activistpost--2020-07-28--ESPN Has Nearly $1 Billion In Ad Revenue Hanging In The Balance Of College Football Season

Disney ’ s ESPN has almost $ 1 billion in ads hinging on whether or not college football season is going to happen this year .
The only question now is whether or not the season is going to take place .
ESPN owns two conference networks and has deals to televise every major bowl game .
The network also owns many postseason games and commercial rights like sponsorships and naming rights , according to Sportico .
ESPN ’ s networks televised 282 games and sold $ 792.5 million in ads – more than double the $ 314.8 million that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And that doesn ’ t even count the network ’ s digital service , ESPN+ .
In other words , college football is the network ’ s major business .
And the disruption of the season – which looks more and more to be a foregone conclusion – could create a very real top line problem for the network .
The Big Ten and Pac 12 have already canceled some early season games and the NCAA ’ s board of governors will continue meeting to determine the fate of the rest of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bowl games last year averaged about $ 30,000 for a 30 second spot .
For the semifinal and national title game , those numbers rose to $ 560,000 and $ 1 million .
The national title game last year drew in 27.3 million viewers .
Dan Cohen , who leads Octagon ’ s media rights consulting division , said : “ ESPN ’ s business in college sports , and primarily college football , is an actual ecosystem .
And a lot of their business is organic , as opposed to inorganic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ then selling ads and securing affiliate deals off that content is inorganic , it ’ s a transactional piece of business .
When you own bowl games , and when you own networks , that becomes a business unit in and of itself.
” The network does have some security , however , due to its long-term sponsorship deals with names like Allstate and Dr. Pepper .
Smaller advertisers , however , could come calling for refunds .
The network ’ s affiliate fees will also help offset some of the turmoil .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ways to Generate Extra Income One media consultant commented : “ The cable guys may be justified in not wanting to pay those fees [ if there ’ s no football ] .
But they don ’ t have much recourse one way or the other .
The force majeure language in most affiliate contracts says the programmer has up to a year to deliver the goods.
” The report says it is “ unclear ” how far along the network is in selling ads for the upcoming season .
Cohen concluded by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from having all of its eggs in one basket : From an economic perspective , you take a bigger hit because you have a bigger piece of the pie , but it also might be easier to manage because you have more control and more flexibility .
Let ’ s say it ’ s a bowl game that ESPN owns .
If they need to create new sponsorship assets that are digital or virtual in nature , they don ’ t need to work with another entity to figure that out .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rates or entitlements , they can make that decision themselves ; they don ’ t need to work with another broadcaster or property owner .
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By Tyler Durden
Disney’s ESPN has almost $1 billion in ads hinging on whether or not college football season is going to happen this year. The only question now is whether or not the season is going to take place.
ESPN owns two conference networks and has deals to televise every major bowl game. The network also owns many postseason games and commercial rights like sponsorships and naming rights, according to Sportico. ESPN’s networks televised 282 games and sold $792.5 million in ads – more than double the $314.8 million that the network’s NFL package generated. And that doesn’t even count the network’s digital service, ESPN+.
In other words, college football is the network’s major business. And the disruption of the season – which looks more and more to be a foregone conclusion – could create a very real top line problem for the network. The Big Ten and Pac 12 have already canceled some early season games and the NCAA’s board of governors will continue meeting to determine the fate of the rest of the season.
Ads that ran during bowl games last year averaged about $30,000 for a 30 second spot. For the semifinal and national title game, those numbers rose to $560,000 and $1 million. The national title game last year drew in 27.3 million viewers.
Dan Cohen, who leads Octagon’s media rights consulting division, said: “ESPN’s business in college sports, and primarily college football, is an actual ecosystem. And a lot of their business is organic, as opposed to inorganic. Buying rights to Major League Baseball, then selling ads and securing affiliate deals off that content is inorganic, it’s a transactional piece of business. When you own bowl games, and when you own networks, that becomes a business unit in and of itself.”
The network does have some security, however, due to its long-term sponsorship deals with names like Allstate and Dr. Pepper. Smaller advertisers, however, could come calling for refunds. The network’s affiliate fees will also help offset some of the turmoil. Sportico writes:
“Each month, the network receives $9.06 for every household that subscribes to its linear TV feed, a premium rate—the industry average is around 40¢ per sub per month—that this year will pump some $8.8 billion into ESPN’s coffers. That’s just for keeping its signal turned on, and the loss of marquee programming won’t put ESPN in default with the operators.”
One media consultant commented: “The cable guys may be justified in not wanting to pay those fees [if there’s no football]. But they don’t have much recourse one way or the other. The force majeure language in most affiliate contracts says the programmer has up to a year to deliver the goods.”
The report says it is “unclear” how far along the network is in selling ads for the upcoming season.
Cohen concluded by noting that ESPN does have some leverage from having all of its eggs in one basket:
From an economic perspective, you take a bigger hit because you have a bigger piece of the pie, but it also might be easier to manage because you have more control and more flexibility. Let’s say it’s a bowl game that ESPN owns. If they need to create new sponsorship assets that are digital or virtual in nature, they don’t need to work with another entity to figure that out. If they want to re-price or discount ad rates or entitlements, they can make that decision themselves; they don’t need to work with another broadcaster or property owner.
Source: Zerohedge
Image: Pixabay
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activistpost--2020-07-29--“Like Nothing We’ve Ever Seen” — Imminent Eviction Wave Is Coming To These States

The eviction moratorium expired last Friday nearly four months after the US economy effectively shutdown due to the covid pandemic , and more than 12 million renters – all behind on rent payments because of the virus-induced recession – are now at imminent risk of getting booted to the curb .
This Friday , some 25 million Americans will no longer receive their weekly $ 600 federal unemployment checks , and the next round of government handouts , currently discussed by Republicans and Democrats , could see benefits slashed from $ 600 to $ 200 ( or be nothing at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress ) .
This would crush household finances across middle-class America , resulting in an even higher number of households unable to pay their rent bill in the months ahead .
That said , Trump ’ s top economic advisor Larry Kudlow , who has religiously pumped stocks with meaningless headlines any time the S & P is even barely in the red , recently said an extension for the eviction moratorium program could be seen .
But what if there isn ’ t one ?
In late July , more than 31 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form .
The economic recovery reversed in late June , as the next crisis among households looms .
In 2016 , there were 2.3 million evictions , Pollock said .
On Sunday , food bank lines reemerged as people ’ s benefits ran out .
The number of jobless Americans is staggering and downright , depressionary , suggesting no labor market recovery this year or next .
With a fiscal cliff unfolding , benefits set to run out , and a rebound in the economy reversing , Household Pulse Data from mid-July outlines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The analysis is based on Household Pulse Data from mid-July and it found that some states will be hit harder than others .
For example , West Virginia is estimated to have the highest share of renter households facing eviction at close to 60 % .
Tennessee , Minnesota , Mississippi , Florida and Louisiana are all among the states set to be worst impacted with shares at 50 % or higher .
Elsewhere , Vermont is the state where renters will be at the lowest risk of eviction , though 22 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the course of the crisis .
– Forbes Shown below ( charted by Statista ) , here are the states where renters will be pressured the most .
See : 177 Different Ways to Generate Extra Income The Trump administration doesn ’ t have the tools to solve the crisis – fiscal and monetary policy can only delay round two of the economic crash until after the elections .
Meanwhile , chaos and disagreement on Capitol Hill means that there is still no deal on a rent moratorium extension , which means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest ever US rent crisis , one which would make 2008 look like child ’ s play .
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By Tyler Durden
The eviction moratorium expired last Friday nearly four months after the US economy effectively shutdown due to the covid pandemic, and more than 12 million renters – all behind on rent payments because of the virus-induced recession – are now at imminent risk of getting booted to the curb.
This Friday, some 25 million Americans will no longer receive their weekly $600 federal unemployment checks, and the next round of government handouts, currently discussed by Republicans and Democrats, could see benefits slashed from $600 to $200 (or be nothing at all if no deal is reached in Congress). This would crush household finances across middle-class America, resulting in an even higher number of households unable to pay their rent bill in the months ahead.
That said, Trump’s top economic advisor Larry Kudlow, who has religiously pumped stocks with meaningless headlines any time the S&P is even barely in the red, recently said an extension for the eviction moratorium program could be seen. But what if there isn’t one?
In late July, more than 31 million Americans collected unemployment benefits of some form. The economic recovery reversed in late June, as the next crisis among households looms.
“It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen,” said John Pollock, coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.
In 2016, there were 2.3 million evictions, Pollock said.
“There could be that many evictions in August,” he said.
On Sunday, food bank lines reemerged as people’s benefits ran out. The number of jobless Americans is staggering and downright, depressionary, suggesting no labor market recovery this year or next.
With a fiscal cliff unfolding, benefits set to run out, and a rebound in the economy reversing, Household Pulse Data from mid-July outlines an even gloomier rent crisis unfolding.
The analysis is based on Household Pulse Data from mid-July and it found that some states will be hit harder than others. For example, West Virginia is estimated to have the highest share of renter households facing eviction at close to 60%. Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana are all among the states set to be worst impacted with shares at 50% or higher. Elsewhere, Vermont is the state where renters will be at the lowest risk of eviction, though 22% of them will potentially lose their homes over the course of the crisis. – Forbes
Shown below (charted by Statista), here are the states where renters will be pressured the most.
The Trump administration doesn’t have the tools to solve the crisis – fiscal and monetary policy can only delay round two of the economic crash until after the elections. Meanwhile, chaos and disagreement on Capitol Hill means that there is still no deal on a rent moratorium extension, which means that the coming weeks could see the largest ever US rent crisis, one which would make 2008 look like child’s play.
Source: Zerohedge
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activistpost--2020-07-29--How Government Entities Use Geolocation Data To Identify Everyone

