Christian Rock Band Skillet Won’t Play At Venues Requiring COVID Vaccinations

August 29, 2021

Christian rock band Skillet is embarking on a 23-city tour across the United States beginning September, but the band made it clear that they will not play at venues that force its performers or audiences to present proof of COVID vaccinations before allowing entry.

Skillet frontman and outspoken Christian podcaster John Cooper took to social media to share an update on the band’s decision to refuse playing at such venues.

“Because of the delta variant, a lot of venues are rethinking their policies and instituting new things. A lot of venues are instituting vaccine mandated shows where you have to have a vaccine or you can’t get into the concert,” Cooper said, as per Christian News Now. He added that playing at venues that mandate vaccines is something he and his band are “unwilling to do.”

The rest of his Skillet band members, Cooper’s wife and guitarist Korey, drummer Jen Ledger, and lead guitarist Seth Morrison are all united in the decision to refuse playing at venues requiring COVID vaccinations. Cooper said, “I know this is going to make some people happy [and] it’s going to make some people mad” but that for him, “it is a matter of conviction.”

The 46 year old Christian podcaster, author, and Skillet frontman added that the band will only be playing at concert venues that will allow non-vaccinated attendees to present a negative COVID test result to be allowed entry to the show. Cooper lamented, “I’m not going to lie to you guys. I don’t like this either. It is not ideal.”

“I know this is going to make people disappointed on all sides of the fence for all sorts of different reasons. That’s not my aim,” Cooper explained. “It’s just a really difficult time.”

The Skillet frontman said that while he wants to ensure that the fans get a great rock show, he has no intentions to disappoint people with their tour decision. He stressed that the decision will not change and that the band will not be able to please everyone.

As a Christian, Cooper has long been vocal about vaccine and mask mandates. Earlier this month, the podcaster challenged mask mandates by answering the question of whether “Jesus would wear masks” in the name of neighborly love, deflecting to say that there is so much more to be worried about than just COVID, which has killed millions all over the world. He said that totalitarianism and tyranny must not go unchecked or else it will destroy countries and civilizations.

Cooper, who has been vocal about his faith, recently talked to Loudwire about Skillet’s upcoming album, which he described as “really aggressive, it is really in your face, and I think that probably is born out of the year that we’ve had.”

The singer added that he hopes that the upcoming album would be “an encouragement to people to not be ashamed of Christ, to live your faith, live out the word of God.”

Apple CEO Receives $750 Million Payout, Begins To Dump Stock

August 29, 2021

Apple CEO Tim Cook will collect the 10th and final installment of a pay deal he received a decade ago in August 2011 when he took the reins former CEO and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in October 2011.

The latest tranche consists of 5 million shares worth $750 million, according to calculations by Bloomberg. The payout was contingent on Apple’s stock returns over the last three years, which jumped nearly 200%.

During the decade of Cook, revenue has doubled, and the share price has increased by 1,200%. The company behind the iPhone, Macbook, and iPad has a market cap of $2.4 trillion.

Last year, Cook accepted a new pay package that lasts through 2026.

But some of the gains in the stock that have made Cook eligible for billions of dollars in payouts has been due to the company’s massive stock buyback program. Apple repurchased $19 billion of stock in the 1Q21, bringing the total for the past year to $77 billion. The company recently added $90 billion to its repurchase authorization.

Meanwhile, Cook has dumped over two million shares in the last week.

Cook is dumping stock around the $148 level.

Ultra-loose monetary policy has made it possible for Apple to continue leveraging debt to buy equity which artificially raises the stock price and allows Cook to meet his target to collect his payouts.
Thanks, Powell, for enriching billionaires while wealth inequality remains at record-highs.

FBI agent tried to profit financially from knowledge of Michigan governor ‘kidnapping’ plot, defense lawyers claim

August 29, 2021

An FBI agent who helped ‘foil’ a plot to abduct Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer may have used his knowledge of the case to lend credibility to his private cyber intelligence company, newly filed court documents allege.

Attorneys for five defendants charged with attempting to kidnap the Democratic governor are seeking information about special agent Jayson Chambers, after a BuzzFeed report claimed that the FBI agent may have published tweets about the undercover operation before it was made public. The foiled kidnapping plot – allegedly hatched in retaliation against Whitmer’s Covid-19 measures – was initially used as evidence of the domestic threat posed by right-wing extremism. But the narrative began to fall apart after it was revealed that at least 12 undercover informants played major roles in the scheme, leading to allegations of entrapment.

According to BuzzFeed, a “right-wing troll” who claimed to be the CEO of Exeintel, an internet intelligence firm, appeared to tweet multiple times about the FBI’s investigation before the alleged abduction plot was thwarted. The account, @ravagiing, issued a cryptic warning (“Don’t worry Michigan I told ya A LOT more coming soon”) just hours before the FBI arrested nearly a dozen suspects in October. As it turns out, Chambers is listed as the CEO of a company called Exeintel. It’s unclear whether the FBI special agent was behind the prophetic tweets.

