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Video: Fauci Declares It “Entirely Conceivable” That A FOURTH Booster Vaccine Will Be Needed

Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s Europe director, says the continent is moving towards an “endgame” scenario, in another sign that Omicron heralds the beginning of the end of the pandemic.
Despite record cases being recorded in multiple different countries, Kluge told AFP that the milder nature of Omicron means COVID-19 could finally be on the path towards becoming endemic.
“It’s plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame,” said Kluge.
“There will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity, either thanks to the vaccine or because people have immunity due to the infection, and also lowering seasonality,” he added.
The health official predicted that there will now be a sustained period of declining case numbers, or “quiet” as he called it, before, “Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back.”
Kluge noted that hospitals will now be able to focus on people who have missed urgent health screenings due to lockdown measures.
“Stabilizing means that the health system is no longer overwhelmed due to Covid-19 and can continue with the essential health services, which have unfortunately been really disrupted for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and routine immunization,” he said.
Despite the pandemic being on its way out, technocrats are still attempting to entrench the ‘new normal’ that arrived with the initial response to the virus.
In Scotland, for example, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon <a href="https://dailysceptic.org/2022/01/23/nic-sturge-on-says-mask-mandate-could-stay-for-years/">asserted</a> that mandatory mask rules could remain in place for years.
As we document in the video below, while the pandemic may be coming to an end, the conversation about the devastating and continued impact of lockdown restrictions should definitely not cease.
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source <a href="https://summit.news/2022/01/24/video-fauci-declares-it-entirely-conceivable-that-a-fourth-booster-vaccine-will-be-needed/">https://summit.news/2022/01/24/video-fauci-declares-it-entirely-conceivable-that-a-fourth-booster-vaccine-will-be-needed/</a>

revolution summit Video: Fauci Declares It “Entirely Conceivable” That A FOURTH Booster Vaccine Will Be Needed

Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s Europe director, says the continent is moving towards an “endgame” scenario, in another sign tha...

