Category: Opinion

When the Chinese doctor who warned the world about the COVID-19 suddenly succumbed to the deadly virus a massive censorship effort was launched to help the Chinese government maintain control of the narrative about the crisis within the country.

Dr. Li Wenliang died on February 7 and news of his death along with other events during the very early days of the virus outbreak were recently leaked to the public in an article from ProPublica and the New York Times.

The Chinese government appeared to be making the impact of the virus seem less severe by creating the illusion that government officials had a tighter grip on controlling the outbreak than they actually did.

At first Chinese officials may have been trying to prevent widespread panic but they failed to act during the six days between learning they had a pandemic on their hands and informing the public about it, even though hundreds of infected people were already showing up at hospitals during that time frame.

In the article jointly produced by ProPublica and the Times, a University of California at Berkeley professor claims that China’s propaganda and censorship operation is beyond any other nation in the world.

“This is a huge thing,” said Xiao Qiang, at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. “No other country has that.”

China was worried that news about the doctor’s death would set off a chain reaction of ensuing news stories that would damage the government, so they ordered news outlets not to promote stories about Wenliang and ordered social media sites to remove his name from trending topics.

Chinese censors also hired people to act as internet trolls to create “distracting chatter” to help influence the public’s opinion as the coronavirus became a bigger news story. Security personnel was also ordered to silence commentators whose views did not agree with those of the government.

According to the leaked documents a massive deployment of both people and technology and “presumably, lots of money” were spent to control the narrative.

The United States Embassy in Baghdad confirmed in a tweet that they were the target of a rocket attack that caused some “minor damage” on the compound. There were no injuries or casualties reported.

The U.S. Embassy confirms rockets targeting the International Zone resulted in the engagement of Embassy defensive systems. There was some minor damage on the Embassy compound but no injuries or casualties. 1/

— U.S. Embassy Baghdad (@USEmbBaghdad) December 20, 2020

A statement from the Iraqi military said “an outlawed group” fired eight rockets targeting the Green Zone, one Iraqi security person stationed at a checkpoint was injured and some damage was caused to a residential complex and several cars. Thankfully the residential complex is usually empty.

A U.S. official in Baghdad said the American military quickly responded by deploying its counter rocket, artillery, and mortar defense system to intercept the imminent rocket attack.

The embassy said, “As we have said many times, these sorts of attacks on diplomatic facilities are a violation of international law and are a direct assault on the sovereignty of the Iraqi government. We call on all Iraqi political and governmental leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and hold accountable those responsible.”

BREAKING : US Embassy in Baghdad #Iraq targeted with barrage of Katyusha Rockets and mortar shells.

Video shows some getting intercepted. It’s 9 pm in Baghdad now: pic.twitter.com/QjrN29Yp9m

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 20, 2020

A correspondent for ‘The National’ shared a video of the rockets being intercepted on Twitter adding that the embassy was “targeted with barrage of Katyusha Rockets and mortar shells.”

The Trump administration is becoming frustrated with the frequency of the rocket attacks and is placing the blame on Iran-backed militia groups.

Washington warned Iraq a few months ago that it would close the embassy in Baghdad if the government did not take action to end these attacks by Iranian-backed militias on American and allied interests in the country.

The United States plans on reducing the number of troops in Iraq before President Trump leaves office.

The attacks come nearly one year after the U.S. killed Iran’s most powerful general, Qasem Soleimani after the U.S. Embassy was attacked on New Year’s Eve 2019. The violence came to an end only after U.S. Marines came from Kuwait to bolster security.

Soleimani would be assassinated days later in Baghdad.

Early Sunday evening Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reached out over Twitter to announce that lawmakers have come to an agreement over a long-awaited coronavirus relief bill. After days of negotiations this previous week, McConnell said he was “relieved that we appear to be hours away from legislation.”

The next step on Monday for this relief bill is that it will go through the House Rules Committee before heading to a vote in the House, and Senate.

According to congressional leaders, the agreement would establish temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefits and $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses and money for schools, health care providers, and renters facing eviction.

