White House: Russia Sorta Maybe Possibly Has Invaded Ukraine

By William Teach February 22, 2022 – 10:30 am

I’m a little confused. Looking across most news sites, I do not know if Russia has already invaded Ukraine. There are headlines like

That’s just a smattering. About the only news organization saying that Ukraine has been invaded is the UK Daily Mail. The White House is rather confused, too

White House wrestles with whether Russia has ‘invaded’ Ukraine

The White House on Monday confronted the reality that its months-long effort to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine would likely be futile, as officials grasped for last-ditch ways to head off what one called “military action that could take place in the coming hours or days.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin spent the holiday weekend effectively closing off one diplomatic path after another, suggesting ever more clearly that he would not be swayed by diplomacy or deterred by sanctions. And by announcing that he was recognizing two pro-Russian separatist regions of Ukraine and ordering troops into them, he forced the United States into an uneasy dilemma about whether that constituted an invasion.

The Biden administration sought to hit back at Russia’s aggressive action while stopping short of declaring that it had officially invaded Ukraine, which would have triggered the array of hard-hitting sanctions President Biden has been warning about for months.

Instead, amid meetings Monday with his national security advisers and calls with several foreign leaders, Biden and his team reiterated their grim assessment of the crisis and imposed a smaller set of sanctions prohibiting U.S. investment and trade specifically in the breakaway regions.

Administration officials said additional measures — including more sanctions — would be announced Tuesday, and emphasized that the newly announced sanctions are different from the much larger ones Biden has been threatening should Putin invade Ukraine.

So, wiffle waffling by the Biden admin. What happened?

World leaders focus on how to punish Russia over Ukraine

With the smell of war in the air over Europe, world leaders got over the shock of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to deploy troops to separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and they are focused on producing as forceful a reaction as possible.

Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow, but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies.

The West insisted Putin’s bold moves in Ukraine violated countless international agreements and since the words of diplomacy had failed, it was time to move towards action. (snip)

Russia says it’s sending what it deems “peacekeepers” into eastern Ukraine, but the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stressed they were “troops” on sovereign Ukrainian territory.

So, the troops are going into 2 “separatist” regions of Ukraine, which is rather what one would call the Ukraine. What happens now? Sanctions and Strongly Worded Letters. I don’t think anyone has the stomach to actually go against Putin militarily. Does he then send in troops to the rest of Ukraine? Who knows. Regardless of what happens, wait about 5 years and everyone will forget about this.

Read: White House: Russia Sorta Maybe Possibly Has Invaded Ukraine »

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Climate Cult Groups Spending Millions To Get Friendly Press

By William Teach February 22, 2022 – 7:05 am

Why would the Cult of Climastrology need to do this if their science was so sound?

Climate activists spend millions for friendly Associated Press ‘news’

When climate activists called for more coverage, the Associated Press went green.

No, it didn’t dive into environmental activism. The news agency had already done that. It dove into a pile of cash — more than $8 million.

AP just announced it sold its gold-standard journalism for 20 bright, shiny new reporters under the benign headline “Climate grant illustrates growth in philanthropy-funded news.” The announcement was adorned with a photo of a polar bear (of course) because journalists do love their cute, man-eating predators.

AP noted it’s “the news organization’s largest single expansion paid for through philanthropic grants.” But the groups ponying up millions aren’t value-neutral benefactors.

The five climate partners include left-wing groups such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and Quadrivium. Walton and Quadrivium both fund the radical, eco-leftist Environmental Defense Fund. The pressure group pushes everything from massive pollution regulations to Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which it calls “a long-overdue step to address environmental injustice.”

Nice to know that the news media can be bought, eh? Just what kind of coverage are you getting from a news organization these days?

Indeed, the “news” organization has had its hand out to rich people for years. Journalism used to be about who, what, where, when and why. AP is adding “how much.”

“It’s the most recent of a series of grants the AP has received since the mid-2010s to boost coverage in health and science, religion, water issues and philanthropy itself. Some 50 AP journalists have jobs funded through grants,” the article noted. Add another 20 focused on climate.

Maybe the better question is: How many AP staffers aren’t for sale?

Good question. The AP is pushing climate cult propaganda for pay, and rarely letting us know the real information.

Read: Climate Cult Groups Spending Millions To Get Friendly Press »

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Surprise: CDC Is Hiding Data On Chinese Coronavirus

By William Teach February 22, 2022 – 6:45 am

Hey, don’t believe me, believe the NY Times

The New York Times Makes A Stunning Admission About CDC Data On Vaccines

The New York Times made an eye-popping admission on Sunday regarding data collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Covid-19 vaccines.

