Reporter : Jack Phillips, The Epoch Times PREMIUM
An unnamed whistleblower disclosed documents suggesting that the FBI is using its counterterrorism resources to investigate parents or individuals who threaten school board members, teachers, or other staff, according to a letter sent by the House Judiciary GOP dated Tuesday.
The GOP letter included copies of the documents allegedly sourced from the FBI whistleblower that included an email sent by Carlton L. Peeples, who serves in the bureau’s Inspection Division, saying that the Counterterrorism and Criminal Division “created a threat tag, EDUOFFICIALS, to track instances of related threats.”
“We ask that your offices apply the threat tag to investigations and assessments of threats specifically directed against school board administrators, board members, teachers, and staff,” the email reads. The email was signed by Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Timothy Langan and then-Criminal Division assistant director Calvin Shivers.
In their letter on Tuesday, the Judiciary Republicans said that Attorney General Merrick Garland testified in front of a House panel that the FBI and Department of Justice were not using counterterrorism resources to target threats against school board members. However, the newly unveiled document, they argued, disproves Garland’s comments.
An FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Tuesday evening that the bureau “has never been in the business of investigating parents who speak out or policing speech at school board meetings, and we are not going to start now.”
“The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. These are dual and simultaneous and not one at the expense of the other,” the spokesperson said. “We are fully committed to preserving and protecting First Amendment rights, including freedom of speech. The FBI’s focus is on violence and threats of violence that potentially violate federal law.”
Before a counterterrorism investigation can be opened, there has to be information that indicates the possible use of violence or force, or a potential violation of federal law, the FBI spokesperson continued.
But according to House Judiciary Republicans, the whistleblower’s disclosure is evidence that federal law enforcement used counterterrorism resources at the behest of a “left-wing special interests group” to go after parents, referring to a letter that had been sent by the National School Boards Association several weeks ago linking parents who are concerned about school curriculum to domestic terrorists. It further said that the FBI and federal agencies should use the PATRIOT Act and other tools to go after parents.
After the initial letter was sent by the National School Boards Association, Garland issued a memorandum directing the FBI to address an alleged “spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” and create “dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting” on the matter. But on 23 October, the school boards group issued an apology to the White House over the language included in the letter.
Now, the whistleblower’s disclosure “calls into question the accuracy and completeness” of Garland’s testimony before the House Judiciary panel in October 2021.
“If … you were aware of the FBI’s actions at the time of your testimony,” the Republicans wrote, the document “shows that you willfully misled the committee about the” Department of Justice’s use of counterterrorism tools to target parents.
During the House Judiciary Committee hearing, Garland denied allegations that his agency would label concerned parents as domestic terrorists.
“Justice Department supports and defends the First Amendment right of parents to complain as vociferously as they wish about the education of their children, about the curriculum taught in the schools,” he told lawmakers on 21 October.
Garland also suggested that Republicans were mischaracterizing his memorandum, saying it only pertains to threats of violence aimed at school employees and teachers.
“This is not about what happens inside school board meetings,” the attorney general remarked. “It’s only about threats of violence and violence aimed at school officials, school employees, and teachers.”
After the National School Boards Association issued its initial letter, dozens of school boards around the United States have cut ties with the group. On Monday, the Kentucky School Board Association said its members voted to withdraw their membership.
Reporter : Zachary Stieber, The Epoch Times PREMIUM
President Joe Biden’s administration is facing two more major lawsuits challenging the legality of its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
One suit, filed by 12 attorneys general in federal court in Shreveport, Louisiana, asserts the administration violated federal law by requiring approximately 17 million healthcare workers to get a jab.
The powers given to the health secretary do not extend to mandating vaccines, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the 11 other Republicans said.
They also took issue with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waiving the notice and comment period required by the Administrative Procedure Act and Social Security Act before a rule takes effect.
CMS said in its rule that data shows “the vital importance of vaccination” and that officials determined they could not delay in imposing the mandate.
In the same document, the agency said “the duration of vaccine effectiveness in preventing COVID-19, reducing disease severity, reducing the risk of death, and the effectiveness of the vaccine to prevent disease transmission by those vaccinated are not currently known.”
Studies have shown all markers of vaccine effectiveness decline over time, especially protection against infection.
The mandate threatens to exacerbate shortages in healthcare staffing and harm patients, which should have triggered a regulatory impact analysis, the attorneys general argue.
CMS said in the rule that it could not predict the outcome of the mandate, which affects facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding, if it remains in place.
“If only one health care provider in an area required staff vaccination, then those who refuse vaccination could quit and obtain employment at another location in the same field or type of position. But with many employers already mandating vaccination, and with nearly all local (and distant) health care employers requiring vaccination under this rule, we expect that such effects will be minimized (with exceptions for medical or other exemptions as required by law),” the agency stated.
“That said, currently there are endemic staff shortages for almost all categories of employees at almost all kinds of health care providers and supplier and these may be made worse if any substantial number of unvaccinated employees leave health care employment altogether.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also a Republican, filed a separate challenge in federal court in Amarillo.
The police power of compulsory vaccination has always been the province of and still belongs to states, Paxton argued, urging the court to set aside the mandate as unconstitutional.
“At a time when we need healthcare workers more than ever before, amid a harrowing worker shortage, the Biden Administration has prioritized this unlawful vaccine mandate over the healthcare of all Americans,” Paxton said in a statement.
Biden administration officials have expressed confidence in the mandate and others like it ultimately prevailing against legal challenges.
A CMS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that they could not comment on pending litigation.
“There is no question that staff in any health care setting who remain unvaccinated pose both direct and indirect threats to patient safety and population health,” the spokesperson added. “That is why it is imperative for health care providers to ensure their staff who may interact with patients are vaccinated against COVID-19.”
A 10-state coalition last week filed a lawsuit against the CMS mandate. The attorneys general outlined similar arguments in asking a court to intervene.