An infographic from the Future of Privacy Forum describes how mobile devices such as smartphones interpret signals from their surroundings – including GPS satellites , cell towers , Wi-Fi networks , and Bluetooth – generate a precise location measurement ( latitude and longitude ) .
This measurement is provided by the mobile operating system to mobile apps through a Location Services API when they request it and receive the user ’ s permission .
As a result , apps must comply with the technical and policy controls set by the mobile operating systems , such as App Store Policies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not limited to mobile apps ) provide location features or use location data for a variety of other purposes .
Different entities are subject to different restrictions , such as public commitments , privacy policies , contracts and licensing agreements , user controls , app store policies , and sector-specific laws ( such as telecommunications laws for mobile carriers ) .
In addition , broadly applicable privacy and consumer protection laws will generally apply to all commercial entities , such as the California Consumer Privacy Act , or the Federal Trade Commission Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE !
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By MassPrivateI
An infographic from the Future of Privacy Forum describes how mobile devices such as smartphones interpret signals from their surroundings – including GPS satellites, cell towers, Wi-Fi networks, and Bluetooth – generate a precise location measurement (latitude and longitude).
This measurement is provided by the mobile operating system to mobile apps through a Location Services API when they request it and receive the user’s permission. As a result, apps must comply with the technical and policy controls set by the mobile operating systems, such as App Store Policies.
Many different entities (including, but not limited to mobile apps) provide location features or use location data for a variety of other purposes. Different entities are subject to different restrictions, such as public commitments, privacy policies, contracts and licensing agreements, user controls, app store policies, and sector-specific laws (such as telecommunications laws for mobile carriers). In addition, broadly applicable privacy and consumer protection laws will generally apply to all commercial entities, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Source: MassPrivateI blog
Images: Future of Privacy Forum
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activistpost--2020-07-28--Ukraine Officials Ignore Petition to Stop 5G – Allow Radiation Limits to Be Increased 10x for Deploy

Ukraine Officials Ignore Petition to Stop 5G – Allow Radiation Limits to Be Increased 10x for Deployment

Cities AND countries have taken action to ban , delay , halt , and limit 5G installation as well as issue moratoriums ( see 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 .
6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 .
14 , 15 ) .
The majority of scientists worldwide are opposed to deployment until there studies show that it ’ s safe .
Petitions are being created by citizens worldwide as well as by doctors and scientists .
A petition in Ukraine had enough signatures to require consideration by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t sway him .
Ukraine Betrayed !
Ministry of Health To Increase Radiation for 5G Ukraine health officials have been instructed by the government to increase the allowable wireless radiation limits 10X to allow toxic 5G .
“ The government has instructed the Ministry of Health to increase the permitted level of electromagnetic radiation 10 times to improve the business climate .
What does this mean , how will it affect the lives of ordinary people and is there any reason to talk about the danger of such decisions ?
On July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine instructed the Ministry of Health to increase the maximum permissible level of EMR for high ( 30-300 MHz ) , ultra-high ( 300-3000 MHz ) and very high ( 30-300 GHz ) frequency bands by 10 times – from 10 μW / cm2 to 100 µW / cm2 , by making appropriate changes to the order of the Ministry No .
239 dated August 1 , 1996 .
This decision was made for the development of 4G and , in the future , 5G in Ukraine .
In May 2017 , similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ norms and rules for protecting the population from the influence of electromagnetic radiation , then the permissible level of EMR was increased 4 times ( from 2.5 to 10 μW/cm2 ) .
At the same time , the petition “ to ban the introduction of 5G due to its extremely negative impact on health ” received more than 25 thousand signatures , which indicates a high level of concern among Ukrainians about the safety of such changes.
” From 112UA News Many countries have more protective cell tower radiation limits .
Countries such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia , Italy , and Switzerland have far more protective and stricter radiation limits than do we in the United States .
According to industry reports , these countries ’ more protective radiation limits will not allow the full deployment of 5G because the increased 5G radiation would exceed these governments allowable levels of radiation .
The Report “ The impact of RF-EMF exposure limits stricter than the ICNIRP or IEEE guidelines on 4G and 5G mobile network deployment ” reviews how 5G deployment is “ constrained ” by these countries ’ limits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limits are also considered problematic for the full rollout of 4G LTE .
as detailed in a GSMA report .
A petition demanding a ban on 5G in Ukraine has garnered the required 25,000 signatures for consideration by the President .
As of 2:30 p.m. on July 6 , the petition received 25,456 votes .
“ Without a clinically proven evidence base for the safety of this type of communication , please do not enter it in our country !
” — stated in the text of the petition .
Read more at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine received the necessary votes International opposition to 5G has gained significant traction due to the published research showing harm from wireless frequencies .
In addition a report commissioned by members of the European Parliament found conflicts with ICNIRP – an invite only 13 member private group governments rely on for recommendations regarding wireless radiation .
The new report released by European Members of Parliments Michèle Rivasi ( Europe Écologie ) and Dr. Klaus Buchner ( Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei ) accuses the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection ( ICNIRP ) , an organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety of 5G and cell phone radiation , of being under the influence of the telecommunications industry and ignoring the science showing their harmful effects .
( Read more about corruption and industry influence here ) In 2019 US Doctors and Experts wrote President Trump calling for a halt to 5G .
“ We join with the thousands of doctors , scientists and health care providers worldwide who have recently issued appeals for urgent action on 5G to protect public health .
The rapidly growing list includes the International EMF Scientist Appeal , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doctors Appeal , Canadian Doctors , Cyprus Medical Association , Physicians of Turin , Italy , the German Doctors Appeal , International Appeal to Stop 5G on Earth and Space and the International Society of Doctors for the Environment .
We call for a moratorium on 5G and any further wireless antenna densification until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from the wireless industry.
” –December 11 , 2019 , US Doctors and Experts National 5G Resolution Hundreds of doctors and scientists are calling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups are opposed to 5G due to the impact to trees , bees and birds .
In Italy , over 500 municipalities have passed resolutions to halt 5G .
In Ireland Six County Councils have voted to halt 5G : Clare , Roscommon , Leitrim , Wicklow , County Laois and Sligo County Councils Switzerland refused to weaken their radiofrequency radiation limits to deploy 5G .
In Turkey over 47.000 people signed a petition regarding a lawsuit 5G and health .
In Greece , the Kalamata City Council decided not to continue the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debate .
News coverage : “ The city council decided to suspend 5G in Kalamata ” The Sierra Club of California has passed a resolution opposing 5G and the Washington DC Sierra Club testified in opposition to the 5G small cell rollout because of impacts to trees .
In the United States the state of New Hampshire has a 5G Bill HB 522 that asks , “ Why have 1,000s of peer-reviewed studies , including the recently published U.S. Toxicology Program 16-year $ 30 million study , that are showing a wide range @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and heart tumors , infertility , and so many other ailments , being ignored by the Federal Communication Commission ( FCC ) ?
” and , “ Why have more than 220 of the worlds leading scientists signed an appeal to the WHO and the United Nations to protect public health from wireless radiation and nothing has been done ?
” The Washington DC Advisory 3/4G Committee passed a resolution “ Opposing Small Cell Wireless and 5G Technology Without Studies Confirming Safety ” .
Washington DC 2EAdvisory Council passed a resolution asking to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ radiation measurements stating that “ ANC 2E ’ s entire community will be subjected to involuntary radio frequency exposure and this exposure may have negative effects for people with radio frequency emission disabilities or sensitivities .
” International Society of Doctors for Environment issued a Declaration to Halt 5G in 2018 .
The environmental organization BUND is also calling for to stop 5G in Hamburg .
Easton Connecticut and Farragut Tennessee have passed resolutions to halt 5G .
Crown Castle withdrew applications after Western Springs Illinois sent this letter .
Even though worldwide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hasn ’ t stopped 5G deployment everywhere including in space where satellites and similar vehicles are being launched to blast it at us from there ( see 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) .
Activist Post reports regularly about 5G and other unsafe technology .
For more information visit our archives and the following websites .
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth , peace , and freedom news .
Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE !
Follow us on SoMee , HIVE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Twitter .
Provide , Protect and Profit from what ’ s coming !
Get a free issue of Counter Markets today .

