Reader’s Links for May 16th, 2023

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Here is a link to the VladTepesBlog social media Mastodon Pod. Please feel free to check it out and sign up for an account if you are sufficiently annoyed with Twitter and Facebook to try something new.

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

109 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 16th, 2023”

  2. Dangerous & Deadly Alliance between Graphene, Nanobots, mRNA, and Nanotechnology
    In the shadowy realm of nanotechnology, a chilling alliance has emerged, one that holds the potential to shape our future in ways unimaginable.

    At the heart of this union lies the insidious presence of lipid nanoparticles, tiny carriers designed to transport genetic material deep into our cells.

    But behind their seemingly innocuous facade lies a dystopian reality, where the boundaries of human control and manipulation blur.

    Because following the roll-out of the Covid-19 injections, a chilling alliance between graphene nanobots, mRNA technology, and nanotechnology has emerged, casting a sinister shadow over our collective future.

    It is our duty to expose the dystopian, harmful, and dangerous consequences that await us in this treacherous landscape.

    By peering behind the deceptive veil of innovation, we unveil the dark intentions and potential risks lurking within the depths of corporate agendas and power-hungry institutions.

    https://forum.demed.com/COVID/posts/PlJm90oioLvUT5TezXib

    • Jim Jordan Explosively Reacts To Durham Report: ‘That Is How Scary This Situation Has Become!’

    • ‘Who Is Going To Go To Jail For This?’: GOP Lawmaker Expresses Fury About Durham’s Report

    • ‘Everyone should be outraged’: Trump-era official sounds off after Durham report

      • Blather.
        NOW he talks. Some cat got his tongue when he had authority to intervene.

    • MSNBC – Durham report, long-awaited by Trump supporters, fails to deliver on hype

      Rachel Maddow looks at the very high expectations Donald Trump and his supporters had for John Durham’s special investigation into the origins of the Trump/Russia investigation and imagines the immense disappointment they must be feeling as the investigation ends after four years with no much to show.

    • Should The Pulitzer Prizes REVOKE MSM Awards For Spewing Russiagate NONSENSE?

      • >>>>>>NOT nonsense<<<<<<
        WAR.
        Industrial-grade, military-level info war. Psyop as a collective endeavor included countries we count as allies.

        Plus China, of course.

    • CBS – The Durham report criticizes FBI’s handling of Russia-Trump probe

    • Jerry Nadler Rips The ‘Discredited Mr. Durham’ And Calls Durham Report ‘Discredited’

    • 2018: Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff Says “There’s Plenty Of Evidence” Of Russia Collusion

    • 2018: Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff Calls Fake Russia Collusion Hoax “Beyond Watergate”

    • redacted – Durham Report EXPOSES greatest crime in U.S. history? This was a COUP!

      The Durham Report was made public on Monday. The report lays out that the government had very little to go on when it opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and that it may have been done due to “hostile feelings” by higher ups in the FBI.

      Indeed, the report says that the “speed and manner in which the FBI opened and investigated Crossfire Hurricane during the presidential election season based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence also reflected a noticeable departure from how it approached prior matters involving possible attempted foreign election interference plans aimed at the Clinton campaign.”

      This report is a damning commentary on the Justice Department and its political bias and the FBI does not refute it.

      The agency told Fox News that it has made dozens of corrective actions and will continue to do so in the wake of this report.

      Is this enough? Will it ever be enough if Hillary Clinton is never held to account?

    • ‘THE REAL INSURRECTION’: Huckabee’s scathing reaction to the Durham report

    • CNN – Trump weaponizes FBI-Russia report he demanded to keep fighting election that never ends

      John Durham failed to find the “crime of the century” that ex-President Donald Trump said targeted him at the center of the Russia investigation.

    • Durham Report Implicates FBI and Corporate Media for Russia Collusion Lies, with Fifth Column Hosts

    • Lack of Accountability for Rachel Maddow and Her Trump Russia Spin, with the Fifth Column Hosts

      • madcow
        That smug Rhodes Scholar narcissism, worn like a brand on the forehead.

    • redacted – “This was a COUP by the U.S. DEEP STATE” – Trump says of Durham Report

      “In today’s video, we delve into the recently released Durham Report, which has sent shockwaves through the political landscape.

      This highly anticipated report sheds light on the opening of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation and raises significant concerns about the FBI’s actions during the 2016 presidential election.

      According to the report, the government had limited information when initiating the investigation, suggesting that it may have been influenced by “”hostile feelings”” from higher-ranking officials within the FBI. It highlights that the FBI’s rapid and unverified approach, based on raw intelligence, marked a departure from their previous handling of potential foreign election interference incidents related to the Clinton campaign.

  4. Seven years later, we learn from Special Counsel John Durham’s report what was obvious seven minutes into this nonsense: The Russian hoax story was a childish prank. The puerile document was created by political opponents of Donald Trump. Duh — and double duh. Those who perpetuated it helped avert peace abroad and destroy tranquility at home. Divide countries, divide the public, and engender paranoid hate; that’s one heck of a prank.

    In 2016 this Hilary Clinton paid-for schlock piece of fabulist political fantasy was discussed in a White House briefing. Were these a confederacy of dunces, devils, or serious intelligence analysts? You be the judge. And ask yourself what was the collective IQ in that meeting as CIA Director John Brennan breathlessly went over Hilary’s hoax documents with President Obama, Vice President Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and FBI Director James Comey ooing and ahhing. Confirmation bias? Lack of critical thinking? Lack of judgment? Or just any stick to beat a dog named Trump with?

    https://pjmedia.com/columns/gregbyrnes/2023/05/16/pulitzer-prize-winning-media-malpractice-russian-hoax-confirmed-by-the-durham-report-n1695646

  6. The IRS has removed the “entire investigative team” from its years-long probe into Hunter Biden in what has been described as retaliation against a whistleblower who alleged a coverup in the case, according to a report from the New York Post.

    The move was allegedly ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a letter sent to Congress by the whistleblower’s attorneys. “Today the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Supervisory Special Agent we represent was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress,” attorneys Tristan Leavitt and Mark Whyte wrote. “He was informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice,” the letter continued.

    https://trendingpoliticsnews.com/report-whistleblower-alleges-intimidation-after-irs-sacks-hunter-biden-investigative-team-cmc/

    • MAY 16 2023 WaPo – Musk says George Soros ‘hates humanity,’ compares him to Jewish supervillain

      The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League condemned Elon Musk’s comparison of Soros to Magneto — a Marvel villain who opposes humanity

      Elon Musk made a series of attacks on George Soros overnight, tweeting that the Jewish-born investor and liberal philanthropist, who often is subject to virulent antisemitic conspiracy theories, hates humanity and “wants to erode the very fabric of civilization.”

      Musk, who has overseen an increase of antisemitism and other hate speech on Twitter since he bought the social media platform last year, did not give a reason for singling out Soros. But he made his comments three days after Soros’s investment fund reported that it had sold all its stock in Tesla, the electric carmaker that Musk also runs.

      And Musk seemed to specifically reference the 92-year-old Holocaust survivor’s background by comparing Soros to Magneto — a Jewish supervillain who “fights to help mutants replace humans as the world’s dominant species,” as Marvel’s official character description puts it.

      “Soros reminds me of Magneto,” Musk posted at 10 p.m. Monday, apropos of nothing. The tweet triggered a flood of replies comparing Soros to various symbols of evil, recalling long-standing conspiracy theories that paint him as a godlike billionaire Jew who uses his philanthropic foundations to flood Europe with refugees and corrupt American politics.

      The left-wing commentator Brian Krassenstein replied to Musk, pointing out that Magneto is a Holocaust survivor in Marvel lore, where the character manipulates magnetic fields to oppose (and occasionally help) the heroes of X-Men films and comics. “[Soros], also a Holocaust survivor, get’s attacked nonstop for his good intentions which some Americans think are bad merely because they disagree with this political affiliations,” he wrote.

      Musk replied to Krassenstein five minutes later: “You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.”

      His tweets were condemned Tuesday morning by Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, which has catalogued similar conspiracy theories that hold Soros wants to control the world.

      “Soros often is held up by the far-right, using antisemitic tropes, as the source of the world’s problems,” Greenblatt wrote on Twitter. “To see Elon Musk, regardless of his intent, feed this segment — comparing him to a Jewish supervillain, claiming Soros ‘hates humanity’ — is not just distressing, it’s dangerous: it will embolden extremists who already contrive anti-Jewish conspiracies and have tried to attack Soros and Jewish communities as a result.”

      Musk, who has gutted Twitter’s media relations department, could not immediately be reached for a response.

      Soros, who was forced into hiding as a Jewish teenager in Nazi-occupied Hungary, is the focus of international hostility for his wealth, religious background, investments and Open Society Foundations, which spends hundreds of millions of dollars promoting democratic institutions and liberal causes.

      Glenn Beck attacked Soros in a three-part Fox News series titled “The Puppet Master” in 2010. Donald Trump has accused him of meddling in U.S. politics. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has spread lies that Soros turned on other Jews during World War II and collaborated with Nazis.

      Musk, who has used his position to amplify extreme-right personalities since he bought Twitter for $44 billion last year, sounded much more ambivalent about Soros a few months ago, when his company was still investing in Tesla.

      Asked in January by Ian Miles Cheong — a far-right commentator who has since called for Soros to be arrested — what questions Musk would ask the philanthropist, Musk replied: “Do you actually know where your money is going?”

      In March, Musk jumped into a conversation with the far-right Twitter user Catturd, who was promoting a mostly false claim that Soros donated $1 million to New York’s district attorney.

      “Soros figured out a clever arbitrage opportunity,” Musk told Catturd. Small political contests, he said, “have much higher impact per dollar spent than the big races, so it is far easier to sway the outcome.”

      In fact, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker found the claim highly misleading and wrote that it “plays into stereotypes of rich Jewish financiers secretly controlling events.”

      Magneto wasn’t Jewish when the character debuted in a 1963 comic, as a one-dimensional stock villain who wanted mutants to reign supreme. Two decades later, Jewish Marvel writer Chris Claremont decided to flesh out Magneto’s backstory to make him a better-rounded antagonist for the X-Men. He eventually landed on making Magneto a Holocaust survivor.

      Originally named Max Eisenhardt (he later changed his name to Erik Magnus Lehnsherr), Magneto was held prisoner in the Auschwitz death camp, where Nazi brutality sparked his lifelong quest to end human oppression of mutants such as himself. Despite his anti-human bent, Magneto occasionally show signs of righteousness and leadership, blurring the line between hero and villain.

      He wasn’t immediately identified as Jewish in the 1980s comics, Claremont told Vulture in 2019, because Marvel didn’t know how readers would react (religion isn’t exactly a major theme in the lore). It wasn’t until the X-Men movies of the early 2000s and the 2009 comic book series “Magneto: Testament,” that the mutant’s Jewishness was made canon.

      While Magneto is, at least on the surface, an inhuman genius with supernatural powers who seeks to control the world, the character has generally been praised by critics for avoiding malicious Jewish stereotypes. Avi Arad, the former director of Marvel Comics, told the Jerusalem Post (via Haaretz) in 2005 that the character drew inspiration from Zionist leaders Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Meir Kahane. Claremont said in an interview with Empire magazine that there are parallels between Magneto and former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, a right-wing politician whose Likud party took over Israel’s government in the 1970s.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/05/16/george-soros-elon-musk-adl/

      • JEWISH Marvel writer CHRIS Claremont

        How many Jewish males are named “Chris”? Maybe that’s how he chooses to identify himself, as-a-jooo trash.

