Health Experts Say To Be Really Careful In Sharing Your Data On Health Apps

Let’s start out here

COVID vaccine ‘passports’ in the U.S.: Here’s what we’re getting and why

The European Union is about to launch a digital pass system that will let residents prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, recovered from the disease or recently tested negative for the virus, allowing them to travel freely among all 27 member nations.

For months, Israelis used a similar digital pass system, showing their vaccination status to enter restaurants, gyms and other venues. Australia has rolled out a digital proof of vaccination certificate, and Japan plans to issue one as soon as this summer.

But don’t expect the United States to go that way.

With the federal government unwilling to take the politically charged step of creating or endorsing a universal digital health pass or app, several companies are trying to fill the void. That might mean Americans will need several digital passes, like so many credit cards in a wallet. It could also mean employers, businesses and venue operators will each have to decide which works for them — or might not bother using any at all.

The EU, Japan, Israel, and Australia all seem to be limiting the passports to simply one thing: vaccination status. And, getting beyond the notion of creating a two tiered system between the vaxxed and unvaxxed, we’ve already seen that New York and a few other states are already looking to add quite a bit more information to their passports

Be careful sharing your personal information on health apps, experts warn

With all the stress, sadness and anxiety we’ve dealt with over the last year, it’s no wonder use of mental health apps is surging.

Whether it’s a guided meditation or an appointment with a licensed therapist, mental health apps are in demand, but experts say people should be careful about sharing personal or sensitive information over these apps.

Some platforms might not be private as you may think. They’re not always covered by the same medical privacy laws, such as HIPAA, that protect information you share with a doctor in person.

And even when HIPAA rules do apply, they may not cover all the data an app collects.

“What companies tell you about what they do with your data is often pretty vague and confusing and it’s usually buried in privacy policies, where it can be hard to find,” Thomas Germain, Consumer Reports Tech Editor.

Do you think the government/private COVID passports are going to be any better, any safer? How many issues did they have with the Obamacare portals? Especially when they start asking for more and more information beyond simply whether you’ve been vaccinated? Also, how does one prove it? The system is ripe for abuse since (first article)

In addition, the U.S. does not have a national database for immunization records that could act as the source of vaccination data for use in digital passes. A national system to create a unique identification number to link the health records of every American has been banned since 1998, spearheaded by then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who said such a system would be an unwarranted privacy intrusion.

Is anyone keeping track of who has gotten the vaccine? Not just how many citizens, but, actual names and information? Are states? Counties? Or, are they just handing out CDC cards and everyone is just a number? Meaning people can game the system easily? Regardless, it is not unusual for government here in the U.S. to over-reach and perform mission creep with just about everything, and you know they will want to expand everything about the COVID passports and what they are used for.

Read: Health Experts Say To Be Really Careful In Sharing Your Data On Health Apps »

Bummer: The Rush To Force People To Buy Electric Vehicles Leads To Destructive Mining

The UK Guardian, as you might know, is one of the world’s biggest news outlets that supports the Cult of Climastrology. They make no attempt to hide their belief in Doing Something about ‘climate change’ before it destroys the world. And they’ve been big cheerleaders for EVs. However

The rush to ‘go electric’ comes with a hidden cost: destructive lithium mining

electric vehicleThe Atacama salt flat is a majestic, high-altitude expanse of gradations of white and grey, peppered with red lagoons and ringed by towering volcanoes. It took me a moment to get my bearings on my first visit, standing on this windswept plateau of 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles). A vertiginous drive had taken me and two other researchers through a sandstorm, a rainstorm, and the peaks and valleys of this mountainous region of northern Chile. The sun bore down on us intensely – the Atacama desert boasts the Earth’s highest levels of solar radiation, and only parts of Antarctica are drier.