In an article titled, “The C.D.C. Isn’t Publishing Large Portions of the Covid Data It Collects,” reporter Apoorva Mandavilli writes: “For more than a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collected data on hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the United States and broken it down by age, race and vaccination status. But it has not made most of the information public.”

Mandavilli, who covers science and global health for the Times, reported that the agency has published “only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected” since the pandemic began, including data on booster efficacy for 18 – 49 year-olds, a tremendous chunk of the U.S. population.

You just know that, if the data supported the CDC’s fearmongering and citizen control agenda they’d be publishing it out the wazoo. Here’s one of the best parts

Well, if the data might be misinterpreted, why would that be? And, let’s be honest, they are really mostly only effective in keeping people from getting really sick from Wuhan flu, when they were originally said to keep people from getting it at all. And the article goes on to note that so many have to get their data from nations like Israel, because they aren’t getting it from the CDC. And, you know what they’ve found out?

Got a COVID Booster? You Probably Won’t Need Another for a Long Time

As people across the world grapple with the prospect of living with the coronavirus for the foreseeable future, one question looms large: How soon before they need yet another shot?

Not for many months, and perhaps not for years, according to a flurry of new studies.

Three doses of a COVID vaccine — or even just two — are enough to protect most people from serious illness and death for a long time, the studies suggest. (snip)

The omicron variant can dodge antibodies — immune molecules that prevent the virus from infecting cells — produced after two doses of a COVID vaccine. But a third shot of the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or by Moderna prompts the body to make a much wider variety of antibodies, which would be difficult for any variant of the virus to evade, according to the most recent study.

The diverse repertoire of antibodies produced should be able to protect people from new variants, even those that differ significantly from the original version of the virus, the study suggests.

Well, that sounds like a good deal.

A big question now is “will members of the House and Senate ask pointed questions to CDC director Rochelle Walensky over the CDC hiding data from the public?”

Read: Surprise: CDC Is Hiding Data On Chinese Coronavirus »

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Good News: Marines Need $5 Billion To Fight ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach February 21, 2022 – 5:43 pm

Another U.S. military organization being forced to go Woke, which means they will soon be worthless in protecting the U.S. and her citizens

Marines need nearly $5B for integrating boot camp, fighting climate change

The Marine Corps will need nearly $5 billion throughout the next 30 years to upgrade buildings at both Marine Corps recruit depots in the wake of increased gender integration and climate change, according to documents the Marine Corps shared with Congress.

The Corps estimates that it will need $198 million over the next five years for immediate upgrades to make possible boot camp gender integration at both San Diego and Parris Island, South Carolina, according to the documents.

Beyond gender integration, the Marine Corps said it needs more long-term money, “to address resiliency concerns, modernization of facilities, and sustainment of overall recruit training.” (snipping past the gender stuff)

With a rising sea level and the precarious position of Parris Island, South Carolina, in the middle of swamp on the edge of the Atlanta Ocean, the very existence of the Corps’ historic boot camp site may be at stake.

By 2050, parts of the base would be underwater nearly a third of the year, a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists predicted.

The topographic map shows that Parris Island is not as low as you would think. It jumps up in elevation into the range of 20+ feet above sea level quickly. NOAA shows sea level rise of 1.10 feet per 100 years, which is not accelerating. Even if part of that rise was not attributed to sinking land, it’s still slightly below what’s expected during a Holocene warm period, and, there’s no way that the base will be inundated.

Read: Good News: Marines Need $5 Billion To Fight ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 15 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 21, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful low carbon means of transportation, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is JoNova, with a post on privacy in Canada.

Read: If All You See… »

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UK Set To Remove Most COVID Restrictions

By William Teach February 21, 2022 – 10:30 am

The UK has already pretty much done away with mask mandates. Now they look to end most of the rest

UK PM Boris Johnson to lift all remaining Covid restrictions in England

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday will laud the lifting of all remaining Covid restrictions in England as a “moment of pride” as he sets out the government’s long-term plan for living with the virus, prompting concern among public health specialists and opposition lawmakers.

The move will see the legal requirement to self-isolate for up to 10 days after testing positive dropped a month earlier than planned. The government is also controversially expected to scale back access to free Covid tests. (snip)

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Johnson said the rule change will mark a “moment of pride after one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history.”

“The pandemic is not over but thanks to the incredible vaccine rollout we are now one step closer towards a return to normality and finally giving people back their freedoms while continuing to protect ourselves and others,” Johnson said.

The prime minister will meet with his Cabinet on Monday morning before updating lawmakers in the House of Commons. A press conference is expected to be held later in the day.

