Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Let's Talk About Cleavage Sites, Patents, DARPA and Moderna

Someone asked me about all of this so I thought I would dust off this old topic and take a bit of a look. I hope you enjoy.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Israel starving Palestinians to force them out of Gaza: Monitor

from Daily Sabah

A Europe-based human rights monitor said Israel is starving Palestinians as a means of war to push them out of Gaza or even kill them, as Palestinians are also left with no access to clean water amid Israel's blockade and incessant attacks, which have destroyed civilian infrastructure in the blockaded enclave.

The chairperson of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor Ramy Abdu told Anadolu Agency (AA) about the famine in Gaza, which is under relentless Israeli attacks and blockade, and the difficult conditions faced by Gazans.

He said that people could not cook due to the large-scale food shortage in the Gaza Strip, noting that while an average of 500 truckloads of aid entered the region daily before the start of the ongoing Israeli war, this number is currently at 100 trucks or less.

Abdu said: "We can speak about maybe 50 to 100 trucks that arrived in northern Gaza during the last 100 days at least and a severe hunger in this area (northern Gaza).”

He said there is "severe hunger” and a "shortage in everything” in the region. "The people are starving, really starving in this area.”

"More than half a million Palestinians here are suffering very harsh conditions of winter, and a very harsh condition of the shortage of food supplies,” Abdu added...

read more here

Israeli forces disguised as women raid West Bank hospital

from RT

Israeli commandos, some disguised as civilian Palestinian women and medics, conducted a raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, officials have said. Three people died in the operation, including one accused by Israel of plotting an imminent attack.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli troops had killed three people in the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin, and called upon the international community to condemn such operations taking place at health facilities.

CCTV footage of the raid circulating on social media, which has not yet been independently verified, appeared to show several undercover troops, including three dressed as women and two disguised as medics, carrying rifles in a hospital corridor. The commandos can be seen searching one man who is kneeling against a wall, before they appear to place a bag over his head.

Israel claimed that the three people killed in the raid were Palestinian militants who had been using the hospital as a hideout. One of the deceased men, identified by the military as Mohammed Jalamneh, had been planning “a raid inspired by the October 7 massacre,” Israeli officials said...

read more here

‘You become a traitor and a bad Jew’: Israeli anti-war activists speak to RT about their country’s actions

from RT

For more than 115 days Israel has been fighting in Gaza, in a bid to free its 136 hostages and destroy Hamas, the Islamic militant organization responsible for the October 7 massacre that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 Israelis.

So far, over 26,000 Palestinians have died in the relentless Israeli shelling. Thousands more have been injured. Israel is facing strong international pressure to end the war, but officials in Jerusalem are refusing to budge, while a recent poll indicated that 87% of Israeli Jews support the operation and want it to continue.

Yet, there are also those who refuse to follow the majority view. RT spoke to two representatives of the so-called anti-war bloc, which is calling for an end to Israel’s occupation. Gaia Dan is a 23-year-old Jewish student originally from Haifa in northern Israel. Dr. Salim Abbas is an Arab geologist. Both are concerned about the route Israel is taking, and have been resorting to demonstrations to change the reality...

read more here

Was Strike on Tower 22 a False Flag?

 

 Was the attack on our base in Jordan allowed to take place or was it orchestrated by USSOCOM in order to trigger a full war on Iran as retaliation for them joining BRICS? (place holder until I complete video essay.)

Enemy drone that killed US troops in Jordan was mistaken for a US drone, preliminary report suggests

from AP

U.S. forces may have mistaken an enemy drone for an American one and let it pass unchallenged into a desert base in Jordan where it killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens more, officials said Monday.

Details of the Sunday attack emerged as President Joe Biden faced a difficult balancing act, blaming Iran and looking to strike back in a forceful way without causing any further escalation of the Gaza conflict.

As the enemy drone was flying in at a low altitude, a U.S. drone was returning to the small installation known as Tower 22, according to a preliminary report cited by two officials, who were not authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity,

As a result, there was no effort to shoot down the enemy drone that hit the outpost. One of the trailers where troops sleep sustained the brunt of the strike, while surrounding trailers got limited damage from the blast and flying debris. While there are no large air defense systems at Tower 22, the base does have counter-drone systems, such as Coyote drone interceptors.

Aside from the soldiers killed, the Pentagon said more than 40 troops were wounded in the attack, most with cuts, bruises, brain injuries and similar wounds. Eight were medically evacuated, including three who were going to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The other five, who suffered “minor traumatic brain injuries,” were expected to return to duty...

read more here

BRICS Expansion a Threat To SWIFT Payment System & US Dollar

 from Watcher

The new BRICS expansion could lead to a decline in global SWIFT transactions that can inadvertently affect the US dollar. The 9-member BRICS alliance is looking to end cross-border settlements with SWIFT using the US dollar and aims to pay in local currencies. The development adds pressure on the SWIFT payment system leading to a decline in the US dollar-based settlements by BRICS.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio was the first to warn that BRICS poses a threat to SWIFT and the US dollar. The BRICS expansion will make more countries cut ties with both the US dollar and the global SWIFT payment system.

“BRICS’s members pool foreign currency reserves and lend billions in easy money to pit developing nations against the US and other Western countries,” he said. The Senator added that the expansion gives them more power to challenge the SWIFT system and the US dollar.

“This doubles the trade group’s size, enhancing its attractiveness as an alternative to the American and European-led financial system,” Rubio said...

read more here

BRICS Expanded So What Next

 from Modern Diplomacy

The BRICS group, initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, emerged as a forum for discussion and policy cooperation among key rising market nations. Over time, it transformed into a transregional governance framework with the addition of South Africa in 2010, aiming for comprehensive goals in political, security, economic, and social aspects. The BRIC nations are projected to become the world’s most powerful economies, with their combined GDP growing significantly over the years.

