The world is focused on COVID-19 vaccination and the increase in alleged COVID variants that are causing governments to feel they are in a race against time to vaccinate their populations before more variants can be created that may be unpredictable.

What Happened:

COVID cases in 13 US states are spiking, among these states are some of the most highly vaccinated states in the country. An Axios analysis found Michigan is leading in new cases as their 7 day average has spiked by around 53%. Michigan also happens to be above the average US vaccination rate at 13.9%.

Why It Matters:

As these numbers continue to be reported, we notice that cases is still the main focus. I was able to find a small uptick in hospitalizations reported in Michigan, but this did not seem concerning given the level of cases being reported. Most of the time throughout COVID in the US, cases have not been linked to a large spike in hospitalizations.

Many who have ventured outside mainstream media’s tight control on the COVID narrative have hypothesized that strictly focusing on cases does not tell a full picture of what’s going on. Simply testing a person who is found to have COVID isn’t necessarily a negative – in fact, asymptomatic infection may be exactly what the population needs to build herd immunity.

While cases are reported in mainstream media as a scary and negative data point, it’s actually part of the process of a virus moving through a population.

Given we are seeing a spike in COVID cases in the highest vaccinated areas, one might ask: is it possible that the vaccine is spreading the disease? That’s not easy to tell at this point. Virus shedding does occur with other vaccines, but we don’t have information on that for new COVID vaccines.

One might also ask, at what point will vaccination rates even have an effect? After all, those who are participating in vaccination aren’t really being rewarded. The states with high vaccine rates are no where close to a rate that would typically be considered herd immunity. Virtually every state is at 20% or less and what’s needed for herd immunity is a highly debated topic. According to Nature, 60 – 70% of the population would need a vaccine or have had the virus to be protected through herd immunity. This in contrast to Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services who has stated that the herd immunity threshold could be as high as 90% to 95% with the variants circulating.

That said, herd immunity is built into our natural biological processes as Nature points out. When humans contract a virus, we gain antibodies and herd immunity builds naturally. Natural herd immunity is responsible for major declines in almost all major infectious diseases throughout history.

Further, according to Shweta Bansal, a mathematical biologist at Georgetown University in Washington DC, there is no clear answer that the COVID-19 vaccines even stop transmission. Here is an excerpt from Nature discussing her statements:

“Herd immunity is only relevant if we have a transmission-blocking vaccine. If we don’t, then the only way to get herd immunity in the population is to give everyone the vaccine,” says Shweta Bansal, a mathematical biologist at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Vaccine effectiveness for halting transmission needs to be “pretty darn high” for herd immunity to matter, she says, and at the moment, the data aren’t conclusive. “The Moderna and Pfizer data look quite encouraging,” she says, but exactly how well these and other vaccines stop people from transmitting the virus will have big implications.

Martin Kulldorff, a medical professor at Harvard university and vaccine safety expert recently tweeted,

After having protecting themselves while working class were exposed to the virus, the vaccinated #Zoomers now want #VaccinePassports where immunity from prior infection does not count, despite stronger evidence for protection. One more assault on working people. 

There are multiple studies hinting at the point the professor makes, that those who have been infected with COVID may have immunity for years, and possibly even decades. For example, according to a new study authored by respected scientists at leading labs, individuals who recovered from the coronavirus developed “robust” levels of B cells and T cells (necessary for fighting off the virus) and “these cells may persist in the body for a very, very long time.” There are further studies that suggest infection to prior coronaviruses can also provide protection from COVID-19.

Might we look at all the asymptomatic people who get tested positive for COVID and are told to be infected and say that technically those people wouldn’t require the vaccine because they have effective antibodies already? Are we even testing to see whether someone has antibodies before assuming an unproven vaccine is necessary? Do we know how many people in the US have already been infected with COVID, don’t know it, and are immune?

The Takeaway:

With a rushed vaccine there are bound to be side effects in the short term, we are already seeing some of those reported through VAERS. But what about over the longer term? We can’t know what the long term effects of a vaccine are, especially a brand new vaccine technology like we’re seeing with many COVID vaccines. For this reason, should we be taking a different approach? Multiple studies have raised concerns about this.

