U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rep. Paul Gosar’s End the Vaccine Carveout Act would eliminate the general immunity vaccine manufacturers enjoy from vaccine injury civil suits under the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona introduced a bill Thursday that would end pharmaceutical companies’ shield against liability for any potential harmful effects of the vaccines they manufacture.

H.R. 9828, the End the Vaccine Carveout Act, would allow individuals to “bring a civil action against a vaccine administrator or manufacturer in a State or Federal court for damages arising from such injury or death,” according to an advance copy of the text provided to LifeSiteNews.

This would eliminate the general immunity vaccine manufacturers enjoy under the federal National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which instead establishes a compensation program for victims. Gosar’s bill allows for civil actions to be pursued regardless of whether a victim has filed a petition with the program, although ultimately receiving an award from one would invalidate a petition to the other.

“Government bureaucrats and scientists responsible for approving vaccines are in bed with Big Pharma, often owning pharmaceutical stocks, serving as consultants and receiving lucrative contracts from pharmaceutical companies that pressure them to produce favorable results which is in direct violation of federal law,” Gosar said in a press release. “Big Pharma doesn’t deserve a get-out-of-jail-free card for injuries caused by their harmful vaccines.”

The question of vaccine safety has become more mainstream in recent years due to the controversy surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines, which were developed and reviewed in a fraction of the time vaccines usually take under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative.

A large body of evidence identifies significant risks to the COVID vaccines. Among it, the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports 37,910 deaths, 217,931 hospitalizations, 21,917 heart attacks, and 28,602 myocarditis and pericarditis cases as of September 6, among other ailments. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers have recognized a “high verification rate of reports of myocarditis to VAERS after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination,” leading to the conclusion that “under-reporting is more likely” than over-reporting.

An analysis of 99 million people across eight countries published February in the journal Vaccine “observed significantly higher risks of myocarditis following the first, second and third doses” of mRNA-based COVID vaccines, as well as signs of increased risk of “pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis,” and other “potential safety signals that require further investigation.” In April, the CDC was forced to release by court order 780,000 previously undisclosed reports of serious adverse reactions, and a study out of Japan found “statistically significant increases” in cancer deaths after third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, and offered several theories for a causal link.

In Florida, an ongoing grand jury investigation into the vaccines’ manufacturers is slated to release a highly anticipated report on the shots, and a lawsuit by the state of Kansas has been filed accusing Pfizer of misrepresentation for calling the shots “safe and effective.”

Yet so far, Big Pharma has largely escaped accountability thanks to both the aforementioned 1986 law and the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005.

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the PREP Act empowers the federal government to “limit legal liability for losses relating to the administration of medical countermeasures such as diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.” Near the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, the Trump administration invoked the Act in declaring the virus a “public health emergency.”

Under this “sweeping” immunity, CRS explained, the federal government, state governments, “manufacturers and distributors of covered countermeasures,” and licensed or otherwise-authorized health professionals distributing those countermeasures are shielded from “all claims of loss” stemming from those countermeasures, with the exception of “death or serious physical injury” brought about through “willful misconduct,” a standard that, among other hurdles, requires the offender to have acted “intentionally to achieve a wrongful purpose.”

Many hope that by going after Big Pharma for misrepresentations surrounding their products rather than the products themselves, efforts like the Kansas suit can circumvent that hurdle to impose consequences on those responsible for the shots.

[…]

Via https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/rep-paul-gosar-introduces-bill-to-end-vaccine-manufacturer-immunity-from-injury-lawsuits/

Ethan Huff

Social media is abuzz with reports that the Biden regime is working against the people of Appalachia when it comes to victims of Hurricane Helene receiving donations and supplies for recovery.An individual named Alicia Schubert told a story on Facebook about how the aid that recently arrived from the Red Cross and FEMA was confiscated by the Biden regime, preventing it from being distributed to people in need.

“Starting with Davy Crockett High School, they are taking over all volunteer schools in Washington County and Greene County,” Schubert claimed in a post about the situation in eastern Tennessee.

“In order for anyone to get donations that were given, they must be approved. All monetary donations have been taken as well and placed into a TEMA account. If you are unaware of how that works, those items don’t all get used for this particular disaster.”

Schubert says that volunteers who arrived to the damaged areas are being turned away and told to leave. The only ones who are allowed to stay are those who first get trained by United Way, she says.

“Please, I know I already made a post on Red Cross and FEMA the other day, but please if you donate, donate to a church or give to individuals,” Schubert urges.

“They cannot take supplies from churches! Church members will make sure your donations get into the correct hands.”