The deadline for the vaccinations is 4 January 2022. There is no testing opt-out, unlike the mandate on private employers that is currently blocked by the courts.
News (9)
Republicans eye probes of Afghan pullout, Fauci, Hunter Biden if they win back majority
Reporter : Kerry Picket, The Washington Post
House Republicans, who are increasingly confident they will take
back the majority next year, say they will launch tough oversight
investigations of the Biden administration and hold accountable Democratic
lawmakers who abused majority rule against GOP members.
Republicans told The Washington Times they will launch a series of committee investigations including digging into the Justice Department’s coordination with the White House to investigate parents protesting their school boards, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and issues related to Hunter Biden, President Biden‘s son.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, ran down a list of issues he would like to hit should Republicans get the gavels after next year’s elections.
“Thousands of Americans’ tax returns were made public. We better figure out how that happened,” he said, referencing the disclosure of a trove of tax records of America’s wealthiest people that was somehow obtained by the nonprofit investigative journalism outlet ProPublica.
He also had Mr. Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, in his sights.
News (10)
More Alzheimer's disease drugs head for FDA review
Reporter : Asher Mullard, Nature / https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03410-9
When the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved biotechnology firm Biogen’s drug for Alzheimer’s disease in June,
regulators hoped to usher in a new era of treatment for the neurodegenerative
condition. But the decision followed an independent advisory committee’s
near-unanimous vote to reject the drug, called aducanumab — and instead divided the community. Some
researchers think that the approval will bolster the development of drugs for
treating brain disease, but others see it as a blemish on the FDA’s integrity
and an obstacle to progress.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly in
Indianapolis hopes that its antibody donanemab, which works in a similar way to
aducanumab, will have a better reception. The firm plans to finish submitting
its drug candidate for FDA approval in the next few months, paving the way for
a decision in the second half of 2022. Meanwhile, Biogen, based in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and its partner Eisai, based in Tokyo, are racing to complete
the submission of data for another competitor, lecanemab. The regulatory fate
of these therapeutic hopefuls could foretell the future of Alzheimer’s
and shape neurodegenerative drug development programmes for
years.
News (11 to (12) / Reporter : Sandy Fitzgerald, Newsmax
News (11)
Gordon Chang: Biden didn't mention covid origins to Xi on purpose
President Joe Biden did not bring up the topic about the origins of COVID-19 during his three-and-a-half hour conversation with China's President Xi Jinping because that would mean he would have to do something about holding the rival country accountable, China expert Gordon Chang said on Newsmax Tuesday.
"Biden
didn't want to discuss it during their two-hour phone call in February,"
Chang said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "I'm
sure it didn't come up in their September call ... they say, well, we don't
want to veer into conflict, but you know, conflicts are not preceded by an
absence of communication. They're preceded by communication of the type we had
last night for 3.5 hours."
According
to a White House readout about
the lengthy conversation between Biden and Xi, they discussed several topics,
including trade, human rights, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, a free and open Indo-Pacific, health security, the
climate crisis, and global energy supplies. The release, however, does not
mention any conversation about COVID-19.
Meanwhile,
Chang said that the conversation involved maintaining relations while Beijing
"kills Americans with coronavirus, with fentanyl."
"Last
year, they tried to subvert the U.S. government by encouraging Americans to go
out on the streets and commit violent acts," said Chang. "That's an
act of war. So you know, this isn't a totally inappropriate discussion if Biden
shouldn't have had it in the first place, but if he did, he should have said
we're cutting relations and we're imposing the greatest costs on China because
we believe that killing Americans is something that is not good."
News (12)
Gordon Chang: Xi does not respect Biden and the U.S.
Jinping
also referred to Biden as a friend during the beginning of the conversation,
but Chang said the attitude of the Chinese toward him and the United States has
been far less respectful, and that is "dangerous because they're going to
do things which are exceedingly reckless."
"While Afghanistan was falling, they said the United States
can't win wars anymore because it can't deal with the Taliban, and that it
could not hope to counter a magnificent China," said Chang. "We have
heard this as a consistent propaganda theme since the middle of March when
China sent its top two diplomats to Anchorage, so we know what they think ...
we have Chinese propaganda workers on Twitter actually talking about Biden
being too old and that he likes to bluff and doesn't know what he's talking
about."
News (13)
Doctors and nurses in the U.S. speak on the consequences of rejecting mandatory vaccination
Reporter : Enrico Trigoso, The Epoch Times PREMIUM
Health care workers who cannot take a COVID-19 vaccine due to medical, religious, or ethical objections are being fired from hospitals that mandated the shots for their staff members.
Various states and hospitals have mandated the vaccine, as well as the Biden-Harris administration, which issued an emergency regulation that requires all health care workers that work in facilities that provide Medicare & Medicaid services to become fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines by Jan. 4. The administration’s mandate does not allow for a testing opt-out or recognize natural immunity as a valid alternative form of protection for these front-line workers, many of which became infected during the height of the pandemic.
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, senior scientific director of the Brownstone Institute and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, previously told The Epoch Times that this approach does not agree with established scientific knowledge or make sense from a medical perspective. He argues that those who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection have “stronger, longer-lasting immunity” than vaccinated individuals and are the “least likely to infect” others. The CDC has admitted that there is no record of naturally immune people infecting others.
The Epoch Times collected more information from health care workers all over the country about their many reasons for not complying with the injections that are widely promoted as “safe and effective” by some of the nation’s largest corporations, including Big Tech, which censors to varying degrees anyone who is labeled as spreading “medical misinformation,” including doctors and nurses.
Dr. Thomas Redwood was terminated by Piedmont and Wellstar for not taking the vaccine.
“The decision to take the emergency use authorization vaccines currently offered should be a personal choice based on a careful risk-benefit analysis of receiving the vaccine compared to the risks of the disease for which the vaccine is intended to provide protection,” Redwood told The Epoch Times.
