seen as an effort to really sort of fundamentally change internet, the nature of the internet, from something that is an instrument of commerce and culture to something that is an instrument of state power.”
The official said that signers agree that there are some “things that should be off limits” — “whether it’s unlawful surveillance of your citizens, whether it’s blocking legitimate news sources, whether it’s shutting down the internet, or whether it’s interfering with the elections of other countries.”
A reporter asked about Big Tech’s role in the framework.
“[Big Tech] are obviously stakeholders in this and we’ve consulted — like any other stakeholder, any other members of civil society,” the official replied. “But the primary impetus here was to get this question of state behavior and to meet what we see as a very negative trajectory and what we’ve seen as an effort to really sort of fundamentally change internet, the nature of the internet, from something that is an instrument of commerce and culture to something that is an instrument of state power.”
The official said that signers agree that there are some “things that should be off limits” — “whether it’s unlawful surveillance of your citizens, whether it’s blocking legitimate news sources, whether it’s shutting down the internet, or whether it’s interfering with the elections of other countries.”
Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Oct. 19, 2021.AP/Mandel Ngan
The US government conducts some of its own contentious surveillance programs, including to intercept data that traverses connections that make up the internet’s backbone. Two federal appeals courts ruled that a dragnet phone-records program exposed in 2013 while Joe Biden was vice president was illegal and Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in February alleged that there’s a collection program unknown to the public that is “outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection.”
The US government conducts some of its own contentious surveillance programs, including to intercept data that traverses connections that make up the internet’s backbone. Two federal appeals courts ruled that a dragnet phone-records program exposed in 2013 while Joe Biden was vice president was illegal and Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in February alleged that there’s a collection program unknown to the public that is “outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection.”
Republicans fear new DHS 'disinformation' panel will be ‘Ministry of Truth’
FAIRNESS & JUSTICE
APRIL 29, 2022 11:49 AM
BY
NIHAL KRISHAN
Republicans are framing a new Disinformation Governance Board within the Biden administration as a threat to censor conservative speech.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the creation of the board on Wednesday to coordinate the federal government’s activities related to countering disinformation, with an immediate focus on unauthorized migration to the United States and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The board will be led by Nina Jankowicz, a former disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center and adviser to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, who has a history of controversial and misleading statements.
The conception of disinformation has become a controversial and polarizing matter. Liberals say disinformation, meaning false information spread deliberately and covertly, is a threat to democracy. Conservatives, though, increasingly say that the threat of disinformation is wrongly used as a cover to censor them.
"It can only be assumed that the sole purpose of this new Disinformation Governance Board will be to marshal the power of the federal government to censor conservative and dissenting speech," Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday. "This is dangerous and un-American."
ELON MUSK CRITIQUES TWITTER OVER HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP CENSORSHIP AND TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION
Republicans are concerned that the board could be used to police speech.
“Homeland security should focus on securing the homeland and protecting Americans, not on trying to create the embryo of a Ministry of Truth,” GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado told the Washington Examiner.
Republicans are also concerned about a February bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security saying the federal government plans to work with public and private sector partners, including Big Tech companies, to reduce the "proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions."
Homeland Security defines disinformation as information "deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, social group, organization, or country," while misinformation is "false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm.”
The GOP is also worried about the federal government and the DHS being distracted from the border crisis .
“The Biden administration is creating yet another distraction that will divert Department of Homeland Security resources away from our southern border,” Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida told the Washington Examiner.
“Yet, DHS somehow found enough resources to create a Climate Change Action Plan, Equity Task Force, and now a Disinformation Governance Board. This is a mismanagement of taxpayer dollars at best. The American people want our southern border secured immediately,” Steube said.
Some liberals have also expressed discomfort at the possibility of the government creating a disinformation board.
“I'm gonna go out on a limb here and gently suggest that having a Disinformation Governance Board operating out of the Department of Homeland Security is not exactly a reassuring thought,” said Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, a left of center think tank.
“How is this even up for debate? The government should not be involved in deciding what is true and false,” Hamid added.
Yet Glenn Gerstell, former general counsel for the National Security Agency and now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that fears about the board are overblown.
“There’s no indication at all so far that the disinformation board wants to remove any information, particularly from Americans, and this is highly unlikely given the First Amendment,” said Gerstell.
“Their focus is on combating foreign disinformation, I think, by giving citizens accurate information and correcting the record,” said Gerstell, who focused on foreign disinformation while in the government.
Gerstell pointed to a 2020 bipartisan report that disclosed Russia sought to intervene in the 2016 presidential election and noted that members of both parties support addressing such interventions.
“The alternative is to throw up our hands and say disinformation is so politically sensitive that we do nothing despite Americans being awash in harmful disinformation that is bad for our country. That’s not what people want,” Gerstell added.
Social media companies, which have faced intense scrutiny related to accusations that they have promoted the spread of disinformation, could welcome the government's intervention.
“Nina Jankowicz is a top-notch researcher on information integrity, and I’m glad she’s been put in this role,” said Katie Harbath, a former Facebook public policy director.
