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July 8, 2021 - Epoch Times

20:13

Why Are Nearly 40% of Marines Declining the Shot? | Facts Matter

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	Good evening.
	Yesterday, Project Veritas released a secretly recorded undercover video which showed a technical director over at CNN detail how, during the 2020 presidential election, CNN worked to produce content that would help get Joe Biden elected.
	Meanwhile, over in Japan, the government there has just announced that they will be releasing over one million tons of radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
	Now, over in Orange County, California, health officials there have just announced that they will be piloting a new vaccine passport program.
	And lastly, over at the Pentagon, it was just reported that about 40% of U.S. Marines have declined to take the vaccine.
	Why?
	Well, let's go through that together.
	This is your daily Facts Matter update, and I'm your host, Roman, from the Epoch Times.
	Now let's start today's discussion by talking about CNN. Yesterday, Project Veritas released a new secretly recorded video which showed a technical director over at CNN detailing how, during the 2020 presidential election, CNN worked to produce content that would help get Joe Biden elected.
	Take a look.
	Look what we did.
	We got Trump back.
	I am 100% going to say it.
	It's And I 100% believe it, that if it wasn't for CNN, I don't know that Trump would have got voted out.
	I really don't think so.
	We would always show shots of him jogging and that I'm healthy, you know, blah, blah, blah, and him in aviator shades and, like, you paint him as a young geriatric.
	Now, another part of this video shows Chester, who is the CNN technical director, crediting CNN for getting Trump voted out of office.
	And he said that stories from CNN regarding Trump's health amounted to propaganda.
	Take a look.
	Yeah, I mean, like, Trump, we did it.
	Like, when Trump was...
	I don't know, like, his hand was shaking or whatever.
	We brought in, like, so many medical people to, like, all tell a story that, like, it was all speculation that he was, like, neurological damage, that he was losing it, he's unfit to, you know, whatever.
	We were creating a story there that we didn't know anything about.
	So I think that's about the end.
	However, now that Trump is officially out of office, this technical director says that CNN has a new focus, climate change.
	Take a look.
	Our focus was to get Trump out of office, right?
	Without saying it, that's what it was, right?
	So our next thing is going to be for climate change.
	Awareness.
	I think there's just like a COVID fatigue, so like whenever a new story comes up, they're going to latch onto it.
	They've already announced in our office that once...
	The public will be open to it.
	We're going to start focusing mainly on climate.
	Now, there are two things to keep in mind while watching these video clips.
	First of all, these montage clips from Project Veritas were taken on several different occasions, and I'll mention here that with any clip soundbites like these, it's important to be critical when watching them.
	However, these undercover videos do show complete sentences from Chester, and so it's not likely that they were edited in some misleading way.
	And the second thing to mention is that Chester, as a technical director, likely did not give input on the content of CNN's programming, nor was he likely sitting in on editorial meetings.
	However, according to James O'Keefe, who is the founder of Project Veritas, here's what he said.
	As a technical director, Charlie Chester is fully involved in the day-to-day operations of CNN's newsroom.
	He is witness to decisions being made and who they are coming from.
	He has full access to the culture within the network and explains on video how company-wide directives are being implemented.
	Furthermore, James O'Keefe said that this video, the one we just watched, was only part one, indicating that more undercover videos from inside of CNN are coming soon.
	Now, we here at The Epoch Times, we actually reached out to CNN for comment on this footage, but we have yet to hear back.
	If you would like to watch this undercover video for yourself, the link to it will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
	And by the way, that is that same little description box that is right below that like button that I hope you take a moment to smash.
	Because videos that are like this, talking honestly about what is happening in this world, are routinely censored or throttled by big tech giants like YouTube.
	However, when you smash that like button below this video, you are forcing the YouTube algorithm, the same algorithm that suppresses us, you're forcing that algorithm to share this video out to potentially thousands of more people, letting the truth be known far and wide.
	And now let's talk a bit about vaccine passports.
	The health officials over in Orange County, which is in California, they announced that they are launching a new vaccine passport pilot program.
	Here is part of what their statement said.
