Men are naturally better navigators than women‚ right? It’s a pervasive assumption that has become deeply ingrained in Western thinking. But it may not be completely true. According to a new and comprehensive study‚ there is good reason to doubt that any apparent difference between the wayfinding abilities of males and females is due to natural selection. In short‚ if there are differences‚ then it has nothing to do with men having evolved to be better.Existing research has focused on spatial cognition‚ where hundreds of studies‚ and a few meta-analyses‚ have accumulated results that can be summed as this: males outperform females in a statistically significant way in multiple spatial tasks and to varying degrees.The idea is pretty popular‚ the authors explain. “The tendency to explain sex differences as products of natural selection is especially common in evolutionary psychology‚ where there is a long-standing preoccupation with cognitive sex differences.”The standard explanation‚ known as the sex-specific adaptation hypothesis‚ explains this by comparison to other species‚ especially those where the males have larger home size ranges (the size of the area an animal travels in during its daily activities) than females. In these instances‚ it is assumed that males experience more selection for wayfinding skills than females.To test this explanatory hypothesis‚ US researchers from various organizations examined the differences in wayfinding in 21 different species‚ including humans‚ and compared the sizes of their home ranges.Some of the animals they examined included Asian small-clawed otters‚ brilliant-thighed poison frogs‚ Californian mice‚ chimpanzees‚ rats‚ horses‚ giant pandas‚ and various species of voles.The results revealed very little evidence of sex differences in home range size that correlated with how well each species navigated."Over the past half-century‚ significant resources have gone into testing the sex-specific adaptation hypothesis as an explanation for sex differences in navigation abilities‚" the authors wrote. "In a previous meta-analysis‚ we found the evidence was weak‚ and in this paper with an expanded dataset‚ we again find little evidence supporting the sex-specific adaptation hypothesis."Sex differences in behavior or performance can arise from biological or cultural factors‚ neither of which necessarily stem from evolution in all instances. In particular‚ the brain’s plasticity means it's particularly good at restructuring‚ a factor that is often ignored.In particular‚ evolutionary psychologists consider a trait as innate if it is culturally universal‚ but that does not hold with spatial skills.  “Recent evidence in subsistence populations strongly suggests that sex difference in spatial navigation in humans is not a cultural universal”‚ the authors explain. “Rather‚ it disappears in cultures where males and females have similar ranging behaviour.”“We believe that future research on human sex differences in navigation should focus on the role of socialization and culture‚ rather than evolutionary genetic factors.”The paper is published in Royal Society Open Science.

Down in the deep ocean off the coast of Costa Rica scientists have discovered‚ not one‚ not two‚ not three‚ but four new species of deep-sea octopus in a 259-square-kilometer area (100 square miles).These new species live in seamounts in and around hydrothermal springs that were discovered in 2023. These areas contain octopus nurseries that have been found to be active all year round. One of the new species is in the genus Muusoctopus‚ and will be called the Dorado octopus after the area in which it was found‚ a small rocky outcrop nicknamed El Dorado Hill. This species was the only one of the new four to be found brooding its eggs in warm springs on the seafloor. A mother octopus broods her eggs near a small outcrop of rock unofficially called El Dorado Hill.Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA)“Through hard work‚ our team discovered new hydrothermal springs offshore Costa Rica and confirmed that they host nurseries of deep-sea octopus and unique biodiversity‚” said Dr Beth Orcutt‚ of the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences‚ in a statement sent to IFLScience.These observations were made by a team from Schmidt Ocean Institute onboard R/V Falkor (too). In total‚ over 160 deep-sea animal specimens will be archived in the Museum of Zoology at the University of Costa Rica‚ adding to an existing collection of specimens numbering around 150 from an expedition last June. These collections mark the first time the specimens will be kept in the Central American country where they were collected‚ rather than being sent to the United States or housed somewhere in Europe. Keeping them in Costa Rica also allows scientists to access the specimens easily‚ helping to inform management decisions surrounding this deep-sea habitat.              “The impact of the R/V Falkor (too) expeditions on understanding the deep Pacific waters of Costa Rica will last into the future and hopefully create awareness that evolves into policies to protect the deep sea of the country‚” said Dr Jorge Cortés of the University of Costa Rica. “I hope that the expedition serves as an inspiration for new generations. We need more international collaborations to advance knowledge of our deep-sea heritage.”As well as the four octopus species‚ the team discovered a skate nursery‚ calling it the Skate Park‚ also off the coast of Costa Rica. Three more hydrothermal springs with different fluid temperatures and chemistries were also found in the area‚ 10 to 30 nautical miles from each other. A deep-sea skate nursey nicknamed the "Skate Park" was also discovered.Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA)“Drs. Cortés and Orcutt formed a team that truly exemplifies international collaboration which empowers scientists within Costa Rica and enriches local knowledge and understanding of the ocean‚" said Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Executive Director‚ Dr. Jyotika Virman

While we’ve grown accustomed to them as fluffy companions who like knocking things over‚ cats are still predators through and through. It’s in their genes. If you’ve ever had your cat bring home a dead bird to your porch‚ you’d know this pretty well. But training and conditioning can work wonders‚ and some cats can... The post Mother hen searches for chicks only to find them being babysat by their “aunt” appeared first on Animal Channel.

