Link: https://www.rt.com/russia/569341-russia-japan-military-threat/

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/569330-rubio-us-schools-marxism/

Republican lawmaker Marc Rubio has urged colleagues not to use federal funding for the promotion of radical ideas | The Republican Party must support governors and school-board members who are fighting to prevent US educational institutions from becoming a “cesspool of Marxist indoctrination,” Senator Marco Rubio has said. 💬 “Dangerous academic constructs like critical race theory and radical gender theory are being forced on elementary school children,” Rubio wrote in an article published in the American Conservative magazine on Tuesday. The party needs to provide “reinforcements” to Republican governors and school-board members who are fighting against such ideas being taught to students, he said. “We need to ensure no federal funding is ever used to promote these radical ideas in schools,” the Florida senator insisted. ●  Critical race theory, which has existed in academia since the 1980s, is currently taught in many American schools, universities and workplaces. It suggests that people’s relative “privilege” is defined by their skin color, gender, sexuality and other fixed characteristics. Proponents of the theory claim that males sit at the top of the hierarchy and perpetuate “white supremacy” knowingly or unknowingly. Meanwhile, those who oppose the theory argue that it pits people of color against white people and leads to anti-white discrimination.

■ Pro-Trans Group Reveals How It Embeds ‘Gender Ideology’ In Schools (ThinkCivics)

Link: https://sputniknews.com/20230104/us-house-prepares-for-fourth-speaker-vote-as-opposition-to-mccarthy-grows-1106022414.html

The US House of Representatives will hold a fourth round of voting to elect a speaker amid growing Republican opposition to Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s leadership bid. | House lawmakers held a third round of voting on Tuesday following two earlier failed votes. In the first two rounds, 19 Republican members voted against McCarthy, while 20 voted against him in the third. ● Republicans won a slim 222-212 majority in the House in the November midterm elections, leaving the party a four-vote margin to rally the 218 total votes needed to elect a speaker behind a single nominee. ● The incident marks the first time in a century that the House has failed to elect a speaker in the initial vote. A total of 14 speaker votes have required multiple ballots, with lawmakers taking nearly two months and 133 ballots to select a speaker in the mid-1850s.

■ Trump Throws His Weight Behind McCarthy Amid House Speaker Deadlock (RT.com)
■ McCarthy loses bid for speaker a 4th time (Axios)
■ Byron Donalds sets House floor abuzz by switching vote (FOX News)
■ Republican leader suffers once-in-a-century setback (RT.com)
■ Everything You Need to Know About US House Speaker Elections (Sputnik News)

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/569359-china-covid-restrictions-response/

New pandemic restrictions on travelers from China are motivated by politics over science, the Foreign Ministry has said | Beijing has vowed to take countermeasures after the US and other countries tightened their Covid-19 rules for those traveling from China. The new restrictions follow the country’s decision to ease its own health policies at home. Asked about the pandemic measures during a Tuesday press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning noted that while many countries had responded “warmly” to China’s relaxed Covid rules, others reacted with “disproportionate” and “unacceptable” restrictions. 💬 “We stand ready to step up communication with the rest of the international community and work together to prevail over Covid. Meanwhile, we do not believe the entry restriction measures some countries have taken against China are science-based,” she said. “We firmly reject using Covid measures for political purposes and will take corresponding measures in response to varying situations based on the principle of reciprocity.” ● Australia became one of the latest to adopt new measures against travelers from China on Sunday, requiring negative Covid-19 tests within 48 hours prior to their departure beginning on January 5.

■ Finland to Impose Restrictions for Chinese Tourists If EU Makes No Decision (Sputnik News)

Link: https://sputniknews.com/20230104/questions-linger-after-24-year-old-bills-player-suffers-cardiac-arrest-collapses-mid-game-1106023885.html

Mainstream media outlets are apparently alarmed by what they call a surge in “Covid misinformation” following the on-field collapse of an otherwise healthy player in peak physical condition. | Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest and collapsing Monday night when making a tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, team officials said Tuesday afternoon. 💬 "Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals," the team said in an earlier statement. "His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition." ● In the horrifying minutes that followed the tackle, players on both teams could be seen weeping and praying together, and the game was postponed in light of Hamlin's collapse. Speculation quickly began to grow on social media that Hamlin’s collapse may have been linked to a COVID vaccination.

