J&J Vaccine Possibly Linked to Two More Serious Health Conditions, EU Regulator Finds

from The Epoch Times: The European Union’s drug regulator on Oct. 1 recommended updating the label for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine with warnings for two more serious health conditions likely linked with the vaccine. The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) concluded that the use of the J&J vaccine is possibly linked with vein clotting […]
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SETTING THE STAGE FOR MUCH HIGHER SILVER PRICES: The Energy Crunch & Skyrocketing Silver Investment Demand

by Steve St. Angelo, SRSRocco Report: The world has no idea that the present ENERGY CRUNCH is setting the stage for much higher silver prices in the future.  As world energy prices are surging in Europe and Asia, investors haven’t yet figured out this is terrible news for global equity and bond values.  Thus, the […]
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Reports Of Military Planes At Bagram Air Base Fuel Speculation Of Chinese-Afghan Alliance

Reports Of Military Planes At Bagram Air Base Fuel Speculation Of Chinese-Afghan Alliance By Blue Apples Months ago, Bagram Air Base became center stage of the calamitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Since then, foreign policy experts have opined that it will unveil the next act of that tragedy in welcoming growing Chinese interest in Afghanistan. Now, the page has been seemingly turned onto that chapter. This morning, it appears the next stage of that plan may be unfolding following multiple confirmed reports of planes landing at the airfield across social media and mainstream outlets. Reports claim that the floodlights have turned on at Bagram Air Base for the first time since U.S. troops departed the nation, marking the resumption of its operations. The capitulation which placed Bagram Air Base into the hands of the Taliban was enabled by the Biden Administration departing from a component of the Trump-era withdrawal plans that included keeping a contingent of 800 or so special military operatives to work with Afghan Special Forces aimed at curbing the resurgence of the Taliban and other terrorist cells in the country. In the absence of that coordinated effort, Bagram fell from U.S. control before forces could be withdrawn, resulting in a catastrophic departure from the country that has marked the low point of the Biden Administration thus far. Though none of those reports have been able to confirm that the planes landing at Bagram belong to the Chinese army, their arrival follows the resumption of power at the airfield for the first time since U.S. forces departed in August. The resumption of operations at Bagram follows Taliban forces blocking off public access to the Chinese Embassy in Kabul. The fortification of that embassy is reported to have been in advance of meetings between Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Chen Wenqing, the Minister of State Security for the Chinese since 2016. Wenqing's reported presence in Kabul comes weeks after another head of intelligence was spotted in Kabul when Pakistani ISI Chief Faiz Hameed had arrived in the capitol to meet with his country's own ambassador to Afghanistan. The Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister also met with China's Ambassador to Afghanistan preceding Wenqing's reported visit. Despite the apparent resumption of operations at Bagram, Taliban officials have shot down the notion that any Chinese security forces or planes have landed at the air base since then. Since long before the Taliban solidified its takeover of Kabul, Chinese officials had been crafting a foreign policy plan which embraced the rule of the extremist sect. That approach is a component of diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan that has been an obvious multi-faceted and long-term strategy of the Chinese as they anticipated the inevitable U.S. withdrawal from the longest theater of war in its history. Wenqing's diplomatic engagements with Afghan officials predate the installation of the Taliban-led government, as the Chinese security chief previously met with the National Security Advisor to the previous Afghan government, Hamdullah Mohib, in Tehran back in 2019. In addition to expanding its military presence in the region, China is especially motivated to capitalize on the availability of the vast mineral resources Afghanistan holds. Fostering a positive relationship with the Taliban is imperative to that. Chinese mineral rights in Afghanistan go back to 2008, when the country hashed out a thirty-year lease on the Mes Aynak Copper Mine through its state-owned enterprises China Metallurgical Group Corporations ("MCC") and Jiangxi Copper, the country's largest copper producer. MCC merged with China's largest iron and steel trader China Minmetals Corporation in 2015. The transition of power to the Taliban this summer makes efforts for Chinese officials to forge a diplomatic relations essential to preserving those pre-existing mineral rights agreements in addition to expanding their access to other vital resources. Diplomacy between the Chinese and the former  government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan had soured earlier this year following the December 2020 arrest of Chinese spies who were reportedly working with a covert intelligence network led by the aforementioned Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has gone from a clandestine terrorist operating in Afghanistan to leading the country's Interior Ministry, highlighting the long-standing relation between him and the Chinese intelligence apparatus. This scandal resulted in the previous Afghan government severing several oil and gas contracts with the Chinese. Previously the China National Petroleum Corp. had signed a billion dollar contract with the Afghan government for drilling and refining oil in the country's Amu Daya basin but that deal had been voided by the previous Afghan regime. Given Haqqani and the Taliban's ascent into power, it's possible that these deals will be rehashed. The clear incentive for the Taliban to advance its diplomacy with the Chinese lies in its need to strengthen its security apparatus in Afghanistan to keep its government viable. This is evident from reports of Chinese state officials contemplating an outright takeover of Bagram. With the Taliban seizing over $84 billion in U.S. combat equipment, that presents the risk of the Chinese government to reverse engineer everything from Humvees to Black Hawk Helicopters. With the World Bank predicting a 20% decline in foreign aid to Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, economic investment from China would greatly help with filling that void. Similar regional report from Iran, Pakistan, and Tajikistan marks the nascent efforts to create a new geopolitical axis where the middle east meets the far east in support of future Taliban hegemony in Afghanistan. While the U.S. has removed itself from Afghanistan for the first time in nearly 20 years, this burgeoning new alliance makes from the next chapter of an occupation that will haunt the country for much longer. Tyler Durden Sun, 10/03/2021 - 14:01
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Bad Sociology: Biden’s Vaccine Purge Prepares for Domestic Counter-Insurgency

