French President Has Concerns Over China Joe’s COVID Vaccine Waiver Push

It’s pretty weird when the hard left president of France makes more sense than China Joe

Macron voices concerns over Covid vaccines patent waiver

Emmanuel Macron has echoed the German government’s concerns over Joe Biden’s proposed suspension of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines as he urged the US and the UK to instead start exporting doses around the world.

Arriving at an EU summit in Porto in Portugal, the French president expressed his reservations about the White House proposal to waive patents and criticised the lack of exports coming from “Anglo-Saxon” countries.

“What is the current issue?” he asked. “It is not really about intellectual property. Can you give intellectual property to laboratories that do not know how to produce and will not produce tomorrow? The main issue for solidarity is the distribution of doses.

“Today, the Anglo-Saxons block many of these ingredients and vaccines,” he said. “Today, 100% of the vaccines produced in the United States are for the American market.”

Neither the UK or the US has a formal export ban but Washington has deployed the Defense Production Act to force manufacturers to fulfil domestic contracts ahead of other orders while the British government’s contract with AstraZeneca also prioritises UK requirements.

A waiver on vaccine patents would allow pharmaceutical companies to make copycat vaccines without fear of legal action by manufacturers such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Macron makes an interesting point: the Biden admin has actually restricted the export of goods to India that involve vaccine ingredients. And, let’s not forget that India blocked exports of vaccines from their own country back in March.

The proposal was aired by Biden’s top trade adviser, Katherine Tai, on Wednesday. Her claim that the “extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures” forced a public statement from the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in which she said she was “open” to discussing the issue.

Speaking in Porto, Von der Leyen took a bullish approach, in a sign of the frustration felt at the US approach. She said: “We should be open to this discussion but when we lead this discussion there needs to be a 360 degree view on it as we need vaccines now for the world. In the short and the medium term the IP waiver will not solve the problem, will not bringing a single dose of vaccine in the short and medium term.”

Wouldn’t it be better to simply export the vaccines which are being produced? Quite a bit faster.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had already rejected the US idea, warning that “production capacities and the high-quality standards, not the patents” is the problem facing the world and that a “waiver” would have “serious implications”.

“The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and it must remain so in the future,” she had said on Thursday.

Merkel is more reasonable than Biden. Let that sink in.

On Friday the Canadian government said it was also willing to discuss the idea but emphasised the need to foster entrepreneurial innovation. “Canada has actively worked with partners to identify barriers to vaccine access many of which are unrelated to intellectual property, such as supply chain constraints,” Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, said. “Our government firmly believes in the importance of protecting IP [intellectual property] and recognises the integral role that industry has played in innovating to develop and deliver life-saving Covid-19 vaccines.”

And Canada is more reasonable and smarter than the China Joe admin.

Read: French President Has Concerns Over China Joe’s COVID Vaccine Waiver Push »

NY Times Wants You To Shower Less To Help Solve The Climate Emergency (scam)

I don’t know about you, but, if I don’t shower at least once a day I feel icky. It’s usually twice a day. Which makes me a climate heretic, especially since bathing a lot is something knew. I’m betting that the NY Times has rules about people coming to work unbathed

See Fewer People. Take Fewer Showers.

Robin Harper, an administrative assistant at a preschool on Martha’s Vineyard, grew up showering every day.

“It’s what you did,” she said. But when the coronavirus pandemic forced her indoors and away from the general public, she started showering once a week.

The new practice felt environmentally virtuous, practical and freeing. And it has stuck.

“Don’t get me wrong,” said Ms. Harper, 43, who has returned to work. “I like showers. But it’s one thing off my plate. I’m a mom. I work full-time, and it’s one less thing I have to do.”

A shower can take a couple of minutes, right? Sure, we all probably take longer, luxuriating under the water. I can be in and out in 2-3 minutes. Within one song (of course, some of the songs, especially metal ones, can take 4-7 minutes).

The pandemic upended the use of zippered pants and changed people’s eating and drinking habits. There are now indications that it has caused some Americans to become more spartan when it comes to ablutions.

Parents have complained that their teenage children are forgoing daily showers. After the British media reported on a YouGov survey that showed 17 percent of Britons had abandoned daily showers during the pandemic, many people on Twitter said they had done the same.

After the pandemic forced her into lockdown, Ms. Whaley, 49, said she began thinking about why she was showering every day.