By B.N. Frank
Cities AND countries have taken action to ban, delay, halt, and limit 5G installation as well as issue moratoriums (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. 14, 15). The majority of scientists worldwide are opposed to deployment until there studies show that it’s safe.
Petitions are being created by citizens worldwide as well as by doctors and scientists. A petition in Ukraine had enough signatures to require consideration by the president. Unfortunately, it didn’t sway him.
From Environmental Health Trust:
Ukraine Betrayed! Ministry of Health To Increase Radiation for 5G
Ukraine health officials have been instructed by the government to increase the allowable wireless radiation limits 10X to allow toxic 5G.
According to news reports:
“The government has instructed the Ministry of Health to increase the permitted level of electromagnetic radiation 10 times to improve the business climate. What does this mean, how will it affect the lives of ordinary people and is there any reason to talk about the danger of such decisions?
On July 1, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine instructed the Ministry of Health to increase the maximum permissible level of EMR for high (30-300 MHz), ultra-high (300-3000 MHz) and very high (30-300 GHz) frequency bands by 10 times – from 10 μW / cm2 to 100 µW / cm2, by making appropriate changes to the order of the Ministry No. 239 dated August 1, 1996. This decision was made for the development of 4G and, in the future, 5G in Ukraine.
In May 2017, similar changes were already made to the sanitary norms and rules for protecting the population from the influence of electromagnetic radiation, then the permissible level of EMR was increased 4 times (from 2.5 to 10 μW/cm2).
At the same time, the petition “to ban the introduction of 5G due to its extremely negative impact on health” received more than 25 thousand signatures, which indicates a high level of concern among Ukrainians about the safety of such changes.” From 112UA News
Many countries have more protective cell tower radiation limits.
Countries such as China, India, Poland, Russia, Italy, and Switzerland have far more protective and stricter radiation limits than do we in the United States. According to industry reports, these countries’ more protective radiation limits will not allow the full deployment of 5G because the increased 5G radiation would exceed these governments allowable levels of radiation.
The Report “The impact of RF-EMF exposure limits stricter than the ICNIRP or IEEE guidelines on 4G and 5G mobile network deployment” reviews how 5G deployment is “constrained” by these countries’ limits. In addition, these stricter exposure limits are also considered problematic for the full rollout of 4G LTE. as detailed in a GSMA report.
A petition demanding a ban on 5G in Ukraine has garnered the required 25,000 signatures for consideration by the President. As of 2:30 p.m. on July 6, the petition received 25,456 votes.
“Without a clinically proven evidence base for the safety of this type of communication, please do not enter it in our country!” — stated in the text of the petition. Read more at TECH The petition to ban 5G in Ukraine received the necessary votes
International opposition to 5G has gained significant traction due to the published research showing harm from wireless frequencies. In addition a report commissioned by members of the European Parliament found conflicts with ICNIRP – an invite only 13 member private group governments rely on for recommendations regarding wireless radiation. The new report released by European Members of Parliments Michèle Rivasi (Europe Écologie) and Dr. Klaus Buchner (Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei) accuses the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), an organization many governments consider an authority on the safety of 5G and cell phone radiation, of being under the influence of the telecommunications industry and ignoring the science showing their harmful effects. (Read more about corruption and industry influence here)
In 2019 US Doctors and Experts wrote President Trump calling for a halt to 5G.
“We join with the thousands of doctors, scientists and health care providers worldwide who have recently issued appeals for urgent action on 5G to protect public health. The rapidly growing list includes the International EMF Scientist Appeal, Appeal to the European Union, Belgium Doctors Appeal, Canadian Doctors, Cyprus Medical Association, Physicians of Turin, Italy, the German Doctors Appeal, International Appeal to Stop 5G on Earth and Space and the International Society of Doctors for the Environment.
We call for a moratorium on 5G and any further wireless antenna densification until potential hazards for human health and the environment have been fully investigated by scientists independent from the wireless industry.” –December 11, 2019, US Doctors and Experts National 5G Resolution
Hundreds of doctors and scientists are calling to halt 5G. In addition environmental groups are opposed to 5G due to the impact to trees, bees and birds.
In Italy, over 500 municipalities have passed resolutions to halt 5G.
In Ireland Six County Councils have voted to halt 5G: Clare, Roscommon, Leitrim, Wicklow, County Laois and Sligo County Councils
Switzerland refused to weaken their radiofrequency radiation limits to deploy 5G.
In Turkey over 47.000 people signed a petition regarding a lawsuit 5G and health.
In Greece, the Kalamata City Council decided not to continue the 5G pilot program after a three hour debate. News coverage: “The city council decided to suspend 5G in Kalamata”
The Sierra Club of California has passed a resolution opposing 5G and the Washington DC Sierra Club testified in opposition to the 5G small cell rollout because of impacts to trees.
In the United States the state of New Hampshire has a 5G Bill HB 522 that asks, “Why have 1,000s of peer-reviewed studies, including the recently published U.S. Toxicology Program 16-year $30 million study, that are showing a wide range of statistically significant DNA damage, brain and heart tumors, infertility, and so many other ailments, being ignored by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)?” and, “Why have more than 220 of the worlds leading scientists signed an appeal to the WHO and the United Nations to protect public health from wireless radiation and nothing has been done?”
The Washington DC Advisory 3/4G Committee passed a resolution “Opposing Small Cell Wireless and 5G Technology Without Studies Confirming Safety”. Washington DC 2EAdvisory Council passed a resolution asking to minimize 5G small cells and require radiofrequency radiation measurements stating that “ANC 2E’s entire community will be subjected to involuntary radio frequency exposure and this exposure may have negative effects for people with radio frequency emission disabilities or sensitivities. ”
International Society of Doctors for Environment issued a Declaration to Halt 5G in 2018. The environmental organization BUND is also calling for to stop 5G in Hamburg.
Easton Connecticut and Farragut Tennessee have passed resolutions to halt 5G. Crown Castle withdrew applications after Western Springs Illinois sent this letter.
Even though worldwide opposition and moratoriums are increasing, this hasn’t stopped 5G deployment everywhere including in space where satellites and similar vehicles are being launched to blast it at us from there (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Activist Post reports regularly about 5G and other unsafe technology. For more information visit our archives and the following websites.
Become a Patron!
Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Send resources to the front lines of peace and freedom HERE! Follow us on SoMee, HIVE, Parler, Flote, Minds, and Twitter.
Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2020-07-28--FDA Says More Poisonings, Blindness, and Deaths Attributed to Toxic Hand Sanitizers

Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) warned about 87 toxic and potentially hand sanitizers – some of @ @ @ @ @ .
Today ’ s update is even more concerning .
Mounting poisonings , blindness , @ @ @ @ @ flood market The FDA is “ extremely concerned ” by the growing risks of toxic @ @ @ @ @ Drug Administration is renewing warnings this week of dangerous hand sanitizers as it continues to @ @ @ @ @ methanol—a poisonous alcohol that can cause systemic effects , blindness , and death .
The @ @ @ @ @ do-not-use list ” of dangerous sanitizers now includes 87 products .
And with the mounting @ @ @ @ @ says there are rising reports from state health departments and poison control centers of injuries @ @ @ @ @ remain extremely concerned about the potential serious risks of alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing methanol , @ @ @ @ @ M. Hahn in a statement .

By B.N. Frank
Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned about 87 toxic and potentially hand sanitizers – some of which had already been recalled. Today’s update is even more concerning.
From ArsTechnica:
Mounting poisonings, blindness, deaths as toxic hand sanitizers flood market
The FDA is “extremely concerned” by the growing risks of toxic sanitizers.
The Food and Drug Administration is renewing warnings this week of dangerous hand sanitizers as it continues to find products that contain toxic methanol—a poisonous alcohol that can cause systemic effects, blindness, and death.
The agency’s growing “do-not-use list” of dangerous sanitizers now includes 87 products. And with the mounting tally, the FDA also says there are rising reports from state health departments and poison control centers of injuries and deaths.
“We remain extremely concerned about the potential serious risks of alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing methanol,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a statement.
Read full article


activistpost--2020-07-28--Studying Sewage to Track COVID?!  No Sh*t!

You may be relieved , mortified , or both to learn that there are scientists worldwide willing to pilfer poop in order to study the spread of COVID-19 .
NEW YORK ( AP ) — One county in Utah beat back a spike of pandemic virus infections in the spring , and another saw its rate jump .
Both trends showed up in their sewage .
Yes , sewage .
Across the U.S. and in Europe , researchers and health officials say they can track the course of a community outbreak of the new coronavirus by studying the waste flushed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide a valuable addition to public health tools , they say .
In Utah , wastewater from communities near a Cache County meatpacking plant that discovered 287 infected workers indicated an outbreak several days before it was officially reported .
In contrast , sewage from Summit County showed a decline after officials imposed anti-virus measures , including asking tourists to stay away from its popular Park City ski area .
The monitoring in April and May was part of a demonstration project , and the results helped persuade state officials to authorize a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 75 % of Utah ’ s residents , said Erica Gaddis , director of the state ’ s Division of Water Quality .