As is often the case‚ the network newscasts will tout a narrative that is friendly to Democrats in power. In this case‚ that would be the Biden administration. But as is also often the case‚ the networks will shut down or suppress new information that will contravene that narrative. Such is the case with the ongoing battle between Texas and the Biden Department of Homeland Security over a section of border recently taken over by Texas. Over the weekend‚ the story coming out of the border‚ fabricated by DHS‚ was that the Texas National Guard had refused dock access to the Border Patrol for purposes of conducting a rescue along the Rio Grande‚ which resulted in the death of three migrants. As an exemplar of that coverage‚ here’s how CBS’s Norah O’Donnell framed the story on Monday’s CBS Evening News:   NORAH O’DONNELL: Tonight‚ the crisis at the southern border has turned into a turf war between Texas and the White House. The Biden administration says three migrants drowned after Texas National Guard members physically blocked federal border agents from attempting to rescue them.  From a narrative standpoint‚ it’s not much of a heavy lift to go from there to say‚ reductio ad absurdum‚ “Greg Abbott killed migrants”. And that’s certainly the way this thing was being set up.  Sunday’s ABC World News Tonight offered: LINSEY DAVIS: Shocking allegations. Homeland Security claims the Texas National Guard blocked federal agents from trying to rescue three migrants who drowned in the Rio Grande. One congressman says Texas authorities have blood on their hands. On Sunday’s NBC Nightly News‚ we got: KATE SNOW: A migrant woman and two children died trying to cross the Rio Grande into Texas this weekend. The U.S. Border patrol said their agents wanted to save the three people‚ but Texas authorities would not let them through.  Slightly less ham-fisted‚ but equally supportive of the narrative. But then‚ an explosive filing by Biden’s own Department of Justice‚ as reported by Fox’s Bill Melugin‚ which says‚ in part: On January 12‚ 2024‚ at approximately 9:00 p.m.‚ Mexican officials advised Border Patrol of two migrants in distress on the U.S. side of the river in the area near the Shelby Park boat ramp. App.‚ infra‚ 2a.  Mexican officials also informed Border Patrol that three migrants -- one woman and two children -- has drowned at approximately 8:00 p.m. in the same area. So the migrants were dead for a full hour BEFORE Border Patrol even requested access to the Shelby Park boat ramp. This is a major deviation from what the networks reported‚ and yet NONE OF THEM filed corrective items. Melugin tweeted on the DoJ filing before noon on the East Coast‚ so there was certainly enough time to work these corrections into the evening’s newscasts. But the narrative was already in the wind. No correction was to be made. In fact‚ this is reminiscent of another Biden administration hoax involving the Border Patrol: the horse-whipping hoax- which turned out to be totally false. Not content with merely carrying Biden’s water‚ the media are also hiding inconvenient corrections.  No crying over a lack of trust in the institutions‚ guys. You did this to yourselves.

Google is in full support of abortion and it isn’t even trying to hide it anymore.  The Media Research Center’s Free Speech America division recently conducted a study which indicated just how much the search engine supports abortion.  Free Speech America analyzed searches on Google‚ Bing and DuckDuckGo for their study. They used the word “pregnancy” for their search. What was the first thing that popped up on Google? None other than the “largest abortion mill in the entire country: Planned Parenthood‚” the study indicated. Free Speech America noted that for Bing and DuckDuckGo‚ neutral results were found and links to “popular health websites like Mayo Clinic and Healthline.com” were featured.  Leave it to Google to show how pro-abort they are. Other than just promoting Planned Parenthood’s “Pregnancy Information” page‚ Google also added four other links below the main result. “Pregnancy Options” and “How Pregnancy Happens” are two of those four. Naturally those links praise abortion and bash places like Crisis Pregnancy Centers who apparently “lie” to women to get them to NOT abort their kids.  Free Speech America’s study also pointed out that Google and YouTube (which is owned by Google) regularly censor pro-life users‚ Google fails to acknowledge that abortion ends the life of a baby and that following the Dobbs decision in 2022‚ Google made sure to tell its employees that it would cover out-of-state abortion costs for them. To read the full study visit newsbusters.org and consider switching your search engine if you’re still using pro-abort Google.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel took the air on Tuesday to disparage the Iowa Caucus as “the polar opposite of MLK Day” and the way they count the votes because‚ to Kimmel‚ putting votes in a paper bag is hilarious‚ but the DNC’s 2020 app fiasco is something worth memory-holing. Kimmel asserted that “Meanwhile‚ in Iowa‚ many caucuses were held yesterday” and “If you've ever wondered what is the polar opposite of MLK Day‚ it is the Iowa Republican Caucus.”     Moving on to how the caucus actually works‚ Kimmel played a video of caucus goers and talking over it‚ said‚ “You write a name on a piece of paper and you drop it in a grocery bag. The same people who are screaming about the Dominion voting machines are digging through a brown paper sack from Stop &; Shop to decide who will be president. Then they drop all the names into a popcorn bucket‚ they find the baldest guy they can to count them aloud.”  At least the Iowa GOP can count their votes in a timely manner‚ unlike Iowa Democrats‚ but speaking of vote counting‚ Kimmel then played a clip of a caucus official reading off some results which included one vote for Vivek Ramaswamy‚ one for Donald Trump‚ and two for Nikki Haley. Of course‚ two of those candidates are not white‚ but Kimmel proceed apace‚ “Those were about the only two votes Haley got. She --as was expected‚ Trump won the caucus tiny-handily. Even though he barely spent any time in Iowa‚ it somehow made voters love him more. It's the same strategy he used raising Eric and Don Jr.” The late night comedians will try to argue that it is Republicans who are obsessed with racial politics‚ but they really just need to look in the mirror to find out who is actually obsessed with racial politics. Here is a transcript for the January 16 show: ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 1/17/2024 11:39 PM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: Meanwhile‚ in Iowa‚ many caucuses were held yesterday. If you've ever wondered what is the polar opposite of MLK Day‚ it is the Iowa Republican Caucus.  This is how they get the votes. You write a name on a piece of paper and you drop it in a grocery bag. The same people who are screaming about the Dominion voting machines are digging through a brown paper sack from Stop &; Shop to decide who will be president. Then they drop all the names into a popcorn bucket‚ they find the baldest guy they can to count them aloud.  CAUCUS OFFICIAL: Ramaswamy. Trump. Haley. Haley.  KIMMEL: Those were about the only two votes Haley got. She --as was expected‚ Trump won the caucus tiny-handily. Even though he barely spent any time in Iowa‚ it somehow made voters love him more. It's the same strategy he used raising Eric and Don Jr.

