Today's News: September 23, 2020

World News

“No Medical Justification For Emergency Measures” – Open Letter From 100s Of Doctors, Health Pros Urges End To Lockdowns

ZeroHedge – AIER reports that the following letter has made an impact on public health authorities not only in Belgium but around the world. The text could pertain to any case in which states locked down their citizens rather than allow people freedom and permit medical professionals to bear the primary job of disease mitigation.
So far it has been signed by 435 medical doctors, 1,439 medically trained health professionals, and 9,901 citizens.
* * *
Open letter from medical doctors and health professionals to all belgian authorities and all belgian media.
We, Belgian doctors and health professionals, wish to express our serious concern about the evolution of the situation in the recent months surrounding the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We call on politicians to be independently and critically informed in the decision-making process and in the compulsory implementation of corona-measures. We ask for an open debate, where all experts are represented without any form of censorship. After the initial panic surrounding covid-19, the objective facts now show a completely different picture – there is no medical justification for any emergency policy anymore.
The current crisis management has become totally disproportionate and causes more damage than it does any good.
We call for an end to all measures and ask for an immediate restoration of our normal democratic governance and legal structures and of all our civil liberties.
‘A cure must not be worse than the problem’ is a thesis that is more relevant than ever in the current situation. We note, however, that the collateral damage now being caused to the population will have a greater impact in the short and long term on all sections of the population than the number of people now being safeguarded from corona.
In our opinion, the current corona measures and the strict penalties for non-compliance with them are contrary to the values formulated by the Belgian Supreme Health Council, which, until recently, as the health authority, has always ensured quality medicine in our country: “Science – Expertise – Quality – Impartiality – Independence – Transparency”.
We believe that the policy has introduced mandatory measures that are not sufficiently scientifically based, unilaterally directed, and that there is not enough space in the media for an open debate in which different views and opinions are heard. In addition, each municipality and province now has the authorisation to add its own measures, whether well-founded or not.
Moreover, the strict repressive policy on corona strongly contrasts with the government’s minimal policy when it comes to disease prevention, strengthening our own immune system through a healthy lifestyle, optimal care with attention for the individual and investment in care personnel.

Paris to ban gatherings of more than 10 people

Reuters – The French government is expected to unveil tighter coronavirus restrictions for Paris on Wednesday following a cabinet meeting, BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper said.
Among the measures planned are a ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people while attendance at major events could be limited to 1,000 people from the 5,000 allowed now, the reports said. The sale of alcohol outdoors will be prohibited after 8 p.m. they added, citing several sources.
The new rules for Paris, if confirmed, would follow similar measures in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nice as the coronavirus resurges across the country.

Scotland Bans Household Visits Under New COVID Rules

RT – Fierce arguments have broken out on Twitter after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon laid out strict rules on household visits, in an effort to curb a rising coronavirus infection rate.
Under the new rules effective from Friday, Scots cannot visit each other’s homes unless they are from extended households. Other exceptions include couples not living together, those in need of childcare and tradespeople. A maximum of six people from two households are allowed to meet in private gardens and public outdoor spaces.
“We are once again at a tipping point. We must act to get Covid back under control,” Sturgeon said in a speech on Tuesday night. She asked citizens to “make sacrifices for our national well-being” in order to curb the spread of the disease. Sturgeon argued that “tough” measures are necessary to keep schools, public services and businesses “open as far as possible.”
The restrictions quickly caused a stir online. The hashtag #ResignSturgeon was used by people blasting the new policy. “I am heartbroken that my family can’t visit me once again. The regulations are contradictory and are punishing the majority for the actions of the minority,” one disgruntled person wrote.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Josh Hawley: Trump Must Nominate a Pro-Life Justice Who Understands Roe v. Wade ‘Was Wrongly Decided’