Peloton’s ride to nowhere

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Iqo4HrjAwU0OMmNh5oOXDwUvh-U=/0x120:5472x2985/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23185893/1217247350.jpg" /></div>
<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21345534/peloton-bike-review-2020">Peloton</a> is in a pickle.
In 2020, the at-home digital exercise company could not get its products out the door fast enough. It surpassed $1 billion in quarterly sales during the last three months of the year, and leadership fretted its profits could <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-04/peloton-says-it-can-t-keep-up-with-demand-profit-to-be-squeezed">take a hit</a> as it invested to try to keep pace with pandemic-induced Pelotonpalooza. People <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-customers-complain-delays-cancellations-during-lockdown-2020-6">waited</a> weeks and months for their bikes and treadmills to be delivered. Alongside companies such as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/02/jim-chanos-says-beware-the-virus-stocks-like-peloton-zoom-benefiting-temporarily-from-lockdowns.html">Zoom</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/08/as-coronavirus-spread-to-the-us-clorox-shares-soared.html">Clorox</a>, Peloton’s stock was a solid stay-at-home bet on Wall Street. But nothing lasts forever.
Fast-forward to 2022, and Peloton finds itself in quite a different spot. The good news: It has caught up on the supply side and finally has bikes and treadmills readily available. The bad news: The demand it’s trying to catch up to is no longer there. CNBC’s Lauren Thomas <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/peloton-to-pause-production-of-its-bikes-treadmills-as-demand-wanes.html">reports</a> that Peloton is going to hit pause on production for a while. It’s like the dog that caught the car, but now the car is in neutral.
“Peloton has been plagued with a supply-demand mismatch since the pandemic started,” said Simeon Siegel, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets who has been <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-30/peloton-analyst-who-called-the-stock-crash-is-still-not-a-buyer">bearish</a> on the company for quite some time. “The problem has basically inverted.”
Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have found out more about the supply chain than they ever imagined. American consumers are accustomed to things just showing up at their doorsteps or on the shelves when they want, no questions asked. Everyone knows about supply and demand theoretically, but everything we’re learning about them in practice now is, <a href="https://twitter.com/RareTruly/status/1481411959782313989?s=20">to quote the meme</a>, against our will.
The public health crisis has thrown many parts of the economy out of whack, and it’s made doing business more complicated across industry after industry. There have been plenty of <a href="https://www.vox.com/22410713/lumber-prices-shortage">well-documented</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21396116/dumbbell-set-shortage-nordictrack-bowflex">kinks</a> in the supply chain. (Who knew there’d be this <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22832884/shipping-containers-amazon-supply-chain">surge of interest in shipping containers</a>?) There’s been all sorts of weirdness in demand as well. (Remember when everyone wanted yeast?)
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<aside><q>“The problem is that when you start believing your own stories, you start making decisions accordingly”</q></aside>
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What makes doing business extra tricky in pandemic times is it’s hard for companies to know how long anything will last, and whether and how much to adjust. Peloton took the optimistic view; it thought its pandemic surge would last forever. Now the company and its investors are learning the hard way that this may not be the case.
“Forecasting a business, at the end of the day, is tied to supply and demand as opposed to emotional content. Peloton has one of the most powerful and best marketing departments I’ve ever seen in an industry; their storytelling is unparalleled,” Siegel said. “The problem is that when you start believing your own stories, you start making decisions accordingly.”
I bought my Peloton bike in June 2020. Things were not good for me in the sense that I barely left my home, which is why they were so good for Peloton. I spent upward of $2,000 on it and waited two months for it to be delivered. Part of it came semi-broken, and I was terrified I’d have to wait another two months for it to be replaced and for me to finally live my stationary bike dreams. (I did not.)
I really like the Peloton a lot. I use the bike itself or one of the other exercise classes available through my subscription most days. I also share my subscription with a coworker, meaning our combined activity makes me look very fit. I have my favorite instructors, and I talk about Peloton an embarrassing amount. I also am not going to buy another bike, nor am I going to buy the treadmill, both of which Peloton spent the 2021 holiday season advertising to me in my email inbox — often at a discount — heavily.
Part of what has happened with Peloton, Siegel explained, is that the company misunderstood the demand surge that took place at the start of 2020. “The primary question surrounding Peloton was did the pandemic pull forward demand, or did it expand the audience side?” he said. “Based on all the data we had been seeing throughout the pandemic, it seemed like this was a pull forward. And the company, on the other hand, viewed this as an expansion and built accordingly.”
In other words, people who would have bought Pelotons in 2021 or 2022 instead got them in 2020, but more people didn’t necessarily want them overall. Peloton had a lot of things break its way at the start of the pandemic — it had home equipment and content ready to go, for example, compared to competitors such as <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22195549/soulcycle-decline-reopening-bullying-bike-explained">SoulCycle</a>. And unlike basically all other gyms and fitness studios, it didn’t depend on in-person attendance. Still, those breaks weren’t really enough.
The company has tried to bring more customers into the mix by playing around with the prices of its products, which are definitely high. It started <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/peloton-cheaper-treadmill-bike">cutting prices</a> on its original bike, released a less expensive treadmill, and last year <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/27/22643715/peloton-bike-price-drop-q4-results-subscription-prices">slashed the price</a> of its bike even further. As the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelotons-crash-will-keep-burning-11642709800">Wall Street Journal notes</a>, it looks as though some of those price cuts worked for a while — sales of its products excluding treadmills jumped five times over after it lowered the cost of its bike in August 2021. Still, sales were down for that quarter, and cheaper products mean lower margins. Peloton is going to raise prices this year: As of January 31, it is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/peloton-to-charge-bike-treadmill-customers-new-fees-11642538151">charging</a> $250 for the delivery and setup of some of its bikes and $350 for the delivery and setup of some of its treadmills.
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<aside><q>People who would have bought Pelotons in 2021 or 2022 instead got them in 2020</q></aside>