■ Dr. McCullough: NFL player’s cardiac arrest may have been caused by ‘vaccine-induced myocarditis’

Link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11593463/DEA-warns-ADHD-prescription-bad-opioid-crisis-stinging-letter-pharma.html

DEA warns that ADHD over prescription could be as bad as OPIOID CRISIS in stinging letter to pharmaceutical giants it accuses of 'aggressive marketing' | The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has expressed concern that 'aggressive marketing practices' by telehealth companies may be contributing to excessive prescriptions for medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a letter from the agency. ● While the letter does not mention specific companies, it is believed to refer to telehealth companies such as Cerebral Inc. and Done Global Inc., whose prescribing practices have reportedly been under investigation by the DEA after blitzing social media with online adverts including Instagram and Facebook. ● This decision follows a more than doubling in Adderall prescriptions of more than 10% per year in 2021 through to October 2022, after a roughly 5% annual increase in the three years prior, according to data from research firm IQVIA. ● Adderall and the amphetamines used to make it are classified as Schedule II controlled substances by the DEA due to their high potential for abuse, along with opioids such as OxyContin and fentanyl. ● The DEA is legally required to set production quotas each year for ingredients in Schedule II drugs. ● In December, the DEA announced that it would not permit any increase in the production of pharmaceutical ingredients used to make Adderall and other stimulants for ADHD treatment in 2023.

Link: https://legitgov.org/disgusting-infrastructure-bill-installs-kill-switches-all-new-vehicles-turns-america-police-state

Disgusting Infrastructure Bill Installs KILL SWITCHES in All New Vehicles, Turns America Into a Police State | The website Motorious reported on Friday that former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr has been sounding the alarm on a terrifying item buried within the Biden-McConnell "infrastructure" legislation, which passed in August 2021. According to Barr, the government will now have the power to shut off your vehicle if they determine you are partaking in any "illegal" activity. "According to an article written by former U.S. Representative Bob Barr, hidden away in the recently passed infrastructure bill, the very one I warned before would negatively impact drivers across the country if it were to pass, is a measure to install vehicle kill switches into every new car, truck, and SUV sold in this country. The regulation likely won't be enforced for five years, so maybe there's time to do something about this."

Link: https://www.axios.com/2023/01/02/tv-streaming-profits-disney-paramount-nfl

2022 was one of the hardest years ever for traditional television companies — and it’s only expected to get worse as the ad market continues to slow and cord-cutting accelerates. | The transition to streaming has wreaked havoc on the business models of major media firms, driving a new wave of consolidation and putting smaller channels' survival at risk. ● Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal are all expected to sell or combine with other media entities in the next few years, in order to give their businesses the scale needed to possibly compete with tech firms like Amazon, Netflix and Google. Smaller TV companies are also scrambling to adjust. Lionsgate is looking to spin off Starz. Paramount is beginning to bundle Showtime with its primary streaming service. AMC Networks is laying off 20% of its staff.

Link: https://thinkcivics.com/jill-bidens-new-years-message-is-everything-wrong-with-the-biden-administration/

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news? 2022 is over with and in the books. The bad news? 2023 is here and promises to be just as ridiculous. Jill Biden provided proof of that during a joint appearance with her husband on New Year’s Eve. | Sitting beside an obviously confused Joe Biden, whose eyes have shrunk to the size of marbles over the last couple of years, she used her time on the national stage to once again promote the COVID-19 vaccines. Again, this was on December 31st in the year of Our Lord, 2022. ● It’s just mind-numbing that we are still doing this knowing what we now know. How many booster regimes have been circulated at this point that have failed to stamp out the pandemic? And how much of the nation has already been vaccinated at some level anyway? Yet, with just hours left in 2022, here’s Jill Biden talking like it’s the Fall of 2021, refusing to give us a break, even on a holiday, from the onslaught of propaganda.