Well, the meeting is actually postponed till, supposedly, later in the day, due to many in the UK Parliament being very concerned over the ending of “free” COVID testing (some vulnerable groups would still be eligible). Free tests, which are actually paid for by the government, meaning all the people through taxation, is the one thing they should keep, at least for, say, 6 months. It would certainly make sure that people who think they are exposed will properly get tested, rather than being out and about in public and at work spreading Chinese flu.

More than 81% of adults have now received a booster vaccine dose in England, while cases continue to fall after the record highs caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant.

Yet, COVID, mostly Delta and Omicron, raged through the U.K.? Huh. Really, though, the biggest change would be the legal obligation to self isolate

What does Freedom Day mean for YOUR business? Bosses face setting their OWN Covid rules for staff who test positive after government axes self-isolation orders this week

The Prime Minister is expected to unveil his ‘living with Covid’ plan today, with reports it will include the end of universal free tests, as well as the legal requirement to self-isolate.

This means companies will have to decide whether to pay for tests for staff, and set their own self-isolation policies. (snip)

The business minister told Sky News: ‘I would say that it’s like any illness, frankly, any transmissible illness that you would say stay at home.’

He said if an employee had flu, they would be expected to stay at home, ‘but it’ll be down to themselves or down to their employer’.

Asked what action employees should take if their employers tried to force them in if they were ill with Covid, Mr Scully said: ‘This is why we need to make sure that we’ve got really good guidance for employers.

Yeah, there needs to be some seriously good guidance. Really, if you are sick with anything you shouldn’t go to work, and employers shouldn’t force the workers to come in. There’s actually, under UK law, serious concern over the business being sued by the non-sick if the sick come to work, voluntarily or because they were told to come in. Businesses would be smart to tell employees to stay home for a few days, not come in even if the employee just thinks it’s a cold. As nations move into post-COVID days, treating it as endemic, you will hopefully see things change, where companies really stress to not come in.

Of course, what about those without sick pay? That’s a big baliwick, and the unions are making all sorts of hay over removing government funded sick pay. Businesses are going to have to figure this out. Everywhere.

Meanwhile

Australia welcomes back tourists with toy koalas, Tim Tams

International tourists and business travelers began arriving in Australia with few restrictions on Monday, bringing together families in tearful reunions after separations of two years or longer forced by some of the most draconian pandemic measures of any democracy in the world.

Australia closed its borders to tourists in March 2020 in a bid to reduce the local spread of COVID-19, but on Monday removed its final travel restrictions for fully vaccinated passengers.

Those travel restrictions didn’t really help, eh? Not with COVID having raged around the country multiple times.

Read: UK Set To Remove Most COVID Restrictions »

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Brandon Admin Puts The Kibosh On New Drilling

By William Teach February 21, 2022 – 7:00 am

This won’t cause pain for the middle and lower classes in the least, right?

Biden Administration Halts New Drilling in Legal Fight Over Climate Costs

The Biden administration is indefinitely freezing decisions about new federal oil and gas drilling as part of a legal brawl with Republican-led states that could significantly impact President Biden’s plans to tackle climate change.

The move, which came Saturday, was a response to a recent federal ruling that blocked the way the Biden administration was calculating the real cost of climate change, a figure that guides a range of government decisions, from pollution regulation to whether to permit new oil, gas or coal extraction on public lands and in federal waters.

Under President Barack Obama, the government estimated that the damage from wildfires, floods and rising sea levels was $51 for every ton of carbon dioxide generated by burning fossil fuels. President Donald J. Trump lowered that number considerably, setting it at $7 or less per ton. Upon taking office, Mr. Biden revived the $51 level and set about updating it further — work that is underway.

Known as the “social cost of carbon,” the metric is designed to underline the potential economic threats from greenhouse gas emissions so they can be compared to the economic benefits from acts like oil drilling. Economists and climate scientists say it is needed because climate-fueled heat waves, storms, wildfires and flooding already cost the United States billions of dollars annually but those costs are often not taken into account by policymakers. Factoring in those costs could make it harder for fossil fuel projects to win federal approval.

So, because Biden is having a hissy fit over what Trump did and the lawsuits from 10 Republican states which Biden lost, he’s going to screw the non-rich folks, driving up their cost of gasoline and natural gas, which will then further drive up the cost of everything.

Here comes $7 gas prices, warns oil strategist in dire outlook

Drivers best start bracing for another surge in gas prices amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and years of under-investment by the oil industry, warns one veteran energy strategist.

“My guess is that you are going to see $5 a gallon at any triple-digit [oil prices] … as soon as you get to $100. And you might get to $6.50 or $7. Forget about $150 a gallon, I don’t know where we will be bv then,” Energy Word founder Dan Dicker said on Yahoo Finance Live. (snip)

Gas prices are coming off their seventh straight weekly advance, according to data from GasBuddy. The national average is up 16.5 cents a gallon from a month ago and 97.2 cents a gallon from one year ago.

