World News
Denmark to roll out coronavirus ‘vaccine passport’ for travelers in early 2021
RT – Denmark is planning to introduce a digital ‘vaccine passport’ soon to enable citizens with jabs against Covid-19 to travel to countries where such documents may be obligatory for entry during the pandemic.
The ‘vaccine passport’ will be rolled out “in early 2021,” the Danish Health
Ministry told local broadcaster DR. Those vaccinated would be able to obtain the document through the country’s public health website.
The idea of the ‘vaccine passport’ was praised by the Transport Department of the Confederation of Danish Industry, with its head, Michael Svane, saying that the document will become a “way for us to put restrictions behind us and travel by air much more.”
Svane also expressed hope that an international solution will be worked out to allow for such ‘vaccine passports’ to be used everywhere around the globe.
Australia locks down city of 2 million over a single case of new COVID variant
CBS – Australia’s third-largest city headed into lockdown and borders were set to tighten nationwide Friday, after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel contracted the U.K. coronavirus strain that officials say is more infectious. More than two million residents in the Greater Brisbane area will have to stay at home for at least three days from Friday evening, authorities said.
“If we are going to stop the spread of this infectious strain, this U.K. strain, we must act immediately,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told media.
Large lines formed at shops around the city, prompting officials to urge people to stop panic-buying. The incoming restrictions will still allow residents to leave home to buy essentials.
South Korean court orders Japan to pay “comfort women,” WWII sex slaves, reparations
CBS – Seoul — Wartime sex slaves from South Korea, euphemistically known as “comfort women,” won their first legal victory against the Japanese government in a landmark ruling handed down Friday in Seoul. The Seoul Central District Court ordered Japan’s government to pay reparations of 100 million won ($91,300) each to the families of 12 women who were forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese army during Japan’s colonization of Korea.
The court called Japan forcing the women — only five of whom are still alive — to be sex slaves “a crime against humanity.” It said the women were forced into the servitude when Japan “illegally occupied” the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945, arguing that the illegality of that occupation means Japan’s contemporary sovereign immunity can’t shield it from lawsuits.
The case in which the ruling was handed down on Friday opened in April last year. The Japanese government has never been involved, insisting the lawsuit should be dismissed on the grounds that “the state is immune from the jurisdiction of the court of a foreign country.”
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Gregg Jarrett: Pelosi and Schumer wrong to claim Trump can be removed with 25th Amendment
The objective of the Democratic leaders is to score political points by further demonizing Trump during the last two weeks of his presidency
Fox – Calls by the top Democrats in Congress — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York — to remove President Trump from office by invoking the 25th Amendment demonstrate their profound ignorance of the Constitution.
In blaming Trump for “inciting” the criminal acts of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, the two Democrats are demanding that Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the Cabinet declare that Trump is “unable” to perform the duties of the presidency.
Fox News reported Thursday night that sources inside the vice president’s office said Pence will reject any calls to oust Trump before the term of both men ends at noon Jan. 20.
Pelosi, Schumer and others who are calling for Trump to be thrown of office before the end of his term are misrepresenting the meaning and intent of the 25th Amendment. They are peddling a constitutional canard.
The 25th Amendment provides for the president’s removal and replacement in the event that he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
Although incapacity is not defined, the legislative history summarized by the Congressional Research Service makes it abundantly evident that the framers of the amendment envisioned a chief executive who was stricken by a debilitating stroke, heart attack, or bodily injury (such as in an attempted assassination) and was physically or mentally disabled as a direct consequence.
The authors of the amendment, which was proposed by Congress and ratified by the states after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, made it clear that it was not intended to facilitate the removal of an unpopular or failed president, or for any other political purpose. Concerns about character are dramatically different than mental incapacity.
Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., who was the architect of the amendment, stated that the word “unable” meant “an impairment of the president’s faculties” such that he is “unable either to make or communicate his decisions as to his own competency to execute the powers and duties of his office.”
On the House side, the principal framer was Rep. Richard Poff, R-Va. He cited “some physical ailment or sudden accident” rendering a president “unconscious or paralyzed and therefore unable to make or to communicate the decision to relinquish the powers of his office.”
Against this legislative backdrop, the 25th Amendment has no application to the circumstances that unfolded Wednesday. Pelosi and Schumer don’t care about that. In a shameless ploy, they seek to bastardize a constitutional standard for partisan gain.