By B.N. Frank
You may be relieved, mortified, or both to learn that there are scientists worldwide willing to pilfer poop in order to study the spread of COVID-19.
From MSN:
Waste-watching: Sewage can help track pandemic virus trends
NEW YORK (AP) — One county in Utah beat back a spike of pandemic virus infections in the spring, and another saw its rate jump. Both trends showed up in their sewage.
Yes, sewage. Across the U.S. and in Europe, researchers and health officials say they can track the course of a community outbreak of the new coronavirus by studying the waste flushed from its bathrooms. And that can provide a valuable addition to public health tools, they say.
In Utah, wastewater from communities near a Cache County meatpacking plant that discovered 287 infected workers indicated an outbreak several days before it was officially reported. In contrast, sewage from Summit County showed a decline after officials imposed anti-virus measures, including asking tourists to stay away from its popular Park City ski area.
The monitoring in April and May was part of a demonstration project, and the results helped persuade state officials to authorize a bigger monitoring effort that will include wastewater from 75% of Utah’s residents, said Erica Gaddis, director of the state’s Division of Water Quality.
Read full article


activistpost--2020-07-29--COVID19, The Great Reset & The New Normal

Clearly , 2020 has been unlike any previous year in the last century or so .
The world is currently battling against an infodemic of propaganda spewing from the corporate media and official health authorities .
Yes , people are sick and dying .
However , the statistics make it clear that COVID-19 simply does not warrant a total lockdown of the planet and further destruction of the economy .
Regardless , nations around the world are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to grab more surveillance and police state powers , institute mask and vaccine mandates , accelerate the push @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more corporate bailouts , and generally , extreme control and involvement in citizens lives .
The sheer magnitude of the COVID-19 operation is unparalleled , with the most recent similar event being the attacks of September 11 , 2001 .
As with the 9/11 attacks , the predator class is using COVID-19 as the excuse to push plans and agendas which predate the spread of the novel coronavirus .
Even so , the COVID-19 operation is unlike any other event to take place in modern history because the results of this event are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the planet and will continue to for years to come .
Also , unlike 9/11 – which took place over the course of one morning – the COVID-19 operation is taking place daily for months on end .
The effects of this constant bombardment with fear and panic are taking a toll on the hearts and minds of free people all around the world .
Quite simply , the people are ready for this to end and they will do almost anything to achieve this goal .
It is within this space of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has now begun to insert themselves , ready to present the “ solution ” to our ills .
As every student of power and deception knows , the easiest way to achieve victory over your opponent is to guide them to a predetermined destination which benefits your agenda .
If you can do this while convincing your opponent that they are consciously making their own choices and the path is for their own good – well , you are all but guaranteed success .
I believe the evidence indicates this is the strategy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operation .
The predetermined path we are being led down is known as “ The Great Reset ” and was announced in early June by the World Economic Forum .
Regular readers will remember that on October 18 , 2019 , the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the WEF on a high-level pandemic exercise known as Event 201 .
Event 201 simulated how the world would respond to a coronavirus pandemic which swept around the planet .
The simulation imagined 65 million people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , censorship of alternative viewpoints under the guise of fighting “ disinformation , ” and even floated the idea of arresting people who question the pandemic narrative .
The launch of The Great Reset was supported by Klaus Schwab , the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum ; England ’ s Prince Charles ; Antonio Guterres , Secretary-General of the UN ; and Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund .
The kick-off was truly an international event with the participation of Ma Jun , the chairman of the Green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Finance and Banking and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People ’ s Bank of China .
The event was also supported by Bernard Looney , CEO of BP ; Ajay Banga , CEO of Mastercard ; and Bradford Smith , president of Microsoft .
During the launch of The Great Reset , Prince Charles stated that humanity can not waste time because “ we need to put nature at the heart of how we operate.
” UN Secretary-General Guterres called for “ more equal , inclusive and sustainable economies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , climate change , and other global challenges .
In an opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail , Klaus Schwab provided more details on the goals of The Great Reset ( emphasis added ) : See : 177 Different Ways to Generate Extra Income Schwab goes on to describe several crises facing humanity , including rising government debt , unemployment , and increasing social unrest .
Combined with COVID-19 , these crises will leave the world less sustainable , less equal and more fragile .
“ We must build entirely new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Schwab writes .
He details the 3 main components of TGR agenda , specifically fairer market outcomes , investments in “ equality and sustainability , ” and harnessing the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution .
When it comes to producing “ fairer market outcomes , ” Schwab calls for governments to improve coordination in tax , regulatory , and fiscal policy .
He also calls for upgrading trade agreements and moving towards a “ stakeholder economy.
” When he speaks of equality and sustainability , Schwab means that current and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be used to create a new system that is “ more resilient , equitable and sustainable.
” He also calls for more “ green ” urban infrastructure and incentivizing industries to improve their environmental record .
Finally , Schwab calls for utilizing the innovations of “ the Fourth Industrial Revolution ” to support public good .
The 4IR is another pet project of Schwab which was first announced in December 2015 .
To put it simply , the 4IR is the digital panopticon of the future , where digital surveillance is omnipresent and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , hopefully , improve our lives .
Sometimes known as “ The Internet of Things , ” this world will be powered by 5G and 6G technology .
“ Ubiquitous , mobile supercomputing .
Intelligent robots .
Self-driving cars .
Neuro-technological brain enhancements .
Genetic editing .
The evidence of dramatic change is all around us and it ’ s happening at exponential speed , ” Schwab wrote for the announcement of the 4IR .
Of course , for Schwab and other globalists , the 4IR also lends itself towards more central planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a track and trace society where all transactions are logged , every person has a digital ID that can be tracked , and social malcontents are locked out of society via social credit scores .
In fact , much of this call for a Great Reset is already playing out .
For example , Mastercard and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded GAVI recently announced a partnership with AI-powered “ identity authentication ” company , Trust Stamp .
As MintPress News reported , “ The program , which was first launched in late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s digital identity platform integrated into the GAVI-Mastercard “ Wellness Pass , ” a digital vaccination record and identity system that is also linked to Mastercard ’ s click-to-play system that powered by its AI and machine learning technology called NuData.
“ This is why astute readers are skeptical when they hear Schwab say , “ the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect , reimagine , and reset our world to create a healthier , more equitable and more prosperous future.
” Who exactly is Schwab speaking to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future ?
How long has this Great Reset been in the works ?
The answers to these questions can help us understand the true goals of this agenda .
As researcher Brandon Smith reported , Christine Lagarde , former head of the IMF , discussed a global reset as far back as 2014 .
“ The reset is often mentioned in the same breath as ideas like “ the New Multilateralism ” or “ the Multipolar World Order ” or “ the New World Order.
” All of these phrases mean essentially the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smith correctly notes that the Great Reset is not a response to the pandemic , but rather , “ the global reset as implemented by central banks and the BIS/IMF is the cause of the collapse .
The collapse is a tool , a flamethrower burning a great hole in the forest to make way for the foundations of the globalist Ziggurat to be built.
” In early July , Schwab and French author Thierry Malleret released a book outlining the vision of The Great Reset .
The book , Covid-19 : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world might look like .
“ Will there be enough collective will to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to reimagine our world , in a bid to make it a better and more resilient one as it emerges on the other side of this crisis ?
, ” Schwab and Malleret pondered at the release of the book .
The two men believe COVID-19 triggered “ momentous changes and magnified the fault lines that already beset our economies and societies.
” They also predict that falling oil prices and a freeze in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ massive anti-government demonstrations .
“ One path will take us to a better world : more inclusive , more equitable and more respectful of Mother Nature .
The other will take us to a world that resembles the one we just left behind – but worse and constantly dogged by nasty surprises , ” the authors argue .
In the book , Schwab expands upon the initial announcement of The Great Reset .
Once again he calls for the 4th Industrial Revolution and the digitalization of everything , powered by 5G technology .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ his book , calling for rethinking the “ social contract ” society has with governments .
Schwab also calls for a nature based or green economy .
In January 2020 , the WEF released their report , Nature Risk Rising : Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy , as part of their New Nature Economy series of reports .
The report is “ the first of a series of New Nature Economy reports , prepared through the Nature Action Agenda , a platform that aims to encourage a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society , academics , innovators and youth to disrupt business-as-usual approaches.
” A second report , The Future of Nature and Business , was released in July .
Once again , the WEF states that COVID-19 presents an “ opportunity , to change the way we eat , live , grow , build and power our lives to achieve a carbon-neutral , ‘ nature-positive ’ economy and halt biodiversity loss by 2030. Business as usual is no longer an option.
“ In a companion report , the WEF provides some detail on what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eat .
“ Another set of policy measures that would stimulate more resource-efficient food systems entail directing stimulus packages towards R & D to support the diversification away from diets based on resource intensive animal proteins , and towards four main categories of alternatives – aquatic , plant-based , insect-based and laboratory-cultured , ” the report states .
This push for alternatives to animal proteins has coincided with a rise in laboratory created fake meat , including products funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
Interestingly , the companion report also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the meat sector ” which “ could accelerate these developments.
” Coincidentally , because of COVID-19 , the Trump administration awarded $ 15.5 billion in relief aid for the meat and dairy industry .
Once again , the predictions and declarations of these global institutions appear to play out in reality as perfect as any scripted TV show .