I had come to the salt flat to research an emerging environmental dilemma. In order to stave off the worst of the accelerating climate crisis, we need to rapidly reduce carbon emissions. To do so, energy systems around the world must transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Lithium batteries play a key role in this transition: they power electric vehicles and store energy on renewable grids, helping to cut emissions from transportation and energy sectors. Underneath the Atacama salt flat lies most of the world’s lithium reserves; Chile currently supplies almost a quarter of the global market. But extracting lithium from this unique landscape comes at a grave environmental and social cost.

Wait, writer Thea Riofrancos traveled from Providence College to Chile? Did he/she do this without the use of fossil fuels?

In the mining installations, which occupy more than 78 sq km (30 sq miles) and are operated by multinationals SQM and Albemarle, brine is pumped to the surface and arrayed in evaporation ponds resulting in a lithium-rich concentrate; viewed from above, the pools are shades of chartreuse. The entire process uses enormous quantities of water in an already parched environment. As a result, freshwater is less accessible to the 18 indigenous Atacameño communities that live on the flat’s perimeter, and the habitats of species such as Andean flamingoes have been disrupted. This situation is exacerbated by climate breakdown-induced drought and the effects of extracting and processing copper, of which Chile is the world’s top producer. Compounding these environmental harms, the Chilean state has not always enforced indigenous people’s right to prior consent.

These facts raise an uncomfortable question that reverberates around the world: does fighting the climate crisis mean sacrificing communities and ecosystems? The supply chains that produce green technologies begin in extractive frontiers like the Atacama desert. And we are on the verge of a global boom in mining linked to the energy transition. A recent report published by the International Energy Agency states that meeting the Paris greement’s climate targets would send demand skyrocketing for the “critical minerals” used to produce clean energy technologies. The figures are particularly dramatic for the raw materials used to manufacture electric vehicles: by 2040, the IEA forecasts that demand for lithium will have increased 42 times relative to 2020 levels.

Apparently, the answer to the question is “yes.” Most of this stuff happens far from the eyes of the 1st World uber-white Warmists. Of course, once they figure this all out, they’ll want to restrict EVs to themselves, and not in 3rd world nations. Anyhow, it is a very interesting and well written article when you read it from an environmental point of view, understanding the destruction caused by all the mining and such necessary to do all these “green” projects.

A transportation system based on individual electric vehicles, for example, with landscapes dominated by highways and suburban sprawl, is much more resource- and energy-intensive than one that favours mass transit and alternatives such as walking and cycling. Likewise, lowering overall energy demand would reduce the material footprint of technologies and infrastructure that connect homes and workplaces to the electricity grid. And not all demand for battery minerals must be sated with new mining: recycling and recovering metals from spent batteries is a promising replacement, especially if governments invest in recycling infrastructure and make manufacturers use recycled content.

But, Warmists do want to force Everyone Else out of their individual vehicles.

Chilean activists are clear: there is no zero-sum conflict between fighting climate breakdown and preserving local environments and livelihoods. Indigenous communities in the Atacama desert are also on the frontlines of the devastating impacts of global heating. Rather than an excuse to intensify mining, the accelerating climate crisis should be an impetus to transform the rapacious and environmentally harmful patterns of production and consumption that caused this crisis in the first place.

How? The article discusses all the environmental destruction, but, is rather short on how to avoid it. Regardless, it is something that so many of us Skeptics have noted for a long time, namely that “green” stuff, meaning for the climate crisis (scam), is not particularly environmentally friendly.

Read: Bummer: The Rush To Force People To Buy Electric Vehicles Leads To Destructive Mining »

If All You See…

…is an Evil meat burger causing temperatures to skyrocket (also the evil SF Giants hat), you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is America’s Watchtower, with a post on a federal judge halting China Joe’s biased farm loan forgiveness plan.