He believes that “based on current epidemiological data … should I become infected with COVID, I have a 98–99 percent probability of survival. On the other side of the ledger, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, has logged over 18,000 deaths and over 800,000 adverse events … In addition, we have no long-term safety data similar to what has been required of other vaccines before approval for widespread use, much less the creation of a vaccine mandate. In addition to safety concerns, vaccine efficacy has been shown to drop below 50 percent after four to six months from having received the vaccine.
“The objective of vaccine mandates as terms of employment for health care workers such as myself is to prevent infection from the health care worker to the patient. Given what we know of waning immunity among the vaccinated and the ability of the vaccinated to be as contagious as the unvaccinated, I fail to see the logic in such a mandate as it fails to accomplish its stated goal. Even more concerning is that by forcing health care workers to choose between bodily autonomy or employment, we run risk the creating a shortage of nurses, physicians and others who keep our hospitals running,” he stated.
Exemption requests denied
Dr. Eric Saunders, a veteran physician, was recently fired from Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
“My religious and medical exemptions were denied by them,” Saunders said.
“I was born without legs due to a pharmaceutical my mother took while pregnant with me. Both of my parents were ministers. My deep faith in God has helped me overcome many hurdles in my life, but the psychological trauma of being injured by a pharmaceutical, and knowing the potential controversy behind the science of the COVID vaccines, I am not able to receive them.
“I am fighting and speaking out against these mandates, using my story to hopefully bring awareness, so they can be reversed and let freedom be restored to humanity so we can coexist in peace and love again,” he said.
Nicole Fanelli has been working for Crozer Health in Pennsylvania for almost 21 years as a mammography technologist.
“I submitted for Religious Exemption (Catholic) and was denied. I did appeal the denial but they used the same panel of people to review the appeals who did the initial review.
“The reason I feel discriminated against is because they gave me a blanket statement for my denial: basically said my religion as a whole is not against vaccination. I had explained my sincerely held beliefs to them in writing, as well as supplied a supporting letter from my priest that Crozer Health requested,” Fanelli said.
She was placed on two weeks unpaid leave in mid-October, and by the end of the month, she was fired and not eligible for unemployment.
“I have also suffered extreme anxiety over this whole situation,” Fanelli stated.
Nicole Thibodeau had been working as a registered nurse case manager for Beth Israel Lahey Health, the second-largest health care organization in Massachusetts. She said her employer was sending out denials to “hundreds” of staff in response to their religious exemption petitions.
“My faith is fierce and I will never get this shot. They have been terrible to us; harassment, delays, extensions, lack of communication, etc. Last I heard, there was 4 percent of the company unvaxxed. That’s 1,440 people. They are putting pressure on us to get it or else ‘voluntarily’ resign,” Thibodeau said.
Trudiann Edmondson from New York worked for Northwell Health as a remote patient care coordinator. She was fired on Oct. 1 for declining the jab.
“At the time of my termination, I was approx. 5 months pregnant and asked for a temporary declination due to being high risk for multiple reasons, the limited data on pregnant women, and having the capability of working from home 100 percent.
“I was diagnosed with a blood clot very early in the pregnancy that has since dissolved. I am on low dose aspirin, which I have to take daily. I was given no alternative options, and myself and over a thousand others were let go based on the company wanting a 100 percent shot compliance rate.”
“I’m thankful for my faith in knowing I made the right decision and all will be well,” she added.
Unconstitutional laws are not laws
Allen Thompson was terminated from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina after eight years with them due to his decision not to get vaccinated, even though he had been showing proof of a negative COVID-19 test weekly.
Thompson was terminated on August 20. His employer emailed staff about the new mandates on August 16 and stated that the new mandates would take effect on 1 October.
“When I arrived to work the morning of August 20, I was stopped by security and two men wanted to talk in a conference room. They told me that day is my last day and to hand over my badge and they gave me a termination letter. I asked if I could work from home until things get back to normal full time, but they said, ‘We feel like this is best for you and today is your last day.’
“The way I view our Constitution, unconstitutional laws are not laws and I will not comply under any circumstances,” Thompson added.
Weird, abnormal things happening in healthy people
Loni Thalheimer has been a nurse for 11 years.
“I worked for my current hospital for seven [years]. The past six years, I worked as [a] post-anesthesia care nurse and had taken over the weekend charge nurse position at the University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.
“About two–three months into the community having full access to vaccines, I started seeing A LOT of people coming in for MRIs for idiopathic seizures, migraines, dyskinesias, paresthesias, and even comas.
“I stated we are seeing a rise in weird, abnormal things happening in healthy people, and everyone refused to answer me. If we are in a clinical trial, why are we not required to be collecting data? I was baffled,” Thalheimer said.
In July, her employer announced that the vaccine would now be mandatory for all employees, including for remote workers.
“They locked all of our policies and we couldn’t access them for weeks. They stated we could apply for religious and medical exemptions, and if granted, we would be required to test weekly.
“They had a specific form online that you had to fill out asking ridiculous questions like … What religion do you belong to? Have you had other vaccines in the past and how do they differ? At the bottom of the form, it made you check a box to submit your form saying that you agree to all UCHealth’s vaccine policies with COVID. May I remind you that they had the policies locked and would not inform us of what these policies would be,” Thalheimer went on.
“I got a signed letter from my doctor stating that I was currently trying to conceive and that I had major vaccine reactions in the past and that they were not recommended for me.”
Her exemption application was denied and she was then terminated from her job on 28 October.
“They are now trying to deny me unemployment because it was ‘voluntary’ … I have no job, no income, and horrible health insurance, and I am pregnant and have a four-year-old.
“With my manager’s signature and where my signature goes, it said ’employee unable to attend meeting,’ so they don’t have to fire me face to face.”
Contract cancelled
Heather Pope is a registered nurse with a compact license out of Oklahoma.
“I worked as a contract nurse in the emergency department throughout the whole pandemic, and finally gave it up when my contract was canceled over me refusing to administer the J&J to a patient,” Pope said.
At least 10 other nurses who were fired in different states reached out to The Epoch Times. Many of them felt they had worked very hard at their profession and had followed all the rules during the pandemic.
