Sanguis Balneum
December 19th, 2023— Bob Moran (@bobscartoons) December 19, 2023
Illegal Border Crossings Hit New Record High
December 19th, 2023Via: Daily Mail:
U.S. apprehensions of migrants at the border hit a new record Monday, with at least 12,600 encounters during a period of just 24 hours.
The stunning spike comes as US Customs and Border Protection announced it would suspend rail operations at a pair of international crossings.
The agency pledged to continue to prioritize its ‘border security mission’ amid a situation it called ‘evolving.’
The latest figures include 11,000 border apprehensions and an additional 1,600 migrants encountered at official points of entry, Fox News reported, based on CBP sources, edging past the prior record of 12,000 two weeks ago.
Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales put the figure even higher, posting about the ‘historic’ numbers on X and saying there were 26,000 border crossers already in custody.
‘Tuesday morning in Eagle Pass. 14,000+ crossed ILLEGALLY yesterday & 26,000+ already in custody – the HIGHEST in US history. Christmas Day will be WORSE. President Biden has abandoned border communities like mine,’ wrote the lawmaker, who represents Hidalgo County.
CBP suspended the freight crossings in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, in order to shift staffing to deal with the surging number of migrants.
New Zealand: High Court Ruled Vaccine Mandate for Police Was Unlawful
December 19th, 2023Via: Radio New Zealand:
The police have settled personal grievance claims over how dozens of staff were treated over refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
The claims were lodged in May 2022 on behalf of 91 staff after the High Court ruled a vaccine mandate for police was unlawful.
…
The police now say that 41 individual grievances have been settled via confidential settlement, while others were withdrawn or not pursued.
The police withheld any information about what it has cost them.
Pentagon Launches Expansive Naval Coalition To Defend Red Sea Passage
December 18th, 2023Via: ZeroHedge:
A US-led naval coalition is finally coming together to protect international shipping transit in the Red Sea and vital Bab al-Mandab Strait, per a breaking development from Politico’s chief Pentagon correspondent: “The Pentagon is expected to announce tomorrow the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new task force to protect shipping from Houthi attacks in the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea, per DOD official,” writes Lara Seligman on X.
“The operation will be within the framework of the existing Combined Maritime Force 153, a partnership of 39 nations focused on counter piracy and counter terrorism in the Red Sea.”
Soon after this reporting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea.”
EU Countries Destroy €4 Billion Worth of COVID Vaccines
December 18th, 2023Via: Politico:
At least 215 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines purchased by EU countries at the height of the pandemic have since been thrown away at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of €4 billion, an analysis by POLITICO reveals. And that’s almost certainly an underestimate.
…
It’s not easy to discover how many vaccines have been thrown out. Governments, including the EU’s second-most populous country France, are reluctant to reveal the scale of the waste.
POLITICO’s calculations are based on numbers from 19 European countries — 15 that supplied us with direct figures, and four where volumes were reported in local media. Some figures date from as recently as this month; the oldest come from December 2022.
The passage of time means the figures we received are conservative, with the real number of discarded vaccines likely much higher.
Human Breathing ‘Contributes to Global Warming’
December 18th, 2023— cryptogon (@cryptogon) December 19, 2023
Via: Climate Depot:
A new government-funded study out of Britain, conducted by scientists at the U.K. Center for Ecology and Hydrology, purports to show that “human breathing is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.”
Therefore, the study authors are urging “caution in the assumption that emissions from humans are negligible.”
U.S. National Debt Hockey Stick
December 18th, 2023The US added another $2.6 trillion of debt between June 2023 and December 2023. $31.4 trillion to $34 trillion now.
The rate of growth in the US national debt is accelerating into a hockey stick chart and nobody in Washington DC is even talking about.
How does this end? pic.twitter.com/BGIJPHR4o2
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) December 18, 2023
NASA: Engineers Working to Resolve Issue With Voyager 1 Computer
December 18th, 2023Via: NASA:
Engineers are working to resolve an issue with one of Voyager 1’s three onboard computers, called the flight data system (FDS). The spacecraft is receiving and executing commands sent from Earth; however, the FDS is not communicating properly with one of the probe’s subsystems, called the telemetry modulation unit (TMU). As a result, no science or engineering data is being sent back to Earth.
Among other things, the FDS is designed to collect data from the science instruments as well as engineering data about the health and status of the spacecraft. It then combines that information into a single data “package” to be sent back to Earth by the TMU. The data is in the form of ones and zeros, or binary code. Varying combinations of the two numbers are the basis of all computer language.
Recently, the TMU began transmitting a repeating pattern of ones and zeros as if it were “stuck.” After ruling out other possibilities, the Voyager team determined that the source of the issue is the FDS. This past weekend the team tried to restart the FDS and return it to the state it was in before the issue began, but the spacecraft still isn’t returning useable data.
Costco CFO: “We Sold Over $100 Million Of Gold During The Quarter”
December 18th, 2023Via: Epoch Times:
Wholesale retailer Costco sold more than $100 million worth of gold in the most recent quarter, with gold bars seeing high demand from customers.
“You’ve probably read about the fact that we’re selling one-ounce gold bars. We sold over $100 million of gold during the quarter” ended Sept. 30, Richard Galanti, the chief financial officer of Costco, said during an earnings call on Dec. 14. This was the first quarter of fiscal 2024 at Costco. The wholesale retailer started selling gold online beginning September. In an earnings call late that month, Mr. Galanti had alluded to massive demand for the product.
“When we load them [gold bars] on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours.”
Japan’s Nippon Steel to Buy U.S. Steel for $14 Billion
December 18th, 2023Via: ZeroHedge:
Nippon Steel Corp., Japan’s largest steel production company, announced Monday morning that it will acquire Pittsburgh-based US Steel in an all-cash deal, valued at $55 per share, which equates to more than 2 trillion yen or about $14 billion.