Read: If All You See… »

Surprise: Mayors Suddenly Noticing The Spike In Crime As COVID Wanes

Do they not watch television, read newspapers, cruise the ‘net? The rest of us have noticed the crime, quite a bit stemming from the aftermath of BLM/Antifa and defund the police

As Battle Against Virus Wanes, Mayors Confront a New Challenge: Crime

Mayors of American cities have yearned for the moment they could usher in a return to normalcy, casting away coronavirus restrictions on bars, restaurants, parties and public gatherings.

Yet now, even with reopenings underway across the United States as the pandemic recedes, city leaders must contend with another crisis: a crime wave with no signs of ending.

They are cheerleading the return of office workers to downtowns and encouraging tourists to visit, eager to rejuvenate the economy and build public confidence. But they are also frantically trying to quell a surge of homicides, assaults and carjackings that began during the pandemic and has cast a chill over the recovery.

In Austin, Texas, for example, 14 people were injured early Saturday morning in a mass shooting as revelers jammed a popular downtown nightlife district.

Some city officials have touted progressive strategies focused on community policing in neighborhoods where trust between police officers and residents has frayed. Others have deployed more traditional tactics like increasing surveillance cameras in troubled areas and enforcing curfews in city parks to clear out crowds, as the police did in Washington Square Park in Manhattan in recent days.

Yeah, how’s that working out? Especially when so many police are reticent on doing the things necessary to limit crime because they get abused by citizens and politicians when they do the job. And, let’s just consider, why are so many citizens living in Democratic Party run cities so criminal?

Pete Berghoff, whose family has owned the historic Berghoff restaurant in Chicago’s Loop since 1898, is planning to reopen its doors in July. But he is worried about the unruly gatherings of younger people downtown that have turned violent.

“I’m very concerned that as people return to work, there are going to be confrontations,” he said. “We’re excited to reopen. But we need to make sure that everybody downtown feels safe.”

So many of the Democratic Party voting citizens in Dem run cities feel emboldened to just do whatever they want whenever the want, even if this includes violence and other criminal activity.

Homicide rates in large cities were up more than 30 percent on average last year, and up another 24 percent for the beginning of this year, according to criminologists.

Well, that’s weird, since so many of these have tons and tons of all the gun control laws Democrats want.

Still, even as frustration has mounted, there was also a sense that residents did not want to return to the aggressive measures that officials had resorted to in the past, which had a long tail of consequences and a disproportionate impact on African Americans.

Tough-on-crime stances, once widely popular with voters, have had diminished support as the country has confronted disparities in the criminal justice system. Even without the consequences, criminal justice experts have questioned their effectiveness.

Well, if Democrats in Democrat run cities want to be squishy on crime, that’s their choice, and they get what they ask for. Let them live with the results.

Read: Surprise: Mayors Suddenly Noticing The Spike In Crime As COVID Wanes »

G7 Makes Pronouncements To Do Something About ‘Climate Change’, Are Rather Short On Details

That all these world leaders took long fossil fueled trips to England, other than Boris Johnson, the head of the UK, is not mentioned. Why couldn’t China Joe have given Canada’s Justin Trudeau a ride? They had big fossil fueled retinues to get to the meeting. Why couldn’t they have done a Zoom or some other teleconference?

G7 leaders share a bold vision for a net zero future. But the devil is in the lack of detail

Climate change is rarely a main talking point at the G7 leaders’ summit, but as US President Joe Biden proclaimed that “America is back at the table” on the final day of this year’s meeting, by extension, so too was climate change.

Past summits with Donald Trump representing the United States struggled to culminate in cohesive group statements between its members — the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada, plus the European Union. But in the English county of Cornwall over the weekend, leaders appeared to agree that this is the crucial decade that will determine the world’s future, even its very existence.

There was concrete progress earlier in the summit from G7 ministers, and a vision laid out by leaders for a net zero world (where all greenhouse gases emitted are removed from the atmosphere) that would take a green approach to everything, from the economic recovery from the pandemic to the way new infrastructure is built in the developing world.