Some of them are heartbroken and think that firing them over bodily autonomy is offensive, and both mentally and financially stressful for them, as well as their families.
News (14)
Virus origin author: The truth will be known to the world sooner or later
Editor: Jing Zhongming / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/11/17/a103271105.html
The US-British scholar's new book explored the source of the SARS-CoV-2 (CCP virus/covi). One of the Asian female authors said that more and more evidence points to the laboratory leakage. She believes that some people have mastered the evidence of the source of the virus, and the evidence will certainly be public in the future.
On 16 November, the book Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid- 19 co-authored by American Asian scientist Alina Chan and the British Scientific writer Matt Redley started commercial sale in the United States.
Alina Chan told the VOA she believes that the CCP regime will not like this book. She has already felt the threats from the CCP. Many relatives and friends have persuaded her to give up, not to take risks. She may have to consider her name change after the new book is published to avoid danger.
As early as May 2020, Alina Chen issued papers with colleagues, pointed out that "the virus has been pre-adapted to people" later, and the virus is questioned.
In the new book, the latest disclosure of the facts, scientists who cooperate with Wuhan and other countries, "have made genetic modifications to the SARS virus found in nature, and these modifications sometimes make animals in the laboratory more contagious, more danger".
Almost all the possibilities of almost all currently existing virus sources are studied. One chapter is also listed separately, indicating that there is no uncommon virus in China and the world, and the laboratory leak virus is not uncommon.
In the book, in the early debate on the source of the virus, the natural originator occupied the leadership, which has been assumed to assume that the laboratory leakist must take evidence but now there is a change, and many examples have transferred their bonus responsibility to the natural originator.
Alina Chan said that there is a heavy difficulty in tracing the virus traceability, and the traceability has been highly politicized. The newly established trace group of WHO is still "replacing the soup without changing the medicine", and some scholars have a variety of economic interests in this regard.
But she also said that there will always be an answer one day, because in the current world, almost everything will have a digital record, and the cognitive traces of the source of viral cannot be completely erased. She believes that at least some people have evidence of virus sources, especially in China. Maybe they are now unsafe, but maybe for another 5 years, 10 years or 50 years, will eventually be said.
She said this is one of the most important events in this century, cannot be forgotten, and it is impossible to be a mystery.
News (15)
Republican win in election for mayor of Columbia, South Carolina
Reporters : Jack Phillips, Lin Yan / Editor : Ye Ziwei / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/11/18/n13382826.htm
Image : The picture shows on 5 January 2021, in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Senator runoff polling day. Voters wait to vote at the polling station of Sara Smith Elementary School. (Virginie Kippelen/AFP via Getty Images)
Democrat Tameika Isaac-Devine lost 4 percentage points to Republican Daniel Rickenmann on Tuesday.
According to local media reports, Rickenman said in his acceptance speech that he received all the overwhelming support from the business community, Colombian citizens, young and old, and people from all walks of life.
But Democratic President Joe Biden won in Richland County, where Columbia is located, in 2020 by 38 percentage points. According to the analysis of the election by The New York Times, the districts in Colombia voted for Biden with an overwhelming advantage.
Obama also won the Richland County elections in 2008 and 2012 by 29% and 33% respectively.
Obama released audio information this time publicly supporting German candidacy for mayor, and Biden’s highest ally, the House majority whip, Jim Clyburn, whose congressional district also includes parts of Columbia, also publicly supported German.
After Rickenmann's victory over Devin, Republicans said that this was evidence of a growing "red wave" and that Republicans would retake the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections.
Rick Scott, head of the Republican reelection department in the Senate, said that Colombia "has been held by a Democratic mayor for 30 years." "But last night, the Republicans won a big victory and the red wave is coming."
Earlier this month, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe to win the post of Governor of Virginia. Some analysts said this was a stable blueprint for Republicans. A major victory for the state. No Republican has served as governor in the state for more than a decade. Biden won the state last year by a 10% advantage.
After the defeat in Virginia, Democrats in the House of Representatives said that Biden needs to improve the message delivery of his political platform before the 2022 midterm elections.
Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told the New York Times on November 9, "The results in Virginia and elsewhere should be a wake-up call. We have not completed the transmission of information. Work", this starts with the president.
Maloney believes that Democrats need to prioritize economic growth and ending the pandemic, and then tell people what work has been done.
Some analysts believe that Virginia Young King won because of the help of parents, who are concerned about the curriculum taught in public schools—critical racial theory. James Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist who worked in the Clinton administration, said that Democrats need to pull back from the edge of "stupid symbolism" or they will lose more elections.
Maloney did not agree with the above statement. Instead, he criticized that Cavill and others made a "wrong choice" between "fighting for racial justice and public safety."
He said that Democrats can take care of both but he did not give details.
News (16) to (21) / Editor : Li Hao / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/11/5/n13356288.htm
News (16)
Sharri Markson: Inside story of the Wuhan Institute of Viology and the origin of the virus
News (17)
What happened at the Wuhan Institute of Virology?
Markson unveiled the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. She said, "The coronavirus that we have seen closest to SARS-CoV-2 in the world came from the mine they (Wuhan Institute of Virology) sampled."
In this episode, I interviewed the award-winning journalist Sharri Markson. She is the investigative editor of The Australian and is also the research editor of Sky News Australia.
Her investigation of the origin of COVID-19 is in her new book and the documentary of the same name, What Happened In Wuhan, has a detailed introduction.
Markson said, "The genetic manipulation techniques used in modern laboratories leave no traces. This no-see-um technique was developed by Ralph Baric from the University of North Carolina. He worked with Shi Zhengli (of Wuhan Institute of Virology)."
This is the "American Thought Leader" program, and I’m Jan Jekielek.
——————————————————————————
Yang Jiekai: Sharri Markson, welcome to the "American Thought Leader" program.
Sharri: Thank you very much, I am very happy to be here.