In a new pleading filed on Friday night, lawyers for five men accused in the kidnapping conspiracy asked for more information about special agent Chambers and his communications with an undercover informant who allegedly played a key role in organizing the plot.

“Repeated tweets sought attention and tried to show that the CEO was a valuable source of information to (paying) third parties,” the court filing claimed, referring to the social media activity linked to Chambers and his private intelligence firm.

It’s possible that the FBI may have known about Chambers’ business activities. According to BuzzFeed, FBI agents who want to own private companies or have side gigs must receive explicit permission from the bureau.

The peculiar twist comes less than a week after one of the men accused in the kidnapping plot, Ty Garbin, received a six-year sentence after pleading guilty. Garbin has agreed to act as a witness against his alleged co-conspirators.

Conservative pundits have argued that the FBI’s sting operation, which was revealed ahead of the 2020 presidential election, was heavily politicized and served to intentionally discredit Donald Trump and his supporters.

Defense counsels for the five defendants have stressed that the alleged plot would have never occurred without the FBI’s active involvement, accusing the government of essentially hatching a plot that it later foiled.

Prosecutors, however, have insisted that the defendants were “predisposed to join the kidnapping” and that their claims of entrapment were invalid.

Flooding Begins as Storm Surge, Outer Bands of Hurricane Ida Move onto Louisiana Coast

August 29, 2021

Hurricane Ida is already causing flooding in southern Louisiana as the predicted storm surge and outer rain bands move onshore. The storm is expected to push a tidal surge of up to 16 feet near the mouth of the Mississippi.

Reports and tweets from southeast Louisiana are starting to show flooding moving onto the coastal areas as a potentially “catastrophic” Hurricane Ida prepares to make landfall on Sunday.

Streets in parts of New Orleans, Louisiana are flooded as the outer bands of Hurricane Ida lash the state ahead of the storm's expected landfall.

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/WHg7bAYqqy pic.twitter.com/L4cjARU31W
— ABC News (@ABC) August 29, 2021

PM Breaking News tweeted video from Grand Isle, Louisiana, Sunday morning showing storm flooding caused by the early storm surge. It also shows the increasing winds in the area.

Breaking: Conditions are quickly deteriorating in Grand Isle, Louisiana, as Hurricane Ida approaches the area. (Video via John Humphress) pic.twitter.com/Qxx6s3OM9X
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) August 29, 2021

Currently, Weather Underground reports winds in Grand Isle at 27 miles per hour with gusts to 48. The main parts of the storm are expected to move inland later today as a major Category 4 or possibly Category 5.

BREAKING 🚨 Devastating situation in Grand Isle, Louisiana as Ida Hurricane approaches pic.twitter.com/ShRbOsMJIS
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 29, 2021

The current path of the storm is expected to bring Hurricane Ida onshore southwest of New Orleans, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports. Maximum sustained winds are currently at 150 miles per hour.

Top story: @CrockettWDSU: 'Just in from Grand Isle: 100mph wind gusts, total loss of power, only road off the island is flooded. 28 residents and 24 first responders are on Grand Isle, according to Jefferson Parish govt… pic.twitter.com/apJ6bSHVvY, see more https://t.co/vah8E2iqE6
— SQLSoS (@SQLSoS) August 29, 2021

The well-organized eye of Ida is located just off the southern coast of Louisiana and appears to be tracking toward Houma and Thibodaux. This places the city of New Orleans directly on the “dirty side” of the storm where the highest rainfall totals could occur.

Near the point of Ida’s landfall late this morning at Grand Isle LA… video from Christie Angelette pic.twitter.com/QpLit2wSSR
— James Spann (@spann) August 29, 2021

The storm moves into the area during the anniversary of 2005’s deadly Hurricane Katrina that left approximately 1,800 people dead and caused $125 billion in damages. The track of Katrina placed New Orleans on the storm’s western, or clean side. However, the storm surge and inland rains causing flooding led to the collapse of the levees and deadly flooding.

Hwy 90 in New Orleans Wast outside the levee protection. #hurricaneida pic.twitter.com/pJBRIopepP
— WXChasing (Brandon Clement) (@bclemms) August 29, 2021

Japan Pulls 1.6 Million Moderna Vaccines Over Contamination, Substance May Have Been Metal

August 29, 2021

“It’s a substance that reacts to magnets,” a Japanese Ministry of Health official said.

Japan has withdrawn 1.6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine after the Ministry of Health discovered contamination in the vials.

According to Nikkei Asia, one of Japan’s most prominent publications, Japan has pulled 1.6 million Moderna vaccines from use due to contamination. The Ministry of Health said the substance contaminating the vials may have been metal. “It’s a substance that reacts to magnets,” a ministry official said. “It could be metal.”