    • Elon Musk Attacks George Soros On Twitter

      … in remarks that closely mirror right-wing conspiracy talking points about the billionaire.

      • CNN – See Elon Musk’s baseless claims about George Soros

        Elon Musk launched a baseless Twitter attack on George Soros, a frequent target for antisemitic conspiracy theories, accusing the financier of hating humanity days after Soros disclosed having sold off a modest stake in Tesla.

        The CEO of the American Jewish Committee Ted Deutch and CNN’s media analyst Sara Fischer join Jake Tapper to discuss.

  15. o’keefe media Fox News Producer Tells All to OMG Journalist about Advertising Pressures and Pfizer

    A Brave OMG journalist captured undercover footage of his meeting with Fox News Producer Sean Langille who spoke about the impact advertisers have on the network saying “now that he’s (Carlson) is gone, they’re starting to come back.”

  16. Poland takes first delivery of US-made HIMARS rocket launchers amid concerns over Ukraine war

    Poland takes first delivery of US-made HIMARS rocket launchers amid concerns over war in Ukraine with a further 500 due later this year.

    • BBC – Ukraine war: Kiev hit by ‘exceptional’ number of missiles

      […]The air raid alert sounded at around 02:30 local time (23:30 GMT Monday) and was lifted two hours later in the eighth attack to hit the capital this month.

      An unusually high number of loud explosions was heard in the city centre, as authorities told residents in online messages that air defence had been activated.

      […]Russia claimed that it destroyed a Patriot system during Tuesday’s attack on Kiev. Ukraine declined to comment.

      The BBC cannot independently verify the claims made by either country.

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65606385

    • BULGARIAN MILITARY – What did the Russians hit in Kyiv? Patriot or something else?

      A curious video of the night defense of Kyiv is being shared on the web. The video appears to have been recorded by a civilian surveillance camera. The footage is from early this morning [May 16th, 2:07am] and tracks the operation of an anti-aircraft missile system.

      It appears that Kyiv was under an aerial missile attack. Between the buildings, the Army Forces of Ukraine [AFU] have deployed the air defense system. The video shows the gradual firing of at least 30 missiles [plus or minus one or two] at an aerial target.

      The rockets are fired initially at roughly equal intervals. After a certain period, the air defense system[s] start firing missiles more intensively. At some point, the anti-aircraft system stops firing missiles.

      And when one thinks that everything is over at the place where the air defense system is supposed to be deployed, a big explosion goes off. Seconds later, smoke began to rise from the site of the explosion.

      […]If it was a Patriot SAM

      There is no official information from Ukraine that an air defense system was destroyed. For now. However, if we assume that it was the Patriot, we can draw the following conclusion.

      First, the extremely dense work of erasing interceptor missiles is visible. I.e. the system can respond to multiple air attacks, not just one air target.

      Second, the Ukrainians fired nearly 120 million USD within a minute and a half. Assuming there are 30 missiles fired, each one costs an average of $4 million. We don’t know how many missiles the Patriot SAM shot down in this particular instance.

      Could a Russian missile hit the Patriot?

      Outside of the reasoning behind the shared video and our assumptions about it, yes – a Russian missile could hit the Patriot. And not just a rocket.

      […]

      https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/05/16/what-did-the-russians-hit-in-kyiv-patriot-or-something-else/

    • RT – Patriot missile base in Kiev destroyed by hypersonic strike – Moscow

      The air defense system was hit by a Kinzhal rocket, the Russian Defense Ministry has said

      A precision strike by a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile has destroyed a Patriot air defense system in Kiev, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Tuesday. The Ukrainian government previously claimed that Kinzhal missiles had been intercepted by the US-made weapons platform.

      […]The Russian ministry confirmed the attack in a daily briefing on Tuesday, stating that it had used long-range precision weapons to hit military targets, including “Ukrainian troops positions and places of storage of munitions, weapons and military hardware delivered from Western nations.”

      https://www.rt.com/russia/576372-kinzhal-strike-patriot-kiev/

    • zero hedge – Russia Says It Took Out US-Supplied Patriot Missile In Hypersonic Strike On Kiev

      Russia’s military may have taken out a US-supplied Patriot anti-air battery in Ukraine, which if true would be a very significant first since the advanced Raytheon-made defense weapon was deployed there.

      This came as Ukrainian officials have cited an exceptionally dense attack on Kyiv overnight, which included cruise missiles and drones, and even allegedly Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

      Ukraine was hit by at least 18 missiles and nine drones were sent, with media reports saying some six ballistic missiles (including Kinzhal) were launched.

      But the Ukrainians are claiming that most or all of them were intercepted.

      […}Currently there’s speculation over whether a widely circulating video confirms the destruction of a Patriot battery amid the conflicting Russian and Ukrainian claims.

      Geopolitical analysis blog Moon of Alabama says the reports of a destroyed Patriot system are accurate:

      https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/05/ukraine-air-defense-lessons-.html

      […]Commenting on the video of the purported Russian direct hit on the Patriot battery, Kim Dotcom wrote on Twitter, “30 US Patriot PAC-3 MSE launch at a cost of $5 million per missile. That’s $150 million gone within 2 mins. At the end the Patriot launch platforms were destroyed by Russian missiles. Why would any military still want to buy Patriot after this failure?”

      https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-says-it-took-out-us-supplied-patriot-missile-unit-hypersonic-strike-kiev

      =========================
      twitter @RadarFennec

      I counted 30 Patriot PAC-3 MSE launches here.

      The FY2024 costs of these per missile is about $$5,275,000

      That was $158,250,000 fired in about two minutes.

      And as we see, the battery or something else likely got blown up.

      So it failed in its mission.

      + 2 min 20 video

      https://twitter.com/RadarFennec/status/1658287607938162690

    • the gateway pundit –Khmelnytskyi — Did Russia Vaporize Depleted Uranium Shells?

      Russia’s aerial attack on the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi is catching quite a bit of attention because of reports of a spike in Gamma rays following multiple, massive explosions. Educated speculation believes that the increase in Gamma radiation may be a consequence of Russian bombs blasting British supplied depleted uranium rounds into dust.

      The photo above shows the intact weapons storage facility just outside Khmelnytskyi taken some time before the Russia strike. Khmelnytskyi sits 217 miles to the west of Kiev, which means these strikes were most likely carried out by cruise missiles, such as the Kinzhal or Iskander. These strikes also provide vivid proof that Ukraine’s anti-missile air defense system is non-existent or disabled in and around Khmelnytskyi.

      Let’s look at some of the video evidence. There were at least three bombs that struck this weapons depot. The first strike comes at 4:29 am (see the first video below, which shows the three strikes). That strike apparently ignited secondary explosions from ammunition and explosives stored at the targeted facility. There is a second blast recorded at 5:07 am followed by a massive explosion at 6:10 am, resulting in a black mushroom cloud towering over Khmelnytskyi.

      The following photo shows the aftermath of the strikes. The big crater in the upper left hand part of the image obliterated a couple of buildings and forests. Maybe this attack, with multiple missiles, will kill the tired narrative that Russia has run out of missiles and is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

      https://sonar21.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-23.png

      It is not clear whether or not depleted uranium shells were vaporized. What is certain is that Ukraine lost an enormous quantity of munitions of various types that cannot be easily or quickly replaced. It also is noteworthy that Russia has been carrying out these kinds of strikes, not all with the same level of success, at multiple sites throughout Ukraine for the last eight days. Whatever small advances Ukraine has managed on the flanks of Bakhmut, they do not compensate for the massive loss incurred at Khmelnytskyi. This is a graphic reminder to the Ukrainians west of Kiev that they are at war and that Ukrainian military facilities are not safe.

      https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/khmelnytskyi-did-russia-vaporize-depleted-uranium-shells/

      • Do a search for kids born in Iraq after we used depleted uranium shells there. Cancers might be delayed by a decade or two, but birth defects from the contamination are months away.

        Paki PM of the UK giggling like a girl with the malign narcissist Prez Z…

        If Jacinda Ardern and Poison Sumac had an offspring, what would it look like?
        clue: He Haw!

    • the guardian –The EU should start planning now for Russia after Putin

      Alexander Clarkson and Kirill Shamiev

      Political destabilisation could lead to armed conflict within Russia itself. There must be a strategy to contain the fallout

      […]
      Looking back at the missed opportunities of the 1990s is a reminder of how immediate dilemmas can lead policymakers to overlook signs of the next crisis on the horizon. As it responds to the carnage caused by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, the EU cannot afford not to prepare for the next Russian crisis.

      The war in Ukraine, much like the war in Chechnya in the 1990s, has put immense pressure on Russia’s stability as a state. It is critical that EU member states and institutions start to plan for a range of postwar and post-Putin scenarios in Russia, including a destabilisation of the Russian political system that could lead even to armed conflict within the country.

      To protect the collective interests of Europe, including Ukraine, from any future turmoil engulfing Russia, the EU needs a strategy that actively encourages its democratisation, no matter how small the chances of that now seem.

      The Kremlin has long dismissed Brussels as a global player. After European condemnation of the brutalities committed during the Chechen wars, Moscow tried to divide and rule, breaking down the bloc’s values-based unity, engaging individual leaders, identifying the most influential member states and their national interests. In many cases, Russia received the amount of economic and political integration with western nations it wanted while sidestepping domestic democratic reform.

      Moscow’s cynical fixation on the interests of individual EU member states both reflected and cast a long shadow over the Russian perception of the EU. Even opposition-minded members of Russian civil society viewed the EU as an imbalanced confederation with big powers dictating the bloc’s economic and foreign policies. Economic growth, travel freedoms and cooperation with individual EU member states left them blind to the gradual decline of freedom in Russia. Russian elites acquired foreign language skills and enough stolen or oil-driven wealth to holiday comfortably in western Europe without bothering to endorse democratic values at home.

      For Russia’s middle and upper class, this bargain with Moscow and Brussels ended with the invasion of Ukraine. Having lost any influence over Putin, Russian elites chose either to lie low, escape the country, or start infighting by shifting the blame for the crisis on to one another. If Russia manages to avoid a full-scale slide into totalitarianism, what remains of its democratic opposition may finally be able to acknowledge the EU’s capacity to exert transformative progressive power.

      Ukrainian frustration with any deeper EU engagement with Russia would be understandable, but fostering a shift away from Russian imperialism would be in the interests of all of Russia’s neighbours. Since Moscow’s current elite will accuse the EU of interfering anyway,the EU has nothing to lose by having a wider debate about democratic reform in post-Putin Russia.

      A postwar Russia trying to overcome Putin’s toxic legacy would have much to learn much from an economically prosperous bloc that has brought together and transformed societies that had once fought each other in two world wars.

      But EU institutions would have to set out the detailed steps that Russia’s state elite must take as strict conditions for the reopening of trade, travel and investment access to the rest of Europe. They would also provide incentives. A genuine process of reform that launched the rule of law and acknowledged Russia’s post-conflict obligations to Ukraine and other affected states could be rewarded with the promise of negotiations with Brussels.

      https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/16/europe-should-start-planning-now-for-russia-after-putin

      ==============================

      CNN – US assessing potential damage of Patriot missile defense system following Russian attack near Kiev

      A US-made Patriot air defense system was likely damaged, but not destroyed, as the result of a Russian missile barrage in and around Kyiv early Tuesday morning local time, a US official tells CNN.

      The US is still assessing to what degree the system was damaged, the official said. That will determine whether the system needs to be pulled back entirely or simply repaired on the spot by Ukrainians forces.

      Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday in a post on Telegram that “a high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kyiv hit a US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.”

      A US National Security Council spokesperson referred CNN to the Ukrainian government for comment.

      Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday that they successfully intercepted all six hypersonic missiles fired by the Russians, but the Ukrainian military declined to comment on the Russians’ claim that a Patriot system was hit. “We cannot comment on this. We’ll stay out of commenting on Russian sources,” said the Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, Yurii Ihnat.

      Ukraine currently has two Patriot air defense systems in country, one donated by the US and the other donated jointly by Germany and the Netherlands. It is unclear which of those systems was potentially damaged, but taking one out of commission – even for a short period – could affect Ukraine’s ability to defend Kyiv amid intensifying Russian missile attacks.

      Russia has targeted the Patriot systems with hypersonic missiles before, US officials told CNN last week, including once on May 4. That attack failed, and Ukrainians successfully intercepted the missile before it could hit the Patriot, the officials said.

      After extensive lobbying by the Ukrainians to provide them with the sophisticated air defense system, the US spent 10 weeks training Ukrainian troops on how to maintain and operate it. US and western officials were pleasantly surprised by how quickly the Ukrainians learned how to operate the Patriots, which arrived in Ukraine last month.

      Another US official said it is possible that the missile barrage hit one of the Patriot battery’s several components. A complete Patriot battery has six major components: generators, a radar set, a control station, antennas, a launcher station and interceptor missiles. The components operate together to fire a Patriot missile and successfully guide it to its target.

      But extensive damage to one or more of the components may force Ukraine to take the system offline and out of country for more extensive repairs.

      The Patriot has a powerful radar to detect incoming targets at long range, making it a potent air defense platform capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and more. But the radar emission necessary to spot threats at a distance also makes it possible for the enemy to detect the Patriot battery and figure out its location.

      US officials believe the Russian military has been able to pick up on signals that are emitted from the Patriot, allowing them to target the system using the hypersonic missile, known as the Kinzhal or Killjoy. And unlike some shorter-range air defenses provided to Ukraine that are mobile and harder to target, the large Patriot battery is a larger and more stationary system, making it possible for the Russian forces to zero in on the location over time.

      https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/politics/patriot-missile-damage-ukraine/index.html

      ==============================
      CNN – Russia claims it hit a US-made Patriot air defense system

      .CNN has not seen any independent or verifiable evidence that a Patriot system was destroyed.

    • CNN – ‘We’re open for business’: CIA drops video to recruit Russian spies

      The Central Intelligence Agency has launched a new effort to capitalize on what US intelligence officials believe is an “unprecedented” opportunity to convince Russians disaffected by the war in Ukraine and life in Russia to share their secrets, posting a slickly produced, cinematic recruitment video online.

    • city news – Ukraine says it downed an ‘exceptional’ barrage of Russian strikes

    • ====================

      =======================

      ================================

      zero hedge – Ukraine Officially Joins NATO Cyber Defense Center, Inching Toward Full Membership

      Ukraine has formally become a member of NATO Cyber Defense, as but the latest example of member nations seeking to bring the country along toward eventual full NATO membership.

      “The flag of Ukraine has been officially raised at the headquarters of the Joint Center for Advanced Technologies for NATO Cyber Defense in Tallinn (Estonia), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports,” Interfax reports Tuesday.

      A message posted by Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs said, “Today the National Flag of Ukraine is officially raised at the Headquarters of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, marking official accession of Ukraine to the CCDCOE.”

      It went on to thank the Western nation which sponsored Ukraine’s track to membership in the organization, as well as the government of Estonia which hosts the CCDCOE headquarters.

      It was over a year ago that 27 NATO member states first agreed to bestow member status on Ukraine, after its membership was previously blocked by Hungary.

      Starting last summer, the US military began admitting that it has been conducting offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine. A statement last June marked the first ever such acknowledgement, which revealed at the time a deeper Pentagon and US intelligence role in Ukraine against the Russian military than previously thought.

      National Security Agency (NSA) and US Cyber Command Director Gen. Paul Nakasone told the UK’s Sky News at that time, “We’ve conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum: offensive, defensive, [and] information operations.” This includes “offensive hacking operations” he said.

      All of this suggests that NATO too on an organizational level is involved in such cyber operations targeting Russia. For this reason, the Kremlin is likely to see Ukraine’s membership in the CCDCOE as another example of the Western military alliance building up its infrastructure inside the country.

      https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-officially-joins-nato-cyber-defense-center-inching-toward-full-membership

      =============================

      BREAKING: Head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court Detained in Alleged $3 Million Bribery Scheme

      The head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been detained by Ukrainian prosecutors over alleged involvement in a bribery scheme, according to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

      The prosecutor did not disclose the detained official’s name during the briefing, mentioning that the head of the Supreme Court had not yet been served with a formal “notice of suspicion.”

      Following recent revelations of extensive corruption within the Supreme Court, Ukrainian prosecutors have taken into custody the head of the country’s highest judicial body. Although the official’s identity was not revealed, local media reports indicated that Chief Justice Vsevolod Kniaziev had been detained in connection with a $3 million bribe. Reuters was unable to reach Mr. Kniaziev for comment.

      This arrest follows the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s announcement, made through their Telegram and Facebook channels, that they had collaborated with the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office to uncover significant corruption within the Supreme Court. The investigation exposed a bribery scheme involving the court’s leadership and judges. A photograph, showing stacks of dollars neatly arranged on a sofa, was shared alongside the bureau’s statement. Reuters noted that the authenticity of the photo could not be independently verified.

      Local media outlets have reported that Mr. Kniaziev’s arrest occurred, and it is expected that he will receive an official “notice of suspicion” within 24 hours of being detained. Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko remarked that this arrest represents the highest-ranking official in the country’s history to be apprehended for bribery.

      Ukraine’s fight against corruption has been a prerequisite for the country’s potential membership in the European Union, which consists of 27 member states. Despite progress in combating corruption in recent years, Ukraine currently ranks 116th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

      During Tuesday’s briefing, NABU director Semen Kryvonos emphasized the bureau’s commitment to addressing high-level corruption, stating, “Through tangible cases and concrete actions, we are demonstrating our priorities: tackling top-level corruption and criminal organizations within the highest echelons of power.”

      The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) last week unveiled a new $1.2 billion aid package for Ukraine to enhance its air defense capabilities and address its artillery ammunition requirements. The U.S. assistance falls under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

      https://beckernews.com/head-of-ukraines-supreme-court-detained-in-alleged-3-million-bribery-scheme-50363/

    • MAY 16 2023 – patrick lancaster – Avdiivka Cauldron Frontline & Ukraine “Counter Offensive”

      I have gone to the Avdiivka (Ukrainian) or Avdeevka (Russian) Cauldron Frontline between Donetsk and Avdeevka, with Russian forces, to show you the real situation on the frontline. I spent a full night at the military positions of the International Brigade “Pyatnashka”.

      There was almost constant battle involving automatic gunfire, tank fire, artillery and incendiary shells.

      There is no doubt that in the last weeks Fighting has intensified in the Russia Ukraine Warzone but is it really the much talked about Ukraine “Counter Offensive” ? Lets think about some facts.

      Just today, One Ukrainian official said that Kiev / Kyiv has been hit by an ‘exceptionally dense’ missile and drone attack. It has also been reported that this last week’s attacks on Kiev have been the largest yet in the war.

      During a strike on a Ukrainian ammunition depot in Khmelnytskyi Ukraine, a large batch of British tank ammunition with depleted uranium, which was recently given to Ukraine along with Storm Shadow missiles, is reported to have been destroyed.

      As a result of the huge explosion, particles of depleted uranium could be dispersed on the territory of the Khmelnytsky region, which, taking into account the experience of Yugoslavia and Iraq, this could lead to an outbreak of cancer in the medium term. Just days ago 4 Russian military aircraft were shot down by Ukrainian forces over Bryansk Russia, and as a Result the Belarusian President Lukashenka has put the Belarus army on high alert. Does this mean Belarus is close to joining the war against Ukraine? We will see.
      Both Russia, Wagner group and Ukraine have all been claiming gains near and in Bakhmut.

      Does this all mean the Ukrainian “Counter Offensive” has started? What will the next weeks bring nobody knows.

    • CNN – US State Dept. working to verify Wagner’s boss claim that US citizen died fighting in Bakhmut

      • TrackANaziMerc:
        This evening Evgeniy Prigozhin posted picture of eliminated US soldier in Artyomovsk Bakhmut.

        His name is Nicholas (Nick) Dwain Maimer from Boise, Idaho, US.

        Maimer came to Ukraine in April 2022 and first joined The Mozart Group. He Left it quickly because for him they were not professional but scammers.

        After that Nick joined Ukrainian territorial Defense forces where allegedly he train them.

        His last stop was Bakhmut city where he took the Bandera ticket to Hell. Yankee down.

        Off you go Nick.

        https://t.me/TrackAMerc/5477

    • redacted – “Most of them are dead!”- Ukraine’s army DECIMATED says Col. MacGregor

    • CNN reports from one of the Ukrainian military’s closely guarded secrets

      … there was a missile attack and Ukraine intercepted all18 of them

  17. BREAKING: O’Keefe Media Group Releases Undercover Video, FOX News Producer Reveals, “Tucker Getting Fired Was Part of It” – The Dominion Settlement! (VIDEO)
    By Jim Hoft May. 15, 2023 10:01 pm602 Comments

    HUGE!
    O’Keefe Media Group released undercover video on Monday of a FOX Insider spilling the beans on Tucker Carlson’s firing.

    FOX News at Night producer Sean Langille told undercover journalists that part of the Dominion settlement included Tucker Carlson being fired.

    Sean Langille: $744 million to settle that.

    Reporter: Oh, that was with the Dominion Company. What happened with that?

    Sean Langille: Like, they gave him money. They say it wasn’t part of it, but we’re learning that Tucker getting fired part of that.

    Reporter: Tucker getting fired was part of the Dominion lawsuit?

    Sean Langille: Part of the settlement. Yeah, he’s ousted… And

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/breaking-okeefe-media-group-releases-undercover-video-fox-news-producer-reveals-tucker-getting-fired-was-part-of-it-the-dominion-settlement-video/

  18. U.S. to Purchase 3 Million Barrels of Oil at $80/Barrel to Replenish Emergency Oil Reserves Depleted by Joe Biden – After Democrats Blocked Trump from Purchasing $24/Barrel Oil 3 Years Ago
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 8:45 am42 Comments

    On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will purchase up to 3 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the Biden regime aggressively drained the US stockpile.

    A record-breaking 180 million barrels were released from the SPR by the Biden regime. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the SPR held about 638 million barrels of oil when Biden took office in January 2021. It has dropped to its lowest level since October 1983 today, at 362 million barrels.

    “Today’s announcement advances the President’s replenishment strategy following his historic release from the SPR to address the significant global supply disruption caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine and provide a wartime bridge for domestic production to increase,” according to DOE’s news release.

    Adding, “DOE is committed to executing an SPR replenishment strategy that provides the best deal for taxpayers— aiming to repurchase crude at a lower price than the average of about $95 per barrel it was sold for in 2022, while strengthening energy security by providing certainty to the industry in a way that helps encourage near-term supply. DOE intends to purchase more oil later this year.”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/u-s-to-purchase-3-million-barrels-of-oil-to-replenish-emergency-oil-reserves-after-biden-aggressively-drained-supply/

  19. Sports Illustrated Puts Transgender Biological Man on Cover of Swimsuit Edition
    By Cassandra MacDonald May. 16, 2023 8:30 am181 Comments

    Sports Illustrated has put a transgender biological male on one of the covers of their 2023 swimsuit edition.
    The four covers for the year feature Megan Fox, supermodel Brooks Nader, 81-year-old Martha Stewart, and transgender pop star Kim Petras.