News (18)
The best-selling book "What Really Happened in Wuhan" classified under "China Travel Guide" by Amazon
Jan Jekielek: Si, I have wanted to interview you for a long time. Congratulations on your book ranking first in multiple categories of book lists. This book is also my favorite: What Really Happened In Wuhan: A Virus Like No Other, Countless Infections , Millions of Deaths, the book is listed top in the (Amazon Online Bookstore) "Best Sellers in General China Travel Guide" (Best Sellers in General China Travel Guide). I don't know why it falls into this category.
Sharri: It's a bit strange that they (Amazon) put this book in the category of (China Travel Guide), but it is the best seller and it sells very well. I think this shows that this is a topic that people are eager to understand. However, the mainstream media has refused to report for a long time, almost throughout 2020 (this is the case).
Jan Jekielek: In fact, this is also a really fascinating part of this book, because you explained why the media—to be honest, not just the media, almost everyone avoids it (the source of the virus). Based on such a wealth of evidence that you have collected, what do you think happened?
Sharri: It is very difficult to distill a 400-page survey book into a few sentences. What I try to do is that I don't want to tell people what to think. As an investigative journalist, I want to present the facts and evidence I have discovered. I want to present my interviews with people who are familiar with developments, such as the whistleblower in Wuhan and the people who defected from China who live in the West. , People in the intelligence community, and politicians or officials who participate in investigations or can see very high-level intelligence.
My own point of view may not be so important-because again, the evidence is there, and people can make their own judgments-but I think the evidence is very clear that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has a (coronavirus) leak. , Or in mid-September, or at least in mid-September, the WIV began to realize (the virus leak), after which the Chinese authorities decided to deliberately cover up this.
News (19)
Much evidence shows: Wuhan Institute of Virology leaked virus
Jan Jekielek: This series of evidence is actually very intriguing, and I haven't heard of it. It seems that before (your book) is published, you have been holding the contents of the book tightly.
Sharri: Yes. Of course, I also put a lot of other evidence in the window period of the (virus) outbreak. For example, the staff of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) fell ill and showed symptoms similar to covid. (Secretary of State) Mike Pompeo and (then director of intelligence) John Ratcliffe determined that this is likely to be the first group of the pandemic (infection).
There is also evidence about Major General Chen Wei later. She is the officer-in-charge who entered and took over the WIV, and the password (of the CCP), and Xi Jinping's subsequent release of the new "Biosafety Law." Therefore, there is a large amount of other evidence that also points to laboratory leaks.
Jan Jekielek: This view is very attractive. These three people (of Wuhan Institute of Virology) fell ill. Some officials believe this is the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, this information is in the hands of the US intelligence agencies but they have not paid attention to it for a long time.
Sharri: This information, according to David Asher, one of the chief investigators of the State Department who will study the origin of COVID-19 in the second half of 2020, and his team In the intelligence documents, is the evidence that the WIV staff fell ill was found and handed over to higher-level officials like Mike Pompeo.
Then the authorities decided to declassify this information, which was in January 2021. But in a series of interviews conducted to write this book, David Asher told me that, in fact, the intelligence he discovered at the end of 2020 was already in the possession of the US government a full year ago. In addition, in the documentary I recorded for the book, he said the same in front of the camera.
He said that he was shocked when he discovered that we could have, as he said, a full understanding of (the virus outbreak). He said that this disaster could have been prevented, just as it was prevented before 9/11. He described it as a missed opportunity because no one realized the importance of this kind of intelligence.
News (20)
The CCP report talks about technological developments in man-made viruses
Yang Jiekai: I think you actually dug up (a file) with one of your investigators, Jack Hazelwood-I also know him, so I want to applaud him here- —You are aware of a document, I think in 2011, it was a document of the Biological Weapons Convention submitted by the Chinese (CCP) regime. Then Jack discovered this absolutely shocking document, the content inside—I was stunned to see that this kind of thing was submitted to an international organization by the CCP. Please tell me about this, and people can read it themselves to learn more.
Sharri: Yes. First of all, I must give credit to Yu Maochun again, because at that time Yu Maochun was investigating this issue for Mike Pompeo. He discovered that in 2011, the Chinese (CCP) government submitted a document to the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons. Yu Maochun found mention of it in another document, including the subtitle of the document submitted by the Chinese (CCP) government, but he could not obtain the original text of the document submitted.
He then forwarded this detail to the State Department and gave it to David Asher and their team, but they could not get the original document but after Yu Maochun told me about this, after he showed me titles like "Man-made Synthetic Viruses", I was eager to get this document.
I asked Jack Hazelwood and another investigator-these investigators of mine are very good. They help me find out in the depths of the Internet. I don't know how to do these things. They find it and Jack finds it. This document. It has never been reported before, never. This is the scariest document I have ever read in my life.
To watch the full video, please go to: https://www.youlucky.biz/atl
News (21) to (27) / Host : Li Muyang / Publisher : News Insight / Editor : Li Hao / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/11/17/n13382508.htm
News (21)
Biden wants to change vice president?
In yesterday's Fox News talk show "Group of Five," the host and former White House spokesman Perino stated that there is indeed a procedure for appointing a new vice president during the presidency. He said that although this is very unusual and very rare, it is not without precedent.
Perino pointed out that in the history of the United States, more than a dozen presidents did not have a vice president during all or part of their tenure, or appointed a new vice president during their tenure.
Perino said, “This is one of the things that the White House hopes you don’t believe you see. But everyone can see the problem. Last week they held the first cabinet meeting in three months, and they didn’t even see the silhouette of Harris."
Perino said that the disagreement between Biden and Harris "began to be exposed" last weekend. Perino was referring to a shocking revelation by CNN on the 14th.
The CNN report stated that they interviewed dozens of Harris aides, Biden government officials, and other relevant people. They all stated that Biden and Harris were "dissatisfied with each other" and were "infighting." The article also stated that Harris had also told cronies that she was "fettered" and so on.