Breitbart – Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said on Tuesday at the Values Voter Summit that he is looking forward to President Donald Trump nominating a pro-life justice to the Supreme Court who believes that the Roe v. Wade decision to make abortion on demand the law of the land was wrongly decided and an act of “judicial imperialism.”
Hawley made the remarks in an interview with Tony Perkins, president of the hosting Family Research Council.
“This is a turning point moment,” Hawley said. “We have an opportunity here as conservatives — those of us who believe in the right to life, those of us who believe in religious liberty — this is a moment when we’ll be able to shape the future of this court for decades to come.”
Hawley said recent decisions made by the high court are proof that there is not a conservative majority.
“We do not have a working, pro-constitution majority — we do not have a working pro-family, pro-life majority on the United States Supreme Court,” Hawley said.
Perkins pointed out that over the more than four decades since the Roe v. Wade decision, no ground has been gained in the fight to make protection of the unborn the law of the land.
“The Republican Party has not done a good job of actually living up to its pledges to our voters to put pro-constitutional, pro-life, pro-family justices on the bench,” Hawley said. “It’s time that the pledge ends and the actual work and the results begin.”
Hawley then spelled out what a nominee needs to embrace in order to get his vote, as he said earlier on the record from the Senate floor.
“To get my vote in the United States Senate this Supreme Court nominee has to be someone who understands that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided,” Hawley said. “That Roe v. Wade is an act of judicial imperialism and they have to understand why that is absolutely central to your judicial philosophy.”
“If you think Roe is okay — if you think there is not a problem with Roe, not only are you wrong on the moral issue, it also tells me you don’t understand a judge’s role in our constitutional structure,” Hawley said.
“That’s why I drew that line in the sand, and I’m looking forward to the president nominating a pro-life justice,” Hawley said.

GOP-led committees release interim report on Hunter Biden, Burisma probe

Report says Obama administration ‘ignored the glaring warning signs’ when Biden’s son joined board of the company
Fox – The Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees on Wednesday released an interim report on their monthslong joint investigation into Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings and his alleged “extensive and complex financial transactions.”
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said their investigation has “faced many obstacles” from Democrats on their committees and that executive agencies “failed to comply with document requests.”
The chairmen added that “there remains much work to be done” in their probe. Hunter Biden is the son of the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. His work background played a starring role in the Trump impeachment efforts earlier this year. He and his father have denied any wrongdoing related to his work.
The 87-page report stated that Obama administration officials “knew” that Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma was “problematic” and that it interfered “in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.”
“This investigation has illustrated the extent to which officials within the Obama administration ignored the glaring warning signs when the vice president’s son joined the board of a company owned by a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch,” the report’s executive summary stated.

Teen party delayed a Massachusetts school’s reopening. Two parents have been charged for hosting it

WP – Police have charged two parents and their teenager for hosting the huge party, which forced the local high school to cancel its in-person reopening so the entire student body could quarantine for 14 days.
So much vitriol has flowed at the couple, who weren’t identified by police, that authorities are urging locals to accept that family will face some justice in court.
“We encourage residents to refrain from making any more volatile comments on social media regarding this incident as we are holding those responsible for providing the venue accountable,” Sudbury Police Chief Scott Nix said in a statement Tuesday.

Kavanaugh Emerges as Liberal Hope?

Bloomberg – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh remains anathema to many liberals. The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg means he also may soon be their best hope to save abortion rights and Obamacare. Kavanaugh, who prefers narrower rulings than some of his conservative colleagues, would find himself at the court’s ideological center if President Donald Trump succeeds in replacing Ginsburg with a staunch conservative. From there he could decide how far, and how quickly, it turns to the right on some of the country’s most divisive issues.

Tim Tebow Teams with Trump Administration To Fight Human Trafficking

The Western Journal – Former football star Tim Tebow wants the world to remember those it too often forgets — children who are trafficked in the dark corners of society far from the limelight in which he has walked.
On Monday, Tebow stood shoulder to shoulder with Attorney General William Barr and White House adviser Ivanka Trump at a Georgia forum to denounce human trafficking and announce a new federal effort to combat it.
“There are 40 million people around that world who need us. They need us to say, ‘No longer is it about the credit; it’s about the mission,’” he said, according to WSLS-TV.

