EU Launches “Digital Wallet” In Latest Step Toward ‘Cashless Society’

Tyler Durden – June 02, 2021

Despite the concerns about digital privacy being invaded by the “vaccine passports” that Europe has demanded of travelers, the EU is pressing ahead with plans to launch a “digital wallet” that would carry digital copies of a drivers’ license and credit cards (sort of like Apple Pay does) as Europe continues its transition away from cash.

According to the FT, the EU is preparing to unveil its plans for the bloc-wide “digital wallet” on Wednesday. The product is the result of what Brussels described as several states’ demands for the EU to create a digital tool to access important records and other products and services via the smartphone.

A digital wallet could store payment details and passwords, and allow citizens from all 27 countries to log into local government websites or pay utility bills or perhaps even merchants using a single recognized identity.

Like with other smartphone apps, the digital wallets will be accessed via fingerprint and/or retina scanning. It can also serve as a vault where users can store official documents such as a driver’s license. Using the wallet will not be compulsory, but EU citizens who chose to sign up would benefit from an extra-secure digital ecosystem and greater flexibility ideal for post-pandemic life.

“The new digital ID will give every European the keys to their digital twin,” Thierry Breton, and EU commissioner in charge of digital policy, said in a speech earlier this year.

EU officials plan to make it illegal for companies to use any data gleaned from these ‘digital passports’ for marketing or any other commercial purpose, the FT said. Brussels is engaged in discussions with member states to provide guidelines on technical standards for the rollout of the digital wallet, which is expected to be fully operational in about a year.

https://www.zerohedge.com

The Shaking In California Is Getting WORSE As Hundreds And Hundreds Of Earthquakes Cause Alarm On The West Coast

– June 6, 2021

Are we getting close to a major seismic event on the west coast?  Within the past several days, we have seen hundreds of earthquakes happen in southern California, there have been large earthquakes offshore near the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and there has been a very alarming swarm of earthquakes at Mt. Hood.  We haven’t seen this much seismic activity along the west coast in quite a long time, and many are concerned that this could be leading up to something really big.

At this moment, scientists are carefully monitoring the area around the Salton Sea.  According to the USGS, in one 24 hour period over the weekend more than 600 earthquakes of at least magnitude 1.0 shook that area of southern California…

More than 600 small earthquakes have been recorded this weekend in a rural area near the Salton Sea in Southern California, with the largest having a magnitude of 5.3, a US Geological Survey geophysicist told CNN.

Geophysicist Randy Baldwin said 603 temblors with a magnitude of at least 1 happened in the area from Saturday to just before sunrise Sunday.

The magnitude 5.3 quake was felt throughout the region.

In fact, it is being reported that it was even felt at an apartment building that was 95 miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake…

People in Chula Vista, San Diego, El Centro and Indio felt the 5.3 quake, according to the USGS, Did You Feel It reports. The tool collects information from people who report they’ve felt an earthquake and creates an interactive map.

Saturday morning’s shaking could be felt in an apartment building near Del Mar, California, approximately 95 miles away from the location of the earthquake.

When I wrote about the alarming rise of earthquake activity on the west coast a week ago, just over 1,000 earthquakes had occurred in California and Nevada over the previous seven days.

Now that number is up to 1,757, and it seems to be going up with each passing hour.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

Girl has Bible confiscated by school officials

Bob Unruh – June 5, 2021

It’s been some 30 years or more since the U.S. Supreme Court established some of the most significant precedents for students in schools, including one that the First Amendment does indeed apply to students in schools.

But still sometimes educators don’t understand, as happened with a recent case in Illinois where officials confiscated a Bible from a second-grader simply because she was reading it during recess, and would talk about it with friends.

The documentation of the situation comes in a report from Francis J. Manion at the American Center for Law and Justice, whose founder, Jay Sekulow, argued some of those precedent-establishing cases at the Supreme Court.

“A little girl had her Bible confiscated by school officials. How could this still be happening in America?” the report wondered, then explaining it’s because “local school officials still don’t seem to have gotten the message.”

“We recently heard from the parents of Gabrielle, a second grader in Illinois. It seems Gabrielle likes to bring her Bible to school and read it during recess. Sometimes she reads it aloud, and sometimes other kids listen in and talk with her about what she’s reading,” the report said. “Constitutional crisis? It shouldn’t be; but little Gabrielle had her Bible taken away by a teacher and was told, ‘You just can’t be doing that.'”

The school then told the little girl’s parents she was not allowed to read the Bible during recess.