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
World Bank wants to end car sales to combat "climate change"
BY ARSENIOTOLEDO // 2022-04-26
The World Bank is suggesting an end to car sales as a way of combating the damage fossil fuel vehicles supposedly do to the environment. On April 21, Nicholas Stern, one of the world's most influential climate economists and former chief economist of the World Bank, claimed that ending the sale of vehicles with conventional internal combustion engines (ICE) might be a necessary action the world needs to take to combat climate change. "The right kind of policies have to be put in place, including the abolition of fossil fuel subsidies, the advancement of carbon pricing, but clarity on timescales for decentralization of the grid, clarity on timescales for stopping the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles, and so on – making sure the sense of direction is clear in those ways," said Stern. Stern made these remarks during an annual spring meeting hosted by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. When he was asked about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which contributed to rising energy prices around the world, including in the United States, Stern claimed the war shows how important it is to move away from fossil fuels. "The right thing to do is to move away faster and harder from fossil fuels," he said, later adding that making this radical change entails a "much bigger capacity for electricity." Stern's comments on fossil fuels and renewable energy were supported by current World Bank President David Malpass, who also said it was important for the world to move away from using coal. "We're at the point now where we have to be very concrete in how to close a coal-fired power plant in South Africa or Indonesia," said Malpass. "And those proved to be really difficult challenges because of the large cost and the long lifespan of the project." "We have to put in place a big transition, and we have to do it now," added Stern. "And of course, exiting coal, moving away from coal, [is an] absolutely core part of that – it's the lowest-hanging fruit."
California to ban gas vehicles by 2035
The World Bank's desires are being implemented in many parts of the world, most especially in California, where clean-air regulators have unveiled a plan that would phase out the sale of new gasoline-fueled vehicles by 2035. The proposal was put forward by the Air Resources Board of the California Environmental Protection Agency. If enacted, it would require 35 percent of all passenger vehicle sales in California to be for vehicles powered by batteries or hydrogen by 2026. By 2030, 68 percent of all passenger car sales must be supposedly zero-emission vehicles. By 2035, virtually all passenger car sales must not produce any emissions. (Related: Electric cars aren't going to save the Earth – or California.) This move would fulfill Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order released in 2020 that called for phasing out new cars with internal combustion engines within 15 years by requiring the state to only sell "zero-emission" vehicles by 2035. Newsom's executive order is in line with the state's years-long plan to shift sectors of the economy to only use renewable energy. Data from the state claim that emissions released by cars, trucks and other vehicles represent roughly 40 percent of pollution in the state. "With Californians still experiencing the harmful effects of smog-forming emissions and the effects of climate change, which are expected to worsen in the coming decades, adoption of the proposed ACC II [Advanced Clean Cars II] regulation is critical and necessary," read the state plan. "Building on 30 years of work to electrify light-duty vehicles in California, the market is clearly poised for massive transformation." The rule would not ban people from continuing to own internal combustion engine vehicles already in their possession. It would also not prevent them from selling them on the used car market. Electric vehicles are already becoming more popular in California. In 2020, electric vehicle sales represented 7.8 percent of all car sales in the state. In 2021, that number jumped to 12.4 percent of total sales. Learn more about alarmist environmental policies at ClimateAlarmism.news. Watch this clip from "The Pete Santilli Show" as he talks about Washington moving forward with its plan to ban non-electric cars by 2030.
California to ban gas vehicles by 2035
The World Bank's desires are being implemented in many parts of the world, most especially in California, where clean-air regulators have unveiled a plan that would phase out the sale of new gasoline-fueled vehicles by 2035. The proposal was put forward by the Air Resources Board of the California Environmental Protection Agency. If enacted, it would require 35 percent of all passenger vehicle sales in California to be for vehicles powered by batteries or hydrogen by 2026. By 2030, 68 percent of all passenger car sales must be supposedly zero-emission vehicles. By 2035, virtually all passenger car sales must not produce any emissions. (Related: Electric cars aren't going to save the Earth – or California.) This move would fulfill Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order released in 2020 that called for phasing out new cars with internal combustion engines within 15 years by requiring the state to only sell "zero-emission" vehicles by 2035. Newsom's executive order is in line with the state's years-long plan to shift sectors of the economy to only use renewable energy. Data from the state claim that emissions released by cars, trucks and other vehicles represent roughly 40 percent of pollution in the state. "With Californians still experiencing the harmful effects of smog-forming emissions and the effects of climate change, which are expected to worsen in the coming decades, adoption of the proposed ACC II [Advanced Clean Cars II] regulation is critical and necessary," read the state plan. "Building on 30 years of work to electrify light-duty vehicles in California, the market is clearly poised for massive transformation." The rule would not ban people from continuing to own internal combustion engine vehicles already in their possession. It would also not prevent them from selling them on the used car market. Electric vehicles are already becoming more popular in California. In 2020, electric vehicle sales represented 7.8 percent of all car sales in the state. In 2021, that number jumped to 12.4 percent of total sales. Learn more about alarmist environmental policies at ClimateAlarmism.news. Watch this clip from "The Pete Santilli Show" as he talks about Washington moving forward with its plan to ban non-electric cars by 2030.
New World Order Plans for the Economy. Be Prepared!
Transcription of the video
Lockdowns do work. Not at stopping the spread of a virus, but they’re successful at destroying economies. This virus is statistically as devastating to the population as a bad flu.
So why have the governments implemented and held such a disproportionate response, destroying their economies and pretending that it doesn’t matter? It’s because COVID is the scapegoat, and an excuse or an opportunity to bring about their “Great Reset”.
