Ron Chambers

July 2020 may have been deadliest month ever for young Americans, including wartime

RT – December 18, 2020

A damning new report suggests that, in the month of July alone, some 16,500 young Americans aged 25 to 44 lost their lives in what may prove to be the deadliest month in US history for young adults.

According to a recent research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, between March and July, 76,088 young Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 died, with the leading causes of mortality largely remaining the same, but exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

For context, during the height of WWII, US casualties averaged 6,600 per month.

Outside of wartime, the average estimated level of mortality for the month of July should be around 13,000, resulting in an excess mortality of 3,400.

Each year, some 150,000 adults in this age demographic would be expected to pass away, but thanks to the pandemic and its associated stresses, this year it looks likely to surpass 170,000.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) around 2,000 people aged between 25 and 34 have so far died from Covid-19 across the US. Some 7,070 adults in their late 30s and early 40s have also died from the disease.

Going by the official data, the Covid-19 fatalities account for only one-third of the excess deaths.

The preliminary data suggests the pandemic accelerated overdose deaths, though given the sheer volume of reports needed to accurately convey the scale of the collateral destruction wrought by Covid-19, on top of its own death toll, the true scale of the disaster that was 2020 will likely take years to fully calculate.

However, the CDC already estimates, with some degree of certainty, that the US will surpass last year’s grim record number of opioid deaths, as overall use of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, increased by an estimated 38 percent compared to 2018-2019, while some western states reported a 98-percent increase in synthetic opioid-involved deaths.

“The disruption to daily life due to the Covid-19 pandemic has hit those with substance use disorder hard,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a statement.

https://www.rt.com

U.S. Sends Two B-52s on ‘Show-of-Force’ Mission over Persian Gulf

Simon Kent – December 11, 2020

A pair of U.S. B-52H Stratofortresses flew a show-of-force mission across the Persian Gulf on Thursday in a display intended to deter attacks from Iran. The bombers were joined by fighter escorts from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar.

The aircraft, assigned to Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base-headquartered 2nd Bomb Wing, flew a short-notice nonstop mission the military said was “designed to deter aggression” and assure allies and partners the United States can rapidly deploy military power.

“Potential adversaries should understand that no nation on earth is more ready and capable of rapidly deploying additional combat power in the face of any aggression,” U.S. Central Command’s commander, Gen. Frank McKenzie, said.

“Our ability to work together as partners on a mission like this heightens our collective readiness to respond to any crisis or contingency,” McKenzie said.

UPI reports this is the second U.S. show-of-force mission involving B-52s in the region in as many months.

The mission comes two weeks after the assassination of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in Iran and amid escalating tentions between the United States and Iran, as Breitbart News reported.

https://www.breitbart.com

Boris Johnson Says ‘Strong Possibility’ of UK, EU Failing to Agree on Trade Deal

Sputnik – December 11, 2020

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said on Thursday that there is a “strong possibility” that his country and the European Union will fail to conclude a free trade agreement before the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31.

During an interview at Downing Street that was screened by UK broadcasters, the prime minister said there was a “strong possibility” that both sides would fail to resolve their differences, and urged citizens and businesses to step up preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

The prime minister said that the EU’s proposals were “not, at the moment, right for the UK,” citing concerns over the bloc’s desire to establish a set of rules and procedures to prevent businesses in one country from undercutting their rivals in another country, also known as the level playing field.

Johnson also cited the ongoing disagreements over fisheries as another major issue preventing a deal being reached.

https://sputniknews.com

‘Nobody knows’: Experts baffled by mystery illness in India

ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL – December 8, 2020

NEW DELHI (AP) — Health officials and experts are still baffled by a mysterious illness that has left over 500 people hospitalized and one person dead in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The illness was first detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. People started convulsing without any warning, said Geeta Prasadini, the director of public health.

Since then, symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness have been reported in 546 patients admitted to hospitals. Many have recovered and returned home, while 148 are still being treated, said Dasari Nagarjuna, a government spokesperson.

Teams of experts have arrived at the city from India’s top scientific institutes. Different theories have been suggested and are being tested. The most recent hypothesis is contamination of food by pesticides.

“But nobody knows,” Prasadini admitted.