There was also a report by Fox News correspondent Pegeland not long ago, which mentioned that "Congress is preparing for something that has not been done in many years, and that is the process of confirming the candidate for the new vice president."
Pegeland also pointed out in his Podcast that the most recent appointment of a new vice president during the presidency of the United States was initiated by former President Ford, who succeeded Nixon in 1974, and Congress controlled by the Democratic Party at the time.
News (22)
The CCP's media is blindly optimistic
Since CNN broke the news, the media in mainland China have been hyping the matter, and they are even more concerned about this matter than the Americans. Looking at the various propaganda of the CCP, it seems to be a certainty.
There are two purposes for the Chinese media to hype Biden and Harris' disagreement so much. One is that the CCP really hopes that the United States will be in chaos and that there will be infighting in the White House, so that the CCP can profit from it. If infighting really occurs in the White House, and even if Biden replaces the vice president, the CCP believes that it may overwhelm the United States and weaken its attack on the CCP.
However the CCP media is wishful thinking and self-esteem. Because the highest level of the Chinese Communist Party wants to replace a certain official, it only needs a briefing and it's over. As for the NPC voting, it is just a form. In fact, the various factions of the CCP have reached internal agreements in the previous closed-door meetings.
The United States is a democratic country and is fundamentally different from the totalitarian regime of the Chinese Communist Party. No matter how powerful the US president is, he has no power to change the vice president. According to the U.S. Constitution, the president and vice president are appointed by Congress, and Congress has the power to decide on the replacement.
The replacement of the vice president in the United States can happen only under two circumstances. One is that the vice president himself may resign on suspicion of serious violations of the law. If he does not resign, he may also be impeached and stepped down. The other is that the vice president has an accident, such as a physical condition that is unable to govern or unfortunately passes away. Only in these two situations is it possible to change the vice president.
In addition, even if Harris is really replaced, the US attack on the CCP will not be affected in any way. Just as the Trump administration dealt a full blow to the CCP, some CCP media said at that time that the United States might change its attitude and stance towards the CCP under the Democratic government.
Now everyone has seen that, although the Biden administration has had various contacts with the CCP, and even some policies have been loosened, the Biden administration has not softened on some major issues against the CCP, such as its position on Taiwan.
News (23)
Biden's fourth "spoken error"? Taiwan takes control of its own destiny
On 17 November, the spokesperson of the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian, stated that the United States should abide by the "One China Principle" and the "Three Communiqués" between China and the United States. He claimed that this is an "important consensus" between the U.S. and China, and it is also the "political basis" of U.S.-China relations.
Zhao Lijian’s latest statement has completely changed from what the CCP’s large and small media said yesterday (16th). In the morning, Biden and Xi Jinping held their first video dialogue. Regarding the Taiwan issue, the two sides fought over the air. However, in subsequent reports, there are serious differences between the United States and China.
The Xinhua News Agency reported that Biden stated that the United States is committed to "pursuing the one-China policy, does not support Taiwan independence, and hopes that the Taiwan Strait will maintain peace and stability."
However, the statement of the White House did not state "do not support Taiwan independence." The statement said, "Biden emphasized that the United States still adheres to the one-China policy guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three U.S.-China Communiqués, and the six guarantees to Taiwan. The U.S. firmly opposes unilateral changes to the status quo or undermining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait."
It can be seen from the statements of both parties that one party must be lying about the Taiwan issue. Who is lying?
After the video summit with Xi Jinping on 16 November, Biden then explained to the media. Bloomberg reported that Biden not only clearly stated that he "supports the Taiwan Relations Act," but also said that "it (Taiwan) is independent and it is up to it to make its own decisions."
I have noticed that some media have referred to Biden's statement as a "spoken error." If it is a "spoken error," this is at least the fourth time that Biden has made a "spoken error" publicly in the near future. On the Taiwan issue, with such frequent similar statements, would you believe that Biden was "spoken"?
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement that the Chinese Communist Party’s official media deliberately misled or misinterpreted the statements or positions of other countries, "has been a habitual offender," and has dishonest internationally.
News (24)
The U.S. is particularly concerned about CCP China and 9 other countries in their lack of religious freedom, will boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics
Blinken stated in the statement that according to the International Religious Freedom Act, countries such as Myanmar and the Chinese Communist Party are deemed to be classified as "countries of special concern" because they engage in or tolerate "systematic, continuous and serious violations of religious freedom."
The Secretary of State said in the statement, "We (the United States) will continue to pressure all governments to amend their laws and behavioral deficiencies, and promote those responsible for infringements to be held accountable."
Blinken emphasized, “The United States is committed to working with members of the government, civil rights organizations, and religious groups to promote global religious freedom, and to try to solve the suffering of individuals or communities who face violations, harassment, and discrimination because of their beliefs or unbelief.”
I noticed that below the VOA related report, a netizen left a message saying, “The US-China talks are over, and indeed the first slapped fan is here.”
The second thing is that the United States will boycott the news of the Beijing Winter Olympics. On 16 November, the "Washington Post" quoted news from insiders that the Biden administration will soon announce a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
According to government sources, the White House will announce sooner or later that neither Biden nor any US government official will participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics. At the same time, the United States will inform its allies of this decision, but let them decide for themselves whether to follow up and boycott it.
Sources said that the US diplomatic boycott was a response to the Chinese Communist government's human rights violations without affecting American athletes.
There are still three months to go before the Beijing Winter Olympics. This decision by the United States is also a major blow to the CCP. If the United States does not send officials to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics, it can prove that there is an irreconcilable opposition between the free and democratic United States and the totalitarian and tyrannical CCP.
If the US allies follow up and publicly boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, it will further highlight the CCP’s severe isolation in the international community and reflect the CCP’s image of a gangster who violates human rights.
As former Secretary of State Pompeo said to "Sky News", "The world must recognize that the Chinese Communist Party is a rogue regime", "It is a regime that intends to rule the world", and it is a regime that "does not respect Western values and human lives." It is a political party that tramples on the rights of its own people."
