Though they strictly complied with mask and vaccine mandates, America’s largest nonprofit hospitals that raked in billions in profit from the pandemic have been largely noncompliant with federal transparency laws.A report this month from government watchdog Open the Books&nbsp;<a href="https://www.openthebooks.com/substack-top-us-non-profit-hospitals--ceos-racked-up-huge-pandemic-profits/">found</a> that for every taxpayer dollar paid to nonprofit hospitals in COVID-19 bailouts, the hospitals’ assets jumped $5.&nbsp;Between 2018 and 2021, the combined net assets of the country’s 20 largest nonprofit hospital systems jumped 62%, or $124 billion.Mayo Clinic, for example, whose net assets totaled $9.2 billion in 2018, jumped 92% to $17.7 billion in 2021.Cleveland Clinic Health System jumped 62% to $15.6 billion.Intermountain Healthcare jumped 63% to $11.6 billion.In the meantime, the executives at the helm of these hospital systems collected enormous salaries. Ascension Healthcare’s CEO Joseph Impicciche was&nbsp;<a href="https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/01/11/murphys-law-the-vast-wealth-of-ascension-health/">paid</a> over $13 million in 2021. Retiring executive Herbert Vallier was paid more than $7.6 million, and two other executives earned more than $3 million.Ascension, which operates around 142 hospitals, collected $2.7 billion in COVID-19 aid. Its net assets, which totaled $23.5 billion in 2018, jumped to $29.3 billion in 2021.But many of these hospital systems were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patientrightsadvocate.org/february-semi-annual-compliance-report-2023">found</a> to be grossly noncompliant with the federal Hospital Price Transparency Law, which requires nonprofit hospitals to post their prices clearly, transparently, and in an easily searchable format, according to set guidelines.Out of Ascension’s 142 hospitals, 105 were reviewed for compliance by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal hospital regulator. Only four hospitals were found compliant.Bon Secours Mercy Health runs 48 hospitals. The hospital system collected $1.1 billion in COVID-19 relief funds, and its net assets jumped from $1.8 billion in 2018 to $9.8 billion in 2021. Its top executive collected $15.7 million in compensation. CMS reviewed 39 of Bon Secours Mercy’s hospitals, none of which complied with the transparency law.University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Group (UPMC) runs 40 hospitals. It collected $1.4 billion in aid and saw its net assets jump over $5 billion between 2018 and 2021. Its top executive was paid $9.5 million. Out of 33 hospitals reviewed by CMS, none were found compliant.Trinity Health runs 88 hospitals and collected $2.3 billion in COVID-19 relief funds. Its net assets jumped over $5 billion between 2018 and 2021. Trinity’s top executive salary was $2.9 million. Out of 61 hospitals reviewed, two were found compliant.“Our healthcare costs continue to rise as the average American family pays over $22,000 worth of health insurance premium costs each year and the prices of health care now are supposed to be transparent,” Open The Books CEO Adam Andrzejewski said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.openthebooks.com/the-national-desk-top-nonprofit-hospitals-pocketed-billions-from-covid-relief-funds/">statement</a>. “The Trump administration put forth the health care price transparency rule and to their credit, the Biden administration finalized that rule in 2021 but we found that 19 out of the top 20 US nonprofit hospitals racked up these big profits and they were not following federal health care price transparency rules.&nbsp;“This is like playing baseball with one side. The patient that's us, we're blindfolded, and the other side is the hospitals and their rank there.”