Link: https://thinkcivics.com/actors-slave-owning-ancestors-make-him-target-of-reparations-scheme/

Hollywood star Benedict Cumberbatch’s family could be forced to pay reparations to Barbados for running a slave plantation on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries. | Cumberbatch’s seventh great grandfather bought the Cleland plantation in St Andrew, Barbados, in 1728. The plantation then became home to 250 slaves until slavery was abolished more than 100 years later. Ironically, Cumberbatch played the role of a plantation owner in the Oscar-winning film “12 Years a Slave.” ● When the plantation was forced to close, the Cumberbatch family were handed £6,000 in compensation for their loss of 'human property' - in today's money that amounts to around £3.6 million.

Link: https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-726417

The 15th-century astrologer predicted the rise of Hitler and the fall of the Twin Towers. Which of his predictions could we see come true in 2023? | Famed French astrologer, Michel de Nostredame - commonly known simply as Nostradamus - prepared a book of chilling predictions called Les Prophéties, which he published over 450 years ago. And, despite the book's age, many of his predictions have proven to come true. ● The contents of the book made dire predictions about World War II, Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the French Revolution, all of which were eerily accurate. Not only did he predict these events, but he successfully predicted the assassination of the 35th US President John F. Kennedy, and even the September 11 terror attacks against the World Trade Center.

Link: https://slaynews.com/news/switzerland-rejects-gender-ideology-rules-sex-binary/

In a landmark move, Switzerland’s government has rejected gender ideology by ruling that sex is binary and people must be referred to as either male or female, with no exceptions. | The Swiss government rejected a proposal to introduce a “third gender” or “no gender” option for official records. The nation ruled against the “gender identity” ideology that other European countries have succumbed to. Swiss residents will continue to be entered into the nation’s civil registry as male or female, with no other options. ● Switzerland’s neighboring countries, Germany and Austria, as well as other Western European countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, have all modified their civil registries to include “third gender” or “no gender” options.

Link: https://t.me/stkirsch/1053

Link: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2023/january/netanyahu-visits-western-wall-slams-un-vote-to-refer-israel-to-court-of-justice

Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara visited Jerusalem's Western Wall Sunday, one of Judaism's holiest sites, to pray and give thanks for the swearing-in of Israel's 37th government last Thursday. | The prime minister also slammed the United Nations for its "distorted" decision Friday to refer the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague for advice on dealing with Israel's "occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory." ●  At the Wall, Netanyahu said, 💬 "I just wrote in the (guest) book, 'The Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps' (Psalm 121:1).'" He continued, "I must say that I am also moved this time as well, to accept the position and lead the State of Israel. I have come here, the quarry from which we were shaped, to touch the stones of the Western Wall, and to remember that we are charged with the obligation of safeguarding the heritage of generations and ensuring our future for the coming generations as well, and this we will do."
■ Netanyahu asked for Ukraine's support at UN — and Zelensky asked for military aid

Link: https://www.axios.com/2023/01/01/education-department-discrimination-complaints-record

The majority of complaints allege discrimination against students with disabilities. | The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights logged nearly 19,000 discrimination complaints from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022, more than double the previous year, the New York Times reports. Why it matters: The nation's fragile education system is dealing with the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide racial reckoning. The majority of complaints allege discrimination based on disability, race or sex, officials say. The office will release its official report in the coming months.

Link: https://www.axios.com/2023/01/01/chief-justice-roberts-raises-concerns-about-judges-safety

Chief Justice John Roberts focused on judges' safety in his annual year-end report, following one of the Supreme Court's most tumultuous and consequential terms to date. | Threats against public officials on all levels of government have intensified in recent years and came to a head in 2022 after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.  ●  The protests and security threats that followed the court's decision led to calls for greater security for judges and their families. ● President Biden signed a bipartisan bill that expanded security protection to Supreme Court justices' immediate family members in June, soon after a man was charged with the attempted murder of Justice Brett Kavanaugh after police arrested an armed suspect outside his home. ● Roberts did not specifically mention the abortion decision or the threats against his fellow conservative justices in his report, but rather spoke of the importance of security programs more generally.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/20230102/northern-california-residents-left-stranded-as-deadly-flood-breaches-levee-1105983871.html