QE [Quantiative Easing. See https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quantitative-easing.asp] started in 2008, following the banking crisis caused by misuse of the lending markets, and the economy has been on life support ever since. In September 2019. a month before Bill Gates’ Event 201, the overnight money market seized, the Federal Reserve had to step in printing $50 million to $100 million per night to try and fix it. But there was no fixing it.
Monday, April 25, 2022
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Op-ed: A new world order is emerging — and the world is not ready for it
PUBLISHED SUN, APR 3 2022 10:17 AM EDTUPDATED MON, APR 4 2022 8:09 PM EDT
Frederick Kempe@FREDKEMPE
WATCH LIVE
DUBAI – "Are we ready for the new world order?"
The provocative title of the panel that lead off the ambitiously named World Government Summit here last week was framed to suggest that a new global order is emerging — and the world is not ready for it.
There has been a proliferation of writing about who will shape the future world order since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the most murderous Europe has suffered since 1939.
The tempting conclusion: Should Ukraine survive as an independent, sovereign, and democratic country, the U.S.- and Europe-backed forces will regain momentum against the previously ascendant Russian-Chinese forces of authoritarianism, oppression and (at least in Putin's case) evil.
That sounds like good news, but there is a downside.
"The Russian invasion of Ukraine and a series of COVID-related shutdowns in China do not, on the surface, appear to have much in common," writes Atlantic Council fellow Michael Schuman in The Atlantic (a publication not related to the Council). "Yet both are accelerating a shift that is taking the world in a dangerous direction, splitting it into two spheres, one centered on Washington, D.C., the other on Beijing."
My conversations in Dubai — at the World Government Summit and at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Forum — show little enthusiasm or conviction for this bifurcated vision of the future. The Middle Eastern participants have no interest in abandoning relations with China, the leading trading partner for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, or breaking with Russia, which established itself as a force to be reckoned with when it saved Syrian President Bashar al-Assad through its military intervention in his war.
Beyond that, our Mideast partners have lost confidence in America's commitment to global leadership or competence for it following last year's botched Afghanistan withdrawal. They are also experiencing whiplash from a Trump administration that trashed the nuclear deal with Iran to a Biden administration they feel is pursuing it without sufficiently factoring in Tehran's regional aggression.
In all my many travels to the Mideast over the years, I have never heard this level of frustration from Mideast government officials with American policymakers.
That said, they are watching Ukraine with fascination, because a Ukrainian victory — with a strong, united West behind it — would force a rethink about U.S. commitment and competence and shift the trajectory of declining transatlantic influence and relevance. Conversely, a Putin victory — even at a huge cost to Russians and Ukrainians alike — would accelerate Western decline as an effective global actor.
My own answer to the panel question on our preparedness for "the new world order" was to quote Henry Kissinger (who else?) in questioning the premise. "No truly 'global' world order' has ever existed," Kissinger wrote in his book "World Order." "What passes for order in our time was devised in Western Europe nearly four centuries ago, at a peace conference in the German region of Westphalia, conducted without the involvement or even the awareness of most other continents or civilizations." Over the following centuries, its influence spread.
With that as context, the question is not what the new world order would be, but rather if the U.S. and its allies can through Ukraine reverse the erosion of the past century's gains as a first step toward establishing the first truly "global" world order.
Former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley tells me the effort was the fourth attempt toward international order in the past century.
The first effort after World War I, through the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, tragically failed. Instead, the world got European fascism, U.S. isolationism, a global economic crisis, and millions dead from the Holocaust and World War II.
Following World War II, the U.S. and its partners were dramatically more successful, building what came to be called "the liberal international order," through the Marshall Plan and new multilateral institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank and IMF, NATO, the European Union, and others.
The third effort came following the West's Cold War triumph. European democracies emerged or were restored, NATO was enlarged, the European Union expanded, and it seemed for a time that the rules, practices, and institutions developed in the West after World War II and during the Cold War period could absorb and steer an expanded international order. China profited from and embraced this order for a time.
What has been eroding now for some years is U.S. leaders' commitment to defend, uphold and advance that expanded international order — what Kissinger called "an inexorably expanding cooperative order of states observing common rules and norms, embracing liberal economic systems, forswearing territorial conquest, respecting national sovereignty, and adopting participatory and democratic systems of government."
American foreign policy leadership has rarely been consistent, but it was remarkably so after World War II and through the end of the Cold War. Since then, the inconsistencies have grown, underscored by former President Barack Obama's "leading from behind" and former President Donald Trump's "America First."
Both, in their own ways, were a retreat from former President Harry Truman, and the post-World War II architecture and U.S. global leadership he established and embraced.
In the Middle East, countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE that were once our closest allies now are hedging their bets. Beyond the Iran disagreements, the failure of former President Trump to accept his own electoral defeat raises doubts among our friends about the durability of the American political system and the consistency of U.S. foreign policy.
Beyond that, our Mideast friends resent the Biden administration's characterization of the emerging global contest as one pitting democracy versus authoritarianism.
"Every democratic attempt in the Arab world has turned ideological or tribal, so I'm not sure it is something we can work out successfully," Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE President, told the World Government Summit. He sees the issues between democracy and authoritarianism as not binary, but ones of governance and the solution being "something in the middle of both."
