ANOTHER BOGUS RUSSIAN WAR SCARE
By Paul Robinson | IRRUSIANALITY | November 12, 2021
I have had a couple more pieces published in RT in the last two days. One concerns the probably temporary closure of the Kyiv Post and why it seems to have provoked immense outrage whereas the previous shutting down of Russian-language Ukrainian media outlets did not. The other responds to a letter of resignation sent by Russian liberal journalist Konstantin [von] Eggert [MBE] to the Chatham House think tank in protest the institute’s decision to give an award to a BLM activist. I use this an opportunity to delve into different Russian and Western conceptions of rights and freedoms. You can read these here and here.
For this post, though, I intend to tackle another topic, which follows on naturally from my last one. In that, I mocked the idea being floated around in some circles that Russia was behind the Belarus-EU migrant crisis and somehow using it as a provocation for further aggressive action, including maybe a military assault on the ‘Suwalki Gap’.
As we now know from Bloomberg, this theory is nonsense: Russia has no intention of invading Poland, it’s planning to invade Ukraine instead. Or so say ‘American officials’, and as we all know you can trust their judgement 100%.
According to Bloomberg:
“The U.S. is raising the alarm with European Union allies that Russia may be weighing a potential invasion of Ukraine as tensions flare between Moscow and the bloc over migrants and energy supplies.
With Washington closely monitoring a buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, U.S. officials have briefed EU counterparts on their concerns over a possible military operation, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
… The assessments are believed to be based on information the U.S. hasn’t yet shared with European governments, which would have to happen before any decision is made on a collective response, the people said. They’re backed up by publicly-available evidence, according to officials familiar with the administration’s thinking.
… Russia has orchestrated the migrant crisis between Belarus and Poland and the Baltic states — Lithuania and Latvia share a border with Belarus — to try to destabilize the region, two U.S. administration officials said. U.S. concerns about Russian intentions are based on accumulated evidence and trends that carry echoes of the run-up to Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, another administration official said.
… Some analysts argue that Putin may believe now is the time to halt Ukraine’s closer embrace with the West before it progresses any further.
“What seems to have changed is Russia’s assessment of where things are going,” said Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. “They seem to have concluded that unless they do something, the trend lines are heading to Russia losing Ukraine.”
According to defense-intelligence firm Janes, the recent Russian deployment has been covert, often taking place at night and carried out by elite ground units, in contrast to the fairly open buildup in the spring.
Let’s take a look at all this. We have some statements from three anonymous officials, based on “publicly available information” (none of which I have seen that points to an imminent invasion) and some sort of secret information that the US hasn’t shared with anybody and so can’t be assessed. Now call me a sceptic, but unverifiable information from anonymous sources doesn’t sound like something very solid to me.
Beyond that, if the final lines from Janes are correct, we have a deployment of “elite ground units,” but you can’t invade a foreign country just using “elite” units, let alone a country the size of Ukraine. You’d need a massive build-up of a very considerable volume of rank-and-file line units. So, the actual evidence presented doesn’t fit the scenario portrayed.
As for Mr Charap’s statement that “They seem to have concluded that unless they do something, the trend lines are heading to Russia losing Ukraine,” I have yet to see any indication of this. Quite the contrary. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s recent comment that Russia should do “nothing” about Ukraine and simply wait until the Ukrainians come to their senses, points to an entirely different conclusion. We are “patient,” said Medvedev, who is Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, and so one imagines, well versed in what is in people’s minds at the highest level. His comments hardly suggest that senior officials are thinking that radical action is urgently required.
The fact that American “officials” are briefing the press that war is possible, and that analysts from the RAND Corporation are backing them up, speaks to an awful lack of understanding of things Russian in the United States. The fact that Bloomberg then repeats these claims without serious challenge points also to a disturbing lack of critical thinking on behalf of the American press (no surprise there!), as well as reinforcing what academic studies of the media have long since noted – its worrisome dependence on official sources.
The only part of the Bloomberg article that gives readers a real sense of what’s going on comes in the following lines, which say:
Russia doesn’t intend to start a war with Ukraine now, though Moscow should show it’s ready to use force if necessary, one person close to the Kremlin said. An offensive is unlikely as Russian troops would face public resistance in Kyiv and other cities, but there is a plan to respond to provocations from Ukraine, another official said.