Those dealing with historic flooding in Sacramento suburbs could be in for a nasty surprise later this week as heavy rains return. | A historic storm system which left tens of thousands without power and at least one person dead is continuing to wreak havoc in Northern California, with multiple levees reportedly failing Sunday. Dozens reportedly had to be rescued by emergency crews who used large vehicles, boats and even a helicopter to pluck stranded drivers from the roofs of their vehicles, after flash flooding resulted from an “atmospheric river” that drenched the region Saturday night. Major roads faced partial or complete closures, including Interstate 80, Highway 101, Highway 99, and Highway 580. ● What the National Weather Service called “one of the wettest New Year’s Eves on record,” saw downtown San Francisco inundated with 5.46 inches of rain, making it the city’s second-wettest day since 1849. With 4.75 inches of rain, Oakland saw its wettest day since 1970. Much of Sacramento got around three inches of rain in the 24-hour period. ● As of 10 PM Eastern time, at least 16,000 Northern California residents still had no electricity, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s outage map showed. With levee failures continuing to mount, still more are at risk from flooding.

Link: https://www.axios.com/2022/12/31/netanyahu-zelensky-ukraine-israel-occupation-un-icj

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call late Friday asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution that calls on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on the consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, Ukrainian and Israeli officials told Axios. | The big picture: Ukraine had voted in favor of the resolution during a UN committee vote but did not attend Friday's General Assembly vote "in order to give a chance to the relationship with Netanyahu," the Ukrainian official said. Catch up quick: The UN General Assembly approved the resolution late Friday, with 87 countries voting in favor, 24 countries voting against and 53 countries abstaining.

● According to the resolution, the ICJ will draft an advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank — a process that could take between one to two years.
● The opinion should address the legal consequences of Israel's "occupation, settlement and annexation ... including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem," the resolution reads.
● The opinion should also address the question of “how the policies and practices of Israel affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status."
● Ukraine defied Israeli requests to vote against the resolution during the UN committee vote several weeks ago because of Israel's refusal to provide military assistance to Ukraine, Ukrainian officials had said.
● Israeli foreign ministry officials were furious at the time and summoned the Ukrainian ambassador for a tough conversation.

Link: https://tass.com/society/1558293

As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained to reporters, the address was recorded at the headquarters of the Southern Military District | The outgoing year has been a year of "difficult, necessary decisions, major steps" towards Russia's full independence, and now the country is fighting for its future, President Vladimir Putin said in his New Year's address to Russian citizens on Saturday. ● The head of state addressed the people of the country standing next to the military, not against the backdrop of the Kremlin as usual. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained to reporters, the address was recorded at the headquarters of the Southern Military District. ● TASS has collected the key statements of the New Year's address of the President, which lasted nine minutes and became the longest in history.

■ New Year Address to the Nation (01/01/23)

Link: https://thinkcivics.com/study-vax-mandates-are-unethical-not-science-based/

A new study has found that college-based vaccine mandates are “unethical” and are not “science-based.” | A group of prominent research scientists conducted a risk-benefit analysis of the COVID-19 vaccine boosters for young adults. The study was launched as a response to the controversial continuation of mandates at universities and colleges across the nation. The researchers hoped the results from their study would go some way to filling a gap the CDC and FDA refuse to fill. ● In a paper published by the British Medical Journal, researchers concluded the mandates are not a science-based policy. They discovered that the vaccines are failing to prevent infection and transmission and warned that the risks of severe side effects outweigh any potential benefit. The researchers included Dr. Marty A Makary of Johns Hopkins University, Tracy Beth Høeg, Vinay Prasad, and Kevin Bardosh of the University of Florida, according to WND. Bardosh is a research assistant professor of anthropology, environmental and global health, and emerging pathogens.