The BRICS expansion policy gained momentum after the 14th Summit, with discussions on widening networks and collaboration. However, the geopolitical landscape, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, poses obstacles to the alliance’s three most powerful nations – China, India, and Russia. However, after a lull five countries Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Iran and Ethiopia have joined formally on January 1st, 2024...

read more here

Monday, January 29, 2024

Egyptian officials are charging Palestinians a massive ransom to escape the Gaza genocide

 from Mondoweiss

On February 19, I am going to turn 23. I’m anxious that the day will come and the war will still be ongoing, but then again, I’m not entirely sure I will live long enough to see it.

Before the Israeli war on Gaza, I lived a peaceful life, going every day to Al-Aqsa University in pursuit of my studies. My school has now been bombed by the Israeli military even though it was full of displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza. The bombing campaign killed a number of the displaced, turning the place I used to study, laugh, and feel joy into a horror movie.

My friend and classmate, Nadia Abd El-Latif, was killed during the Israeli onslaught due to a direct Israeli airstrike on her house. The same thing happened to other friends and colleagues — Mahmoud Al-Naouq, Yousrf Dawwas, and Muhammad Hammo. 

My teacher, Refaat Alareer, was killed in the same way, as was my cousin’s husband, along with her seven-year-old son. All of these deaths have left me drained. After over a hundred days, Israel’s war is still ongoing, and my soul feels worn...

read more here

French farmers plan ‘siege’ of Paris despite government concessions

 from Politico

The French government rushed to appease the country's farmers on Sunday in a last-ditch bid to prevent a major blockade of the French capital this week. But agriculture union leaders showed no signs of backing down from their ongoing protests over a range of grievances related to taxes, regulations and prices.

Freshly minted French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal spent Sunday visiting a cattle farm in Indre-et-Loire, as Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau promised new measures would be unveiled as soon as Tuesday to address farmers’ concerns at both the EU and national level.

The ministers are trying to head off a promised “siege” of Paris by the farmers, with major roads around France already facing blockages.

Attal acknowledged Sunday that longstanding rules have been throwing “sticks in the wheels” and heaping new burdens on farmers over recent decades, and lamented that politics seemed to be pitting farmers against the environment. While he announced some concessions on Friday, Attal said he was well aware that the government had not yet addressed the issues at the root of the farmers’ grievances...

read more here

French farmers block major motorways around Paris as dispute escalates

 from al Jazeera

French farmers have blocked major motorways around France with tractors in a standoff with the government over concerns about inflation and competition from cheap imports.

On Monday, farmers said they aimed to establish eight chokepoints on significant roads into Paris.

“We need answers,” said Karine Duc, a farmer in southwestern Lot-et-Garonne, as she joined a convoy of tractors heading for Paris.

“This is the final battle for farming. It’s a question of survival,” she told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

The government, which has been careful to avoid an escalation, has gradually dropped plans to reduce subsidies on agricultural diesel and promised to ease environmental regulations.

Paris has also said it would push its European Union peers to agree to ease regulations on fallow farmland.

Farmers must meet certain conditions to receive EU subsidies, including a requirement to devote 4 percent of farmland to “non-productive” areas where nature can recover...

 read more here

French farmers block motorways around Paris aheads of talks with PM

from France 24

Protests have been staged in recent weeks across France, a major agricultural producer, by farmers angry about shrinking incomes, red tape and environmental policies they say undermine their ability to compete with other countries. 

Protesting farmers blocked the A13 highway to the west of the capital, the A4 to the east and the A6, which saw hundreds of tractors rolling towards Paris from the south.

By mid-afternoon they appeared to have met their objective of establishing eight chokepoints on major roads into Paris, according to Sytadin, a traffic monitoring service.

A banner on one tractor in the protest read: "We will not die in silence."

"We need answers," said Karine Duc, a farmer in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne department, as she joined a convoy of tractors heading for Paris.

"This is the final battle for farming. It's a question of survival," she told AFP...

read more here

Israel launches missile attack on outskirts of Damascus, killing Syrian civilians

 from Press TV

The Israeli regime has launched a deadly missile attack on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus as the occupying entity continues its brutal ground and air aggression against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Syrian media said the strikes targeted an area near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine in a southern suburb of Damascus on Monday, with initial reports putting the number of civilians killed at two in addition to material damage.

The Syrian Defense Ministry confirmed in a short statement the reports of the Israeli regime’s strikes and said, “In the Zionist regime’s aggression, some places in the south of Damascus were targeted, which led to the martyrdom and wounding of several civilians.”

Syria's official news agency SANA reported that the airstrike was launched from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and targeted several locations in southern Damascus...

 read more here

At least 10 Gazans killed in Israeli shelling of UN agency school

 from Daily Sabah

Israeli shelling of a U.N. school, sheltering internally displaced Gazans, killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 others, local authorities said Monday.

Palestinian medical sources at Al-Shifa Medical Complex reported that the Israeli army last night targeted the Al-Rimal neighborhood with airstrikes and artillery in the most intense attacks in over a month, following the withdrawal of military vehicles from the neighborhood in mid-December.

According to the enclave's Health Ministry, at least 165 Palestinians were killed and 290 others injured in the last 24 hours amid continued Israeli onslaught.

"The Israeli occupation committed 19 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 165 martyrs and 290 injured during the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement Monday.

"Many people are still trapped under rubble as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added...

read more here

Russia plans new system as dollar-based mechanism 'unreliable, dangerous'

 from Daily Sabah

The Kremlin on Saturday said Russia was working on a new system of economic relations with other countries as the U.S. dollar-based mechanism proves to be "unreliable, false and dangerous."

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there is no need to bother about the dollar system weakening since the U.S. itself is undermining it through its actions.

"Russia is building a new system of economic connections because the previous system turned out to be unreliable, false and dangerous. Russia is looking for an opportunity to develop alternatives," Peskov said.

Russia has consistently criticized the U.S. for using its dominance in the global financial system to impose financial sanctions, such as freezing accounts, prohibiting payments and banning the sale of the dollar, which serves as an international payment currency, and influencing fund allocation through international financial institutions.