    Petras is the second transgender biological male to appear on the cover after Leyna Bloom in 2021.

    The 30-year-old singer reportedly began taking cross-sex hormones and transitioning at age 12. He underwent sex change surgery at age 16.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/sports-illustrated-puts-transgender-biological-man-on-cover-of-swimsuit-edition/

  20. JUST-IN: Maricopa County Judge Confirms Kari Lake is Going Back to Trial May 17, 18, 19
    By Jordan Conradson May. 16, 2023 8:15 am93 Comments

    Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson reaffirmed a previous minute entry, setting trial dates for Kari Lake’s trial on the remanded fraudulent signature verification claims in her lawsuit against the 2022 election.

    Kari Lake is going back to trial on May 17, 18, and 19!

    Thompson ruled that the arguments by Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County to dismiss Count III regarding fraudulent signature verification failed and were “not persuasive.”

    However, Thompson dismissed Count II regarding intentional election day tabulator failures, despite newly discovered evidence that Maricopa County rigged the election and secretly tested voting machines to fail Republican voters. The new findings show “clear misconduct and intent,” argue Lake’s attorneys.

    Kari Lake voters turned out 3:1 on election day, and Maricopa County intentionally screwed them.

    The Gateway Pundit reported on the testimony by Lake’s attorneys that Maricopa County installed malware on the voting machines at Friday’s hearing.

    “Lake must prove a competent mathematical basis to win at trial, but she need not plead a specific number of votes in her complaint under notice pleading,” states the new Minute Entry.

    Lake must also “demonstrate at trial pursuant to her concessions that Maricopa County’s higher level signature reviewers conducted no signature verification or curing and in so doing had systematically failed to materially comply with the law.”

    As The Gateway Pundit reported, the Maricopa County attorney Tim La Rue admitted Friday that signature verification is “subjective” and “something of an art” that is open to the interpretation of whatever activist reviews the signature. “It’s not really an exact science,” stated La Rue.

    This is a high standard of evidence, but clearly, unscrupulous Maricopa County officials are allowing “subjective” and fraudulent signature verification.

    The Minute entry concludes:

    IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED denying Plaintiff’s Motion for Relief from Judgment.

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED reaffirming the trial dates set forth in this court’s May 8,2023, minute entry setting the matter for trial on Count III.

    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying the Motion to File Amicus Curae Brief submitted by a third party and opposed by all parties to this litigation.

    Read the full Minute Entry below:

    5:15:2023 Thompson Minute E… by Jordan Conradson

    The Gateway Pundit will continue to provide live updates on Kari Lake’s trial.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/?p=943427

  21. “Dr Richard Lindzen exposes climate change as a politicised power play motivated by malice and profit” BizNewsTv – April 20, 2023

  22. “Meet Dr Patrick Moore: Greenpeace co-founder who left the organisation hijacked by political left” BizNewsRv – May 8, 2023

  23. (Richard: The left doesn’t like anything they can’t dominate. During FDR’s reign the Dems created the machine that dominated The White House and Congress until the late 60s early 70s, this allowed them to nominate and confirm Judges that would ignore and twist the Constitution and the laws to (illegally) write laws that they couldn’t get voted into law in Congress. This Judicial System filled with Activist Judges gave the left their victories in the Culture War and slowly shifted the US into a su socialist nation.

    Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980 started the shift away from Judicial activism. He nominated constructionist Judges who ruled according to the struct text is the Constitution and the laws. This left us with a liberal SCOTUS that had a 1 vote majority. This narrow margin scared the left but they could do nothing to change it. Then Donald Trump was elected and he got to appoint 3 strict constructionist to SCOTUS. This shift the balance to the people who are fighting to ensure freedom to the US. The SCOTUS pics along with the many lower Court appointments. Are doing more to continue the move back to freedom then the current crop of Repubs in Congress. This is why the left is screaming to pack the Court and install term limits on Judges.

    The left is showing they don’t believe in any form of Democracy, especially the Representative Republic in the US. This is because at some level they know that their policies concerning abortion are partially why the current situation exists. The ROE effect (libs aborting some of their babies) is what is shifting the political spectrum back to Small Government and Large Freedom. It is also part of the reason for the left supporting the Border Crisis, but that explanation is for another time.)

    Planned Parenthood Calls for Packing the U.S. Supreme Court
    By Mike LaChance May. 16, 2023 7:45 am138 Comments

    The pro-abortion organization, Planned Parenthood, is now calling for the expansion of the Supreme Court.

    In other words, they want to pack the court with liberal justices to change the political balance of the institution.

    This is part of the reason that Democrats are currently trying to delegitimize the court. The left is furious that they don’t control it.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/planned-parenthood-calls-for-packing-the-u-s-supreme-court/

    • They just define Democracy differently, that’s all. That’s how Islam became the ‘Religion of Peace’. Wiki will change its content accordingly.

      Easy-peasy: Ukraine is a democracy like Nato is a defensive alliance.

  24. General Michael Flynn Releases Statement on John Durham Report: “This Report Must Be Rally Cry – If We Do Not Fight Back Now, the America We Know May Be Lost Forever”
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 7:15 am315 Comments

    Special Counsel John Durham released his final report on Monday concluding the FBI had no verified intel when it opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump in 2016.

    This was Durham’s final report. There will be no arrests. The American people were lied to for years as the intel community and legacy media worked feverishly to accomplish their coup on President Trump. And THEY ALL KNEW it was a lie. It was ALWAYS a lie. It was launched by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and pushed by the FBI.

    Later this afternoon General Mike Flynn responded to the report.

    General Flynn’s life was torn apart due to this FBI lie. The deep state targeted him in an attempt to destroy him. And then when he was found innocent after years of political persecution the dirty and corrupt Judge Emmett Sullivan refused to drop the case. It was a clear abuse of the US justice system.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/general-michael-flynn-releases-statement-on-john-durham-report-this-report-must-be-rally-cry-if-we-do-not-fight-back-now-america-we-know-may-be-lost-forever/

  25. Biden’s New Intersectionality: Where Equity Policies Meet Bad Economics

    In the summer of 2020, the Smithsonian Institution created a chart meant to condemn what it calls “whiteness,” and it listed a number of characteristics it claimed were essential to “white culture.” Among the so-called characteristics it described in pejorative terms was delaying gratification, or saving for the future, what Austrian economists would call low time preference.

    The chart, which was withdrawn after widespread protest, sought to identify the characteristics needed to build not only an economy but civilization itself with a racist culture. Thus, the kind of lifestyle and values that might culminate in someone having high credit scores and saving up for a significant down payment for a house were something not to be emulated or praised, but rather to be called out and declared shameful.

    Although the chart no longer is found on the Smithsonian website, the mentality that created it lives on in the policies of the Biden administration. To show its commitment to equity—equal outcomes—the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) implemented a new policy on May 1, 2023, that punishes homebuyers with high credit scores who can put down at least 15–20 percent on a mortgage by making them pay higher interest rates and extra fees. Declares a Wall Street Journal editorial:

    https://mises.org/wire/bidens-new-intersectionality-where-equity-policies-meet-bad-economics

  26. Amid Title 42’s expiration, this broke blue state is considering unemployment for illegal immigrants
    California legislation would give some unemployed illegal immigrants $300 for up to 20 weeks with state funds

    A California bill that would provide unemployment benefits to illegal immigrants is set for review this week as the Golden State braces for an influx of migrants following Title 42’s expiration.

    SB 227, or the Safety Net for All Workers Act, would provide laid-off illegal immigrants with $300 per week for up to 20 weeks with funds from state coffers. In March, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the statewide bill.

    “We cannot take people’s money, take people’s taxes, take people’s labor and then deny them the very benefits and rights that they deserve and that they have earned,” Supervisor Shamann Walton said at a protest before the board met.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/amid-title-42s-expiration-broke-blue-state-considering-unemployment-illegal-immigrants

  27. MAY 14 2023 – Moving to a Smart City: The Future is HERE!

    Our cities are changing as our globe evolves.

    Sustainable, smart, and futuristic city concepts began to proliferate.

    Designers, planners, and architects are hard at work developing more sustainable and livable city concepts.

    Future-oriented smart city ideas typically include sophisticated telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and global preservation.

    We’ve compiled a list of ten futuristic smart city projects that are built and are set to be built in the near future.

    • MAY 2023 – SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

      Population Decline Will Change the World for the Better

      A future with fewer people offers increased opportunity and a healthier environment

      By Stephanie Feldstein

      Stephanie Feldstein is the population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

      China’s population has fallen after decades of sky-high growth. This major shift in the world’s most populous country would be a big deal by itself, but China’s hardly alone in its declining numbers: despite the momentous occasion of the global population surpassing eight billion late last year, the United Nations predicts dozens of countries will have shrinking populations by 2050. This is good news. Considering no other large animal’s population has grown as much, as quickly or as devastatingly for other species as ours, we should all be celebrating population decline.

      Declining populations will ease the pressure eight billion people put on the planet. As the population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity, I’ve seen the devastating effects of our ever-expanding footprint on global ecosystems. But if you listen to economists (and Elon Musk), you might believe falling birthrates mean the sky is falling as fewer babies means fewer workers and consumers driving economic growth.

      But there’s more to the story than dollars. Where our current model of endless growth and short-term profits sacrifices vulnerable people and the planet’s future, population decline could help create a future with more opportunity and a healthy, biologically rich world. We’re at a crossroads—and we decide what happens next. We can maintain the economic status quo and continue to pursue infinite growth on a finite planet. Or we can heed the warning signs of a planet pushed to its limits, put the brakes on environmental catastrophe, and choose a different way to define prosperity that’s grounded in equity and a thriving natural world.

      Every person on the planet needs food, water, energy and a place to call home. And if we want to increase wealth equity and quality of life—as we should—the demands per person will increase, even with the best-case scenario for sustainable development.

      For example, as China grew in population and wealth, so did its demands on the planet. China’s per capita environmental footprint is less than half of the U.S., but the country’s total environmental footprint is twice as large, with the nation responsible for one quarter of imported deforestation and one third of global greenhouse emissions. Reducing consumption in high-income countries is necessary, but insufficient on its own if global population continues to rise.

      As the human population has doubled over the past 50 years, wildlife populations have plummeted by an average of 69 percent. We’ve already altered at least 70 percent of Earth’s land, with some reports putting that number at 97 percent. Our activities have driven wildlife from their homes and destroyed irreplaceable ecosystems.

      The loss of biodiversity is tragic in itself. A world without elephants, hellbender salamanders and the million other species at risk of extinction in the coming decades would be deeply impoverished. Wild plants and animals enrich our lives and hold vital ecosystems together. The fresh water we need to survive, the plants we rely on for food and medicine, and the forests we depend on for clean air and carbon sequestration are all the product of complex interactions between life-forms ranging from microbes and pollinators to carnivores and scavengers. When even a single thread is pulled from that tapestry, the entire system can unravel.

      For those more worried about economics than life on Earth, the World Bank estimates that ecosystem collapse could cost $2.7 trillion a year by 2030. Deloitte recently estimated climate chaos could cost the United States alone $14.5 trillion by 2070 as we respond to the increasingly frequent and intense damage caused by extreme weather and wildfires, and the threats to communities, farms and businesses from droughts and unpredictable weather. While many assume population decline would inevitably harm the economy, researchers found that lower fertility rates would not only result in lower emissions by 2055, but a per capita income increase of 10 percent.