The objective of the Democratic leaders is to score political points by further demonizing Trump during the last two weeks of his presidency. Their previous efforts ended in failure. Trump-Russia collusion proved to be a hoax. The attempt to remove the president by impeachment was a predictable bust.
Hawley blasts ‘woke mob’ at Simon & Schuster after canceling his book
The publishing house said it could no longer support the U.S. senator from Missouri
Fox – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley blasted Simon & Schuster on Thursday over its decision to cancel the publication of his upcoming book following the violence that took place on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
Hawley, a Missouri Republican and one of the GOP lawmakers who helped lead objections to the count of Electoral College votes, has been slammed by critics after a pro-Trump mob stormed into the Capitol building and interrupted both houses of Congress.
After Wednesday’s riot, the publishing giant scrapped the planned June release of his forthcoming book, “The Tyranny of Big Tech.”
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” Simon & Schuster said on Thursday in a statement to The New York Times. “As a publisher, it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints. At the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat.”
Hawley fired back at the “woke mob” in a statement on Twitter, Hawley’s office provided the same statement to Fox News when reached for comment.
“This could not be more Orwellian,” Hawley wrote. “Simon & Shuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have now decided to redefine as sedition.”
Hawley said that his disagreement with the publishing house was not a mere contract dispute.
“It’s a direct assault on the First Amendment,” Hawley wrote. “Only approved speech can now be published. This is the Left looking to cancel everyone they don’t approve of. I will fight this cancel culture with everything I have. We’ll see you in court.”
Police chief and two security officials resign over Capitol assault
Steven Sund and House and Senate sergeants-at-arms quit after criticism of bungled policing efforts
The Guardian – The head of the US Capitol police and two other senior security officials are resigning amid mounting criticism of the bungled police response to the assault on Capitol Hill by a violent mob of Donald Trump supporters.
Steven Sund’s resignation will be effective from 16 January, and follows calls by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other senior figures for heads to roll. “There was a failure of leadership at the top,” Pelosi said.
Michael Stenger, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, has also resigned, along with Paul Irving, the official who holds the same position at the House of Representatives.
The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, had said he would fire Stenger when he became majority leader later this month if he did not stand down.
Federal murder investigation to be opened in Capitol Police officer’s death
CNN – Prosecutors in the US Attorney’s office plan to open a federal murder investigation into the death of Brian D. Sicknick, a US Capitol Police officer who died Thursday night, a law enforcement official tells CNN.
Sicknick was injured Wednesday at the US Capitol. He died at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET Thursday “due to injuries sustained while on-duty,” Capitol Police officials said in a statement.
The death is being investigated by the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide branch, the US Capitol Police and their federal partners.
NPR called them “far-right insurrectionists.”
In 2018, NPR called the anti-Kavanaugh crowd “demonstrators” and titled its coverage of the storming: ” ‘We Believe Survivors’: Demonstrators Throng Capitol Hill To Protest Kavanaugh”
Read the rest here.
FLASHBACK: Storming the US Capitol Was Fashionable in 2018 When Democrats and Communists Did It
Gateway Pundit – Never Forget: When the Democrat-Media Complex is freaking out over some atrocious act it’s typically something they’ve condoned for years.
In 2018 the Democrats stormed the US Capitol during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
It was OK back then.
There was cheered on by the left.
Don Surber reported how the media portrayed these brave activists who stormed the capitol in 2018.
What a difference two years makes. On October 4, 2018, taking over the Capitol was just another form of protest.
On that date, The Hill reported, “More than 300 people were taken into custody by police on Capitol Hill after descending on a pair of Senate office buildings Thursday afternoon to protest the confirmation process of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
“The vast majority of the arrests, 293, were a result of protests in the Hart Senate Office Building, where protesters crowded in the atrium. Loud chants could be heard throughout the building, which is structured so the hallways of each floor open up and look out onto the first floor.
“Those arrested in Hart were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, according to Capitol Police. Another nine people were arrested on the fourth floor of Dirksen Senate Office Building and charged with unlawful demonstrations.”
CNN also called the crowd protesters.
On Wednesday, CNN called pro-Trump protesters who stormed the Capitol “rioters.”
Donald Trump says he won’t attend Joe Biden’s inauguration
AP – President Donald Trump said Friday he won’t attend President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration on Jan. 20. He will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successor’s inauguration.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump tweeted.
Trump offered no clues for how he would spend his final hours in office. Biden will become president at noon on Jan. 20 regardless of Trump’s plans.
