A Japanese conglomerate that is studying the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin has found that the medication had an antiviral effect on Omicron, according to joint non-clinical research.
Kowa Co. Ltd., a conglomerate with interests in trading, hospitality, and electronics, along with health and medical applications, issued a press release (pdf) on 31 January 2022 stating that ivermectin has been found to be effective against Omicron in in vitro studies. The firm is also in the process of carrying out a Phase 3 clinical trial on the use of ivermectin to treat covid patients, though the company’s remarks on effectiveness pertain to the findings of lab-based research.
Kowa representatives did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The company, working with Kitasato University based in Tokyo, said that ivermectin has the “same antiviral effect” on all “mutant strains,” including Alpha, Delta, and Omicron. Kowa added that ivermectin suppresses invasion of the virus and inhibits its replication.
Ivermectin has been used by the World Health Organization for over 30 years to treat parasitic infections. Volunteers have distributed the drug in African countries where it has been found to be extremely effective, said the Kowa report.
However, the treatment has been mired in controversy during recent times as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, even though the drug is used in humans to treat a variety of conditions.
The FDA has refused to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) asking for details about any reports of side effects related to the use of ivermectin in treating COVID-19 while publicly denouncing its usage.
The federal government pays hospitals across the country to treat covid patients but the payment is tied to approved methods, and ivermectin is not part of the protocol.
“I have absolutely no doubt lives will be saved if human grade ivermectin was available to COVID patients,” state Rep. Leah Cushman, a Republican and also a registered nurse, told The Epoch Times about her proposed bill HB3005.
The detractors of using ivermectin have claimed that the drug is extremely dangerous. “I would never want this medication prescribed to myself or my family and would take legal action against anyone who recommended this to my loved ones,” Dr. David Levine of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center wrote in his written testimony on the bill.
Taiwan's policy U-turn to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics
At the end of the ugly and the beginning of the Tiger New Year, things in the world change rapidly. The first news I saw on the first day of the new year (1 February 2022) surprised me. Taiwan will send personnel to attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.The Republic of China (ROC) Olympic Committee stated in a press release issued on New Year's Eve that since 29 January, it has received a contact from the International Olympic Committee to provide a detailed explanation of the meaning of the Olympic Charter, requiring all national Olympic Games to comply with the Olympic Charter. Responsibilities related to participation in the Olympic Games, including participation in relevant ceremonies.
The ROC Olympic Committee also wrote that in response to the Korean version and epidemic prevention issues that were originally worried about, the International Olympic Committee understands Taiwan's doubts about the epidemic and its intentions to protect Taiwan's athletes and team members. However, the International Olympic Committee said it "will fully assist", and detailed the epidemic prevention preparations made by the National Olympic Games and the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, and will "ensure the safe holding of the Games."
The ROC Olympic Committee's press release pointed out that "based on the detailed explanations provided by the International Olympic Games several times in recent days," "the ROC Olympic Committee promised to communicate with the delegation members again, make various epidemic prevention preparations, and try their best to overcome flight difficulties. Under the principle of taking into account the maximization of epidemic prevention and team members' health, according to the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee, we will send personnel to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies."
In fact, athletes, coaches and other delegation members participate in the opening and closing ceremonies, which is understandable, and it is also a personal freedom but this move of Taiwan officials, I believe it is not only me who is surprised, many people may have lost their standard of judgment.
On 28 January, the Taiwan Sports Administration officially announced that it would not send staff to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. Lin Zhehong, deputy director of the Taiwan Sports Administration, explained that Taiwanese athletes have been training in the United States, Switzerland and other places for a long time to prepare for the Winter Olympics, and they have to adjust the time difference when flying to Beijing. In addition to the severe epidemic, from the perspective of protecting the players and allowing them to play normally, it was decided not to send personnel to the opening ceremony.
As for the closing ceremony, because the players will also take a flight back to Taiwan within a day or two after the end of the competition. On the day of the closing ceremony, most of the players have already left, so they will not participate in the closing ceremony.
Taiwan's official reason is quite sufficient and reasonable, and it also reflects the human nature of a free and democratic society. However, when the Beijing Winter Olympics were about to start, Taiwanese officials adjusted their policies and made a 180-degree U-turn.
When things go wrong, there must be a demon. Behind the Taiwan policy turn, where is this "demon"?