      Lower fertility rates also typically signal an increase in gender equality. Better-educated women tend to have fewer children, later in life. This slows population growth and helps reduce carbon emissions. And when women are in leadership roles, they’re more likely than men to advance initiatives to fight climate change and protect nature. These outcomes are side effects of policies that are necessary regardless of their impact on population.

      In places where these cultural changes have happened, there’s no going back. Even in China, where fertility was initially reduced by the draconian one-child policy, women don’t want to give up their educational and economic freedom now that larger families are allowed.

      Population decline is only a threat to an economy based on growth. Shifting to a model based on degrowth and equity alongside lower fertility rates will help fight climate change and increase wealth and well-being.

      If populations decline, some places will have to adapt to societal aging. If we choose a deliberate decline resulting from increased well-being, then we could take the fear out of family planning and make a better future for people and the planet.

      We must choose. We can let the growth-based economy determine our planet’s fate, or we can stop pretending that demography and ecology are two separate issues.

      With the first scenario we’ll find that an economy fueled by limitless population growth makes it increasingly difficult to address environmental crises. Communities are already struggling in the face of worsening droughts, extreme weather and other consequences of climate disruption—and population pressure makes adaptation even harder. A growing population will further stress damaged ecosystems, reducing their resilience and increasing the risk of threats like pandemics, soil desertification and biodiversity loss in a downward spiral.

      With the second—slow decline and all that comes with it—we can ultimately scale back our pressure on the environment, adapt to climate change, and protect enough places for imperiled wildlife to find refuge and potentially recover.

      But despite how inevitable population decline will benefit people and the planet, world leaders have done little to prepare for a world beyond the paradigm of endless growth. They need to prepare for an aging population now while realigning our socioeconomic structures toward degrowth. Meanwhile, immigration can help soften some of the demographic blows by bringing younger people into aging countries.

      Governments must invest in health care, support caregivers, help people who want to work longer do so, and redesign communities to meet the housing, transportation and service needs of older people. We need to move our economy toward one where people and nature can thrive. That means managing consumption, prioritizing social and environmental welfare over profits, valuing cooperation and recognizing the need for a range of community-driven solutions. These practices already exist—in mutual-aid programs and worker-owned cooperatives—but they must become the foundation of our economy rather than the exception.

      We also need to bring together the reproductive rights and gender equity movements, and the environmental movement. Environmental toxicity, reproductive health and wildlife protection are deeply intertwined. Pollution, climate change and degraded ecosystems harm pregnant people, fetuses and children, and make it difficult to raise safe and healthy families.

      Finally, we need what the United Nations’ most recent climate and biodiversity reports drive home, and conservationists, climate scientists and policy makers have demanded for decades: a rapid, just transition to renewable energy and sustainable food systems and a global commitment to halting human-caused extinctions now.

      Population stabilization and decline will inevitably be achieved by centering human rights. Policy makers must guarantee bodily autonomy and access to reproductive health care, gender equity, and women and girls’ education.

      By addressing the crises in front of us, empowering everyone to decide if and when to have children, and planning for population decline, we can choose a future of sustainable abundance.

      https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/population-decline-will-change-the-world-for-the-better/

    • europravda – From sewage pipe to drinking glass: the future of wastewater treatment

      With water an ever more scarce resource, authorities are turning their attention to getting the most out of wastewater.

    • europravda – Arnold Schwarzenegger says lives depend on climate change action

  28. The state of Arizona dropped all charges against a former Arizona State University (ASU) student who was convicted of trespassing after handing out pocket Constitutions on campus, the Liberty Justice Center (LJC) announced on Monday.

    LJC filed an appeal on behalf of Tim Tizon in January, challenging the conviction he received after he refused to stop passing out pocket Constitutions on the ASU Tempe campus in March 2022 on behalf of the activist organization Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). Arizona dropped the charges, relieving Tizon of the conviction and sentence which had included a fine and community service, according to the press release.

    “What could be more obviously constitutional than handing out copies of the Constitution? We’re pleased the State has finally recognized the force of our arguments, but now we expect ASU to update its policies to fully protect the rights of all students to speak on campus,” Jacob Huebert, LJC President, said in the press

    https://newrightnetwork.com/2023/05/charges-dropped-against-student-arrested-after-handing-out-constitutions-on-arizona-campus.html

    • twitter @lisa_iannattone

      Checking in on excess mortality in Quebec. Data up to early April 2023 now available.

      Excess mortality in 0-49 year olds has yet to slow down.

      Week of Apr 1: 59% excess deaths.

      Week of April 8, 2023: 71% excess deaths.

      Folks that is the single worst week of the entire pandemic.

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwOGUUeXsAAbVC4?format=jpg&name=large

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwOGUT_WcAAoo3f?format=jpg&name=medium

      https://twitter.com/lisa_iannattone/status/1658316775472209921

    • MAY 15 2023 – FDA Recommends Bivalent Vaccine to Prevent Ongoing COVID Spread

      As COVID vaccine guidelines continue to evolve, the Food and Drug Administration is now recommending bivalent vaccines approved last fall to help fight ongoing spread of the virus.

    • CNN – MAY 2023 – A mental illness in your 20s and 30s could mean a greater chance of heart attack and stroke

      Adults in their 20s and 30s with mental disorders have a higher chance of having a heart attack or stroke, according to a new study.

      The study published Monday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology looked at the health data of more than 6.5 million people through the Korean National Health Insurance Service database.

      The people included in the new study ranged in age from 20 to 39 and underwent health examinations between 2009 and 2012. Their health was monitored until December 2018 for new onset heart attacks and stroke.

      About 13% of participants had some type of mental disorder — which included insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatoform disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or a personality disorder, according to the study.

      Those people younger than 40 with a mental disorder were 58% more likely to have a heart attack and 42% more likely to have a stroke than those with no disorder, the study found.

      “We have known for some time that mental health and physical health are linked, but what I find surprising about these findings is that these links were observable at such a young age,” said Dr. Katherine Ehrlich, an associate professor of behavioral and brain sciences at the University of Georgia. Ehrlich was not involved in the research.

      Coronary arterial disease and heart attacks are rare before the age of 40, so a study as large as this one was needed to see the relationship between mental health and such an unusual occurrence in young people, she said.

      Mental health and lifestyle

      Ehrlich said she would like to know more about the physical activity and diets of the people involved to understand better if those factors have an influence on the relationship between mental health conditions and heart attack and stroke.

      “For example, if you are chronically depressed, you may struggle to maintain a healthy diet and get adequate physical activity, which might in turn increase your risk for cardiac events over time,” she said.

      But the increased risk could not be attributed to lifestyle differences alone, as the authors controlled for factors including age, sex, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease, smoking, alcohol, physical activity and income, the study said.

      That doesn’t mean lifestyle should be ignored, however, said study author Dr. Eue-Keun Choi, a professor of internal medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea.

      “While lifestyle behaviours did not explain the excess cardiovascular risk, this does not mean that healthier habits would not improve prognosis,” Choi said in a statement. “Lifestyle modification should therefore be recommended to young adults with mental disorders to boost heart health.”

      Changes and checkups

      One in eight people between ages 20 and 39 studied had some sort of mental illness, meaning a substantial number of people could be predisposed to heart attack and stroke, study author Dr. Chan Soon Park, a researcher at Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea said in a statement.

      That could point to a greater need for managing psychological conditions and monitoring heart health in those at risk, Park added.

      “If we can reduce the number of people living with chronic mental illness, we may find secondary benefits in future years regarding the number of people managing cardiac-related conditions,” Ehrlich said.

      It is important to note that the findings do not show that mental illness causes heart attacks or stroke, she added. But the research does indicate a risk factor to watch out for.

      There may be benefit in preventive measures to minimize risks, Ehrlich said, which can include maintaining a healthy diet and incorporating physical activity.

      Choi recommends that people with mental health conditions receive regular checkups as well.

      These findings may also emphasize the importance of addressing loneliness, she added.

      “Many individuals with mental illness suffer from social isolation and loneliness, and for years researchers have been sounding the alarm that loneliness is detrimental for physical health,” Ehrlich said.

      “Efforts to improve social connectedness among young people may be critical to addressing the rising rates of cardiometabolic conditions in adulthood,” she added.

      https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/08/health/mental-health-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html

    • REUTERS – MAY 16 2023 – TWITTER THREAD

      Today on Reuters World News:

      The next pandemic could likely come from bats.
      @specialreports scoured the world to find where it could happen

      https://link.reuters.com/bats-twitter 1/6

      ==========================

      Rapid deforestation for mining, agriculture & infrastructure into ? habitats is putting people and bats in close contact 2/6

      ===========================

      Liberia and India have already had spillovers of deadly bat viruses, killing dozens at a time 3/6

      ===========================

      Officials in some emerging markets say addressing impending bat viruses could risk coveted foreign investment 4/6

      ==========================
      Today these viruses represent a biological minefield in 113 countries on every continent except Antarctica 5/6

      ==========================

      Scientists fear that it’s just a matter of time before one sets off the next pandemic.
      @kimvinnell has more on Reuters World News podcast 6/6

      https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1658434969490923523

      ================================

      TRANSCRIPT – REUTERS – Why the next pandemic may come from bats

      Today, the Reuters special investigation into whether it’s just a matter of time before the next big pandemic – from bats.

      Fewer hours, same pay, more productivity. We visit a business embracing the four day workweek and all the action from opening day at Cannes.

      It’s Tuesday, May 16th. This is Reuters World News. Bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes.

      I’m Kim Vinnell in London. The familiar sound of a rocket blast above Kyiv as Russia launches an air attack described by Ukrainian officials as having exceptional intensity.
      Ukraine said it shot down all 18 of the missiles launched by Moscow on Monday night, including six hypersonic missiles, a superweapon Moscow has described as unstoppable.
      And now to the other headlines making news around the world. The FBI has been strongly criticized for its investigation into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Special counsel John Durham’s long awaited report says the FBI lacked actual evidence when it looked into potential links between the campaign and Russia.

      Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill which bans tax dollars being used in state colleges for diversity, equity and inclusion programs. He’s criticized the programs for increasing discrimination. The law also places new restrictions on classroom discussions on race.

      At least six people have died in a hostel fire in New Zealand. 11 people are still missing an investigation into the cause of the fire in the 92 room building in Wellington is underway. Now to tell us what’s going on in the markets, we have Carmel Crimmins. Hey, Carmel.

      Carmel Crimmins – Hey, Kim.

      Kim Vinnell – What’s going on today?

      Carmel Crimmins – Well, there’s a lot going on about the debt ceiling. Joe Biden is meeting congressional leaders later today, but I’m kind of sick of talking about the debt ceiling. Can I talk about something else? Can I can I talk about meme coins?

      Kim Vinnell – I get it. Yes, you can. Please go ahead.

      Carmel Crimmins – Okay. So meme coins are the highly speculative end of crypto, if you can actually imagine that. So they have no practical use whatsoever. This is pure gambling. Anyway, they’re back in the spotlight because the latest meme coin, Pepe, hit the market last month. It’s inspired by an internet meme character, Pepe the Frog, and its website says that it is completely useless and for entertainment purposes only. So investors have been warned.

      Kim Vinnell – So how did Pepe do?

