Tag: new york

DHS Begins Releasing Gas on NYC Citizens at 120 Locations in ‘Biological Attack Simulation’

On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security and the Metro Transit Authority began a drill in which government agents will release a gas at over 100 locations to simulate a biological attack on the city. Authorities say the gas is “non-toxic” but will be released in closed spaces underground in the city’s subways system as well as outdoors.

The event, which is being referred to as an “airflow and dispersion study,” runs from October 18 through the 29th. It will simulate the aerosol release of a biological agent in a densely populated urban environment.

The project includes the release of “low concentrations of safe particle and gas tracer materials” as part of two programs, the Urban Threat Dispersion (UTD) program and the Chemical and Bio-defense Testbed (CBT) program, according to the DHS.

“The study will track movement of non-toxic material and the results from these tests will be used to learn more about the relationship between airflow in street level and underground environments,” the MTA said.

While a full list of locations was not made available to residents, a DHS document lists Times Square, Grand Central, Penn Station, Union Square, and the World Trade Center transit hub as sites for tests, with testing both indoors and outdoors.

The DHS claims the particle gas tracers are non-toxic and pose no health risks. The non-toxic substances include salt, glycerol, maltodextrin (sweetener), a fluorescent brightener, non-coding DNA oligos, amorphous silica among others. Sounds real healthy.

Naturally, the idea of government agents spraying the public with “safe gas” has many folks worried. Since these plans have been available for over a week, many folks are worried that they may be used as cover for an actual biological weapons attack. After all, many of the world’s recent attacks have taken place simultaneously with drills or exercises of a similar nature.

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New York City judge prevents Long Island father from visiting his three-year-old daughter in Manhattan during custody dispute unless he gets COVID vaccine or has weekly tests

A Long Island father is being refused the right to see his three-year-old daughter by a judge’s ruling unless he gets the COVID-19 vaccine.  

The father, who has yet to be identified, is in a custody dispute with the child’s mother, and until recently saw his daughter every other weekend.

But Judge Matthew Cooper ruled he will be banned from seeing her unless he either gets the jab, or submits to weekly COVID testing. 

‘Here, in-person parental access by defendant is not in the child’s best interests, and there are exceptional circumstances that support its suspension,’ wrote Cooper, who is presiding over the pair’s divorce and custody dispute.

‘The dangers of voluntarily remaining unvaccinated during access with a child while the COVID-19 virus remains a threat to children’s health and safety cannot be understated,’ Cooper added.

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De Blasio Moves To End NYC’s ‘Gifted and Talented’ School Programs

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio (D.) on Friday ordered the total elimination of the city’s advanced-learning programs in public schools. The move is a major concession in the closing months of the mayor’s term to racial-equity activists who have long called for getting rid of the classes.

The classes, known as “gifted and talented” programs, group together elementary school students who perform well on an admissions exam they take when they’re four years old. Under de Blasio’s overhaul, the programs will be phased out, with the current cohort of enrollees being the last to learn in gifted classes through elementary school.

Critics of the gifted and talented programs say they enforce racial segregation in schools and stand in the way of racial equity. The gifted classes comprise about three-quarters white and Asian students, according to the New York Times. But an April poll found that a majority of New Yorkers support the programs.

“The era of judging four-year-olds based on a single test is over,” de Blasio said in a statement. The mayor proposed an alternative to the gifted and talented programs that would see students assessed at the third grade and offered “accelerated instruction” in classes with other students receiving standard instruction.

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An NBA Star and New York’s Governor Show That Liberal COVID Discourse is Devoid of Science

It is virtually a religious belief in the dominant liberal culture that people who do not want the COVID vaccine are stupid, ignorant, immoral and dangerous. As large sectors of the population continue to question or disobey their COVID decrees, they have begun to make more explicit this condescending view.

Liberals feel free to disparage them as “stupid” notwithstanding long-standing (though diminishing) racial disparities among this group. A CNN headline from last month told part of the story: “Black New Yorkers may have the lowest vaccination rates, but community groups refuse to give up.” Citing data from the city’s health agency, the network reported that “citywide, just 28% of Black New Yorkers between the ages of 18 and 44 are fully vaccinated. The Hispanic community is the second-least fully vaccinated population in that age group, with 49% being fully vaccinated.”