“Do I need to? Do I want to?” she said. “The act of taking a shower became less a matter of function and more of a matter of doing something for myself that I enjoyed.”

I prefer being clean. Even during lockdown.

Daily showers are a fairly new phenomenon, said Donnachadh McCarthy, an environmentalist and writer in London who grew up taking weekly baths.

“We had a bath once a week and we washed under at the sink the rest of the week — under our armpits and our privates — and that was it,” Mr. McCarthy, 61, said.

As he grew older, he showered every day. But after a visit to the Amazon jungle in 1992 revealed the ravages of overdevelopment, Mr. McCarthy said he began reconsidering how his daily habits were affecting the environment and his own body. (followed by paragraphs about this being a rather new phenomena)

An eight-minute shower uses up to 17 gallons of water, according to the Water Research Fund. Running water for even five minutes uses as much energy as running a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And frequent washing means going through more plastic bottles and using more soap, which is often made with petroleum.

And here we go

The individual choice to stop showering or bathing daily is a critical one to make at a time when environmentalists are calling on countries to take more action against climate change, Mr. McCarthy, the environmentalist, said.

Still, Professor Armstrong said, it would take a huge number of people changing their bathing habits to make a difference in carbon emissions. To make a real impact, local and federal governments have to invest in infrastructure that makes showering and water use in general less harmful for the environment.

In other words, they would have to pass laws and rules to restrict bathing.

Read: NY Times Wants You To Shower Less To Help Solve The Climate Emergency (scam) »

Arkansas, Montana Look To Protect 2nd Amendment Rights From Democrats

More and more Republican run states are fighting back against the potential 2nd Amendment violations by the China Joe admin

Montana governor signs bill to protect Second Amendment from federal gun restrictions

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law Friday that’s intended to protect gun owners in the state from any new federal regulations or bans on firearms.

“Today, I proudly signed Rep. [Jedediah] Hinkle’s law prohibiting federal overreach into our Second Amendment-protected rights, including any federal ban on firearms,” Gianforte, a Republican, wrote on Twitter. “I will always protect our #2A right to keep and bear arms.”

Republicans in the state passed the law amid President Biden’s push for federal gun reform measures in the wake of a series of mass shootings across the country this year.

The Montana law prohibits law enforcement officials and other state employees from enforcing federal restrictions or spending state funds on particular kinds of firearms, ammunition and magazines.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a similar law earlier this month.

In Oklahoma, a bill that would designate that state as a Second Amendment “Sanctuary State” is headed for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk.

In Arkansas, the governor vetoed one sent to him, but

Arkansas lawmakers approve bill declaring new federal gun restrictions invalid

Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday approved a reworked bill that aims to preempt federal gun restrictions following objections from the governor, law enforcement and prosecutors that a previous proposal went too far and jeopardized public safety.

The new legislation declares invalid in the state any federal gun restrictions enacted on or after Jan. 1, 2021, that violate the constitutional right to bear arms. The House voted 79-20 along party lines to send the measure to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, moments after the Senate approved the bill.

The new Arkansas nullification measure seeks to ease concerns that prosecutors and law enforcement had raised about a bill Hutchinson vetoed last week that would have imposed criminal penalties on local and state police for helping enforce federal gun restrictions. The Senate voted Monday to override Hutchinson’s veto.

The reworked measure prohibits state or local officials from enforcing any federal restrictions that conflict with the state Constitution’s right to bear arms or any other state law. Under the measure, elected officials who violate the prohibition could be charged with an unclassified misdemeanor while law enforcement officers could lose their certification.

But the measure does not prevent cooperation with federal authorities if the primary purpose isn’t investigating or enforcing new federal gun restrictions.

The House decided to rework the legislation, though they could probably have over-ridden the veto. Which is a smart move, because legislation often goes too far beyond the point of the legislation. The prosecutors and law enforcement groups which opposed the original measure did not object to the reworked one.

Biden can only do so much by Executive Order, but his base is looking for him to do everything he possibly can, including measures that wouldn’t be beyond what is allowed by previously passed law. One of those things is increasing taxation on firearms and ammunition. Another is requiring a federal background check on ammunition purchases, and even limiting purchases. The taxation would probably not happen at a federal level, but, Democrat run states and cities are already looking to make that happen. Background checks could happen federally, and states and cities are looking to do the same. Making it harder for law abiding citizens to defend themselves from all the criminals in liberal areas.

