Today's Must-Reads - 25 February 2023

A selection of the latest news, studies, reports and articles

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I spend a lot of time each day gathering together new information and interesting articles. I then pick one or two of the most interesting topics and write about them. However, that leaves a lot of missed out information that I’m not sharing.

Below is a summary of all the latest articles and information that I’ve found. Today, this is a slimmed down version for all subscribers but will be for paid subscribers only a lot of the time in the future.

Please consider taking out a paid subscription because it enables me to spend longer reporting on the news that isn’t, but should be reported.

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Covid

• Former Senator, Jim Inhofe, from Oklahoma has retired due to Long Covid. The GOP Ex-Sen attributed his decision to the long-term effects of COVID-19 with certain symptoms affecting him day-to-day. According to the Hill, Inhofe is fully vaccinated and boosted.

Covid Mandates & Lockdowns

• According to CNN, celebrities may have helped shape anti-vaccine opinions during Covid. A study published in BMJ Health & Care Informatics examined 13 millions tweets from celebrities including Nicki Minaj, Novak Djokovic, Eric Clapton and Joe Rogan.

Economy/Energy/Finance

• The US dollar holds a seven week high after strong inflation data. Once again the experts predicting that inflation will fall quickly are being proven wrong. An eye should also be kept on bonds with yields on UK 30 year gilts breaching 4% once again.

• On a similar note, US 1 year bonds are now paying 5%. This is three times higher than the dividend yield on the S&P 500 which, according to some, make it likely that stocks will crash in 2023 as cash exits stocks for bonds.

  

• Bloomberg says millions of US workers are still missing after the pandemic. Where did they go? Apparently economists can’t agree where America’s missing workers went. Economists not having a clue…no shock there then.

Health

• The Washington Post reports that three weeks after the toxic train derailment in Ohio, an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data has found nine air pollutants at levels that could raise long-term health concerns in and around East Palestine, according to an independent analysis.

• Is the media reporting on more fires recently or have there just been more fires? In Mexico and the US three fires broke out at three different facilities in one day. All owned by state-owned Mexican oil company Pemex.

  Insider Paper @TheInsiderPaper

  ALERT 🚨 3 fires broke out at three different facilities in Mexico and the U.S. operated by state-owned Mexican oil company Pemex in just one day - reports

• What is going on with perinatal mortality in Singapore? Jikkyleaks’ chart shows a massive jump in 2022. It has also recorded its highest death rate since records began with a jump of 10.4% over the 2021 rate. 2021 also rose by 10.1% over the previous year.

  

Politics

• The Diplomat looks at anti-China rhetoric which it says is off the charts in western media. It says the mass hysteria reflects the biases inherent in the world’s most powerful media outlets. Or maybe there isn’t enough criticism of China’s policies, including lockdowns, surveillance of its citizens and the treatment of Uighur Muslims.

• A London hospital has caused outrage by removing artwork produced by schoolchildren from Gaza. Complaints were made by UK Lawyers for Israel on behalf of ‘vulnerable’ patients.

Ukraine

• President Zelensky and President Xi Jinping of China are to meet to discuss a peace plan. China has come up with a 12 point plan to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Things might start looking even worse for the west if the bad guys (Xi and Putin) want ‘peace’ but Biden encourages Zelensky to continue with the war.

• Meanwhile, Russia has just halted pipeline oil supplies to Poland. These particular supplies have been exempt from EU sanctions. The supply halt comes after Biden visited Poland this week and the EU agreed a 10th package of sanctions.

• The Nation says that Congress has removed a ban on funding neo-nazis from its year-end spending bill. Apparently, under pressure from the Pentagon, an amendment that prevents funds from falling into the hands of Ukrainian neo-fascist groups has been removed.

• US intelligence believes that Iran is supplying Russia with artillery and tank shells as well as the drones and missiles previously disclosed.

• Who really started the Ukrainian war? Oliver Stone discusses what happened in the days before the invasion with Lex Fridman.

  the Lemniscat @theLemniscat

  Who really started the Ukraine war? May 2022 Oliver Stone to Lex Fridman: What the western press hasn't said is that on the days before 24 February, there was heavier & heavier artillery fire going into Donbass. Ukraine had 110,000 troops on the border. They were about to invade

Vaccines

• A nasal spray vaccine, which reduces the risk of Covid infection by 86%, is showing promising early trial results. Phase 1 results from this vaccine show the speed at which normal vaccines are approved.

World

• Iran has been showcasing its new cruise missiles. The display of its new Paveh missiles which have a range of 1,650 km was aired on state TV.

  Kian Sharifi @KianSharifi

  Iran's state TV this evening aired what it said was the first footage of the IRGC's new cruise missile, Paveh. It has a range of 1,650 km.