Weekly Round-Up: Biden addresses the Union, war rages on, US military taught to use pronouns...

2/26 - 3/4

With so much happening around the world, here are some stories and developments you may have missed:

ICYMI

• ☠️ 56% of Americans think Biden’s first year was a failure

• 🪦 UN: At least 240 Ukrainian citizens have been killed

• 😒 32% of parents approve of Joe's job as president

• ‼️ 31 Dems will not seek re-election these coming midterms

• 💵 U.S. has bought nearly 5 million barrels of Russian oil since Putin invaded Ukrain

• 🚀 U.S. oil prices at 7 year high - up 11% to 106 a barrel

• 🛑 Pfizer vaccine is just 12% effective against omicron in kids

• 🆘 1 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries

• 👎 70% of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy

• 🎂 'The Star-Spangled Banner' celebrated a birthday! It became the National Anthem on March 3rd 1931

• 📺 Joe Biden's State of the Union had the lowest ratings in 30 years

Biggest developments

Russia-Ukraine war enters its second week

> Since Russia invaded Ukraine, it's undoubtedly been difficult to determine what is true and what is propaganda. On that front, all the stories being reported are worth taking with a grain of salt. As such, they will be listed, but hyperlinked so you can read the original sources and decide what you believe for yourself.

What you need to know

• Early in the week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to meet at Belarusian border

• Russia was allegedly targeting airfields and fuel facilities in Ukraine

• North Korea resumed missile tests

• Several countries came to Russia's defense, including India, China and Venezeula

• Countries ban Russian airlines from their airspace - including U.S.

• Casualty numbers continue to mount

• Russia took first Ukrainian city, Kherson.

The story so far...

On Sunday February 27, Russia said it was "ready" for discussions with Ukraine and had sent a delegation to Belarus. This appeared confusing to reporters, given the assessment that Belarus actually planned to join Russia in its invasion.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was prepared to begin talks, but not in Belarus, given the aforementioned plan to help Russia. However, his office confirmed the two sides would meet on the Belarusian border. News reports on Sunday also reported that Ukraine confirmed a rocket that struck its airport was fired from Belarus.

The Associated Press reported that Russia was targeting Ukrainian airfields and fuel facilities early in this week, noting that it looked like the "next phase" of the invasion. The U.S. and EU responded to this by arming the Ukrainians and imposing sanctions on Russia.

While attention was indeed focused on Ukraine, North Korea resumed its missile tests. It is reported that North Korea often does things for political reasons. In this case, this launch came less than two weeks before South Korea held its presidential election. It also coincided with the Biden administration’s attention being focused on the Ukrainian conflict.

As the conflict has worn on, countries have taken steps to isolate Russia. European countries have been banning Russian airlines from their airspace. This includes countries like Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. The U.S. also followed suit, banning Russian planes from its airspace Tuesday.

Several news outlets have reported mass casualties on both sides of the invasion. Numbers on how many have died differ wildly - again, as noted, propaganda is hard to detect and determine. As such, articles that cover casualties can be found here, here and here.

On Wednesday March 2, it was reported Russian forces took their first Ukrainian city. Moscow's troops managed to capture the key port city of Kherson after six days of fighting as their advance grinds across Ukraine. Only a day or so later, the coastal city of Odesa also braced for conflict as a Russian naval fleet was reported near the area.

India, Venezuela and China show their support for Russia

According to the Kremlin, China and Venezuela have thrown their support behind Russia as the Ukrainian conflict continues.

Venezuela’s President (and dictator) Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday assured Vladimir Putin of his "strong support" in a telephone call, according to a Kremlin statement. On Wednesday, Maduro also criticized the influx of Western sanctions slapped on Russia.

"What they are doing against the Russian people is a crime, an economic war," Maduro said as he reiterated support for President Vladimir Putin in what Maduro called the "conflict with Ukraine."

A Rolling Stone article reported that China’s Communist Party is alleging the West fueled Russia’s invasion, that China will step in as the world’s new peacemaker and America is at fault for stirring up the attacks on Ukraine.

India and China also faced backlash after they abstained on a UN vote to condemn the invasion of Ukraine. The UN General Assembly motion called on Russia to withdraw. 34 countries abstained, including India and China. Russia was one of five countries, which included North Korea and Syria, that voted against the motion.

Major U.S companies suspend business in Russia

U.S companies are suspending business in Russia citing the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The companies include:

• Apple

• Nike

• Walt Disney

• GM

• FedEx

• UPS

• Delta

• Harley Davidson

• Ford

• Boeing

Idiocy

Biden's State of the Union was... interesting

Well... watch it for yourself. My favourite part was where Biden decided he wants to support police and freedom in the U.S...