Executive Summary In Part 1 of this report‚ the MRC Censorship Investigation Project uncovered how the Biden administration used the federal government to silence Americans who don’t support its leftist agenda through a year-long series of State Department seminars that trained teachers to use censorship tools in their classrooms. Now in Part 2‚ we detail how the federal government is using taxpayer money from the Department of Homeland Security’s terrorist prevention program to censor conservatives nationwide.  Like the State Department before it‚ the DHS is using the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab (the “Rhode Island Lab”) to accomplish its anti-American goals of training teachers to use censorship tools in the classroom and silence political dissent. Biden’s DHS approved a three-phase censorship strategy‚ set to culminate close to the 2024 presidential election.  The DHS funded this endeavor through the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program. MRC Free Speech America previously reported on this controversial program and how it has been weaponized to target Christians‚ conservatives and the Republican Party. Phase 1 of this strategy was the launch of a public awareness campaign‚ featuring DHS-commissioned blog posts attacking former President Donald Trump‚ “MAGA supporters‚” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‚ free speech and the Second Amendment. The campaign also included controversial podcasts‚ panel discussions and community events to generate support for censorship. The blog-post portion of the campaign used incendiary language disparaging Biden’s political opponents‚ all funded with taxpayer dollars. Examples include:  “We are all living in a darker‚ scarier‚ angrier‚ less hopeful country thanks to Mr. Trump’s influence. Are we on the verge of civil war?” “Donald Trump was also adopting the shock-jock style that Rush Limbaugh built into a cultural phenomenon‚ including his misogynistic and racist comments‚ conspiracy theories‚ and grievances.” “It won’t be easy‚ but we really have to reduce Trump’s influence”  “[I]t's tempting and entertaining to tune into the circuses of the Marjorie Taylor Greenes‚ Louis Farrakans [sic]‚ and MAGA supporters.” “It turns out even Fox Media has limits on how much misogyny and racism it will tolerate from its stars–witness the canceling of Tucker Carlson’s show last week.” Phase 2 of the strategy finances the current and ongoing‚ nationwide expansion of the seminars initially established by the State Department. These seminars train educators across the country on how to divert students away from conservative ideas and media sources skeptical of the administration’s agenda. While these seminars are now closed to the public‚ it is highly likely that the same censorship methods introduced during the State Department-funded seminars continue to play a central role in the DHS seminars since the same organizations continue to lead the effort. These tactics include pushing educators to put censorship tools from for-profit media ratings firms Ad Fontes and NewsGuard into American classrooms.  It is telling that before being allowed to participate in the DHS-funded seminars‚ educators must declare their political ideology. One teacher who declared herself “conservative” reported that she was confined to a breakout group controlled by the director of the Rhode Island Lab so as to limit her access to the most damning material. Phase 3 of the recently launched strategy provides cash prizes of up to $1‚000 for children who create social media posts to increase demand for “media literacy” mandates — a euphemism for censorship. The program mimics the German socialist model introduced as part of the Rhode Island Lab’s partnership with the State Department‚ which focuses on pushing teachers to turn children into “media producers.”  To enhance this astroturf campaign‚ Biden’s DHS selected the leftist lobbying group “Media Literacy Now‚” which lobbies state legislatures for laws requiring “media literacy.” Media Literacy Now has a revenue-sharing agreement with Ad Fontes‚ the company that provides the “Media Bias Chart” used to disparage conservative media. Because the two organizations also have overlapping board members and staff‚ they essentially function as a single enterprise. Inside the Biden Admin’s New Strategy to Censor‚ Push Leftist Activism Into American Classrooms A “whole of society approach.” That is the phrase the Biden administration uses to describe its plan to harness an interconnected alliance of public and private actors for the purpose of targeting its political opponents and turning children into left-wing activists.  In Part 1 of this report‚ the MRC Censorship Investigation Project detailed how President Joe Biden’s State Department used the University of Rhode Island’s Media Education Lab (the “Rhode Island Lab”) to push German censorship and indoctrination to American teachers. After this grant concluded‚ Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used the Rhode Island Lab to coordinate with a vast array of domestic actors‚ from local politicians to left-wing activist organizations to a lobbying group to the American public school system. The DHS’s program consisted of three phases. The first phase‚ which has concluded‚ consisted of propaganda work‚ ranging from podcasts to community events to blog posts that directly attacked and disparaged the Biden administration’s opponents. The second phase‚ which is ongoing‚ is a turbocharged version of the State Department seminars detailed in Part 1. These seminars explained how to bring censorship tools and German activist techniques to American classrooms. The final phase‚ which has just launched‚ pays children up to $1‚000 to create social media posts so as to increase demand for “media literacy” mandates — a euphemism for censorship. Phase 1 of this strategy was the launch of a public awareness campaign‚ featuring DHS-commissioned blog posts attacking former President Donald Trump‚ “MAGA supporters‚” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‚ free speech and the Second Amendment.  Phase 1 of the DHS project is its most sprawling‚ consisting of community events‚ a well-produced podcast series‚ a flashy website and a series of blog posts. This strategy was consistent with the administration’s “whole of society approach‚” where private and public actors are seamlessly integrated into a unified whole. The DHS financed the Rhode Island Lab with $700‚000 awarded through the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Program. MRC Free Speech America has previously reported on this controversial program‚ and how it has been hijacked for left-wing advocacy. First proposed by the Obama administration to combat Al Qaeda's domestic recruitment efforts and later put on hold‚ the TVTP grant program was revived by a small number of DHS bureaucrats in 2019 who “circumvented the White House budgeting process” in the chaos after the ouster of Secretary Kristjen Nielsen. This quiet resurrection of TVTP was conducted by then-Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan after months of behind-the-scenes pressure by Miles Taylor. Taylor was the then-“Anonymous” author of the infamous New York Times opinion piece “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” In that article and a follow-up book‚ Taylor — who had served as the Chief of Staff for the DHS — bragged about spending years “working diligently from within to frustrate” the mission and objectives of then-President Donald J. Trump. Taylor later told Politico he masterminded the TVTP revival and redesign against the direction of Trump’s White House‚ which was not “initially all that interested” in funding the program. Scandal-plagued DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called TVTP a “priority … of the highest importance‚” placing it under the Center for Prevention Programs &; Partnerships (CP3).  