The average price nationally for gas currently stands at $3.47.

“Years of under-investment”? Things were going swimmingly during the Trump years. Biden comes in and messes everything up. Does anyone think he actually cares about the people who will be hurt the most? His admin will probably push EVs again, even though most in the middle and lower classes can’t afford one.

https://twitter.com/davidthomas38/status/1495418102263300098

Read: Brandon Admin Puts The Kibosh On New Drilling »

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Joe Biden | 21 Comments | Trackback URL

Russia Is Ready To Invade Ukraine! Maybe. Possibly. Someone Down In The Mailroom Thinks

By William Teach February 21, 2022 – 6:45 am

CBS News is on the ball, you guys!

U.S. has intel that Russian commanders have orders to proceed with invasion

Biden Brain SuckerThe U.S. has intelligence that Russian commanders have received orders to proceed with an invasion of Ukraine, with commanders on the ground making specific plans for how they would maneuver in their sectors of the battlefield, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported on “Face the Nation” Sunday.

The orders don’t mean a invasion is a certainty, as Russian President Vladimir Putin could still change the orders if he changes his mind, the official said.

So yes? No? Interestingly, I’m getting two different versions of the article, one with the second paragraph being the above, and the other with the 2nd being

The intelligence indicates that “they’re doing everything that American commanders would do once they got the order to proceed,” Martin said.

and leaving out the part about it not being certain.

After weeks of warning that an invasion of Ukraine was imminent, President Biden told reporters on Friday that he was “convinced” Putin had made the decision to invade Ukraine and said the U.S. believed Russian forces intended to attack in the “coming days.”

Surprisingly, Biden did not head to Delaware for President’s Day. His original schedule called for him to leave Saturday, which was then changed to Sunday, and then was cancelled. Perhaps that’s a sign that the invasion is ready? Or, perhaps he was just too tired to walk to the helicopter, because he sure hasn’t cared about optics so far.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told “Face the Nation” that the U.S. believes Russia is “moving forward” with plans to invade, despite denials from Moscow that such action will be taken.

“Everything we’re seeing tells us that the decision we believe President Putin has made to invade is moving forward,” Blinken said. “We’ve seen that with provocations created by the Russians or separatist forces over the weekend, false flag operations, now the news just this morning that the ‘exercises’ Russia was engaged in in Belarus with 30,000 Russian forces that was supposed to end this weekend will now continue because of tensions in eastern Ukraine, tensions created by Russia and the separatist forces it backs there.”

If Putin really wants to invade Ukraine, me bet is that he’ll wait till next weekend, after Joe gets to either his home in Delaware or Camp David.

BTW, remember when Democrats made fun of Romney for saying how dangerous Russia was? And then Russia went and invaded Crimea. Then Russia stopped getting frisky under Trump, but, is back to frisky because Biden is weak.

Read: Russia Is Ready To Invade Ukraine! Maybe. Possibly. Someone Down In The Mailroom Thinks »

Posted in Current Affairs, Joe Biden | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 20, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a bridge crossing an area flooded from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is No Tricks Zone, with a post on the science being wrong on the Marshall Islands.

It’s shorts week!

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 12 Comments | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach February 20, 2022 – 9:36 am

Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another great day in the Once and Future Nation of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Brandon is trying to start a war in Ukraine. This pinup is by Edward D’Ancona, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The Last Refuge shows the Royal Canadian Mounted Police trampling a lady in a walker
  2. The Lid has thoughts on President’s Day
  3. The OK Corral has your feel good story of the day
  4. The Other McCain discusses CNN and the Ukraine “crisis”
  5. The Right Scoop notes that other Canadian cities are stepping up against cracking down on protesters
  6. Independent Sentinel covers Queen Elizabeth getting Wuhan Flu
  7. Pacific Pundit says that a protester assaulted by Ottawa police to sue on Monday
  8. Outside The Beltway discusses the notion of helmet laws being raaaaacist
  9. Moonbattery covers the CDC lowering childhood speech standards
  10. Legal Insurrection highlights how “freedom” is now white supremacy
  11. Jihad Watch notes a woman charged after her Muslim attempted rapist is stabbed
  12. IOTW Report discusses a really bad for Dems report
  13. Gen Z Conservative shows Tucker humiliating AOC, who whines back
  14. Geller Report covers Justin Trudeau and his party plummeting in wake of going Fascist
  15. And last, but not least, DC Clothesline features Bill Gates saying wearing masks is like wearing pants (while not wearing a mask)

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

Posted in Patriotic Pinup | 18 Comments | Trackback URL
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