They objected, and the school changed its course slightly, determining she “could read it during outside recess but not during inside recess,” the report said.

That was after the school confirmed there were no complaints about the bible reading.

“It was a simple case of public school officials’ hypersensitivity to the specter of a threat from the ACLU or some similar spreader of long-debunked propaganda about ‘separation of Church and State,'” the organization reported.

https://www.wnd.com

CDC warns about spike in RSV cases across South

Maggie Fox – June 10, 2021

(CNN)A common cold virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is spreading across the South, causing an unusual wave of late spring disease, the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention said Thursday.

The CDC issued a Health Advisory Network warning to doctors and other health care providers to be on alert for the virus, which can cause pneumonia, especially in very small children and babies.

“Due to this increased activity, CDC encourages broader testing for RSV among patients presenting with acute respiratory illness who test negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” the CDC said in the alert.

“RSV can be associated with severe disease in young children and older adults. This health advisory also serves as a reminder to healthcare personnel, childcare providers, and staff of long-term care facilities to avoid reporting to work while acutely ill — even if they test negative for SARS-CoV-2.”

RSV is spread like most other respiratory diseases — by small droplets and on contaminated surfaces.

“RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children under one year of age in the United States. Infants, young children, and older adults with chronic medical conditions are at risk of severe disease from RSV infection,” the CDC said.

https://www.cnn.com

Ranchers Sell Off Cattle And Farmers Idle Hundreds Of Thousands Of Acres As America’s Drought Emergency Escalates

– June 9, 2021

In my entire lifetime, this is the worst that drought conditions have ever been in the western half of the country.  During the past 20 years, the amount of territory in the West considered to be suffering from exceptional drought has never gone higher than 11 percent until now.  Today, that number is sitting at 27 percent.  The term “mega-drought” is being thrown around a lot these days to describe what is happening, but this isn’t just a drought.  This is a true national emergency, and it is really starting to affect our food supply.

Just look at what is happening up in North Dakota.  The vast majority of the state is either in the worst level of drought or the second worst level of drought, and ranchers are auctioning off their cattle by the thousands

“Normally this time of the year, we’re probably looking at 400-600 head and a lot of times would be every other week,” said former auctioneer Ron Torgerson.

On Sunday and Monday, more than 4,200 head of cattle were sold at Rugby Livestock and Auction.

Needless to say, ranchers in North Dakota don’t want to get rid of their cattle, but the drought has pushed prices for hay and corn so high that many of them simply have no choice.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

Watch: Child Being ‘Brainwashed’ to Recite ‘GayBCs’ Draws Serious Concerns

Christian News – March 2, 2021

A disturbing video that has surfaced online has many raising concerns over the sexualization of children by those pushing a homosexual agenda. In the now viral video, a seemingly special needs child is sitting on the lap of a woman reading through a book called “The GayBCs” as the boy recites letters of the alphabet that are identified with sexual terms.

While it is unclear where the video was recorded, or who the woman is, the boy is seen reading and reciting from the book while being encouraged by the unidentified woman whose lap he is sitting on as he turns the pages and reads.

“B is for bi,” the boy states. “C is for coming out,” “I is for intersex,” and “Q is for queer” are some of the other recitations in the recording.

“The GayBCs,” the book which the child was believed to be reading from, was authored by Matt Webb in 2019. Webb, who is also a graphic designer and illustrator, created the sexual-themed book in order to allow children between the ages of 4 and 8 to begin to dialogue about “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” early on in their lives, according to an article published by the Chicago Tribune when the book was released.

The video was shared by conservative blogger Matt Walsh, a Catholic, who cited that the “LGBT Left is brainwashing children.”

https://christiannews.net

Chinese State Media Urges Preparing for Nuclear War With US

Eric Mack – June 1, 2021

Chinese state media is calling on a nuclear buildup as a “strategic deterrence” against the United States, Newsweek reported Tuesday.

“We must be prepared for an intense showdown between China and the U.S.,” Hu Xijin, the editor of the Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times, wrote in an editorial Thursday. “The number of China’s nuclear warheads must reach the quantity that makes U.S. elites shiver should they entertain the idea of engaging in a military confrontation with China.”

President Joe Biden has kept up the tough public stance on China after former President Donald Trump pressed toward a trade deal that sought to call out China’s human rights abuses, intellectual property theft, forced-technology transfer, and trade imbalances.