The U.S. controls the international system for transmitting information and making payments known as SWIFT, and is home to two of the world's largest financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)...

read more here

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Negotiators close to Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal – NYT

from RT

Israel and Hamas are on course to reach a prolonged ceasefire deal within the next two weeks, the New York Times has reported, citing unnamed US officials close to the negotiations.

The US-brokered agreement could see Hamas release the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for the IDF stopping its attacks on Gaza for about two months, the paper said in an article on Saturday.

According to the sources, a written draft combining the proposals from both sides has been put together over the past ten days, and will be discussed at talks in Paris on Sunday...

read more here

Red Sea attacks deliver new shock to global trade, but will it get worse?

from Daily Sabah

Car factories in Belgium and Germany have come to a standstill. A renowned British department store faces delays in launching its spring fashion lines. A Maryland-based company producing hospital supplies is grappling with uncertainty over the arrival of crucial parts from Asia.

Attacks on ships in the Red Sea are delivering another shock to global trade, coming on top of pandemic-related logjams at ports and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Houthi rebels in Yemen, seeking to stop Israel's offensive against Gaza, are attacking cargo ships plying the waters connecting Asia with Europe and the United States, forcing traffic away from the Suez Canal and around the tip of Africa. The disruption is causing delays and driving up costs – at a time when the world has yet to vanquish a resurgence of inflation.

"What’s happened right now is short-term chaos, and chaos leads to increased costs," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the supply chain management company Flexport. "Every ship that gets rerouted has 10,000 containers on it. It’s a lot of emails and phone calls getting made to replan each of those container journeys."...

read more here

ChatGPT's Opinion About Me and the Concept of the American Everyman

 (Someone we will call "Tee" asked ChatGPT a series of questions about 'Scott Creighton' and the following is the unedited chat log of that exchange. Specifically interesting is it's take on the concept of the American Everyman. My thoughts added IN RED)

And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’”
- George Orwell,
1984, Book 1, Chapter 3


'It knows nothing more than you throw out there.'

'The system is a “system”, but it is dumb, and it knows just what you put out there.  You are putting yourself out there'

'Tee' , emails


Tee - Can you tell me Scott Creighton’s views on China?

ChatGPT - I'm sorry, but I don't have any specific information on Scott Creighton's views on China. Scott Creighton is a conspiracy theorist who has expressed a number of controversial views on various topics, but I do not have access to a comprehensive list of his views on every issue. It is possible to search online for articles or interviews in which he has expressed his views on China, but I would advise taking any information found with a grain of salt and critically evaluating it before accepting it as fact. (as would I. You should take EVERY piece of information you find the exact same way. If more people did, this country would be in far better shape)

Tee - Can you tell me Scott Creighton’s view on the events of 9/11?

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Friday, January 26, 2024

WHO chief breaks down in tears describing 'hellish' Gaza conditions

 from Press TV

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has broken down in tears while demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip amid relentless Israeli ground and aerial offensives against Palestinians in the war-torn coastal sliver.

Addressing the WHO Executive Board in the Swiss city of Geneva on Thursday during a discussion about the Gaza health emergency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus became emotional, describing conditions in Gaza as “hellish.”

“I’m a true believer because of my own experience that war doesn’t bring solution, except more war, more hatred, more agony, more destruction. So let’s choose peace and resolve this issue politically,” said Tedros, who lived through war as a child and whose own children hid in a bunker during bombardments in Ethiopia’s 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea.

“I think all of you have said the two-state solution and so on, and hope this war will end and move into a true solution,” he said, before breaking down.

The WHO chief said he was “struggling to speak” as he looked down and took a long pause before adding that it was because the situation in Gaza was “beyond words.”..

read more here

Hamas says to commit to potential ICJ ceasefire ruling if Israel complies

 from Press TV

Hamas says it will commit to a potential International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling mandating a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which is enduring a genocidal Israeli war if the Israeli regime adheres to such a verdict too.

The Palestinian resistance movement made the remarks in a statement on Thursday, a day before the court is expected to hand down the ruling in a case lodged against it by South Africa late last month.

 Hamas "is following with great interest the deliberations of the International Court of Justice following the request submitted by South Africa to the court to stop the genocide against our people, especially in Gaza," the statement said...

read more here

Il-76 Provocation ‘Setting Zelensky Up for Fall at Time of US’s Choosing’

 from Sputnik

More than a day has passed since Wednesday morning’s downing of a Russian Il-76 transport plane full of Ukrainian PoWs near the Ukrainian border, with Kiev, Washington and Brussels silent following revelations by Russia’s Defense Ministry that the plane was struck by Ukrainian missiles. Sputnik asked Russian and Western observers what it all means.

In a televised address to the nation Wednesday night, President Zelensky said Ukrainian military intelligence would seek to “clarify the fates” of PoWs presumed lost in the Il-76 crash, accusing Russia of "playing with the[ir] lives" and calling for an “international investigation” into the incident.
 
Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s General Staff said it would “continue to take measures to destroy the missile delivery means” used by Russia, “including in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction,” and neither commented on nor denied Ukrainian involvement in the Il-76’s downing.
 
Hours before that, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman confirmed to US media that a prisoner swap had been scheduled for Wednesday, indicating that Kiev had direct knowledge of the Russian aircraft’s route and mission.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday that Russia would be prepared for an international probe proposed by Zelensky, “if he means an international investigation into the criminal actions of the Kiev regime,” which “is definitely needed.”
 
“The exchange of prisoners is a process that takes place in complete silence. The fact that the Ukrainians killed their PoWs, their citizens, who should have been at home literally in a day, this, of course, is a completely monstrous act. It’s beyond comprehension,” Peskov said...

read more here

Killing journalists is Israel's way of masking truths: Turkish official

from Daily Sabah

Intimidating and killing journalists has been Israel's fundamental strategy of covering up the truth in Gaza since Oct. 7, Türkiye's director of communications said Friday as he addressed a symposium on "Media's Struggle for Truth in the Gaza War: Violence, Disinformation, Censorship" in Istanbul.

