World News
Brexit: £100,000 of tariffs slapped on Fairtrade bananas from Africa threatening farmers with ruin
Independent – At least £100,000 of tariffs have been slapped on Fairtrade bananas from Africa because of Brexit, prompting mounting anger that farmers face ruin.
Ministers are under pressure to explain why the levies are being charged, despite an announcement that a last-gasp deal was struck between the UK and Ghana on New Year’s Eve.
Both banana exporters in the developing country and UK shipping firms are losing money on deliveries – £20,000 a week, says one company – while the crisis continues.
“Thousands of jobs in rural areas will be put at risk,” the head of the Commons international trade committee has warned the government, in a letter seen by The Independent.
A shipment from Ghana, due this weekend, was set to pay charges of £20,000 to 25,000, taking total tariffs imposed this month through the £100,000 barrier.
“Such punitive tariffs are clearly unsustainable and it is important that a solution is found as quickly as possible to relieve us of such a burden,” Mr Kporye said.
BBC Educational Film Tells Children There Are ‘over 100’ Genders
Breitbart – The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has come under fire for a programme aimed at prepubescent children which claimed that there are “over 100” gender identities.
The film, entitled Identity – Understanding Sexual and Gender Identities, is currently being presented on the publicly-funded broadcaster’s ‘Teach’ website and is aimed at children between the ages of nine and 12 years old.
The programme says that becoming transgender is a means by which children can become “happy” and that supposedly different gender identities include “gender-queer”, “pansexual”, and “bi-gender”, the Daily Mail reported.
At one point during the film, a pupil is seen asking a Relationships and Sex Education teacher: “How many gender identities are there?”
The teacher replies: “There are so many gender identities. So we know we have got male and female, but there are over 100 if not more gender identities now.”
“Some people might feel that they are two different genders, people might think they are bi-gender. You have got some people who might call themselves ‘gender-queer’ – just like, I don’t want to be anything, in particular, I just want to be me.”
Later in the film, a transgender healthcare worker tells the pupils: “I told people it wasn’t because I wanted to be transgender but because I wanted to be happy and to be happy I had to be true to who I was. Nobody really treats me differently but I feel that the pieces in my life fit better now.”
BREAKING: Police arrest anti-lockdown protestors in Toronto, warn journalists to go home
PM – As with last week, amid a deepening lockdown due to rising COVID-19 cases and after months of weekly anti-lockdown protests, a heavy police presence was found in Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto long before the event even began.Journalists were asked to leave, and one early arrival to the protest was arrested.
That didn’t stop the protestors once again exercising their right to protest the ongoing lockdowns, which many feel is not worth the cost of rising unemployment, increased rates of mental illness, and the destruction of small business.
Many protesters sported Canada flags.“Let’s see if they’re less willing to arrest Canadians instead of anti-maskers,” one said.Some protesters started exercising in front of police, because exercising outdoors is permissible under the stay at home order.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Pres. Biden to lift ban on transgender people serving in US military
ABC – Pres. Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Monday, lifting the Pentagon’s ban on transgender people serving in the military, multiple people familiar with the matter confirmed with ABC News.
Former Pres. Donald Trump put the controversial ban in place in 2017. The ban reversed the Obama administration’s policy to open service to transgender people.
“The ban will be officially lifted tomorrow,” said one of the individuals familiar with the matter to ABC News.
New Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will attend the White House ceremony on Monday where the executive order will be signed.
‘Have you declared martial law?’: Former US presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard takes aim at Biden administration
RT – Former US congresswoman and one-time presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard pulled no punches deploring the Biden administration’s treatment of National Guard troops and liberty-loving Americans in the wake of the Capitol riot.
During a pair of appearances on Fox News, Gabbard decried “the militarization of our nation’s capital,” and lambasted the new White House administration for sending the message that Washington, DC was somehow under siege and in need of an “enduring presence of thousands of National Guard troops.”
“President @JoeBiden, have you declared martial law? Because that is what it’s starting to look and feel like. Let our troops get back home to their families,” the former congresswoman tweeted.
“It made me so angry,” she said of the images broadcast online and on the news showing “freezing” National Guard troops “shoved into the parking garage,” and “discarded as though they don’t even matter.”
Gabbard added that both the initial deployment of 25,000 National Guard troops for inauguration day and the continued military presence called for by members of her party is “outrageous.”
“I haven’t seen the justification,” Gabbard said.