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Medical

Pandemic

Hospital CEOs pocket enormous salaries

Nonprofit hospitals profiteered during pandemic while snubbing transparency laws, says report

A Canadian school board purged its school libraries of all books written before 2008 to be “anti-racist” and “inclusive.”It is unclear why the Peel District School Board (PDSB) in Ontario chose 2008 as the cutoff date. According to a report by&nbsp;CBC Ontario&nbsp;last week,&nbsp;the board’s decision to remove all books “from 15 years ago” appears arbitrary.Students and community members who visit school libraries in the district reported they can no longer find copies of “Harry Potter,” “Hunger Games,” or even more historical literature like Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl.” “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” was also removed, along with classics by Mark Twain, Upton Sinclair, Ernest Hemingway and others.“This year, I came into my school library and there are rows and rows of empty shelves with absolutely no books,” said 10th Grade student Reina Takata.The move came after Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce&nbsp;<a href="https://files.ontario.ca/edu-minister-directions-pdsb-review-en-2023-01-12.pdf">directed</a> PDSB to “evaluate books, media and all other resources currently in use for teaching and learning English, History and Social Sciences for the purpose of utilizing resources that are inclusive and culturally responsive, relevant and reflective of students, and the Board’s broader school communities.”PDSB took the step of ensuring that books available to students qualify as "resources that promote anti-racism, cultural responsiveness and inclusivity."But while there is a “weeding process” for books that meet certain criteria — such as disrepair, “irrelevance,” or not being checked out by students — Education Minister Leece says publication date should not be the sole determinant of whether a book remains in the library.CBC&nbsp;says Leece’s office did not comment on PDSB’s book purge, and only issued a statement after the story was published. On Wednesday last week, Leece said he wrote to the school board about the “offensive” practice.“Ontario is committed to ensuring that the addition of new books better reflects the rich diversity of our communities,” said Lecce. “It is offensive, illogical and counterintuitive to remove books from years past that educate students on Canada’s history, antisemitism or celebrated literary classics.”PDSB has since&nbsp;<a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-education-minister-asks-school-board-to-halt-library-book-removal-process-1.6560526#:~:text=It%20is%20offensive%2C%20illogical%20and,to%20immediately%20end%20this%20practice.%E2%80%9D">published</a> a statement that “Harry Potter” and “The Diary of a Young Girl” remain in school libraries and that there is no order to purge books before 2008.An advocacy group called Libraries Not Landfills which opposes the purge suggested 2008 was chosen as the beginning of the “anti-racism era” because it was the year Barack Obama was elected US president.“We agree that adding and addressing issues of equity and supporting more marginalized voices in our education system is of paramount importance,” Libraries Not Landfills spokesman Tom Ellard&nbsp;<a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-education-minister-asks-school-board-to-halt-library-book-removal-process-1.6560526#:~:text=It%20is%20offensive%2C%20illogical%20and,to%20immediately%20end%20this%20practice.%E2%80%9D">told</a> CTV News.&nbsp;“However, what's really concerning is the wholesale removal of huge swaths of books from before 2008. That's really not that long ago. That's when Barack Obama was elected.”

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wokeness

World News

Education

'That's when Barack Obama was elected'

Canadian school board purges pre-2008 books for ‘anti-racism’