Emphasizing the death of 120 journalists in Gaza resulting from Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded enclave launched in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said, "If it weren't for the efforts of these heroes, the world would not be aware of Israel's massacres and the oppression faced by the people of Gaza today."

Altun accused Western media outlets of "playing the three monkeys" in the face of Israeli violations, against which "the whole world should stand up."

"Israel commits crimes while systematically lying, concealing what's happening on the ground and portraying false events," the director said. "Israel is attempting to annihilate a city, a people for good, they are killing civilians, women and children, before the eyes of the whole world."..

read more here

On Authentic Hirbawi Kufiyas and Tempered ICJ Rulings

 


 

To avoid counterfeits, please always use our list of official partners at www.hirbawi.ps.


 Hirbawi Kufiya shop https://www.kufiya.org/product-category/shop/

Hirbawi Kufiya main The Last and Only factory in Palestine. https://www.kufiya.org/

Hirbawi Kufiya partners page https://www.hirbawi.ps/where-to-buy/

When it comes to Kufiyas Please Consider the Source - Hirbawi Email

Dear Hirbawi Community,
We have exciting news - our next batch of kufiyas is nearly here, and will restock every two weeks. 🎉
 
Despite this amazing news, we feel obliged to warn you about the growing issue of counterfeit kufiyas flooding the market, as we need your help.
Warning - Counterfeit Hirbawi Kufiyas 🚩
Fake and low quality kufiyas has always been a problem we have struggled with, and is the reason all our brothers closed their factories, whilst we alone continued to produce authentic kufiyas against the sea of chinese replicas.
 
However, it has now come to our attention that certain websites have chosen to imitate our factory directly, copying our packaging and logo in order to take advantage of our reputation, and to capitalize on the demand for Hirbawi kufiyas.
 
To avoid counterfeits, please always use our list of official partners at www.hirbawi.ps.

 

Thursday, January 25, 2024

NDAA 2012 From Presidential Signing Statements to Domestic Irregular Warfare - Here's What I Know


 

Someone asked about NDAA 2012. Here's what I know about it and what you should as well.

Oh Lookie: Yet Another Batch of White Guy “Terrorists” (The New Batman Must Be Coming Out Soon)(archive)

(archived from May 19, 2012)

by Scott Creighton

Well, it would seem that the midnight raid in Chicago saved the day yet again, proving once more that we have to give up our freedoms and security and let the cops bust in our doors with no search warrant so that we can be safe from all those white male aged 23-35 middle class looking “commie faggot” terrorists. And once again, they were after our “Glorious Leader” just like zombie bin Laden was (according to that super secret intel). I guess they were “radicalized’ huh?

One week after a US District Court struck down the constitutionality of the provisions in the 2012 NDAA which allowed for the determination that the United States was part of the battlefield in the fictional “Global War on Terror” we have this: a new “terrorist” threat with 3 white guy perps, citizens of the United States.

Court Finds Homeland Battlefield Act of NDAA to be Unconstitutional (archive)

(archived from May 16, 2012)

by Scott Creighton

In a developing story, a U.S. District Judge, Katherine Forrest, has declared unconstitutional an extremely controversial part of the 2012 NDAA which declared that the entire world was part of the global battlefield in the still ongoing “Global War on Terror” which Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 31st, 2011.

This is part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by Chris Hedges and other journalists and scholars who worried that the language of the Homeland Battlefield Act was purposefully vague and could ensnare journalists and activists in a military crackdown on terrorist organizations or those who support them (MeK anyone?) without them even knowing it was happening of that they were considered to be aiding the organizations simply by writing about them.

Obama Disavows Constitution, Does an End Run Around Congress With NDAA Signing Statement (archive)

(archived from January 1, 2012)

by Scott Creighton

“I taught the constitution for 10 years. I believe in the constitution and I will obey the constitution of the United States. We are not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end run around congress.” Candidate Obama, May 2008

In May of 2008 when he was running for office, candidate Obama answered a question from the audience about the use of presidential signing statements. This is what he said:

“We have a government designed by the founders with checks and balances. You don’t want a president who’s too powerful a congress that’s too powerful, or a court system that’s too powerful. Everyone has their own role. Congress’s job is too pass legislation. The president can veto it or he can sign it. But what George Bush has been trying to do as part of his effort to accumulate more power in the presidency, is… he’s been saying “well I can basically change what congress passed by attaching a letter saying “I don’t agree with this part or I don’t agree with that part… I’m gonna choose to interpret it this way or that way“”… that’s not part of his power but this is part of the whole theory of George Bush that he can make laws as he’s going along. I disagree with that. I taught the constitution for 10 years. I believe in the constitution and I will obey the constitution of the United States. We are not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end run around congress.”  Barack Obama, 2008

When President Obama went back on his word and signed the NDAA of 2012, he issued a signing statement which does exactly, word for word, what candidate Obama chastised President Bush for doing nearly 4 years ago. His signing statement, aside from issuing a toothless platitude about not using military detention for US citizens, lays out section by section how the president intends to interpret various provisions of the legislation passed by congress. Obama’s signing statement actually says almost word for word “I don’t agree with this part or I don’t agree with that part… I’m gonna choose to interpret it this way or that way

S. 1867 NDAA 2012 – The Udall Solution is the Threat (archive)

(archived from November 29, 2011)

by Scott Creighton

There has been a great deal of debate these last few days as to whether or not NDAA 2012 (pdf) actually mandates the use of the U.S. military in policing actions here on U.S. soil, in direct contradiction to Posse Comitatus. Republican, Liberal, “Progressive“, and Libertarian websites are lit up over this issue and yet most of them are saying the exact same thing. Ironically, they are all saying the same thing that the Obama administration is saying and that is that NDAA 2012 needs to be changed.  Obama has threatened to VETO it (can you imaging the seated president VETOing the defense spending bill this close to an election?) because it will inhibit his ability to fight the Global War on Terror (aka The Global Free Market Wars).