The calls for a Great Reset greatly mimic previous programs and initiatives put forward by other globalist organizations , including the United Nations .
Researcher F. William Engdahl provided much-needed clarity in a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reset .
Engdahl notes that , “ the declaration by the World Economic Forum to make a Great Reset is to all indications a thinly-veiled attempt to advance the Agenda 2030 “ sustainable ” dystopian model , a global “ Green New Deal ” in the wake of the covid19 pandemic measures .
Their close ties with Gates Foundation projects , with the WHO , and with the UN suggest we may soon face a far more sinister world after the covid19 pandemic fades.
” In March , the WEF launched the COVID @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for global government in response to COVID-19 .
The answer , WEF believes , is to have greater global cooperation , move away from the nation-state , and tackle the world ’ s problems as one international community .
Along with the launch of the Action Platform , the WEF released an impressive graphic as part of their “ Strategic Intelligence ” platform , which outlines the wide ranging ways their plans will effect and shape the world of the 21st century and beyond .
From the media ’ s role in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graphic attempts to provide details on this centrally planned future being promoted by the WEF .
I encourage all readers to spend an evening going down the rabbit hole that is the COVID Action Platform for a better understanding of where we are headed .
With the launch of The Great Reset , the WEF also launched a Strategic Intelligence graphic detailing how their plans will unfold .
The Great Reset graphic details how everything from drones , blockchain , the future of energy , LGBTI inclusion , and 3D printing will play @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Once again , I encourage readers to take a dive into this graphic to gain clarity on what the WEF and their partners have planned for the coming decade .
The WEF promotes itself as the “ International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
” They partner with a variety of private companies , philanthropic outlets , and governments to achieve their goals .
Researcher Steven Guinness recently outlined how the WEF partners with various institutions to accomplish their stated aims and how the Strategic Intelligence platform is “ co-curated with leading topic experts from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations.
” “ ‘ Co-curators ‘ are perhaps the most important aspect to consider here , given that they have the ability to ‘ share their expertise with the Forum ’ s extensive network of members , partners and constituents , as well as a growing public audience , ’ ” Guinness writes .
“ It is safe to assume then that when co-curators speak , members and partners of the World Economic Forum listen .
This in part is how the WEF ’ s agenda takes shape.
” As Guinness notes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ map of the globalist vision include Harvard university , the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Imperial College London , Oxford University , Yale and the European Council on Foreign Relations .
Several of these institutions continue to play an influential role in shaping the narrative around COVID-19 .
The WEF ’ s highest level of partnership is known as Strategic Partners .
There are only 100 international companies listed as Strategic Partners .
Each partner receives an invitation if they have “ alignment with forum values.
” These partners “ shape the future @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forum projects and championing public-private dialogue.
” The WEF ’ s Strategic Partners include Johnson & Johnson , and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
Bill Gates is also a long time “ Agenda Contributor ” for the WEF .
As mentioned above , the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the WEF on the Event 201 pandemic exercise in October 2019 .
Johnson & Johnson were also partners in the exercise .
As TLAV has previously documented , the Bill and Melinda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the WEF : their publicly stated goals mask a global control agenda .
Thus , it should come as no surprise that Klaus Schwab , founder of the WEF , is a former attendee and member of the Steering Committee for the secretive Bilderberg Group .
The WEF itself is akin to a more public Bilderberg Group which brings together around 3,000 business leaders , international political leaders , economists , celebrities , and journalists for a five day conference to discuss global issues .
The WEF meets every January in Davos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The elitism of the WEF has resulted in Schwab and his cohorts being nicknamed The Davos Class .
In January 2021 the theme of the WEF meeting will be “ The Great Reset.
” It ’ s important that we keep an eye on the WEF and their push for the Great Reset as we draw closer to election 2020 and a potential Dark Winter .
Klaus Schwab , Bill Gates , and their ilk are determined to present themselves as the saviors of humanity .
They are using the COVID-19 panic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while selling it as the cure to our problems .
This predator class attempts to mask their true intentions with flowery language designed to lull the waking masses back to sleep .
To be clear , our world is absolutely , without a doubt existing in an unsustainable paradigm .
We do have growing income inequality , police violence , failing healthcare systems , and insufficient food production systems .
These problems were apparent before COVID-19 and the fragility of these systems has indeed become more obvious in recent months .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them to stay in the driver ’ s seat as they careen us into a future of technocratic control and the end of individual liberty .
While Schwab and Gates would prefer that the people of the world submit to their vision , we must stand against this push for centralization of power and technology .
The Great Reset is coming , and perhaps , it should come .
We have many issues facing our species that need to be addressed .
However , central planning , surveillance , and loss of individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer is decentralization , opting out en masse , non-compliance , and non-participation in the systems which have brought us to this predicament .
We , as free people , must decide what path we intend to take .
Will we stand by and allow the predators to seize control of all resources and power for the coming generations ?
Or , will we finally break free from their violent systems and initiate a Great Reset which benefits the people , from bottom to top ?
The answer depends on you .
Question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Derrick Broze , a staff writer for The Last American Vagabond , is a journalist , author , public speaker , and activist .
He is the co-host of Free Thinker Radio on 90.1 Houston , as well as the founder of The Conscious Resistance Network & The Houston Free Thinkers .
Visit TheLastAmericanVagabond.com .
Subscribe to TLAV ’ s independent news broadcast on YouTube or iTunes .
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By Derrick Broze
Clearly, 2020 has been unlike any previous year in the last century or so. The world is currently battling against an infodemic of propaganda spewing from the corporate media and official health authorities. Yes, people are sick and dying. However, the statistics make it clear that COVID-19 simply does not warrant a total lockdown of the planet and further destruction of the economy.
Regardless, nations around the world are using COVID-19 as an opportunity to grab more surveillance and police state powers, institute mask and vaccine mandates, accelerate the push towards a completely digital world, enact more corporate bailouts, and generally, extreme control and involvement in citizens lives. The sheer magnitude of the COVID-19 operation is unparalleled, with the most recent similar event being the attacks of September 11, 2001. As with the 9/11 attacks, the predator class is using COVID-19 as the excuse to push plans and agendas which predate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Even so, the COVID-19 operation is unlike any other event to take place in modern history because the results of this event are affecting people in every single nation on the planet and will continue to for years to come. Also, unlike 9/11 – which took place over the course of one morning – the COVID-19 operation is taking place daily for months on end. The effects of this constant bombardment with fear and panic are taking a toll on the hearts and minds of free people all around the world. Quite simply, the people are ready for this to end and they will do almost anything to achieve this goal. It is within this space of fear and uncertainty which the predator class has now begun to insert themselves, ready to present the “solution” to our ills.
The Great Reset
As every student of power and deception knows, the easiest way to achieve victory over your opponent is to guide them to a predetermined destination which benefits your agenda. If you can do this while convincing your opponent that they are consciously making their own choices and the path is for their own good – well, you are all but guaranteed success. I believe the evidence indicates this is the strategy we are seeing unfold during the COVID-19 operation.
The predetermined path we are being led down is known as “The Great Reset” and was announced in early June by the World Economic Forum. Regular readers will remember that on October 18, 2019, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the WEF on a high-level pandemic exercise known as Event 201. Event 201 simulated how the world would respond to a coronavirus pandemic which swept around the planet. The simulation imagined 65 million people dying, mass lock downs, quarantines, censorship of alternative viewpoints under the guise of fighting “disinformation,” and even floated the idea of arresting people who question the pandemic narrative.
The launch of The Great Reset was supported by Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum; England’s Prince Charles; Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN; and Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund. The kick-off was truly an international event with the participation of Ma Jun, the chairman of the Green Finance Committee at the China Society for Finance and Banking and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China. The event was also supported by Bernard Looney, CEO of BP; Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard; and Bradford Smith, president of Microsoft.
During the launch of The Great Reset, Prince Charles stated that humanity cannot waste time because “we need to put nature at the heart of how we operate.” UN Secretary-General Guterres called for “more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies” that can face pandemics, climate change, and other global challenges.
In an opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail, Klaus Schwab provided more details on the goals of The Great Reset (emphasis added):
COVID-19 lockdowns may be gradually easing, but anxiety about the world’s social and economic prospects is only intensifying. There is good reason to worry: a sharp economic downturn has already begun, and we could be facing the worst depression since the 1930s. But, while this outcome is likely, it is not unavoidable. To achieve a better outcome, the world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions. Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, we need a “Great Reset” of capitalism.
Schwab goes on to describe several crises facing humanity, including rising government debt, unemployment, and increasing social unrest. Combined with COVID-19, these crises will leave the world less sustainable, less equal and more fragile. “We must build entirely new foundations for our economic and social systems,” Schwab writes. He details the 3 main components of TGR agenda, specifically fairer market outcomes, investments in “equality and sustainability,” and harnessing the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
When it comes to producing “fairer market outcomes,” Schwab calls for governments to improve coordination in tax, regulatory, and fiscal policy. He also calls for upgrading trade agreements and moving towards a “stakeholder economy.” When he speaks of equality and sustainability, Schwab means that current and future government stimulus and relief packages should be used to create a new system that is “more resilient, equitable and sustainable.” He also calls for more “green” urban infrastructure and incentivizing industries to improve their environmental record.