They can have all the vision they want: they need to approval of the Citizens. Or, are they good with authoritarianism? Will they take a “green approach” in their own lives? Considering Biden jumped back in his jumbo jet and flew to Brussels after the G7, that would be a big “no.”

What was lacking in the final communiqué, however, was the detail that climate change experts were hoping for.

G7 meetings are notorious for making bold promises only to break them. Often world leaders’ vision just isn’t backed by lawmakers at home.

This year, there were some ambitious collective targets, to halve emissions by 2030 from 2010 levels, for example, but no individual country increased its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and goals were set with no firm deadlines or measurables. In cases where they were, they were largely underwhelming.

Yeah, well, the People have the power to make the decision, and this stuff is popular in theory, not in practice

The leaders said, for example, that they would aim to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest. That’s about 20 years too late, according to Catherine Pettengell, interim head of the UK’s branch of Climate Action Network, which represents more than 1,500 civil society organizations in over 130 countries.

“We were really expecting to see the G7 step up and send a strong signal ahead of COP26 that they’ve really done their homework and were ready to act,” she told CNN, referring to international climate change talks planned in Glasgow later this year.

If this stuff is so important why do so few Warmists practice what they preach?

Read: G7 Makes Pronouncements To Do Something About ‘Climate Change’, Are Rather Short On Details »

Federal Judge Rules Hospital Can Require Employees To Get Covid Vaccine

The USA Today article is probably one of the more detailed ones on the entire suit, but, left out a few choice phrases from the judge, like saying if the employees do not want to take the vaccine they “simply need to work elsewhere.”

In first federal ruling on vaccine mandates, judge sides with Houston hospital, dismissing claims from staff resisters

In the first federal ruling on vaccine mandates, a Houston judge has dismissed a lawsuit by hospital employees who declined the COVID-19 shot – a decision that could have a ripple effect across the nation.

The case involved Houston Methodist, which was the first hospital system in the country to require that all its employees get vaccinated. U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes ruled Saturday that federal law does not prevent employers from issuing that mandate.

After months of warnings, Houston Methodist had put more than 170 of its 26,000 employees on unpaid suspension Monday. They were told they would be fired it they weren’t vaccinated by June 21.

The hospital had made it clear it meant what it said: It fired the director of corporate risk – Bob Nevens – and another manager in April when they did not meet the earlier deadline for bosses. (snip)

The lawsuit was filed by 117 workers led by Jennifer Bridges, a nurse at Houston Methodist’s Baytown hospital who declined the vaccine because she considers it experimental and dangerous. The judge disagreed, writing: “This claim is false, and it is also irrelevant.”

Switching over to Business Insider, we get

The workers alleged in their lawsuit that the hospital was “forcing its employees to be human ‘guinea pigs’ as a condition for continued employment.” They also accused the hospital of violating the Nuremberg Code of 1947, likening the vaccine mandate to Nazi medical experimentation on concentration camp prisoners.

US District Judge Lynn Hughes was not sympathetic to either argument, writing in his order of dismissal Saturday evening that none of the employees were forced or coerced to take the vaccine. He also noted that the hospital cannot violate the Nuremberg Code because it is a private employer, not a government.

“Equating the injection requirement to medical experimentation in concentration camps is reprehensible,” Hughes wrote. “Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on victims that caused pain, mutilation, permanent disability, and in many cases, death.”

Yeah, that probably wasn’t the best argument to make, eh?

He added that the workers were free to accept or reject a vaccine and that they would “simply need to work elsewhere” if they chose the latter.

“If a worker refuses an assignment, changed office, earlier start time, or other directive, he may be properly fired. Every employment includes limits on the worker’s behavior in exchange for his remuneration,” Hughes wrote. “That is all part of the bargain.”

Most of the hospitals require employees to get the flu shot, and, while I can sympathize in the Covid shots being put out under emergency use authorization, there have been minimal issues, and there were a lot of rigorous clinical trials and participants.