White House issues “fact sheet” claiming it’s doing a really good job responding to Hurricane Helene

There is apparently so much public outrage about the Biden regime’s lack of response coupled with these strange stories of aid and aid workers being turned away that the White House produced a fact sheet that pats the regime on the back for its Hurricane Helene response efforts.

Biden just announced, the fact sheet states, that he is sending 1,000 active-duty troops to the affected areas to help mobilize “an intensive Federal response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene.”

“The Administration is prioritizing life-saving and life-sustaining response efforts in impacted communities, as well as ensuring people displaced from the storm have prompt access to Federal resources that will enable them to both purchase essential items and begin their road to recovery and rebuilding,” the fact sheet states.

The troops will deliver food, water and “other critical commodities” to communities that need it, the White House revealed. They will also provide added manpower and logistics capabilities to help FEMA and other partners “reach the hardest hit areas as quickly as possible.”

Biden is reportedly traveling to Appalachia as part of an “aerial tour,” meaning he will fly over the damaged region to see what became of the place following the storm. He apparently took time out of his busy beach vacation and sending cash and weapons to Ukraine schedule to pencil in a little bit of time for Hurricane Helene victims.

The Department of Defense (DOD) is also said to be on the ground in the affected areas to provide and delegate the following:

• U.S. Army and U.S. Navy helicopters, soldiers and sailors bringing critical capability to move personnel and supplies in areas where roads are damaged or destroyed

• U.S. Air Force aircraft, helicopters and airmen providing search-and-rescue capabilities

• U.S. Army soldiers and high-wheeled vehicles moving personnel and supplies over otherwise damaged or impassable roads and terrain

• The Army Corps of Engineers supporting response efforts with Temporary Power Teams and subject matter experts supporting the removal of debris, managing water and wastewater and inspecting bridges

[…]

Via https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-10-04-fema-biden-confiscating-donations-hurricane-helene-survivors.html

Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

Adding fluoride to drinking water provides very limited dental benefits, especially compared with 50 years ago, according to an updated Cochrane Review published today.

The review follows less than two weeks after a California federal judge ruled water fluoridation poses an “unreasonable risk” of reduced IQ in children and must be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It also comes as some U.S. cities and towns have moved to pause or stop fluoridating their water in response to the verdict, signaling that fluoridating water, a long-term and largely unquestioned practice in the U.S., is facing heightened scrutiny.

To determine if water fluoridation leads to reduced rates of tooth decay, researchers from the University of Manchester and other U.K. universities reviewed 157 studies comparing communities that fluoridated their water to those that don’t.

They concluded that contemporary evidence shows community water fluoridation may lead to a very small reduction in cavities in children’s baby teeth over time. Fluoride in water reduced tooth decay only by about one-quarter of one tooth, they found, and even that conclusion was made with “low certainty.”

“Adding fluoride to water may slightly increase the number of children who have no tooth decay in either their baby teeth or permanent teeth,” the study authors wrote. “However, these results also included the possibility of little or no difference in tooth decay.”

They said studies conducted in 1975 or before showed a larger benefit of water fluoridation on tooth decay, CNN reported — a reduction of about one less cavity in baby teeth. However, those findings no longer apply to populations today who have better baseline dental health and exposure to other sources of fluoride, like toothpaste, they said.

The findings also confirm recent observational studies, including the LOTUS Study, which found only a 2% reduction in cavities among people living in fluoridated areas in England.

The conclusions — taken together with recent scientific research and the federal court decision — raise serious questions about the practice of community water fluoridation.

“When interpreting the evidence, it is important to think about the wider context and how society and health have changed over time,” said co-author Anne-Marie Glenny, professor of Health Sciences Research at the University of Manchester.

“Given that the benefit has reduced over time, before introducing a new fluoridation scheme, careful thought needs to be given to costs, acceptability, feasibility and ongoing monitoring,” said co-author Lucy O’Malley, Ph.D., senior lecturer in Health Services Research at the University of Manchester.

Public health agencies, professional organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and lobbying organizations like the American Dental Association (ADA) have ignored or opposed the growing body of research showing fluoride’s adverse health effects, insisting the benefits of water fluoridation are unquestionable.

They maintain water fluoridation is a safe and effective strategy for oral health.

“I find it incredibly irresponsible that agencies like the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have lauded and promoted this harmful practice of fluoridation for far too long,” integrative dentist Dr. Griffin Cole told The Defender.

Cole said that given the known neurotoxic effects of fluoride, there was never any justification for fluoridating water. He said:

“It is accurate to say we are all exposed to so many other sources of fluoride that continuing to add it to our water supply is now not necessary, but it’s disingenuous and unconscionable to say the statistically insignificant effect on tooth decay was worth poisoning millions of Americans and children’s brains for nearly 80 years.”