House Democrats Pass Resolution Condemning ‘Anti-Asian Sentiment’ in Reference to COVID

The Western Journal – Democrats continually prove themselves to be a party of censorship.
House Resolution 908, which was introduced back in March by Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of New York, was approved in the House of Representatives last week.
The resolution comes down to this: Don’t name or speak of COVID-19 in any way that indicates its place of origin, such as calling it “Chinese Virus,” “Wuhan Virus,” and “Kung-flu,” because such terms have “perpetuated anti-Asian stigma.”

Pentagon Planning Full Withdrawal From Afghanistan by May 2021

Sputnik – US President Donald Trump, in his re-election campaign, promised to end America’s “endless wars”, particularly vowing to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US Department of Defence is “conducting prudent planning” to withdraw all US soldiers from Afghanistan by May 2021 “if conditions warrant”, a Pentagon official told the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security at a House Hearing on the Trump Administration’s Afghanistan Policy.
“I’d like to make it clear that [Defense Secretary Mark Esper] has not issued orders to reduce military personnel below this 4,000 to 5,000 level in Afghanistan, although we are conducting prudent planning to withdraw to zero service members by May 2021 if conditions warrant, per the US-Taliban agreement,” David Helvey, the official performing the duties of assistant secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said at the hearing.
According to the official, the Pentagon expects to be “at about 4,500 troops” in Afghanistan by November.
The remarks come as intra-Afghan peace talks are ongoing in the capital of Qatar, Doha, between the Afghan government and the Taliban* group, marking the first negotiations between the warring sides in about two decades.

The Stage Has Been Set For The Most Chaotic Election In U.S. History

Michael Snyder – If you are deeply concerned about what is going to happen in November, you are definitely not alone. Experts on both sides of the political spectrum have been warning that it is very likely that we will not know the winner of the presidential election until well after November 3rd, and everyone pretty much agrees that the period of uncertainly that we will be forced to endure will not be good for our nation. Those of us that are old enough clearly remember the pain that the election of 2000 caused. The outcome hinged on the results from the state of Florida, and the endless recounts were finally brought to a conclusion after 36 very stressful days with George W. Bush up by just 537 votes. Unfortunately, some are saying that we are potentially facing “the 2000 election on steroids” because vote counting will be going on in multiple swing states long after election night is over.
The big reason why this election is going to be so different from previous elections is because so many Americans are going to be voting by mail. According to one recent survey, a whopping 37 percent of all voters plan to cast their votes by mail this time around…
Thirty-seven percent of registered voters said they are likely to vote by mail in the November election, by receiving a mailed ballot and either mailing it back or returning it in person, according to a new survey released Tuesday by the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape project.
Other estimates put the number as high as 40 percent, and it could go even higher than that because some states are promoting mail-in voting extremely aggressively.
In fact, as I detailed yesterday, one of my readers told me that he and his wife “have received three requests each for mail in ballots” over the past five weeks.
We are also being told that Democrats are far more likely to vote by mail than Republicans are. According to the same survey that I quoted above, supporters of Biden are more than twice as likely to vote by mail than Trump supporters are…
Among them, 48% of voters who plan to vote for Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden said they are likely to vote by mail, according to the survey. That’s more than twice the 23% of voters backing President Donald Trump who said they are likely to vote by mail.
It takes a lot of time to open and count ballots that have been mailed in. If that work could be done in advance, that wouldn’t be that much of a problem.
Unfortunately, there are 14 states where it is prohibited by law to count mail-in ballots before Election Day, and that includes some of our most important swing states…
Tens of millions of Americans will try to vote by mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But officials in 14 states are prohibited from processing mail-in ballots until Election Day; counting them could take days or weeks.
Those states include Pennsylvania and Michigan, battlegrounds that could decide the election.
It should deeply alarm all of us to hear that it “could take days or weeks” for some of these states to finally count every single ballot.
And that is just the first count. I am not even talking about any potential recounts.
At this point, many Democrats are warning of a possible “red mirage” on the night of the election. Many of them believe that it will look like President Trump is winning on election night, but that Joe Biden will ultimately win once all of the mail-in votes are finally counted.

