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Cities With Mask, Vaccine Mandates Seeing Huge COVID Spikes Anyway

Fox News reported:

Cases of COVID-19 are surging across the country, including in major U.S. cities that have mandated masks and vaccinations amid the spread of the Omicron variant.

New York City averaged 36,856 reported cases per day as of Monday, which is a 517% increase from the average two weeks ago, according to government data compiled by The New York Times.

Weeks before his term expired in December, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that effective Dec. 14, the city government would require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, fitness and entertainment from children as young as 5 years old.

Other major cities that have seen large spikes of COVID-19 despite mask or vaccine mandates include Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles.

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon From Punishing Navy SEALS Who Refused COVID Vaccines on Religious Grounds

Business Insider reported:

A U.S. federal judge blocked the Department of Defense from punishing a group of Naval Special Warfare sailors who refused COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds.

The First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal organization representing 35 Navy SEALS, sued the DOD and President Joe Biden in November over the administration’s vaccine mandate.

The Navy has so far approved none of the 3,247 requests for religious exemption from the vaccine, as Insider’s Bethany Biron reported last week.

The lawsuit said the 35 service members faced a range of disciplinary measures for refusing the vaccine, including being administratively separated from their vaccinated colleagues or dismissed.

Malone: Failed Government Policies Plus Failed mRNA Shots Spell Disaster

Technocracy News reported:

A seasoned stock analyst colleague texted me a link today, and when I clicked it open, I could hardly believe what I was reading.  What a headline.  “Indiana life insurance CEO says deaths are up 40% among people ages 18-64”.  This headline is a nuclear truth bomb masquerading as an insurance agent’s dry manila envelope full of actuarial tables.

It is starting to look to me like the largest experiment on human beings in recorded history has failed.  And, if this rather dry report from a senior Indiana life insurance executive holds true, then Reiner Fuellmich’s “Crimes against Humanity” push for convening new Nuremberg trials starts to look a lot less quixotic and a lot more prophetic.

Furthermore, we have also been living through the most massive, globally coordinated propaganda and censorship campaign in the history of the human race.  All major mass media and the social media technology companies have coordinated to stifle and suppress any discussion of the risks of the genetic vaccines and/or alternative early treatments.

New Orleans Requiring Kids 5 and up to Have COVID Vaccine or Test to Visit Some Places

Newsweek reported:

New Orleans on Monday started requiring kids ages 5 to 11 to have a COVID vaccine or a negative test to visit some places.

To enter restaurants and other businesses in the city, children ages 5 and up will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test, according to WWL-TV. Currently, they must only have at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, but will need both by Feb. 2.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced the mandate in December. It already was enforced for adults and children ages 12 and up. The mandate comes amid a surge in COVID cases in the nation resulting from the Omicron variant.

LA Schools Requiring COVID Tests for Students, Staff Before Return to Classrooms

The Hill reported:

Students and staff at Los Angeles schools are required to submit a negative COVID-19 test before returning to classrooms this month.

The Los Angeles Unified School District updated its guidance on Jan. 3, requiring that all students and staff get tested before resuming in-person instruction on Jan. 11. Parents must upload negative results to students’ Daily Pass accounts by Jan. 9.

The Los Angeles school district said it will continue testing students and employees weekly throughout the month of January, and will still require masks at all times, including when indoors and outdoors.

‘They Want to Exclude Us’: Unvaccinated Germans Bemoan COVID Laws

ALJAZEERA reported:

Liz Meier, now 56, was a young mother when her two-year-old son Matthias was given the triple vaccine against mumps, measles and rubella.

But the jab, made mandatory last year for school-age children in Germany, did not react well. Matthias was left with serious disabilities that continue to shape his and his family’s lives, decades on.

Meier has not been immunized against COVID, a position she says she is committed to. If Germany does implement a vaccine mandate next year, a move being discussed, she would consider leaving the country.

“Before, only a free test was needed to go swimming, so each time I went I did that. Then the rules changed to a PCR test, which would have cost me around 300 euros [$340] a week. It is clear that through these measures, they want to exclude us.”