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It’s been a rough several months for Peloton. Concerns about the safety of its treadmills <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/home-product-recalls/peloton-tread-tread-plus-treadmills-recalled-serious-safety-hazards-a6638931886/">caused it to recall</a> some of its products last year. The last time it reported earnings in November, it <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pelotons-sales-lose-speed-as-fewer-people-work-out-at-home-11636060283">cut</a> its annual revenue forecast by up to $1 billion. More recently, it <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/mr-big-dies-and-just-like-that-reaction/">weathered</a> the And Just Like That debacle (Mr. Big dies after a Peloton workout). The company recovered quickly, releasing an ad with actor Chris Noth — only to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/arts/television/chris-noth-sexual-assault-peloton-ad.html">pull</a> it after sexual assault allegations against the actor came out the same week. Now, it’s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/peloton-hires-mckinsey-to-review-cost-structure-as-equipment-sales-slow-.html">reportedly</a> hired consultancy McKinsey to help it sort out its cost structure, which could entail halts on production and layoffs. Its market cap <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/PTON/peloton-interactive/market-cap">peaked</a> at about $50 billion; on Friday, it was just under $10 billion.
In an <a href="https://www.onepeloton.com/press/articles/a-note-from-john-foley-co-founder-and-ceo?campaign_id=4&emc=edit_dk_20220121&instance_id=50901&nl=dealbook&regi_id=154362712&segment_id=80340&te=1&user_id=25a3b2c59b2e4fc42c84064d4b8f0da4">open letter</a> to customers and employees on Thursday, Peloton CEO John Foley seemingly disputed the production halt, saying the company is “resetting our production levels for sustainable growth.” He did acknowledge tumultuous times, including that layoffs may be on the table. However, he declined to go into much detail, citing a “quiet period” before the firm’s next earnings report on February 8.
What’s apparent is that Peloton’s leadership has been doing a bit of guessing its way through the pandemic, and some of its guesses have been wrong. Foley himself has recognized that the demand surge made the company “<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-ceo-cfo-all-hands-stock-price-wall-street-covid-2021-11">a little undisciplined</a>” in its decisions. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that executives and insiders at Peloton <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/19/peloton-insiders-sold-nearly-500-million-in-stock-before-its-big-drop-.html">sold nearly $500 million worth of stock</a> in 2021, before its stock price took a big hit, though most of those were prescheduled sales. That means some executives, including Foley, aren’t feeling Peloton’s stock price drop as much as they might have.
Peloton did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Peloton’s pickle is not Peloton’s alone. For a lot of businesses, it’s been really hard to figure out what’s a blip in the pandemic economy and what’s an enduring shift.
You can look at the lumber industry as an example. One thing that contributed to the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22410713/lumber-prices-shortage">surge in lumber prices and lumber shortage last year</a> was that when the pandemic hit, there was a huge jump in demand for lumber as people decided to build houses or take on home improvement projects. Producers were skeptical about whether the heightened demand would persist, so they were slow to ramp up production to try to catch up. In hindsight, some would probably have done some things differently. At the same time, imagine if back in March of 2020 Purell’s parent company had decided to build eight more factories. That would have been way too much.
Getting the supply chain right and matching demand is always a key part of any business. Every company, like Peloton, has had to navigate grounds shifting underneath them during the pandemic. Arzum Akkas, an assistant professor of operations and technology management at Boston University, explained that the No. 1 rule in business forecasting is that forecasts are always wrong. There’s generally a range within a certain level of confidence decision-makers target. Covid-19 has introduced an X-factor that makes that range, and therefore the margin for error, wider for businesses.
“They have to make the range bigger in terms of forecasts, and they have to consider bigger risks for supply and plan accordingly,” Akkas said. “They cannot plan their operations assuming that I’m going to get what I want when I want it.”
While striking the right balance has been harder during the pandemic, it’s not impossible — or, at least, plenty of companies have managed to avoid the situation Peloton finds itself in. Akkas pointed to Walmart and Amazon as examples of businesses that have successfully managed pandemic choppiness in terms of operations. Peloton’s “operations are not strong. Whose muscles are strong? Walmart, they are masters in operations plans,” she said. “The companies that we don’t hear about on the news get it right. If Amazon got it wrong, we would hear about it.”
So what’s next for Peloton? It’s hard to say. Perhaps it will manage to turn things around, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/peloton-hires-mckinsey-to-review-cost-structure-as-equipment-sales-slow-.html">cut costs</a>, unfortunately via layoffs and store closures, and figure out how to get more people buying its products again. Maybe there’s a deal to be made or a prospective buyer out there, <a href="https://twitter.com/pkafka/status/1484375926167064584?s=20">such as Apple</a>.
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<aside><q>In a nutshell, the pandemic was the best thing to happen to Peloton until it was the worst</q></aside>
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Peloton’s fanbase is certainly strong. It has 6.2 million members, including digital-only subscribers (meaning people who use its app but didn’t buy any equipment). As of November, it had nearly 2.5 million connected fitness subscribers, meaning people who own one of its products and also pay to use its fitness content, like spin and running classes. Foley also noted that Peloton has a less than 1 percent churn rate, meaning people stay once they’re signed up. Still, it’s hard not to look at boutique fitness trends that came before Peloton, including those in the spin space like <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22195549/soulcycle-decline-reopening-bullying-bike-explained">SoulCycle</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/business/flywheel-sports-bankruptcy/index.html#:~:text=In%20summer%202019%2C%20Flywheel%20permanently,with%20Peloton%20over%20patent%20infringement.">FlyWheel</a>, and wonder whether Peloton won’t face the same fate.
Apart from its missteps, Peloton might also just be a victim of timing — timing that was first very advantageous and now not so much. In a nutshell, the pandemic was the best thing to happen to Peloton until it was the worst, Siegel said.
“The company misread the demand cues, engaged in very heavy spending, and the pandemic helped whittle away at Peloton cash while, ironically or not, spotlighting how great connected fitness was and helping their competitors fundraise,” he said. Perhaps had Peloton not been so poised to meet the moment two years ago, or had the pandemic not happened, it might be in a better spot today. “I would be talking about a very strong growth company that had drastically less brand awareness but a drastically better revenue arc that was coming into its own and with a competitive set that was drastically less capitalized.”
Peloton hasn’t imploded, so if you’re a member, don’t panic. Also, your favorite instructors like <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22678193/cody-rigsby-dwts-peloton-boo-crew">Cody Rigsby</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/espnw/life-style/story/_/id/26808750/how-robin-arzon-former-non-athlete-became-face-fitness-cycling-superpower-peloton">Robin Arzon</a> are going to be fine. Many of the people who were there early on made a lot of money off Peloton’s pre-pandemic IPO as the stock surged, assuming they cashed out on at least some of it. Plus, the trainers have gained fame in their own right.
During workouts, one of Rigsby’s common refrains is, “Get your life together.” It’s advice he should maybe give to his employer.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22895463/peloton-stock-price-bike-cost-production">https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22895463/peloton-stock-price-bike-cost-production</a>