by Joaquin Flores, Strategic Culture: American culture has been artificially shifted in the most radical way, not seen since the introduction of mandatory public schooling a century ago. The mandatory Covid vaccination policy in the U.S. army is an extension of Biden’s ideological purging program, but the logic behind it is not thoroughly understood by the […]
http://dlvr.it/S8qsnx

Dr. Mercola responds to YouTube ban, says people are "rising up" against tech and pharmaceutical tyranny

(Natural News) In response to his YouTube channel getting banned for spreading “misinformation,” natural health guru Dr. Joseph Mercola issued a statement debunking the Google-owned video platforms defamation against him. Mercola, in case you missed it, is being attacked by the medical establishment for telling people the science behind vitamin D, zinc and other natural...
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No, government spending isn't 'zero cost'

(Natural News) This week, President Joe Biden made the incredible statement — sycophantically repeated by the press — that his $3.5 trillion budget bill, which includes major spending initiatives on everything from climate change to Medicare, would be “free.” Biden tweeted, “My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars. Instead of wasting money on tax...
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Duterte Announces Retirement From Philippines Politics As Manny Pacquiao Launches Bid For Presidency

Duterte Announces Retirement From Philippines Politics As Manny Pacquiao Launches Bid For Presidency Known for his violent crackdown on drug dealers and other unorthodox policy decisions that won him both admiration and hatred, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced Saturday that he would be retiring from politics after dropping his bid for the presidency. That Duterte is ending his political career so soon is ironic. Many western political analysts and high-handed scribes once condemned Duterte as a violent authoritarian who would shift the Philippines' political system closer to that of Russia's. However, that never happened. And now, Duterte, who is constitutionally forbidden from seeking another term as president, has decided not to run as Vice President in 2022, claiming "the public" doesn't support him potentially subverting the country's constitution to extend his rule (but we thought he was an authoritarian?) Duterte's decision comes with a twist: his former top aide and now Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, who was believed to be the ruling PDP-Laban Party's candidate to succeed Duterte as president, has instead filed paperwork to run for the vice presidential spot, now that Duterte has withdrawn his candidacy. "Today, I announce my retirement from politics," he said, appearing at the Commission on Elections center in Manila alongside Go, who also announced his decision to seek the VP spot instead of Duterte. "The overwhelming... sentiment of the Filipinos is that I am not qualified and it would be a violation of the constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the constitution," Duterte said. There's reason to believe that Duterte's retirement is part of a strategy of stepping aside to allow his daughter, Sara, to seek the presidency either in this cycle, or the next. On Saturday, Sara Duterte-Carpio filed her certificate to run again for her current role of mayor of Davao City. However, Sara has been leading recent presidential polls, even as she has maintained her focus on getting re-elected in her home city. According to Bloomberg, back in August, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte could drop his bid for vice president if Sara were to seek the top job. And Duterte-Carpio has previously said she wouldn't seek the top job with her father on the VP ticket, so his decision to step down could open the door for his daughter, who has already won her father's old job as mayor of Davao City. But if that is indeed the plan for the Duterte political dynasty, there's one major obstacle in their way: Boxing legend and Philippine politician Manny Pacquiao, the only boxer to hold titles in 8 different weight divisions, became the first to file paperwork to seek the presidency on Friday. Ironically, Pacquiao officially announced on Wednesday that he would be retiring from boxing to focus on his bid for the presidency. “I just heard the final bell. Boxing is over,” Pacquiao said. "This is the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard, and watch what happens." To the greatest fans and the greatest sport in the world, thank you! Thank you for all the wonderful memories. This is the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard, and watch what happens. Good bye boxing. https://t.co/Bde4wO82sA — Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) September 29, 2021 As for whether this is really the end of the road for Duterte, who has been described as the 'Filipino Trump' due to his brash style and law-and-order approach, it's worth noting that this isn't Duterte's first "retirement" from politics. Duterte said he would retire back in 2016 before launching his successful bid for the presidency. Candidates must register their intention to run in next year's vote with the Commission on Elections by Oct. 8. However, the final list of presidential contenders won’t be ready until mid-November. This means other rival politicians might emerge as potential contenders during a final attempt to join the race, a strategy that would be similar to that used by Duterte. Tyler Durden Sat, 10/02/2021 - 14:00
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