Two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that while some of the unvaccinated are unable to get the vaccine (due to work pressures or health conditions), most of them are vaccine-hesitant by choice and continue to reflect racial disparities. Under the headline “U.S. Racial Vaccine Gaps Are Bigger Than We Thought: Covid-19 Tracker,” the news outlet reported: “the White vaccination rate is not as bad as it had seemed and Hispanic communities are lagging more than previously thought.”

Yet liberal elites continue to call anyone who is unvaccinated “stupid,” ignorant and immoral. On Sunday, New York’s Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, when announcing her intent to use National Guard soldiers to replace health care workers fired for refusing the vaccine, told her audience: “yes, I know you’re vaccinated, you’re the smart ones.” She then said those who refuse to get the vaccine are not just stupid but have turned their back on God: “there’s people out there who aren’t listening to God and what God wants.” Gov. Hochul added that the vaccine “is from God to us and we must say, thank you, God,” and said to her “smart” vaccinated supporters: “I need you to be my apostles.”

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NYC Starts Enforcement of Vaccine Mandate

New York City started enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate Monday, with Mayor Bill de Blasio warning, “there’ll be consequences” for those who do not follow the rules.

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate, also known as the Key to NYC, requires people 12 and older to show proof that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine for indoor dining, indoor fitness, and indoor entertainment.

Under the mandate, staff at these locations must be vaccinated as well. Places affected include restaurants, bars, nightclubs, catering halls, event spaces, gyms, fitness centers, pools, theaters, museums, aquariums, and zoos, among others.

“Look, you’ve got to be safe. Wherever you go—movie theater, gym, restaurant—you’re going to be safe,” de Blasio said during a virtual press conference Monday morning.

“For those who are unvaccinated, you got to make the move,” de Blasio continued.

De Blasio announced the mandate in early August and started the requirements on Aug. 17.

The mandate requires the establishments to put up certain signage and verify customers’ COVID-19 vaccine proof, such as vaccination cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York City vaccination records, other official immunization records, the NYC COVID Safe App, or the Excelsior Pass.

According to the New York City Department of Health, establishments can make some exceptions, such as for outdoor eating, allowing customers to use the bathroom, or for other reasons that will take a small amount of time, for example, less than 10 minutes.

Thirteen agencies will send out inspectors to enforce the mandate, the mayor announced.

“What we’re going to do is have our inspectors out from 13 civilian agencies,” de Blasio said. “We don’t want to fine people. We don’t have to. We want to just get it right and keep moving forward.”

“But I think folks understand by now we are resolute. And if anyone wants to not follow the rules that everyone else has to follow, then of course, there’ll be consequences,” de Blasio, a Democrat, added.

According to de Blasio’s legal counsel (pdf), an establishment found to be non-compliant may be subject to a fine of $1,000. Repeated violations may result in increased fine amounts or other enforcement action.

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New York City to Mandate Proof of Vaccination to Enter Indoor Businesses

New York City is going to mandate proof of vaccination for people to enter certain indoor businesses.

The businesses being targeted will include restaurants, entertainment venues and gyms.

Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce what is essentially a city-wide vaccine passport on Tuesday, according to a report from the New York Post.

The Post reports, “the initiative, to be dubbed the ‘Key to NYC Pass,’ marks a significant escalation of the city’s efforts to curb the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases driven by the Delta variant, and will launch in mid-August and enforcement will begin in September following a public service announcement campaign, administration officials said.”

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BOE botched NYC mayoral primary results by including ‘test’ run

The too-close-to-call Democratic primary race that will likely decide New York’s next mayor was thrown into disarray after election officials admitted they accidentally included “test” results in the vote count, leading to 135,000 extra ballots.