vox Peloton’s ride to nowhere

Peloton is in a pickle. In 2020, the at-home digital exercise company could not get its products out the door fast enough. It surpassed $...

Democrats have had enough of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s obstruction

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is facing a series of rebukes from elected Democrats, progressive organizations, and members of her own state party after her refusal last week to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/1/19/22881837/senate-filibuster-vote-voting-rights-joe-manchin-kyrsten-sinema">support an exception to the filibuster</a> to advance a major voting rights bill.
Sinema, along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), spurned a Democratic effort to restore the talking filibuster for voting rights legislation in order to pass the <a href="https://www.vox.com/22876643/democrats-voting-rights-senate-filibuster-manchin">Freedom To Vote and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement acts</a>, and the effort ultimately failed by a vote of 48 to 52 on Wednesday.
Now, however, her vote could cost her politically: Donors and progressive organizations have announced they are pulling their support this week, and Sinema could also face a serious primary challenge in 2024, should she run for reelection to the Senate.
Notably, Emily’s List and NARAL Pro-Choice — both national political organizations focused on electing pro-choice women to political office — withdrew their support for Sinema on Thursday.
“We believe the decision by Sen. Sinema is not only a blow to voting rights and our electoral system but also to the work of all the partners who supported her victory and her constituents who tried to communicate the importance of this bill,” Emily’s List president Laphonza Butler <a href="https://twitter.com/emilyslist/status/1484207858719891463">said in a statement Thursday</a>, formally withdrawing the organization’s support for Sinema.
That announcement, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/20/1074500461/sen-krysten-sinema-is-facing-more-and-more-pushback">notes Ben Giles</a>, a reporter for NPR affiliate KJZZ in Phoenix, Arizona, is significant for multiple reasons. First, it’s unusual for pro-choice organizations to come out against the filibuster, because it’s historically been a tool used to protect abortion rights. Additionally — and perhaps more importantly for Sinema’s political future — Emily’s List was by far the largest donor to Sinema’s 2018 campaign, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/kyrsten-sinema/contributors?cid=N00033983&cycle=CAREER">OpenSecrets</a>, contributing nearly half a million dollars.
NARAL, which also <a href="https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/2018/10/15/naral-endorses-kyrsten-sinema-for-us-senate/">backed Sinema</a> during her successful 2018 Senate race, <a href="https://twitter.com/NARAL/status/1484201555649781763">tweeted Thursday</a> that “there’s no reproductive freedom without the freedom to vote” and said the organization would change its endorsement criteria to only endorse “senators who support changing the Senate rules to pass the critical legislation that will protect voting rights.”
“The freedom to vote underpins our fight for reproductive freedom and every other freedom we hold dear,” the group said in a <a href="https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/2022/01/19/naral-pro-choice-america-responds-to-vote-on-senate-filibuster-rules/">statement</a> following the vote on Wednesday. “Absolutely nothing should stand in the way of urgent action to ensure every voter has the freedom to participate in safe and accessible elections.”
<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/19/donors-threaten-cut-funding-sinema-527413">According to Politico</a>, 70 major donors to Sinema’s 2018 campaign also wrote Sinema a letter prior to Wednesday night’s vote, saying they would ask for their donations to be returned should she vote against filibuster reform, as she ultimately did.
“We must draw a line,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017e-7431-dbc8-a1ff-75310e2a0000">the donors wrote</a>. “We cannot in good conscience support you if you refuse to use your office to protect our fundamental rights to vote, and we will be obliged to back alternatives for your seat who will do the right thing for our country.”
Most recently, the Arizona Democratic Party executive board <a href="https://twitter.com/RaquelTeran/status/1484971382840594432">voted Saturday to censure Sinema</a>, setting up a potential <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/01/22/senator-kyrsten-sinema-censured-arizona-democratic-party-board-filibuster-vote/6620816001/">vote of no confidence</a>.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
While we take no pleasure in this announcement, the <a href="https://twitter.com/azdemparty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@azdemparty</a> Executive Board has decided to formally censure Senator Sinema as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of our democracy. Read full statement: <a href="https://t.co/rxeLVdydOD">https://t.co/rxeLVdydOD</a>
— Raquel Terán #BlackLivesMatter (@RaquelTeran) <a href="https://twitter.com/RaquelTeran/status/1484971382840594432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
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According to one Arizona Democratic operative who spoke with Vox on the condition of anonymity, the state party isn’t likely to take that step — but Sinema’s political future in the state could still be in trouble.
“I really don’t see a path for her to win the Democratic primary right now,” the operative told Vox, and even if she does, it’s not a sure thing the party will choose to support her in 2024. “I really do feel like we were forced into this position,” they said. “This isn’t about, ‘she isn’t progressive enough,’ it’s a pattern.”
Sinema has been frustrating Democratic leadership all year, particularly with her refusal to back elements of President Joe Biden’s proposed social spending and climate change bill, the Build Back Better Act. The senator <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/us/politics/sinema-fund-raiser-social-climate-bill.html">initially opposed the bill’s</a> $3.5 trillion price tag, which was whittled down to around $1.75 trillion by the time Congress took its holiday break, and she has also said she opposes an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/politics/white-house-hill-tax-talks/index.html">increase to the corporate minimum tax rate</a> to help pay for the bill’s proposals.
Sinema’s continued defense of the filibuster, however — even at the cost of major Democratic legislation which Sinema herself supports — proved to be a step too far for many Democrats. As Norm Ornstein, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, explained in conversation with <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/1/13/22876563/kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-bipartisanship">Vox’s Li Zhou</a> earlier in January, Sinema’s filibuster rhetoric bears little resemblance to the rule’s actual function.
“We’re finally seeing, I think, a level of frustration, over the misuse of the filibuster, not as an infrequently applied tool by a minority on an issue about which they feel very, very strongly, but as a cynical weapon of mass obstruction,” Ornstein explained. “Certainly there was a time when we had well-established norms in the Senate that fostered problem-solving and bipartisanship. That time is long gone.”
In addition to the immediate backlash to her stance on the filibuster, Sinema’s long-term political prospects could be in jeopardy. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has already <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-joe-manchin-kyrsten-sinema-congress-bernie-sanders-a6fb9d7858f24aa6a40dca5542eac9e2">voiced support</a> for a potential primary challenge against Sinema, and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who is considered a likely candidate to challenge Sinema in 2024, says he has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/politics/ruben-gallego-kyrsten-sinema-arizona-democrats-senate/index.html">spoken with multiple Senate Democrats</a> about doing so.
Gallego also called out Sinema by name in a floor speech earlier this month, following Sinema’s announcement that she would not support an exception to the filibuster for voting rights. “We won’t shrink from protecting our democracy and the voting rights of all Americans,” <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRubenGallego/status/1481681795330588679?s=20">Gallego said</a>. “It’s past time for the US Senate and Senator Sinema to do the same.”
On Sunday, Sanders also <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/news/meet-press-january-23-2022-n1287899">told NBC’s Chuck Todd</a> on Meet the Press that he supports the Arizona Democratic Party’s decision to censure Sinema. “That was a terrible, terrible vote,” Sanders said. “And I think what the Arizona Democratic Party did was exactly right.”
Vox reached out to Sinema’s office for comment about a potential 2024 primary challenge and Saturday’s censure by the state Democratic Party, but didn’t receive a response prior to publication.
The Arizona Democratic operative, though, told Vox that Sinema’s stance is particularly out-of-step with the reality of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/arizona-ballot-review-draft-report/2021/09/24/7c19ac08-1562-11ec-b976-f4a43b740aeb_story.html">Arizona’s political climate</a> when it comes to voting rights.
“The stakes are incredibly high,” they said. “We are ground zero for voter suppression.”
Sinema’s support among Arizona Democrats has already begun to flag in recent months in some polls. In September, 56 percent of Democrats viewed her favorably, according to a <a href="https://blog.ohpredictive.com/press-releases/kelly-leads-in-all-head-to-head-matchups">poll from OH Predictive Insights</a> with a sample size of 882 Arizona voters, but a January 18 poll from <a href="https://files.pfaw.org/uploads/2022/01/Arizona-Polling-Results-01.18.22.pdf">Public Policy Polling</a> of 554 Arizona voters found only 15 percent of Democrats viewed her favorably.
“All I’ll say is that she created the circumstances she now finds herself in,” Tré Easton, the deputy director of <a href="https://battleborncollective.com/about-us/">Battle Born Collective</a>, a progressive advocacy group, told Vox via text message regarding a potential primary challenge to Sinema. “The people of Arizona deserve better — either from her or another Democrat.”
And while Sinema hasn’t lost all of her backing — she still has substantial support from big donors in the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/15/sinema-campaign-money-pharma-finance-516110">pharmaceutical and financial industries</a> — it may not be enough to keep her seat come 2024. In addition to a potential primary challenge, Arizona is a purple state where the eventual Democratic Senate nominee will likely find themselves in a close general election race, and the state has been home to aggressive voter suppression efforts by <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2022/01/20/arizona-bill-requires-fingerprints-and-passport-vote/6599559001/">Republican</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/us/politics/arizona-voting-bill.html">state officials</a>.
It makes for a puzzling stance from “one of the smartest people in Arizona politics” and someone who’s previously been seen as a long-term thinker, the Arizona Democratic operative told Vox.
“A lot of folks are really struggling to answer the question of, ‘What is the strategy here?’” they said.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/1/23/22897566/kyrsten-sinema-voting-rights-filibuster-backlash-censure">https://www.vox.com/2022/1/23/22897566/kyrsten-sinema-voting-rights-filibuster-backlash-censure</a>

vox Democrats have had enough of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s obstruction

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is facing a series of rebukes from elected Democrats, progressive organizations, and members of her own state pa...