What is confounding experts is that there doesn’t seem to be any common link among the hundreds of people who have fallen sick. All of the patients have tested negative for COVID-19 and other viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or herpes. They aren’t related to each other. They don’t all live in the same area. They’re from different age groups, including about 70 children, but very few are elderly.

https://apnews.com

‘A Direct Threat to Christian Education’: LGBT Activist Group Calls for Biden to Target Christian Schools

Steve Warren – December 9, 2020

A prominent LGBT rights group is trying to persuade former Vice President Joe Biden and his presumptive administration to adopt guidelines that could lead to the closing of private Christian colleges and universities.

Activists at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) have written a document titled Blueprint for Positive Change, which gives 85 pro-LGBT policy and legislative recommendations for a potential Biden administration to enact.

One of the proposals in the HRC’s document calls for the US Department of Education to eliminate all exceptions for faith-based colleges and universities if they “discriminate or do not meet science-based curricula standards.”

Last month, Dr. Al Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, warned about the HRC’s document in a commentary, which he called “a direct threat to Christian education.”

The word “discrimination,” he advised, is the key to what could come next.

“The Blueprint is not ambiguous—it makes detailed policy positions and recommendations, department by department, for the Biden Administration to deploy once the president-elect assumes office. From the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Human Rights Campaign demands the enactment of policies to prohibit what is identified as discrimination,” Mohler wrote.

Mohler also notes the HRC is camouflaging sexual orientation and gender identity politics as “science.”

“The Human Rights Campaign is not known for any particular agenda on the creation-evolution front, nor is the group preoccupied with particle physics. The Human Rights Campaign is targeting issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, cloaking them in the language of ‘science.’ This is an undisguised effort to require Christian schools and colleges to abandon biblical authority or lose accreditation,” he explained.

https://www1.cbn.com

Water Futures to Start Trading Amid Growing Fears of Scarcity

Newsmax – December 7, 2020

Water joined gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street, highlighting worries that the life-sustaining natural resource may become scarce across more of the world.

Farmers, hedge funds and municipalities alike are now able to hedge against — or bet on — future water availability in California, the biggest U.S. agriculture market and world’s fifth-largest economy. CME Group Inc.’s January 2021 contract, linked to California’s $1.1 billion spot water market, last traded Monday at 496 index points, equal to $496 per acre-foot.

The contracts, a first of their kind in the U.S., were announced in September as heat and wildfires ravaged the U.S. West Coast and as California was emerging from an eight-year drought. They are meant to serve both as a hedge for big water consumers, such as almond farmers and electric utilities, against water prices fluctuations as well a scarcity gauge for investors worldwide.

“Climate change, droughts, population growth, and pollution are likely to make water scarcity issues and pricing a hot topic for years to come,” said RBC Capital Markets managing director and analyst Deane Dray. “We are definitely going to watch how this new water futures contract develops.”

The United Nations has long warned that human-driven climate change is leading to severe droughts and more flooding, making water availability increasingly less predictable. In California, the most recent acute dry spell stretched from December 2011 until March of last year, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The most dire effects took hold in July 2014, with 58% of the state’s land suffering “exceptional drought,” leading to crop and pasture losses and other water emergencies.

https://www.newsmax.com

Australian authorities seize child, rule parents ABUSIVE for resisting hormone therapy to help daughter become son – report

RT – November 29, 2020

An Australian couple whose child was reportedly seized by state authorities is appealing a magistrate’s ruling finding them abusive and “dangerous” for resisting testosterone therapy for their daughter, who identifies as male.

Lawyers for the unidentified parents filed papers last week seeking to appeal a magistrate’s October decision, setting up what appears to be the country’s first test case on parental rights regarding gender dysphoria medicine, the Australian newspaper reported on Saturday. Their child, then 15, was taken away from the family last year, after discussing suicide online.

“The authorities say we will not allow her to change gender, so it’s dangerous for told her to come back to our house because we will mentally abuse her,” the father told the Australian. “They want us to consent to testosterone treatment.”

The parents are seeking an independent psychological review of all possible causes of their child’s depression, as well as consideration of non-invasive treatment options. The teen struggled after losing friends at 13, when the family relocated, and those difficulties were compounded by a difficult start to puberty and anxiety about eating and body image, the mother said.

The family migrated to Australia a decade ago, the newspaper said, without identifying their native country. The magistrate found that the teen likely suffered verbal abuse over “his feelings and expression of gender identity,” which the parents denied.

https://www.rt.com

Massachusetts Legislature Passes ‘Infanticide Act’ Removing Requirement of Preserving Abortion Survivor’s Life

Dr. Susan Berry – November 23, 2020

The Massachusetts legislature has passed an amendment to a budget bill that would allow abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy, eliminate parental consent, and remove the requirement that abortionists must attempt to preserve the life of a baby who survives abortion.