Economy & Business

House Passes Short-Term Spending Bill to Keep Government Funded Through Dec. 11

WSJ – The House Tuesday night passed a short-term spending bill keeping the government funded through Dec. 11, after Democrats reached a deal with the White House over farm aid and food assistance.
The bipartisan agreement between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, reached just hours before the vote, is expected to smooth the bill’s passage in the GOP-controlled Senate and avert a partial shutdown when the government’s funding expires next Thursday.

There’s a pandemic, but Southern California home prices are at record levels

LA Times – In the middle of a global pandemic, Southern California home prices keep setting records.
The six-county region’s median price reached $600,000 in August, up 12.1% from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by DQNews.
That was the largest percentage increase since 2014 and the third consecutive month during which prices set a new all-time high. Sales rose 2.4% from a year earlier.
The price leap may seem unlikely amid double-digit unemployment, but analysts say the trend reflects the uneven effect of the coronavirus and its economic fallout.
Interest rates have plunged, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now below 3%. And many typical entertainment and recreational activities are still closed or operating at reduced capacity, leading some households to save more at the very time they realize they could use much more space.

Gold May Hit Record Before Year-End

Bloomberg – Gold could hit a record before the year-end, aided in part by the risks surrounding the U.S. presidential election, according to Citigroup Inc.
Uncertainty over the contest and delays about the outcome may “be under-appreciated by precious metals markets,” analysts including Aakash Doshi said in a quarterly commodities outlook. The bank’s forecast implies a surge of more than $200 for bullion futures from current levels.

Energy & Environment

Cold diggers? UN finds a record low in Greenland ice in 1991

AP – For all the recent talk of global warming, climate historians hunting for past temperature extremes have unearthed what the U.N. weather agency calls a new record low in the Northern Hemisphere — nearly -70 degrees Celsius (-93 F) was recorded almost three decades ago in Greenland.
The World Meteorological Organizations publicly confirmed Wednesday the all-time cold reading for the hemisphere: -69.6 Celsius recorded on Dec. 22, 1991 at an automatic weather station in a remote site called Klinck, not far from the highest point on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
“In the era of climate change, much attention focuses on new heat records,” said WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas in a statement. “This newly recognized cold record is an important reminder about the stark contrasts that exist on this planet.”
The temperature tally surpasses the -67.8°C recorded twice at Siberian sites of Oimekon in 1933 and Verkhoyanksk in 1892. The latter Russian site made headlines in recent months for recording what may be a new record-high temperature north of the Arctic Circle during a heatwave in the region.
The new low was confirmed by so-called “climate detectives” working with the WMO’s Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes in Geneva.
The archive, which was created in 2007, has been poring over historic data in search of records like high and low temperatures, greatest rainfall, and even of “heaviest hailstone” and “longest lightning flash.”
It said that the record came to light after “a WMO blue-ribbon international panel of polar scientists tracked down the original scientists involved” from the Klinck automatic weather station than ran for two years in the early 1990.
The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was the -89.2 Celsius (-128.6 F) recorded in 1983 at the high-altitude Vostok weather station in Antarctica, WMO said.

