Author: Ron Chambers

NYU School of Law Warns Digital ID “Paving a Digital Road to Hell”

Derrick Broze – July 17, 2022

New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice has issued a chilling warning about the potential dangers to human rights posed by the push for digital identity.

In mid-June, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, a “hub for human rights study” at New York University (NYU) School of Law, issued a 100-page report detailing the growing dangers of a reliance on digital identity around the world. The report, titled Paving a Digital Road to Hell?, examines the role of the world bank and other international networks which have been promoting the use if digital ID in recent years.

The report notes that the World Bank has been “energetically promoting biometric and other digital ID systems that are increasingly linked to large-scale human rights violations, especially in the Global South”. The researchers warn that digital identity schemes “promoted in the name of development and inclusion, might be achieving neither”. Despite ostensible good intentions on the part of some promoting these systems, they “may well be paving a digital road to hell.”

The press release for the report notes (emphasis added):

“Governments around the world have been investing heavily in digital identification systems, often with biometric components (digital ID). The rapid proliferation of such systems is driven by a new development consensus, packaged and promoted by key global actors like the World Bank, but also by governments, foundations, vendors and consulting firms.“

The report states that many of the digital identity schemes are taking inspiration from the Aadhaar system in India. This specific digital ID model has prioritized digital ID as an “economic identity”, according to the report. “The goal of such systems is primarily to establish ‘uniqueness’ of individuals, commonly with the help of biometric technologies,” the release states. This in turn allows for bringing in impoverished people from the “informal” or “counter-economy” to the formal economy. This also has the effect of “unlocking” their behavioral data that can then be used by governments and other parties.

The report also notes that the Executive Chairman of the influential ID4Africa, a platform where African governments and major companies in the digital ID market meet, noted at the 2022 Annual Meeting in June that digital ID is no longer about identity alone but,

“enables and interacts with authentication platforms, payments systems, digital signatures, data sharing, KYC systems, consent management and sectoral delivery platforms.”

https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com

Driest July in memory imperils Europe’s crops

Patrick GALEY – August 3, 2022

As much of Europe bakes in a third heatwave since June, fears are growing that extreme drought driven by climate change in the continent’s breadbasket nations will dent stable crop yields and deepen the cost-of-living crisis.

The European Commission on Wednesday urged EU member states to re-use treated urban wastewater as irrigation on the continent’s parched farms, after France and parts of England saw their driest July on record.

In France, where an intense drought has hammered farmers and prompted widespread limits on freshwater use, there was just 9.7 millimetres (0.38 inches) of rain last month, Meteo-France said.

That was 84 percent down on the average levels seen for July between 1991 and 2022, making it the driest month since March 1961, the agency added.

The southwestern region of Gironde, already devastated by last month’s wildfires, saw a maximum temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, with Meteo-France predicting a peak on Thursday.

Animals, including lions and monkeys, evacuated two weeks ago due to the blazes there returned to their zoo on Wednesday.

Farmers nationwide are reporting difficulties in feeding livestock because of parched grasslands, while irrigation has been banned in large areas of the northwest and southeast due to freshwater shortages.

Environment Minister Christophe Bechu said July’s rainfall represented “just 12 percent of what’s needed”.

https://www.seeddaily.com

Polio Fears Rise in New York Amid Possible Community Spread

Newsmax – August 5, 2022

New York state health officials issued a more urgent call Thursday for unvaccinated children and adults to get inoculated against polio, citing new evidence of possible “community spread” of the dangerous virus.

The polio virus has now been found in seven different wastewater samples in two adjacent counties north of New York City, health officials said.

So far, only one person has tested positive for polio — an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County who suffered paralysis.

But based on earlier polio outbreaks, “New Yorkers should know that for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected,” the state’s health commissioner, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, said in a statement.

“Coupled with the latest wastewater findings, the Department is treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread,” she said. “As we learn more, what we do know is clear: the danger of polio is present in New York today. We must meet this moment by ensuring that adults, including pregnant people, and young children by 2 months of age are up to date with their immunization — the safe protection against this debilitating virus that every New Yorker needs.”

The polio patient in Rockland County is the first person known to be infected with the virus in the U.S. in nearly a decade. Wastewater samples collected in June and July in adjacent Orange County also contained the virus.

Polio, once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, was declared eliminated in the United States in 1979, more than two decades after vaccines became available.

A majority of people infected with polio have no symptoms, but can still shed the virus and give it to others for days or weeks. A small percentage of people who get the disease suffer paralysis. The disease is fatal for between 5-10% of those paralyzed.

https://www.newsmax.com

Now They Are Literally Bowing Down And Worshipping Baal Right In Front Of Our Eyes

– August 4, 2022

They aren’t even trying to hide it anymore.  During the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England on July 28th, a giant mechanical bull with glowing red eyes was rolled out into the center of Alexander Stadium.  The bull was approximately 10 meters high, and it took more than five months to build.  It had been given the nickname “Raging Bull”, and it absolutely dwarfed all of the human participants that were involved in the performance.  The “hero” of the opening ceremony, a character known as Stella, calmed the creature down and then all of the human performers gathered around the giant bull and literally began to bow down and worship it.  I have seen a lot of really weird things in recent years, but I have never seen anything quite like this.