The lawyer representing the hospital staff, Jared Woodfill, told Insider in a statement he intends to appeal the ruling to a federal appeals court and to the US Supreme Court if necessary.

“This is just one battle in a larger war to protect the rights of employees to be free from being forced to participate in a vaccine trial as a condition for employment,” Woodfill said. “Employment should not be conditioned upon whether you will agree to serve as a human guinea pig.”

Yeah, that might not go far, either. Back to USA Today

Learning of the dismissal from USA TODAY, Bridges vowed not to give up. She has initiated a change.org petition that as of Saturday had drawn more than 9,000 signatures and a GoFundMe to pay for the lawsuit that has raised $130,000.

What the you know what is a change.org petition going to do? Especially when most of the signatures are from people who do not work at the hospital? Especially when it really looks more like a complaint than anything else. I’m also always leery of GoFundMe’s for things like this: you never know where the money is going.

Look, I sympathize with their plight, but, a private employer can require this, and employees are free to go elsewhere if they do not like the terms of employment.

Read: Federal Judge Rules Hospital Can Require Employees To Get Covid Vaccine »

Climate Scam Today: Hating Your Pets, TDS And NATO, Swiss Say No

Some people really shouldn’t have pets, not when they are going to include their pets in their cult insanity

More pets are eating insect-based food to fight climate change for their owners

What do black soldier fly grubs taste like? Stilton and cheese biscuits. At least that’s how British start-up Yora Pet Foods describes its dog food made from the bugs.

Established in 2019, Yora introduced the first insect protein pet food sold in the U.K. Targeting environmentally conscious pet owners, it expects to have shipped over 200 tons of product to more than 200 countries and generate sales over $2.8 million. Its business is part of a movement in which manufacturers in North America, Europe and beyond are trying to make pet food more sustainable and environmentally friendly by using proteins from insects instead of animals.

Say, how will they ship the (horrible) products? Fossil fueled ships, planes, trucks?

With Trump gone, NATO back to focusing on ‘climate threat’

After a period of negligence with President Donald Trump leading the United States, NATO leaders are back to focusing on global warming and climate change, making it a central focus of planning and strategy for the first time.

If the U.S. military were a nation-state, it would be the world’s 47th largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases, a 2019 study found.

They just can’t quit Trump, can they? Anyhow, I’m thinking Russia, North Korea, Iran, and especially China are much more of a threat than the climate scam. And our military is being destroyed in so many ways, making it worthless for protecting the nation.

Swiss narrowly reject tax hike to fight climate change

Exit polls on Sunday indicated that Swiss voters appear to have narrowly rejected a proposed “carbon dioxide law” that would have hiked fees and taxes on fuels that produce greenhouse gases.

The Alpine country has been experiencing an outsized impact from climate change. Switzerland has faced a rise in temperatures that is twice as fast as the global average, the government says. Greenhouse gases — notably carbon dioxide — are seen as the primary culprit.

The proposal would have revised and strengthened an existing law that was aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by 2030. It would have enacted new taxes on CO2-generating fuel and natural gas, as well as on airline tickets.

The proposal was rejected by 51% of the vote, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported. However, local media said not all votes had been counted and the final result was not expected before late Sunday or Monday.

Ever notice that every places seems to be “experiencing an outsized impact,” and that everywhere is facing double the rising temps of everywhere else? Also, notice that most votes seem to go against the Cult, because these things that raise taxes, increase the cost of living, and limit freedom and choice, are popular in theory, not practice.

Read: Climate Scam Today: Hating Your Pets, TDS And NATO, Swiss Say No »

If All You See…

…are wonderful plants which will die from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Dry Bones Blog, with a cartoon on what bothers the world.

It’s big smiles week!