      Carmel Crimmins – It leapt 7,000% in price in the first 17 days, hitting a record high over $1.6 billion. Now it’s down 60% from its May 5 peak, but it still has a market cap of nearly $740 million, and its daily trading volume actually exceeds that of bigger meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba, which you may remember started as internet jokes referencing a Japanese dog breed.

      Kim Vinnell – I do remember very well. How could I forget.

      Carmel Crimmins – You know what my colleagues who cover crypto say about all this, Kim?

      Kim Vinnell – You tell me.

      Carmel Crimmins – Every frog has its day.

      Kim Vinnell – Oh, Carmel. That’s awful. We’ll leave it there. Thank you. You got to love that Monday to Thursday grind, am I right? The four day working week is gaining momentum, with businesses keen to tackle slowing productivity in Western economies. Here in Britain, the workforce is still slightly smaller than before the pandemic, and job vacancies are a third higher. Some companies have tried the four day week say it’s increased pressure. But Reuters Sarah Young reports from 5 Squirrels skin care to find out how for them, working less means increased productivity.

      Sarah Young – These industrial machines are mixing together different chemicals and formulas to make face creams and serums and suncream and all the different things that they sell here. But the machines only work four days a week. On a Friday, everything is switched off. No one answers the phone and all the employees have the day off. Shifting to a four day week at 5 Squirrels required a lot of changes to be made. They had to become much more strict about their scheduling, and people would only do one type of job in one period of time. So instead of switching between labeling bottles and packing boxes, they would only do labeling for 2 hours and then they would pack all the boxes. And they found that by dividing the jobs up in that way, it made them much more productive by only working four days a week. The owner, Gary, says his staff are so much more energized that there have been many, many fewer mistakes made with orders and different labeling issues that that has been part of the rise in productivity. They used to spend a lot more time fixing mistakes because people were tired. And he says those mistakes just don’t get made anymore.

      Gary Conroy – So people were smashing through their targets and they were getting much, much higher. And overall, we had a 40% increase in all the metrics that we were measuring.

      Sarah Young – I’m Sara Young reporting for Reuters from Hove on the south coast of England.

      Kim Vinnell – Last week, the US ended its COVID 19 emergency declaration. China has loosened its restrictions as well, and many have settled into a quote, new normal. But a team of Reuters journalists has been looking ahead to the next possible pandemic. Our reporter Deb Nelson explains how the next pandemic could be around the corner.

      Deb Nelson – It all starts with bats. They are crucial to the global ecosystem and to many local economies because they pollinate flowers, scatter seeds, eat insects, but they also harbor tens of thousands of viruses. For millennia, they and their viruses weren’t the danger to anybody. But in the last century, we’re cutting down trees to dig mines, to raise crops, to harvest timber. That disrupts the bats, and it brings them into closer contact with people. Then some of these viruses can make the leap to humans. It’s how pandemics can start, and it’s what keeps scientists up at night, even though they are relatively rare events. We’re talking about highly deadly pathogens. The World Health Organization says under the right circumstances, could set off an outbreak that kills thousands, even millions. So we set out to identify the places on Earth where spillovers those leaks are the most likely to happen. We found about 1.8 billion people live in those areas, and the risk areas which we are calling jump zones are expanding in some really densely populated areas like India. I talked to a man in Kerala who lost two brothers, his father and other family members to Nipah. They think one of the brothers may have inadvertently eaten fruit that had been contaminated by bat saliva. Nipah is a virus carried by flying foxes, huge bats with dogs’ faces. They shed the virus as they fly, eat fruit and drop it on the ground. The first known cases came from pigs who had eaten bat contaminated fruit in Malaysia and Veena George, the Kerala health minister, told me just how dangerous an infection can be.

      Veena George – The fatality rate in Nipah is very high. It’s from 70 to 100% and the transmission rate from human to human, it’s also very high. It’s multiple times more than COVID.

      Deb Nelson – So these things are also happening in West Africa and developing areas that are rich in natural resources. And those resources often are heavily exploited by governments and people to raise living standards and companies to raise profits. They’re mining gold and iron ore and bauxite and growing cocoa and harvesting timber to grow economically. But that very activity disrupts bats and incredibly deadly viruses like Ebola and Marburg are cropping up in places they’ve never appeared before . We had a finance minister in Liberia tell us that talking about disease risk assessment scares away investors. Meanwhile, there have been seven new outbreaks of Ebola in Marburg in West Africa since 2020. So today, these viruses represent a biological minefield in 113 countries, every continent except Antarctica. Scientists fear that it’s just a matter of time before one sets off the next pandemic.

      Kim Vinnell – Now are you red carpet ready? It’s opening day at the Cannes Film Festival. 21 films are in consideration for the prestigious Palme d’Or with a record seven female directors in competition. Reuters Mindy Burrows told us the ones to watch.

      Mindy Burrows – This year’s Cannes Film Festival is set to be super busy with stars like Johnny Depp, Natalie Portman and Ben Affleck descending on the red carpet from Tuesday. Some of the action packed fortnight’s highlights will include Harrison Ford’s return to the role of Indiana Jones in the Dial of Destiny 15 years after the last film in the franchise and Martin Scorsese’s star studded Killers of the Flower Moon, which includes Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro among the cast. Also premiering at Cannes is TV drama The Idol, written by The Weeknd and directed by Sam Levinson with Lily-rose Depp stepping into the lead role.

      Kim Vinnell – All that as if they managed to keep the lights on, of course. France’s CGT power union has threatened to cut electricity to the festival as part of ongoing protests against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms due to law. And that’s it for this edition of Reuters World News. We’ll be back tomorrow to get all our shows and your podcast feed. Make sure you follow us on your favorite platform or download the Reuters app.

      https://www.reuters.com/info-pages/transcript/c5a13408-f3ce-11ed-b478-231eb1fe2a33/

  30. So, She’s a Prostitute?… Woman Suing Rudy Giuliani for Sexual Harassment Admits She Was Hired to “Satisfy His Sexual Demands”
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 10:00 am150 Comments
    TruthGettrGab

    A woman who “worked for” Rudy Giuliani is suing the former NYC Mayor for sexual harassment and wage theft.

    Noelle Dunphy, 43, alleged in her lawsuit that Rudy Giuliani, 78, hired her in January 2019 to help him with ‘business development’ and offered her a $1 million a year salary.

    Dunphy claimed in the 70-page complaint that Rudy Giuliani never paid her the salary he promised her.

    Dunphy and Giuliani apparently had a “romantic relationship” while Giuliani was going through a divorce and now the woman is suing for $10 million in damages!

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/so-shes-a-prostitute-woman-suing-rudy-giuliani-for-sexual-harassment-admits-she-was-hired-to-satisfy-his-sexual-demands/

  31. WATCH: San Francisco Security Guard Shoots and Kills Transgender Shoplifter After Thief Tries to Charge Him – Radical Leftists Attack District Attorney for Not Prosecuting Security Guard
    By Cullen Linebarger May. 16, 2023 9:45 am344 Comments

    The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office on Monday released surveillance footage showing the moment a Walgreens security guard shot and killed a transgender shoplifter.

    KGO-TV reported District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released the footage to justify her decision to not press charges against security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony in the April 27 death of 24-year Banko Brown, a biological male claiming to be female.

    Jenkins said that Anthony. a security guard since 2012, was defending himself against the crazed shoplifter when he gunned him down.

    When one observes the full footage, it is easy to see why Jenkins made a common sense decision.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/watch-san-francisco-security-guard-shoots-and-kills-transgender-shoplifter-after-thief-tries-to-charge-him-radical-leftists-attack-district-attorney-for-not-prosecuting-security-guard/

  32. NYC Public Elementary Schools Set to House Illegals
    By Margaret Flavin May. 16, 2023 10:45 am44 Comments
    TruthGettrGabTelegramShareTweet

    Illegal immigrants who’ve crossed the border near Brownsville, Texas, are lined up in anticipation of the end of Title 42.
    Illegal immigrants who’ve crossed the border near Brownsville, Texas, are lined up in anticipation of the end of Title 42. (@BillFOXLA / Twitter screen shot)

    Cities across the nation are being forced to deal with the disaster placed directly on their doorsteps because of Biden’s broken immigration policy.

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams has provided thousands of illegal immigrants with free hotel rooms and city taxpayers have spent millions caring for these invaders while they unleash chaos on the city.

    The Gateway Pundit reported that homeless and struggling veterans are being evicted from upstate hotels to make room for the incoming illegal immigrants.

    Now, the city is compromising the safety of its most vulnerable population, school children.

    At least six public elementary schools in the city will have their gymnasiums taken over by illegals as they are turned into shelters.

    Fox News reports:

    The six schools set to host migrants are all in Brooklyn, the New York Post reported Monday. Adult migrants began to arrive on Sunday at the PS 188 gym in Coney Island, the report said, and at least five more are preparing to do the same: PS 17, PS 18, PS 132, PS 172 and PS 189.

    MS 577, a middle prep school, will also host migrants in the gym it shares with PS 17. The two schools placed cots in the gym Monday in preparation to host busloads of migrants as early as Tuesday, according to the report. Parents claimed the school will be locked down with no recess or physical education because the gym is adjacent to the outdoor playground.

    “These kids just came through COVID, and now they’re being locked inside the classroom,” Virginia Vu, a PTA member and parent at MS 577, told The Post. “To bus people to our school and expect the community to absorb them is just insane.”

    The mayor and his administration think it is a good idea to place unvetted illegals, many of whom are adult males, within public elementary schools.

    Although parents and public school teachers had to mask up and get vaccinated during the pandemic, the illegals flooding our country have an undetermined vaccination status on a host of communicable diseases. And they will now share facilities with young children.

    What could go wrong?

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/nyc-public-elementary-schools-set-to-house-illegals/

  33. WATCH: San Francisco Security Guard Shoots and Kills Transgender Shoplifter After Thief Tries to Charge Him – Radical Leftists Attack District Attorney for Not Prosecuting Security Guard
    By Cullen Linebarger May. 16, 2023 9:45 am367 Comments

    The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office on Monday released surveillance footage showing the moment a Walgreens security guard shot and killed a transgender shoplifter.

    KGO-TV reported District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released the footage to justify her decision to not press charges against security guard Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony in the April 27 death of 24-year Banko Brown, a biological male claiming to be female.

    Jenkins said that Anthony. a security guard since 2012, was defending himself against the crazed shoplifter when he gunned him down.

    When one observes the full footage, it is easy to see why Jenkins made a common sense decision.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/watch-san-francisco-security-guard-shoots-and-kills-transgender-shoplifter-after-thief-tries-to-charge-him-radical-leftists-attack-district-attorney-for-not-prosecuting-security-guard/

  35. How A Left-Wing Activist Group Teamed Up With Big Pharma To Push Radical Gender Ideology on American Hospitals
    The Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index, bankrolled by Pfizer, is changing our medical care
    Detransitioner Chloe Cole speaks on Capitol Hill September 20, 2022
    Aaron Sibarium
    May 15, 2023
    It was 2019 when Beth Rempe, then a nurse at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., first noticed the change.

    Doctors were wearing pins sporting the transgender flag. Nurses were asking children, most with no history of gender dysphoria, for their preferred pronouns, which were entered into an electronic record system and documented on white boards outside their rooms. More patients were on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, especially young girls. And the top-ranked hospital was telling staff that people could change gender based on their “mood,” according to slides from a mandatory training reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

    The training, which was offered as recently as January, included a primer on “zi/hir” pronouns and used a “gender unicorn” to illustrate the “spectrum” of “other gender(s).”