Read: Arkansas, Montana Look To Protect 2nd Amendment Rights From Democrats »

Who’s Up For “Eco-friendly” Cryptocoin?

Because there is nothing that the Cult of Climastrology won’t try to attack as being a problem for their cultish beliefs

This crypto claims to solve bitcoin’s biggest problem

Bitcoin may be the king of cryptocurrencies, but it’s facing an environmental backlash over the energy-intensive technology underpinning it.

A new crypto called chia says it’s the eco-friendly alternative.

Like most digital currencies, chia runs on a decentralized ledger system known as blockchain. But unlike bitcoin, chia, which was founded by the inventor of BitTorrent, claims it has a much smaller carbon footprint with its mining process of verifying and recording transactions.

Chia logged its first trades this week, joining a crowded crypto scene at a time of frenzied investor interest in alternative digital assets. (snip)

Every cryptocurrency has its own method for verifying transactions, typically by using the collective computer power of miners, who are paid for their help in cryptocurrency. The chia mining process, which the Chia Network calls “farming,” relies on using empty computer storage space instead.

This doesn’t resemble the mining process of cryptocurrencies like ethereum, for example. In its current iteration, ethereum uses proof-of-work, which requires a massive amount of computer power to harvest and mine the decentralized coin. The proposed ethereum 2.0, however, would use a proof-of-stake model, which is allegedly more energy-efficient.

The same people lauding this bit of green idiocy are the same ones who use massive amounts of electricity in their own lives. What’s the carbon footprint of CNN running its television stations and website? It’s like they don’t want Other People to use electricity anymore

The chia “farming” process is a greener mining alternative, but it does still require electricity.

When it comes to cryptos, “environmentally friendly” is a “relative term,” said Nick Spanos, CEO of Blockchain Technologies Corp, a software company. Computers need power to run, and natural resources are used to build hard drives, “much in the same way that electric vehicles and windmills still require too much resources to truly be environmentally friendly.”

So, basically, it still needs lots of electricity, it just touts itself as being green in order to dupe small minded and brainwashed Warmists, who will flock to it and enrich those running it.

Read: Who’s Up For “Eco-friendly” Cryptocoin? »

If All You See…

…is an ocean that will soon rise hundreds of feet

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on white restaurants need not apply for relief.

Read: If All You See… »

Olympics To Allow Biological Man To Take Weightlifting Wins Away From Real Women

The media is super thrilled over the notion that “Laurel Hubbard” could set records

New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard on verge of becoming first transgender Olympian

A revision in Olympic qualification standards has set the stage for New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, a transgender woman, to qualify for the Tokyo Games, the New Zealand Olympic Committee announced Thursday.

Hubbard would be the first transgender person to compete in the Olympics if she makes it.

Per Reuters, the NZOC said the International Weightlifting Federation had revised its qualifications due to the impact of COVID-19, opening the door for Hubbard to head to Tokyo. (snip)

Hubbard has been competing internationally for years, with a gold medal in the 2019 Pacific Games and a sixth-place finish at the 2019 World Championships in the +87 kg division. Per NBC Sports, she currently ranks 16th in the world in her weight class for Olympic qualifying, and holds the top spot in Oceania by a narrow margin.

Hubbard’s career has predictably been divisive, with fans and rival nations decrying her presence in the sport. Her silver medal at the 2017 World Championships was preceded by a torrent of social media abuse, and a spot in the much more visible Olympics is basically guaranteed to fan the flames as transgender athletes become a hot-button issue in the United States and elsewhere.

Does he look like a woman? How many medals will he take away from real women who trained hard to be able to make the Olympics and compete? Realistically, he could train hard and easily be able to exceed the real women.

Read: Olympics To Allow Biological Man To Take Weightlifting Wins Away From Real Women »

Surprise: Economy Would Have To Be Radically Changed To Meet China Joe’s Climate (scam) Goals

You will be forced to comply, so, kiss freedom goodbye

‘Eviscerating coal and natural gas’: Biden’s climate goal to require radical shifts in economy

President Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gases more than 50% by 2030 is not feasible without a rapid transformation of the U.S. economy that would hit electricity generation, transportation, agriculture and manufacturing particularly hard, experts say.

Mr. Biden, knowing the difficulty that lies ahead, has not presented a detailed plan of how his administration will hit the 2030 target. The White House has stressed only two avenues for combating climate change: a clean electricity standard and the phaseout of gasoline-powered cars.