News (25)
Official media leaked the inside story of the delay in the resolution, Xi was forced to retreat by the top
Besides, the second purpose of the CCP’s enthusiasm for Biden and Harris’ disagreement is the CCP’s attempt to divert the attention of the country and the people’s attention to various scandals in the country, especially the CCP’s infighting. But this is also in vain, because the Chinese Communist Party's official media themselves are reporting some little-known inside stories.
Everyone has noticed that the third historical resolution in the history of the Chinese Communist Party was announced 5 days after the end of the Sixth Plenary Session. This is very unusual. What happened during this period, and why did it take so long?
On 17 November, the official Chinese media Xinhuanet posted an article, "The Birth of the "Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Party's Major Achievements and Historical Experience in a Century of Struggle"."
It stated that during the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, after Xi Jinping made an explanation on the discussion draft of the resolution, the participants in the meeting had a "two and a half days full discussion" and "a total of 138 amendments were proposed." Based on comments, the document drafting group "made 22 amendments to the discussion draft."
On 16 November, news broke out on the Internet in mainland China that during the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, there was a “fierce debate” within the CCP. According to the news, at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth Central Committee before the Sixth Plenary Session, Li Keqiang proposed that the Sixth Plenary Session must clarify the relationship between the third historical resolution and the previous two historical resolutions, especially the question that the second resolution is not counted clear.
After Li Keqiang put forward this opinion, it immediately sparked controversy among the seven giants of the Chinese Communist Party. Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, and Han Zheng believed that the second historical resolution in Deng Xiaoping's period "calculated." However, Li Zhanshu believes that the second resolution should be viewed with a development and change attitude, and Zhao Leji showed a sway. The news did not mention Wang Huning's performance. In the end, Xi Jinping stated before the Sixth Plenary Session that the first two historical resolutions "calculated."
The source also said that during the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee, 10 groups discussed the relationship between the new resolution and the previous two resolutions for 3 days. It is said that "the discussion is enthusiastic and there is a lot of controversy". During the period, some opinions expressed that if the second historical resolution is admitted to count, then the second resolution has a clear discussion on personality cult and term limits. What should we do now?
I can’t confirm this rumors, nor can I determine the authenticity of the news. However, on the 13th, the Chinese Communist Party's official media "People's Daily" had an unusual article in which it was disclosed that there had been "scrambling" to speak during the closed-door group discussion of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee.
The report stated that in the plenary group meeting, "everyone scrambled to speak first, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic." Sometimes, as soon as the speech of the Central Committee members or alternate members on the speaking table fell, several people got up to speak at the same time, and even after the meeting was adjourned, the debate was still not over.
The report also pointed out that the focus of the debate among the participating factions involved how to treat the issue of the first two historical resolutions. The article said that "a century of party history spans a large time span and involves a wide range of issues, and there are many issues to be studied. How to properly handle the relationship between the new historical resolution and the previous two historical resolutions is a matter of great concern to the comrades participating in the meeting."
Judging from the report of the "People's Daily", the truth of the above-mentioned rumor is relatively large. In other words, at the top of the Chinese Communist Party, most likely to oppose the third historical resolution advocated by Xi Jinping, or at least express different opinions, and eventually force Xi Jinping to make a concession.
This third historical resolution is nothing new and basically continues the previous characterization of the Cultural Revolution and "June 4th". Obviously, this is the result of Xi Jinping's compromise.
However, around this third historical resolution, Xi Jinping may be forced to retreat more than once.
News (26)
Xi is restrained by multiple compromises? The army opposes Xi?
The article stated that the document drafting group headed by Xi Jinping has repeatedly solicited opinions and suggestions from all parties. Among them, Xi Jinping "hosted 3 times" the drafting group plenary meeting, "hosted 3 times" the Politburo Standing Committee meeting, and "hosted 2 times" the Politburo meeting. Both the Central Standing Committee and the Politburo members put forward "revision opinions and suggestions."
From these descriptions, it can be seen that Xi Jinping has presided over at least 8 different meetings on the third historical resolution. As the top official mouthpiece of the CCP, Xinhua News Agency intends to boast that the CCP is "paying attention to listening to the voices of all parties and absorbing different opinions", which is the "full-process democracy" that the CCP boasts.
But in fact, Xi Jinping presided over meetings at different levels to solicit opinions from all parties, which is a process of compromising with different factions.
Everyone knows that the CCP is closed to politics and discusses major issues behind closed doors. Whenever major events are encountered, the gangs and powerful groups first negotiate internally. All parties will put forward their own opinions based on the maximization of their own interests. Then the various factions blended with each other and reached an agreement acceptable to all parties before it was announced.
From this perspective, Xi Jinping has repeatedly presided over various meetings for soliciting opinions, which is actually a process of interest competition among the various factions of the Chinese Communist Party.
Of course, Xi Jinping must first pay attention to the opinions of the current Politburo Standing Committee members and members, so there are 5 meetings specifically to solicit the opinions of these people. After these people are satisfied, they have to listen to the opinions of the "old leaders" who have nominally retired.
As you all know, the political ecology of the CCP has a characteristic, the highest-level officials basically belong to a "lifetime tenure." The CCP has always had a tradition of "elderly people in politics". Even if they have retired, the influence of the political elders is still there, so Xi Jinping has to seek their opinions.
How to solicit opinions? There are a lot of political elderly people in the CCP, and they cannot consult one by one. It will take a lot of time. How to do it? Everyone came to the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee to discuss, just like the other traditional "Beidaihe Conference" of the CCP. Everyone got together, all put forward their opinions, and then made the final blend.
Why did the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee discuss for two and a half days? Why did 138 comments come up after continuously soliciting opinions before? These arguments and opinions are likely to come from the political veterans of the CCP.
Analyzing from this perspective, Xi Jinping is far from holding out. Although he had already called out "fixed to one", in fact, Xi Jinping is probably still being checked and balanced by the various factions of the Chinese Communist Party.