Breaking: Red States Targeted With Tainted COVID Vaccines, Warns Former Science Adviser

Researchers sourcing VAERS data on Covid jabs found what appears to be a deadly political war being waged on red states.
When viewing adverse reactions tied to specific batches of Covid vaccines, the analysts found highly toxic vaccine lots being channeled towards conservative areas.
This exclusive Reese Report breaks down how the globalists are deploying deadly vaccine batches in red states to punish their political opposition and pave the way for the Great Reset.
Former Pfizer Vice President and Chief Science Officer Dr. Michael Yeadon discovered through reverse-engineering VAERs data that <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://howbadismybatch.com/" target="_blank">some batches of the COVID vaccine are far deadlier</a> than others.
More specifically, about 0.5% of the vaccines were found to be “highly toxic”, and result in hospitalization, disabilities, and even death within days or weeks of the injection.
However, most of the batches appear to be harmless placebos.
But the data reveals something even more chilling: <a href="https://needtoknow.news/2021/12/scientist-identifies-toxic-batches-of-covid-vaccines-and-creates-how-bad-is-my-batch-app-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coordinated deployments of the harmless and toxic batches</a> by Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen to monitor the vaccine’s effects on the public in an experimental setting.
This mode of deployment allows governments the ability to direct deadly batches of the vaccine into specific populations — such as red states.
<div class="oOYJ7k8c"><a href="https://www.infowarsstore.com/vitamin-c-zinc?ims=qaphn&utm_campaign=vitamincHero&utm_source=Infowars.com&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=vitamincHero" target="_blank"><img src="https://api.directus.libertycdn.com/uploads/_/originals/VC-hero-385.png" /></a></div>
In fact, the VAERs data reveals that red states have seen a much higher number of vaccine deaths per capita than blue states.
<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://howbad.info/" target="_blank">According</a> to researcher Craig Paardekooper, the reason for this discrepancy is that red states have been delivered double the amount of lethal batches that blue states received.
This is a classical social engineering test by the globalists to measure the mRNA vaccine’s “maximum tolerated dose” among the populace while simultaneously killing off Joe Biden’s political opposition.
<hr class="wp-block-separator" />
<a href="https://freeworldnews.tv/watch?id=61eb3f92eaaf290deb801b05" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This Vaccine Death Chart Could Shock All Americans</a>
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/breaking-red-states-targeted-with-tainted-covid-vaccines-warns-former-science-adviser">https://www.infowars.com/posts/breaking-red-states-targeted-with-tainted-covid-vaccines-warns-former-science-adviser</a>

news Breaking: Red States Targeted With Tainted COVID Vaccines, Warns Former Science Adviser

Researchers sourcing VAERS data on Covid jabs found what appears to be a deadly political war being waged on red states. When viewing adver...

LIVE: Americans March in Washington DC Against Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