On Thursday, Trump delivered a video statement admitting his presidency would soon end – though he declined to mention Biden by name or explicitly state he had lost.
“A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20,” Trump said in the video.
Economy & Business
US sheds jobs for the first time since April
CNN – America’s job market recovery ground to a halt in December, making President-elect Joe Biden’s task to repair the economy that much harder.
The US economy shed a staggering 140,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday — a far worse outcome than economists predicted.
The unemployment rate remained flat at 6.7%, marking the first time the rate hasn’t improved in seven months.
The jobless rates for Hispanic workers, teenagers and women rose in December.
The increase in Covid-19 infections, as well as the virus-containment measures states have had to take, are at the root of the worsening labor market conditions, the BLS said, ending a bleak year for workers on a sour note.
The leisure and hospitality industry — which was hit hardest by the pandemic because of the face-to-face nature of the business — lost nearly half a million jobs in December, most of them in restaurants and bars. The industry has shed 3.9 million jobs, or 23.2%, since before the pandemic.
Democrats vow to deliver $2K checks with control of Senate
The Hill – Democrats are vowing to forge ahead with providing $2,000 stimulus payments after their party won control of the Senate this week with victories in two Georgia runoffs where the checks played a key role.
At a rally before Election Day, President-elect Joe Biden said that electing the two Democratic candidates would flip the majority, end a GOP blockade on bigger checks and allow for more coronavirus relief in the form of direct payments.
Now, Democrats say they plan to deliver on that pledge.
Energy & Environment
Giant sinkhole opens in hospital car park in Naples
The Guardian – A giant sinkhole has opened up in the car park of a hospital in Naples, Italy, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby residence for recovering Covid-19 patients because the electricity was cut.
Operations at the Hospital of the Sea were not affected, and firefighters said no one appeared to be injured. The sinkhole consumed a few cars in the hospital’s otherwise empty visitors’ car park on Friday.
The local hospital district said the 20-metre-deep (66ft), 2,000 sq metre (21,527 sq ft) sinkhole opened at dawn. Ennio Aquilino, the chief firefighting officer, told the Italian television channel SkyTG 24 the implosion could have been caused by an infiltration of water underground from the recent heavy rains.
Health
“Very Healthy 56-Year-Old” Miami Obstetrician Dies after Being Injected with the Experimental Pfizer COVID Vaccine
Health Impact News – The experimental Pfizer COVID vaccine has claimed another life of a medical professional, and one can only wonder what the true casualty numbers are among medical professionals since the CDC stopped reporting on serious adverse reactions on December 22, 2020.
Gregory Michael MD, a “very healthy 56 year old” obstetrician that had his office in Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, has died after being injected with the Pfizer COVID experimental vaccine, according to a post by his wife on Facebook.
The love of my life, my husband Gregory Michael MD an Obstetrician that had his office in Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach Died the day before yesterday due to a strong reaction to the COVID vaccine.
He was a very healthy 56 year old, loved by everyone in the community delivered hundreds of healthy babies and worked tireless through the pandemic.
He was vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine at MSMC on December 18, 3 days later he saw a strong set of petechiae on his feet and hands which made him seek attention at the emergency room at MSMC. The CBC that was done at his arrival showed his platelet count to be 0 (A normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood.)
He was admitted in the ICU with a diagnosis of acute ITP caused by a reaction to the COVID vaccine. A team of expert doctors tried for 2 weeks to raise his platelet count to no avail. Experts from all over the country were involved in his care.
No matter what they did, the platelets count refused to go up. He was conscious and energetic through the whole process but 2 days before a last resort surgery, he got a hemorrhagic stroke caused by the lack of platelets that took his life in a matter of minutes.
He was a pro vaccine advocate that is why he got it himself.
I believe that people should be aware that side effects can happened, that it is not good for everyone and in this case destroyed a beautiful life, a perfect family, and has affected so many people in the community.
Do not let his death be in vain please save more lives by making this information news.
Fortunately, I got a tip on this story from a physician friend of mine, and was able to extract this from Facebook before they could ban it.
It will be interesting to see if at least the local media in Miami will cover this story, since his wife Heidi states that his death “has affected so many people in the community.”
Foods That Banish Belly Fat
Newsmax Health – n the battle of the bulge, nutritionists say we should pay extra attention to getting rid of belly fat. It’s a signal that your organs are storing too much fat which can cause health concerns.