“President Trump has pushed hard for months to send Americans badly needed financial relief. We look forward to Congress sending a bill to his desk imminently for signature,” stated Ben Williamson who is the Special Assistant to the President.

In a joint statement between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that their goal with this bill is to “crush the virus and put money in the pockets of the American people.”

“Today, we have reached an agreement with Republicans and the White House on an emergency coronavirus relief and omnibus package that delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates,” it stated.

It looks like the democrats have finally been able to bring something to the table that has been reasonable compared to their previous offers.

Things got heated between Chairman Ron Johnson and ranking member Gary Peters at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing after the Chairman accused Peters of lying and spreading Russian disinformation.

The hearing was meant to address irregularities in the 2020 election but Johnson took time to confront Peter’s claims that he had spread Russian disinformation about Hunter Biden but according to Johnson it was Peters that had spread false information from Russia.

“I just have to talk about Russian disinformation because the people peddling it are not on my side of the aisle,” Johnson began.

“Senior Democrat leaders, including ranking member Peters,” he continued, “they were involved in a process of creating a false intelligence product, it was supposed to be classified, they leaked to the media, that accused Sen. [Chuck] Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and myself of accepting and disseminating Russian disinformation.”

Johnson accused Peters of introducing that false information into the record of the committee’s investigation. He pointed out that after the Democrats tried to dismiss the evidence found in Hunter Biden’s laptop it was later revealed that the Justice Department was conducting a real investigation involving Biden.

“So it’s just galling – and I have to point out,” said Johnson, “that the purveyors of Russian disinformation, Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the DNC, the Steele dossier, the ranking member Peters accusing Sen. Grassley and I of disseminating Russian disinformation – that’s where the disinformation is coming, the lies, the false allegations.”

Previously in the hearing, Peters said it was “dangerous” to hold a hearing on election irregularities because it dealt with false claims about the election.

Johnson responded by saying that suspicions of election irregularities are not disinformation, but questions that need answers to “restore confidence in our election integrity.”

Peters insisted that he had nothing to do with the document Johnson referred to but the chairman wasn’t hearing it.

Johnson interjected,” You lied repeatedly. You lied repeatedly to the press that I was spreading Russian disinformation, and that was an outright lie, and I told you to stop lying and you continued to do it.”

Peters tried to deflect by saying that the hearing was not meant “for the airing of grievances.”

Johnson fired back, “It is what you have done to this committee, falsely accusing the chairman of spreading disinformation. Nothing could have been further from the truth and you’re spouting it again, which is why I had to respond.”

The chairman then banged his gavel and the hearing moved on.

President Donald Trump made it clear that he has “NOTHING to do” with the “potential prosecution” of Hunter Biden, President-elect Joe Biden’s son. Trump called the fallout caused by Hunter’s confirmation that he has been under federal investigation for several years “very sad to watch.”

Trump tweeted out a response after reports surfaced earlier this week accusing the president of calling for the appointment of a special counsel to guarantee that the federal investigation into Hunter Biden would continue under the Biden administration.

“I have NOTHING to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden, or the Biden family. It is just more Fake News,” Trump wrote. “Actually, I find it very sad to watch!”

I have NOTHING to do with the potential prosecution of Hunter Biden, or the Biden family. It is just more Fake News. Actually, I find it very sad to watch!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2020

In fact, it was Republican on Capitol Hill who called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden’s past foreign business dealings.

It was only last week that Hunter became aware that he was under federal investigation for his “tax affairs.”

A government source also confirmed that Hunter Biden is a subject/target of the grand jury investigation.

President-elect Joe Biden denies having played any part in his son’s alleged business dealings and is not a subject of any grand jury investigation at this time.

Biden says that he is “confident” that his son has done nothing wrong.

California Governor Gavin Newsom could have his emergency powers taken away after a Republican assemblyman issued a bill calling for changes to the governor’s emergency authority as coronavirus cases continue to spike.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, demands immediate restriction in the governor’s ability to enforce or change laws under the California Emergency Services Act until 60 days after an emergency order has been issued.