This strikes me as accurate. There is absolutely no reason for Russia to start a war with Ukraine. It would be enormously costly and bring no obvious benefits. Besides which, war needs careful advance preparation of public opinion. There have been absolutely no indications of the Kremlin doing anything of the sort. That said, as I have noted before, I have little doubt that if Ukraine launched a major attack on the rebel regions of Donbass, and if large numbers of civilians were killed as a result (as would be most likely), Russia would respond. And its response would likely be very tough, much tougher than it was in August 2014 when it very briefly sent a limited number of forces into Donbass to defeat the Ukrainians at Ilovaisk. If there is a Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s likely to be large-scale, to settle the issue once and for all.
All this talk of war is therefore rather dangerous. It helps to ramp up tensions on Russia’s borders, and also serves to justify a build-up by NATO forces in the region. That in turn may send the wrong messages to Ukraine and encourage it to act rashly. Fortunately, I don’t think that things will go that far, but I do think that “American officials” and the press are playing with fire. They would be well advised to stop. Unfortunately, one gets the impression that their lack of knowledge and understanding makes that impossible. Sad times indeed.
Biden’s vaccine mandate fails ‘reality & common sense’ check, judge rules
FILE PHOTO. © Reuters / Evelyn Hockstein
RT | November 13, 2021
A US federal appeals court has again ruled against President Joe Biden’s national vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more workers, shredding the policy as “staggeringly overbroad” and an abuse of “extraordinary power.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stark rebuke to Biden’s vaccine requirement for larger American companies in a ruling on Friday, stating that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – the federal agency tapped to enforce the mandate – was not created to “make sweeping pronouncements on matters of public health affecting every member of society in the profoundest of ways.”
“The Mandate is staggeringly overbroad,” Judge Kurt Engelhardt said, noting that it does not take into account the diversity of workplaces across the country, nor the fact that Covid-19 “is more dangerous to some employees than to other employees.” As an example, he compared a hypothetical 28-year-old truck driver who works in isolation to a “62-year-old prison janitor” employed in more cramped conditions.
“One constant remains – the Mandate fails almost completely to address, or even respond to, much of this reality and common sense.”
The Biden administration initially announced the requirement in September, with OSHA following up earlier this month with an emergency order to enforce the mandate. The agency will require all workers at firms with more than 100 employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by early next year, or else test for the virus regularly and wear masks at all times while working.
The appeals court issued its first stay on November 6 after a litany of plaintiffs – including a number of companies and several US states – challenged the move, conducting an expedited judicial review. Friday’s ruling reaffirmed the pause, telling OSHA to “take no steps to implement or enforce the Mandate until further court order.” Despite the first stay, the White House has continued to urge businesses to follow the vaccine dictate and effectively ignore the ruling, potentially setting up a battle in the Supreme Court.
While OSHA does have the power to issue what’s known as an “emergency temporary standard,” or ETS, the judge observed that only a single standard has survived legal scrutiny since the agency was founded in the 1970s.
“The reason for the rarity of this form of emergency action is simple,” Engelhardt went on, adding that courts and OSHA itself have agreed “for generations” that such orders constitute “extraordinary power” which must be “delicately exercised, and only in those emergency situations which require it.”
“The Mandate at issue here is anything but a ‘delicate exercise’ of this ‘extraordinary power.’”
School Districts in California Defy Newsom’s Edict to Inject Students with Pfizer Shots – Willing to Give Up State Funding
By Brian Shilhavy | Health Impact News | November 12, 2021
Finally, some sanity in an insane world that believes it is OK to abuse children and attempt to murder them with experimental Pfizer COVID-19 shots!
In an unanimous 5 to 0 vote, the Calaveras Unified School District (CUSD) in Calaveras County, California, has decided to defy Governor Newsom’s command to inject their students with Pfizer’s shots, no matter what the cost.
They are the second school district in the County to do so, and apparently other school districts in the State of California are considering similar measures.
At a Calaveras Unified School District (CUSD) board meeting Tuesday night, the board voted 5-0 against upholding the state-issued COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and staff.
The five board members voted on an action put forth by board member Bryan Porath to “not enforce, support, or comply” with the mandate, which requires all students and school staff to be vaccinated by July of next year, following FDA approval of the vaccine for the child’s specific age group.
CUSD is Calaveras County’s largest school district and includes Calaveras High School, five elementary schools and one middle school.
This decision follows after the Mark Twain Union Elementary School District became the first in the county to vote against enforcing the mandate last week.
Some school districts throughout the state have similarly expressed concerns or pledged not to uphold the mandate, including districts in Apple Valley and Happy Valley, with one school board member in Temecula Valley resigning to avoid getting vaccinated, though it is undetermined whether the state rules apply to school board members.