Also, Biden announced last week a 90-day review from the U.S. intelligence community to issue a report on the COVID-19 origins, which the Trump administration has long maintained was likely released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“As the U.S. strategic containment of China has increasingly intensified, I would like to remind again that we have plenty of urgent tasks, but among the most important ones is to rapidly increase the number of commissioned nuclear warheads, and the DF-41s, the strategic missiles that are capable to strike long-range and have high-survivability, in the Chinese arsenal,” Hu brief missive began. “This is the cornerstone of China’s strategic deterrence against the U.S.”

Hu called for “a large number of Dongfeng-41, and JL-2 and JL-3 (both intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles)” to “form the pillar of our strategic will.”

He admitted the buildup should be meant to deter war, not strike it, but he noted “U.S. hostility toward China is burning.”

https://www.newsmax.com

‘New world order’ being formed before our eyes, Russia’s deputy defense minister tells RT ahead of key Moscow security conference

RT – June 2, 2021

We are currently witnessing the formation of nothing less than a “new world order,” with the existing international legal system fracturing and states taking sides in a fresh Cold War, Russia’s deputy defense minister has told RT.

Colonel General Aleksandr Fomin spoke to the network ahead of the 9th Moscow Conference on International Security, scheduled to take place on June 22-24 in the Russian capital. The event brings together military officials and security experts from different countries, with some 49 nations having already confirmed their participation.

The upcoming conference is an explicitly non-partisan event, and the countries are invited to partake regardless of their current relationship with Russia, Fomin stated.

“At the forum, we give the floor not only to partners who share our approaches to solving major world problems, but also to opponents, countries with which cooperation today is at bare minimum or equal to zero,” Fomin said.

Discussions like those at the Moscow forum are particularly important during challenging times, the official added, as the world’s political and security landscape is currently experiencing historic shifts, with the ‘old’ world order crumbling apart.

“Today we are witnessing the formation of a new world order. We see a tendency for countries to be drawn into a new Cold War, the states being divided into ‘us’ and ‘them’, with ‘them’ unambiguously defined in doctrinal documents as adversaries.”

“The existing system of international relations and the security framework is being systematically destroyed. The role of international organizations as instruments of collective decision-making in the field of security is being diminished,” Frolov said, without specifying examples.

https://www.rt.com

Bibi’s done? Anti-Netanyahu coalition notifies Israeli president that it has formed new government after Arab party joins

RT – June 2, 2021

Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett have put together a governing coalition to oust PM Benjamin Netanyahu, just minutes before time ran out. For the first time in history, an Arab-Israeli party will be on board.

Lapid, who leads the Yesh Atid party, informed President Reuven Rivlin shortly before midnight on Wednesday that he has “succeeded in forming a government” and that his coalition partner Bennett of Yamina “will serve as prime minister first.” Lapid will take over as PM after two years, under the terms of the agreement.

As the clock ticked closer to the statutory deadline to form a new government or face yet another general election, the tipping point seemed to be the coalition agreement with Mansour Abbas of the United Arab Party (Ra’am).

Gideon Saar’s New Hope party added their six to the coalition following the Ra’am announcement. Lapid’s party has 17 seats. It takes 61 to have a governing majority in the 120-member Knesset.

Though Ra’am has only four MKs, their support is a historic development – the first time an Arab party has come on board a ruling coalition.

Yamina’s Bennett was present for the deal, and also signed a coalition agreement with Lapid. They also secured the support of Blue and White, led by current Defense Minister Benny Gantz – his former coalition partner who had accepted a role in Netanyahu’s unity government in May 2020.

If Lapid and Bennett’s razor-thin coalition gets approved by the Knesset, it will hold off the need for yet another general election; Israel has held four over the past two years, repeatedly failing to deliver a majority government. The vote may happen as early as next week, but the current Likud speaker of the Knesset is reportedly pushing for a delay.

https://www.rt.com

Another worrying earthquake swarm hits Lake Tahoe – Scientists concerned about the potential for a tsunami

Strange Sounds – May 28, 2021

At least six earthquakes, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2, shook the Lake Tahoe, Reno and Carson City area early on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The strongest one struck near the north end of the lake at Dollar Point, Calif., around 8:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. There were no immediate reports of damage.

It came as Lake Tahoe’s resorts and tourist destinations prepared for a Memorial Day holiday that they hope will help lift the pall of the coronavirus pandemic and as legislators in Nevada’s capital met in early sessions to finish business before heading home for a long weekend.

It was also the latest in a series of quakes that had seismologists watching the Lake Tahoe area closely, concerned that a bigger quake could create a tsunami.

https://strangesounds.org