Cunningham’s bill is following nearly 290 days of California remaining under a “State of Emergency” during the coronavirus pandemic and the latest case of state-enforced shutdowns.

Cunningham lashed out at Newsom on Twitter writing, “For 287 days, [Newsom] has been unilaterally changing laws and regulations with zero input from the Legislature. It’s time to restore California to a constitutional democracy, and ensure that a governor no longer has indefinite, unilateral power.”

For 287 days, @GavinNewsom has been unilaterally changing laws and regulations with zero input from the Legislature.

It’s time to restore California to a constitutional democracy, and ensure that a governor no longer has indefinite, unilateral power. https://t.co/1V2Fg12ePi

— Jordan Cunningham (@Cunning_Jordan) December 16, 2020

These changes mean the governor would be required to seek approval from California legislators before changing laws or regulations.

Coronavirus cases in California have gone out of control in recent weeks, surpassing their highest daily caseload from the very first spike in the spring.

On Thursday, over 52,000 new cases were confirmed adding to the state’s 1.7 million cases of coronavirus. Another 379 new deaths were reported by the state’s Department of Public Health, putting the COVID death toll in California close to 22,000 this year.

California COVID-19, By The Numbers:

🔹 Confirmed cases to date: 1,723,362
🔹 Note: Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed

More information at https://t.co/TLLUGwPGY7. pic.twitter.com/axRmF7ZvIC

— California Department of Public Health (@CAPublicHealth) December 17, 2020

Last month Newsom hit a snag when a judge from northern California decided that the governor crossed the line with one of his dozens of executive orders issued during the pandemic and found “an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power.”

Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman thought Newsom overstepped his authority when he called for hundreds of voting stations to be set up across the state and prohibited him from issuing orders under CESA which “amends, alters, or changes existing statutory law or makes new statutory law or legislative policy.”

President-elect Joe Biden continues to defend his son Hunter Biden during an ongoing federal investigation into his tax affairs.

During an interview on “A Late Show” with Steven Colbert the president-elect and his wife Dr. Jill Biden expressed “confidence” in their son.

“Is think it’s kind of foul play, but look, it is what it is and he’s a grown man,” said Joe Biden, “he is the smartest man I know – I mean from a pure intellectual capacity – and as long as he’s good, we’re good.”

Biden’s transition team wanted to make it clear that the president-elect was not referring to the investigation as “foul play,” but rather how Republicans have used Hunter Biden’s business dealings to attack him personally for months.

When Colbert asked Biden how these attacks from Republicans, he responded by saying he would do what he could to work with critics because that’s what is best for the country.

EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Joe Biden is defending his son amid an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes.

The president-elect and Dr. Jill Biden spoke with @StephenAtHome for their first joint interview since the election.

More on the @colbertlateshow at 11:35 p.m. ET on @CBS pic.twitter.com/DawaLVernh

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 17, 2020

The Delaware U.S. Attorney has been investigating Hunter Biden’s taxes since 2018 but it was only recently disclosed to the public.

Hunter Biden, who has a complex network of international business dealings, was unaware of the investigation until last week.

His involvement with a Ukrainian energy company in Burisma in 2014 is a point of contention and was a constant target for President Trump during his campaign for the 2020 presidency.

Hunter was received $50,000 per month to work on the board of Burisma, raising concerns about the perceptions of a conflict of interest due to the fact that his father, then-Vice President Biden, was involved in United States policy toward Ukraine.

The younger Biden also has connections to Chinese and Russian nationals and that has caused some suspicion.

As of now, Joe Biden is not under any kind of federal investigation and says he will not interfere with his son’s investigation because he “believes in the rule of law.”

Representative Chris Stewart appeared on “America’s Newsroom” to say he believes that besides Rep. Eric Swalwell China has targeted several other members of Congress.

Stewart and other Republicans have called for Swalwell to be immediately removed from the House Intelligence Committee in order to protect national security.