Tens of thousands of Americans are descending on the nation’s capital on Sunday to protest vaccine mandates and COVID tyranny waged by the Biden administration.
The “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://defeatthemandatesdc.com/" target="_blank">Defeat The Mandates: An American Homecoming</a>” describes itself as a “peaceful, apolitical, internationally-syndicated community demonstration dedicated to emboldening grassroots citizens to push back against Covid-related restrictions in their own local cities.”
The march begins from the Washington Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial a mile away, where featured guests will be waiting to deliver remarks at approximately 12:30 EST.
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img alt="DTM_RouteMap_1" src="https://defeatthemandatesdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DTM_RouteMap_1-1000x500.jpg" /></figure>
The massive protest was organized by the Children’s Health Defense, Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, the International Alliance of Physicians and Medical scientists, and the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="5.8145161290323">
Tens of thousands of patriotic American stand shoulder to shoulder at the “Defeat The Mandates” march and ROAR agains tyranny & fascism. 
Listen to them roar. Chills. We will win<a href="https://t.co/wnZyyQGnxG">pic.twitter.com/wnZyyQGnxG</a>
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1485318767299244037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="3.359375">
Robert Kennedy Jr.: Bullies cannot be appeased… <a href="https://t.co/OSXz9MQ8Yt">pic.twitter.com/OSXz9MQ8Yt</a>
— Wittgenstein (@backtolife_2019) <a href="https://twitter.com/backtolife_2019/status/1485349798521851906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="5.1179245283019">
LIVE in DC: Dr Robert Malone talks about the impact pandemic policies have had on America’s kids
Footage from <a href="https://twitter.com/HannahNighting?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HannahNighting</a> <a href="https://t.co/e5gWyRZT9o">pic.twitter.com/e5gWyRZT9o</a>
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1485332461928296449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="4.5507246376812">
Del Bigtree’s powerful speech and scathing indictment of the media-govt-pharma combine at Defeat The Mandates protest in DC today<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/freedom?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#freedom</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fo5xRp6z06">pic.twitter.com/Fo5xRp6z06</a>
— Blair (@skifflegirl) <a href="https://twitter.com/skifflegirl/status/1485355300311814147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="3.8181818181818">
WATCH: There are over 180 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DefeatTheMandates?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DefeatTheMandates</a> protests scheduled worldwide today<a href="https://t.co/6NeVYO7v15">pic.twitter.com/6NeVYO7v15</a>
— Election Wizard 🇺🇸 (@ElectionWiz) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/1485266590140715012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
Streams can also be viewed at <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://thehighwire.com/watch/" target="_blank">The Highwire website</a>, the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/dc-defeat-the-mandates-livestream" target="_blank">Children’s Health Defense website</a>, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ntd.com/defeat-the-mandates-march-in-washington_730822.html" target="_blank">NTD.com</a>, and <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/live" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Epoch Times</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="3.3333333333333">
Defeat the Mandates marchers chant “My Body My Choice” <a href="https://t.co/JidcHM2smd">pic.twitter.com/JidcHM2smd</a>
— Sav (@RapidFire_Pod) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidFire_Pod/status/1485289231526289409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="3.1081081081081">
BOOOM!!! FREEDOM WINS!!!🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/mOvObV7p2m">pic.twitter.com/mOvObV7p2m</a>
— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) <a href="https://twitter.com/PapiTrumpo/status/1485328346946973701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="6.3938223938224">
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty warns of history repeating itself
“The pretext of public health and public safety historically has been used to pave the way for a totalitarian regimes”<a href="https://twitter.com/akheriaty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@akheriaty</a> <a href="https://t.co/45mgX2iZHK">pic.twitter.com/45mgX2iZHK</a>
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1485331086527844353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="5.2289156626506">
Some of the signs at today’s “Defeat the Mandates” rally.
Thousands currently in attendance. <a href="https://t.co/k6X4xw600Q">pic.twitter.com/k6X4xw600Q</a>
— Sav (@RapidFire_Pod) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidFire_Pod/status/1485290571665219587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="3.0909090909091">
Spotted in DC 👇🏼 <a href="https://t.co/UfAhbBifON">pic.twitter.com/UfAhbBifON</a>
— Art TakingBack 🇺🇸 (@ArtValley818_) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtValley818_/status/1485288860657487873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="4.9137931034483">
“Defeat The Mandates” marchers currently marching from the Washington monument to the Lincoln Memorial where speakers such as Dr. Robert Malone are set to speak <a href="https://t.co/dLYSZDJUfm">pic.twitter.com/dLYSZDJUfm</a>
— Sav (@RapidFire_Pod) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidFire_Pod/status/1485301013686980614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="6.3216783216783">
Stage is set up for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DefeatTheMandates?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DefeatTheMandates</a> that is planned to be held today outside of Lincoln Memorial. They secured a permit for 20,000 people but are expecting tens of thousands to attend from across the US. <a href="https://t.co/vDefsGG7HO">pic.twitter.com/vDefsGG7HO</a>
— Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1485254611560763393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="4.6943005181347">
This might be one of the best signs I’ve seen so far at the Defeat The Mandates rally: “STOP KAREN.” <a href="https://t.co/kqmcfosQCq">pic.twitter.com/kqmcfosQCq</a>
— Election Wizard 🇺🇸 (@ElectionWiz) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/1485298841280786435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="3.5416666666667">
Crowds gather for the Defeat the Mandates March here in DC <a href="https://t.co/8zhvlBoLSP">pic.twitter.com/8zhvlBoLSP</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1485291924932247554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" readability="4.7208121827411">
WATCH: An unhinged woman screams obscenities at those attending the Defeat the Mandate rally in Washington D.C.<a href="https://t.co/q6LgX7os15">pic.twitter.com/q6LgX7os15</a>
— Election Wizard 🇺🇸 (@ElectionWiz) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/1485300579119288323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
Prominent anti-mandate, pro-science advocate speakers will include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Del Bigtree, Lara Logan, Dr. Paul Marik, Dr. Pierre Kory, Chris Martenson, Steve Kirsch, Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Christina Parks, Dr. Paul Alexander, Attorney Tricia Lindsay, Kevin Jenkins, Rev. Aaron Lewis, Rabbi Epstein, Tramell Johnson, Jo Rose (Jo Speaks Truth), Angela Stanton King, Kwame Brown, Trahern Crews and others.
This comes weeks after the Supreme Court declared Joe Biden’s workplace vaccine mandate <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/breaking-supreme-court-blocks-bidens-osha-vaxx-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unconstitutional</a> in a 6-3 ruling.
This also comes after Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-proof-washington-dc-restaurants-gyms/" target="_blank">banned the unvaccinated</a> from the city entirely as part of the Democrats’ plan to divide America into a two-tiered society.
Videos from the Defeat The Mandates protest:
[embedded content] [embedded content] [embedded content]
<hr class="wp-block-separator" />
<a href="https://www.banned.video/watch?id=61dcba1d8402e0681579bd49" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Internment Camps Becoming a Reality in America as Authoritarian Leftists Call for Mass Roundup of Unvaxxed</a>
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/live-americans-march-in-washington-dc-against-bidens-vaccine-mandate">https://www.infowars.com/posts/live-americans-march-in-washington-dc-against-bidens-vaccine-mandate</a>

news LIVE: Americans March in Washington DC Against Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

Tens of thousands of Americans are descending on the nation’s capital on Sunday to protest vaccine mandates and COVID tyranny waged by the B...

Biden promised a harder line on Saudi Arabia. Why can’t he deliver?