Takeda Pharmaceutical handles distribution of the U.S.-developed Moderna vaccine in Japan.
Nasdaq-listed Moderna confirmed receiving “several complaints of particulate matter” in vaccine vials distributed in Japan but said it had found “no safety or efficacy issues” related to these reports.
“The company is investigating the reports and remains committed to working transparently and expeditiously with its partner, Takeda, and regulators to address any potential concerns,” a Moderna spokesperson told Nikkei, saying the drugmaker believed a “manufacturing issue” at a plant in Spain was the cause.

In related news, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett recently declared that the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine “has faded against” the Delta variant, adding that people “must quickly get vaccinated with the third dose.”

National File reported that this week, Joe Biden confirmed that he is in talks with Dr. Anthony Fauci about suggesting booster shots of the controversial Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine every five months. Originally, Americans were told two shots would be all that is required, then annual boosters, then 8 month boosters, then six month boosters, and now five month boosters. Assuming the Pfizer vaccine is never cleared for children younger than 12, this would mean children born today could receive 175 shots aimed at vaccinating them against COVID-19 over the course of an average lifespan.

Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology Expanding: GAO Report

August 29, 2021

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) survey shows that at least 10 federal agencies have plans to expand their use of facial recognition technology over the next two years—a prospect that alarms privacy advocates who worry about a lack of oversight.

The GAO released the results of a survey of 24 federal agencies this week, finding that 18 of them use facial recognition technology. Fourteen of those agencies use the tech for routine activity such as unlocking agency-issued smartphones, while six reported using facial recognition software for criminal investigations and five others use the technology for surveillance, the Aug. 24 report found.

“For example, [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] reported that it used an FRT system (AnyVision) to monitor its facilities by searching live camera feeds in real-time for individuals on watchlists or suspected of criminal activity, which reduces the need for security guards to memorize these individuals’ faces,” the GAO said. “This system automatically alerts personnel when an individual on a watchlist is present.”

According to the GAO, at least 10 government agencies plan to expand their use of facial recognition technology through 2023. To do this, many agencies are turning to the private sector.

“For example, DOD’s U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations reported it began an operational pilot using Clearview AI in June 2020, which supports the agency’s counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigations,” the GAO said.

“The agency reported it already collects facial images with mobile devices to search national databases and plans to enhance searches by accessing Clearview AI’s large repository of facial images from open sources to search for matches.”

The GAO’s Aug. 24 report follows June research that focused specifically on law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology. The GAO’s June report revealed the vast troves of data held by federal law enforcers, including 836 million images held by the Department of Homeland Security alone.

The June report also revealed the lack of oversight of facial recognition technology. According to the report, 13 of the 20 federal law enforcement agencies that use the technology didn’t know what systems they use.

“For example, when we requested information from one of the agencies about its use of non- federal systems, agency officials told us they had to poll field division personnel because the information was not maintained by the agency,” the report said.

“These agency officials also told us that the field division personnel had to work from their memory about their past use of non-federal systems, and that they could not ensure we were provided comprehensive information about the agency’s use of non-federal systems.”

The lack of oversight of government’s use of surveillance technology is an issue that has drawn the attention of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. Democrats have largely focused on the racial disparities in the accuracy of facial recognition, while some Republican members have expressed concerns about domestic surveillance.

Michigan resident Robert Williams, a Black man who was wrongly arrested in January after Detroit police incorrectly identified him as a felon based on shoddy facial recognition tech, testified about these problems at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing last month.

“Why is law enforcement even allowed to use such technology when it obviously doesn’t work?” Williams said to lawmakers July 13. “I get angry when I hear companies, politicians and police talk about how this technology isn’t dangerous or flawed or say that they only use it as an investigative tool.

“If any of that was true, I wouldn’t have been arrested.”

Williams said he supports the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, which would halt the use of facial recognition technology by federal agencies until authorized by Congress. However, little action has been taken on that bill—though Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) reintroduced the legislation in June.

With inaction on the federal level, states and localities have taken to curbing the use of facial recognition technology.

For instance, the state of Washington enacted a law in March 2020 that requires government agencies to obtain a warrant to run facial recognition scans. Local jurisdictions such as Oakland, San Francisco and King County, Washington have also banned government use of the technology.

Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) support such efforts, arguing that the expansion of facial recognition technology must be halted until lawmakers can enact safeguards.

Others have cautioned against banning useful technology in the zeal to protect privacy.

“Critics miss the fact that the benefits of law enforcement use of facial recognition are well-proven—they are used today to help solve crimes, identify victims, and find witnesses—and most of the concerns about the technology remain hypothetical,” the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has argued.

“In fact, critics of the technology almost always make a ‘slippery slope’ argument about the potential threat of expanding police surveillance, rather than pointing to specific instances of harm,” said the ITIF, a largely pro-tech industry think tank. “Banning the technology now would do more harm than good.”