In last week’s 80-page federal court decision, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen evaluated and summarized the extensive scientific data presented at trial demonstrating that fluoride has neurotoxic effects on the developing brains of fetuses and children.

According to Chen, the “optimal level” of water fluoridation currently used in the U.S., which is 0.7 milligrams per liter, is too close to the known level at which fluoride poses a neurotoxic risk and may itself be neurotoxic.

Research published in JAMA Network Open in May shows that children born to women exposed during pregnancy to fluoridated drinking water at optimal levels were more likely to have neurobehavioural problems.

The authors of the Cochrane study also found insufficient evidence to show that water fluoridation reduces oral health inequalities, which is one of the key claims supporters like the ADA used to justify the practice.

Last week, the ADA and the AAP confirmed they remain staunch supporters of water fluoridation.

ADA President Linda J. Edgar said in a statement that scientific evidence shows community water fluoridation reduced cavities by 25% — a significantly higher claim than found in the Cochrane review.  Dr. Charlotte W. Lewis, a member of the AAP Section on Oral Health, said water fluoridation is “a public health policy based on a solid foundation of evidence.”

Neither organization immediately responded to The Defender’s request for comment.

The CDC, which has long advocated for water fluoridation as a “cornerstone strategy” for limiting tooth decay, and the EPA, which has refused to regulate it, also did not respond to The Defender’s request for comment on the study.

Over 200 million Americans are currently exposed to fluoridated water on a daily basis.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cochrane-review-water-fluoridation-minimal-effect-dental-health/

Times of India

On October 2, Alex Soros, son of George Soros, met the country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus. Alex posted about the meeting on Instagram, praising Yunus’ leadership:

“Delighted to see an old friend of my father and the foundation, Nobel Prize winner, interim leader of Bangladesh, who stepped in to lead Bangladesh towards a peaceful future based on equity and fairness.”

Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder of Grameen Bank, assumed the role of interim leader following significant political upheaval in Bangladesh. Yunus, known for his work in microfinance and social business, also has longstanding financial ties to George Soros, Alex’s father. These connections stem from a 1999 agreement when Yunus secured an $11 million loan from the Soros Economic Development Fund, managed by the Open Society Foundations. The loan enabled Grameen Telecom, a non-profit entity linked to Yunus’ Grameen Bank, to acquire a 35% stake in Grameenphone Ltd., Bangladesh’s largest telecom operator.

This loan played a critical role in the development and financial structuring of Grameenphone, allowing it to grow into a major player in Bangladesh’s telecom industry. The loan was fully repaid, and Grameen Telecom retained considerable influence over Grameenphone, using the profits to fund social and welfare projects across Bangladesh. Yunus’ relationship with Soros is one of many global financial partnerships that have helped expand his vision for microfinance and social business, although these links have drawn scrutiny from his political opponents.

In the current political climate, Yunus’ foreign connections, particularly with influential figures like George Soros, have been scrutinised by critics.  Alex Soros also raised eyeballs recently when he met Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz.

Who is Alex Soros?

Alex Soros, the son of renowned philanthropist George Soros, has steadily taken on leadership responsibilities within the family’s philanthropic ventures. Born in 1985, Alex was raised in an environment deeply rooted in social activism and philanthropy. After earning degrees from New York University and the University of California, Berkeley, Alex embarked on a path similar to his father’s, becoming actively involved in various charitable causes.

In 2023, George Soros officially handed over control of the $25 billion Open Society Foundations to Alex, marking a new era for the foundation. The younger Soros has continued the foundation’s mission of promoting democracy, human rights, and social justice while also addressing global issues such as climate change and governance reforms. Known for his progressive advocacy and a keen interest in defending democratic values, Alex has carved out a distinct role in the global philanthropic community, carrying forward his father’s legacy while introducing fresh perspectives to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

Who is Muhammad Yunus?

Muhammad Yunus is a pioneering Bangladeshi economist and social entrepreneur best known for founding Grameen Bank and developing the concept of microfinance and microcredit. Recently, he became the head of Bangladesh’s interim government after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.

Born in 1940 in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Yunus pursued higher education in the United States, earning a PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University. His innovative work in the 1970s focused on providing small loans to impoverished individuals, especially women, to help them create sustainable livelihoods. This microfinance model empowered millions by offering financial services to those typically excluded from traditional banking systems.

In 1983, Yunus formalised his work by establishing Grameen Bank, a microfinance institution that became a global success in alleviating poverty and fostering economic inclusion. His efforts earned him and Grameen Bank the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Yunus’ contributions have been credited with lifting millions out of poverty and serving as a model replicated in other developing nations.