News (18)
Under the Olympic Games "several" pressure Taiwan was forced to turn
Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" pointed out at the beginning that Taiwan officials "turned around in response to the intervention of the International Olympic Committee." The IOC expects all teams to participate in the ceremony.
Let's go back and read the press release of the ROC Olympic Committee in Taiwan. Starting from 29 January 2022, the International Olympic Committee has "contacted" the Chinese Olympic Committee in Taiwan "several times". What we are told here is that the day after Taiwan announced that it would not participate in the opening and closing ceremonies, the International Olympic Committee "contacted" with Taiwan, and "contacted" more than once.
It can be seen from the press release of the Chinese Olympic Committee that the International Olympic Committee said in the "contact" that it "will fully assist" Taiwan's concerns about the epidemic. The International Olympic Committee claimed that the Beijing Winter Olympics had made "comprehensive" epidemic prevention preparations and could "ensure that the Games" were held safely.
I would like to ask the IOC Secretary Bach, how will you "ensure" the safety of the Games? Is it based on the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee's claim that the epidemic is still "under control"?
Huang Chun, deputy director of the Epidemic Control Office of the Beijing Winter Olympics, said today (1 February 2022) that the number of imported cases is increasing, which means that the customs' "detection technology is more accurate." He claimed that "the diagnosis of Wuhan pneumonia in the Beijing Winter Olympics is still 'controllable', so the athletes and personnel participating in the Olympics need not worry."
I believe the whole world should remember that at the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan, many experts in the CCP’s epidemic prevention once claimed that the epidemic was “preventable and controllable”. As for the infectivity of the virus, the CCP has also changed its statement several times, from the initial "no human-to-human transmission" to the later "no obvious human-to-human transmission", and then to "limited human-to-human transmission". By the time the CCP official had to admit "human-to-human transmission", the epidemic in Wuhan was out of control.
Secretary Bach may not have been infected with the CCP virus, but he should know something about the contagiousness of this virus, right? You should also have an impression of this not-so-distant history, right? But now Secretary Bach is still based on the CCP’s commitment. If it wasn’t for the fact that there was a problem with Secretary Bach’s thinking, then it must be a trick with the CCP that cannot be clearly stated. Otherwise, he would not contact Taiwan “several times” and ask Taiwan to send personnel to participate in the opening ceremony. Closing ceremony.
In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Secretary Bach is cooperating with the masters in Beijing and exerting pressure on Taiwan, forcing Taiwan to change its policies.
News (19)
Politics dwarfs Taiwan, the ROC Olympic Committee are embarrassed
As we all know, the Taiwan Sports Administration announced a month ago that it would not participate in the opening and closing ceremonies. There is a reason for this. As for the epidemic situation and jet lag, these are only some of the factors. The real main reason is the CCP's bullying of Taiwan.
On 26 January 2022, the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Communist Party of China, Zhu Fenglian, announced that a group of 17 members of the "Chinese Taipei" delegation had registered for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council refuted that day and "will never accept" the CCP's dwarfing. He also pointed out that the CCP "should not use political factors to interfere with sports, or take the opportunity to suppress or undermine our (Taiwan) status".
On 28 January 2022, Taiwan officials officially announced that they would not send staff to attend the opening and closing ceremonies. A person familiar with the matter disclosed that Taiwan is worried that the CCP may arrange for Taiwanese athletes to enter the stadium with Hong Kong athletes, intending to lower Taiwan's status.
Looking at the previous Olympic Games, no matter which country Taiwan participated in, the name used was "China Taiwan". Zhu Fenglian uses "Chinese Taipei" as the name, although it is a one-word difference, but it is obviously deliberately "dwarfing" and deliberately creating the illusion of the CCP's "one China".
However, the MAC pointed out that Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China, and the two sides of the strait are not subordinate to each other. The CCP's dwarfing and united front approach will not only fail to achieve any results, but will instead increase Taiwanese people's dislike of the CCP.
In fact, it is impossible for Bach and the International Olympic Committee not to be ignorant of these situations. At least they should know the sensitivity of cross-strait relations. Under normal circumstances, the International Olympic Committee would not be involved too deeply. It contacted Taiwan "several times" and asked to send personnel to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies.
Judging from the abnormal move of the International Olympic Committee, it is clear that Secretary Bach is cooperating with the masters in Beijing to put pressure on Taiwan. The meaning of the so-called "Olympic Charter" requires all countries to fulfill relevant responsibilities in accordance with the Charter. This is just a euphemism for Taiwan, and it is leaving a slight side to Secretary Bach.