How is it that so many “dissident” sites and organizations are taking the exact same position as the Obama administration, the first administration by the way who claims the authority to kill U.S. citizens abroad without due process of law and the same administration who has refused to prosecute the obvious war-crimes of the previous administration? Remember, there have been more whistle-blowers arrested under Obama’s rule than any other administration in our history.

The fact is, that is what controlled opposition sites do. They are usually free to discuss a wide range of topics, using them to garner the trust of the reader, but when something really important comes along, they all line up on the same side and in this case, as is usually the case, that is the side of the corrupt administration.

Udall Amendment SA 1112 To INCLUDE U.S. Citizens and Lawful Resident Aliens in Military Detentions (archive)

(archived from November 27, 2011)

by Scott Creighton

In the original NDAA of 2012, the text clearly states in the disputed sections 1031 and 1032 that the modifications do not seek to extend the powers of the executive branch and that the mandated military detention of terrorism suspects DOES NOT extend to U.S. citizens and lawful resident aliens. I have shown this to be true of the bill in two separate articles, here and here.

This morning I wrote about a Mr. Anders from the ACLU who is apparently misleading the American public in an effort to get the Udall amendment passed which will, as I clearly showed, provide the Obama administration the opportunity to submit their own version of that section of the bill allowing for them to expand the powers of the executive branch to do exactly what Anders mistakenly claims the bill already does.

As Written Sections 1031 and 1032 of S. 1867 Do NOT Apply to U.S. Citizens (archive)

(archived from November 27, 2011)

by Scott Creighton

Nothing in this section is intended to limit or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” section 1031 NDAA 2012 page 360

The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.” section 1032 NDAA 2012 page 362

“…modifying or expanding the authority of the Executive Branch to carry out detention and prosecution of covered persons.” Udall amendment replacing above language

All across the “internets” liberal and libertarians alike are screaming about sections 1031 and 1032 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (pdf). They are breathlessly claiming they it will give the military the ability to arrest and indefinitely detain U.S. citizens under the law of war clause. These claims, this internet panic, is based ENTIRELY on an article from the ACLU’s Chris Anders which wrongly makes the claim and then strangely suggests that we all get behind Mark Udall’s proposed amendment to the bill.

In Mr. Anders’ article, he makes the mistaken claim right in the title; “Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

First thing to notice about Mr. Anders’ article is that he makes absolutely no attempt to link the readers to the actual text of the bill which he bases his panic inducing headline. Instead what he does is repeatedly link the reader to his “oppose section 1031 and 1032 of the NDAA” action page. I count 9 links to his action page which are cleverly disguised as “Udall Amendment” and other things that would make the reader think would be links to things which support his argument, but they don’t. Nowhere in the article does Mr. Anders supply a link to the Udall amendment which he expects you to support, sight unseen I suppose.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Something Fishy About New Hampshire Primary

 Do you guys really think Haley came in that close? I don't

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Remember Two Things: New Hampshire Narrative and History Approaches

 

 Remember Two Things: New Hampshire Narrative and History Approaches

Two dozen Israeli troopers killed in Gaza clashes, highest single-day death toll

from Press TV

Twenty four Israeli troopers have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours, making it the deadliest day for its invading forces since their ground operation began.

The chief Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari told reporters on Tuesday that the number included 21 troopers who were killed in an explosion.

According to Hagari resistance fighters had fired rocket-propelled grenades at a tank, and at the same time, an explosion occurred in two buildings where forces had planted explosives to destroy them. The buildings collapsed onto the troops.

“We are still studying and investigating the details of the event and the reasons for the explosion,” he said.

Earlier, the military had said three soldiers were also killed in a separate attack in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, bringing the Israeli occupation forces death toll to 219 for ground operations.

The so-called Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the deaths of 24 soldiers in a single day make it “clearer than ever” that Israel must not cease operations in Gaza...

read more here

Relatives storm Knesset after Netanyahu rejects Gaza hostage deal

from Daily Sabah

A group of relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza stormed the Knesset Monday following reports of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting a deal with Hamas.

The action by about 20 people signaled growing domestic dissent in the fourth month of Israel's war on Gaza as they demanded that the lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones.

One woman held up pictures of three family members who were among the 253 people seized in the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion that triggered the ongoing conflict.

Some 130 remain in captivity after others were brought home in a November truce.

"Just one I'd like to get back alive, one out of three!" the woman protester cried after pushing into the Knesset Finance Committee discussion.

Other protesters held up signs reading: "You will not sit here while they die there."

"Release them now, now, now!" they chanted...

 read more here

Netanyahu just said Israel will permanently occupy the land ‘from the river to the sea.’ The U.S. media is covering it up

from Mondoweiss

The other day Benjamin Netanyahu produced his most memorable statement since October 7. He said that his ultimate aim is that Israel will permanently occupy all the territory “from the river to the sea.” There is video of him saying it in Hebrew.

He was double-crossing decades of official U.S. policy, which is supposed to favor a two-state solution, with an independent Palestine alongside Israel. His statement, after America continues to pay for Israel’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza, is a scandal.

But, so far, you won’t see it in the Washington Post. National Public Radio used a single sentence to tone down the provocative statement and make it sound as boring as possible: “Netanyahu said he informed the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario.” 

The New York Times approached the statement with cunning. The paper provided a literal translation — “Israel must have security control over all the territory west of the Jordan” — and then diverted into vagueness. Most readers would have to pull out an atlas to try and figure out what Netanyahu actually meant...

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Pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties are losing confidence in Netanyahu

from NBC News

“It’s really hard to defend Bibi or to justify his political strategy in all of this,” said one House Republican. “There’s real distrust, there’s real questions about his ability to lead."