A theme of solidarity and mutual support was echoed throughout comments from concerned parents, teachers, and school board trustees. Two fourth grade students from Valley Springs Elementary also rose to the podium, to ask the board to consider their feelings about the mandate. (Source.)
The school board had previously announced their rejection of the mandate and their intention to hold a vote on the issue in a letter to families and staff on November 4, as they announced there may be consequences from the State of California for defying the vaccine mandate.
The board is aware of the potential impacts on the district in terms of possible liability exposure, funding loss, other formal actions that can be taken against the district in response—and they understand the Superintendent’s recommendation for mandate compliance based upon these potential consequences—but they feel strong in their individual positions on this topic, as expressed on October 19th and as will be discussed on November 9th, when their vote will determine the position and direction of the district on this matter.
The school board’s action also defied the Superintendent’s recommendation, who apparently stands to potentially lose financially. Perhaps his job is on the line?
Prior to voting, Superintendent Mark Campbell advised the board that based on liability and the risks associated with going against the state-issued mandate—including “fall back from unions” and OSHA, state and local public health orders, and potentially losing Covid-related funding—he would recommend that the district remain in compliance with the state’s rules. Campbell advised that the district “stand(s) to lose students and staff on either end.”
One commenter from the audience told the board:
“I am so proud of you guys. I am so proud to be in Calaveras County, and I am so proud that we are united. I’m so proud. I know It takes a lot of courage to take a stand like this. I’m so proud of each one of you, and I’m so proud of all of us. … We’re gonna have your back.” Applause and a shout of “we got your back” echoed the sentiment throughout the room.
VAERS COVID Vaccine Data Show Surge in Reports of Serious Injuries, as 5-Year-Olds Start Getting Shots
By Megan Redshaw | The Defender | November 12, 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data today showing a total of 875,653 adverse events following COVID vaccines were reported between Dec. 14, 2020, and Nov. 5, 2021, to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). VAERS is the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S.
The data included a total of 18,461 reports of deaths — an increase of 383 over the previous week, and 135,400 reports of serious injuries, including deaths, during the same time period — up 7,943 compared with the previous week.
Excluding “foreign reports” to VAERS, 643,957 adverse events, including 8,456 deaths and 53,780 serious injuries, were reported in the U.S. between Dec. 14, 2020, and Nov. 5, 2021.
Foreign reports are reports received by U.S. manufacturers from their foreign subsidiaries. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, if a manufacturer is notified of a foreign case report that describes an event that is both serious and does not appear on the product’s labeling, the manufacturer is required to submit the report to VAERS.
Of the 8,456 U.S. deaths reported as of Nov. 5, 10% occurred within 24 hours of vaccination, 15% occurred within 48 hours of vaccination and 26% occurred in people who experienced an onset of symptoms within 48 hours of being vaccinated.
In the U.S., 427.6 million COVID vaccine doses had been administered as of Nov. 5. This includes: 250 million doses of Pfizer, 162 million doses of Moderna and 16 million doses of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
Every Friday, VAERS publicizes vaccine injury reports received as of a specified date. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before a causal relationship can be confirmed. Historically, VAERS has been shown to report only 1% of actual vaccine adverse events.
Numbers this week do not yet include reports from the authorization of Pfizer’s pediatric COVID vaccine for the 5 to 11 age group. Reports currently in VAERS for children under 12 are due to ”product administered to patient of inappropriate age.”
During a meeting on Oct. 26, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine panel, Dr. Jessica Rose, a viral immunologist and biologist, said tens of thousands of reports have been submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System for children ages 0 to 18, and that 60 children have died — 23 of them were under 2 years old.
“It is disturbing to note that “product administered to patients of inappropriate age was filed 5,510 times in this age group,” Rose said. Two children were inappropriately injected, presumably by a trained medical professional, and subsequently died. This is malfeasance.”
This week’s U.S. data for 12- to 17-year-olds show:
- 22,782 total adverse events, including 1,400 rated as serious and 29 reported deaths. Two of the 29 deaths were suicides.
The most recent death includes a 17-year-old female from Washington (VAERS ID 1828901) who reportedly died Oct. 29 from a heart condition after receiving her second dose of Pfizer. According to the VAERS report, the girl had COVID in August and fully recovered. She received her first dose of Pfizer on Sept. 3 and her second dose on Sept 15.
On Oct. 23, she presented to the ER with chest pain and elevated troponin. She had an abnormal echocardiogram, abnormal EKG and became increasingly tachycardic. She then suffered cardiac arrest.