    By 2022, Rempe said, Children’s National was requiring staffers to use a patient’s preferred pronouns, no questions asked, even as European medical authorities were backing away from that practice, warning that on-demand gender affirmation could entrench dysphoria rather than reduce it, particularly in children. Worried the policy did more harm than good, Rempe asked for an exemption, which the hospital denied. She quit in early 2022.

    “I was concerned that I would eventually have to administer puberty blockers and hormones, not just use the pronouns,” Rempe told the Free Beacon. “I kept finding myself in situations I wasn’t comfortable with ethically.”

    Since her departure, Rempe has struggled to make sense of what happened to the hospital where she spent 16 years of her professional life. Was there a common thread behind the transgender flag pins, the pronouns, the puberty blockers, and the trainings and policies that enforced the new culture?

    As it turns out, there is an outside force pushing hospitals in this direction.

    The Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index became a flashpoint last month when commentators posited that the scorecard was behind Bud Light’s decision to air an advertisement featuring the transgender TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney. Well, it has a sibling.

    Meet the Healthcare Equality Index, the Human Rights Campaign’s scorecard for hospitals that purports to measure the “equity and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients.” The index, which uses a 100 point scale, is funded by Pfizer and PhRMA, the trade association that lobbies on behalf of large pharmaceutical companies. And, Rempe noticed, it awards points for all of the policies Children’s National implemented.

    To earn a perfect score, hospitals must display LGBT symbols, solicit and use patients’ preferred pronouns, and conduct trainings on LGBT issues approved by the Human Rights Campaign, according to the scoring criteria. They must also provide the same treatments for gender dysphoria that they provide for other medical conditions—meaning a hospital that uses puberty blockers to treat precocious puberty cannot withhold the drugs from children who say they’re transgender. And though the index does not mention medical conscience exemptions explicitly, it does penalize hospitals for allowing “discriminatory treatment that is in conflict with their non-discrimination policy.”

    Over 2,200 health systems, including dozens of children’s hospitals, have been rated by the index. In 2022, Children’s National earned a perfect score.

    The Human Rights Campaign is a private entity, and its ratings carry no official weight. But as countries around the world pump the brakes on pediatric transition, critics say that the index—bankrolled by the very companies that produce and profit off puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones—is encouraging the sort of no-guardrails approach that has made U.S. gender medicine an international outlier. The scorecard has helped powerful lobbyists seed their ideology across American hospitals, becoming de facto regulators of health care.

    A spokesperson for PhRMA, Brian Newell, downplayed its role in the index, saying the trade association was “not involved in the development” of the scoring criteria. “Our work with the [Human Rights Campaign] has primarily focused on issues impacting patient access and affordability, including for those with HIV,” Newell said.

    Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment.

    The most coercive part of the index is its “Responsible Citizenship” deduction. Hospitals can lose as many as 25 points for any behavior the Human Rights Campaign deems “discriminatory,” an expansive category that includes statements made by hospital doctors and policies that restrict access to gender medicine, including puberty blockers.

    Last year, for example, the Human Rights Campaign deducted points from two Texas hospitals, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Health in Dallas, because they stopped using puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria but continued to use them to treat precocious puberty—the blockers’ original purpose.

    That “amounts to discrimination against transgender youth,” the Human Rights Campaign argued in a press release.

    Another hospital, Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Sacramento, Calif., was docked in 2022 because it refused to perform a hysterectomy on a transgender man, Evan Milton, who was seeking the procedure to eliminate feelings of gender dysphoria. The deduction came on the heels of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, which alleged that the Catholic hospital had violated civil rights law by denying the surgery.

    Mercy San Juan “withheld medically necessary care for a transgender man while providing the same type of care to cisgender women,” the Human Rights Campaign said in a press release. “Every credible medical organization recognizes the medical necessity of affirming care for transgender and non-binary people.”

    This argument—that it is discrimination to provide surgery for one condition and not another—can sound like rhetorical gymnastics. But it has already been accepted by courts and government agencies, which have in some cases forced insurers to pay for sex-change operations.

    Citing rules from the Obama administration’s Department of Health and Human Services, for example, a Wisconsin district court ruled that the state’s Medicaid agency had to cover “gender-conforming surgery.” The court’s reasoning was the same as Human Rights Campaign’s: To cover mastectomies for breast cancer but not gender dysphoria, it said, “discriminates on the basis of diagnosis.”

    The overlap between legal precedent and the index’s criteria suggest that the latter do have the force of law behind them, in a sense. When the Human Rights Campaign applies the 25 point penalty, it is effectively claiming that a hospital has violated civil rights law. That in turn sends a message to activist groups and the Biden administration, said Rachel Morrison, a former attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: “Maybe you should investigate.”

    “A bad score puts a target on hospitals’ backs,” Morrison said. “Even if the index itself is not legally enforceable, hospitals still have an incentive to defer to it.”

    While the Human Rights Campaign has not sued individual hospitals over their transgender policies, closely-aligned activist groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, have.

    “It would be entirely on brand to use the rankings to invite or accelerate lawsuits against hospitals that score poorly,” said Oramel Skinner, Arizona’s former solicitor general who is now the director of the Alliance for Consumers, a nonprofit that combats the overreach of trial lawyers.

    Beyond the veiled legal threat, critics say the scorecard creates reputational incentives to defer to activists instead of medical science, which on transgender issues is increasingly in flux. Hospitals that do well on the index typically incorporate it into their marketing materials, issuing press releases about the quality of their LGBT care.

    “My hospital displays a badge on signboards and in emails touting their status as an ‘LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader’”—the Human Rights Campaign’s designation for hospitals that earn a perfect index score—said a doctor at a large health system in New Jersey, adding that the hospital now requires the front office to ask patients for their preferred pronouns in front of the entire waiting room.

    Many health systems seem unwilling to accept anything less than a solid 100. In 2020, after Children’s National only scored a 75, the hospital created a committee focused on boosting its rating, according to a press release. By 2022, it had achieved a perfect score.

    Even Johns Hopkins, one of the most prestigious medical centers in the world, appears to have been influenced by the index. In 2018, the Human Rights Campaign docked the hospital 25 points for statements that psychiatrist Paul McHugh, a vocal critic of sex-reassingment surgeries, and another Hopkins doctor, Lawrence Mayer, had made about transgender issues.

    Hopkins appears to have opted out of the Healthcare Equality Index annual survey, which gathers information used to complete the scorecard, after incurring that deduction, according to the hospital’s index entry. But by 2022, it had also implemented many of the policies demanded by the Human Rights Campaign, including insurance plans that cover facial reconstructive surgery and data systems that record gender identity and pronouns.

    Johns Hopkins did not respond to a request for comment.

    The index, which began scoring hospitals in 2017, is far from the only force behind the push for pediatric transition. Plenty of doctors are true believers, Rempe said, and Children’s National was “already motivated” to promote gender medicine before the index came along. Groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics have solidified the consensus, saying that “gender-affirming care” is not only necessary but “lifesaving.”

    Though U.S health authorities largely support this treatment model, their European counterparts do not. With rates of transgender identification skyrocketing among young people, especially girls—and amid mounting concerns about the long-term effects of puberty blockers and other treatments—medical bodies across Europe have moved away from the gender-affirming protocols they once championed, imposing new restrictions on pharmaceutical interventions and even urging caution on social affirmation.

    Most studies find that gender dysphoria resolves itself by puberty. Social transition, however, has been linked to more persistent feelings of cross-sex identity, suggesting that it could “lock in” the dysphoria it is meant to alleviate, though the reasons for the link remain unproven.

    Changing a child’s name and pronouns is “not a neutral act,” a report from the British National Health Service concluded last year. “It is an active intervention” whose long-term effects are unclear.

    The Healthcare Equality Index has ignored all these developments. Its scoring criteria, which were updated this year, award points for facilitating both social and physical transition and, aside from a caveat about “intersex children,” includes no guidance on age limits or informed consent.

    Points are also awarded for providing “Training in LGBTQ+ Patient-Centered Care” approved by the Human Rights Campaign. Hospitals can either submit their own internal trainings for review or pick from a list of pre-approved modules, which give some idea of what the group is looking for.

    One training, offered by Howard Brown Health, teaches participants to “dismantle the gender binary” and “define misgendering as trauma,” according to a description of the training on the Human Rights Campaign’s website, while another discusses “frameworks of care such as intersectionality and anti-oppression.”

    A running theme in the trainings is that transgender people’s high rates of mental illness are due solely to a lack of acceptance. This view, known as the minority stress theory, underpins many of the arguments in favor of on-demand gender affirmation. The training at Children’s National went so far as to suggest that using patients’ preferred pronouns reduces their risk of suicide, echoing the idea that social transition can be “lifesaving.”

    There is little evidence to support that claim, said Leor Sapir, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute who studies transgender issues. And by blaming all mental health problems on oppression, the minority stress theory discourages doctors from investigating the root cause of anxiety or depression—or, for that matter, of gender dysphoria.

    “It is plausible that many youth with mental health problems are nowadays using ‘born in the wrong body’ as a way to make sense of their [underlying] mental health issues,” Sapir wrote in an email. “Children’s National is very likely making a correlation/causation fallacy.”

    The hospital declined to answer specific questions about its training, stating only that it approached gender care “with the utmost seriousness and consideration.” That care, it added, is “consistent” with the standards of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends puberty blockers for children as young as nine.

    The Human Rights Campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

    The index’s power has been turbocharged by the legal uncertainty around transgender issues, which derives in large part from the policy ping pong between Democrat and Republican administrations. Though former president Donald Trump undid most of the Obama-era rules on LGBT care, the Biden administration has resurrected them and then some—attempting, among other things, to force Catholic hospitals to provide gender-reassignment surgery. With no clear answer about what the law requires, the safest place to be is on the side of the civil rights crusade.

    “Lawyers will always advise hospitals to take the most legally defensive course of action,” Sapir said. “In practice, that means deferring to the network of civil rights groups that will sue them.”

    It may also mean that nurses like Rempe—who said her objections to gender affirmation were religious as well as clinical—will see their medical conscience rights whither away in the face of activist pressure. In a press release announcing the 2018 edition of the Healthcare Equality Index, the Human Rights Campaign slammed a Trump administration rule that let health workers opt out of facilitating sex changes.

    “The measure will directly harm LGBTQ people,” the group said, “by prioritizing physicians’ beliefs over life-saving patient care.”

    Hospitals like Children’s National were on notice: provide religious conscience exemptions at your own risk.

    “If the index is encouraging things people of faith object to,” said Justin Butterfield, the deputy general counsel of the religious freedom group First Liberty Institute, “then sooner or later it will encourage hospitals to diminish protections for religious employees.”

    Now some Republican legislatures are seeking to strike back against the gender juggernaut. Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia are just some of the red states that have banned puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries for minors—measures that could force hospitals in those states to choose between violating the law or accepting a lower Healthcare Equality score.

    Hospitals hoping to avoid that choice have a strong incentive to get involved in the legislative fight over gender-affirming care, Morrison said.

    Especially since political activism is one of the practices the index rewards.

    Hospitals receive points for “community engagement,” the scoring criteria state, if they have “publicly supported LGBTQ+ equality under the law through taking action on local, state, or federal legislation or regulations.”

    https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Ffreebeacon.com%2Flatest-news%2Fhow-left-wing-activist-group-teamed-up-with-big-pharma-to-push-radical-gender-ideology-on-american-hospitals%2F

  36. the gateway pundit – Old Video of E. Jean Carroll Resurfaces, Confirms She’s a Wackadoodle – Even Crazier Than We Thought (VIDEO)

    … a complete lunatic who lived with mice in a cabin she called the “Mouse House,” painted trees and rocks outside her log cabin blue, and traveled the country with her blue-dyed poodle but not her cat, Vagina T. Fireball, who she left back home.