Science & Technology

DOJ unveils legislation to reform tech’s legal liability shield

NBC – The Department of Justice proposed new legislation Wednesday to reform a key legal liability shield for the tech industry known as Section 230.
The draft legislation, which would need to be passed by Congress, focuses on two areas of reform. First, it aims to narrow the criteria online platforms must meet to earn the liability protections granted by Section 230. Second, it would carve out the statute’s immunity for certain cases, like offenses involving child sexual abuse.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from liability for their users’ posts. But it also allows them to moderate and remove harmful content without being penalized.
The statute’s protections helped tech platforms grow from the early days of the internet but have come under scrutiny in recent years as lawmakers and regulators more broadly question the tech industry’s power.
Several lawmakers have proposed reforms to Section 230 in recent months and President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May targeting the law, claiming to crack down on alleged “censorship” by tech platforms. Trump introduced the order shortly after Twitter slapped fact-check labels on his tweets for the first time.
The Justice Department has been looking at Section 230 for the better part of a year. Attorney General William Barr said at a conference in December 2019 that the Department was “thinking critically” about Section 230. It later hosted experts in February to debate the merits of the law and discuss how it could be reformed.

STUDY: Average American Recorded By Security Cameras 238 Times Each Week!

Study Finds – It seems no matter where we go throughout the day, there’s a camera close by. While passing by a security camera may not shock many people, a new study finds the average person is being filmed more often than they think. From walking the dog to driving into work, researchers say Americans are being caught on security cameras at least 238 times every week.
The report by Safety.com finds that surveillance technology is spreading to every corner of the globe. Studies estimate there will be around one billion security cameras filming worldwide by 2021. Between 10 and 18 percent of those devices will be in the United States.
When comparing this level of surveillance to the rest of the world, study authors believe only China will have more cameras watching their population. By next year, there will be about one camera for every 4.6 people in the United States. There will likely be one camera for every 4.1 people in China.
Where are security cameras watching you?
Safety.com finds much of this weekly surveillance happens on the road. Researchers say the average American is filmed 160 times while driving. One of the biggest reasons for this is the growing number of cameras at major intersections.
Traveling about 29 miles a day on average, researchers say motorists typically drive under 20 cameras over that span. The report cautions that it’s hard to know how many of these devices are permanently storing their recordings or just passively filming to monitor traffic data.
Once you’re done commuting, researchers find the average employee is filmed 40 times a week at or around the office. This number, the study finds, can be drastically higher if a person works in a retail store or in transportation. These workers may be on film hundreds of times every week in comparison to people working where there’s a single security camera at the entrance.
Meanwhile, the average consumer in the U.S. is under surveillance 24 times while out shopping or running errands. Researchers find security cameras are the norm in business today, as merchants crack down on theft and other criminal activity.
Under surveillance in your own home
The study says one of the biggest increases in surveillance is right in a person’s own house. The average American is on film 14 times a week in their house and neighborhood. In the past, researchers believe this number was closer to zero.
A 2016 survey finds the majority of U.S. residents believes they’re only being recorded about five times a day. Today, doorbell cameras are a common feature in home security systems. So a walk through your community is likely now a walk past several homes filming everything that goes by.
Safety.com says they expect this number to keep rising in the coming years as security cameras and facial recognition software becomes a normal part of society.
For some, this average is already skyrocketing. Researchers say for Americans who frequently travel by airplane or work in high security areas, they are likely on film over 1,000 times each week.

Health

Johnson & Johnson enters late-stage trial testing its coronavirus vaccine

NBC – Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it has begun its phase three trial testing its potential coronavirus vaccine.
J&J is the fourth drugmaker backed by the Trump administration’s Covid-19 vaccine program Operation Warp Speed to enter late-stage testing. The others are Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
The trial will enroll up to 60,000 adult volunteers across 215 locations in the U.S. and other countries, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Participants will be randomly selected to receive a dose of the potential vaccine or a placebo, according to details of the trial, which will determine whether the vaccine is safe and effective.
“Four COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in Phase 3 clinical testing in the United States just over eight months after SARS-CoV-2 was identified,” institute director Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a statement.
“This is an unprecedented feat for the scientific community made possible by decades of progress in vaccine technology and a coordinated, strategic approach across government, industry and academia,” he said. “It is likely that multiple COVID-19 vaccine regimens will be required to meet the global need. The Janssen candidate has showed promise in early-stage testing and may be especially useful in controlling the pandemic if shown to be protective after a single dose.”
J&J, whose Janssen subsidiary is based in Belgium, has said it is using the same technologies it used to develop its experimental Ebola vaccine. It involves combing genetic material from the coronavirus with a modified adenovirus that is known to cause common colds in humans.
Preclinical studies have shown J&J’s potential Covid-19 vaccine can generate a promising response in nonhuman primates and hamsters.
Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday that early-stage trial data, which will be released “imminently,” shows the immune response in humans was “comparable to animals, which were protected.” He also said the vaccine appeared to be well-tolerated, with symptoms such as fever resolving within 48 hours.
He said it will likely take six weeks to two months to reach 60,000 participants, allowing J&J to recruit a diverse cohort. The trial will include those with and without other ailments associated with an increased risk for progression to severe Covid-19, and will aim to enroll participants in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and the United States.