Read: If All You See… »

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Gil Elvgren Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another gorgeous day in the Once and Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and this cold is on the downswing. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Not A Lot Of People Know That covers the US breaking a long standing tornado streak
  2. American Greatness notes that any agreement with liberal policy is now a Threat To Democracy
  3. Blazing Cat Fur notes all the things that Trump was right about and the media is saying that Trump was right about
  4. Chicks On The Right discuss what a member of Parliament called China Joe, starting with “so senile”
  5. Datechguy’s Blog highlights BrainPop violating the law in teaching kids
  6. DC Clothesline covers CBS calling for the unvaccinated to be punched in the face
  7. Flopping Aces wonders what happens if we find fire from the smoking election fraud
  8. Gates Of Vienna covers a man in jail for refusing to pay his TV tax
  9. Geller Report News discusses Iran Joe dropping sanctions against Iran
  10. Gen Z Conservative highlights death by political correctness
  11. IOTW Report shows the spiking fees for smuggling due to Joe’s border policies
  12. Jihad Watch shows more radical Islamists invading schools in Virginia
  13. Legal Insurrection covers the Federal Reserve telling employees to avoid certain “biased” terms
  14. Moonbattery notes that looting is the new normal in San Francisco
  15. And last, but not least, Pacific Pundit covers the Austin Statesman refusing to release the description of the Austin shooter

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

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

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

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

Renowned Israel/Jew Hater Ilhan Omar Retweets Video From Group That Hates Israel And Jews

I suppose that Fox News and reporter Houston Keene are now Islamophobes and hate black people for daring to publish this article. And, that would make me the same, right?

Omar retweets video by anti-Israel group investigated by FBI for possible terrorism ties

“Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., retweeted a video produced by an anti-Israel organization previously investigated by the FBI for possible terrorist ties.

On Tuesday, one day after she posted a now-infamous tweet likening the U.S. and Israel to terror groups Hamas and the Taliban, Omar retweeted a post including a video produced by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

The video shared by Omar depicted a Palestinian child being carried off by Israeli police forces as an explosion is heard in the background.

In 2010, ISM was deemed by the Anti-defamation League (ADL) as one of the top 10 anti-Israel organizations in the country. The FBI has also investigated ISM for possible links to terrorists, but FBI documents reported in 2020 by the Intercept did not detail any charges levied.

Well, of course she did. This group is fervently anti-Israel and anti-Jew, meaning that Ilhan is in favor of them. But, see, it’s Mean to point all this stuff out, because free speech is apparently a one way street, so says media member and apologist for Islamists Arwa Mahdawi in her “this week in the patriarchy” column

Ilhan Omar is once again being attacked by her own party for speaking out

Here are the rules, OK? The United States is the greatest, most moral country to ever exist. It brings democracy to all the poor savages in the rest of the world, who are incapable of knowing what’s good for them. It doesn’t commit war crimes, there’s just some occasional collateral damage amid all that democracy-building. Its allies are morally righteous, its enemies are entirely evil. Do not question any of that, do not query American exceptionalism, and you will have a very fruitful career in US politics or cable news.

Ilhan Omar, alas, seems to have a hard time remembering these rules. The progressive Democratic congresswoman is once again being censured by her own party for what appears to be the crime of being an outspoken black Muslim woman. Nobody getting publicly outraged by Omar appears to have any interest in annoying things like context, but here’s the context for the latest manufactured controversy.

See? It’s not her hatred for the U.S., Israel, and Jews, nor comparing them to Hamas and other terrorist organizations, nope, it’s because she’s a black Muslim woman.

See? It’s not the content of her insane words, nope, you attack her because she’s a black, Muslim woman. The Progressive Caucus has around 100 members, and is chaired by fellow Squad member and Islamist Pramila Jaypal. Ilhan is the whip. The membership is a who’s who of moonbat leftists. It’s not like Ilhan has a long history of anti-Jew, anti-Israel, and anti-US remarks, is it? Nope, it’s because she’s a black Muslim woman.

Read: Renowned Israel/Jew Hater Ilhan Omar Retweets Video From Group That Hates Israel And Jews »

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