The state House passed Amendment 759 by a vote of 108-49, while the state Senate approved it by a vote of 33-7. The amendment, as part of the fiscal year 2021 budget bill, is now on the desk of Gov. Charlie Baker (R) who, as Masslive.com reported, was critical of Democrats pushing a late-term abortion proposal in a budget bill.

“I do share some of the unhappiness that was raised by a number of members of the Republican Party that putting policy in the budget was something that both leaders in the House and Senate said they would not do,” Baker said Friday afternoon, according to the report. “It’s pretty hard to argue this isn’t a major policy initiative that is not in the budget.”

As late as last year, Baker disapproved of measures to expand late-term abortion.

“I do not support late term abortions,” the governor said. “I support current law in Massachusetts. It’s worked well for decades for women and families here in Massachusetts, and that’s what we support.”

The Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) explained why Amendment 759 has been dubbed the “Infanticide Act:”

The reason why this legislation has earned the moniker “Infanticide Act” is because it removes the requirement that an abortionist “shall” save the life of a baby born alive during a botched abortion and replaces it with the requirement to simply have life-saving equipment in the room with no obligation to use it.

https://www.breitbart.com

High alert for Iranian/Hizballah terror in revenge for scientist’s death

Debkafiles – December 4, 2020

The warning of Iranian or proxy terrorism issued by Israel’s security officials was based on incoming intelligence that Tehran’s revenge for the death of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last month would likely come in the form of terrorist attacks. The Lebanese Hizballah, which maintains a clandestine global network, would be the foremost candidate proxy for this operation. The security advisory issued by the Coounterterror Authority in Jerusalem on Thursday, Dec. 3, specifically warned Israeli travelers that they risked being targeted on their trips to the UAE’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Bahrain, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey. semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan and parts of Africa. They were told to be extra vigilant and avoid crowded places, unsecured locations and government centers.

Thousands of Israelis, enthusiastic globetrotters – even during the covid pandemic, are currently vacationing in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Around a hundred flights to those destinations are scheduled for next week in the first eager flush of friendship generated by the epic UAE normalization pact with Israel.

They have now been made aware of the active Iranian and Hizballah networks lurking in nearby Qatar, and their penetration by these hostile elements of expatriate Lebanese and Shiite expatriate communities in East Africa. Government officials were instructed to postpone planned trips to the Gulf. Extra guards are posed at Israel’s overseas diplomatic missions and Jewish centers.

The threat may also hang over those staying at home. On Friday, security officials alerted former nuclear research and other senior staff of the Dimona nuclear research center in southern Israel to danger. They were advised to alter their regular habits. including walking routes, refrain from opening strange packages, and be on the lookout for unusual events. Since the Fakhrizadeh death, they were told that Iranian spies may be monitoring their’ activities online and on social media

Conscious of the terrorist threat from Iran and its proxies, the US State Department this week decided to pull dozens of staffers from its embassy in the fortified Green Zone of Baghdad, this being the aftermath of the Fakhrizadeh killing and the first anniversary date of the US drone attack that killed Qassem Soleimani. Tehran has vowed revenge for both these grave losses.

https://www.debka.com

Fishing Holds Key to Brexit Trade Deal as Talks Drag on

Newsmax – December 4, 2020

BRUSSELS (AP) — In the decisive final days of talks, the tiny fishing industry is holding up a massive trade deal between the European Union and recently departed Britain, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of euros in annual production losses.

While fishing is a negligible part of the nations’ economies, it is an important point of national pride for coastal and island nations and has a massive impact on politics.

Arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage put so much stock in the importance of fishing that at one point during his successful 2016 campaign to get Britain out of the EU he steamed up the Thames on a fishing vessel.

Sir Ivan Rogers, a former career diplomat who long was the UK’s man at EU headquarters in Brussels, knows what the task is of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the final weeks before the Jan. 1 deadline.

“He has to emerge with a win on fisheries,” Rogers told a panel at the EPC think tank this week.

If Johnson cannot expel enough EU fishing boats from U.K. waters, a no-deal Brexit would surely ensue, creating chaos and costs for all and ruin for some.

U.K. vessels landed close to 1 billion pounds of fish last year; the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom last year stood at 2.17 trillion pounds, “It’s not about economics, it’s about politics and the symbolism,” said Barrie Deas, chief executive of Britain’s National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations.

https://www.newsmax.com