“Unfortunately she was not able to be resuscitated and died,” the report states. “Cause of death possible acute myocarditis.”
Other deaths include a 12-year-old girl from South Carolina (VAERS I.D. 1784945) who hemorrhaged 22 days after receiving Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, a 13-year-old girl from Maryland (VAERS I.D. 1815096) who died from a heart condition 15 days after receiving her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine and a 17-year-old female from Texas (VAERS I.D. 1815295 who experienced an acute hyperglycemic crisis 33 days after being vaccinated.
- 59 reports of anaphylaxis among 12- to 17-year-olds where the reaction was life-threatening, required treatment or resulted in death — with 96% of cases
attributed to Pfizer’s vaccine. - 552 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (heart inflammation) with 542 cases attributed to Pfizer’s vaccine.
- 131 reports of blood clotting disorders, with all cases attributed to Pfizer.
This week’s U.S. VAERS data, from Dec. 14, 2020, to Nov. 5, 2021, for all age groups combined, show:
- 19% of deaths were related to cardiac disorders.
- 54% of those who died were male, 42% were female and the remaining death reports did not include gender of the deceased.
- The average age of death was 72.7.
- As of Nov. 5, 4,260 pregnant women reported adverse events related to COVID vaccines, including 1,337 reports of miscarriage or premature birth.
- Of the 3,123 cases of Bell’s Palsy reported, 51% were attributed to Pfizer vaccinations, 41% to Moderna and 8% to J&J.
- 723 reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), with 41% of cases attributed to Pfizer, 30% to Moderna and 28% to J&J.
- 2,093 reports of anaphylaxis where the reaction was life-threatening, required treatment or resulted in death.
- 10,857 reports of blood clotting disorders. Of those, 4,790 reports were attributed to Pfizer, 3,864 reports to Moderna and 2,149 reports to J&J.
- 3,071 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis with 1,922 cases attributed to Pfizer, 1,016 cases to Moderna and 123 cases to J&J’s COVID vaccine.
Teen diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome After COVID Vaccine
A 17-year-old girl was hospitalized for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) — a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its nerves — after receiving a COVID vaccine. Shelby Allen said she’s thankful she isn’t paralyzed and didn’t die.
Allen started experiencing back pain and tingling in her arms after getting vaccinated. Symptoms progressed until she found herself unable to feel her arms and legs while bowling with her school’s team. Allen’s parents took her to the doctor in Jackson, Tennessee, where she was diagnosed with GBS and admitted to the ICU.
Allen’s doctor “knew right off the bat” her reaction was caused by a COVID vaccine, but still recommended people get vaccinated. Allen is hoping she’ll be able to walk by March for her high school graduation.
Taiwan temporarily halts second dose of Pfizer over myocarditis concerns
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Wednesday a panel of experts is suspending second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID vaccine for children 12 to 17 years old amid concerns it may increase the risk of myocarditis.
Cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) have been reported in children between 12 and 17 years old who received Pfizer’s vaccine.
CECC cited U.S. statistics which show the risk of experiencing heart inflammation after receiving a second dose is 10 times higher than after the first dose.
Chen Shih-chung, who heads up the CECC, said the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices halted second doses of Pfizer for two weeks, during which time experts and CDC physicians will assess 16 cases of myocarditis among adolescents after Pfizer vaccination before making a decision on whether to go ahead with the second dose.
Hong Kong gives only a single dose to teens 12 to 17, while the UK recommends only one shot for children between ages 12 and 18.
More countries restrict Moderna vaccine over reports of myocarditis
France’s public health authority recommended people under 30 receive Pfizer’s COVID vaccine instead of Moderna, due to higher risks of heart problems in young adults, Reuters reported.
The Haute Autorite de Sante (HAS), an independent advisor to the French health sector, cited “very rare” risks linked to myocarditis, confirmed by a French study published Monday.
“Within the population aged under 30, this risk appears to be around five times lesser with Pfizer’s Comirnaty jab compared to Moderna’s Spikevax jab,” HAS said.
Germany’s advisory committee, known as STIKO, said on Wednesday people under age 30 should receive only Pfizer’s vaccine, as it causes fewer cases of heart inflammation in younger people. STIKO also recommended pregnant women receive only the Pfizer vaccine, regardless of their age.
The recommendations were based on new safety data from the Paul Ehrlich Institute — Germany’s authority in charge of vaccines, and new data.
