Free Republic

Tucker Carlson, in his interview with Lex Friedman, posed the question - if there are substantially more people in North Korea versus South Korea in 100 years, then which country is better? This question was posed based on the context that South Koreans have a low birth rate.

There is a meme circulating from the left asserting that Donald J. Trump is autographing bibles. Maybe you've seen it. The text reads as follows: "When the man who embodies all 7 deadly sins-lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride-is signing bibles it means that it is time to reevaluate your religion" The image is tripartite, with Trump's autograph overlayed on the cover of a bible on the two left thirds, and Trump looking downward and an object much smaller than a bible. Maybe there is a FReeper who can locate and post an image, but for now I...

In the news, our deeply flawed judicial system now threatens to make a jailbird out of Donald Trump.... In a totally rational world the job of District Attorney as it is known in America would not exist. NOBODY should ever have any sort of a career or money incentive for sending people to prison, much less for executing people. The job of District Attorney in America seems to involve almost limitless power and very little resembling accountability and granted there are good people who hold the job, the attraction which the job has for psychopaths is simply too great.DA is...

MSNBC host Joy Reid said that the word "inflation" is "not part of the normal lexicon" for Americans, and that they are only concerned with the concept because Republicans have taught it to them for political gain. Reid added that most people would have "never used that word ever in their lives" before this election cycle. The liberal host's comments seem to follow growing frustration among mainstream media pundits over polls showing that the biggest issues for voters ahead of the midterm elections are inflation, the economy in general and crime — issues that tend to favor Republican candidates, according...

If you are the cautiously optimistic type, the news on the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been largely positive so far — though, you’d never tell that from the media coverage. As RedState reported, South Africa’s hospitalization numbers actually dropped during their wave and cases are already tailing off.Meanwhile, in France, they are seeing people get less sick and those that are hospitalized are in the ICU for a shorter period of time. That’s more evidence pointing to a lack of virulence regarding Omicron. Even as it is more transmissible, it seems to be far less dangerous, presenting itself as...

Omicron cases have an approximately 15 to 20% reduced risk of hospitalisation compared to the previous Delta variant, researchers from Imperial College London said on Wednesday. There was also a reduced risk of a longer hospitalisation stay, with Omicron cases 40-45% less likely to be hospitalised for one night or more. The report looked at all PCR-confirmed Omicron cases in England in the first two weeks of December. The estimates suggest that reinfection cases have a 50-60% reduced risk of a hospitalisation, the statement from Imperial College London said. Yet the rapid spread of Omicron means that large numbers of...

Omicron should be a cause for celebration, not fear. Its symptoms are mild to nonexistent in the majority of the infected, especially the vaccinated; hospitalization rates are over nine times lower than for previous COVID strains; deaths are negligible. The only public health experts whom the media quote are those determined to put the most dire spin on Omicron. There are apparently no circumstances that would warrant a less-than-totalitarian response in advance of any actual disaster. The yearning for more draconian lockdowns and more control over the private sector is palpable. The South African data should lead any coverage of...

Omicron appears to be a more mild version of COVID-19 than the Delta variant, a leaked study from the British government shows. The UK Health Security Agency — the US equivalent to the Centers for Disease Control — found that those who fall ill with Omicron are less likely to become severely sick compared to those who get the Delta variant, according to the data obtained by Politico. The early real-world data, which is expected to be released before Christmas, found that Omicron is likely to bring on a mild illness with less serious symptoms in most people. It is...

Federal supply of the one monoclonal antibody treatment that has proven effective is now "limited," with more doses expected in January, a Health and Human Services spokesperson said. Major hospitals in the New York region say they have stopped using monoclonal antibody therapies because they have run out of the one treatment that appears to be effective against the omicron variant of the coronavirus, leaving doctors without a vital tool to treat severely ill Covid-19 patients. New York University and Valley Health System in northern New Jersey notified doctors Sunday... Meanwhile, Mount Sinai Health System in New York said it...

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...

The Omicron variant ushers us in our third COVID-19 year with 62% of U.S. citizens fully vaccinated. And yet 30%+ of the U.S. population keep COVID-19 thriving because they feel their political or religious rights are violated, worse yet, dogma leads them to believe COVID-19 does not represent a threat – to them. We have reached an inflection point where the vaccinated majority are held hostage by the dubious rights of the unvaccinated minority. Lucky for us freedom of speech and religion is not a protected absolute in our constitution when it comes to public safety. We need to mandate...

The boys who cried wolf... https://rumble.com/vr4zqj-o-m-i-c-r-o-n.html

Omicron is now credited for 73% of new COVID-19 infections in the last week. In areas around New York, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, the Omicron estimate is even higher, responsible for around 90% of new infections. In the week prior, it accounted for only 12.6% of positive cases, making it the most rapidly spreading variant the country has seen yet... Early data suggested infection caused by Omicron may result in less severe COVID-19 illness... According to Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, “All of us have a...

Sir David Spiegelhalter (Professor of Statistics at Cambridge) has suggested the increase rate of hospitalisations "may be slowing down", with it not "looking quite as bad" as once thought. "If the case counts are accurate, then *growth* in new cases per day of Omicron in London has crashed - i.e. new cases are roughly constant. "There are still a LOT of new cases per day but if there really is zero growth in new cases then that is highly encouraging." He suggested the change in rate - different to the amount of cases being detected, which is still very high...

With the mainstream media scrambling to keep the fear factor over the Omicron factor pegged to the Max, with much of Europe in the process of locking down amid the 5th covid wave despite cases now clearly declining across most countries...... while in the US the Biden administration - too scared for now to impose a new round of draconian lockdowns - set to deploy 1,000 military troops to back up hospitals if they face a wave of omicron patients in January and February, Deutsche Bank's Shreyas Gopal finds some actually good news.Noting that Omicron has spread like wildfire in...

NEW YORK (AP) — Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week. In much of the country, it’s even higher. Omicron is responsible for an estimated 90% or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. The national rate suggests that more than 650,000...

President Joe Biden will deliver a speech on Tuesday to announce new Covid measures to fight the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. It’s anticipated that he will go beyond his already revealed ‘Winter Plan’ and address booster shots, lockdowns and mask mandates. Earlier this month Biden announced a Covid plan to battle the virus throughout the colder months, which included booster shots for all adults, vaccinations for kids in efforts to keep schools open and expanding free at-home Covid testing. As of Saturday morning the number of confirmed Omicron cases in the US has nearly doubled in a period of 24 hours,...

I regularly test for COVID & while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case,' Warren wrote. 'Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated & boosted.' In April 2020 Warren announced that her brother, Don Reed Herring, had died of the virus.

Public health

Israel is set to consider adding a slew of countries including the United States to its so-called red list of high-risk destinations Israelis are banned from flying to, as health authorities continue to monitor the effects of the omicron variant. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett supports expanding restrictions on international travel and on commerce in hopes of increasing vaccination rates. At this stage, he does not intend to fully shut down international travel. The cabinet will be discussing the possibility of adding the U.S. Canada, Portugal, Turkey, Germany, Hungary, Morocco and Belgium to the list when it convenes on Sunday. Earlier...