A total of 72 nations participate in the Commonwealth Games, and so this opening ceremony was being viewed on countless television screens all over the planet.

The symbolism in this “ritual” was well planned in advance, and the organizers knew exactly what they were doing.

But they were also counting on the fact that the vast majority of the general population would not consciously catch on to what was actually taking place.

The bull has always been a symbol of an ancient deity from the Middle East known as “Baal”.  The following comes from Christianity.com…

In artistic depictions and archeological finds, Baal took the shape of a bull or ram and had associations with fertility.

This god also, apparently according to Canaanite lore, defeated El and had associations with the sun and thunder. And of all the foreign gods the Israelites came into contact with, they appeared to struggle the most with worshipping this one.

If we could go back thousands of years and roll out a giant bull with glowing red eyes for the people of the ancient Middle East, they would instantly understand what was going on.

Nobody would need to tell them that it was a statue of Baal and that they were intended to worship it.

http://endoftheamericandream.com

Scientists reanimate dead cells in pigs, a potential breakthrough for organ transplants

Evan Bush – August 3, 2022

New research is confounding conventional wisdom about life and death.

Researchers at Yale University used a new technology to restore cells in some organs of pigs that had just died, bringing the animals’ cells back to function. The findings, which were published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, raise profound ethical questions about how medicine defines death but also teases new possibilities for the collection of human organs for transplant.

“My eyes went wide,” Brendan Parent, an assistant professor of bioethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said about the moment he first read the new findings. “My brain went to all the crazy places we could go in 20 or 30 years.” Parent was not involved in the study, but was asked by Nature to write a commentary discussing the implications of the new technology.

The research is still in an early, experimental phase and many years from potential use in humans. It could ultimately help to extend the lives of people whose hearts have stopped beating or who have suffered a stroke. The technology also shows potential to dramatically shift how organs are collected for transplant and increase their availability to patients in need.

When the heart stops beating, blood flow is cut off from the body in a process called ischemia and a cascade of biochemical effects begins. Oxygen and nutrients are cut off from tissues. Cells begin to die. It’s a path toward death that causes damage that scientists have considered irreversible.

The new research challenges that idea.

“The demise of cells can be halted,” Dr. Nenad Sestan, a professor of neuroscience at the  Yale School of Medicine and an author of the new research, said during a news conference. “We restored some functions of cells across multiple organs that should have been dead.”

https://www.nbcnews.com

Canada Killed More Than 10,000 Patients in Euthanasia Last Year

Alex Schadenberg  –  August 3, 2022

Health Canada recently released the Third Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada (2021). The data is gathered from the reports submitted by the medical or nurse practitioners who carried out the euthanasia death. There is no requirement that a third party or neutral person submit the reports to ensure their accuracy.

Comparing the Third Annual report (2021) to the Second Annual Report (2020), the report states that there were: 10,064 assisted deaths in 2021 up from 7603 in 2020, 5661 in 2019, 4480 in 2018, 2838 in 2017 and 1018 in 2016.

The report indicates that the number of assisted deaths increased by 32.4% representing 3.3% of all deaths in 2021.

When all data sources are considered, the total of number of euthanasia (MAiD) reported assisted deaths in Canada from legalization to December 31, 2021 is 31,664.

The report indicates that euthanasia represented 3.3% of all deaths, which was up from 2.5% in 2021. The data indicates a big difference in the percentage of euthanasia deaths between provinces. According to the data the percentage of all deaths that were euthanasia increased in all provinces notably:

  • British Columbia: 4.8% in 2021 up from 3.8% in 2020,
  • Quebec: 4.7% in 2021 up from 3.0% in 2020.
  • Prince Edward Island 2.9% in 2021 up from 2.8% in 2020.
  • Ontario: 2.7% in 2021 up from 2.1% in 2020.
  • Newfoundland was the lowest with 1.2% in 2021 up from 0.9% in 2020.

The report indicated that due to the passing of Bill C-7 in March 2021, 2.2% of the assisted deaths were people whose natural death was not reasonably foreseeable.

This is the first Health Canada MAiD report since the federal government expanded eligibility for euthanasia (MAiD) in March 2021 by passing Bill C-7.

https://www.lifenews.com

Clear signal to NATO: First Baltic Sea voyage for Russia’s most modern and dangerous Yasen-class submarine taking place right now!

Strange Sounds – July 22, 2022

The “Severodvinsk” sailed Danish waters Tuesday morning en route from the Kola Peninsula to St. Petersburg where the submarine will be on display at the Naval Parade.

With the “Severodvinsk”, the Kremlin has moved one of its most modern and dangerous submarines to the Baltic Sea. The 140 meter long ship belongs to the Russian Northern Fleet and has the most modern armament, including cruise missiles of the Kalibr type.