President Joe Biden's decision to release on Thursday an "unprecedented" 180 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was an acknowledgment that America's traditional oil-producing partners were not prepared to help him. The decision came hours after OPEC ignored calls from western politicians to pump oil more quickly – and to resist any suggestion they should remove Russia from the organization.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited New Delhi this week to thank India for its refusal to join sanctions against Russia, an approach shared by Brazil, Mexico, Israel, and the UAE. Said Lavrov, "We will be ready to supply to India any goods which India wants to buy."
To shape the future world order, the U.S. and Europe first need to reverse the trajectory of Western and democratic decline in Ukraine.
The rest will need to follow.
—Frederick Kempe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Council.
Source
Wuhan lab had agreement with Texas university over destroying 'secret files'
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APRIL 24, 2022 07:00 AM
BY
JERRY DUNLEAVY
The Wuhan Institute of Virology had an agreement with the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Galveston National Laboratory to collaborate on scientific research, with the Chinese lab entitled to ask the Texas lab to “destroy” any “secret files.”
The revelation provides further details about how the Chinese government lab, which at least one U.S. intelligence agency regards as the most likely origin of the coronavirus pandemic, maintained relationships with U.S. government-funded institutions as it conducted its coronavirus research.
U.S. Right to Know obtained and published the late 2017 memorandum of understanding this week.
“All cooperation and exchanges documents, data, details, and materials shall be treated as confidential information by the parties,” the agreement said. “The confidentiality obligation shall be applicable throughout the duration of this MoU and after it has been terminated. The party is entitled to ask the other to destroy and/or return the secret files, materials, and equipment without any backups.”
It was signed by UTMB “coordinator” James LeDuc and WIV “coordinator” Zhiming Yuan.
“The Galveston National Laboratory is a national biocontainment laboratory built at the University of Texas Medical Branch by the National Institutes of Health and the State of Texas to help combat global health threats,” Christopher Smith Gonzalez, director of media relations at UTMB, told the Washington Examiner. “As a government-funded entity, UTMB complies with all applicable public information law obligations, including the preservation of all documentation of its research and findings.”
The university said it does not plan to renew the agreement with the WIV when the agreement expires at the end of 2022.
LeDuc, director of the GNL, and Yuan, director of the WIV, penned a joint opinion piece for Science in October 2018 titled, “Network for safe and secure labs.”
“These labs handle the world's most dangerous pathogens known, and there must be safeguards to prevent theft or misuse. At the same time, security must be balanced against mechanisms that support collaboration, including specimen sharing,” the duo wrote. “In preparation for the opening of the new China maximum biocontainment laboratory, we engaged in short-term and long-term personnel exchanges focused on biosafety training, building operations and maintenance, and collaborative scientific investigations in biocontainment. We succeeded in transferring proven best practices to the new Wuhan facility.”
UTMB released a statement in April 2020 saying the Galveston National Laboratory “has hosted Chinese scientists for training to work in the high-containment lab” and that its lab “is part of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Biodefense Laboratory Network.”
State Department cables from 2018 that were revealed in April 2020 warned of biosafety and management problems at the Wuhan lab and noted WIV officials said UTMB had trained lab technicians working there.
The Trump Education Department sent UTMB a letter in April 2020 noting the Galveston National Laboratory had “substantial contractual relations” with the Wuhan lab. The Education Department asked for “all records” related to the Wuhan lab, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or “bat lady” Shi Zhengli.
The Education Department said in November 2020 it was concluding its investigation, adding that the lab's activities "warrant continued heightened vigilance.”
“Accidents happen,” LeDuc said in April 2020. “You do your best to prevent it, and you prepare for an eventuality if it should happen. So all I can say is [the Wuhan lab] was built comparable to ours, with a whole series of redundant safety measures in place. ... But it would be foolish to say there’s no risk because there’s risk in everything.”
“I can say that this was a brand-new laboratory that was working at a level of biocontainment that they had not worked at in the past, so it’s not surprising that they don’t have a whole lot of people with experience in it,” LeDuc added. “It’s all speculation that the lab was involved and I think it’s very appropriate that people look into this because that’s where some of the work is done, but the timeline doesn’t make sense.”
Yuan told Chinese state television at the time that “there is absolutely no way that the virus originated from our institute.”
Scientists consulting with the U.S. government early in the pandemic believed COVID-19 originating from a lab in Wuhan was possible or even likely, but Dr. Anthony Fauci worked to shut the hypothesis down.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an assessment last summer saying that one U.S. intelligence agency assessed with “moderate confidence” that COVID-19 most likely emerged from a lab in Wuhan.
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Zelensky says top US diplomat Blinken to visit Ukraine on Sunday
Ukrainian president adds that US Secretary of Defense Austin will also join visit; repeats call for meeting with Putin in an effort to ‘put an end to the war’
By AGENCIES
23 Apr 2022, 10:50 pm
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during his meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2022. (Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Kyiv Sunday, the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Tomorrow, the American officials are coming to visit us; I will meet the Defense Secretary [Lloyd Austin] and Antony Blinken,” he told reporters Saturday.
He did not immediately share more detail about the visit from Blinken and Austin.
State of Jerusalem: The 'Secular' Struggle
It will be the first official visit by US government officials since the February 24 invasion.
The White House declined to comment on Saturday.
Zelensky has for weeks urged Western allies to send Ukraine more weapons to counter the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian leader on Saturday also called again for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in an effort to “put an end to the war.”