Finally, Schwab calls for utilizing the innovations of “the Fourth Industrial Revolution” to support public good. The 4IR is another pet project of Schwab which was first announced in December 2015. To put it simply, the 4IR is the digital panopticon of the future, where digital surveillance is omnipresent and humanity uses digital technology to alter and, hopefully, improve our lives. Sometimes known as “The Internet of Things,” this world will be powered by 5G and 6G technology.
“Ubiquitous, mobile supercomputing. Intelligent robots. Self-driving cars. Neuro-technological brain enhancements. Genetic editing. The evidence of dramatic change is all around us and it’s happening at exponential speed,” Schwab wrote for the announcement of the 4IR.
Of course, for Schwab and other globalists, the 4IR also lends itself towards more central planning and top-down control. The goal is a track and trace society where all transactions are logged, every person has a digital ID that can be tracked, and social malcontents are locked out of society via social credit scores.
In fact, much of this call for a Great Reset is already playing out. For example, Mastercard and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded GAVI recently announced a partnership with AI-powered “identity authentication” company, Trust Stamp. As MintPress News reported, “The program, which was first launched in late 2018, will see Trust Stamp’s digital identity platform integrated into the GAVI-Mastercard “Wellness Pass,” a digital vaccination record and identity system that is also linked to Mastercard’s click-to-play system that powered by its AI and machine learning technology called NuData.“
This is why astute readers are skeptical when they hear Schwab say, “the pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable and more prosperous future.”
Who exactly is Schwab speaking to when he speaks of a more prosperous future? How long has this Great Reset been in the works? The answers to these questions can help us understand the true goals of this agenda.
As researcher Brandon Smith reported, Christine Lagarde, former head of the IMF, discussed a global reset as far back as 2014. “The reset is often mentioned in the same breath as ideas like “the New Multilateralism” or “the Multipolar World Order” or “the New World Order.” All of these phrases mean essentially the same thing,” Smith writes.
Smith correctly notes that the Great Reset is not a response to the pandemic, but rather, “the global reset as implemented by central banks and the BIS/IMF is the cause of the collapse. The collapse is a tool, a flamethrower burning a great hole in the forest to make way for the foundations of the globalist Ziggurat to be built.”
New Normal, Same World Order
In early July, Schwab and French author Thierry Malleret released a book outlining the vision of The Great Reset. The book, Covid-19: The Great Reset, explores what the post-pandemic world might look like. “Will there be enough collective will to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to reimagine our world, in a bid to make it a better and more resilient one as it emerges on the other side of this crisis?,” Schwab and Malleret pondered at the release of the book. The two men believe COVID-19 triggered “momentous changes and magnified the fault lines that already beset our economies and societies.” They also predict that falling oil prices and a freeze in tourism could lead to a wave of massive anti-government demonstrations.
“One path will take us to a better world: more inclusive, more equitable and more respectful of Mother Nature. The other will take us to a world that resembles the one we just left behind – but worse and constantly dogged by nasty surprises,” the authors argue.
In the book, Schwab expands upon the initial announcement of The Great Reset. Once again he calls for the 4th Industrial Revolution and the digitalization of everything, powered by 5G technology. However, Schwab goes even further in his book, calling for rethinking the “social contract” society has with governments.
Schwab also calls for a nature based or green economy. In January 2020, the WEF released their report, Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, as part of their New Nature Economy series of reports. The report is “the first of a series of New Nature Economy reports, prepared through the Nature Action Agenda, a platform that aims to encourage a movement of businesses, governments, civil society, academics, innovators and youth to disrupt business-as-usual approaches.”
A second report, The Future of Nature and Business, was released in July. Once again, the WEF states that COVID-19 presents an “opportunity, to change the way we eat, live, grow, build and power our lives to achieve a carbon-neutral, ‘nature-positive’ economy and halt biodiversity loss by 2030. Business as usual is no longer an option.“
In a companion report, the WEF provides some detail on what it means to change the way we eat. “Another set of policy measures that would stimulate more resource-efficient food systems entail directing stimulus packages towards R&D to support the diversification away from diets based on resource intensive animal proteins, and towards four main categories of alternatives – aquatic, plant-based, insect-based and laboratory-cultured,” the report states. This push for alternatives to animal proteins has coincided with a rise in laboratory created fake meat, including products funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Interestingly, the companion report also calls for “corporate bailout packages for the meat sector” which “could accelerate these developments.” Coincidentally, because of COVID-19, the Trump administration awarded $15.5 billion in relief aid for the meat and dairy industry. Once again, the predictions and declarations of these global institutions appear to play out in reality as perfect as any scripted TV show.
The calls for a Great Reset greatly mimic previous programs and initiatives put forward by other globalist organizations, including the United Nations. Researcher F. William Engdahl provided much-needed clarity in a recent piece on the announcement of The Great Reset. Engdahl notes that, “the declaration by the World Economic Forum to make a Great Reset is to all indications a thinly-veiled attempt to advance the Agenda 2030 “sustainable” dystopian model, a global “Green New Deal” in the wake of the covid19 pandemic measures. Their close ties with Gates Foundation projects, with the WHO, and with the UN suggest we may soon face a far more sinister world after the covid19 pandemic fades.”
Strategic Intelligence, Strategic Partners, and Event 201
In March, the WEF launched the COVID Action Platform which is essentially a call for global government in response to COVID-19. The answer, WEF believes, is to have greater global cooperation, move away from the nation-state, and tackle the world’s problems as one international community.
Along with the launch of the Action Platform, the WEF released an impressive graphic as part of their “Strategic Intelligence” platform, which outlines the wide ranging ways their plans will effect and shape the world of the 21st century and beyond. From the media’s role in the pandemic to finding a vaccine, the graphic attempts to provide details on this centrally planned future being promoted by the WEF. I encourage all readers to spend an evening going down the rabbit hole that is the COVID Action Platform for a better understanding of where we are headed.
With the launch of The Great Reset, the WEF also launched a Strategic Intelligence graphic detailing how their plans will unfold. The Great Reset graphic details how everything from drones, blockchain, the future of energy, LGBTI inclusion, and 3D printing will play a role in the New Normal. Once again, I encourage readers to take a dive into this graphic to gain clarity on what the WEF and their partners have planned for the coming decade.
The WEF promotes itself as the “International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.” They partner with a variety of private companies, philanthropic outlets, and governments to achieve their goals. Researcher Steven Guinness recently outlined how the WEF partners with various institutions to accomplish their stated aims and how the Strategic Intelligence platform is “co-curated with leading topic experts from academia, think tanks, and international organizations.”
“‘Co-curators‘ are perhaps the most important aspect to consider here, given that they have the ability to ‘share their expertise with the Forum’s extensive network of members, partners and constituents, as well as a growing public audience,’” Guinness writes. “It is safe to assume then that when co-curators speak, members and partners of the World Economic Forum listen. This in part is how the WEF’s agenda takes shape.”
As Guinness notes, the co-curators of the Strategic Intelligence road map of the globalist vision include Harvard university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, Oxford University, Yale and the European Council on Foreign Relations. Several of these institutions continue to play an influential role in shaping the narrative around COVID-19.
The WEF’s highest level of partnership is known as Strategic Partners. There are only 100 international companies listed as Strategic Partners. Each partner receives an invitation if they have “alignment with forum values.” These partners “shape the future through extensive contribution to developing and implementing Forum projects and championing public-private dialogue.”
The WEF’s Strategic Partners include Johnson & Johnson, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates is also a long time “Agenda Contributor” for the WEF. As mentioned above, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the WEF on the Event 201 pandemic exercise in October 2019. Johnson & Johnson were also partners in the exercise.
As TLAV has previously documented, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation operates in a similar fashion to the WEF: their publicly stated goals mask a global control agenda. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Klaus Schwab, founder of the WEF, is a former attendee and member of the Steering Committee for the secretive Bilderberg Group.
The WEF itself is akin to a more public Bilderberg Group which brings together around 3,000 business leaders, international political leaders, economists, celebrities, and journalists for a five day conference to discuss global issues. The WEF meets every January in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss their agenda. The elitism of the WEF has resulted in Schwab and his cohorts being nicknamed The Davos Class.
In January 2021 the theme of the WEF meeting will be “The Great Reset.” It’s important that we keep an eye on the WEF and their push for the Great Reset as we draw closer to election 2020 and a potential Dark Winter. Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, and their ilk are determined to present themselves as the saviors of humanity. They are using the COVID-19 panic as an opportunity to push their agenda while selling it as the cure to our problems.
This predator class attempts to mask their true intentions with flowery language designed to lull the waking masses back to sleep. To be clear, our world is absolutely, without a doubt existing in an unsustainable paradigm. We do have growing income inequality, police violence, failing healthcare systems, and insufficient food production systems. These problems were apparent before COVID-19 and the fragility of these systems has indeed become more obvious in recent months. However, these psychopaths would prefer if we allowed them to stay in the driver’s seat as they careen us into a future of technocratic control and the end of individual liberty.
While Schwab and Gates would prefer that the people of the world submit to their vision, we must stand against this push for centralization of power and technology. The Great Reset is coming, and perhaps, it should come. We have many issues facing our species that need to be addressed. However, central planning, surveillance, and loss of individual liberty is not the answer. The answer is decentralization, opting out en masse, non-compliance, and non-participation in the systems which have brought us to this predicament.
We, as free people, must decide what path we intend to take. Will we stand by and allow the predators to seize control of all resources and power for the coming generations? Or, will we finally break free from their violent systems and initiate a Great Reset which benefits the people, from bottom to top?
The answer depends on you.
Question Everything, Come To Your Own Conclusions.
Source: The Last American Vagabond
Derrick Broze, a staff writer for The Last American Vagabond, is a journalist, author, public speaker, and activist. He is the co-host of Free Thinker Radio on 90.1 Houston, as well as the founder of The Conscious Resistance Network & The Houston Free Thinkers.
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activistpost--2020-07-29--One Nation Under House Arrest: How Do COVID-19 Mandates Impact Our Freedoms?