Moreover, in October 2021, the Yasen-class submarine has successfully test-fired a Tsirkon-type hypersonic missile for the first time in the Barents Sea.

It is currently unclear whether the sub is armed with the Tsirkon as it now sails into the Baltic Sea, the first-time voyage in the area for Russia’s 4th generation multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarines of the Yasen class.

The passage of the “Severodvinsk” through the Fehmarnbelt has been confirmed by the Danish Navy. It is escorted by two other vessels: the navy’s tug “Pamir” and landing ship “Ivan Gren.”

Apparently, it is supposed to take part in the “Day of the Navy” in St. Petersburg at the end of the month. As the”Kiel News”write, (trx).

Spokesperson of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, Major Elisabeth Eikeland, did not comment on whether the submarine sailed submerged or surfaced along the coast of Norway. According to TASS it is the Russian submarine is moving in its surface position.

https://strangesounds.org

Leading economist says predictions for a mild recession are ‘delusional’ as severe financial crisis looms

ETH – July 26, 2022

Recession indicators are ringing and key commodities have plunged into a bear market, signaling a downturn may be on the horizon. And Nouriel Roubini dismissed hopes that an incoming recession will be shallow.

According to MSN, The famed economist, who called the 2008 financial crash, told Bloomberg that the economy is headed for a severe recession as well as a severe debt and financial crisis.

Roubini, also known as “Dr. Doom,” said debt ratios are historically high at 420% for advanced economies and climbing, while bailouts during the pandemic have resulted in “zombie corporations” that put the economy at risk.

In contrast, the stagflation seen during the 1970s was accompanied by low debt ratios, and the debt crisis during the 2008 financial crash saw falling inflation.

“This idea that it’s going to be short and shallow, it’s totally delusional,” Roubini said. His warning goes against other predictions on Wall Street for a mild recession, including those from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Pimco, Nomura, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Massive quake in Philippines has killed 5 and injured dozens, destroyed homes and structures

ETH – July 27, 2022

A strong earthquake set off landslides and damaged buildings in the northern Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens. In the capital, hospital patients were evacuated and terrified people rushed outdoors.

The 7-magnitude quake was centered in a mountainous area of Abra province, said Renato Solidum, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, who described the midmorning shaking as a major earthquake.

“The ground shook like I was on a swing and the lights suddenly went out. We rushed out of the office, and I heard screams and some of my companions were in tears,” said Michael Brillantes, a safety officer of the Abra town of Lagangilang, near the epicenter. “It was the most powerful quake I’ve felt and I thought the ground would open up,” Brillantes told The Associated Press by cellphone.

At least five people died — mostly in collapsed structures. One villager died when hit by falling cement slabs in his house in Abra, where dozens of others were injured. In Benguet province, a worker was pinned to death after a small building that was under construction collapsed in the strawberry-growing mountain town of La Trinidad.

Hundreds of houses and buildings had cracked walls, including some that collapsed in Abra, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office less than a month ago, planned to travel Thursday to meet victims and local officials.

Marcos Jr. told a news conference he was in his office at the riverside Malacanang presidential palace complex when the chandeliers began swaying and making clanking sounds. “It was very strong,” he said of the ground shaking.

In a chilling near-death experience, Filipino photojournalist Harley Palangchao and companions were traveling downhill in two vans in Mountain Province when they suddenly heard thunder-like thuds and saw an avalanche of boulders as big as cars raining down just ahead of them from a towering mountain.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

CDC Warns Rare, Deadly Bacterial Illness Is Now in the US

Newsmax – July 28, 2022

A bacteria that causes a rare but serious disease has been discovered in soil and water samples in the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi after two people who live near each other fell ill.

In a notice issued Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Gulf Coast residents, particularly those with certain health conditions, to take precautions against Burkholderia pseudomallei and prevent a disease it causes called melioidosis.

Symptoms of melioidosis can include fever, joint pain and headaches. It can also cause pneumonia, abscesses and blood infections.

Melioidosis is fatal in about 10% to 50% of people who are infected worldwide, and it typically surfaces in tropical and subtropical areas, such as South and Southeast Asia, northern Australia, Puerto Rico and parts of Central and South America.

Unfortunately, the environmental conditions found in the Gulf Coast states are conducive to the growth of this bacteria, the CDC noted.

Though it is a serious illness, risk to the general population still remains low, the CDC added.

One of the two known cases happened in 2022. The other occurred two years earlier. That they lived in close geographic proximity but were unrelated to each other prompted state health officials and the CDC to test household products, soil and water in and around both patients’ homes, with their permission.

Three of the samples from soil and puddle water in 2022 tested positive for the bacteria. Public health officials now believe the bacteria has been present in the area since at least 2020.

People who live in that area and have health conditions such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease or consume excessive amounts of alcohol should avoid contact with soil or muddy water, especially after heavy rains, the agency said.

https://www.newsmax.com