Mayorkas personally attended every session of a DC-area meeting of TVTP grantees‚ and bragged that under his leadership‚ CP3 “has helped 143 different … pilot programs get off the ground and flourish.” One of those programs was PREVENTS-OH in Dayton‚ Ohio‚ where the DHS directed TVTP funds to promulgate a “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization” tying Christians‚ conservatives and the Republican Party to militant neo-Nazis.  When the Rhode Island Lab — a part of the University of Rhode Island (a taxpayer funded‚ public university) — petitioned Biden’s Department of Homeland Security for TVTP money to promote “media literacy” and combat “disinformation‚” it had a peculiar request. The Rhode Island Lab proposed  creating a program  “using the Media Literacy Now national network.”  As Part 1 of this report detailed‚ Media Literacy Now is a lobbying group‚ not an academic institution. It defines itself as an “advocacy nonprofit” dedicated to “ensuring that media literacy is recognized by policymakers and the public as an essential part of K-12 education.” Due to overlapping staff‚ finances‚ and revenue-sharing agreements‚ Media Literacy Now effectively functions as a single entity with the Rhode Island Lab and media ratings firm Ad Fontes. Media Literacy Now requested to be the DHS grant’s “fiscal agent” — the same role it had played when part of the “Project Team” overseeing the completion of the State Department grant detailed in the previous report.  The Rhode Island Lab and Media Literacy Now used the TVTP grant money to begin “Courageous RI‚” a “media literacy program” that — in its words — “aims to mobilize RI residents with the skills to counteract the societal forces inciting intolerance‚ hate and violence.” Courageous RI is run by two people: Renee Hobbs and Pam Steager. The mastermind of the State Department seminars‚ Hobbs is both an advisory board member for Media Literacy Now and the founder and CEO of the Rhode Island Lab. Steager‚ meanwhile‚ is the Rhode Island chapter president for Media Literacy Now and the Rhode Island Lab’s director of community engagement. As detailed in the first report‚ Hobbs and Steager previously worked together for the State Department using “media literacy” to overhaul the Austin‚ Texas‚ Police Academy. Once receiving their grant‚ the Rhode Island Lab and Media Literacy Now quickly activated the “national network” they had bragged about. Steager coordinated with the Rhode Island Department of State and Secretary of State Gregg Amore‚ the chief elections officer for Rhode Island. Amore had previously worked with Steager and Media Literacy Now on a media literacy bill when he was a state representative.  As Secretary of State‚ Amore made the Department of State an official partner of Courageous RI and assigned his Associate Director of Education and Public Programs‚ Lane Sparkman‚ to ghostwrite Courageous RI’s “Manifesto” for Steager. This “Manifesto” emphasized how “political extremism‚ rage‚ and anti-government theories … can lead to targeted violence and domestic terrorism.” Sparkman then helped Steager and Hobbs plan Courageous RI’s launch event. To thank Sparkman for her help‚ Steager sent Sparkman an offer to accept a $50 digital gift card paid for with taxpayer dollars as a “small token of gratitude.” Steager helped draft Amore’s statements at Courageous RI’s launch event‚ where the Secretary proclaimed‚ “[W]e have become so focused on individual rights‚ we have forgotten about the collective good.”  Another featured speaker at the event was Cranston Public Library Director Edward (Ed) Garcia. Neither Hobbs nor Steager objected to Garcia using his speech to rant against “a small but vocal minority … relying on disinformation and fear tactics.” Though he did not invoke its name‚ Garcia was seemingly referring to the Independent Women’s Network (IWN)‚ a women’s rights group that advocates for school choice and against child sexual mutilation. IWN was forced to pay $1‚200 in police security last year in order to host a dialogue at Cranston Library that was targeted by left-wing protestors‚ according to DailyMail.com. After IWN’s event‚ Garcia temporarily banned “outside use of our library space” (and thus future IWN assemblies). At the same time‚ he celebrated the hostile protestors for their “stand against divisive and discriminatory rhetoric.”  The launch event‚ which was a “packed” in-person ceremony‚ was followed by a series of virtual follow-up events dubbed “Courageous Conversations.” These community events were structured to promote “media literacy” strategies for tackingling “propaganda‚ disinformation‚ and conspiracy theories in social media.” In their events‚ Hobbs and Steager repeatedly reiterated that the entire “Courageous Conversations” were intended to be replicated across America so as to “keep the conversation going‚” and that the Rhode Island Lab would be offering material support for participants willing to conduct an event of their own.  Unsurprisingly‚ Steager and Hobbs used 2023’s “Courageous Conversations” to push far-left propaganda‚ with staff often jumping in to make provocative‚ politically-charged claims on pop culture and politics. Among the more outlandish inputs to their “conversations” were that “content moderation” could never be censorship‚ that Russia had “influence[d]” the 2016 election and that actress-turned-conservative activist Gina Carano had “a long history of making really creepy‚ antisemitic comments.” One May 2023 event‚ titled “Feelings and Facts‚” ordered participants to explore an interactive “Conspiracy Chart.” The chart provided a list of alleged conspiracy theories that it described as past “THE ANTISEMITIC POINT OF NO RETURN” and equivalent to “Holocaust denial.” Among the supposedly hateful “theories” were the idea that American institutions are permeated with “cultural Marxism” and use of the phrase “Trans Agenda.” The Conspiracy Chart also claimed the “only one sordid reason” why “conservative and far-right media” investigate George Soros (a prominent activist billionaire) is “because he is Jewish.”  As Part 1 of this report detailed‚ the Rhode Island Lab pushed a curriculum created with money from Soros himself. This curriculum ordered teachers to use the censorship tool NewsGuard in their classrooms. Another “conspiracy theory” the chart labeled as equivalent to “Holocaust denial” was belief in a  “deep state” — a bureaucracy within the administrative state which sought to sabotage the Trump presidency.  As described earlier‚ the current TVTP program was masterminded by DHS bureaucrat Taylor‚ author of the infamous Times article “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” In the article‚ a then-“Anonymous” Taylor bragged that “many of the senior officials in [Trump’s] own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda … I would know. I am one of them.” A mere five years after that article‚ the Rhode Island Lab is using the funds it received from the TVTP program Taylor helped design to erase the memory of what he did.    A June 2023 event encouraged attendees to watch a propaganda video titled “Misinformation in the Latino Community.” In this video‚ NBC/Comcast pundit Carmen Sesin claimed that Florida’s shift towards Trump from the 2016 to 2020 was “absolutely” because of “disinformation” in “Spanish-language media.”  This same video disparaged attendees at a rally for then-candidate (and now Republican Congresswoman) Monica de la Cruz and identified Telegram channels for nationally-syndicated radio host Dan Bongino and publication The Western Journal as problematic. The video claimed (without evidence) that Spanish-language radio channels like Actualidad 1040AM and Radio Mambi had spread disinformation against “Joe Biden” and that the stories may have come from Russia.  