“I think that whoever started this war will be able to end it,” he told a news conference at a metro station in the heart of the Ukrainian capital, adding that he was “not afraid to meet” Putin if it would lead to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
He was ready to exchange Ukraine’s soldiers defending the city “in whatever format” to save “these people who find themselves in a horrible situation, surrounded.”
Zelensky said the “last contact” with the Mariupol soldiers had been an hour ago, he said, adding “today is one of the hardest days” since the start of the Russian siege of the city at the beginning of March.
He also said eight people had been killed and 18 wounded in Russian strikes on the Black Sea port of Odesa, updating an earlier toll given by local officials.
The Odesa and Mariupol deaths all but buried hopes of a truce for Orthodox Easter.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during his meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2022. (Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Kyiv Sunday, the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Tomorrow, the American officials are coming to visit us; I will meet the Defense Secretary [Lloyd Austin] and Antony Blinken,” he told reporters Saturday.
He did not immediately share more detail about the visit from Blinken and Austin.
State of Jerusalem: The 'Secular' Struggle
It will be the first official visit by US government officials since the February 24 invasion.
The White House declined to comment on Saturday.
Zelensky has for weeks urged Western allies to send Ukraine more weapons to counter the Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian leader on Saturday also called again for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in an effort to “put an end to the war.”
“I think that whoever started this war will be able to end it,” he told a news conference at a metro station in the heart of the Ukrainian capital, adding that he was “not afraid to meet” Putin if it would lead to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
“From the beginning, I have insisted on talks with the Russian president,” he said. “It’s not that I want [to meet him], it’s that I have to meet him so as to settle this conflict by diplomatic means.”
“We have confidence in our partners, but we have no confidence in Russia,” he added.
Zelensky denounced plans by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Moscow on Tuesday, before Kyiv.
“It is simply wrong to go first to Russia and then to Ukraine,” he said. “There is no justice and no logic in this order.”
Zelensky also repeated his warning that they would break off talks if Russia killed the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in the besieged Black Sea port of Mariupol.
“If our men are killed in Mariupol and if these pseudo-referendums are organized in the [southern] region of Kherson, then Ukraine will withdraw from any negotiation process,” he said.
“From the beginning, I have insisted on talks with the Russian president,” he said. “It’s not that I want [to meet him], it’s that I have to meet him so as to settle this conflict by diplomatic means.”
“We have confidence in our partners, but we have no confidence in Russia,” he added.
Zelensky denounced plans by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Moscow on Tuesday, before Kyiv.
“It is simply wrong to go first to Russia and then to Ukraine,” he said. “There is no justice and no logic in this order.”
Zelensky also repeated his warning that they would break off talks if Russia killed the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in the besieged Black Sea port of Mariupol.
“If our men are killed in Mariupol and if these pseudo-referendums are organized in the [southern] region of Kherson, then Ukraine will withdraw from any negotiation process,” he said.
A Ukrainian national flag, military helmet and medical documents are seen on a table at a destroyed part of the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)
He was ready to exchange Ukraine’s soldiers defending the city “in whatever format” to save “these people who find themselves in a horrible situation, surrounded.”
Zelensky said the “last contact” with the Mariupol soldiers had been an hour ago, he said, adding “today is one of the hardest days” since the start of the Russian siege of the city at the beginning of March.
He also said eight people had been killed and 18 wounded in Russian strikes on the Black Sea port of Odesa, updating an earlier toll given by local officials.
The Odesa and Mariupol deaths all but buried hopes of a truce for Orthodox Easter.
Source
Nick Fuentes Longs for the Days of Catholic Monarchy, Crusades...
WARNING: Explicit Language used in this video.
“You know what democracy has given us? Obesity. Low rates of literacy. It’s given us divorce, abortion, gay marriage, liberalism, pornography. That’s what democracy has given us. Ghettos and crime and political correctness. Diversity. Yeah, the track record of democracy? Not so good. Catholic autocracy? Pretty strong. Pretty strong record. Catholic monarchy? Catholic monarchy, and just war, and crusades, and inquisitions? Pretty good stuff.”
Friday, April 22, 2022
NJ diocese agrees to $87.5M deal to settle sex abuse suits
A Catholic diocese in New Jersey has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States
By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press
April 19, 2022, 6:31 PM
TRENTON, N.J. -- A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States.
The agreement between the Diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts of Philadelphia, and plaintiffs was filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden on Tuesday.
The settlement must still go before a U.S. bankruptcy judge. If approved, the settlement would exceed the nearly $85 million settlement in 2003 in the clergy abuse scandal in Boston, although it’s less than other settlements in California and Oregon.
“I want to express my sincere apology to all those who have been affected by sexual abuse in our Diocese," Bishop Dennis Sullivan said in a statement. “My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse and I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey never happens again.”
Details about what allegedly happened to the roughly 300 victims were not included in the proposed settlement, according to an attorney for some 70 of the victims.
“This settlement with the Bishop of Camden is a powerful advance in accountability,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing 74 of the roughly 300 survivors. “The credit goes to the survivors for standing up for themselves and the truth.”
The alleged sexual abuse occurred from the 1950s into the 1990s, Anderson said, but primarily unfolded in the 1960s and 1970s.
The diocese said the deal calls for setting up a trust, which will be funded over four years by the diocese and “related Catholic entities” to compensate survivors of sexual abuse. Part of the deal also requires maintaining or “enhancing” protocols to protect children.