Think about it, if the International Olympic Committee really implements the "Olympic Charter", why doesn't it "several" contact the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania and other countries that openly and diplomatically boycotted the Beijing Winter Olympics? Why not "several" contact with Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Latvia who did not send government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics because of the epidemic? Why not "several" contact with Estonia, which did not send government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics for political reasons, and why not "several" contact with Japan, which did not send government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics?
Obviously, none of these countries sent government officials to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Although some countries did not explicitly say that it was a "diplomatic boycott", the effect was the same. In fact, it is a diplomatic boycott in another way, which is well known.
I ask the International Olympic Committee, why not put pressure on these countries? Don't you dare? Do you see the CCP's continuous suppression of Taiwan, and feel that the CCP is very powerful, and it is also threatening and intimidating Taiwan? This approach can only allow people to see the hideousness of the IOC, and also to see the IOC carrying the CCP on its back.
News (20)
Soros makes surprising prediction that Xi Jinping may not be re-elected
For the past two days, we have been saying that Chinese people are all lucky during the Chinese New Year and pay attention to having a good luck. But the famous financial tycoon Soros made a prediction to Xi Jinping on New Year's Eve (January 31), which the Chinese attach great importance to. He believes that Xi Jinping may not be re-elected as widely expected at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The 91-year-old Soros told an event hosted by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University that Xi wanted to elevate himself to the status of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, Bloomberg reported but there is "strong opposition" within the CCP, and the moment "choreographed" by Xi "may never happen".
Soros pointed out that Xi Jinping faces at least four major threats, including the real estate crisis, the CCP virus epidemic, enemies within the CCP, and the declining birth rate in China, all of which are quite unfavorable factors for him.
The world-renowned billionaire believes a fight is brewing over Mr. Xi's management of the economy and the containment of the outbreak, which could lead to his ouster. He said the CCP's internal divisions were "so acute that they were reflected in various partisan publications." “Xi Jinping is being attacked by those who are inspired by Deng Xiaoping and want to see a greater role for private business.”
Soros also said a struggling real estate market, seen as the main engine of China's economic growth, would also be bad for Xi's re-election bid. The current model is "unsustainable," and he predicts that Chinese citizens, who invest most of their savings in real estate, will oppose Xi.
If you change the leader of the Communist Party of China, China will become better. The idea is good, but it is not realistic. There is no doubt that the CCP is the devil. So, whoever is the party leader, the devil is still the devil. It has changed its leader, and the CCP cannot improve it, nor can it change its bloodthirsty nature. Whoever is the leader of the Communist Party of China will continue to torment the people and harm their lives.
If the Chinese want to live a free life and live with dignity like normal people, they can only overthrow the CCP regime and completely disintegrate the CCP. When the evil spirit of communism is freed from possession, China will definitely be full of vitality, and the Chinese people will have real freedom and live a normal life.
Soros believes that the question now is whether Xi will use the necessary tools to rebuild confidence. He noted that "the second quarter of 2022 will show whether he is successful", but "the current situation is not optimistic for Xi Jinping."
This judgment of Soros is quite astonishing. He believes that Xi Jinping may not get a third term. This is not good news for Xi Jinping, who is striving for re-election, and it can even be said that he encountered a big bad luck on the first day of the new year.
In addition, this is also different from the judgment of many people, so it is estimated that many observers will be deeply surprised. Earlier, it was widely believed that Xi Jinping, who had already controlled the three major powers of the party, government and army, could use his power to settle all factions, and then successfully re-elected at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, or even ruled for life.
On the face of it, Xi Jinping appears to have consolidated power and crowded out potential challengers, Bloomberg said. So many observers have concluded that Xi Jinping will easily extend his term in power and continue to rule China through the Communist Party.
However, Soros believes that Xi Jinping faces at least four major threats that will lead to Xi Jinping's resignation. I do not know if Soros's judgment is factional because he has always been close to Jiang Zemin's faction, and some people even pointed out that Soros is Jiang Zemin's. So I have no way of knowing whether he made a rational judgment that Xi Jinping could not be re-elected, or whether it was a factional curse.