Making changes to those two sectors of the economy is essential to combating climate change because they produce more than half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation accounts for nearly 29%, and electricity generation makes up 25% of emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Researchers at the University of Maryland estimated what it would take to reach Mr. Biden’s goal: The electricity sector would have to slash emissions 76% by 2030, and the transportation sector would have to reduce emissions by 40%.

But, China Joe wants 100% free by 2035. And Warmists mostly do not want nuclear energy, so, how do your replace all that electricity? It won’t happen with solar and wind.

“The only way the president can meet his emissions target is by eviscerating coal and natural gas,” said Steve Milloy, who was a member of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency. “For the administration to come even close to its electricity standard, it would need to close down at least 11 coal and natural gas plants per month between now and 2035.”

The footprints, land wise, for solar and wind are vastly bigger than for coal, natural gas, and nuclear. And are less efficient. And can only provide energy under certain conditions. Sounds great, eh?

The administration is working with congressional Democrats to ensure that its $2.25 trillion infrastructure package includes at least $174 billion for the transition to electric vehicles. At least $40 billion would be used to install 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country.

Which will benefit the upper middle class and rich folks who purchase EVs, but, really, few drive them long distances. They have fossil fueled vehicles for that. Charging stations won’t change that. They are very much toys. Lots of people have scooters, golf carts, and little cars who live at the beach. They’re for short trips around town.

Democrats are expected to target the agriculture sector because it relies on chemicals such as nitrogen, a major component of fertilizer, and produces methane gas from livestock emissions.

Which will vastly increase the cost of food. Hey, don’t complain, Biden voters, this is what you voted for. Suck it up, buttercup.

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1390391390455074816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1390391390455074816%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fbrettt-3136%2F2021%2F05%2F06%2Fpresident-biden-warns-that-we-cant-deny-there-is-a-real-change-in-the-weather-1-5-degrees-warmer-is-the-point-of-no-return%2F

That’s China Joe in Louisiana, touting his green infrastructure plan. How’d he get there? Electric plane? Electric helicopter? Electric limo with 18 or so electric SUVs?

Read: Surprise: Economy Would Have To Be Radically Changed To Meet China Joe’s Climate (scam) Goals »

Could We Maybe Replace Cheney With A Real Conservative?

This The Hill article is hilarious in that it is positioning the House GOP picking Stefanik due to loyalty to Trump, forgetting that loyalty is rather important in politics, and that House Dems won’t get money if they do not show their loyalty to Nancy Pelosi. That there was basically a cult in support of Obama. That almost no one will criticize Biden among elected Democrats. But, they do have a point about Stefanik

Loyalty trumps policy in Stefanik’s rise, Cheney’s fall

Some conservative groups are arguing that Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) is too liberal on policy to replace embattled Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) as the third-ranking House Republican.

The 36-year-old Stefanik has emerged as the leading contender to fill Cheney’s spot as GOP conference chair.

But FreedomWorks this week lamented Stefanik’s “dismal” 37 percent score on the group’s vote scorecard, arguing it would be a mistake to put her in charge of messaging in place of the staunchly conservative Cheney.

The Club for Growth has also gone on the attack.

“Elise Stefanik is NOT a good spokesperson for the House Republican Conference,” the group said in a in a Wednesday tweet.

“She is a liberal with a 35% CFGF lifetime rating, 4th worst in the House GOP,” the group added, referring to her score on the group’s own voting scorecard.

“House Republicans should find a conservative to lead messaging and win back the House Majority.”

Yeah, they should find one. Cheney has a 53 rating from Freedom Works.

Such complaints are unlikely to matter in a vote next week that has little to do with policy or conservative orthodoxy. The vote instead is shaping up as more of a loyalty test to former President Trump, the most powerful force in GOP politics despite his loss of the White House, and GOP losses of House and Senate majorities under his leadership.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) say they’re fed up with Cheney’s attacks on Trump and are already throwing their weight behind Stefanik to replace her.

And Trump likely sealed the contest on Wednesday, hailing Stefanik as a “far superior choice” to the “warmongering” Cheney — one who will advance his populist “America First” agenda.

She should be replaced with a real Conservative, but, loyalty is important. The question is, can we have someone who is less conservative per their voting record (remember, Stefanik is from NY), but isn’t going to constantly throw Republicans under the bus, as Cheney does? She was another with Trump Derangement Syndrome, and would rather battle Trump than battle Democrats. She would rather have uber-Leftist China Joe as president and lose the Senate than keep Trump who was doing pretty darned well in advancing a conservative agenda.