Swalwell has caught a lot of flak since it was discovered that a suspected Chinese spy, Feng Feng, gained significant access to him earlier in his career. In 2014 after Feng helped him with a fundraiser for his election and he claimed to have cut all ties with her after an FBI briefing in 2015.

It’s been reported that Feng also had sexual relationships with two Midwestern mayors.

REP. CHRIS STEWART: We know that members of Congress, especially those who serve in very sensitive positions are targeted. That’s just a matter of course that we know that from our own experience, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. We know the Chinese Communist Party is targeting businesses, academics, they’re targeting members of Congress, members of the Senate, members of the administration. That shouldn’t surprise anyone.

This is where Mr. Swalwell failed so poorly in this. The context of this relationship with this person. She wasn’t just a girl that he grew up with. She was a Chinese student. She had just barely come to the United States. She was so aggressive in developing relationships with politicians. She helped him raise money. For heaven’s sakes, how does a college student have the capacity to help a member of Congress raise money? All sorts of red flags on this.

The FBI and others have said a thousand times to members of Congress, be careful. You’re going to be targeted. 

I think he should be removed while we investigate. He absolutely has questions to answer that he has refused to answer to this point. He can’t just remain silent. He can’t put out a two-sentence press statement and then not say anything more, and then expect to come in and sit with us on the committee while we continue to look at very, very sensitive information. He’s either got to recuse himself from the committee, or he’s got to come in and answer questions.

A health care worker in Alaska suffered an adverse reaction just minutes after receiving Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The worker, a middle-aged woman, had an allergic reaction that included shortness of breath and flushing within 10 minutes of receiving the first dose of the two-part shot.

At the time of the incident, she was still being observed at Bartlett Hospital. After suffering the anaphylactic reaction she was hospitalized and monitored closely. Officials say she will not be receiving the second dose of the vaccine.

She had no prior history of allergies before receiving the shot and took a Benadryl to help relieve the symptoms but it did not work. After she was admitted to the emergency room she received epinephrine and the symptoms immediately subsided.

She is said to be feeling “well” and is in stable condition waiting to be released.

Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink said, “We expected that a side effect like this could occur after reports of anaphylaxis were made in England after people there received the Pfizer-BioBtech COVID-19 vaccine.

Zink noted that every location that has been approved to administer vaccinations in Alaska must have emergency medications on hand in case of an allergic reaction such as the one the health care worker experienced.

Alaska health officials said there would be no changes would be made to vaccine distribution plans following the incident, and the woman was willing and excited to receive the vaccine.

Out of thousands of people who have already received the vaccine, this is the first instance of an adverse reaction in the United States.

A United States Air Force base in Germany is on high alert after a potential incoming missile scare after loudspeakers in the European theater gave warnings of an “aerial attack” and to “seek cover.” Thankfully, it was a false alarm as officials later realized it was just a training exercise.

Warnings could be heard blasting from the sirens saying, “Aerial attack, aerial attack, seek cover, seek cover.”

It’s unclear exactly what military event triggered the alert to be sent to Ramstein Air Base but Russia’s Defense Ministry did say that four intercontinental ballistic missiles were successfully test-fired from one of its nuclear submarines around the same time as the alarm.

According to a statement from Moscow, the four test warheads were launched from the Pacific and landed on their targets in northwestern Russia.

The base later posted a statement to their Facebook page, “Today, the Ramstein Air Base Command Post was notified via an alert notification system of a real-world missile launch in the European theater. The Command Post followed proper procedure and provided timely and accurate notifications to personnel in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.”

The statement noted that the launch was “then assessed to be part of a training exercise and not a threat to the KMC area” and declared that the “situation is all clear.”

The base thanked their Command Post members for their quick response and for making sure everyone was informed so they could take every proper safety precaution.

In 2018, a similar false alarm made headlines when officials in Hawaii mistakenly issued an alert to the public warning that a missile was heading straight for the islands.

Emergency alerts appeared on people’s cellphones reading, “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

It was chaos and sheer panic for 38 minutes until officials announced it to be a false alarm.