(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 13 things you need to know this Thursday – December 23, 2021

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Joe Biden: Unvaccinated Cannot Celebrate Holidays Safely – ‘Putting Other People at Risk’ – President Joe Biden said Tuesday unvaccinated Americans were not able to celebrate the holidays safely.

“I know some Americans are wondering if you can safely celebrate the holidays with family and friends,” Biden said during a speech at the White House. “The answer is, yes you can, if you and those who celebrate with you are vaccinated.” – READ MORE

Fauci: Tell Unvaccinated Family Members Not to Show Up at Christmas Gatherings – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that considering the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus is rapidly spreading through the United States, unvaccinated family members should be asked not to attend Christmas gatherings this year.

Guest host Alicia Menendez said, “Dr. Fauci, you know very well, there are people deciding whether they’re going to get on planes to be with their families for the holidays. What is your advice?” – READ MORE

Fauci to Unvaccinated: ‘The Virus Is Going to Find You’ – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus “is going to find you” if you are unvaccinated.

Fauci said, “We know now from studies that have already been done, with more to come, if you are vaccinated without a boost, you have a diminution in the protection to Omicron when you talk about the level of antibodies. But that’s very nicely reconstituted with a boost. You can feel reasonably comfortable, but all things being equal, you will not get seriously ill if you get infected.” – READ MORE

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Heavy Hand: ‘Vaccine-Free, Your Time Is Up.’ – On Tuesday, Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot followed in the footsteps of Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu (D) and Washington, D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) by announcing a slew of new COVID-19 rules specifically aimed at making life difficult for the unvaccinated. The new mandates impose vaccine requirements on bars, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, and entertainment venues for any person in Chicago ages five and older.

“To put it simply, if you have been living vaccine-free, your time is up. If you wish to live life as w/the ease to do the things you love, you must be vax’d,” Lightfoot tweeted. “This health order may pose an inconvenience to the unvaccinated, and in fact, it is inconvenient by design.” – READ MORE

DOJ announces it won’t return criminals on home confinement to prison after COVID-19 – The Justice Department on Tuesday announced that it will not make individuals placed on house arrest during COVID-19 return to prison once the pandemic is over.

The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on Tuesday said that after being “asked to consider” a previous Trump-era rule requiring the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to recall all prisoners placed on home confinement once the COVID-19 emergency ended, it has decided to “give the Bureau discretion to permit prisoners in extended home confinement to remain there.” – READ MORE

Bill Gates: Omicron Will Be The “Worst Surge We Have Seen So Far” – Following this morning’s rant from the COVID-positive (and triple-vaxxed) Jim Cramer, and Tuesday afternoon’s public address from President Joe Biden begging unvaccinated Americans to please just go and get their jabs already, Microsoft billionaire (and self-appointed unofficial global vaccination czar) Bill Gates has just issued a few tweets changing his projections for how long the pandemic might actually last.

After saying a few months ago that he finally expected the ‘acute phase’ of the pandemic to end next year, Gates has apparently once again changed his mind about the pandemic’s longevity, proving once again that armchair experts (and even many of the real scientists) see their expectations shift with whatever the current case count is. – READ MORE

US Army Creates Single Vaccine Effective Against All COVID-19 Variants – Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are expected to announce they have developed a vaccine that is effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, according to Defense One.

The scientists creating the vaccine also claim it protects against previous SARS viruses. – READ MORE

‘Tyrannical’: Boosterless Europeans to Have Corona Passports Disabled – The EU has announced that vaccinated individuals who fail to get their booster are to have their Coronavirus passes disabled, in a move that has been called ‘tyrannical’.

The European Union has agreed that those who are considered fully vaccinated will nevertheless have their EU COVID passes disabled after nine months, should they fail to get a booster jab, in a move that has been lambasted by one MEP as ‘tyrannical’. – READ MORE

Trump Says People Should ‘Embrace’ Vaccines After Getting Booed Over Booster –Former President Donald Trump, who was repeatedly criticized by the mainstream media for perceived opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine he helped to develop, says everyone should support vaccines.

“You have to embrace it. You don’t have to do it, and there can’t be mandates and all those things, but you have to embrace it,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News. – READ MORE

Almost $100 billion of COVID-relief funds stolen, Secret Service says – The U.S. Secret Service announced Tuesday that criminals used fraudulent COVID-19 relief applications and other means to steal nearly $100 billion in pandemic benefits.

“The Secret Service currently has more than 900 active criminal investigations into fraud specific to pandemic-related relief funds,” Roy Dotson, the assistant special agent in charge of the national fraud investigation, said in a statement. “That’s a combination of pandemic benefits and all the other benefits programs too.” – READ MORE

Austria Hiring People To “Hunt Down Vaccine Refusers” – The Austrian government is hiring people to “hunt down vaccine refusers,” according to a report published by Blick.

The burden for enforcing the fines unjabbed Austrians will have to pay as part of their punishment will fall to their employers, necessitating a new army of ‘inspectors’ to ensure that process is running smoothly. – READ MORE

Absurd New COVID Rules Fine People For Going To Work, But They Can Go To The Pub – The absurdity of new COVID rules introduced in Wales was exposed after it was confirmed that people can now be fined for showing up to work but are still free to go on pub crawls.

“No person may leave the place where they are living, or remain away from that place, for the purposes of work or to provide voluntary or charitable services,” states new guidance issued by the government. – READ MORE

Harvard Chemistry Professor With Wuhan Links Found Guilty Of Lying About Receiving Cash From China – Harvard University chemistry and engineering professor Charles Lieber was found guilty of lying about his ties to the Chinese government.

Last year, Lieber was indicted and charged with making false statements to federal authorities about his participation in a Chinese-run program that seeks to lure American scientists to advance the communist nation’s scientific development. – READ MORE