Violence Flares at Pandemic Protests in Germany

Associated Press reported:

Tens of thousands of people in total took to the streets in scores of German towns and cities for weekly marches that organizers have labeled “strolls” in an attempt to bypass restrictions on public gatherings. Counter-protests were also held in towns such as Rostock and Trier, the dpa news agency reported.

Most of the rallies passed peacefully, though many broke rules on social distancing, prompting officers to intervene. People detained dozens of people, some of whom face criminal charges or fines for breaching COVID-19 rules.

The protests took place before a meeting Tuesday of Germany’s pandemic expert panel, which is expected to submit new recommendations to the government for how to respond to the outbreak. A meeting of state and federal leaders is scheduled for Friday.

Blow for Macron’s Party as Opposition Join Forces to Hold up COVID Bill

The Journal reported:

The Centrist Party of French President Emmanuel Macron was left red-faced after opposition parties joined forces to hold up a bill tightening measures against COVID-19.

The lower house National Assembly was debating the implementation of a health pass that will require a full course of vaccination to attend events, eat out or travel by inter-city train, rather than a recent negative test or proof of recovery.

In an embarrassment for Macron’s Republic on the Move (LREM) party that controls parliament, not enough of its lawmakers were still present in the chamber when the vote by a show of hands was taken on continuing the debate.

Novak Djokovic Will Compete in Australian Open Unvaccinated After Securing Medical Exemption

Forbes reported:

Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player, announced Tuesday he will defend his Australian Open title in Melbourne later this month after securing a medical exemption from being vaccinated against COVID-19, ending weeks of speculation about whether he would skip the contest over its vaccine requirements.

Djokovic’s refusal to reveal his vaccination status — something he called a “private matter” — left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his participation in major tournaments in 2022.

This uncertainty intensified when the Serbian national withdrew from the country’s ATP Cup team in late December.

Apple Becomes the World’s First $3 Trillion Company — Albeit Briefly

TechRadar reported:

Early demand for the iPhone 13 saw Apple regain second place in the global market for smartphones. However, in spite of fears of a reversal due to the chipset shortage, the Cupertino-based tech giant became the first company to be valued at $3 trillion on Monday (January 3).

Just in case you’re wondering whether Apple is a lone ranger in the trillion-dollar club, that’s not the case. This elite group has Amazon, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Microsoft and Tesla already on board.

Facebook‘s parent company Meta had breached the $1 trillion market cap in June but its valuation has since dropped.

Amazon and Google Deploy Their Armies to Thwart Antitrust Bills

Politico reported:

Amazon and Google are mobilizing a powerful force to counter Congress’ increasing appetite for corporate trust-busting — the throngs of business owners and ordinary users who have made the tech giants a part of their daily lives.

Trade groups backed by the giants, meanwhile, are spreading the message that the bills could mean the end of services popular with tens of millions of Americans, such as Amazon Prime and Google Docs.

The campaign, carried out by petitions, email blasts and Zoom calls, seeks to reverse the usual David-vs.-Goliath portrayal of Washington’s antitrust debates — pushing the narrative that two of the world’s wealthiest corporations are on the sides of the underdogs.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Suspended From Facebook for 24 Hours for COVID Misinformation, One Day After Twitter Account Suspension

The Washington Post reported:

Facebook suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for one day for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, a day after Twitter permanently suspended her personal account for repeatedly violating the company’s policy.

Greene recently published a tweet falsely suggesting “extremely high amounts of COVID vaccine deaths.” Included was a chart featuring data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which details self-reported post-vaccine health issues that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns do not imply causation.

“Who appointed Twitter and Facebook to be the authorities of information and misinformation,” Greene asked on Gettr. “When Big Tech decides what political speech of elected Members is accepted and what’s not then they are working against our government and against the interest of our people.”

The State Tech Policy Battles That Will Rage in 2022

Axios reported:

States will ramp up the momentum they’ve built in tackling key tech policy priorities through 2022, speeding ahead of any potential federal legislation.

As Congress continues to make little tangible progress passing new rules for the tech industry, state legislatures have taken the lead in enacting new tech regulations.

These are the tech policy fights that will play out in the states next year, according to industry watchers.