Pro-Israel hawks in both parties on Capitol Hill are sounding the alarm that they are losing confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the war against Hamas.

While progressive lawmakers have consistently been critical of Netanyahu and Israel’s counterassault in the Gaza Strip that has leveled buildings and killed thousands of Palestinian civilians, it’s significant that pro-Israel lawmakers who serve on key national security panels are now voicing frustration about Netanyahu’s leadership, albeit quietly.

Three of the lawmakers who spoke to NBC News said they are even questioning whether the 74-year-old prime minister has a strategy to end the bloody war in Gaza and have suggested that the unpopular Netanyahu may be deliberately trying to prolong it in order to remain in power.

“It’s really hard to defend Bibi or to justify his political strategy in all of this,” said one House Republican who deals with national security issues and requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “From a personal level, I think it’s to his political benefit to stay engaged in conflict, whether that’s with Hezbollah or whether that’s in Gaza. Any type of cease-fire or peace agreement, rebuilding effort or off-ramp is detrimental for him politically, and I think that factors in on what he’s doing.”...

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Netanyahu trapped by clashing demands from war cabinet and hawks

from Politico

Israeli leader’s war cabinet wants a cease-fire to secure the return of hostages, but his Likud party wants unrelenting war.

As he tries to cling to power, Benjamin Netanyahu is being buffeted by contradictory demands over the direction of the war in Gaza. His war cabinet is increasingly urging a cease-fire deal to be struck with Hamas — to secure the return of Israeli hostages — while lawmakers in his own Likud party are pushing in the opposite direction and pressing for military operations to remain unrelenting.

Unable to square the circle, the Israeli leader appears to have chosen to postpone decisions about the direction of the war, but it is doubtful they can be delayed for much longer. A public groundswell is starting to build for military operations to be put on hold and for a cease-fire to be reached with Hamas for the release of more than a hundred Israelis still being held in Gaza.

There’s rising alarm about the captives’ treatment and the conditions they are enduring. Thousands of Israelis took to the streets over the weekend calling for the hostages to be prioritized over the military campaign. And in a television interview Thursday, a war cabinet minister, Gadi Eisenkot, a former and highly popular chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), warned the only way to save hostages in the near term is through a deal even if that comes at a high price.

Eisenkot, whose 25-year-old son and 19-year-old nephew died fighting in Gaza in December, also appeared to criticize Netanyahu’s management of the war with Hamas, suggesting the Israeli leadership is not telling the Israeli public the truth about the conflict and that talk of destroying Hamas is over-blown. A complete victory over the militant group is unrealistic, he said...

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Protesters call for change to Netanyahu government

 from Reuters

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accusing the veteran leader of mishandling the nation's security and calling for a new election.

Anti-government protests that shook the nation for much of 2023 ceased after the attacks by Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Political rifts were set aside as Israelis rallied behind the military and the families of those killed or taken hostage.
 
But with the devastating war in Gaza in its fourth month and opinion polls showing lagging support for Netanyahu, calls for leadership changes are growing stronger, though there is no indication that his position is under any imminent threat.
This was reflected in Saturday night's turnout in a central Tel Aviv square where many of last year's protests took place.
 
While the crowd was much smaller than those seen last year, it still comprised several thousand people, with many banging on drums, yelling their dismay and waving Israeli flags...

 read more here

Stripped, Beaten or Vanished: Israel’s Treatment of Gaza Detainees Raises Alarm

from NYT

Cold, almost naked and surrounded by Israeli soldiers with M16 assault rifles, Ayman Lubbad knelt among dozens of Palestinian men and boys who had just been forced from their homes in northern Gaza.

It was early December and photographs and videos taken at the time showed him and other detainees in the street, wearing only underwear and lined up in rows, surrounded by Israeli forces. In one video, a soldier yelled at them over a megaphone: “We’re occupying all of Gaza. Is that what you wanted? You want Hamas with you? Don’t tell me you’re not Hamas.”

The detainees, some barefoot with their hands on their heads, shouted objections. “I’m a day laborer,” one man shouted.

“Shut up,” the soldier yelled back.

Palestinian detainees from Gaza have been stripped, beaten, interrogated and held incommunicado over the past three months, according to accounts by nearly a dozen of the detainees or their relatives interviewed by The New York Times. Organizations representing Palestinian prisoners and detainees gave similar accounts in a report, accusing Israel of both indiscriminate detention of civilians and demeaning treatment of detainees...

read more here

Monday, January 22, 2024

UPDATES on Gaza and Libertarianism IS Neoliberalism

 'If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” Malcolm X 1965

'The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.' Malcolm X

 

Let’s End This Debate Right Now: Abby Martin and Breaking the Set are Nothing More than Neo-liberal Propaganda (archive)

(archived from November 2, 2014)

by Scott Creighton

Abby Martin is the left version of Astro-Turf Adam and deserves the same credibility

Though she and her assets do everything to present her as such, Abby Martin is not alternative, she is not a dissident and she is not opposed to the corporatist neo-liberal status quo.

Abby Martin is a careerist who has sold out to the “3rd Way” neo-liberal centrist establishment and it shows over and over again in her pathetic efforts to gin up support for whatever agenda the globalists have on the menu in their desperate quest of establishing a New World Order.

I don’t delve much into the taking down other activists. I only do so when they rise to a certain level of visibility and still only then when they really deserve it and since Abby dearest has gained just such a standing in the alternative “progressive”-minded community without further ado, let’s lite this candle, and do our part to put an end to her propaganda campaign.

How We Are Being Tricked to See the World Through Ayn Rand’s Pathetic Little Eyes (or) How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Vile Maxim (archive)

(archived from August 10, 2013)

by Scott Creighton

Yesterday, Michael Lind wrote an article for AlterNet wondering aloud how it is that today’s “doltish” conservatives have adopted the ridiculous philosophies of Ayn Rand (Alissa Rosenbaum) while noted conservatives of yesteryear considered her “preposterous”

I immediately formulated at least a partial answer to that question and as I was writing it out this morning, I happened across a video review of Elysium by Di$info Jones (video below) which proves my point to an almost cartoonish degree.