Some Republicans are holding out hope that there’s still a chance to block Stefanik’s rise this month. One conservative GOP lawmaker is trying to pump the brakes on what he called a Stefanik “coronation.”

Why yes, they do feature a couple of un-named Republicans with comments supporting Cheney over Stefanik, because of course they do. But, Cheney has become a liberal darling, telling you all you need to know about her loyalties

Cheney won’t move on from Trump, and is really not helping the show

(Spectator) Liz Cheney certainly did her best to advance that narrative and repay political benefactor Kevin McCarthy with perfidy in the process, in Wednesday’s op-ed in the Washington Post (a curious place for a conservative to gain a forum).

It is curious, as she’s speaking to Democrats. She could have done this in the Washington Times. She isn’t helping the Republican Party with her TDS, and needs to go. She has become a liberal media darling, like other Never Trumpers, and needs to go.

More: Here’s from the Daily Caller

Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney “secretly orchestrated” an op-ed in the Washington Post from all living former secretaries of defense slamming former President Trump’s handling of the military in January, according to the New Yorker.

Eric Edelman, a friend of Cheney’s, reportedly told the New Yorker that Cheney had personally met with all 10 living former defense secretaries, including Trump’s first defense secretary, Jim Mattis, urging them to participate in the op-ed. The report comes as Cheney is facing an onslaught of criticism from pro-Trump factions in the Republican Party who want to see her removed from the GOP leadership in the House of Representatives.

She’s an unhinged Never Trumper who won’t move on and would rather go after Trump than take on Democrats.

Read: Could We Maybe Replace Cheney With A Real Conservative? »

Hotcold Take: Pennsylvania To Warm 5.9F By 2050

The doomsday climate cult has to doomsday, you know

Pennsylvania projected to warm 5.9 degrees by 2050, state climate report says

The Wolf administration issued a report Wednesday projecting that the average annual temperature in Pennsylvania will rise 5.9 degrees by 2050, posing increased risks to the environment and human health.

Officials from multiple state agencies announced Wednesday the findings of the 2021 Climate Impacts Assessment report, saying it underscores a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The state Department of Environmental Protection makes the periodic assessment under orders by the state’s Climate Change Act. The last assessment in 2015 anticipated a 5.4-degree average statewide increase from a baseline period of 1971 to 2000, so newer data suggest warming has accelerated.

The world has warmed just 1.5F since 1850, so, prognosticating a 5.9F increase in the next 30 years is beyond wackadoodle (that’s a scientific term, you know). Using that short baseline period allows the unhinged doomsday cultists to ignore the long term data. But, then, this really is all about attempting to scare people.

Rafiyqa Muhammad, an environmental justice community leader in Harrisburg, mentioned at the Wednesday news conference “crazy storms coming out of nowhere” that have impacted her area.

It’s called weather. Get a real job.

“We need to take action immediately,” Muhammad said. “We can’t wait until midcentury.”

You’re welcome to take action in your own life. Stop trying to force more government control. And that is the point of the scary report: get people to give up their money, freedom, and choice.

The report placed particular importance on environmental justice, given that not all residents will be affected equally. Age, race and ethnicity, income, lack of transportation, having to work outdoors, or living close to toxic sites or hazardous facilities all play a role in worsening outcomes from heat and wetter weather.

So, this really isn’t about science.

Wednesday’s report came a day after the Wolf administration proposed a rule to lower carbon emissions through a program that sets an emissions cap by giving power plants allowances, which they can buy and sell on the market. Companies that reduce emissions benefit; those that don’t, pay a price.

No, they pass that price on either way.

The rule is needed for the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an effort by 11 states, including neighboring New Jersey and New York, to lower power plant emissions 30% by 2030. The Wolf administration wants to join the group, but the GOP-controlled legislature has been fighting it.

Interestingly, neither the Wolf admin nor the admins in those 11 states are giving up their own use of fossil fuels or reducing their own carbon footprints, just forcing others to do so.

Read: Hotcold Take: Pennsylvania To Warm 5.9F By 2050 »

If All You See…

…is a wonderful area for solar panels and wind turbines, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Woodsterman, with a post Libturd Thursday.

Read: If All You See… »

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