COLOMBIA’s Agriculture Ministry last week <a href="https://www.agromundo.co/blog/expo-agrofuturo-2023-del-6-al-8-de-septiembre-en-medellin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">held</a> its 16th Expo AgroFuturo 2023 fair to promote “social and environmental sustainability” in the city of Medellín. This the most important international agricultural fair in the country.Fair co-founder Ricardo Jaramillo <a href="https://lanotaeconomica.com.co/movidas-empresarial/conozca-las-novedades-de-expo-agrofuturo-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> they would carry out a “gas inventory” of the fair to “know the carbon footprint we’ll be generating.”The event featured more than 100 academic talks with Blockchain and Greentech specialists, and 380 corporations offering exhibits on topics such as “agrarian reform, policy for rural women and youth, zero hunger, transition towards sustainable productivity,” and agribusiness.The meeting brought together producers, agribusinessmen, and farmers. Thirteen countries were invited, including China and Israel. The Israeli ambassador to Colombia was present with 15 Israeli companies at his booth. “Today, in Israel they are working on creating proteins without depending exclusively on conventional agriculture and livestock. The objective is to address the environmental and sustainability challenges associated with traditional meat production,” <a href="https://aurora-israel.co.il/la-embajada-de-israel-en-colombia-participo-de-expo-agrofuturo-un-encuentro-por-la-innovacion-y-la-tecnologia-en-la-industria-agricola/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claimed</a> the ambassador.PUERTO RICO will host an international travel convention to promote gender disorientation, to be held from October 4 to 7, to mark the 40th anniversary of the United Nations World Tourism Organization-<a href="https://www.iglta.org/our-partners/organizational-partners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sponsored </a>association. The venue will be Puerto Rico’s capital city of San Juan, singled out among the Caribbean islands to be a launchpad for wider gender destruction initiatives in Latin America.<figure class="image"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1695203908/i_Stock_1263765924_fe230d7481.jpg"></figure>Board President Felipe Cárdenas said the convention seeks to “generate a strong and positive impact,” not only on local gender demolitionists, but also “throughout the Caribbean.” The association wants to increase its market in Latin America. In 2020, 41% of this group identified Puerto Rico as welcoming. Other countries identified by the organization as “friendly” are Spain, Canada, Argentina, and Israel.CHILE: The Chilean government once again <a href="https://derechadiario.com.ar/latinoamerica/latinoamerica_chile/de-locos-continua-la-dictadura-sanitaria-en-chile-ahora-con-una-emergencia-por-enfermedades-vectoriales" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decreed</a> a Health Alert for “vector and zoonotic diseases” due to rain in the country. The emergency will be in force until December 31, and provides extraordinary powers to some of the country's ministries to impose mandates, similar to those during the COVID-19 rollout.Chile’s COVID-19 health emergency extended until the end of last month, after Chile’s Health Ministry repeatedly extended its health emergency until the end of its term. At that point, President Gabriel Boric continued the state of emergency by maintaining vaccination campaigns, mandatory masking, and “special operations” such as leasing health residences to “combat the contagions.”The restrictions - which lasted almost three years - caused a <a href="https://www.24horas.cl/actualidad/nacional/simce-post-pandemia-demuestra-una-fuerte-baja-en-matematicas" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">decline</a> in education because of school closures that lasted more than 250 days. 50,000 students were deprived of their education in schools between 2021 and 2022.Chile has the highest weekly mortality rate, surpassed only by Colombia, according to <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=104676" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OECD</a>.EL SALVADOR: The Salvadoran government <a href="https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asi-funcionara-la-alianza-estrategica-entre-El-Salvador-y-Google-20230906-0098.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">approved</a> the General Law for the Digital Modernization of the State to be able to contract Google services while circumventing processes mandated in the Public Procurement Law.The agreement obligates El Salvador to acquire services from the technology giant for at least $500 million over seven years, but does not mention any obligation on Google’s part. “With Google’s arrival, the doors open for our country to use technological infrastructure and artificial intelligence in areas such as traffic, security and the improvement of public spaces,” said Legislature President Ernesto Castro.According to <a href="https://www.elmetropolitanodigital.com/2023/09/asamblea-ratifica-acuerdo-entre-google-y-el-salvador/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">El Metropolitano Digital</a>, Google's mission is to “drive digital transformation and technology innovation in the country, modernize government services and benefit various sectors to reduce time and costs.”ARGENTINA’s Health Ministry has <a href="https://www.jujuyalmomento.com/testeos/testeos-la-terminal-3-cada-10-personas-dan-positivo-n158801" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">declared</a> a return to PCR tests, mask requirements, isolation, and vaccination in the city of Jujuy, due to an increase in positive PCR test results for COVID-19.VENEZUELAN dictator Nicolas Maduro traveled to China last week, his first trip there since 2018. According to <a href="https://www.clarin.com/mundo/nicolas-maduro-llego-china-busca-apoyo-economico-lloveran-buenas-noticias-venezuela-dijo_0_Hi46QkQq79.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mainstream media</a>, he is seeking financial support for Venezuela since its economy is in constant decline, with its GDP falling 80%. China maintains close relations with the internationally-isolated Maduro Government, being one of Venezuela's main creditors.Maduro described the trip as historic, “building the new world geopolitics, building deep ties of close cooperation with the People's Republic of China.” According to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-10/venezuela-s-maduro-wants-china-s-support-to-join-the-brics?cmpId=google" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bloomberg</a>, Maduro wants China's support for Venezuela to be part of BRICS.Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning expressed her desire to take the relationship between both countries towards “a new era,” and that “China firmly supports Venezuela to safeguard its independence and national dignity.”