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden vowed that the United States would finally teach dictators a lesson by punishing Saudi Arabia. “We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price, and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are,” Biden <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/11/21/democratic-debate-joe-biden-saudi-arabia/">said</a> at a 2019 Democratic debate. He seemed to grasp the danger posed by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, known by his initials as MBS.
After an all-out <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/saudi-crown-prince-kicks-off-week-charm-offensive/story?id=53849719">charm offensive</a> in 2017 to 2018, MBS had initially convinced American <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/opinion/saudi-prince-mbs-arab-spring.html">thought</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/02/12/america-should-get-behind-saudi-arabias-revolutionary-crown-prince/">leaders</a> that he would modernize the stiflingly conservative kingdom. But the crown prince had quickly become one of the world’s most brutal leaders. The assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 was the prime example that MBS represented rupture, not reform. Even before that, MBS’s transgressions piled high: the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-saad-hariri-mohammed-bin-salman-lebanon.html">kidnapping</a> of the Lebanese prime minister, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/19/saudi-accounts-emerge-of-ritz-carlton-night-of-the-beating">detention and blackmail</a> of members of the Saudi elite, and a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/20/saudi-arabia-unrelenting-crackdown-activists">growing</a> <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/05/saudi-arabias-year-of-shame-crackdown-on-critics-and-rights-activists-continues/">crackdown</a> on <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/saudi-arabia#0c3936">human rights defenders</a>. Arrests of critics have accelerated since then, especially <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/11/saudi-arabia-women-rights-activists-that-are-still-in-jail">women’s rights activists</a>. MBS is also responsible for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/us/politics/us-war-crimes-yemen-saudi-arabia.html">potential war crimes</a> in the ongoing military campaign in Yemen.
At this rate, this 37-year-old prince could rule the oil-rich kingdom as a kind of unhinged Saddam Hussein for more than a half-century.
Since taking office, Biden has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-put-rights-heart-us-foreign-policy-then-he-pulled-punches-2021-09-13/">said</a> that “human rights will be the center of our foreign policy.” The rhetoric marked a contrast to President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, chief Middle East adviser <a href="https://prospect.org/world/kushner-defines-america-interests-at-expense-human-rights/">Jared Kushner</a>, who emboldened MBS by maintaining a close relationship with him (including regularly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/08/world/middleeast/saudi-mbs-jared-kushner.html">WhatsApping</a>). Trump <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-faces-bipartisan-pushback-over-arms-sales-saudi-arabia-uae-n1014191">explicitly</a> said that the White House would prioritize arms sales to Saudi Arabia and, unlike previous administrations, scarcely uttered the words “human rights.”
A year on, Biden has avoided Trump’s outright encouragement of MBS but has done little to stop his brutality. “The relationship goes on as before,” said Nabeel Khoury, a former American diplomat and Middle East expert. “Biden came in with a promise to review the relationship with Saudi Arabia over the question of Yemen and human rights abuses, starting with the Khashoggi murder, but then that didn’t go anywhere.”
Since the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/02/10/75-years-after-a-historic-meeting-on-the-uss-quincy-us-saudi-relations-are-in-need-of-a-true-re-think/">FDR presidency</a>, Saudi Arabia has been an important United States partner. It is a major energy producer and home to the two most significant sites in Islam, and for decades, America had provided security guarantees to the kingdom. In return, the US has depended on Saudi Arabia as a counterweight to Iran in the Middle East, an intelligence partner against terrorist groups, and a dominant investor with an enormous sovereign wealth fund. But MBS’s ruthless intransigence had put the relationship to the test.
Biden’s government-in-waiting <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-116hhrg35360/pdf/CHRG-116hhrg35360.pdf">recognized</a> that MBS demanded a different approach. Daniel Benaim, who <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/31/inside-biden-campaign-foreign-policy-team/">advised</a> the campaign and is now a senior Middle East diplomat, searched for a way to elevate human rights. In summer 2020, he proposed a “<a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/progressive-course-correction-u-s-saudi-relations/?agreed=1">progressive course correction</a>” that spelled out consequences for future malign behavior.
Benaim suggested a six-month review of policy, but it’s not clear whether Biden’s State Department has conducted such a reassessment. (The State Department declined to comment on the record, as did the White House.)
Publicly, the Biden team has articulated the importance of Saudi Arabia to US interests. The administration is focused, White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEA9zxbQa70">said</a>, on “getting back to sound, predictable policies and sound statecraft.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-and-saudi-foreign-minister-faisal-bin-farhan-al-saud-before-their-meeting/">sees</a> the partnership with Saudi Arabia as “an important one, a vital one, and in terms of dealing with some of the most significant challenges we face, one that we are very appreciative of.” A spokesperson said the State Department is advocating for human rights while bolstering security cooperation with the kingdom.
Overall, the Biden administration has responded to MBS with an approach that keeps <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/25/saudi-arabia-labor-reforms-insufficient#">human rights concerns</a> behind closed doors because, advisers say, the relationship with Saudi Arabia is so integral to US policy. By balancing the concerns of human rights activists and the Washington national-security establishment, Biden’s team has found that it is disappointing both, as well as supporters of the crown prince.
A month into office, Biden broke with Trump by releasing the intelligence agencies’ <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/26/22296188/khashoggi-intelligence-saudi-arabia-mohammed-bin-salman">report</a> on Khashoggi. It showed unequivocally that MBS was responsible for the killing of the Virginia resident in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Blinken announced the new “<a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/75117/the-khashoggi-ban-and-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean/">Khashoggi Ban</a>” that would prohibit government agents who target dissenters from entering the US.
It was a good step, but Biden didn’t follow through. The formal ban was implemented against <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-khashoggi-ban/u-s-announces-khashoggi-ban-for-76-saudi-individuals-idUSKBN2AQ2SL">76 Saudis</a> but not the prince himself. Critics say true accountability would have meant putting MBS on the banned list. MBS hasn’t visited the US since Trump, but that relates to an implicit policy of distancing him, not a formal declaration that he’s banned. (MBS’s brother, who was reportedly <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/khashoggi-met-crown-prince-s-brother-amid-efforts-return-him-n923031">involved</a> in the Khashoggi operation, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/06/readout-from-nsc-spokesperson-emily-horne-on-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivans-meeting-with-saudi-vice-minister-of-defense-khalid-bin-salman/">quietly visited</a> the White House in July.)
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<figcaption>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud meet in Washington on October 15, 2021.</figcaption>
<cite>US Department of State/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</cite></figure>
Human rights advocates would also like to see the Biden administration take bolder action, like levying <a href="https://dawnmena.org/42-organizations-the-khashoggi-report-makes-clear-its-time-to-sanction-mbs/">targeted sanctions against MBS</a> and his inner circle and ending meetings with US officials. Activists have also suggested working with the international community to freeze assets and institute broad travel bans, and have urged US businesses to stop working with MBS’s Public Investment Fund.