In short, Di$info says the film is beautifully filmed and well written, but it’s a piece of elitist’s propaganda to promote their ultimate goal of a ‘socialist/communist collectivism” and that it’s “the most racist film since Birth of a Nation” with “the mark of the beast” tossed in for good measure.

He goes on to rant about all the heroes in the film being brown “Latinos” and all the villains being white (except for the protagonist… Matt Damon… who can’t possibly get any whiter. In fact, he looks like a skin-head in the movie)

Walker “Wins”: Neo-liberal Structural Reforms on Tap for Everyone… They have a Mandate Now (archive)

(archived from June 6, 2012)

by Scott Creighton

Give the people what they want. They want you to steal from them and make you pay for the excess and the crimes of the financial elites of the country so by GOD let’s give it to them. Diebold says so. It must be so.

Union busting, privatizations, looting pension plans, unelected technocrats being appointed as mini-Me dictators in various cities and townships, the controlled demolition of that evil social safety net, rolling back any regulation that threatens a precious nickel of profit for the mega-corporations, erasing the Civil Rights Act and Child Labor Laws and the minimum wage act, grand mothers eating out of garbage cans, real hunger games running non-stop on Current TV… it’s all on the table now folks, coming to a “democracy” near you ‘cus that’s what the people want. Right?

Savage, genocidal, austerity measures here at home.

The Great Wisconsin uprising has ended via a Diebold “election” and surprise surprise, the neo-liberal poster-boy, Scott Walker, has “won”. Couldn’t have seen that one coming, could we?

Meanwhile, Bill Clinton calls on an extension of the Bush Tax Cuts for the super wealthy. Guess the people “want” that as well.

Clinton Globalist Initiative: Neofascism is the Best World in the World (archive)

(archived from July 15, 2012)

by Scott Creighton

The Clinton Foundation fighting global issues through business oriented solutions. The Clinton Foundation is the best world in the world.” Jack Black

Yes, the Clinton Global Initiative is hard at work setting the stage for a new kind of world for us all to live in (and by “new kind” I mean a variation of an “old kind” called neo-feudalist fascism).

Yes, it’s the best world in the world… for a few.

Oh man, the good work they do over there at CGI… it’s no wonder people like Kevin Spacey and Jack Black sing  praises to the Clintons.

“Today, President Bill Clinton convenes nearly 1,000 leaders representing Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, foundations, and government, including governors, mayors, and members of the Obama Administration, for the opening day of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America…. CGI America is sponsored by J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, Allstate Insurance Company, The Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, The Joyce Foundation, The Peter G. Peterson Foundation and APCO Worldwide.Clinton Global Initiative website

Ah, the seamless blending of business and government for the benefit of a few ruling oligarchs at the top. Can’t beat that for lighting a fire under the “progressive left” can you?

Grey State: The Rise is Pure Ayn Randian Neoliberal Globalist Propaganda (archive)

(archived from January 23, 2015)

by Scott Creighton

 When people give money to Bill Gates or Sam Walton, he’s not taking it from you. You’re getting something in return. You’re getting a service, you’re getting a product. There is an organization that does take money from you and that’s the government” Grey State: Rise of Billionaire Hero Worship

Osama bin Laden killed 4,000 people on 9/11. He has paid for that. he’s dead” Grey State: Rise of Sunstein Disinfo

Yes, the fake disinformation sites like Prison Planet and others are finally tipping their hands and showing us all what so many have known and said for years: they are nothing more than Cass Sunstein cognitive infiltration operations designed to make you love what it is that is enslaving you.

Someone just left a comment letting me know that the film Grey State: The Rise has been released in a rough cut version. You might recall the director of this “film” (read as “2 hour commercial for neoliberal globalist ideology”) turned up dead supposedly along with his wife and child in rather suspicious circumstances. That was just a few days ago. Perfect timing for the release of this infomercial for Ayn Randian “let them eat cake” idolatry.

I’ve only watched 5 minutes of the thing and it is absolutely sickening.

Gaza Hostage Talks Deadlocked as Israel Rejects Hamas' Demands for Ceasefire - Reports

from Sputnik News

The talks on the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip have reached a stalemate as Israel rejects Hamas' demand for a constant ceasefire, NBC News reported on Monday, citing sources.

Israel's position led to an impasse despite the parties to the conflict already agreeing on some mechanisms for the possible hostage release, the report said. The preliminary agreement included a month-long ceasefire and the gradual release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the broadcaster reported.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 25,100 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said...

read more here

Non-Aligned Movement condemns Israel's 'illegal' war on Gaza

from Daily Sabah

The Cold War-era Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) launched a severe criticism of Israel Saturday, calling its military campaign in the Gaza Strip "illegal."

The NAM countries also strongly condemned the indiscriminate attacks against Palestinian civilians, civilian infrastructure and the forced displacement of the Palestinian population.

While calling for a cease-fire, desperately needed for humanitarian aid to access the Gaza Strip, the movement in a joint statement called for a two-state solution, on the basis of the borders before 1967, when Israel seized Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in a brief war with neighboring Arab states.

The group also reiterated support for a Palestinian state to be admitted as a member of the United Nations to take its rightful place among the community of nations...

read more here

Palestinian resistance spells the end of Netanyahu’s political career: Official

from Press TV

A senior Palestinian politician says the country’s resistance managed to bring an end to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political life.

Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, said the Palestinian resistance led Netanyahu to the end of his political life, Lebanon's al-Mayadeen news channel reported.

Netanyahu, he added, fully endorses schemes developed by his fascist cabinet members like finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir,

The two far-right Israeli ministers have advocated for the resettlement of people outside of the Gaza Strip, inciting genocide against the Palestinian nation and promoting racial segregation. They have also ruled out the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Over the weekend, Netanyahu once again rejected the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

The rejection came hours after a phone call with US President Joe Biden after which the latter indicated the Israeli premier may still accept the idea.