Tobacco use to blame for 20% of heart disease deaths, WHO says

Fox – Each year there are about 1.9 million avoidable deaths from tobacco-induced heart disease, per a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The figure translates to around one-fifth of all deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) globally, which occurs when plaque builds within coronary arteries, reduces blood flow to the heart and can result in a heart attack.
This is a slow process and many are unaware of their condition until they have a heart attack, per the WHO. CHD is brought on by a number of risk factors including tobacco use, alcohol abuse, poor diet and physical inactivity. Resulting conditions such as diabetes and obesity raise the risk for heart disease.
“Tobacco smokers are more likely to experience an acute cardiovascular event at a younger age,” the WHO wrote, adding that just one hour of secondhand smoke can harm the cardiovascular system.
If tobacco users quit smoking, their excess risk of heart disease can drop by 50% after a year of non-smoking.

The health benefits of cardamom, an antioxidant-rich spice

NaturalNews – Cardamom is a potent spice used in cooking and traditional medicine. It is a staple ingredient in Middle Eastern, Indian and Swedish cuisines, where it’s used in both sweet and savory dishes for its distinctive flavor. People commonly add cardamom to curries, desserts and meat dishes, as well as beverages like chai tea and coffee.
This spice comes from the seeds of various plants belonging to the same family as ginger. It can be purchased in the form of a whole seed pod, pre-ground powder, essential oil or capsule.
Its use in traditional medicine may have stemmed from the Egyptians, who took cardamom as a mouth freshener. Nowadays, its powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties are used to treat a variety of ailments.
Health benefits of cardamom:
The health benefits of cardamom include:

Helps treat metabolic syndrome

Studies suggest that cardamom can improve symptoms and markers of metabolic syndrome, a group of disorders that can lead to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. These disorders include:

Obesity
Hypertension, or high blood pressure levels
High blood sugar levels
High triglyceride levels
High cholesterol levels
Low levels of “good” cholesterol

Improves heart health

Cardamom boosts heart health. One study looked at the effects of cardamom oil on mice fed with high cholesterol diet for eight weeks. Mice that received cardamom had drastically lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Another mice study found that it may protect against heart attacks and improve heart function due to its antioxidant properties.

Helps protect against cancer

Cardamom is rich in phytochemicals, natural compounds that protect cells from damage that can lead to cancer. In fact, research suggests that consuming more foods rich in phytochemicals can reduce cancer risk by as much as 40 percent.
One animal study suggests that taking cardamom supplements for 15 days can reduce the size and weight of skin tumors.

Boosts liver health

Cardamom is commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine due to its detoxifying properties. For this reason, people have taken cardamom to boost liver health, as the liver plays an important part in removing toxins from the body.

Helps treat ulcers

Cardamom is also beneficial for digestive health, with some people mixing it in their teas to soothe stomach ailments, including ulcers.
One study examined the effect of cardamom extract on mice who had ulcers. Those who received the extract had fewer and smaller ulcers compared to those who did not receive the extract.
Meanwhile, another study recommends combining cardamom with turmeric and sembung leaf; mice who received this combination of herbal extracts had smaller and fewer ulcers after being overdosed with aspirin, a known contributor to ulcers, compared to mice who took the drug alone.