We have become one nation under house arrest .
You think we ’ re any different from the Kentucky couple fitted out with ankle monitoring bracelets and forced to quarantine at home ?
Consider what happened to Elizabeth and Isaiah Linscott .
Elizabeth took a precautionary diagnostic COVID-19 test before traveling to visit her parents and grandparents in Michigan .
It came back positive : Elizabeth was asymptomatic for the novel coronavirus but had no symptoms .
Her husband and infant daughter tested negative for the virus .
Now in a country where freedom actually means something , the Linscotts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves how to proceed responsibly , but in the American Police State , we ’ ve only got as much freedom as the government allows .
That ’ s not saying much .
Indeed , it ’ s a dangerous time for anyone who still clings to the idea that freedom means the right to think for yourself and act responsibly according to your best judgment .
In that regard , the Linscotts are a little old-school in their thinking .
When Elizabeth was asked to sign a self-quarantine order agreeing to check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to travel anywhere without prior approval , she refused .
“ I shouldn ’ t have to ask for consent because I ’ m an adult who can make that decision .
And as a citizen of the United States of America , that is my right to make that decision without having to disclose that to somebody else , ” said Elizabeth .
“ So , no , I wouldn ’ t wear a mask .
I would do everything that I could to make sure that I wouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the fear that ’ s spreading with this .
But no , I would have just stayed home , take care of my child.
” Instead of signing the blanket statement , Elizabeth submitted her own written declaration : A few days after being informed that Elizabeth ’ s case was being escalated and referred to law enforcement , the Linscotts reportedly found their home surrounded by multiple government vehicles , government personnel and the county sheriff armed with a court order and ankle monitors .
“ We didn ’ t rob @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We didn ’ t steal something .
We didn ’ t hit and run .
We didn ’ t do anything wrong.
” That ’ s the point , of course .
In an age of overcriminalization—when the law is wielded like a hammer to force compliance to the government ’ s dictates whatever they might be—you don ’ t have to do anything wrong to be fined , arrested or subjected to raids and seizures and surveillance .
Watch and see : just as it did in China , this pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perfect excuse for expanding its surveillance and data collection powers at our expense .
On a daily basis , Americans are already relinquishing ( in many cases , voluntarily ) the most intimate details of who we are—their biological makeup , our genetic blueprints , and our biometrics ( facial characteristics and structure , fingerprints , iris scans , etc . )
—in order to navigate an increasingly technologically-enabled world .
COVID-19 , however , takes the surveillance state to the next level .
There ’ s already been talk of mass testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contact tracing , immunity passports to allow those who have recovered from the virus to move around more freely , and snitch tip lines for reporting “ rule breakers ” to the authorities .
More to the point , as the head of one tech company asked , “ Can you actually constitutionally monitor someone who ’ s innocent ?
It ’ s uncharted territory.
” Except this isn ’ t exactly uncharted territory , is it ?
It follows much the same pattern as every other state of emergency in recent years—legitimate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ add to its arsenal of technologies and powers .
The war on terror , the war on drugs , the war on illegal immigration , asset forfeiture schemes , road safety schemes , school safety schemes , eminent domain : all of these programs started out as legitimate responses to pressing concerns and have since become weapons of compliance and control in the police state ’ s hands .
Become an Activist Post Patron for $ 1 per month at Patreon .
It doesn ’ t even matter what the nature of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergencies , “ unforeseen economic collapse , loss of functioning political and legal order , purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency , pervasive public health emergencies , and catastrophic natural and human disasters ” —as long as it allows the government to justify all manner of government tyranny in the so-called name of national security .
It ’ s hard to know who to trust anymore .
Certainly , in this highly partisan age , when everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to police brutality to football is being recast in light of one ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incredibly difficult to separate what constitutes a genuine safety concern versus what is hyper-politicized propaganda .
Take the mask mandates , for example .
Currently , 19 states have not issued mask mandates in response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers .
More than 30 states have enacted some form of mask requirement .
A growing number of retailers , including Walmart , Target and CVS , are also joining the mask mandate bandwagon .
Georgia ’ s governor , in a challenge to mask requirements by local governing bodies , filed a lawsuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be worn within city limits .
In some states , such as Indiana , where masks are required but there are no penalties for non-compliance , government officials are urging people to protect themselves but not to get into confrontations over masks or turn into snitches .
In other states , such as Virginia , the Nanny State is using more strong-handed tactics to force compliance with mask mandates , including the threat of fines , jail time , surprise inspections of businesses , and complaint hotlines that encourage citizens to snitch on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deployed 100 “ compliance ambassadors ” to help educate and enhance enforcement of the state ’ s mask mandate .
One couple in Knoxville , Tenn. , took mask-shaming to new heights when they created a Facebook page to track compliance by businesses , employees and customers .
In Miami , “ residents now risk a legal penalty if they venture into public without a face mask .
The city has assigned at least 39 police officers to make sure that residents are following the city ’ s mandatory mask ordinance .
Offenders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refuse to comply , they will be fined .
The first offense will cost $ 100 and the second another $ 100 .
With a third — God forbid — the offender will be arrested.
” These conflicting and , in some cases , heavy-handed approaches to a pandemic that has locked down the nation for close to six months is turning this health crisis into an unnecessarily politicized , bureaucratic tug-of-war with no clear-cut winners to be found .
Certainly , this is not the first crisis to pit security concerns against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we have been indoctrinated into fearing and mistrusting one another instead of fearing and mistrusting the government .
As a result , we ’ ve been forced to travel this road many , many times with lamentably predictable results each time : without fail , when asked to choose between safety and liberty , Americans historically tend to choose safety .
Failing to read the fine print on such devil ’ s bargains , “ we the people ” find ourselves repeatedly on the losing end as the government uses each crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at taxpayer expense .
Whatever these mask mandates might be—authoritarian strong-arm tactics or health necessities to prevent further spread of the virus—they have thus far proven to be uphill legal battles for those hoping to challenge them in the courts as unconstitutional restrictions on their right to liberty , bodily autonomy , privacy and health .
In fact , Florida courts have upheld the mask ordinances , ruling that they do not infringe on constitutional rights and that “ there is no reasonable expectation of privacy as to whether one covers their nose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the only places to which the mask ordinance applies.
” Declaring that there is no constitutional right to infect others , Circuit Court Judge John Kastrenakes concluded that “ the right to be ‘ free from governmental intrusion ’ does not automatically or completely shield an individual ’ s conduct from regulation.
” Moreover , wrote Kastrenakes , constitutional rights and the ideals of limited government “ do not absolve a citizen from the real-world consequences of their individual choices , or otherwise allow them to wholly skirt their social obligation to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a whole .
This is particularly true when one ’ s individual choices can result in drastic , costly , and sometimes deadly , consequences to others.
” These court decisions take their cue from a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts in which the Court upheld the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws .
In other words , the courts have concluded that the government has a compelling interest in requiring masks to fight COVID-19 infections that overrides individual freedoms .
Generally , the government has to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it can override certain critical rights such as free speech , assembly , press , privacy , search and seizure , etc .
Most of the time , the government lacks that compelling state interest , but it still manages to violate those rights , setting itself up for legal battles further down the road .
We can spend time debating the mask mandates .
However , criticizing those who rightly fear these restrictions to be a slippery slope to further police state tactics will not restore the freedoms that have been willingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Americans of all political stripes over the years .
As I ’ ve warned , this is a test to see whether the Constitution—and our commitment to the principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights—can survive a national crisis and true state of emergency .
It must be remembered that James Madison , the “ father ” of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the fourth president of the United States , advised that we should “ take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties .
Whether or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be cause for alarm , they are far from the first experiment on our liberties .
Indeed , whether or not you concede that the pandemic itself is cause for alarm , we should all be alarmed by the government ’ s response to this pandemic .
By government , I ’ m not referring to one particular politician or administration but to the entire apparatus at every level that conspires to keep “ we the people ” fearful of one another and under virtual house arrest .
This is what we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our skin , prisoners in our homes , prisoners in our communities—forced to comply with the government ’ s shifting mandates about how to navigate this pandemic or else .
Right now , COVID-19 is the perfect excuse for the government to wreak havoc on our freedoms in the name of safety and security , but as I make clear in my book Battlefield America : The War on the American People , don ’ t believe for a minute that our safety is the police state ’ s primary concern .