Abuse survivors who filed a claim in the bankruptcy could get $290,000, according to victims' attorneys Jay Mascolo and Jason Amala.
The agreement comes more than two years after New Jersey expanded the window of its civil statute of limitations to allow for victims of sexual abuse by priests to seek legal compensation. The legislation lets child victims sue up until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The previous statute of limitations was age 20 or two years after first realizing the abuse caused harm.
The diocese, like others across the country, had filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits — up to 55, according to court records — stemming from the relaxed statute of limitation.
In 2019, New Jersey's five Catholic dioceses listed more than 180 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over a span of several decades, joining more than two dozen other states that have named suspected abusers in the wake of a landmark grand jury report in Pennsylvania in 2018.
Many priests on the lists were deceased, and others were removed from ministry.
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Rep. Ilhan Omar meets with recently ousted Pakistani PM Imran Khan to discuss Islamophobi
BY SARAKSHI RAI 04/20/22 02:03 PM ET
In this photo released by the media office of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, left, poses for a photograph with former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan after their meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Omar's first visit to Pakistan by a member of Congress since a new coalition government came into power in Islamabad last week after the ouster of former premier Imran Khan. (Media Office of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) met with recently ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on her maiden visit to the country on Wednesday.
Omar, who is one of the few Muslim members of Congress, met the recently removed prime minister at his at his home in Islamabad’s Bani Gala district, where they discussed Islamophobia and related issues.
In a tweet shared by a member of Khan’s political party, PTI, Omar was quoted as expressing her “admiration” for the political leader and for “his position on and work against Islamophobia globally.”
The tweet added that Khan also “appreciated her courageous and principled position on issues.”
Their meeting comes just weeks after the leader, who was removed from his position via a no confidence motion, alleged that Pakistan’s opposition party’s no-confidence motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because of his independent foreign policy.
Khan had previously alleged that Donald Lu, assistant secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State, was involved in the “foreign conspiracy” to topple his government.
However, State Department principal deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said at a press briefing in April that “there is absolutely no truth to the allegations.”
When asked about Khan’s claims, she said, “Let me just say very bluntly there is absolutely no truth to these allegations. Of course, we continue to follow these developments, and we respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and rule of law. But again, these allegations are absolutely not true.”
While in Pakistan, Omar also met with President Arif Alvi and newly appointed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.Equilibrium/Sustainability — The downside of displaying road fatality numbers Obama points finger at tech companies for disinformation in major speech
In a statement released after Omar’s meeting with Alvi, the government said, “Pakistan values its long standing relationship with the United States of America and expressed the hope that the constructive engagements between the two countries would promote peace and development in the region.”
Omar was quoted in the statement as saying “she appreciated the role played by Pakistan against Islamophobia, particularly towards the adoption of UN resolution in this regard.”
Sharif also praised Omar’s “courage of convictions and her political struggle” in a separate statement shortly after the meeting.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Snakes could be the Source o f the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
By Haitao Guo, Guangxiang "George" Luo and Shou-Jiang Gao, The Conversation
Updated 3:41 PM ET, FriJanuary 24, 2020
(CNN) Snakes -- the Chinese krait and the Chinese cobra -- may be the original source of the newly discovered coronavirus that has triggered an outbreak of a deadly infectious respiratory illness in China this winter.
Wuhan coronavirus death toll rises, as city imposes transport lackdown
The many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is a highly venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia.
The illness was first reported in late December 2019 in Wuhan, a major city in central China, and has been rapidly spreading. Since then, sick travelers from Wuhan have infected people in China and other countries, including the United States.
Using samples of the virus isolated from patients, scientists in China have determined the genetic code of the virus and used microscopes to photograph it. The pathogen responsible for this pandemic is a new coronavirus. It's in the same family of viruses as the well-known severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which have killed hundreds of people in the past 17 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV.
We are virologists and journal editors and are closely following this outbreak because there are many questions that need to be answered to curb the spread of this public health threat.
What is a coronavirus?
The name of coronavirus comes from its shape, which resembles a crown or solar corona when imaged using an electron microscope.
A visual guide to the Wuhan coronavirus
The electron microscopic image, reveals the crown shape structural details for which the coronavirus was named. This image is of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Coronavirus is transmitted through the air and primarily infects the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. Though most of the members of the coronavirus family only cause mild flu-like symptoms during infection, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV can infect both upper and lower airways and cause severe respiratory illness and other complications in humans.
This new 2019-nCoV causes similar symptoms to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. People infected with these coronaviruses suffer a severe inflammatory response.
Unfortunately, there is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment available for coronavirus infection. A better understanding of the life cycle of 2019-nCoV, including the source of the virus, how it is transmitted and how it replicates are needed to both prevent and treat the disease.
Read: What exactly is a coronavirus?
Zoonotic transmission
Both SARS and MERS are classified as zoonotic viral diseases, meaning the first patients who were infected acquired these viruses directly from animals. This was possible because while in the animal host, the virus had acquired a series of genetic mutations that allowed it to infect and multiply inside humans.
First US case of Wuhan coronavirus confirmed by CDC
Now these viruses can be transmitted from person to person. Field studies have revealed that the original source of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV is the bat, and that the masked palm civets (a mammal native to Asia and Africa) and camels, respectively, served as intermediate hosts between bats and humans.
