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US diplomats offered Covid-19 vaccines by 13 foreign government amid US supply issues, Wapo claims China also offered anal swab tests

Peter Weber
Yahoo
Thu, 18 Feb 2021 14:51 UTC
swab
U.S. State Department officials serving abroad, especially in countries with high COVID-19 infection rates, are frustrated over delays in getting vaccinated against the coronavirus, The Washington Post reports. At least 13 foreign governments have offered to inoculate U.S. diplomats with their own supply of U.S.-made Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, and U.S. officials in Russia have even requested shots of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which hasn't yet been approved by the U.S. or World Health Organization.


Comment: Indeed. Why would intelligent people subject themselves to a highly experimental vaccine when there are provably safer alternatives: After months of bashing Russia's vaccine, Western journalists in Moscow line up for Sputnik V


"It's embarrassing for the world's richest country to require the charity of other nations when it comes to vaccines," one U.S. diplomat posted to the Middle East told the Post, "especially when you consider that the best vaccines were made in the U.S." Relying on the kindness of foreigners is not "the only indignity," the Post adds:

Comment: With the swab story coming from the Wapo, we can't be sure where the truth lies, however, if the situation is as critical as the Biden administration claims it is, wouldn't the diplomats be more concerned with the severity of the 'pandemic' over any perceived dignity they wish to preserve?

RT provides more detail about US diplomats are opting for Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine:
"In Russia, some State Department personnel appealed to Moscow for doses of its Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine after Washington could not promise the delivery of US-made vaccines in the near future," the report outlined, citing officials. "The State Department is not recommending that its employees take it but is permitting them to make their own health decisions."

The publication also revealed that the frustration isn't limited to just Russia, with similar complaints coming in from American diplomats stationed around the world. The US State Department has requested 315,000 doses of vaccine to cover the entirety of its workforce but has received just 23 percent of this, the Post claims.

On Friday, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that it had sent sent out invitations to all embassies in the country for their staff to be vaccinated.

"[This practice] is widespread in many states, and is quite understandable - successful fighting against the epidemic requires, as much as possible, a wide coverage of all people in the country," it stated.

While the US has not yet approved Sputnik V, the vaccine has already been authorized in 29 different countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and the UAE. The developers have also applied for European Union authorization through the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Last week, Hungary became the first EU country to begin inoculation using the Russian-made formula, despite a lack of approval from Brussels.

In Russia, mass vaccination began in January.

Created by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, Sputnik V became the world's first Covid-19 vaccine to be registered in August last year. In February, British medical journal The Lancet published the preliminary results from the jab's phase III trial, which showed an efficacy of 91.6 percent.


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Snakes in Suits

West should look in the mirror over accusations of arbitrary detentions

Mu Lu
GlobalTimes.cn
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 10:38 UTC
Huawei
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves the British Columbia Supreme Court with her security team, in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday. A Canadian police officer refused to testify at Meng's latest extradition hearing, which sparked more suspicions, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday noted the essence of the case became much clearer -- politics.
"Taking people from their families and using them as bargaining chips is both illegal and immoral."

This is more than true. But it is just ridiculous to hear it from the mouth of Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau. As the country that is responsible for the shocking illegal detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, Canada launched on Monday the so-called Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. With the 58-nation initiative, Ottawa has shocked the world, again, by showing how shameless it could be.

How can a country indulge so much in double standards, upholding the banner of justice while simultaneously pushing down the lower limit of its moral criteria?

Comment: And, over in the UK, we have whistleblower Julian Assange who, according to a UN envoy, is suffering torture in a British jail.

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Putin

Putin presents Russia's world vision to the Davos elite

Rostislav Ishchenko
Stalker Zone
Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00 UTC
Putin with WEF
Vladimir Putin's speech, delivered in the format of remote participation in the annual Davos forum, is already being actively compared with his Munich speech of 2007.

Well, there is something in common. It is about the same general as between Stalin's "Brothers and Sisters!" in 1941 and the toast "To the great Russian people!" in 1945.


Comment: Which were speeches about the war effort fighting Nazi Germany during WWII. Perhaps Stalin's greatest (and only!) success for the greater good of the USSR and the world at large.


The Munich Speech of 2007 stated Russia's acceptance of the challenge posed by the west. We didn't attack, we were attacked. We offered peace, but the enemy chose war. We are not going to capitulate, we will win the war. We suggest, before it's too late, to come to your senses and stop the aggression. The Emperor Aleksandr the Blessed conveyed similar words to Napoleon through the Adjutant-General Balashov in June 1812, adding that if necessary, he would retreat to Kamchatka, but would not lay down his weapons as long as at least one enemy was on Russian soil.