On the campaign, Biden said he would stop supporting the war in Yemen. More than <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/23/un-yemen-recovery-possible-in-one-generation-if-war-stops-now">375,000 Yemenis</a> had died by the end of last year, and the devastating death toll led Obama alumni to take <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-obama-era-officials-urge-immediate-end-to-us-involvement-in-yemen-war/2018/11/10/ce8e8654-8d93-4dd2-9f68-822cb08b9f16_story.html">responsibility</a> for supporting the 2014 Saudi invasion. The State Department says it is working with Saudi Arabia to end the war in Yemen.
Last February, Biden ended “offensive” support for the war. Yet last month the Senate, with White House encouragement, approved a $650 million arms sale to the kingdom for “<a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-bombs-air-to-air-biden-trump">defensive</a>” weapons to Saudi Arabia, a distinction that many experts reject.
Abdullah Alaoudh, a Saudi researcher at the organization that Khashoggi established, Democracy for the Arab World Now, sees this as an example of Biden falling short of his pledges. MBS is running Saudi Arabia as a “rogue state,” Alaoudh said, and the Biden administration is “so weak, so ambivalent, so reluctant, thinking anything they are going to do is going to push Saudi Arabia to China. All MBS understands is the power of toughness and ultimatums.” Ending arms sales to Saudi Arabia altogether unless it withdraws from Yemen would be one such ultimatum the administration could make, Alaoudh suggests.
Biden has made one big move: He won’t talk to MBS directly. The president, thus far, has only held phone calls with his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This has reportedly angered MBS. But it’s an insufficient form of retribution. “The big punishment for murder and dismemberment of a journalist is you don’t get to meet the president yourself? You can meet with anyone else and get all the weapons you need,” said Andrea Prasow of the Freedom Initiative. “The consideration of human rights is not integrated into US policy. It’s an add-on.”
Why is there so much hedging in US policy toward Saudi Arabia, even when the Biden administration has set out to shake things up?
The Biden team now seems resigned to a close relationship with Saudi Arabia in order to achieve its own policy objectives, like cheap gas prices and an accord with Iran.
The US is largely energy independent and has steadily decreased the amount of oil it imports from the Persian Gulf. Even so, Saudi Arabia and its partners within OPEC have tremendous power over <a href="https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/op-ed/2020-oil-crash-s-unlikely-winner-saudi-arabia">global oil prices</a>, which in turn affect what Americans pay at the pump.
In late September, as gas prices were rising, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Saudi Arabia in what was the first visit of a senior Biden official to meet with MBS. The trip was discreet: no photos with the crown prince, no critical statements.
“The bottom line is that US policy toward Saudi Arabia hasn’t changed at all and still is driven by energy prices,” said Anne Patterson, who served as the top Middle East diplomat in the Obama State Department. “The administration, like others before them, had to go hat in hand to the Saudis to ask them to raise production to lower US gasoline prices.”
In the Middle East more broadly, the Biden administration has focused on <a href="https://prospect.org/world/america-and-iran-back-to-the-negotiating-table-nuclear-deal/">getting Iran back to a nuclear accord</a>, which Trump <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2018/5/8/17328520/iran-nuclear-deal-trump-withdraw">ended</a> despite bipartisan objection. That return requires the buy-in of regional partners like <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/07/13/what-the-iran-deal-has-meant-for-saudi-arabia-and-regional-tensions/">Saudi Arabia</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/10/us/politics/iran-nuclear-us-israel-biden-bennett.html">Israel</a>. The diplomatic acrobatics between Middle East powers may lead to similar compromises that Obama pursued when his team essentially let MBS <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/09/yemen-saudi-arabia-obama-riyadh/501365/">invade Yemen</a> in 2014 as a way to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/19/obama-officials-incomplete-reckoning-failure-yemen">get Saudi Arabia on board</a> with the deal.
Biden’s team is also concerned with countering China’s influence. China, dependent on Gulf oil, is now Saudi Arabia’s primary trading partner and is also helping Saudi Arabia build a <a href="https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/86158">ballistic missile factory</a>.
Khoury, the former diplomat, says the Biden team wants “to transform US foreign policy from the Cold War mentality of an overreliance on the global war on terror, use of military, and so on, into putting diplomacy first.” But he likens it to a trapeze artist jumping from one bar without knowing which bar to catch.
“You end up with a face on the ground,” Khoury said.
Biden advisers returned to Washington with an appreciation that the Trump years were so disruptive, and MBS so dangerous, that Biden couldn’t return to the two countries’ close cooperation during the war on terrorism. A “<a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/progressive-course-correction-u-s-saudi-relations/">dramatic rethinking</a>” was needed, wrote Benaim, but now a return to the time before Trump might be the best they could do.
While the administration has raised human rights <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-call-with-saudi-foreign-minister-prince-faisal-bin-farhan-al-saud-2/">in private conversations</a> with Saudi counterparts, the louder message is coming from the Pentagon, with its approval of massive weapons sales. The Obama administration sold <a href="https://3ba8a190-62da-4c98-86d2-893079d87083.usrfiles.com/ugd/3ba8a1_aea25cfed2454ee1ad62f272334a105e.pdf">$118 billion</a> of arms to the country and the Trump administration $25 billion, and Biden is poised to help Saudi Arabia continue to be the <a href="https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2020/usa-and-france-dramatically-increase-major-arms-exports-saudi-arabia-largest-arms-importer-says">world’s largest buyer of weapons</a>.
The Defense Department <a href="https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/saudi-arabia-aim-120c-advanced-medium-range-air-air-missiles-amraam">said</a> the latest $650 million sale “will support US foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political and economic progress in the Middle East.”
Human rights activists in Saudi Arabia, however, don’t see MBS’s leadership as a force for “progress.” Some aspects of life in Saudi Arabia have liberalized under MBS — with shifts like men and women attending concerts together. But these are limited reforms at the hands of a leader who regularly imprisons or kills his political enemies and has targeted feminist activists. “Even as the country opens up socially, culturally, and politically, it’s become more restrictive and much more suffocating,” a Saudi person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of those concerns, told me.
MBS may have been a pariah immediately after Khashoggi’s assassination, but now much has been restored. Three years ago, titans of business shunned the kingdom’s “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/business/dealbook/wall-street-saudi-arabia.html">Davos in the Desert</a>’’ investment conference. Last year, many <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/02/wall-street-isnt-letting-jamal-khashoggis-killing-get-in-the-way-of-saudi-business">returned</a>; the administration sent Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves to speak, not exactly a high-level presence but another example of the middling policy that confers some legitimacy on MBS.
McGurk, the top Middle East adviser in the White House, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEA9zxbQa70">summed up</a> Biden’s approach as “<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/bahrain/2021/11/25/brett-mcgurk-us-going-back-to-basics-with-middle-east-policy/">back to basics</a>,” with an emphasis on “lessons learned” and “not pursuing maximalist, unachievable objectives.” At best, that means treading water in the Middle East. At worst, it suggests to MBS and other tyrants that they will face no consequences.
One might say that Biden’s campaign rhetoric was just politics and that, historically, campaign promises don’t translate into actual foreign policy. But Biden was no regular candidate — he had chaired the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and traveled the world as vice president — so his comments from 2019 might have had gravity.
From those remarks, it’s clear that Biden and his inner circle understand MBS. And it’s equally clear that they haven’t figured out how to turn their criticisms into policy.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22881937/biden-saudi-arabia-mbs-khashoggi-yemen-human-rights">https://www.vox.com/22881937/biden-saudi-arabia-mbs-khashoggi-yemen-human-rights</a>

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