In the case of this 2019 coronavirus outbreak, reports state that most of the first group of patients hospitalized were workers or customers at a local seafood wholesale market which also sold processed meats and live consumable animals including poultry, donkeys, sheep, pigs, camels, foxes, badgers, bamboo rats, hedgehogs and reptiles. However, since no one has ever reported finding a coronavirus infecting aquatic animals, it is plausible that the coronavirus may have originated from other animals sold in that market.
Life inside ground zero of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak
The hypothesis that the 2019-nCoV jumped from an animal at the market is strongly supported by a new publication in the Journal of Medical Virology. The scientists conducted an analysis and compared the genetic sequences of 2019-nCoV and all other known coronaviruses.
The study of the genetic code of 2019-nCoV reveals that the new virus is most closely related to two bat SARS-like coronavirus samples from China, initially suggesting that, like SARS and MERS, the bat might also be the origin of 2019-nCoV. The authors further found that the viral RNA coding sequence of 2019-nCoV spike protein, which forms the "crown" of the virus particle that recognizes the receptor on a host cell, indicates that the bat virus might have mutated before infecting people.
But when the researchers performed a more detailed bioinformatics analysis of the sequence of 2019-nCoV, it suggests that this coronavirus might come from snakes.
The Wuhan Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started, is now closed.
From bats to snakes
The researchers used an analysis of the protein codes favored by the new coronavirus and compared it to the protein codes from coronaviruses found in different animal hosts, like birds, snakes, marmots, hedgehogs, manis, bats and humans. Surprisingly, they found that the protein codes in the 2019-nCoV are most similar to those used in snakes.
Snakes often hunt for bats in wild. Reports indicate that snakes were sold in the local seafood market in Wuhan, raising the possibility that the 2019-nCoV might have jumped from the host species -- bats -- to snakes and then to humans at the beginning of this coronavirus outbreak. However, how the virus could adapt to both the cold-blooded and warm-blooded hosts remains a mystery.
The authors of the report and other researchers must verify the origin of the virus through laboratory experiments. Searching for the 2019-nCoV sequence in snakes would be the first thing to do. However, since the outbreak, the seafood market has been disinfected and shut down, which makes it challenging to trace the new virus' source animal.
3 reasons the US is not ready for a pandemic
Sampling viral RNA from animals sold at the market and from wild snakes and bats is needed to confirm the origin of the virus. Nonetheless, the reported findings will also provide insights for developing prevention and treatment protocols.
The 2019-nCoV outbreak is another reminder that people should limit the consumption of wild animals to prevent zoonotic infections.
Haitao Guo and Shou-Jiang Gao are professors of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. Guangxiang "George" Luo is a professor of microbiology at University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Republished under a Creative Commons license from The Conversation.
Monday, April 18, 2022
US Biologic® to Present at World Vaccine Congress on April 20
NEWS PROVIDED BYUS Biologic, Inc.
Apr 18, 2022, 07:28 ET
MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- US Biologic today announced that Dr. Jolieke G. van Oosterwijk, Chief Scientific Officer, will present at the World Vaccine Congress Washington 2022 in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 3:25 p.m. ET.
Dr. van Oosterwijk will speak on "Using zoonotic disease surveillance to guide oral vaccine design" and will present the methods US Biologic uses to effectively prevent pandemic-level diseases at first surveillance.
Surveillance is not the last step to prevent pandemics that can cost millions of lives and trillions in economic damage.
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"Surveillance is an essential first step," van Oosterwijk says, "But it's not the last step to prevent pandemics that can cost millions of lives and trillions in economic damage." In the presentation, Dr. van Oosterwijk will connect effective surveillance, rapid vaccine design, manufacturing, and application, as well interactions between complementary animal and human vaccination campaigns.
"Seventy-five percent of all emerging infectious disease start with animals," says David Sanders, Executive Director of Securing America's Medicines and Supply (SAMS), of which US Biologic is a member. "US Biologic's oral-delivery platform provides an essential toolkit to protect American health and security. How else are we going to prevent the next animal-borne pandemic?"
About US Biologic:
US Biologic "Delivers Disease Prevention®". The company's proprietary oral-delivery platform is changing global disease prevention, allowing safe, effective, and cost-efficient delivery of vaccines and therapeutics. The company is developing orally delivered animal vaccines against tick-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistant bacteria, and African Swine Fever, among others. The company also has partnered with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe) program to develop an orally delivered flu vaccine for humans.
Aspire. Innovate. Deliver.
SOURCE US Biologic, Inc.
Sunday, April 17, 2022
University to Pay $400,000 to Professor Punished for Refusing to Use Student’s Preferred Pronouns
Brittany Bernstein
4 hrs ago
© Brendan McDermid/Reuters
A person holds up a flag during rally to protest the Trump administration's reported proposal to narrow the definition of gender to male or female at birth at City Hall in New York City, October 24, 2018.
Shawnee State University in Ohio has reached a settlement with a professor whom it punished for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns, according to a new report.
The university will pay philosophy professor Nick Meriwether $400,000 in damages and attorney fees and will rescind a written warning it issued to Meriwether in June 2018 in response to a biological male student’s complaint that the professor refused to use female pronouns for the student, Fox News reported.
The controversy began in January 18 when Meriwether responded to the student’s question during a political philosophy class by saying, “Yes, sir.” After class, the student told the professor that the student is transgender and asked to be referred to as a woman going forward, including with “feminine titles and pronouns,” according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Meriwether in court.