Meanwhile, during an appearance on Fox News Primetime, Gabbard told host Brian Kilmeade that the Democrat establishment’s rhetoric in the aftermath of the Capitol riot could create “a very dangerous undermining of our civil liberties, our freedoms in our Constitution, and a targeting of almost half of the country.”
The former Democrat senator and presidential candidate has long been a thorn in her party’s side, never one to shy away from calling out the hypocrisy or lunacy of some of the more fringe elements of the Democrat platform.
Biden to reimpose COVID-19 travel ban that Trump lifted in final days
ABC – President Joe Biden will reimpose the COVID-19 travel ban that former President Trump had lifted with less than 48 hours left in his presidency, two White House officials confirmed to CBS News. Mr. Biden is expected to reinstate the ban on Monday.
The ban will apply to all non-American travelers reentering the U.S. from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe. There will also be travel restrictions on non-Americans entering the U.S. from South Africa.
ABC panel compares Trump’s departure to end of NAZI regime, Civil War & apartheid… and excuses Biden from action
RT – Panelists on ABC struggled to one-up each other in over-the-top comparisons between the end of Trump’s presidency and the downfalls of infamous totalitarian regimes, pushing the usual Trump-as-Hitler comparisons to the limit.
The panelists sparred over whether the country should submit to a “truth and reconciliation” commission before the newly inaugurated Biden administration can implement his touted agenda of “unity” and “healing.” Some argued that former President Donald Trump had done too much damage for the country to simply move ahead with business as usual, while others want him to get to work on restoring ‘normalcy’ – or at least subjecting both sides to the same level of prosecution.
With Trump’s impeachment trial looming in the coming weeks, the rhetoric has gotten more heated. The Republican Party is split between those who still support Trump and those who can’t wait to see him disappear, while Democrats want the former president in prison and haven’t hesitated to place his alleged crimes alongside those of some of history’s most notorious dictatorships.
Report: California to End Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Orders
Breitbart – The State of California will reportedly lift stay-at-home orders that applied to most counties in the state on Monday, as a surge in coronavirus cases that had limited hospital capacity in many regions has begun to subside.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday:
A source close to the governor’s office confirmed that the state plans to end the stay-at-home order on Monday morning, moving counties back into the reopening framework based on colored tiers. It will no longer be tied strictly to the number of beds that are available in intensive care units.
Now, with the post-holidays surge lessening, ICU availability in the regions that remained under the stay-at-home order as of Sunday — including the Bay Area and Southern California — are projected to rise above the 15% threshold that triggered the lockdown measures. This is why the Newsom administration has decided to lift the restrictions, according to the source.
…
News of the possible change began circulating Sunday evening after the California Restaurant Association sent a letter to members saying it had received word from Newsom’s administration that the stay-at-home orders would be lifted. Several members passed the letter along to media outlets including The Chronicle.
The restrictions had been controversial, with some experts speculating that the state’s tight restrictions throughout the pandemic may actually have contributed to the spread of the virus, since the public began ignoring the draconian rules.
Fox Business reported on Saturday that many businesses in the Los Angeles area had simply gone “underground,” meeting customers at back doors or in alleyways, as struggling entrepreneurs tried to pay the rent and meet basic expenses.
Baseball legend Hank Aaron dies two weeks after receiving coronavirus vaccinate during publicity stunt
NaturalNews – On Jan. 5, Major League Baseball (BLM) legend and Hall of Famer Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron publicly took a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine during a stunt aimed at persuading more African-Americans to get injected. A little more than two weeks later, Aaron died right on cue.
The reason this writer says “on cue” is because there is now a clear and undeniable pattern of elderly people – Aaron was 86 years old when he died – passing away roughly two weeks after getting injected with Chinese poison.
Aaron was among the first major figures to be injected as part of the Donald Trump-launched “Operation Warp Speed” program for fast-tracked mass vaccination against the WuFlu. Aaron had previously told the media that he was excited about getting jabbed.
“It makes me feel wonderful,” Aaron told the Associated Press (AP) right before getting poisoned with a Chinese needle. “I don’t have any qualms about it at all … I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this … It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.”
The Atlanta Braves legend and one-time home run king’s official cause of death has not yet been reported by the mainstream media, which is presumably working overtime to scrub from existence all evidence that the guy was recently injected with gene editing messenger RNA (mRNA) chemicals at warp speed.
181 Dead in the U.S. During 2 Week Period From Experimental COVID Injections – How Long Will We Continue to Allow Mass Murder by Lethal Injection?