Netanyahu’s spokesman said that during the conversation, Netanyahu had told the US president that the Tel Aviv regime’s security needs left no space for a sovereign Palestinian state.

The United States, however, believes that the so-called two-state solution is vital for long-term stability in West Asia...

read more here

Netanyahu’s regime isolated, fearful of Gaza truth as Hamas fighting on: UK media

from Press TV

The invading Israeli forces are still facing “fierce resistance” in Gaza, while more than three months of brutal aggression on the besieged Strip has caused a deep split in prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, according to a British daily.

Netanyahu’s cabinet is becoming increasingly isolated both domestically and internationally, said the report run by The Times on Sunday.

“Israeli forces are still facing fierce resistance in northern Gaza despite having claimed to be able to wind down operations in the area,” it added.

The report said that the ability of Hamas to “continue to put troops on the ground in Gaza City, the territory’s capital,” has raised questions about Israel’s “strategy for the war.”

It also highlighted that Joe Biden's administration is “downgrading its expectations of the war’s outcome.”

Friday, January 19, 2024

Chinese 'Brain Bug' Story is Cover for DTRA, Predict Project and DEEP VZN's Next Plandemic for 2024 WHO Treaty

This new virus story out of China is pure cover. The storm clouds are gathering for war between BRICS and our WEF Unipolar World View acolytes. The election is coming and Trump looks unstoppable. The WHO is going to have their new Plandemic Treaty ready to go in May of this year. And suddenly we are being prepped to blame China for something our DTRA and DoD made. They made Covid. They pushed Remdesivir in May of 2020 and some (like Ryan Dawson) want you to blame China for what's coming? Wake up folks. Something wicked this way comes.

 'The WIV has been designated the most likely source of the Covid pandemic by the FBI and US Department of Energy in what has been dubbed the 'lab leak' theory.' Caitlin Tilley Daily Mail

Chinese scientists 'create' a mutant coronavirus strain that attacks the BRAIN and has a 100% kill rate in mice - as they admit there's a 'risk it spills over to humans'

US quietly shuts down controversial wildlife virus hunting program amid safety fears
A New DOMANE for the Pandemic Era

Lugar Center Leaks 

 

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DTRA’s Therapeutic Arm Latches on to FDA-approved and Affordable Drugs for COVID-19 Relief (Feb 2021)

(DTRA who MADE Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) and unleashed it during World Games 2019 in Wuhan, China THEN got Remdesivir approved by FDA thru Emergency Use Authorization as a treatment for people sick with Covid in early summer of 2020 thus ensuring MORE DEATHS to be attributed to Covid. You can't make this shit up folks)

from Dvids

The COVID pandemic took the world by surprise. Researchers were left scrambling to devise a way to best mitigate the negative impact this disease has on global health. However, at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) it is common to operate in the “what if” space when it comes to potential biological threats. In fact, DTRA investments in technologies that detect, mitigate, or neutralize chemical and biological threats to the military and the nation date back more than 20 years.

In late 2019, DTRA started a new program called Discovery of Medical Countermeasures Against Novel Entities (DOMANE) to address novel and emerging threats,” stated Dr. David Hone, Chief Scientist within the Vaccines and Therapeutics Division at DTRA. “Based on previous work, we decided DOMANE would not only focus on FDA-approved drugs but also combination therapeutics, as we believe that no single drug will be completely effective in treating new diseases. COVID-19 has provided us an opportunity to test our hypotheses using DOMANE.”

DOMANE provides rapid decision-making capabilities to identify FDA-approved drugs that will most likely be effective therapeutics for COVID-19. Repurposing candidate drugs from a pool about 7,500 FDA-approved drugs to advance an effective COVID-19 therapeutic allows for a more rapid response in developing a therapeutic regimen. The end-result is a response that modifies COVID-19 in treated patients and promotes a speedy recovery.

Veklury®, which is more commonly referred to as Remdesivir, is a ribonuclease inhibitor developed by Gilead Sciences. It delivers broad-spectrum antiviral activity and has proven to be a modestly effective therapeutic for the treatment of COVID-19. Originally developed as an Ebola Zaire countermeasure, this DTRA-funded inhibitor transitioned for more advanced testing due to promising pre-clinical trials. Remdesivir inhibits viral replication in a wide variety of pathogens and was one of the first therapeutics identified in the Defense Department for repurposing to treat COVID-19. In the summer of 2020, Remdesivir received authorization for emergency use only in COVID-19 patients with continued FDA oversight...

read more here

Could our nation’s newest virus-hunting program cause the next pandemic? (May 2023)

from US Right To Know

As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe in January 2020, virus hunters pushed for funding to uncover more “yet-to-be-recognized deadly viruses.” They believed that cataloging viruses in wildlife could help prevent future pandemics.

“In China alone, we sampled >10,000 bats and ~2,000 other mammals, using PREDICT protocols to discover 52 novel SARS related-CoV’s, including the closest relative of the Wuhan nCoV [SARS-CoV-2],” boasts a University of California, Davis letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein requesting federal support for programs like PREDICT, the government’s flagship virus-hunting program.

However, the letter didn’t mention the risks of collecting and studying SARS-related viruses, which have the potential to be lethal or highly transmissible. The U.S. Energy Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the World Health Organization now recognize that a research accident with SARS-CoV-2 may have sparked one of the biggest pandemics in history.

Indeed, the entire chain of virus hunting work entails risks that can lead to accidental infection, from handling animals to experiments in the lab. The risks can even extend beyond the program: published virus genetic sequences allow other groups to perform high risk research, and can even give terrorists instructions for bioweapons.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which spent hundreds of millions of dollars funding virus-hunting work, is attempting to address biosafety loopholes that existed in previous programs. However, new documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know show that their latest precautions center around lab work. The risks involved in handling wildlife and publicly publishing sequences of potential pathogens remain...

read more here