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Chile extends health 'emergency,' Venezuela cozies up to China

Puerto Rico singled out to be launchpad for wider gender destruction initiatives in Latin America

Public alarm is growing over a proposal put forth by several cities to limit flights, food, and clothing to “fight climate change.”Frontline News&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/global-cities-plan-to-mandate-diets-limit-clothing-purchases-to-fight-climate-change">reported</a> in May on the climate proposal from C40, a network of nearly 100 mayors who have pledged to transform their cities to meet the World Health Organization’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/345329">Air Quality Guidelines</a>. Participating cities include Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, DC, Dubai, Mumbai, Barcelona, Paris, London, Tel Aviv, Beijing, Cape Town, Tokyo, Sydney, and others.To meet the WHO’s guidelines, C40 has&nbsp;<a href="https://expose-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Arup-C40-The-Future-of-Urban-Consumption-in-a-1-5C-World.pdf">proposed</a> a slew of measures such as limiting taxpayers to one flight every two years, which the proposal refers to as the “progressive target for 2030.” The “ambitious target” for 2030 limits flights to one every three years. Each flight should be limited to a distance of no more than 1,500 km (932 miles).Other C40 initiatives include reducing the consumption of clothing and textiles by 39% by 2030, which tallies to eight new garments a year. The ambitious target, however, is only three garments per year.These measures have only recently begun to catch public attention.&nbsp;Wall Street Journal&nbsp;Columnist Andy Kessler&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.is/20230903181914/https://www.wsj.com/articles/real-climate-change-catastrophism-hasnt-been-tried-biden-emergency-global-warming-environment-b485421a">wrote</a> earlier this month that the C40’s proposal for flights “sounds like climate lockdowns.” Last week&nbsp;The Telegraph&nbsp;Travel Correspondent Chris Leadbetter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/c40-cities-climate-change-proposal-one-flight/">registered</a> his shock as well, calling the scheme an “unworkable idea”:<blockquote>Let’s drill down into what one flight per person every three years would mean. That’s one summer holiday every 36 months – an exile from the Mediterranean shore almost twice as long as the interruption brought about by Covid.</blockquote>Another recommendation in the C40 climate report includes a meal plan for taxpayers called the Planetary Health Diet. The diet is&nbsp;<a href="https://eatforum.org/content/uploads/2019/07/EAT-Lancet_Commission_Summary_Report.pdf">limited</a> to 2,500 calories a day and is mostly plant based, with 50% fruits and vegetables and 50% other foods such as whole grains, plant-based protein, legumes, nuts, and small amounts of animal-sourced protein.&nbsp;“Cities committing to this accelerator will work with residents to achieve a ‘Planetary Health Diet’ for all by 2030, with balanced and nutritious food, reflective of the culture, geography, and demography of their residents,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c40.org/accelerators/good-food-cities/">reads</a> the C40 website.By 2050, however, the C40 intends for there to be no dairy or meat consumption at all.The C40 syndicate is <a href="https://www.c40.org/funders-partners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">backed</a> by the UK government, Google, the World Bank, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and many other corporations, non-governmental organizations, and government entities.“This support network of ideologically aligned leaders gives the C40 group serious heft, even if its activities aren’t widely known among the broader public,”&nbsp;<a href="https://unherd.com/thepost/mayors-initiative-calls-for-car-dairy-and-meat-ban-by-2030/">wrote</a> Unherd&nbsp;reporter Panda La Terriere this month.The conglomerate also seeks to phase out private vehicles completely by 2050.