The professor argued that obliging the student’s requests would violate his own convictions as a Christian. When the professor declined to use female pronouns, the student became belligerent and told Meriwether he would be fired, according to court documents cited by Fox News.
The student then filed a complaint with Shawnee State, which opened an investigation into the incident. The university found that the professor “effectively created a hostile environment” for the student by not using the preferred pronouns. Meriwether offered to call the student by any name requested, however. The student did not accept the professor’s offer, according to the report.
Video: Yale professor warns law schools are in crisis after students disrupt free speech panel (FOX News)
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Yale professor warns law schools are in crisis after students disrupt free speech panel
The university placed a written warning in the professor’s personnel file warning that “further corrective actions” could be taken if a similar incident occurred.
Meriwether then sued the university, arguing that it violated his “right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment.”
The settlement comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of the lawsuit in March 2021, allowing the professor’s lawsuit to move forward.
ADF announced last week that it reached a settlement with the university.
“Public universities should welcome intellectual and ideological diversity, where all students and professors can engage in meaningful discussions without compromising their core beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. “Dr. Meriwether rightly defended his freedom to speak and stay silent, and not conform to the university’s demand for uniformity of thought. We commend the university for ultimately agreeing to do the right thing, in keeping with its reason for existence as a marketplace of ideas.”
Pope Francis slams Russia, calls for peace in Ukraine on ‘Easter of war’
By
Jackie Salo
"We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence," Pope Francis said.Yara Nardi/REUTERS
Pope Francis, on what he called an “Easter of war,” pleaded for peace in Ukraine and blasted Russia for pulling the country into a “cruel and senseless” conflict.
“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,” Francis said on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Square.
The 85-year-old pope had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed with people for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020. Applause erupted from the 50,000 people in the square at the mention of Ukraine.
He dedicated most of his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address to Ukraine.
“Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,” he said.
Francis, who suffers from leg pain and gave most of the address while sitting, called on world leaders to “hear people’s plea for peace.”
Pope Francis, on what he called an “Easter of war,” pleaded for peace in Ukraine and blasted Russia for pulling the country into a “cruel and senseless” conflict.
“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,” Francis said on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Square.
The 85-year-old pope had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed with people for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020. Applause erupted from the 50,000 people in the square at the mention of Ukraine.
He dedicated most of his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address to Ukraine.
“Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,” he said.
Francis, who suffers from leg pain and gave most of the address while sitting, called on world leaders to “hear people’s plea for peace.”
Pope Francis celebrating Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square packed with people for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.Yara Nardi/REUTERS
Debris of a residential building damaged by a military strike in Luhansk.Serhii Nuzhnenko/REUTERS
Firefighters work to put out a fire at Lysychansk Oil Refinery after if was hit by a missile.Marko Djurica/REUTERS
Pope Francis called on world leaders to “hear people’s plea for peace.”Yara Nardi/REUTERS
“Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering,” Francis said.
“I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground,” he added.
With Post wires
Peril to Those Who Remain Unnecessarily
In harmony with the light given me, I am urging people to come out from the great centers of population. Our cities are increasing in wickedness, and it is becoming more and more evident that those who remain in them unnecessarily do so at the peril of their soul's salvation.—Manuscript 115, 1907.
Country Living, p.9.
You don't have to hide in darkness when you are doing what's right
by Washington Examiner
| April 17, 2022 12:00 AM
Unjustly arrested in a night raid by the authorities of his time, Jesus Christ met his captors with an objection whose reasoning is almost poetic.
"Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me," he said, referring to his very public career as a teacher. "But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness."
Even outside the immediate context of the story of his passion and resurrection, Jesus is stating a clear truth about the unique characteristics of good and evil. He rightly accused his captors of acting in secret because they knew they were doing something wrong. They wanted to arrest him, but they didn't want to do it in a way that would draw public attention and turn public opinion against them.
This could be justly applied to most situations involving all functions of government. When officials try to hide their actions, it is usually a bad sign. And this year, voters are awakening to a great deal of government secrecy hiding acts most foul.
Federal prosecutors, betraying the public trust, are effectively throwing cases, pleading with judges to let people off the hook. District and state attorneys are cutting breaks for violent felons so they can prey upon the most vulnerable among us. Morally corrupt public school officials are employing classic abuser behavior, telling children to keep secrets from their parents. Taking cues from deeply misguided activists, they are attempting to sexualize younger children with topics completely inappropriate for their ages. The older children they have attempted to transition their genders behind their parents' backs, on the taxpayers' dime.
All of these acts have been committed in secret, and the officials involved have, in many cases, expressed anger when their behavior has been exposed.
Meanwhile, social media platforms are flagrantly suppressing news and free speech by using vague, opaque, and inconsistently enforced rules. They do this to make others live in fear of expressing their views or expressing the truth. They do this in order to keep people isolated and afraid — and less likely to resist the evils they support.
There is much wickedness being done in the name of the common good. But there is also an answer to this and all other injustices.
"The time is coming," he said, "when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear."
In the hour of darkness, hatred, and division, just when everything seems most hopeless, and unfixable, at least remember: The situation must have seemed considerably worse to Jesus's friends upon his arrest. Yet Jesus, having sacrificed himself for humanity in an act of generosity and restorative justice for the sins of all, did indeed rise from the dead.
It will not take nearly as great a miracle as that to fix what ails this nation today.
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