Beyond microfinance, Yunus has championed the idea of social business, where profits are reinvested into resolving social issues rather than being distributed to shareholders. His influence has reached beyond Bangladesh, shaping global conversations on sustainable development and ethical business practices.
Via https://thechaoscat.com/2024/10/05/alex-soros-meets-muhammad-yunus-how-is-bangladeshs-interim-chief-connected-to-soros-family/

Ed Note: The article omits any mention of the color revolution that brought Yunus to power, nor the role of the Grameen Bank’s punishing interest rates in blocking industrial development and locking Bangladesh’s poor in permanent feudal poverty. See Protests/Color Revolution in Bangladesh Brings to Power Tax Evading Banker Who Plunged Poor People Into Debt Through Micro-finance Loan Scheme

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

In an unexpected “October Surprise“, Donald Trump’s current wife, Melania, is releasing a newly published book that, according to The Guardian, states that the sole choice to terminate an “unwanted pregnancy” rests with the mother carrying that child.

She further states that she has had this belief her “whole life,” which would have included the years she lived in the White House as the First Lady.

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body. I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.” (Source.)

[…]

The timing of this new “revelation” about Melania Trump is quite curious, given the fact that her husband is running for the office of the President of the United States, running a campaign that she has mostly been absent from, and knowing full well that this “revelation” of her view that supports the murder of unborn children at all times will hurt Trump’s Christian base.

[…]

As Whitney Webb has written in her 2-volume book, One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime that Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein, Melania was part of the Jeffrey Epstein network, and she was introduced to Donald Trump by Jeffrey Epstein.

The relationship with Trump would continue for some time, with Trump flying on Epstein’s plane in 1997 and the two men being photographed together at a Victoria’s Secret party that same year.

A year later, Epstein had claimed to have introduced Trump to his current wife, Melania, at an event during New York fashion week.

They would attend other parties together, including an event in 2000 hosted by media baron and convicted fraudster Conrad Black, who appears in Epstein’s book of contacts.

Also in 2000, Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew attended a celebrity tennis tournament at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump and the Prince took pictures together.

Mar-a-Lago would figure prominently as a place of socialization for Epstein and Maxwell, as well as a place where they recruited minors into their sexual blackmail/sex trafficking operations, with the most well-known of these being Virginia Roberts (now Virginia Giuffre).

However, the Trump Organization has claimed that Epstein was not a dues-paying member of the club.

Trump is also present in Epstein’s contact book with several numbers listed; Melania Trump is also listed among his contacts. (One Nation Under Blackmail, Volume 2, page 50.)

[…]

Via https://healthimpactnews.com/2024/trumps-epstein-provided-wife-throws-him-under-the-bus-melania-releases-creepy-video-supporting-full-abortion-rights/

Zero Hedge

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), representing a district in the western portion of the state battered by Hurricane Helene, released a press release Sunday detailing the infrastructure devastation.

Edwards said power outages remain widespread in Western North Carolina as of Sunday. Fast-forward to Wednesday morning, Poweroutage.US data shows more than 400,000 residents are without power in the region.

He explained that 360 power substations “are out,” indicating that “many of these substations were completely flooded, and Duke Energy is unable to assess the damage until the flooding has lowered, the water has been pumped out, and the equipment is thoroughly dried.”

What’s piqued our interest is that the powering up America theme to power AI data centers and other electrification trends, such as EVs and onshoring manufacturing (as outlined in “The Next AI Trade”), has led to shortages and price increases in the transformer market.

“Distribution transformers are a bedrock component of our energy infrastructure,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory researcher Killian McKenna said, who was recently quoted by PV Magazine.

McKenna pointed out, “But utilities needing to add or replace them are currently facing high prices and long wait times due to supply chain shortages. This has the potential to affect energy accessibility, reliability, affordability—everything.”

Other reasons for the transformer shortages besides power grid upgrades include raw material sourcing problems, pandemic-related supply chain woes and backlogs, labor constraints, shipping issues, and geopolitical tensions.

Given all of this, Jesse D. Jenkins, an assistant professor and macro-energy systems engineering and policy expert at Princeton University, responded to the dire situation of a grid apocalypse playing out in the Southeast US:

“This is devastating. We do NOT have 360 substations worth of transformers and other electrical equipment sitting in stockpiles waiting to be deployed. It could take a very long time to restore power to everyone. Are we facing a Hurricane Maria-type impact on grid infrastructure?