Given we know of many treatment options that are HIGHLY effective against COVID, would it not be better to focus on treating patients with cheap and effective alternatives like Ivermectin and letting natural herd immunity do its thing? What this might look like is letting people live their lives out and about, bringing joy back to people. For people who are at higher risk, they can be a bit more careful like with other infectious diseases. If someone contracts COVID, is actually seriously ill and symptomatic, they could be treated with Ivermectin and potentially better in 3 to 7 days. Herd immunity builds and does its thing over the course of time – just as nature intended.

This as opposed to focusing on heavy lockdowns, and a rushed vaccine where we don’t understand the side effects and where billions in tax dollars have to be spent. Perhaps there is a significantly better use for these tax dollars that doesn’t end up in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies. It makes one question why so much doubt and censorship is cast on effective treatments while the vaccine, which is unproven, gets front and center attention.

For a quick moment reflect: has it felt like the UFO subject has been talked about more in the mainstream over the last 4 years than any other time in your memory? If you answered yes, you’re not alone… and perhaps we all are not alone.

What Happened:

The former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe stated in an interview on Fox news that an upcoming report from the pentagon will reveal a great deal of information with regards to UFO sightings that the public has not yet been aware of.

This will include “objects that engage in actions that are difficult to explain,[…] movements that are hard to replicate, that we don’t have the technology for.”

This comes as he admits that “there are a lot more sightings than have been made public.” Something that would surprise some that have not been privy to research in this field.

Former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program Luis (or Lue) Elizondo joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss more on the upcoming Pentagon release and Ratcliffe’s statements.

Lue Elizondo explained that these craft are not necessarily breaking any laws of physics, but that they may just be breaking our current understanding of the laws of physics. He states that those with a deep understanding of quantum physics are able to provide meaningful explanations for how these craft could perform maneuvers we hear about but can’t imagine our own aircraft doing.

Elizondo goes on to state that there are three options for where these craft are coming from:

1. US secret technology. Essentially technology in black budget programs that even credentialed and high security clearance individuals know nothing about. He feels this explanation is highly unlikely.
2. Foreign adversarial technology. He feels this would represent huge intelligence failure on the part of the US, and other countries for that matter as they also have no explanation. Therefore, this explanation is also unlikely.
3. These craft come from someone or something else. Is it extraterrestrials? Perhaps some form of AI? I mean, who knows at this point – but an honest, deep look at this field would suggest that extraterrestrial is the most plausible explanation, and there is plenty of evidence to make that claim.

Why It Matters:

Firstly, to pick up where number 3 above left off. For me, the primary reason why most people don’t understand why we’d jump to extraterrestrials as an explanation is because they simply haven’t spent the time to take an honest look at the information that is available across the study of this phenomenon. From whistleblower accounts of credentialed and high clearance individuals to declassified documents to some of the available physical evidence, there is a lot to digest. We can even look at the highly documented contact cases or CE5 experiencers who claim to be using their consciousness to connect to ET beings. Something I’ve experienced quite a bit myself, but without an understanding of consciousness sounds flat out crazy.

The point is, if we stay 100 feet away from really looking at what might be going on here, we aren’t likely to truly understand, and quite frankly that’s what most mainstream voices are doing.

Having covered this topic for over a decade, it’s quite common that the general public’s openness to the subject is correlated with the availability of information, especially when it comes from sources they trust. What this means is, people will typically be more open to the UFO phenomenon when they actually explore the evidence that already exists. They will be even more open to it when they explore that already existing evidence from a source they already trust – even if that source isn’t necessarily trustworthy. We thus have a choice, begin exploring information outside of the mainstream, who has been ridiculing and not honestly covering this topic for decades, or go elsewhere. Can we truly trust what is released from the Pentagon?

Implications of these discussions are significantly more controversial and layered than one might initially realize as well. In the Fox News interview the host discusses the fact that some of these craft are “breaking the sound barrier without a sonic boom, how is that possible?” What they are suggesting here is that there is technology we may not know about – publicly. And when you think of so many of humanities greatest challenges, energy, pollution etc, what would happen if this potentially ET technology was using energy technologies that don’t require fossil fuel or pollution? How might this change society as a whole? Does this possibly give good reason as to why these technologies might be held with such secrecy, because they would upset the way our economy currently functions?

The Takeaway:

If you’re just recently becoming intrigued by the UFO topic it certainly seems like an exciting time, and it is. But many who have been researching this topic for years, especially in a credible manner, are asking the question why is the US government all of a sudden so obsessed with talking about a topic they have long denied and ridiculed? There are many theories behind why, but we can’t know which one is correct.