The key reason why Xi Jinping is subject to checks and balances is that he may not have complete control of the CCP army. So far, the new resolution of the Sixth Plenary Session has been released for two days, but the CCP’s Military Commission has not publicly stated its position.
The CCP has always said that "government comes from the barrel of a gun," but what does it mean that the Military Commission has been slow to make a statement? I said that silence may have two meanings, one is acquiescence, and the other is silent protest. What kind of army is it? Xi Jinping should be able to figure it out.
News (27)
Will there be a "coup" at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China?
Cheng Xiaonong, a political and economic doctor in the United States, wrote an article that Xi Jinping started to centralize power in order to cope with the power struggle because of the outbreak of high-level power struggles. Because anti-corruption was blocked, finally embarked on the road of restoring individual power.
The article stated that in the face of Xi Jinping's personal centralization, next year's 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is likely to break out more intense power struggles. One is naturally Xi Jinping, and the other is many other political enemies.
Xiaonong believes that even though Xi Jinping has political opponents, it does not mean that he will fall.
In the hands of political opponents. In the past ten years, Xi Jinping has gained power through anti-corruption and other forms, and it is difficult for political opponents to pose a threat to him. But he does have the threat of a "secret coup."
As you all know, there was a secret coup in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. It was after Mao Zedong's death that the "Gang of Four" was arrested. The arrest was mainly made by Wang Dongxing, who was in charge of the power of the guard.
After Mao Zedong's death, Wang Dongxing took refuge in Mao's successor Hua Guofeng, and together with Ye Jianying, who controlled the army, launched the coup. Cheng Xiaonong pointed out that Xi Jinping's crisis mainly lies in who controls the security bureau.
News (28)
"Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania", the first European foreign embassy named after Taiwan, was unveiled on 18 November
Reporter : Lu Yixuan / https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/breakingnews/3740999
Image : The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was officially listed today. The newly appointed first representative Huang Junyao and the embassy staff took a group photo in front of the museum sign. (Provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie announced in July that in order to expand substantial relations between Central and Eastern Europe, after consultation and agreement between the governments of Taiwan and Lithuania, the ROC will establish the "Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania" (The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania) in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
This is the ROC's first foreign pavilion in Europe under the name of Taiwan. Lithuania is also preparing to set up a Lithuanian economic and trade office in Taiwan. The establishment of representative offices between Lithuania and Taiwan has aroused dissatisfaction with China and imposed economic retaliation against Lithuania. China's pressure has aroused solidarity among European and American countries.
Under the preparations of various parties, the ROC's "Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania" is formally established and put into operation on 18 November 2021, opening a new page for exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Embassy will be responsible for the entire territory of Lithuania, including consulates, and other services; the representative office in Latvia will continue to be responsible for Latvia and also take charge of affairs in Estonia. The two offices will jointly promote substantive relations with the three Baltic countries and provide various services to foreigners.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that Taiwan and Lithuania have huge potential for cooperation in various industries such as semiconductors, lasers, and financial technology. The economic, trade and investment delegation of the three countries of Central and Eastern Europe successfully visited Lithuania in late October. The two sides signed 6 memorandums of cooperation to jointly draw up the blueprint for close cooperation in the future will lay a solid and friendly foundation for cooperation. In the future, we will continue to promote the friendship between the two peoples based on the shared core values.
News (29)
The vials, 10 of which were labeled 'vaccinia' after the virus used to make smallpox vaccines, were discovered by a lab worker who was cleaning out a freezer, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Smallpox was eradicated in 1980 with a successful mass vaccination campaign after it killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century alone.
Samples of the deadly virus are only supposed to be kept in two labs: the CDC headquarters in Atlanta and the Vector Institute in Koltsovo, Russia.
The FBI and CDC are now investigating Tuesday's discovery.
It is not known how the vials ended up at the Merck facility in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania or if they really do contain the virus.
After they were discovered, the vials were secured immediately and the facility was put on a lockdown that was lifted by Wednesday night.
'Merck is in the process of figuring out why it was there,' the source told NBC10 on Wednesday.
'There is no indication that anyone has been exposed to the small number of frozen vials,' a CDC spokesperson told Yahoo.
'The frozen vials labeled 'Smallpox' were incidentally discovered by a laboratory worker while cleaning out a freezer in a facility that conducts vaccine research in Pennsylvania.'
The discovery took place at the Merck Upper Gwynedd facility in North Wales, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, according to WCAU.
'CDC, its Administration partners, and law enforcement are investigating the matter, and the vials' contents appear intact. The laboratory worker who discovered the vials was wearing gloves and a face mask. We will provide further details as they are available,' the spokesperson said.
The incident is likely to renew questions about what should be done with the world's Smallpox samples, which are kept in only two labs in the world.
Smallpox is an infection caused by the variola virus. Patients develop a fever and a distinctive, progressive skin rash, according to the CDC.
Most Americans are not vaccinated against the disease and those who are probably have waning immunity, meaning an outbreak could have devastating consequences.
The vaccine leaves a dime-sized lesion that gradually forms a scab and leaves a scar, the CDC says. The lesion is contagious before the scab forms, and those who receive it have to protect the vaccination site from other parts of their body and other people.
Symptoms of smallpox
Smallpox is a serious, life-threatening illness causes by variola virus.
A person may not look or feel sick for 7 to 14 days after exposure, but initial symptoms include high fever, headaches, backaches, and vomiting.
Around a third of people who contract the disease, die.
After the initial symptoms, a body-wide rash appears. The person is most contagious during this stage.
Rashes develop in the tongue, mouth and throat. They then spread to the face and arms, torso and legs.
Pus-filled bumps, also called pustules, form and begin to scab over and fall off over a period of about 10 days.
It was mostly spread by prolonged face-to-face due to respiratory particles. The virus was also spread by sharing sheets, towels and clothing.
Source: Cleveland Clinic
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