Making matters worse for residents of North Carolina, some X users are pointing out the Biden-Harris administration supplied transformers to Ukraine. It’s unclear if these transformers were drained for US stockpiles. Meanwhile, others note that Ukraine uses a different electrical system than the US.

What’s not questionable is this: Earlier this year, US ambassador to Kyiv Bridget Brink jumped for joy on X, indicating United States Agency for International Development delivered “50 voltage transformers, 9 current transformers, & 80 isolators.”

You know, just Washington elites have been prioritizing Ukraine’s power grid over the US’ fragile grid.

Nathaniel Horadam, a managing consultant and automated vehicle specialist with the Atlanta-based nonprofit Center for Transportation and the Environment, wrote on X, “ It’s Hard to express how insane this is. With ongoing supply chain challenges facing switchgear and transformers, this could take many months to resolve.”

“There’s no excess capacity to quickly replace substation infrastructure. Lower priority sites could literally take years,” Horadam warned.

[…]

Via https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/grid-apocalypse-hits-carolinas-360-substations-down-power-restoration-could-take-months

By Oleg Burunov – Sputnik – 04.10.2024

Disruption of Russian gas supplies due to Western sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine have left Europe grappling with spiraling inflation and surging energy bills.

Russia has once again overtaken the US in terms of gas supplies to the EU in the third quarter, while taking the highest market share in nine quarters, according to Sputnik’s analysis of data from the Bruegel think tank that specializes in economics.

Over the past three months, Russia has delivered 13.3 billion cubic meters of gas to the European market, compared to 13 billion the country supplied there in the second quarter and 11.5 billion, delivered in 2023 within the same period.

As a result, the share of Russian companies in the EU’s energy imports increased to 19.4% from 17.2% in April-June, reaching a maximum since the second quarter of 2022, the analysis showed.

Russia’s quarterly and annual pipeline gas deliveries to Europe grew by 8% and almost 13%, respectively, while the volume of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in the last quarter stood at 4.7 billion cubic meters, a 21% increase as compared to the third quarter of 2023.

The US has reduced its LNG deliveries to Europe to 9.5 billion cubic meters, becoming the third-largest LNG supplier after Russia.

Sputnik’s previous review of Eurostat data discovered that EU countries had to pay some €185 billion ($204 billion) extra on natural gas over the past 20 months after cutting themselves off from cheap, Russian pipeline gas amid Western sanctions that were introduced shortly after Moscow began a special military operation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the EU’s “suicidal” and “absolutely political” decision to halt the purchase of Russian energy supplies would come back to bite the bloc.

[…]

Via https://sputnikglobe.com/20241004/us-lags-behind-russia-on-european-gas-supplies–analysis-1120409866.html

Episode 13 The Travels of Marco Polo

The Middle Ages Around the World

Dr Joyce E Salisbury

Film Review

In 1250 Venetian merchants Nicolo Polo (father of Marco) and his brother Mafeo left Venice to establish trading posts in Crimea, Constantinople (which was briefly a Venetian colony following the Fourth Crusade in 1204 (see The Crusades Clash of Cultures:1096-1271 )* and and the western Mongol Empire. They eventually reached the Yuan dynasty in China, where Kublai Khan commissioned them to deliver a message to the Pope. Around 1267, they returned to Venice to collect Marco, now 17, who returned with them to the court of Kubai Khan.

The Travels of Marco Polo, written following his return to Venice in 1295, provides intimate details of their extended journey. After they traveled via Israel to Baghdad, it  took them three years to cross central Asia (via dromedary). Once they reached Mongolia, Mongol horsemen provided an escort through Tibet, where Marco describe seeing opulent silks, gems, gold jewelry and ornaments, spices, elephants and crocodiles.

After serving Kublai Khan’s court as a diplomat for 17 years, Marco traveled to  Burma, Indonesia, Vietnam and India before taking the sea route home as chaperone to the Khan’s daughter Princess Kokochin. She was betrothed to the Khan’s great nephew Argun, ruler of the Ilkhanate. Marco was escorted by great fleet carrying 600 nobles, only eight of whom survived a fierce topical storm. Because Argun had already died, the princess married his son.

Marco brought a fortune in gemstones home with him to Venice, which he discovered was at war with Genoa. After using his jewels to buy a galley and trebuchet, he was captured by Genoa forces and jailed. His cellmate was Rustacello, author of numerous, medieval romances, transcribed the tales Marco told him in French-Italian. Columbus took a copy of the Travels of Marco Polo on his first voyage to the New World.

*A Byzantine aristocrat named Alexios Strategopoulos recaptured Constantinople from the Venetians in 1261 and burned the Venetian quarter of the city to the ground,

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/13172786/13172819