So Putin's Munich speech is evidence of Russia's entry into a new (hybrid, informational) Patriotic War. And here is his Davos speech - summing up the results of this war. A kind of new Yalta (the Yalta Conference also took place before Germany finally capitulated).

Comment: A number of analysts have made similar observations about Putin's successful speech to the Davos Elite:

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Pumpkin 2

Joe Biden is already breaking his promise to end the US' 'forever wars' in the Middle East

Robert Inlakesh
RT
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 20:05 UTC
U.S. President Biden
© ReutersU.S. President Biden takes part in Munich Security Conference virtual event from the White House in Washington
Prior to his inauguration, President Joe Biden had proclaimed that he wished to end the "forever wars" the US is fighting, just as former president Trump had claimed he would. But once you're in office, it's a different story.

NATO has decided to expand its footprint in Iraq, following a rocket attack in the city of Erbil that killed one American contractor and injured six more people. This, as the US State Department has threatened consequences for all those involved.

NATO announced this Thursday that it will boost its Iraq mission from 500 to 4,000 personnel, which, Pentagon spokesperson Jessica McNulty confirmed in an interview with CNN, will mean the US "will contribute its fair share to this important expanded mission" - a clear indication that Biden is ready to continue his career along the warpath. The United States currently has 2,500 troops active in Iraq, following the former Trump administration's decision to lower troop presence - a policy the Biden administration is now poised to undo.
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X

'America First' diplomacy is over, Biden tells G-7 summit

Hank Berrien
The Daily Wire
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:00 UTC
Biden G-7 Summit
© Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Biden told leaders at the G-7 summit on Friday, the same day the U.S. reentered the Paris Agreement, that the days of "America First" diplomacy championed by former President Trump were over, according to The New York Times.

As the New York Post, which cited Biden's intent to declare on Friday that the "America First" era was over, noted, "Biden has swiftly dismantled Trump's foreign policy agenda, which saw the U.S. withdraw from the World Health Organization, the Paris Agreement and the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump believed were against the nation's interests."

One official told the Post, "Now he will get the opportunity as president of the United States early in his term to declare that America is back and the trans-Atlantic alliance is back. He will look forward to driving home the core proposition that the trans-Atlantic alliance is a cornerstone for American engagement in the world in the 21st century, just as it was in the 20th."

Biden claimed, "America is back, the trans-Atlantic alliance is back ... we are not looking backward." He stated, "We have to prove that our model isn't a relic of history. We must demonstrate that democracies can still deliver for our people in this changed world. That is our galvanizing mission. Democracy doesn't happen by accident. We have to defend it. Strengthen it. Renew it."


Comment: Translation: "Neoliberlaism is back. Neoconservatism is back."


Comment: It would be interesting to hear Mr. Biden detail exactly what he means by the term Democracy, and then using such definitions, hold them up against his own executive orders and what occurred during the presidential election.

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Eagle

DOJ charges 9 alleged Oath Keepers with conspiracy for role in Capitol riots

Shawna Chen
AXIOS
Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:00 UTC
Oath Keepers
© Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Department of Justice has arrested six additional people with ties to the far-right Oath Keepers militia group for their participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, the agency announced Friday.

Driving the news: A total of nine members of the group have been charged with coordinating the attack using military-style tactics. "The case against those affiliated with the Oath Keepers is the largest conspiracy case brought by the U.S. Justice Department so far in the Jan. 6 insurrection," AP writes.

Details: The indictment alleges the defendants "did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others known and unknown" to forcibly infiltrate the U.S. Capitol and obstruct Congress from certifying the election of Joe Biden as president.

Comment: The above charges (according to some) serve to satisfy at least two agendas: The first is to help perpetuate the perception among many that there was some kind of "insurrection" or "attempted coup" at the capitol on January 6th. The second is to help drive home the idea that even the exercise of free speech aimed about what some consider was a real coup of the stolen presidential election (among a number of other developments) will NOT be tolerated - lest one be treated as a "Domestic Terrorist".

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Attention

Putin's condemnation of 'caveman nationalism' contradicts Western attempts to paint him as Russian ultranationalist

Paul Robinson
RT
Sat, 20 Feb 2021 08:08 UTC
Putin
© SputnikRussian President Vladimir Putin
Commentators have attempted to compare Vladimir Putin to various fascist political figures from the past. In reality, the Russian president embodies a state-centred patriotism that celebrates Russia as a multiethnic community.