For me, the UFO and ET phenomenon is one that has always fascinated me, and my journalistic mind has always seen that the reality of this phenomenon quite obviously involves extraterrestrials, even though we don’t have proof 100% yet. I tend to feel that this phenomenon is intimately linked with consciousness. How would humanities underlying world views change if we knew we were not alone? What does it say about our place in the universe? Why are so many experiencers able to have phenomenal experiences with ET beings using their consciousness?

I’ve laid out a ton of thoughts related to this in my complete interview from Dr. Steven Greer’s latest film Close Encounters of The Fifth Kind. You can watch that entire raw interview here.

The high demand for face masks since the coronavirus pandemic began has resulted in the production of billions of disposable masks — with no way to properly dispose of them.

Masks are littering cities, clogging sewage channels and turning up in bodies of water, prompting researchers to warn of the potential for masks to become the next “plastic problem.”

Recent studies estimate that worldwide, humans are using 129 billion face masks each month — about 3 million a minute. Most of them are disposable face masks made from plastic, non-biodegradable microfibers that break down into smaller plastic particles — micro- and nanoplastics — that become widespread in ecosystems.

The World Health Organization says an estimated 89 million medical masks are required for the COVID response each month, a trend likely to persist for some time.

At the start of the outbreak, U.S. officials estimated the country would need 300 million face masks to cope with the pandemic in 2020. U.S. manufacturer 3M made 550 million masks in 2019 and plans to produce 2 billion this year as long as the pandemic lasts.

“The enormous production of disposable masks is on a similar scale as plastic bottles, which is estimated to be 43 billion per month,”said environmental toxicologist Elvis Genbo Xu from the University of Southern Denmark, and professor Zhiyong Jason Ren, an expert in civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University. “But unlike plastic bottles, there is no way to recycle face masks, making them more likely to be disposed of in inappropriate ways.”

Common surgical masks have three layers: an outer layer with non-absorbent fibrous material (like polyester) that protects against liquid splashes, a middle layer with non-woven fabrics (like polypropylene and polystyrene) created using a meltblown process which prevents droplets and aerosols via an electrostatic effect, and an inner layer made of absorbent material like cotton to absorb vapor.

Masks contain many polymers, including fabric polypropylene. Polypropylene is one of the most commonly produced plastics and does not easily break down. Weathering from solar radiation and heat cause polypropylene to generate a large number of micro-sized polypropylene particles and nanoplastics.

Disposable face masks are made directly from microsized plastic fibers, which release plastic particles easier and faster than bulk plastics like plastic bags. A newer generation of masks, called nanomasks, releases even smaller particles creating a new source of nanoplastic pollution, according to the University of Southern Denmark.

Like other plastic debris, “disposable masks may accumulate and release harmful chemical and biological substances, such as bisphenol A, heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms,” according to Xu and Ren. Some of the toxic chemicals released during degradation of plastic polymers include phthalates, organotin, nonylphenol, polybrominated biphenyl ether and triclosan.

The impacts of plastic as a solid waste and microplastics contamination in the environment have been investigated, validated and demonstrated by different researchers in various publications, according to a study in Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Face masks get into the environment when disposed in landfills and dumpsites or littered in public spaces. They then make their way into lakes, rivers and oceans, breaking down into plastic particles within a few weeks.

In the years prior to the pandemic, environmentalists warned about skyrocketing plastic pollution and its threat to oceans and marine life. As much as 13 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans every year, according to a 2018 estimate by UN Environment.

According to a report by OceanAsia, roughly 52 billion face masks were manufactured in 2020 to meet the demand of the coronavirus pandemic and 1.56 billion were estimated to have entered the ocean, resulting in 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of face masks. These masks take as long as 450 years to completely break down –– slowly turning into microplastics that negatively affect marine wildlife and ecosystems.

The environmental research community needs to move faster to understand and mitigate these risks, said researchers Xu and Ren. They proposed the following for dealing with the problem:

• Set up mask-only trash cans for collection and disposal. Do not put masks in the recycling.
• Consider standardization, guidelines and strict implementation of waste management for mask wastes.
• Replace disposable masks with reusable face masks like cotton masks.
• Develop biodegradable disposal masks with materials that are safe.

Article written by Megan Redshaw, a freelance reporter for The Defender. She has a background in political science, a law degree and extensive training in natural health.