The video also warned of “a wave of misinformation aimed at Latinos heading into 2022” that could hurt Democratic Party candidates and recommended that platforms like Meta and Telegram be more aggressive with their censorship efforts to prevent the spread of so-called misinformation. In its DHS grant application‚ the Rhode Island Lab explained that “[a]fter the grant program funding has expired‚ we will continue to offer ‘Courageous Conversations’ as a community-based program with support from the Rhode Island philanthropic community.” True to its word‚ the Rhode Island Lab is currently touting a new “Courageous Conversation” for 2024‚ this time based in Charlottesville‚ Virginia and commencing on Jan. 17.  In addition to the “Courageous Conversations‚” the Rhode Island Lab and Media Literacy Now used DHS funds to create a glossy podcast series‚ aptly titled “CourageousRI: A Podcast Series.” DHS Agent Robert Mahoney‚ the Rhode Island Lab’s CP3 grant administrator‚ appeared on the show. Mahoney used the platform to sing praises of the Biden administration’s “whole of society approach‚” emphasizing that the DHS sought to “have a way of reporting” examples of “unusual behavior‚” such as “somebody who has access to guns or has anti-government [views] or has conspiracy theories of a lot of things.”  Mahoney stated that such enemies of the state were “picking and choosing what they believe and how far they want to go with that conspiracy theory or how much they believe in a certain ideology. And they sort of weave that into a narrative‚ almost like a quilt.”  Mahoney’s comments are disturbing as they mirror those given by his coworker Joseph “J.R.” Masztalics‚ who touted the “whole of society approach” when he spoke in his official capacity at the DHS-funded seminar that unveiled the aforementioned “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization.” The other podcast guests also tended to be quite radical. In April 2023‚ the Courageous RI podcast hosted left-wing activist Jennifer Lima‚ a North Kingstown school board member who received international attention for bizarre antics like demanding that students who engage in “misgendering” should be sent to prison. Hobbs heaped praise on Lima‚ proclaiming: “[I]n my world‚ you are the epitome of a courageous leader” and “[W]hat could we do‚ moving forward‚ to inspire people to be as courageous as you are?”   In another episode‚ Steager urged listeners to implement a specific Holocaust education lesson plan. This curriculum exploited the worst atrocity in human history for political points‚ equating opposition to open borders with genocide and claiming “Christianity historically promoted antisemitism‚ [and] anti-Judaism.”  One passage required students to read an essay by now-presidential candidate Cornel West‚ wherein he declared that “antisemitism has proven itself to be a powerful force in nearly every post of Western civilization where Christianity has a presence.” In the passage‚ West — who said elsewhere “the Israeli state … has been racist in practice since its inception” — went on to remark‚ “I am not going to believe the hype‚ even when I see Jews highly assimilated sometimes at high levels in American civilization believing they've been fully accepted by the Goyim.” Another guest was then-Congressman David Cicilline‚ who joined the podcast to hawk his controversial book House on Fire. According to the book description on Amazon‚ “House on Fire identifies the key threat to our democracy—that the GOP has become a Trumpist authoritarian cult—and outlines how we fight back.” Cicilline resorted to similar incendiary language on the podcast‚ deriding a proposed Utah women’s rights law as “targeting trans kids” and demanding censorship legislation “to be sure that these [social media] platforms are responsible for the amplification of dangerous‚ toxic‚ untrue content” such as (in his words) “misinformation” from “Trump.” Steager enthusiastically endorsed Cicilline’s comments. Cicilline concluded the podcast by saying that “media literacy ought to be taught in every single school in this country‚ and every grade‚ because it’s never too young to begin to develop those skills.” Steager responded “Thank you. We believe that too.” Interestingly‚ while still serving in Congress‚  Cicilline wrote a letter asking the DHS to approve the Rhode Island Lab and Media Literacy Now’s grant request.  It is unsurprising Cicilline would take particular interest in the Rhode Island Lab’s insidious agenda to push censorship under the guise of media literacy. As the Chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Antitrust‚ Commercial &; Administrative Law‚ he made his signature issue a (failed) effort to reshape telecommunications law so as to target conservative speech. Cicilline left Congress shortly after filming the podcast to run the Rhode Island Foundation‚ a powerful “community foundation” that is a public partner of Courageous RI.   “The left’s ‘whole of society approach’ is really about empowering leftwing organizations to fight against American values and democratic norms‚” commented MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider. “It is clear that Cicilline realized that he would have more power as the head of the Rhode Island Foundation to push a leftwing agenda than he had as a duly-elected Member of Congress who chaired an influential committee. The usurpers of our Constitution are well organized and are colluding with the Biden administration to bring our democracy to an end.” The Rhode Island Department of State and the Rhode Island Foundation are not the only formal partners of Courageous RI. Also included on that list are the Rhode Island Department of Health (which advocated for the Rhode Island Lab to get its grant)‚ the Rhode Island School Superintendents Association and the office of Biden’s U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island‚ Zachary Cunha.  Another official partner is more overtly partisan: Moms Demand Action (MDA). MDA is a radical gun-confiscation group which has pledged to “fully embrace diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion (DEI).” MDA‚ a part of the umbrella organization Everytown for Gun Safety‚ is backed by activist billionaire Michael Bloomberg‚ the owner of Bloomberg News and former New York City Mayor . (Part 1 of this report detailed how Rhode Island Lab’s “affiliated faculty” member Lauren McClanahan‚ a graduate of the State Department series of seminars‚ had students in her Bellingham‚ Washington class create a propaganda video advocating for donations to the Everytown for Gun Safety network.)  While most taxpayers would likely be alarmed that the DHS-created “Courageous RI” partnered  with a hyper-partisan activist group like MDA‚ such an alliance is emblematic of the Biden administration’s “whole of society approach.” The Rhode Island Lab and Media Literacy Now are able to act as a conduit between the government and the more extreme elements of the left in order to enact “systemic change in K-12 education.”  The Rhode Island Lab is using taxpayer money to fund a campaign against Second Amendment liberties. The first way it went about doing so was by commissioning taxpayer-funded blog posts. At $250-a-piece‚ and paid for with the TVTP grant money‚ the blog posts were commissioned to educate on “misinformation‚ disinformation‚ media literacy … and more!” After being selected and approved by the Rhode Island Lab‚ the articles were featured on the taxpayer-funded Courageous RI website.  