Health Impact News – The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a U.S. Government funded database that tracks injuries and deaths caused by vaccines.
A 2011 report by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that fewer than one percent of all vaccine adverse events are reported to the government:
Although 25% of ambulatory patients experience an adverse drug event, less than 0.3% of all adverse drug events and 1-13% of serious events are reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Likewise, fewer than 1% of vaccine adverse events are reported. Low reporting rates preclude or slow the identification of “problem” drugs and vaccines that endanger public health. New surveillance methods for drug and vaccine adverse effects are needed. (Source.)
Currently, data from the two experimental mRNA COVID injections that have been voluntarily reported is available for a two week period from the end of December through January 13, 2021.
The data covers 7,844 cases, including 181 deaths.
The largest amount of deaths occurred in people over the age of 75.
Biden’s federal mask mandate will not be “national,” says constitutional law experts
NaturalNews – President Joe Biden signed a national mask mandate executive order. While constitutional law experts believe this is technically possible and legal, the newly-installed Democratic president’s definition of “national” will have to be a very narrow one, unless he’s willing to fight for it in the Supreme Court.
Immediately after his inauguration, Biden signed 15 executive orders and two executive actions. One of his executive orders mandated the wearing of face masks for people who are on federal property and federal lands.
“I thought there’s no time to wait,” Biden told reporters while sitting at the Resolute Desk. “Get to work immediately.”
The executive order, called the “100 Days Masking Challenge,” directs federal agencies to comply with the guidelines put forward by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the wearing of face masks, as well as social distancing regulations.
This order will apply to everyone inside federal buildings and on federal land. It even includes soldiers in military bases, who are now required to wear face coverings wherever they go and are not allowed to stand closer than six feet with others in public areas and work centers. The mandate will also apply to people traveling between states.
No other president has signed so many executive orders on their first day in office. Former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump signed one order each, while Barack Obama didn’t sign any on his first day.
Some of his other orders include ceasing Trump’s initial order to withdraw the country from the World Health Organization, rejoining the Paris climate accord, reversing a travel ban and revoking the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Biden will be unable to expand his mask mandate any further
According to Constitutional law experts, Biden can easily sign a national mask mandate. However, this mandate will have a very narrow definition of the word “national.”
According to Dr. Mark Graber from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, the current mask mandate Biden passed is as broad as it will ever be.
“The only places where there’s any controversy are places the federal government doesn’t own,” said Graber, who believes that Biden will face serious legal challenges if he tries to enforce his mask mandate on state and local property, private businesses and homes. (Related: Biden wants to enact a national mask mandate, but has no legal authority to enforce such an order.)
“There is some law that says in fact, you can broaden [the mask mandate] to cover everything,” explained Graber. “But a majority of the Supreme Court would likely reject that.”
While Biden has directed his administration to work with state and local authorities to enact their own sweeping mask mandates, it looks likely that this is as far as the Constitution will allow the newly-inaugurated president to reach in terms of his federal mask order.
Trump Ends Patriot Party Talk, Will Primary Never-Trumpers
Newsmax – Former President Donald Trump has reportedly tabled the idea moving forward with a third party, as he now believes he will not be convicted in the Senate and is instead turning his focus to assisting primary challenges against never-Trump Republicans.
The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman tweeted Sunday:
“In last 24 hours, after floating through a few folks that he was considering creating a third-party as a way to keep Senate Rs in line ahead of impeachment, Trump has been talked out of that and is making clear to people he isn’t pursuing it, per ppl familiar w his thinking.”
With President Joe Biden having been given a peaceful transfer of power and the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol getting further in the rearview, Trump reportedly believes it is now far less likely that 17 Republicans will join Senate Democrats in to convict him on the House article of impeachment: inciting an insurrection attempt.
“Trump has started to believe there are fewer votes to convict than there would have been if the vote had been held almost immediately after Jan. 6, the people familiar with his thinking said.”
Just 10 never-Trump House Republicans, led by Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, voted to impeach Trump in the House.
Economy & Business
Biden rolls out Trump-like ‘Made in America’ executive order
Washington Examiner – President Biden spent the first week of his administration taking executive action reversing many of former President Donald Trump’s signature policies, but on Monday, he will sign an order that has the hallmarks of Trumpism.
Biden will direct his federal government on Monday to update laws and regulations governing how it spends roughly $600 billion a year on contracts for goods and services. The order attempts to strengthen existing provisions giving workers and manufacturers in the United States preferential treatment, some of which haven’t been changed since 1954.