If Soros's prediction is factional, that is, if he is speaking from the perspective of Jiang Zemin's faction, it may be out of jealousy, or a curse on Xi Jinping. Curse him to step down during the Chinese New Year, which is most prized by the Chinese. If it is caused by this factor, then his statement need not be taken seriously, just listen to it.
If his judgment is not factional, that is, if Soros makes a rational prediction that Xi Jinping cannot be re-elected, then he really needs to pay attention. After all, Soros is a successful businessman. His perspective on problems and the depth of his understanding of problems may be somewhat different from ordinary people.
In fact, at least around the same time that Soros made this point, there was a piece of news worth noting.
News (21)
Peking University slaps Zhongnanhai in the face of the United States and China decoupling China is very miserable
Yesterday (January 31), the Institute of International and Strategic Studies of Peking University released a report comparing who would be worse off after the decoupling of science and technology between the United States and China. The research and analysis results of Peking University may make many people unhappy, and Zhongnanhai will be very busy this year.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, researchers at Peking University compared the development of China and the United States in competing fields such as information technology, artificial intelligence and aerospace. It turns out that, both at the technical level and at the industrial level, it is China that suffers the most.
In fact, if the US and China are decoupling technology, this kind of damage will exist on both sides, but the damage will be large and small. The report pointed out that "China has paid a higher price", especially in key technology fields such as chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence, and a consensus on decoupling has been formed.
According to the report, although China is in a leading position in some small fields, it lags behind in other fields, and even falls into a vacuum state and encounters development bottlenecks. For example, in terms of information technology, China's economy has suffered a "huge shock", but it has no obvious impact on the United States.
In terms of artificial intelligence, China is "far behind the United States." According to the report, China only started to cultivate talents in the field of artificial intelligence three years ago, but American universities have already cultivated such students.
The Peking University report pointed out a problem that cannot be ignored. Only 34% of China's top AI talents stay in the country to work, and 56% have moved to the United States. For Chinese citizens studying in the United States, 88% chose to stay there, and only 10% returned to China. Among these 10%, "Chinese scientists in the artificial intelligence industry" are not included.
As for the aerospace technology that the CCP is still boasting about, the Peking University Research Institute pointed out that aerospace and aerospace technology are the areas where the United States and China have the least cooperation and dependence. However, China is still at a disadvantage in the civil aviation sector, which is highly dependent on the commercial market. China relies heavily on the United States and other Western countries to buy aircraft or core components.
The researchers also reminded in the report that while the U.S. and China are decoupling technology, the U.S. is also taking a stab at the bottom line. The United States is forming a technology alliance for democracy, and it wants to completely isolate the CCP. It is very difficult for China to import key components from other countries, acquire advanced technology, or even attract talents.
The Institute of Strategic Studies of Peking University is a think tank of the Chinese Communist Party. Since its establishment in 2005, it has been providing decision-making consulting services to the Chinese government at all levels and Chinese and foreign enterprises. Because of the special nature of this institute, its report is authoritative.
As we all know, the decoupling of science and technology between the United States and China is one of the specific manifestations of the confrontation between the United States and China. This is due to the fact that the CCP has implemented unethical trade policies in its trade with the United States for decades, which eventually triggered the US-China trade war, which in turn led to the decoupling of the United States and China in many areas.
The views of Peking University's report are obviously contrary to Beijing's leaders. It is equivalent to the CCP's think tank facing Zhongnanhai, and it is the result of various wrong governance.
Think about it, at a time when the Chinese Communist Party is in the midst of the Daxing Literary Prison, how could Peking University be so daring to use the form of a report to point out the problem of Zhongnanhai? It is likely that someone is behind it and supports them in doing so.
Just like the internal divisions within the CCP mentioned by Soros, they have reached a very “sharp” level and are “reflected in various partisan publications.”
From this perspective, will everyone agree with Soros' prediction? Under such circumstances, can Xi Jinping continue to be re-elected?
Speaking of which, I remembered that some netizens left a message for us, "New Year's Eve, get rid of habit, get rid of bad habits". By the way, I will respond to the comments of netizens. I guess netizens may hope that the CCP will change its leader, and then China may get better.
I don't know if netizens think this way, if so, I feel a little naive. In my opinion, whether or not Xi Jinping is re-elected makes no difference to the Chinese people. As long as the CCP still rules China, it will be difficult for the Chinese to change the fate of the leeks that have been exploited and squeezed, and the fact that they have been brutally murdered.
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