MIT: No need to panic about COVID-19 ‘variants’

May 17, 2021

‘The virus hasn’t fundamentally changed’

New variants of the COVID-19 – including a fourth blamed for a surge of infections in India – have raised concerns worldwide that vaccines may be rendered ineffective, restoring lockdowns.

The World Health Organization’s lead coronavirus adviser, Maria Van Kerkhove, has warned of evidence suggesting variants first identified in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil display “increased transmissibility.”

But a prominent virologist cited in an article published by MIT Technology Review affirms the conclusion of other researchers that “the virus hasn’t fundamentally changed,” reports PJ Media’s Stephen Kruiser.

The scientist is Kartik Chandran of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Another virologist, Thomas Friedrich of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, said vaccines may become less effective over time, but there’s no evidence the world is on the brink of catastrophe.

“I don’t think that there’s an imminent danger that we’re going to go back to square one,” he said. “We should be concerned, but not freaked out.”

The MIT Technology Review article is titled “Five reasons why you don’t need to panic about coronavirus variants.”

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Major church looks to kill saying ‘husband and wife’ at weddings

May 17, 2021

Officials exploring use of absurd replacement

The general assembly of the Church of Scotland soon will be reviewing a plan to drop the terms “husband and wife” from its marriage ceremonies.

It’s that sometimes, well, these days there’s no husband, or wife, because the church is planning to dive headlong into affirming same-sex duos.

The Christian Institute described the plan as “radical,” and noted later this month the leaders of the religious organization will consider a specific plan to kill references to “husband and wife.”

Three years ago, the church’s leaders approved a plan 345-170 to have the Legal Questions Committee suggest new language.

Currently, the church’s marriage ceremonies explain, “the parties covenant together to take each other as husband and wife as long as they both shall live, and the minister declares the parties to be husband and wife.”

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Bitcoin still on track to $100K despite growing risks

May 17, 2021

The world’s most prominent cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has the potential to reach $100,000 in the current bull cycle despite the growing uncertainty and volatility, says Lyn Alden, the founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy.

“We are seeing a lot of froth throughout the industry,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, referring to the latest rally of several meme coins such as Dogecoin. “Those are kind of warning signs for the cycle,” Alden added.

With the bull run slowing down and the growing risks of a correction, it makes sense for some investors to take some money off the table and put it into some other assets, Alden explained. “For people who would have trouble with drawdowns or periods of volatility, it can make sense to rebalance.”

Alden said she remains bullish on the strong fundamentals of the bitcoin network: “I have a pretty high conviction on it. And so, I’m fine with maintaining a pretty large position.”

Despite a number of altcoins outperforming bitcoin this year, it is nowhere near losing its leading position in the crypto market. Most altcoins didn’t manage to sustain the same degree of growth throughout multiple business cycles, Alden added.

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40,000 Illegal ‘Got-Aways’ Crossed the Border in April

May 17, 2021

Last month, there were more than 173,000 illegal aliens detained at our southern border. If they were unaccompanied children, they were allowed to stay in a DHS shelter for a few days until room opened in another shelter run by HHS. If they were families with children, they got even luckier. Chances are very good they were released into the United States with a slip of paper with a court date written on it.

But in addition to those detained, there were at least 40,000 “got aways” at the border. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) revealed the shocking fact at a Senate hearing this past week and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not dispute it.

A “known got away” is “an unlawful border crosser who is directly or indirectly observed making an unlawful entry into the United States” who is not apprehended and who does not turn back into Mexico.

Once they get a few miles from the border, these got-aways are pretty much free and clear of any border patrol action.

Of course, that number doesn’t include the thousands of illegals who enter the U.S. completely under the radar. Earlier this month, police pulled over a semi truck carrying 50 illegals and the passengers scooted away. Most of them were eventually caught but how many semi-trucks coming over the border every month with illegals make it through without being detected? There are a dozen ways that coyotes bring their customers across the border and avoid detection. That 40,000 number is only a fraction of the got-aways.

Center for Immigration Studies:

These aren’t people who are seeking asylum (if they were, they would turn themselves in). Rather, as Portman put it: “We have no idea who these individuals are.” As saliently, the United States and DHS have no idea where they are from, where they are going, or what their intentions are.
Keep in mind that the more than 40,000 got-aways in April were in addition to more than 173,000 migrants that agents at the Southwest border did apprehend last month, a 21-year high.
And, to give you some perspective, the more than 40,000 got-aways last month are almost as many aliens as Border Patrol actually did apprehend at the Southwest border in the first three full months — February to April — of the Trump administration (February to April 2017, 42,076), combined.

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U.S. Withdraws 120 Troops From Israel

May 17, 2021

The U.S. has decided to withdraw 120 troops from Israel amid the increase of violence throughout the region involving an abundance of rocket exchanges.

The Pentagon announced the news on Thursday, citing recent missile strikes and lack of commercial flights as catalysts for the decision. Pentagon officials have said the move was ordered out of extreme caution.

U.S. military troops were in Israel for an upcoming military exercise, but have since been flown into Germany to await their impending journey home. The withdrawal comes days after Israel announced they had deployed ground forces near the Gaza Strip to quell the violence between Israel and Palestine.

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DHS Cybersecurity Chief: More Ransomware Attacks Coming

May 17, 2021

Acting director of the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency Brandon Wales warned lawmakers that more ransomware attacks are on the horizon. In an appearance before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday, Wales cited the SolarWinds hack last year which he said should have acted as a wake-up call to the danger that was to come.

This after the Colonial Pipeline was shut down earlier this month after a suspected Russian ransomware attack blocked its computer systems sending gas prices soaring across the Southeastern U.S.

“Cyber attacks on our nation’s infrastructure are growing more sophisticated, frequent and aggressive. Wales voiced his concerns stating, “malicious cyber actors today are dedicating time and resources towards researching, stealing and exploiting vulnerabilities…using more complex attacks to avoid detection and developing new techniques to target information and communications in supply chains.”

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