The honest state of our union would have been:

• an open border crisis created by Biden

• an inflation crisis, hurting middle and working-class Americans

• a supply chain crisis, leaving grocery store shelves bare

• a crime-wave crisis, due to Democrat, soft-on-crime policies

• a human rights crisis, as Americans still face termination for refusing to take the COVID vaccine

• a Ukraine crisis that could lead us to war

Government advice says "wear mask" in the event of a nuclear attack

In the event of a nuclear attack, an official U.S. government website is instructing people to do the following:

“Go to the basement or middle of the building. Stay away from the outer walls and roof. Try to maintain a distance of at least six feet between yourself and people who are not part of your household. If possible, wear a mask if you’re sheltering with people who are not a part of your household.”

We really do live in clown world.

Zucc wants to cure "all disease"

CEO founder Mark Zuckerberg talked in a recent podcast about his ambition to prevent or cure all disease.

On the Lex Fridman podcast, Zucc said he would rather spend his money on preventing worldwide sickness, rather than “trying to live forever.” In addition to that, Zucc runs his own philanthropic charity (that plays with £59 billion) called the “Chan Zuckerberg Initiative”.

"It was an intentional decision to not focus our philanthropy explicitly on longevity or living forever [...] it is focused on what I think is a possible goal in this century which is to cure, prevent or manage all diseases," he said.

Meanwhile, children are accessing strip clubs and being groomed in his new Metaverse. But nothing to see here…

Tyranny

Pfizer is funding Facebook's fact-checking partner

Pharmaceutical big-wig Pfizer Inc is sponsoring “journalism training programs” used by Facebook to instruct and train its “fact-checking” partners. These “fact-checks” have been used to censor stories and posts critical to various events - but most recently those critical of COVID-19 and its vaccines.

According to the National Pulse:

“The International Center For Journalists (ICFJ) – itself funded by the Open Society Foundations amongst others – is partnered with Meta, Facebook’s parent company, on its “Journalism Project” initiative. In turn, Facebook relies on the journalists funded and trained by ICFJ to “combat misinformation” on its platform through its controversial fact-checking operation.”

The problem is that ICFJ, who works alongside Facebook, also receives financial backing from Pfizer. Yikes.

Pop Culture

New US Military training teachers officers gender pronouns and when to offer soldiers gender transition surgery

The U.S. army is having its soldiers go through training on gender pronouns and when to offer soldiers gender transition surgery. The official mandatory presentation, “Policy on the Military Service of Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria,” was given to officers with instruction to train their subordinates on the material.

According to the Free Beacon:

“An Army spokesman confirmed that the slides in question are part of "mandatory training" and come from an official program "used to train Army personnel on the recent changes to the DoD and Army transgender service policy." All Army personnel, from soldiers to commanders and supervisors, are required to participate in the training by Sept. 30, 2022, according to the spokesman.”

Little wins

New Zealanders fight for weeks for the end to COVID restrictions and vaccine mandates

For more than three weeks, hundreds of New Zealand protesters have camped out in the country’s capital city. Videos are circulating showing violent clashes with police. On Wednesday, the 23rd day of the protest, the police began an aggressive clampdown. They dismantled tents, toilets, a kitchen and other camp infrastructure, and tried to force protesters to leave.

Antibody's are ACTUALLY better than vax. Proven.

Antibodies derived from natural COVID infection are more abundant and at least 10x more potent than immunity generated by vaccination alone. That's not something we should ignore, scientists say.

School mask mandates scrapped across the country

A growing number of states are scrapping mask mandates as the midterm elections approach. California, Oregon and Washington are the latest states to stop requiring masks in schools. The new guidance will make face coverings a recommendation rather than a requirement at most indoor places in California starting Tuesday and at schools on March 12, regardless of vaccination status. In Washington and Oregon, all the requirements will lift on March 12.

Illinois lifted its mask mandate for restaurants, bars, gyms and stores on Monday. And Chicago ended its proof-of-vaccination requirement.

In Massachusetts, a statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools ends Monday. A similar mask mandate in Connecticut also ends Monday, and local school districts will be able to decide whether to require masks.

New York state will no longer require students to wear masks in schools starting Wednesday. New York City will remove the indoor mask mandate for public school children, effective next Monday, March 7,” NYC Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Sunday.

According to the CDC, federal mask requirements will still apply in high-risk indoor settings such as public transportation, airports and taxis. Rules for other high-risk indoor settings could also vary by state.

Nonsense of the week

How very helpful, actor.

Many of these stories are still developing. Stay tuned for more information.