One DHS-financed article raged at “Second American Sanctuaries” and “the NRA‚” while advocating for an “assault weapons ban” and other draconian restrictions on gun ownership. Another piece enthusiastically directed readers to Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety and the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention (GCVI)‚ an anti-Second Amendment liberties advocacy group linked to left-wing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) (GCVI often works with Bloomberg’s Everytown/MDA organizations in order to coordinate its advocacy). A third piece eagerly proclaimed‚ “We can urge our state governments to repeal Stand Your Ground and Open Carry laws” because “Stand Your Ground laws allow individuals to shoot anyone they believe is threatening them” (they do not).    The writings were not limited to advocacy against Second Amendment liberties or for gun confiscation. They also made sure to disparage journalists‚ former President Trump’s supporters and even the First Amendment.  One detached-from-reality screed lamented: “We are all living in a darker‚ scarier‚ angrier‚ less hopeful country thanks to Mr. Trump’s influence. Are we on the verge of civil war?” The piece complained that the former President Trump “was able to crawl into the safety of First Amendment protections” and “was able to sidestep the only societal controls against hate speech by buying Truth Social‚ his own media outlet.” The taxpayer-funded blog ominously concluded that “[i]t won’t be easy‚ but we really have to reduce Trump’s influence.” Another taxpayer-funded blog the Rhode Island Lab published with TVTP money complained that “preserving freedom of expression from censorship is often invoked to counter efforts to regulate hateful expression‚ in particular in online environments” and asked “whether social media platforms should really have the power to be such empty vessels for people to fill up with invective‚ fights over politics‚ disinformation‚ propaganda‚ racism‚ and misogyny.”  The Rhode Island Lab article further argued in favor of censorship along the lines of what the Biden administration has been accused of: strongarming social media companies to silence dissident speech. The blog suggested that “leaders have the capacity to stand up against false narratives in real time‚ flag inflammatory content for removal by social media companies‚ and provide non-partisan online spaces for intercommunal engagement.”  This same DHS-funded article wrongly claimed that “the political right enjoys higher amplification” on social media “compared to the political left.” This is untrue. As MRC’s CensorTrack.org shows‚ conservatives are overwhelmingly more likely to be censored than those on the left.   Another of the blogs even disparaged the late Presidential Medal of Freedom-winner Rush Limbaugh‚ commenting that “Donald Trump was also adopting the shock-jock style that Rush Limbaugh built into a cultural phenomenon‚ including his misogynistic and racist comments‚ conspiracy theories‚ and grievances.” The piece also attacked Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as “the extreme fringe of the right wing‚” and remarked‚ “It turns out even Fox Media has limits on how much misogyny and racism it will tolerate from its stars–witness the canceling of Tucker Carlson’s show last week.”  A different piece — centered on “the hijacking of our public dialogue” but titled “Time to Focus on Unity” — told readers not to “tune into the circuses of the Marjorie Taylor Greenes‚ Louis Farrakans [sic]‚ and MAGA supporters.”  “Louis Farrakhan is a virulently antisemitic hate group leader who has repeatedly referred to Jewish people as ‘termites‚’” said MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider. “It is unconscionable to equate such a person to the seventy-four million Americans who supported Donald Trump‚ especially in a piece professing to signify ‘unity.’”  The Rhode Island Lab did not conceal its intention to engage in left-wing activism when it applied for its grant. On the contrary‚ its proposal attacked Trump supporters from the “north‚ south‚ east‚ and west” of the state‚ suggesting they posed a “threat of violent extremism.” After all‚ as Part 1 of this report detailed‚ it was no secret that the Rhode Island Lab and its deeply partisan founder Hobbs had long engaged in extreme and conspiratorial left-wing activism.  Phase 2 of the strategy finances the current and ongoing‚ nationwide expansion of the seminars initially established by the State Department. Part 1 of this report detailed how the State Department paid the Rhode Island Lab to conduct a year-long series of seminars training educators how to inoculate students against conservative ideas. Phase 2 of the DHS grant program replicated this structure‚ but with the intention of bringing the scheme nationwide. The State Department seminars focused on bringing longstanding German censorship strategies to American classrooms. Among the strategies educators were instructed to employ were using videogames to teach children to reject so-called “misinformation‚” instructing students to rely on hopelessly biased‚ anti-conservative fact checking sites like PolitiFact and Snopes and training educators how to use censorship tools like Ad Fontes and NewsGuard to block student access to websites with dissident views. This last aspect is particularly disturbing‚ as Media Literacy Now — the Rhode Island Lab’s fiscal agent for the grant — received 10 percent kickbacks from certain Ad Fontes subscriptions.  In Courageous RI’s formal announcement‚ the Rhode Island Lab explained that for Phase 2 of the program‚ it would conduct a series of seminars for American educators. These seminars‚ which are currently being conducted‚ mirror what was done at the State Department events covered in Part 1 of this report — training educators how to implement “media literacy” in American classrooms. However‚ unlike with the State Department seminars‚ the work is being done behind closed doors‚ but evidence shows that these seminars are still being conducted in a hyper-partisan manner.  The application for the DHS seminars reveals that potential participants were asked to rank their ideology on a 1–10 scale from “Strong Red Conservative” to “Strong Blue Liberal.” A teacher who participated in this program told the Media Research Center (MRC) she believed that‚ after self-identifying as a “conservative‚” she was deliberately confined to a breakout group controlled by the director of the Rhode Island Lab so as to limit her access to the most damning material. While the State Department series of seminars concluded in April of 2022‚ the DHS-funded seminars are designed and intended to be perpetuated indefinitely. The Rhode Island Lab boasted that after receiving the seeder money from the DHS‚ it has “a blueprint for raising the money to expand this statewide program in Rhode Island and to serve the needs of people in other states.”  Phase 3 of the recently launched strategy provides cash prizes of up to $1‚000 for children who create social media posts to increase demand for “media literacy” mandates — a euphemism for censorship.  While Courageous RI is intended to exist in perpetuity‚ the culminating phase of the DHS grant  is a scheme to pay children to be activists for censorship‚ including paying students up to $1‚000 per Instagram blog post. These payments are specifically intended to apply pressure to governments to comply with the demands of these young activists. Among the educational programs the Rhode Island Lab promoted at the State Department seminars was one crafted by the organization MEET Tolerance (MEET is an acronym signifying “Media Education for Equity and Tolerance”). As detailed in Part 1 of this report‚ the MEET Tolerance curriculum explained how to use “children as media producers‚” where young students would be “[a]dvocating intercultural values and social justice through [their] own media productions and practices.” Part of MEET Tolerence’s curriculum is a strategy developed by socialist German politician Konstantin von Notz to reward grade school students with prizes for crafting Instagram posts as part of a seemingly grassroots push for censorship laws.  