By John W. Whitehead
“It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle.”—James Madison
We have become one nation under house arrest.
You think we’re any different from the Kentucky couple fitted out with ankle monitoring bracelets and forced to quarantine at home?
We’re not.
Consider what happened to Elizabeth and Isaiah Linscott.
Elizabeth took a precautionary diagnostic COVID-19 test before traveling to visit her parents and grandparents in Michigan. It came back positive: Elizabeth was asymptomatic for the novel coronavirus but had no symptoms. Her husband and infant daughter tested negative for the virus.
Now in a country where freedom actually means something, the Linscotts would have the right to determine for themselves how to proceed responsibly, but in the American Police State, we’ve only got as much freedom as the government allows.
That’s not saying much.
Indeed, it’s a dangerous time for anyone who still clings to the idea that freedom means the right to think for yourself and act responsibly according to your best judgment.
In that regard, the Linscotts are a little old-school in their thinking. When Elizabeth was asked to sign a self-quarantine order agreeing to check in daily with the health department and not to travel anywhere without prior approval, she refused.
“I shouldn’t have to ask for consent because I’m an adult who can make that decision. And as a citizen of the United States of America, that is my right to make that decision without having to disclose that to somebody else,” said Elizabeth. “So, no, I wouldn’t wear a mask. I would do everything that I could to make sure that I wouldn’t come in contact with other people because of the fear that’s spreading with this. But no, I would have just stayed home, take care of my child.”
Instead of signing the blanket statement, Elizabeth submitted her own written declaration:
I will do my best to stay home, as I do every other time I get sick. But I cannot comply to having to call the public health department everytime that I need to go out and do something. It’s my right and freedoms to go where I please and not have to answer to anyone for it. There is no pandemic and with a survival rate of 99.9998% I’m fine. I will continue to avoid the elderly, just like PRIOR guidelines state, try to stay home, get rest, get medicine, and get better. I decline.
A few days after being informed that Elizabeth’s case was being escalated and referred to law enforcement, the Linscotts reportedly found their home surrounded by multiple government vehicles, government personnel and the county sheriff armed with a court order and ankle monitors.
“We didn’t rob a store,” Linscott said. “We didn’t steal something. We didn’t hit and run. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
That’s the point, of course.
In an age of overcriminalization—when the law is wielded like a hammer to force compliance to the government’s dictates whatever they might be—you don’t have to do anything wrong to be fined, arrested or subjected to raids and seizures and surveillance.
Watch and see: just as it did in China, this pandemic is about to afford the government the perfect excuse for expanding its surveillance and data collection powers at our expense.
On a daily basis, Americans are already relinquishing (in many cases, voluntarily) the most intimate details of who we are—their biological makeup, our genetic blueprints, and our biometrics (facial characteristics and structure, fingerprints, iris scans, etc.)—in order to navigate an increasingly technologically-enabled world.
COVID-19, however, takes the surveillance state to the next level.
There’s already been talk of mass testing for COVID-19 antibodies, screening checkpoints, contact tracing, immunity passports to allow those who have recovered from the virus to move around more freely, and snitch tip lines for reporting “rule breakers” to the authorities.
As Reuters reports:
As the United States begins reopening its economy, some state officials are weighing whether house arrest monitoring technology – including ankle bracelets or location-tracking apps – could be used to police quarantines imposed on coronavirus carriers. But while the tech has been used sporadically for U.S. quarantine enforcement over the past few weeks, large scale rollouts have so far been held back by a big legal question: Can officials impose electronic monitoring without an offense or a court order?
More to the point, as the head of one tech company asked, “Can you actually constitutionally monitor someone who’s innocent? It’s uncharted territory.”
Except this isn’t exactly uncharted territory, is it?
It follows much the same pattern as every other state of emergency in recent years—legitimate or manufactured—that has empowered the government to add to its arsenal of technologies and powers.
The war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on illegal immigration, asset forfeiture schemes, road safety schemes, school safety schemes, eminent domain: all of these programs started out as legitimate responses to pressing concerns and have since become weapons of compliance and control in the police state’s hands.
Become an Activist Post Patron for $1 per month at Patreon.
It doesn’t even matter what the nature of the crisis might be—civil unrest, the national emergencies, “unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters”—as long as it allows the government to justify all manner of government tyranny in the so-called name of national security.
It’s hard to know who to trust anymore.
Certainly, in this highly partisan age, when everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to police brutality to football is being recast in light of one’s political leanings, it can be incredibly difficult to separate what constitutes a genuine safety concern versus what is hyper-politicized propaganda.
Take the mask mandates, for example.
Currently, 19 states have not issued mask mandates in response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers. More than 30 states have enacted some form of mask requirement. A growing number of retailers, including Walmart, Target and CVS, are also joining the mask mandate bandwagon. Georgia’s governor, in a challenge to mask requirements by local governing bodies, filed a lawsuit challenging Atlanta’s dictate that masks be worn within city limits.
In some states, such as Indiana, where masks are required but there are no penalties for non-compliance, government officials are urging people to protect themselves but not to get into confrontations over masks or turn into snitches.
In other states, such as Virginia, the Nanny State is using more strong-handed tactics to force compliance with mask mandates, including the threat of fines, jail time, surprise inspections of businesses, and complaint hotlines that encourage citizens to snitch on each other. Officials in Las Vegas deployed 100 “compliance ambassadors” to help educate and enhance enforcement of the state’s mask mandate. One couple in Knoxville, Tenn., took mask-shaming to new heights when they created a Facebook page to track compliance by businesses, employees and customers.
In Miami, “residents now risk a legal penalty if they venture into public without a face mask. The city has assigned at least 39 police officers to make sure that residents are following the city’s mandatory mask ordinance. Offenders will be warned but, if they refuse to comply, they will be fined. The first offense will cost $100 and the second another $100. With a third — God forbid — the offender will be arrested.”
These conflicting and, in some cases, heavy-handed approaches to a pandemic that has locked down the nation for close to six months is turning this health crisis into an unnecessarily politicized, bureaucratic tug-of-war with no clear-cut winners to be found.
Certainly, this is not the first crisis to pit security concerns against freedom principles.
In this post-9/11 world, we have been indoctrinated into fearing and mistrusting one another instead of fearing and mistrusting the government. As a result, we’ve been forced to travel this road many, many times with lamentably predictable results each time: without fail, when asked to choose between safety and liberty, Americans historically tend to choose safety.
Failing to read the fine print on such devil’s bargains, “we the people” find ourselves repeatedly on the losing end as the government uses each crisis as a means of expanding its powers at taxpayer expense.
Whatever these mask mandates might be—authoritarian strong-arm tactics or health necessities to prevent further spread of the virus—they have thus far proven to be uphill legal battles for those hoping to challenge them in the courts as unconstitutional restrictions on their right to liberty, bodily autonomy, privacy and health.
In fact, Florida courts have upheld the mask ordinances, ruling that they do not infringe on constitutional rights and that “there is no reasonable expectation of privacy as to whether one covers their nose and mouth in public places, which are the only places to which the mask ordinance applies.”
Declaring that there is no constitutional right to infect others, Circuit Court Judge John Kastrenakes concluded that “the right to be ‘free from governmental intrusion’ does not automatically or completely shield an individual’s conduct from regulation.” Moreover, wrote Kastrenakes, constitutional rights and the ideals of limited government “do not absolve a citizen from the real-world consequences of their individual choices, or otherwise allow them to wholly skirt their social obligation to their fellow Americans or to society as a whole. This is particularly true when one’s individual choices can result in drastic, costly, and sometimes deadly, consequences to others.”
Virginia courts have also upheld mask mandates.
These court decisions take their cue from a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts in which the Court upheld the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws.
In other words, the courts have concluded that the government has a compelling interest in requiring masks to fight COVID-19 infections that overrides individual freedoms.
Generally, the government has to show a so-called compelling state interest before it can override certain critical rights such as free speech, assembly, press, privacy, search and seizure, etc. Most of the time, the government lacks that compelling state interest, but it still manages to violate those rights, setting itself up for legal battles further down the road.
We can spend time debating the mask mandates. However, criticizing those who rightly fear these restrictions to be a slippery slope to further police state tactics will not restore the freedoms that have been willingly sacrificed on the altar of national security by Americans of all political stripes over the years.
As I’ve warned, this is a test to see whether the Constitution—and our commitment to the principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights—can survive a national crisis and true state of emergency.
It must be remembered that James Madison, the “father” of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the fourth president of the United States, advised that we should “take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties.
Whether or not you consider these COVID-19 restrictions to be cause for alarm, they are far from the first experiment on our liberties. Indeed, whether or not you concede that the pandemic itself is cause for alarm, we should all be alarmed by the government’s response to this pandemic.
By government, I’m not referring to one particular politician or administration but to the entire apparatus at every level that conspires to keep “we the people” fearful of one another and under virtual house arrest.
This is what we’ve all been reduced to: prisoners in our skin, prisoners in our homes, prisoners in our communities—forced to comply with the government’s shifting mandates about how to navigate this pandemic or else.
Right now, COVID-19 is the perfect excuse for the government to wreak havoc on our freedoms in the name of safety and security, but as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, don’t believe for a minute that our safety is the police state’s primary concern.