"Putin, like Hitler, is an ultranationalist." If one was looking for the de-facto Western orthodoxy about Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, this headline from 2014 would just-about sum it up. As American journalist Martin Kalb put it, in his book Imperial Gamble, Putin is above all "ultranationalistic," a leader who is "convinced that only an authoritarian, ultranationalist regime can protect Russia from its enemies."

What is meant by "nationalism," let alone "ultranationalism," is never explained, although the implication is always that it is something very bad and that Putin is an adherent. Which makes it very hard to explain why, in a video meeting this week with parliamentary leaders, Putin denounced in no uncertain terms what he called "caveman nationalism". Something doesn't add up.
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Briefcase

Biden's AG pick Garland to prioritize civil rights, domestic terror


Newsmax
Fri, 19 Feb 2021 07:42 UTC
AG Merrick Garland
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAG Merrick Garland
In 1995, Merrick Garland was tasked with supervising a sprawling U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation into the bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

Former colleagues recall that he maintained his composure as he surveyed the crime scene, coordinated the investigation among numerous law enforcement agencies and put together a trial team to bring bomber Timothy McVeigh and his co-conspirator Terry Nichols to justice.

"It really was one of those things that took a lot of organization, coordination, smarts. Merrick Garland had it all," said Donna Bucella, a former Justice Department colleague who worked alongside him in the aftermath of the bombing.

Now, 26 years later, the threat of domestic terrorism is once again at the forefront of Justice Department's agenda as Garland, 68, prepares for a new role as President Joe Biden's pick for attorney general. The topic is likely to be a major theme on Monday when Garland appears for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

If confirmed by the full Senate, he will inherit the beginnings of a probe into the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by protesters including some of former President Donald Trump's supporters, as well as the challenge of preventing future domestic attacks.

Comment: The Dem's redefinition of the country is the old definition - with little improvement on the horizon.

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Syringe

White House working with Facebook and Twitter to tackle anti-vaxxers

Nandita Bose
Reuters
Sat, 20 Feb 2021 10:04 UTC
Goog/FB/Twit/Biden
© Google/Twitter/AP/Reuters/Facebook Jumbo/KJN
The White House has been reaching out to social media companies including Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc's Google about clamping down on COVID misinformation and getting their help to stop it from going viral, a senior administration official said.

President Joe Biden, who has raced to curb the pandemic since taking office, has made inoculating Americans one of his top priorities and called the move "a wartime effort." But tackling public fear about taking the vaccine has emerged as a major impediment for the administration.

Since the onset of the pandemic, calls from lawmakers asking the companies to tackle the spread of COVID misinformation on their platforms have grown.

The White House's direct engagement with the companies to mitigate the challenge has not been previously reported. Biden's chief of staff Ron Klain has previously said the administration will try to work with Silicon Valley on the issue. A source, who has direct knowledge of the White House's efforts, said:
"Disinformation that causes vaccine hesitancy is going to be a huge obstacle to getting everyone vaccinated and there are no larger players in that than the social media platforms. We are talking to them ... so they understand the importance of misinformation and disinformation and how they can get rid of it quickly."
The Biden White House is especially trying to make sure such material "does not start trending on such platforms and become a broader movement," the source said, citing the example of the anti-vaccine protests at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in early February, and said the White House wants to stop events like that from happening again.

Comment: If one person's information is another's disinformation...where is the truth? Censorship conflicts with choice, no matter its intention.

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Stop

Russia blasts Biden regime for 'persecution' of Trump supporters, political dissidents

Eduardo Rivero
National File
Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:00 UTC
Zakharova/US capitol
© AzerNews/Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesRussian FM Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova • National Guard at the US Capitol
Russia calls on the United States to observe the human rights of political opponents.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement lambasting the United States government under Joe Biden for the "ongoing persecution campaign" taking place "against anybody at all who does not agree with the results of the latest presidential election."

In the statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova delivered a scathing assessment of the human rights situation in the United States under President Joe Biden.

Zakharova described the ongoing crackdown against Trump loyalists in the United States:
"The FBI has reportedly opened more than 400 criminal cases and applied for more than 500 search warrants and subpoenas for suspects; it has also brought charges against and detained around 200 people. Only several dozen defendants have been released on bail or placed under house arrest. The others are being subjected to harsh pressure, with members of their family and social circle being coerced into giving a 'convenient' testimony. Moreover, people who have not even been officially charged are losing their jobs; they are being banned from social media and publicly ostracised."

Comment: It is telling that the USA has to be reminded about persecution and the right to hold a different opinion. Doing America a favor, Russia called it out. Will Congress look in the mirror and take notice?

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