Monday, February 21, 2022

News Roundup -21 February 2022

What Is US Medicines Regulator Hiding? CDC Agency Admits Withholding Widespread Vaccine Efficacy Data

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been collecting detailed information on Covid hospitalizations for more than a year which breaks cases down by age, race and vaccination status - yet the agency has withheld most of it from the public according to the New York Times.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What's more, the agency appears to have selectively published information to support messaging behind boosters.

When the C.D.C. published the first significant data on the effectiveness of boosters in adults younger than 65 two weeks ago, it left out the numbers for a huge portion of that population: 18- to 49-year-olds, the group least likely to benefit from extra shots, because the first two doses already left them well-protected. -NYT

As the Times notes, much of the withheld information could aid in state and local health decisions in their efforts to bring the virus under control. Detailed breakdowns of hospitalizations by age and race, for example, could help officials identify the most at-risk populations in order to more efficiently allocate resources - such as whether healthy adults need booster shots.

According to CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund, the agency's lack of disclosure is "because, basically, at the end of the day, it's not yet ready for prime time," adding that the agency's "priority when gathering any data is to ensure that it’s accurate and actionable."

Nordlund also said the agency is afraid that the information might be 'misinterpreted.'

Arrests as Canadian Cops Attack Ottawa Freedom Convoy Protest with Clubs, Stun Grenades, Rifles

from Breitbart Europe 21 February 2022

Canadian
Alex Kent/Getty Images
Jack Montgomery
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The Canadian authorities have made dozens more arrests in the capital city of Ottawa as they move to crush the anti-vaccine mandate Freedom Convoy.

“[W]e have arrested 47 people — that brings the total so far to 170,” said Steve Bell, the Interim Chief of Police for the City of Ottawa, in his latest press conference on the ongoing operation.

“As we continue to take back our streets, City of Ottawa crews and other municipal vehicles came into the area to clean up and tow away all of the demonstrators’ possessions and vehicles,” he bragged.

“When we deployed our officers this morning you saw the public order units on the ground sweeping across the downtown core from east to west and moving demonstrators out of the parliamentary precinct,” he went on, stating that officers “continued to face resistance” while doing so and that “at one point a flare was ignited by a protestor”.

In response, he confirmed, “officers used a chemical irritant, also known as pepper spray, to disperse unlawful demonstrators who were resisting police orders.”

 
 

Russia And Ukraine On The Brink

from QTR Fringe Finance

(Editor's note: this opinion piece is not in line with our analysis of the situation in Ukraine, but being true Libertarians here at Boggart Abroad we believe in presenting all shades of opinion if they are rational and wel presented.) 
 

It’s been a week since I first held a “Will Russia Invade Ukraine” forum. Given the new developments and heading into a market holiday, I wanted to recap and put the question back out there for discussion. We’ll also get our first taste of how markets might feel, when futures open in just minutes.

This linked page will be updated with up to the minute headlines on the crisis. 

As a courtesy, even to my free subscribers - I wanted to offer up the latest headlines from the weekend so far, as of 5:15pm EST, for discussion. If you enjoy the dialogue, are not a Fringe Finance subscriber and would like to become one, you can get 22% off for life by using this link.

On the hawkish side:

  • President Biden looks like he skipped a planned trip to Delaware tonight to “hold a national security council meeting”.

    • “The President had a family-related issue that was going to take him to Wilmington, DE tonight but he will no longer be going and will remain in Washington, DC tonight," the White House said.

  • CNN - part of the mainstream media cabal that has been warning about an “imminent” attack for weeks, has reported that “the US has intelligence indicating that orders have been sent to Russian commanders to proceed with an attack on Ukraine”.

  • Speaking of said cabal, The New York Times has also reported that the US intelligence community was made aware last week that Russia had given the order to move ahead with an invasion of Ukraine, per the Spectator Index.

  • The U.S. has also issued warnings about terror threats in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and areas near Ukraine, urging Americans to try and find a way out of Russia.

  • US intelligence has suggested that Russia will likely target Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, and Kherson, according to News This Second.

  • Russia has roughly 150,000 troops, warplanes and equipment on Ukraine's border, the same sources, News This Second, reports. Other estimates by the US government suggests that between 169,000 and 190,000 troops are stationed, per the BBC.

  • Swiss Air and Lufthansa have both cancelled flights to and from Ukraine's capital and Odessa, effective immediately, per BNO News.

  • Russian military drills in Belarus, which were due to end today, have been extended, the Belarusian defense ministry says - BNO News, citing Reuters.

  • “Russia's Aeronautical Information Center issued a NOTAM (a Notice to Airmen) on Sunday which will close most of the airspace over the Sea of Azov starting at midnight between Sunday and Monday,” reports the Jerusalem Post.

  • Evidence suggests Russia is planning "the biggest war in Europe since 1945", Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said to the BBC.

On the dovish side

  • Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov says “there [are] no such plans” to invade Ukraine on Sunday. Video of him on CBS can be seen here.

  • The same ambassador said early on Sunday: “Moscow is not trying to occupy the territory of any foreign country and considers Donbas a part of Ukraine”.

  • “There is no Russian invasion of Ukraine and our forces are inside our territory and do not pose a threat to anyone,” he said.

  • Putin tells Macron plans to withdraw troops from Belarus: French presidency - AFP (note that later headline said they did not withdraw troops)

  • Boris Johnson said Sunday: “Putin must back down from threats and remove soldiers from Ukraine’s border” - BBG

  • The U.S. is still claiming that Russia “might” attack “various cities in Ukraine”, via Bloomberg at about 4PM EST. These headlines still seem to be rising to a fever pitch, yet there has been no confirmed invasion yet.

  • Putin, Macron and have agreed to hold trilateral talks to try and de-escalate the situation.

 
 

Doomsday Climate Studies Turn Out To Be Overblown Nonsense

from Great Game India, 21 February 2022

A meta study, which was published in the journal PLOS Biology on February 3, looked at 91 studies on the impact of ocean acidification on fish behaviour. It discovered that higher-quality research revealed fewer effects on fish behaviour, and that the studies with the most striking results had tiny sample sizes, rendering them statistically unreliable. Scientists have been warning for more than a decade that ocean acidification might devastate fish populations. Numerous studies indicated that acidification affected fish behaviour, making them less likely to dodge predators. Climate activists took an apocalyptic tone as carbon emissions pushed pH levels higher and higher. Fewer fish means fewer fisheries, putting the lives of millions of fishermen throughout the world in jeopardy. It may also mean fewer medicines, as many are made from marine species. These fears, according to a new study published in a prestigious scientific magazine, are greatly exaggerated. The study, which was published in the journal PLOS Biology on February 3, looked at 91 studies on the impact of ocean acidification on fish behaviour. It discovered that higher-quality research revealed fewer effects on fish behaviour, and that the studies with the most striking results had tiny sample sizes, rendering them statistically unreliable.  
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