Specifically, Biden is asking agencies to tighten the requirements that need to be met for a product to be considered made in the U.S. He’s also requesting that they make it tougher for the government to justify buying foreign goods because of the price.
To oversee the reforms, he will appoint a “Made in America” director within the Office of Management and Budget, will centrally review any waivers granted, and will mandate biannual evaluations of the policy.
Biden’s order aims to support newer small and medium-sized firms through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. It also reiterates the importance of the Jones Act, which means only U.S.-flag vessels can carry cargo between U.S. ports.
Biden released his take on Trump’s “Make America Great” and “America First” campaign rhetoric last summer. His plan included making a $700 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and innovation.
Today Kicks Off “The Great Reset” World Economic Forum
Activist Post – Today kicks off the annual World Economic Forum, which this time round is online and so can’t charge anyone $43 for a hotdog. Expect various iterations along the theme of “Builders’ Bums Better” from the talking heads as the ‘Great Reset’ slash ‘Great Reflation’ is dangled before markets. Except that as mentioned on Friday, that trade remains open to question. Indeed, we saw a drop in the US 10-year breakeven to 2.08% from 2.18% to close last week: another move like that and all the Georgia Senate uptick will have been unwound. Not wanting to repeat the same arguments used on Friday as to why, let’s look at another paradigm that is collapsing to underline why reflation may do too.
The latest Edelman global survey shows just 53% surveyed in 22 countries trust traditional media, 56% search engines, and 35% social media (and fewer people trust anything). Is that still a market of ideas? On which, Google is threatening Australia there will be no access to it Down Under if a law is passed ensuring Google has to pay a fee to the media for stories it links to: “Ging gang, Googlie Googlie Googlie Googlie watcha / Ging gang goo, Ging gang goo”, as they sing in Australia; and we shall soon see who has who by the Googlies.
Your Face Is Set To Replace Your Bank Card
Activist Post – To pay she simply looks at her reflection in a small LCD screen attached to the cashier’s counter. Then to add her preferred amount of tip she flashes a quick peace sign at the monitor.
The entire process takes less than five seconds, and is entirely contactless. Moreover, Ms Stewart doesn’t need to carry her mobile phone or bank card with her, or show any form of identification, or even enter a pin number.
Welcome to the futuristic world of facial recognition payment. It might sound like something from a science fiction movie, but this kind of transaction is already happening millions of times a day across China’s major cities.
With the technology now being introduced in the US, and other countries such as Denmark and Nigeria, are we all going to be using it within a few years’ time? And, are there data security and privacy issues that we should worry about?
Ms Stewart, an 18-year-old university student, says she has no such concerns. “I feel like technology is moving so fast that people don’t even think twice about using something like this.
“Our phones already read our faces, and our faces are already all over the internet, so I don’t think it really makes much of a difference [to someone’s security]. It’s faster, more convenient, and safer… and you don’t have to worry about leaving your phone or cards at home.”
She uses facial recognition payment, via a US tech start-up called PopID. You sign up via its website, by uploading a photograph of your face, which is stored on the firm’s cloud-based system. You then link your account to your bank card.
In addition, you can choose to use PopID’s hand gesture tipping tool. Ms Stewart has set this at thumbs up for 10%, the peace sign for 15%, and the shaka or “hang loose” sign for 20%.
PopID is based in Los Angeles, and is now used by about 70 independent restaurants and cafes across a handful of US cities, mainly on the West Coast.
Energy & Environment
Germany preparing for electricity rationing to stabilize green power grid
NaturalNews – Germany is now looking to ration its electricity supply to stabilize its green power grid. The European country mulled over the measure amid looming blackouts due to its unstable energy supply.
The country’s energy issues have also threatened the stability of the larger European Union grid.
Germany once had one of the most stable and reliable power grids worldwide when the business of power generation was in the hands of engineers and experts. However, the rise of climate alarmism in the 1990s empowered activists and their political allies to push for “green energy.” Fluctuating and intermittent energy supply could be easily managed at a low cost, they insisted.
Their efforts led to the passing of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in 2000. As it turned out, the EEG’s effectivity caused more harm than good to Germany’s power supply. It currently has the highest electricity prices in the world, forcing it to rely more on imports. It has also consistently failed to meet its emissions targets.
Ironically, the German parliament has addressed these issues by relying even more on green energy. It has ordered the closure of the more stable and productive coal and nuclear power plants. Politicians in the country have also passed legislation to limit the amount of power consumed by companies and individuals.
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