The decision came after several other countries restricted the use of Moderna to older populations, including Canada, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. France’s medical regulator on Oct. 15 recommended using only Pfizer’s vaccine for booster shots, despite the European Union’s drug regulator last month approving Moderna’s booster for all age groups over 18.
Pfizer asks FDA to authorize third booster dose for all people 18 and older
As The Defender reported Nov. 10, Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the FDA to authorize a third dose of their COVID vaccine for all people 18 and older, even though advisory panels to the FDA and CDC in September overwhelmingly rejected a similar request.
The companies said their new request is based on the results of a study, conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has not been published or peer-reviewed. The companies said the study of more than 10,000 volunteers showed vaccine efficacy against symptomatic infection of 95% or greater for people receiving the booster.
Pfizer did not disclose how many participants experienced asymptomatic infection, or whether the clinical trial — as did Pfizer’s clinical trial for 5 to 11 years olds — included individuals with natural immunity acquired from previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Children’s Health Defense asks anyone who has experienced an adverse reaction, to any vaccine, to file a report following these three steps.
Megan Redshaw is a freelance reporter for The Defender. She has a background in political science, a law degree and extensive training in natural health.
© 2021 Children’s Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Children’s Health Defense, Inc. Want to learn more from Children’s Health Defense? Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Children’s Health Defense. Your donation will help to support us in our efforts.
EU Official Calls US Warships Near Russia’s Coast “Clearly” An Unncessary “Provocation”
By Tyler Durden | Zero Hedge | November 12, 2021
An EU official has made surprising remarks this week, evaluating the presence of a pair of large US warships in the Black Sea. French member of the European Parliament Thierry Mariani slammed ongoing naval exercises by the USS Porter and USS Whitney as “clearly a provocation” by Washington.
“The presence of the ‘Mount Whitney’, flagship of the US Sixth Fleet and the USS Porter in the Black Sea, as well as the NATO naval maneuvers, are clearly a provocation of Russia,” Mariani said.
He issued the statements in an interview to Russia’s Sputnik : “Can you imagine what the American reaction would be if the Russian navy organized maneuvers in international waters off the American coast, near Washington DC?” he questioned.
The statements come as both US and Ukrainian officials, as well as Romanian leaders and other Black Sea NATO members, have urged a greater US military presence on the Black Sea, citing “Russian aggression.”
On renewed tensions over Ukraine, coming two weeks after Kiev officials accused the Kremlin of building up troops near Donbass and in the Crimea area, the French official said:
“This is very serious and could push Ukrainian politicians, the culprits of this widespread corruption, into a headlong rush action, for example into a hazardous military offensive in Donbass or an armed provocation of Russia in the Black Sea.”
And on NATO encroachment in eastern Europe and around the Black Sea, he said:
“NATO should have been dismantled at the same time as the Warsaw Pact was suppressed in the last century and the present expansion, and projection by NATO of military forces to the whole world is very alarming.”
The statements appeared to back provocative statements made days ago by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who said, “This is an almost constant attempt to test us, to check how ready we are, how much we have built the entire [defense] system off the Black Sea coast.”
Russia denies US media reports that it plans to invade Ukraine
By Jonny Tickle | RT | November 12, 2021
The Kremlin has strongly denied suggestions that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine, after reports emerged that officials from the US had warned their counterparts in Europe that Moscow is considering a “military operation.”
Speaking to the press on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed the suggestion as groundless.
“This is not the first publication and not the first statement by the US that they are concerned about the movement of our armed forces in Russia,” he said. “We have repeatedly said that the movement of our armed forces on our own territory should be of no concern to anyone. Russia poses no threat to anyone.”
Reports that Washington fears Russian aggression against Ukraine were first published by business outlet Bloomberg on Thursday. Citing unnamed sources, the news agency reported that US officials had briefed their partners in the EU over a “potential invasion,” noting that their concerns were backed by “publicly available evidence.”
“Such headlines are nothing but empty, unfounded tension build-up. Russia poses no threat to anyone,” Peskov reiterated.
The suggestion was earlier refuted by Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s first deputy ambassador to the UN, who wholly denied any plan to attack its neighbor.
“We have never planned [an invasion] and never will, unless we are provoked by Ukraine or someone else, and it is a matter of defending our national sovereignty,” he said.
Russian MP Viktor Vodolatsky also commented on the accusation, suggesting that the article is more indicative of NATO’s plan to create conflict in Ukraine.
“This is all done with only one goal: to get Ukraine involved in a war, realizing that Russia will not turn a blind eye to it,” he said. Vodolatsky is the first deputy head of the parliamentary committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots.