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The Government Wants to Turn Blockchain Firms into Servants of the State

In recent years, blockchain surveillance (BS) companies have become increasingly important players in the cryptocurrency industry. Their business model consists in developing proprietary software that collects and interprets public data available on public blockchains and in selling their services to governments, banks, exchanges, and others that need access to this data. Usually, governments are interested in collecting information about financial crimes, while other institutional players use BS companies for compliance, especially with regard to customer due diligence. This article argues that BS companies can be understood as governmentalities.

Michael Rectenwald deploys this term to “refer to corporations and other non-state actors who actively undertake state functions.” The partnership between the state and BS companies threatens cryptocurrency users’ privacy and their ability to transact freely, away from the prying eyes of unwanted third parties.

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What NASA and the European Space Agency are admitting but the media are failing to report about our current heat wave

The current heat wave is being relentlessly blamed on increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but there is a much more plausible explanation, one that is virtually endorsed by two of the world’s leading scientific organizations. It turns out that levels of water vapor in the atmosphere have dramatically increased over the last year-and-a-half, and water vapor is well recognized as a greenhouse gas, whose heightened presence leads to higher temperatures, a mechanism that dwarfs any effect CO2 may have.

So, why has atmospheric water vapor increased so dramatically? Because of a historic, gigantic volcanic eruption last year that I – probably along with you — had never heard of. The mass media ignored it because it took place 490 feet underwater in the South Pacific. Don’t take it from me, take it from NASA (and please do follow the link to see time lapse satellite imagery of the underwater eruption and subsequent plume of gasses and water injected into the atmosphere):

When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Jan. 15, it sent a tsunami racing around the world and set off a sonic boom that circled the globe twice. The underwater eruption in the South Pacific Ocean also blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer amount of water vapor could be enough to temporarily affect Earth’s global average temperature.

“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. He led a new study examining the amount of water vapor that the Tonga volcano injected into the stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere between about 8 and 33 miles (12 and 53 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

In the study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, Millán and his colleagues estimate that the Tonga eruption sent around 146 teragrams (1 teragram equals a trillion grams) of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – equal to 10% of the water already present in that atmospheric layer. That’s nearly four times the amount of water vapor that scientists estimate the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines lofted into the stratosphere. [emphases added]

NASA published the above in August 2022. Half a year later, a newer study increased the estimate of the water vapor addition to the atmosphere by 30%. From the European Space Agency:

In a recent paper published in Nature, a team of scientists showed the unprecedented increase in the global stratospheric water mass by 13% (relative to climatological levels) and a five-fold increase of stratospheric aerosol load – the highest in the last three decades.

Using a combination of satellite data, including data from ESA’s Aeolus satellite, and ground-based observations, the team found that due to the extreme altitude, the volcanic plume circumnavigated the Earth in just one week and dispersed nearly pole-to-pole in three months. [emphasis added]

Another scientific paper explains the “net warming of the climate system” on a delayed basis.  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory further explains:

Volcanic eruptions rarely inject much water into the stratosphere. In the 18 years that NASA has been taking measurements, only two other eruptions – the 2008 Kasatochi event in Alaska and the 2015 Calbuco eruption in Chile – sent appreciable amounts of water vapor to such high altitudes. But those were mere blips compared to the Tonga event, and the water vapor from both previous eruptions dissipated quickly. The excess water vapor injected by the Tonga volcano, on the other hand, could remain in the stratosphere for several years.

This extra water vapor could influence atmospheric chemistry, boosting certain chemical reactions that could temporarily worsen depletion of the ozone layer. It could also influence surface temperatures. Massive volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa and Mount Pinatubo typically cool Earth’s surface by ejecting gases, dust, and ash that reflect sunlight back into space. In contrast, the Tonga volcano didn’t inject large amounts of aerosols into the stratosphere, and the huge amounts of water vapor from the eruption may have a small, temporary warming effect, since water vapor traps heat. The effect would dissipate when the extra water vapor cycles out of the stratosphere [Emphases added]

So there you have it: we are in for extra atmospheric heat “for several years” until the extra water vapor injected by this largest-ever-recorded underwater volcano eruption dissipates.

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High school student sues Tenn. school district after getting suspended for social media posts

A Tennessee high school student is suing a school district, saying the district violated his first amendment rights when administrators suspended him for posting three memes of his principal on Instagram.

One meme depicts the principal holding a box of fruit and vegetables with the words “my brotha” and “on god” over the screen. Another shows the principal as an anime cat and wearing a dress. Court papers say the third meme shows the principal’s head superimposed on a hand-drawn cartoon meant to resemble a character from the online game “Among Us,” with a cartoon bird clinging to his leg

Court papers say the student posted them to his personal Instagram account last summer joking about their Tullahoma City school principal.

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Mysterious Company Pays Nearly $1 Billion for Land Near US Air Force Base, Power Grid

A mystery company’s purchase of large swaths of land near a United States Air Force base and key locations along the West Coast’s electrical grid has raised red flags about national security.

U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee readiness panel, wants to find out more about the buyer, Flannery Associates LLC.

The LLC is registered in Delaware but based in Folsom, California, where it lists a P.O. Box as its address at a mailbox rental center. Its employees are listed as based in the Southern California city of Glendale.

“They have surrounded one of the most important air bases on the West Coast,” Mr. Garamendi told NewsNation in an interview. “If anything happened in the Pacific with China, this base would be the way in which the U.S. Air Force and military would transit across the Pacific.”

Flannery has invested about $800 million in about 55,000 acres of land surrounding the Travis Air Force Base since 2018, according to public records.

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The CBDCs Are Coming, And The Elite Plan To Use These “Digital Currencies” To Enslave Humanity

Central bank digital currencies are feverishly being developed all over the globe, and this is something that should deeply alarm all of us. 

For a moment, I would like for you to imagine a world where the government instantly knows whenever you buy or sell something.  No transaction would ever be truly private, not even your most personal or embarrassing ones.  In addition, your money would not be truly your own under such a system.  Your access to the digital currency system would be a privilege which could potentially be suspended or revoked with the click of a mouse.  All of a  sudden you would not be able to buy or sell anything and you would become an outcast from society.  Under no circumstances should any government ever be given such power.

Unfortunately, the CBDCs are coming, and they are going to radically change how commerce gets done.

Here in the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has posted a job listing for a “Senior Crypto Architect” to work on the development of a digital dollar.

U.S. Representative Warren Davidson is very upset about this, because he believes that a CBDC issued by the Federal Reserve would be the “financial equivalent of the Death Star”…

The job description specified that the Federal Reserve seeks a technologist to “perform central bank digital currency (CBDC) research and development.”

The expert will work to “ensure the Federal Reserve is well-positioned to design, develop, and implement technology to support a CBDC as may be required by the Board of Governors.”

Although the job listing shows that the Federal Reserve is only working on CBDC research, Rep Davidson believes it is a sign of what is to come and described it as the “financial equivalent of the Death Star.”

Davidson added that CBDC would turn money into a tool of coercion and control.

Sadly, he is right on target.

Once “digital dollars” issued by the Federal Reserve become the dominant form of currency in our nation, whoever has power over that system would truly have an unprecedented “tool of coercion and control”.

So we must not allow this to happen.

Sadly, CBDCs are now in development all around the world.

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Billionaire Raped Teenager Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Mansion: Lawsuit

A billionaire raped a teenager inside Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion in New York City, according to a new lawsuit.

Leon Black, the billionaire, raped the girl when she was just 16 inside Mr. Epstein’s residence on the Upper East Side, the civil suit alleges.

The girl, whose name has not been made public and is using the pseudonym Jane Doe, was allegedly instructed, and did, on multiple occasions give Mr. Epstein a massage that included sexual intercourse.

After learning the girl would follow instructions, Mr. Epstein often handed her off to other men to do the same, according to the suit, including at Mr. Epstein’s homes in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Palm Beach, Florida.

In 2002, the girl was transported to Mr. Epstein’s New York City home, where she was introduced to Mr. Epstein’s “special friend” Mr. Black, according to the suit. Mr. Epstein was quoted as telling the girl to give Mr. Black the same kind of “massage treatment” that she had given him.

Mr. Black allegedly violently assaulted the girl before raping her. He is accused of laughing at the girl’s attempts to flee from him.

The suit is not being linked because it contains graphic descriptions of what allegedly occurred.

“Although Epstein trafficked Plaintiff to other men, both before and after Black, she was never again taken to NYC. The violent and sadistic nature of Black’s rape left an indelible mark on her, both physically and psychologically. Plaintiff suffered internal abrasions in her rectum that continue to cause her pain,” the suit states.

“Sadly, Ms. Doe’s experience is one more in a long line of despicable and heinous experiences inflicted on a minor trapped in Jeffrey Epstein’s web—a web that extended to a group of powerful and influential men, including Leon Black,” it also says.

The suit was brought under a New York law that enables victims of sexual abuse to bring claims by the end of 2025 for older incidents.

It asks the court for damages.

“This is a frivolous and sanctionable lawsuit. Mr. Black has never met this individual. These vicious and defamatory lies, masquerading as allegations, have been intentionally manufactured by the Wigdor law firm as part of the firm’s vendetta against Mr. Black for vigorously and successfully defending himself over the past two years. Wigdor’s prior case against Mr. Black was recently thrown out by the Court and this one will be too,” Susan Estrich, a lawyer representing Mr. Black, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

In response, Jeanne Christensen, a lawyer with Wigdor who is representing the plaintiff, told The Epoch Times in an email: “Black’s conspiracy theories and finger pointing are an obvious attempt to shift the focus away from his heinous acts. I do not think anyone will be fooled by such nonsense.”

Mr. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was set to go on trial for sex trafficking of minors and other charges when he died in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

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NIH Funds Study On Puberty Blockers, Hormones On Youth Despite Risk Of Sterilization

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding research on the effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatment on youth despite acknowledgment from the grantee that these medical interventions can result in sterility.

A parent or guardian consent form from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), titled “Pubertal Blockers for Minors in Early Adolescence,” states, “If your child starts puberty blockers in the earliest stages of puberty, and then goes on to gender affirming hormones, they will not develop sperm or eggs. This means that they will not be able to have biological children.”

It goes on to read, “This is an important aspect of blocking puberty and progressing to hormones that you should understand prior to moving forward with puberty suppression.”  It adds that fertility can be maintained if a child takes puberty blockers but does not undergo cross-sex hormone therapy. Two different studies, however, have found that roughly 98% of children who take puberty blockers go on to take cross-sex hormone therapy. 

After the parent/guardian decides to proceed with pubertal blocker medication, the consent form requires the signature of both the parent/guardian and the child (patient).

Dr. Stanley Goldfarb is the director of an advocacy group called Do No Harm, which seeks to “protect healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology.” He criticized the idea of a minor possibly signing away their ability to reproduce.   

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Missouri Marijuana Businesses Could Lose Licenses Over Violations At Events They Organize Under New Rules

As Missouri went to celebrate the first 4/20 after the state legalized recreational marijuana, a licensed cannabis business in Kansas City organized a huge festival.

For the first time, people were able to smoke pot openly at a large public event in Missouri, with approval under local government rules.

“It was the first of its kind,” said Amy Moore, director of the state’s cannabis regulation, during a legislative committee hearing in May.

Organizers did an “excellent job” of trying to adhere to state regulations, Moore said, but other events haven’t gone as well. Regulators at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have had trouble holding medical-marijuana businesses accountable for things that went against their rules.

“If a licensee chooses to organize or offer an event to the public, they should be responsible for what happens,” Moore said of businesses that landed state licenses to grow or sell marijuana.

So when the new cannabis regulations go into effect on Sunday, officials will have that power to hit marijuana facilities with fines, suspend their operations or even revoke their licenses if they host events where unlawful activity occurs.

“There would be a call to make on whether whatever happened…was really due to the way they organize their event and the format that they provided for the behavior at issue,” she told legislators in May.

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Have 46,000 Year Ago Nematodes in Suspended Animation Really Been Resuscitated?

For more than two decades scientists have been collecting frozen microbes from deep layers of the Siberian permafrost, to see if they can be thawed and brought back to life. In the most recent revival experiments, a team of genetic researchers from Russia and Germany first reawakened and then identified a previously undiscovered nematode species, which they claim is 46,000 years old. Assuming this is true, this is the most ancient type of microscopic lifeform to have even been recovered from the freeze-dried Siberian soil.

In an article about their research just published in  PLOS Genetics , the genetic researchers describe how they confirmed the existence of this new species of roundworm, which was unearthed near  Siberia’s Kolyma River and has now been named  Panagrolaimus kolymaensis  (or P. kolymaensis ). There are many  nematode species that belong to the  Panagrolaimus line, so this ancient species has living relatives.

Interestingly, P. kolymaensis  was not recognized as a new type of nematode when it was  first revived in 2018 . It was incorrectly identified as belonging to another previously identified species, which lived 42,000 years ago.

But in the latest study, anomalies were detected that threw the initial identification of this variety of microscopic roundworm into doubt. Further analysis revealed it was a different species altogether, and one that had lived in an earlier time period.

 “The radiocarbon dating is absolutely precise, and we now know that they really survived 46,000 years,” study co-author Teymuras Kurzchalia, a cell biologist affiliated with the the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, told  Scientific American.

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Ukraine’s baby factories rake in record profits amid chaos of war

Ihor Pechonoha of the Swiss-based BioTexCom says the business model that has helped him build one of the most profitable surrogacy companies in the world is simple exploitation: “We are looking for women in the former Soviet republics because, logically, [the women] have to be from poorer places than our clients.”

It is no surprise then that BioTexCom has turned to Ukraine for an almost endless pool of young women willing to sell their wombs to ease their financial distress. Eight years of civil war followed by a proxy war between NATO nations and Russia has plunged Ukraine into economic disaster. As its citizens sank into poverty, the country swiftly emerged as the international epicenter for surrogacy, and now controls at least a quarter of the global market. With the rise of the burgeoning industry, a seedy medical underworld filled with patient abuse and corruption has taken root as well.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team have actively encouraged the Western plunder of their war-torn country, inking an investment partnership with the global asset management firm Blackrock, stripping workers of labor protections, and handing state owned companies over to private firms.

But less attention has been paid to Ukraine’s surrogacy industry, which brought over $1.5 billion into the country’s economy in 2018 alone. Since then, the global market for surrogate babies has more than doubled. The industry was valued at over $14 billion last year, and it’s projected to grow by around 25% every year going forward, according to an analysis by Global Market Insights.

As more countries slam the door on the surrogacy industry, Western officials appear to be turning a blind eye to the abuse-ridden business flourishing in a deregulated, politically unstable Ukraine.

Emma Lamberton is a Master of International Development candidate at the University of Pittsburgh who published a paper in Princeton’s Journal of Public and International Affairs on the risks posed to Ukrainian women by the country’s surrogacy industry. 

“The main concern of advocates on the ground in Ukraine is that legislators and even news organizations aren’t looking at this as a human rights violation,” Lamberton told The Grayzone.

“A government would never see human rights violations like child abuse as something to simply be regulated,” she explained. “They’d never say ‘you should only be able to beat your children on Wednesdays’ — that would be incredibly ridiculous. And so from the perspective of advocates on the ground in Ukraine, this is an abuse issue and therefore, it should not be regulated and instead it should be outlawed.”

Long before the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine in early 2022, the country was known as a fertile hunting ground for shady characters and agencies seeking to prey on desperate Ukrainian women.

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