“Visceral fat, or what we commonly call belly fat, is more than the fat you see on your body and can pinch between your fingers,” notes Tara Gidus Collingwood, RD.
“It’s the layer of fat deep inside the body that forms between your organs. And even though you cannot see it, if you have an increased amount of subcutaneous fat, the fat you CAN see and pinch, it’s likely that that you also have a large amount of visceral fat.
Collingwood, co-author of the “Flat Belly Cookbook for Dummies,” tells Newsmax the more belly fat you have, the more dangerous it is to your health.
“Visceral fat is so toxic that research has linked it to everything from an increased risk of heart disease, to metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, gallstones, certain cancers, and even dementia,” she notes.
Now for the good news: Collingwood says that science has uncovered foods that help blast away belly fat. Here are her top 10 choices:
- Salmon. Inflammation caused by an imbalance in your gut which can turn on your fat genes, leading you to gain weight around your belly. Salmon is a super anti-inflammatory food and contains omega-3 fatty acids which have been shown to reduce belly fat storage. It also helps to control the hormone levels like cortisol, a common culprit of increased fat storage in the midsection.
- Apples. These summer and fall favorites fruits are great belly fat fighters because they are high in fiber. Fiber allows foods to be slowly digested, which controls the response of insulin and helps stabilize blood sugar — giving an added boost to the fight against fat.
- Almonds. Not all fats are created equal, and some are helpful in reducing belly fat. Stock up on almonds for snacking because they are high in monounsaturated fat which reduces the accumulation of fat around the belly.
- Popcorn. Here is another handy snack food that is a great belly-flattening treat and it is so low in calories, you can eat a lot of it. Purchase loose corn kernels or low-fat and low- sodium microwave popcorn to help reduce your sodium intake and keep calories in check.
- Green tea. This powerhouse beverage contains the flavonoid quercetin which not only boosts the immune system and promotes heart health, but also helps fight belly fat. It works by blocking fat cells from maturing and inhibits the rate of new fat cell formation. According to CBS News, three cups daily also revs up your metabolism and helps burn fat.
Ugly Side Effects of Drinking Coffee Every Day, According to the Mayo Clinic
Alarming signs you shouldn’t be drinking more than four cups of coffee per day.
Eat This, Not That! – If you’re a coffee lover, you already know that drinking a fourth or fifth cup of coffee can leave you feeling jittery, restless, and wildly alert. But did you also know that doing so routinely over time can promote prolonged feelings of acute nervousness and anxiety? Or that you could partially lose control of your muscles? Or that it’s possible you’ll lose control over your ability to urinate? These are all very real side effects of drinking more than four cups of coffee (or 400 mg of caffeine, which you shouldn’t exceed if you’re following the recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines) per day, according to the health specialists at the Mayo Clinic. For all of the side effects of drinking too much coffee cited by the Mayo Clinic, read on, because we’ve listed them right here. If any of these symptoms sound familiar, know that it may be time to cut back on caffeine. And, to keep your health on track this year, make sure you avoid these 108 Most Popular Sodas Ranked By How Toxic They Are.
- Headaches
- Frequent Urination or Inability to Control Urination
- Fast Heartbeat
- Muscle Tremors
- Insomnia
- Nervousness
Cold Weather Exercise Burns More Fat
Newsmax Health – If you want to burn fat this winter, take your exercise outdoors, researchers say.
A Canadian study suggests that vigorous exercise in cold weather may burn more fat than working out indoors.
Regular physical activity speeds metabolism and helps regulate fat in the blood (“lipids”), and high-intensity training is better for burning fat than moderate-intensity exercise, the researchers said. Temperature also plays a role in metabolism during exercise.
In the study, a group of moderately fit, overweight adults participated in two high-intensity exercise sessions. In both, they completed 10 one-minute cycling sprints at 90% effort. A 90-second recovery period of cycling at 30% effort followed each sprint.
In one session, the temperature was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (“thermoneutral”). In the other session, it was 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
During both sessions, the researchers measured participants’ skin temperature, core body temperature, heart rate and the amount of oxygen delivered to the large thigh muscle.
“The present study found that high-intensity exercise in the cold increased lipid oxidation by 358% during the exercise bout in comparison to high-intensity exercise in a thermoneutral environment,” according to the report published online recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
Longer-term metabolic responses after eating a high-fat meal did not change substantially after the cold condition, the researchers noted in a news release from the American Physiological Society.
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