This German astro-turf model is Phase 3‚ titled the “Youth Media Contest‚ is “Phase 3” of the TVTP grant program. The Rhode Island Lab is currently offering cash prizes to “high school and college students” who create social media posts “designed to raise public awareness of the harms of hateful extremist propaganda.” In order to “win” their payment‚ children and young adults must produce “videos‚ billboards‚ memes‚ screencasts‚ infographics‚ and simple video productions” to “reduce the power of harmful propaganda and disinformation.”  In its grant proposal to the DHS‚ the Rhode Island Lab boasted that this third phase would create “[p]ublic demand for media literacy in public education‚” as “[p]ropaganda can be used in socially-beneficial ways.” The Rhode Island Lab predicts that as a long-term result of Phase 3’s astroturf push for “media literacy” mandates‚ “[p]ublic demand for media literacy in public education [will be] increased.”  As Part 1 of this report detailed‚ Media Literacy Now defines “media literacy” as “a tool to create the society we all deserve: one that nurtures racial equity‚ social justice‚ and true democracy. Media literacy equals cultural change.” Its quest for “media literacy” is based on the idea that making too much information available to the public is inherently a threat. Media Literacy Now subscribes to the fringe idea that society is threatened by an “infodemic.” This theory defines “[a]n infodemic [as] an overabundance of information‚” and this overabundance could only be corrected by having “media and social media platforms … collaborate with the UN system with Member States and with each other” to censor information with which the collective disagrees.  The Biden administration is able to get something quite special with its $700‚000 TVTP grant. Harnessing the Media Literacy Now “network” and‚ ultimately‚ paying children to advocate for “media literacy” mandates ensnares the whole of the American public school system in its agenda. “Eighteen states‚ plus countless additional school districts‚ have already required ‘media literacy’ education‚ creating an easy path for Ad Fontes and NewsGuard to enter American classrooms‚” commented Schneider. “With Courageous RI’s renewed efforts‚ this number will likely rise much higher.” Increasing demand for media literacy is just one side of the Rhode Island Lab’s Phase 3 social media contest‚ though. Because prizes can be awarded for anything that the Rhode Island Lab’s believes will “raise public awareness of the harms of hateful extremist propaganda‚” Schneider sees more trouble on the horizon.  “We saw the State Department seminars push censorship and leftist activism‚” he warned. “We saw the Lab’s McClanahan — a graduate of those State Department seminars — push censorship and leftist activism. We saw the blog posts push censorship and leftist activism. It is abundantly clear what these $1‚000 social media posts are going to be doing.”  Conclusion What makes the Rhode Island Lab uniquely dangerous is that it offered a seemingly limitless army of outside groups which the Biden administration could activate with a relatively small amount of money. With just two grants — first from the State Department‚ and now from the DHS —  the Biden administration has been able to artificially create a perpetual “[p]ublic demand for media literacy in public education‚” supercharging a censorship industry devoted to an inherently anti-American philosophy hidden beneath the asinine monicker of “media literacy.”  The Rhode Island Lab’s “media literacy” is an ideology that views the greatest danger to society as an “overabundance of information.” It treats knowledge as a disease to be prevented or destroyed. Students are taught to avoid media critical of the left and to consume a relentless diet of authoritarian propaganda pushing racialist social structures‚ political violence and subservience to the State.  Kingston‚ Rhode Island may not be a place most Americans have heard of. But in a single university building in this mid-sized New England town‚ the Biden administration is harnessing the power of foreign governments; ruthless billionaires; demagogic politicians; radical‚ extremist groups and unscrupulous censorship firms. It is a “whole of society” approach with a single target: America’s youth.  Recommendations: It will take a whole of society response to fight the Biden administration’s whole of society approach: Parents should call their local school boards and check if Ad Fontes and/or NewsGuard have been imposed in their children’s classrooms. If they have‚ parents should demand their removal.  Congressmen and state attorneys general must investigate media literacy advocacy groups like Media Literacy Now for receiving potentially unlawful kickbacks from censorship firms.  New England nonprofits should distance and disentangle themselves from activist groups like the Rhode Island Foundation that masquerade as non-partisan community organizations. Congress must defund all domestic censorship programs‚ including the TVTP program that targets Sec. Mayorkas’s critics and finance anti-American activism.

On Morning Joe‚ Joe Scarborough repeatedly claimed that‚ judging by the big caucus results in Iowa‚ Republicans there "like candidates who have raped women‚" as it was ruled by a New York judge in the E. Jean Carroll civil suit in New York. Back in 2018‚ in a previous attack on Trump‚ Scarborough turned heads by asking "How did Democrats split the difference on Bill Clinton when they knew‚ or many believed and would tell me off the air that he raped Juanita Broaddrick?" Broaddrick could name a date and a place‚ and NBC's Lisa Myers placed Clinton there on that day. Carroll claimed Trump assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store‚ but cannot remember precisely when in 1995 or 1996 the alleged assault occurred. “I wish to heaven we could give you a date‚” she replied in court.  Scarborough began by joking "usually‚ candidates who judges say are rapists don't usually get this far. But what we found in Iowa a couple nights ago was‚ well‚ Iowa Republicans that voted‚ those 14%‚ they like their presidential candidates that are called rapists by judges." Scarborough also snidely said of the Iowa Republicans' supposed preference for candidates who rape women‚ "That's Iowa nice‚ baby. That's Iowa nice as defined in 2024." Sports commentator Jim Rome‚ after describing at length a criminal accusation against an athlete or celebrity‚ will typically add a sarcastic "allegedly‚" to cover himself. In a similar CYA move‚ Scarborough‚ after claiming that Republicans like candidates who rape women‚ added variations on‚ "as judges say." The jury in the civil Carroll defamation case found that Trump did not commit rape‚ but had committed sexual abuse. The judge in the case -- Lewis Kaplan‚ a Clinton appointee -- expressed his view that the two terms are interchangeable.  Scarborough also subjected viewers to yet another dose of his false-modesty shtick‚ once again describing himself as having fallen off a turnip truck‚ and thanking Willie Geist for explaining politics to him. If Scarborough's gimmick was ever funny‚ it is—way—past its use-by date. Give it a rest‚ Joe!     The segment also illustrated a classic Morning Joe phenomenon. As Scarborough drones on‚ Mika Brzezinski‚ ensconced in the peanut gallery‚ will frequently cut in to add her two cents. Her focus today was to emphasize that in addition to rape [sexual abuse]‚ Trump "repeatedly defamed" E. Jean Carroll. One senses that Scarborough doesn't particularly appreciate Mika's interruptions‚ but‚ for the sake of conjugal tranquility‚ will sometimes incorporate his wife's comments into his spiel. Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 1/17/23 6:00 am ET DONALD TRUMP: I come here‚ I meet with great groups in New Hampshire. I then get on a plane late at night when it's snowing and freezing out‚ wonderful‚ and the pilots say‚ sir‚ it's going to be tough. And I get there early in the morning. I go to a Biden witch hunt‚ and then I come here in the afternoon and I stop and we make speeches and we get your votes and all that stuff. But nobody's ever had to do this before. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well‚ you know‚ people didn't do it before because‚ usually‚ candidates who judges say are rapists don't usually get this far.  But what we found in Iowa a couple nights ago was‚ well‚ Iowa Republicans that voted‚ those 14%‚ they like their presidential candidates that are called rapists by judges. And they like their presidential candidates that steal nuclear secrets -- MIKA BRZEZINSKI -- And repeatedly defame women. SCARBOROUGH: And they like their presidential candidates that repeatedly defame women. Now‚ you know‚ Willie‚ I'm new to this political thing. WILLIE GEIST: Yes. Let me help you through this. SCARBOROUGH: You actually brushed me off yesterday when I fell off the turnip truck and I thank you that‚ right in front of an icy patch of snow outside of 30 Rock. You dusted me off. MIKA: That was nice of him. SCARBOROUGH: I grabbed a turnip as we were leaving and going up into 30 Rock. And I was chewing on it. And he said‚ well‚ here's the deal. And he explained politics to me. MIKA: That's good. You need to hear it. SCARBOROUGH: Willie‚ I still don't get it‚ though. Like‚ this guy's complaining because‚ you know‚ as the judge said‚ under any definition of rape‚ he raped a woman. MIKA: Right. And then decided to defame her again. He just didn't have to be in court today.  SCARBOROUGH: And so that's why he's going to court. Not‚ that's not a Biden witch hunt. That's‚ that's Donald Trump's past finally catching up with him.  But again‚ we could keep going over the Iowa results‚ but people in Iowa said not only do they like their candidates that judges say raped women‚ they're more likely to vote for their candidates if judges say they raped women -- MIKA: I wish we were joking. SCARBOROUGH: -- and they stole nuclear secrets and they‚ they gave away plans‚ let‚ let people in their own campaign hear -- MIKA: It's actually not a joke -- SCARBOROUGH: -- Hear top secret plans on America's plans to invade Iran. That's‚ that's Iowa nice‚ baby. That's Iowa nice as defined in 2024. . . .  Republicans‚ again‚ in 2024‚ they like guys that like break the law and rape women‚ according to fed -- according to judges in New York‚ and then as you say‚ defame them.

Chinese scientists in Beijing have crafted a coronavirus variant called GX_P2V that kills humanized mice 100% of the time‚ largely with late-stage brain infections. The scientists indicated their mutant virus "underscores a spillover risk of GX_P2V into humans." The study‚ regarded as pointless and dangerous by Western experts‚ comes amidst chatter by global elites about "Disease X‚" a hypothetical pestilence more lethal than COVID-19‚ and just days after a British report revealed lab leaks of deadly pathogens occurred frequently‚ even in labs with ostensibly better standards than those observed in China. The preprint of the study‚ published earlier this month in BioRxiv‚ details how coronaviruses allegedly derived from the scaly anteaters known as pangolins ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic were grown in a lab in 2017 and 2020‚ then tested on mice. The researchers‚ including a former Chinese military biosecurity expert‚ cloned a mutant version of the 2017 strain‚ which was initially able to infect both golden hamsters and mutant mice. The mice had been humanized — altered to express human ACE2‚ the receptor used by SARS-CoV to gain entry into human cells. "We found that the GX_P2V(short_3UTR) clone can infect hACE2 mice‚ with high viral loads detected in both lung and brain tissues‚" wrote the researchers. "This infection resulted in 100% mortality in the hACE2 mice. We surmise that the cause of death may be linked to the occurrence of late brain infection." When conducting autopsies on the humanized mice‚ the researchers detected "significant amounts of viral RNA in the brain‚ lung‚ turbinate‚ eye‚ and trachea of the GX_P2V C7 infected mice‚ whereas no or a low amount of viral RNA was detected in other organs such as the heart‚ liver‚ spleen‚ kidneys‚ tongue‚ stomach‚ and intestines." The researchers also indicated the uncloned version resulted in 100% mortality in the humanized mice. All mice infected with the live virus died with 7-8 days. Prior to their demise‚ the rodents began losing weight‚ reaching a 10% body weight decrease by the sixth day of infection. By the seventh day‚ "the mice displayed symptoms such as piloerection‚ hunched posture‚ and sluggish movements‚ and their eyes turned white." While the study references parallel work executed by Wuhan Institute of Virology scientist Dr. Shi Zhengli‚ an infamous virologist known as China's "bat woman‚" the New York Post suggested there appears to be no formal link between this study and the communist-run WIV. The WIV was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic‚ home to U.S.-funded gain-of-function experiments on coronaviruses‚ and the workplace of the likely COVID patients zero. The 2023 Global BioLabs Report out of King's College London gave China an overall biorisk management score of 33 out of 48. The U.S.‚ by way of comparison‚ scored 42. China's international biorisk management engagement score was 8 out of 14. Largely through freedom of information requests‚ the Telegraph recently discovered that the U.K.‚ which tends to rate higher on biosafety and biosecurity than China‚ saw a 50% increase in lab leaks and accidents since the pandemic. Dr. Francois Balloux‚ an expert in infectious disease epidemiology and pathogen genomics at the University College London's Genetics Institute‚ said on X‚ "It's a terrible study‚ scientifically totally pointless. I can see nothing of vague interest that could be learned from force-infecting a weird breed of humanised mice with a random virus." "Conversely‚ I could see how such stuff might go wrong‚" added Balloux. American molecular biologist Richard H. Ebright of Rutgers University responded to Balloux's assessment‚ writing‚ "Concur." Ebright suggested that contrary to a community note on X‚ the virus was not an "existing virus" prior to the experiments but rather a "new mutant variant constructed in laboratory by serial passage." Ebright later noted‚ "Thank Fauci and Collins for encouraging this type of research." Guennadi V. Glinskii‚ a former National Institutes of Health consultant and retired UC San Diego professor who specialized in personalized genomics-guided prevention‚ stressed‚ "This madness must be stopped before too late." In the meantime‚ international elites appear to be working under the presumption the madness will not come soon enough. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus‚ the head of the World Health Organization‚ was joined by policymakers‚ corporate leaders in the pharmaceutical industry‚ and various technocrats at the World Economic Forum's meeting of the minders Wednesday to discuss preparations for "Disease X." Ghebreyesus said‚ "Anything happening is a matter of when‚ not if." The WHO director suggested further that COVID-19 could be thought of "the first Disease X‚" adding "it may happen again." The WEF previously suggested that "Disease X" could "result in 20 times more fatalities than the coronavirus pandemic‚" reported Newsweek. The last virus out of China killed over 1.1 million Americans according to the CDC. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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