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Technocracy

Climate Change

'Sounds like climate lockdowns'

Alarm grows over major climate proposal to slash flights, food, clothing

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has announced that his state will not enforce COVID mandates amid news of another incoming wave of the virus.The governor clearly stated his intentions in a press conference while also reflecting on lessons learned over the past few years:<blockquote>The lockdowns were a mistake. A lot of the information that was presented and opinions that were presented from official sources were in error and caused damage. I can assure the people of South Carolina that we are not going to have mandates requiring masks. We're not going to close down the schools. We're not going to do a lot of the foolish things that were done in other states that we limited to a great degree here in South Carolina. We have all learned from the pandemic how important common sense is and that was abandoned in many parts of the country…&nbsp;</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">As talks of mask mandates and closures kick up across the country, I can assure the people of South Carolina we will not have mask mandates, we will not close schools, and we will not lock down. <a href="https://t.co/GlKgy8AhMi">pic.twitter.com/GlKgy8AhMi</a>— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) <a href="https://twitter.com/henrymcmaster/status/1699786391230775361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>&nbsp;During the pandemic, Governor McMaster repeatedly exhibited a non-alarmist perspective on COVID. In addition, he has emphasized the importance of personal choice regarding COVID safety measures.When the “Delta variant” of COVID was said to be circulating in the summer of 2021, Governor McMaster encouraged citizens to get the vaccine, but at the same time <a href="https://www.wistv.com/2021/08/09/gov-mcmaster-hold-briefing-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spoke out</a> strongly against school closures and masking children:&nbsp;<blockquote>The new variant, the Delta…does pose a real threat. We know that it spreads more easily…But shutting our state down, closing schools and masking children who have no choice -- for the government to mask children who have no choice to protect adults who do have a choice is the wrong thing to do. And we’re not going to do it.</blockquote>When asked in the fall of 2021 to <a href="https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/south-carolina/2021/09/17/sc-governor-henry-mcmaster-defends-covid-19-response-more-kids-hospitalized-virus-vaccination/8368836002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">explain</a> South Carolina's COVID response in light of an increasing number of child hospitalizations, the governor's reply again reflected respect for individual choice, and in the case of children, parental authority:<blockquote>I think [the response is] working well…But I urge everyone to inform themselves on the danger involved in this virus and what might be the next virus and determine what they are going to do to keep themselves and their families safe. In the end, it is an individual decision to be made and we respect that…Parents should be the ones to decide if their child is one that should wear a mask. There are lots of different kinds of children. Age makes a difference. A whole lot of things about learning, about home environment, [make a difference] and that's a decision a parent ought to make.</blockquote>In the winter of 2022 when the “Omicron variant” reportedly surfaced, Governor McMaster <a href="https://www.wyff4.com/article/sc-gov-mcmaster-covid-19/38675603" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">declared</a> South Carolina still open for business as usual.Later that year a post on the governor's Twitter account made an unequivocal statement about COVID vaccines for children:<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">There’s some confusion on the CDC COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Let me clarify. As long as I am governor, I will never let the federal government - or anyone else - force the COVID-19 vaccine on South Carolina school children.— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) <a href="https://twitter.com/henrymcmaster/status/1583512263297626112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

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Pushback_Resistance

Face Mask

Governor Henry McMaster continues to build a track record of common sense

South Carolina governor rejects COVID mandates

Nonprofit hospitals profiteered during pandemic while snubbing transparency laws, says report

Hospital CEOs pocket enormous salaries

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Latest Articles

Canadian school board purges pre-2008 books for ‘anti-racism’

Puerto Rico singled out to be launchpad for wider gender destruction initiatives in Latin America

Alarm grows over major climate proposal to slash flights, food, clothing

South Carolina governor rejects COVID mandates