Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Covid Total World Cases 244,445,680

Total Cases 244,445,680

World Total Deaths

4,962,875

Total Vaccine Doses Administered

6,852,950,345

Cases | Deaths

28-Day: 2,430,281 | 45,908

Totals: 45,608,962 | 738,877

COVID-19 Dashboard

by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

Thursday, October 14, 2021

COVID-19 was the No. 1 killer of Americans age 35 to 54 last month, and No. 2 overall

COVID-19 was the No. 1 leading cause of death in the U.S. in January, at the peak of last winter's brutal coronavirus surge, but then vaccines became widely available and it dropped to No. 7 by July, the Kaiser Family Foundation says in a new analysis of COVID-19 fatalities. Then the Delta variant hit and found ample unvaccinated Americans to kick COVID-19 back up to the No. 2 killer in August and September, the leading cause of death for Americans age 35 to 54, and even the sixth or seventh leading cause of death for children.

COVID19 documentary Wayne Dupree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Srj8VYB4U

I wonder who funded the level 4 bio lab to the tune of $ 3.7 million.

They banned it from Facebook!! It had almost 100 million views !!

It's a shame we had to go the 'feature' film route. So many facts to digest why smudge with music and rhetoric. LET THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. Nevertheless, the most factually insightful documentary I've seen to date, a shame more people aren't watching it.

I tried to share this on Facebook and received a message saying it was fake news I was trying to spread and the contents were not factual and it was blocked by their fact-checkers. I was blown away by the message. It really pissed me off for I know they lied. This is an awesome education piece and I thank you.

A must watch video. Share this with everyone.

Will Donald Trump be cryogenically frozen?

When an 87-year-old Californian man was wheeled into an operating room just outside Phoenix last year, the pandemic was at its height and medical protocols were being upended across the country.

Monday, October 4, 2021

the Pandora Papers, the Straits Times

Key revelations from the Pandora Papers

(Clockwise from top left) Jordan's King Abdullah II, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former British PM Tony Blair and Colombian singer Shakira are among the names leaked in the Pandora Papers.PHOTOS: NYTIMES, AFP, REUTERS

UPDATED
4 HOURS AGO

WASHINGTON (AFP, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - An investigation based on one of the biggest ever leaks of financial documents on Sunday (Oct 3) exposed a hidden world of shielded wealth belonging to hundreds of politicians and billionaires.

One of the largest ever global media investigations, the Pandora Papers involved more than 600 journalists who together analysed some 11.9 million documents from financial services companies around the world.

They found links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore havens and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including more than a dozen serving heads of state and government.

The documents behind the latest investigation are drawn from financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.

Here are some key revelations:

King of Jordan's property empire

The files show King Abdullah II, who has faced angry protests against austerity measures in recent years, created a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a US$100 million (S$136 million) property empire between 2003 and 2017, including 15 homes from Malibu, California to Washington and London.

The Jordanian embassy in Washington declined to comment, but the BBC cited lawyers for the king saying all the properties were bought with personal wealth, and that it was common practice for high profile individuals to purchase properties via offshore companies for privacy and security reasons.

11-year-old property owner

Family and associates of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev - long accused of corruption by rights groups - are alleged to have been secretly involved in property deals in Britain worth hundreds of millions, including a roughly US$45 million office block in the name of the president's 11-year-old son, Heyder.

In this photo taken on July 20, 2021, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow. PHOTO: AFP

The central London property was purchased in 2009 by a front company owned by a family friend of the Central Asian state's president before it was transferred to his son, the BBC reported.

Czech premier's chateau looms over election

According to the documents, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase a chateau worth US$22 million in the south of France.

The premier is facing an election later this week and hit out at the revelations as "trying to tarnish my reputation and affect the Czech general election," saying in an interview with Czech news agency CTK that "it is clear that I didn't do anything illegal or wrong."

Pandora Papers: An unprecedented leak exposes the inner workings of a shadow economy

Kenyan president's offshore network

The investigation says Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta - who has campaigned against corruption and for financial transparency - is accused along with six family members to secretly own a network of 11 offshore companies, one of which was valued as holding assets of US$30 million.

Pakistan premier's inner circle

Members of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's inner circle, including cabinet ministers and their families, were found to secretly own companies and trusts holding millions of dollars.

Khan himself welcomed the findings on Twitter, saying they exposed "the ill-gotten wealth of elites, accumulated through tax evasion & corruption & laundered out to financial 'havens'" and promised to investigate any wrongdoing.

Links to Russia

While Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly named in the files, he is linked via associates to secret assets in Monaco - notably a waterfront home acquired by a Russian woman who is believed to have had a child with Putin, The Washington Post reports.

Separately, the documents appear to show that the law firm of President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus concealed the identity of the owner of several offshore companies: a former Russian politician accused of embezzlement. The firm denies the accusations, the BBC said.

Ukrainian president's transfer

In this photo taken on Sept 22, 2021, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the 76th session UN General Assembly in New York. PHOTO: AFP

According to the findings, just before he was elected as Ukraine's president in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky transferred his stake in a secret offshore company.

Blair's building

Previously an outspoken critic of tax loopholes, former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife were found to have purchased an US$8.8-million building in London in 2017 by buying the British Virgin Islands company that owned it.

As per British law, by doing so they avoided paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes.

The BBC noted there was no indication the Blair's were hiding their wealth, and Cherie Blair said the couple had brought the property back under British rules.

Shakira, Schiffer and Tendulkar

German supermodel Claudia Schiffer and Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. PHOTOS: CLAUDIA SCHIFFER/INSTAGRAM, SACHIN TENDULKAR/INSTAGRAM

Alongside the politicians, the public figures linked to offshore assets also included Colombian singer Shakira, German supermodel Claudia Schiffer and Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Lawyers for all three told the ICIJ the investments were legitimate and denied any suggestion of tax avoidance.

Meanwhile, one of the most “troubling revelations” for the United States was the role of South Dakota, Nevada and other states that have adopted financial secrecy laws that “rival those of offshore jurisdictions” and demonstrate America’s “expanding complicity in the offshore economy,” said the Washington Post, one of the ICIJ’s media partners.

The documents reveal almost US$360 billion in customer assets are sitting in trusts in South Dakota, some of it tied to offshore-based people and companies accused of human rights abuses and other wrongdoing, it said.

The not so future news