The botching of the city’s first ranked-choice election was first flagged by front-runner Eric Adams, who pointed out that preliminary results from the Board of Elections showed that 941,832 votes were cast for the Democratic mayoral nomination, a huge increase from the 799,827 that were counted on primary day last week.

The BOE clarified its screwup in a tweet Tuesday night.

“It has been determined that ballot images used for testing were not cleared from the Election Management System (EMS),” the board said of the fiasco.

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Barring fans with AstraZeneca jab from Springsteen NY concert is treating them as second-class citizens – it’s a dangerous path

Banning the recipients of vaccines that are not approved by the US from Bruce Springsteen’s concert in New York may spark global tit-for-tat responses and lead to people being cast as undesirable due to their vaccine status.

Trust America’s egotistical and imperial authorities to spark another “US vs. Them” battle. The decision not to recognise the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is not only unnecessary, but xenophobic.

It’s been highlighted after a Canadian gentleman booked tickets to see Bruce Springsteen concert in New York next week, but then noticed that entry was on condition of being vaccinated – and his AstraZeneca-Oxford jabs do not qualify him to attend. 

The reason is because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved jabs from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. It’s no surprise that US firms manufacture all of these. 

One explanation could be they are looking to boost the income of domestic companies and hoping as a consequence to benefit American workers. Even if that is the case, it’s still ridiculous. AstraZeneca have worked alongside the world-renowned Oxford University to develop their vaccine and it’s why Britain is the country furthest forward in Europe with respect to vaccination rates. 

For much of the pandemic, the UK was in a panic and that was only tamed when the vaccine rollout began, powered by AstraZeneca. Notably, the vaccine is being sold at a cost price of around $3 per dose, while the American vaccines cost approx $10-25 per jab.

It’s not only AstraZeneca-receivers who are being discriminated against. There are also all those who’ve taken Russia-developed Sputnik V, which has been recognised by the worldwide scientific community as both safe and effective. The World Health Organization also judged China’s Sinovac as a valid vaccine and supports its use. 

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‘How dare you’: Ugly spat over who gets to speak for ‘black and brown communities’ erupts at NYC mayoral debate

During a debate Wednesday, a black New York City mayoral candidate accused another black NYC mayoral candidate of not having the right to speak for “black and brown communities.”

The two, Dianne Morales and Ray McGuire, are among a number of candidates seeking to succeed outgoing NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

At the final primary debate Wednesday, the two feuded specifically over defunding the police, which Morales, a far-left candidate, staunchly supports.

“Let’s be very clear. For black and brown communities, neither defund the police, nor stop and frisk, nor private security …,” McGuire tried saying at one point in time.

But Morales cut him off, saying, “You don’t speak for black and brown communities. How dare you assume to speak for black and brown communities as a monolith.”

McGuire tried replying, “Because I talk to black and brown communities.”

He was cut off again.

“You cannot do that!” Morales claimed.

“Oh, I just did do that,” McGuire promptly responded. “And you know one other thing? I’m going to do it again.”

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WHITES NEED NOT APPLY: NY Accounting Program Bans White People.

A summer accounting program sponsored by a number of major New York universities and designed for high school students does not permit white students to apply.

The program, “Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession,” is sponsored by the Moynihan Scholarship Fund and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, as well as nine leading New York universities, including five public universities. The course intends to introduce to the accounting profession 250 “promising underrepresented high school students.”

According to Campus Reform:

“In addition to virtual sessions about forensic accounting, interviewing skills, public speaking, networking, and an ‘accounting profession overview’ featuring a panel discussion with experts in the profession.

Nine institutions of higher education in New York — including Ithaca College, Medgar Evers College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John’s University, Siena College, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Oswego, the University at Buffalo, and Westchester Community College — are listed as hosts for the program, which is free of charge for students. . .

Five of the nine schools participating in the program — including Medgar Evers College, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Oswego, the University at Buffalo, and Westchester Community College — are public universities funded by New York state.”

On the application form for the program, however, applicants are supposed to choose a “race” or ethnicity option with which they identify.  Hispanic, Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Native American are among the options on the application form.  “White,” however, is not even an option.

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