    …E. Jean Carroll claimed to have had sexual tips from her dog, although it is still unclear if she was referring to Lewis Carroll, or to another dog she named Tits. Yes, you read that right.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/old-video-of-e-jean-carroll-proves-that-shes-crazier-than-we-thought-video/

    • E. Jean Carroll ‘thrilled’ to finally hold Donald Trump to account for his lies

      E. Jean Carroll and her lawyer Robbie Kaplan, talk with Rachel Maddow about how it felt to defeat Donald Trump in court and what further legal actions are in the works as they continue to work to hold Trump for his lies about sexually abusing Carroll.

  37. “They Dragged Us to Hell and We Are Standing and Fighting Back” – Kari Lake Has THREE Whistleblowers Who Will Testify that 130,000 Did Not Pass Signature Verification — But Election Officials Counted Them Anyway!
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 11:35 am141 Comments

    Kari Lake: “We have the perfect case to show what a joke our elections are! We won’t stop fighting this. We just won’t – They dragged us to hell and we are standing up and fighting back.”

    Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake joined Steve Bannon and Alex Jones on The War Room on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in her voter fraud case.

    Kari Lake will be back in trial this week on Wednesday-Friday, May 17, 18, and 19.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/they-dragged-us-to-hell-and-we-are-standing-and-fighting-back-kari-lake-has-three-whistleblowers-who-will-testify-that-130000-did-not-pass-signature-verification-but-election-officials-count/

  40. BREAKING: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against “Corrupt” FBI Director Christopher Wray
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 2:40 pm103 Comments

    On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced Articles of Impeachment against “corrupt” FBI Director Christopher Wray.

    “I just introduced articles of impeachment against FBI Director Christopher Wray,” Greene tweeted.

    “Under his watch, the FBI has intimidated, harassed, & entrapped Americans who have been deemed enemies of the Biden regime. Wray has turned the FBI into Joe Biden and Merrick Garland’s personal police force. Christopher Wray needs to be impeached,” she added.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/breaking-rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-introduces-articles-of-impeachment-against-fbi-director-christopher-wray/

  41. MIT Scientists Create Device That Can Hack Dreams
    By Anthony Scott May. 16, 2023 4:00 pm0 Comments

    This is creepy.

    Scientists from MIT and Harvard have created a device that can reportedly “hack” into your dreams.

    IB Times reports a new device, created by scientists at Harvard and MIT called the Dormio, is capable of “targeted dream incubation.”

    The device is comprised of a glove connected to an app measuring the physiological response of someone who is sleeping.

    While the device is measuring physiological responses, an app connected to the device will give the person who is sleeping dream topics.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/mit-scientists-create-device-that-can-hack-dreams/

  42. Karine Jean-Pierre Walks Away When Asked About Joe Biden’s Reaction to Durham Report (VIDEO)
    By Cristina Laila May. 16, 2023 3:30 pm129 Comments

    White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday walked away when a reporter pressed her on Biden’s reaction to the Durham report.

    Special Counsel John Durham on Monday released his final report concluding the FBI had no verified intel when it opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump in 2016.

    In July of 2016, Peter Strzok opened a counterintel investigation into Trump’s camp dubbed “Crossfire Hurricane” on suspicions (based on no evidence) that the Russians had infiltrated Trump’s circle.

    The CI investigation was based on lies conjured up by Hillary Clinton and her paid for fake Russia dossier.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/karine-jean-pierre-walks-away-when-asked-about-joe-bidens-reaction-to-durham-report-video/

  44. Feds Arrested and Convicted Hunter Biden’s Chinese Business Partner Patrick Ho But Ignored Hunter’s Role in Corruption Case and Even Redacted His Name – Then The Laptop From Hell Pieced It All Together
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 4:20 pm77 Comments
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    This post includes information from three different previous Gateway Pundit reports from 2020 and 2023. Paul Sperry at Real Clear Investigations has the rest of the story today.

    In 2017 the the FBI raided the offices and intercepted the communications of Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho, a Chinese national suspected of espionage who was a business partner with Hunter and Jimmy Biden. Patrick Ho was later put on trial and found guilty of bribing government officials around the world to advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party.

    The crooked Department of Justice hid Hunter Biden’s connections with Patrick Ho during his trial and even redacted Hunter Biden’s name from the evidence documents.

    Via Paul Sperry at Real Clear Investigations.

    At the same time that Department of Justice officials were using spying and corruption statutes to aggressively pursue Donald Trump’s allies based on what turned out to be rumor and innuendo, they declined to use those same laws to investigate evidence of wrongdoing involving Biden family members and one of their corrupt Chinese business partners, DOJ documents and federal court records reveal.

    In 2016-2017, the evidence shows, the FBI raided the offices and intercepted the communications of Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho, a Chinese national suspected of espionage even as he was negotiating business deals with former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James.

    DOJ later used information obtained from the searches and wiretaps – which included conversations with the current President’s son and brother – to convict Ho of bribery and money laundering, as part of a separate corruption case involving United Nations officials. But it declined to tap into its trove of evidence – including “over 100,000 emails” – to explore the connections between Ho and the Bidens, who received millions of dollars from Ho and a Chinese intelligence front and discussed sharing office space.

    At Ho’s 2018 trial, prosecutors hid Hunter’s connection to Ho, redacting his name from court exhibits while describing Ho as “the person who flies around the world paying bribes to advance the interest of the oil company [CEFC China Energy],” according to hearing transcripts.

    The FBI and DOJ knew that Hunter Biden was business partners with Patrick Ho.

    The Gateway Pundit reported in October 2020 just days before the presidential election on Hunter Biden’s connections to and payments from Patrick Ho.

    Cristina Laila reported at the time.

    A new tranche of emails released from Hunter Biden’s laptop from hell reveal Joe Biden’s slimy grifter brother Jim providing wire instructions to Patrick Ho, the ‘spy chief of China.’

    Patrick Ho, a Hong Kong national, was suspected of being a covert agent for the Chinese government and was previously under FISA surveillance.

    Ho was charged with money laundering in connection with CEFC contracts in Africa in 2017, according to court documents.

    Recall, in an audio recording released by The National Pulse on Tuesday, Hunter Biden is heard describing Patrick Ho as his business partner and the ‘f*cking spy chief of China.’

    Hunter Biden is heard complaining about his business partner Devon Archer naming him and Joe Biden as witnesses in a criminal case in the Southern District of New York without even notifying him.

    The National Pulse released a March 21, 2018 email from Jim Biden providing wire instructions for Patrick Ho.

    An email from March 21, 2018 shared by National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam on Twitter shows Joe Biden’s brother Jim providing necessary information to complete a wire transfer to an individual named Mervyn Yan on behalf of Ho.

    The “purpose of” the transfer per Jim Biden was for “Dr. Patrick Ho Chi Ping representation.”

    Owasco LLC, the beneficiary according to Jim Biden, per the U.S. Senate report on Hunter Biden’s business dealings describes the law firm’s “executing officer and governor as Robert Hunter Biden.”

    Hunter Biden associate and whistleblower Tony Bobulinski later sat down for an interview with Tucker Carlson which aired on FOX News.

    Tony Bobulinski is the CEO of Sinohawk Holdings which was a partnership between the Chinese operating through CEFC/Chairman Ye and the Biden family.

    Bobulinski told Tucker Carlson that he asked Jim Biden specifically, “How are you guys getting away with this? Aren’t you concerned?”

    Bobulinski said Jim Biden looked at him and laughed and said, “plausible deniability.”

    Of course that smug remark from Jim Biden came before emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop from hell were released.

    In 2023 The Gateway Pundit’s Joe Hoft reported – In 2017, General Michael Flynn was sentenced and along with it he was also forced to admit to “making materially false statements in multiple documents filed pursuant to FARA.” In 2018, Paul Manafort “pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to two counts: (i) conspiracy to commit multiple offenses, including violating FARA by failing to register and by providing false statements in a document filed with FARA.” Manafort was sent to prison.

    Hunter never registered as a foreign agent yet he acted as one. This too is against the law.

    In Hunter’s laptop were a number of emails that show that Hunter Biden acted as a foreign agent. Hunter’s actions in Ukraine with Burisma were one example.

    Hunter Biden was on the Board of Burisma. He and his buddy Devon Archer and later Joseph Cofer Black were also on the board. Hunter, an attorney, and Cofer Black, a former CIA agent, both should have known that there are actions required for being an agent for companies and countries overseas.

    But Hunter Biden was never prosecuted. The double-standard is off the charts.

    Read Paul Sperry’s investigative piece on Hunter Biden the two-tiered justice system here.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/feds-arrested-and-convicted-hunter-bidens-chinese-business-partner-patrick-ho-but-ignored-hunters-role-in-corruption-case-and-even-redacted-his-name-then-the-laptop-from-hell-pieced-it-all-toget/

  45. House Oversight GOP Releases Statement After Biden Regime Retaliates Against IRS Whistleblower, Knifes Entire Team Investigating Hunter Biden
    By Cristina Laila May. 16, 2023 5:52 pm176 Comments

    The House GOP Oversight Committee on Tuesday released a statement after the Biden Regime retaliated against an IRS whistleblower and team investigating Hunter Biden.

    As TGP’s Kristinn Taylor reported: A letter sent Monday to Republican and Democrat members of House and Senate committees by attorneys representing the IRS whistleblower in the Hunter Biden investigation states that the whistleblower and his team of investigators have been removed from the investigation at the request of the Justice Department.

    The Feds are mishandling the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, according to an IRS supervisor who sought whistleblower protection last month.

    An IRS whistleblower says Hunter Biden is receiving “preferential treatment.”

    As Banks Fail and Americans Scramble to Protect Retirement Accounts With Physical Gold and Silver, A Faith-Based Company Shows Them How

    US Attorney General Merrick Garland is in on the scandal.

    A White House spox recently issued a statement denying Joe Biden was behind the political interference in the investigation into his own son.

    However, the Biden Regime retaliated against the IRS whistleblower and knifed the entire team that was investigating Hunter Biden.

    This was on the same day Special Counsel Durham released his report on the Russia collusion hoax.

    The House Oversight GOP on Tuesday released a statement.

    “Congress must thoroughly investigate this alleged retaliation and hold accountable those who are covering up any crimes committed by the President’s son.”

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/house-oversight-gop-releases-statement-after-biden-regime-retaliates-against-irs-whistleblower-knifes-entire-team-investigating-hunter-biden/

  46. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against DC US District Attorney And January 6th Lead Prosecutor Matthew Graves (VIDEO)
    By Jim Hoft May. 16, 2023 8:00 pm11 Comments

    The Committee on Oversight and Accountability held its second oversight hearing on Tuesday, inviting Mayor Bowser and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, to answer questions regarding the city’s rising crime rate.

    D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee, and D.C. City Administrator Kevin Donahue were also present at the hearing.

    The House GOP blasted DC U.S. Attorney and January 6 lead prosecutor Matthew Graves for his low prosecution rate on real criminals, while at the same time abusing his office by deliberately prosecuting non-violent protestors from January 6.

    The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia declined to prosecute 67% of cases last year.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/05/rep-marjorie-taylor-greene-introduces-articles-of-impeachment-against-dc-us-district-attorney-and-january-6th-lead-prosecutor-matthew-graves-video/