	The digital passport enables individuals to participate safely and with peace of mind in activities that involve interactions with other people, including travel, attractions, conferences, meetings, concerts, sports, school, and more.
	Now, while details have not been revealed about what this passport might look like, the director of the local health agency out in Orange County, he told media that it would likely be an app on the phone, as well as printed cards for people who don't use smartphones.
	Now, this vaccine passport scheme comes with a lot of controversy, as you can imagine, largely with people saying that it will create an ever more powerful government that will have the power to track the minute details of their citizens' lives, and it might very well create a two-tier society, With different privileges for people who are vaccinated versus those who are not.
	And it looks like another area, Orange County, will be testing this new system.
	Now, the Director of Public Health for all of California, he recently came out and said that there is no plan to institute such a system at the state level.
	So this is an Orange County-only test at the moment.
	However, there are states in this country which are, in varying stages at least, testing vaccine passports.
	For instance, we already discussed in a previous episode how New York is piloting something that they're calling the Excelsior Pass which is a vaccine passport on the phone.
	And now, over in Hawaii, the governor there has issued an emergency declaration, which includes, among several other things, a plan for vaccine passports, which would allow travelers to Hawaii to avoid both quarantine as well as COVID testing if they have this passport.
	Although in Hawaii right now it has not been implemented, they still need approval from the broader government.
	Now, on the total flip side, on the opposite end of the spectrum are states like Montana, who recently joined Texas and Florida in outright prohibiting the use of vaccine passports.
	So, as to what the future of these passports will be, well, only time will tell.
	However, while we are on the topic of vaccines, there is an interesting new statistic which was just released regarding the U.S. Marines.
	It was just reported by officials over at the Pentagon that about 40% of U.S. Marines have declined to take a COVID vaccine.
	And by the way, the reason that they can decline it, at least at the moment, is because the COVID vaccine is labeled under the Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, meaning that it is voluntary.
	Soldiers cannot be mandated to take it like they are other vaccines.
	Now, according to the official over at the Pentagon, he said that about 75,000 Marines are fully vaccinated, or have at least received one dose, and that about 48,000 Marines have declined to take the shot.
	He then went on to say that...
	We fully understand that widespread acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to defeat this pandemic.
	The key to addressing this pandemic is building vaccine confidence.
	Now, as to the reason why so many Marines are declining the vaccine, this official noted that many Marines are young and healthy and added that, for example, an individual may have deferred until later to allow others to get the vaccine.
	They may have gotten the vaccine on their own and not through the military channels.
	They could be unavailable for a second dose in the prescribed time period for the vaccines that require two doses.
	They could expect the vaccine to become mandatory and are waiting until then.
	Or they may be allergic to one of the compounds in the vaccine.
	Now, outside of the U.S. Marines, it was reported back in February that across the entire U.S. military, about a full one-third of U.S. troops have declined the shot, which prompted a major general here in the U.S. to say this.
	We believe that, of course, the vaccine is the right thing to do.
	It's clearly safe for service members, and we need to continue to educate our force and help them understand the benefits.
	Although it might very well be the case that in the near future, this whole discussion around the vaccine might be a thing of the past.
	That's because it was just reported that DARPA is working to create an implantable microchip to detect the virus.
	And by the way, in case you don't know, DARPA is the Pentagon's research arm, and it stands for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
	And so this announcement came from an Army infectious disease physician, a man by the name of Matt Hatburn, and he appeared on 60 Minutes in order to demonstrate this new technology.
	And while showing the chip, this is what he said.
	You put it underneath your skin, and what it tells you is that there are chemical reactions going on inside the body, and that signal means you are going to have symptoms tomorrow.
	He furthermore compared this microchip that's implanted into you to a check engine light in a car, saying that you would get a signal, then you would draw your own blood and self-administer a blood test.
	Furthermore, he said that...
	we can have that information in three to five minutes.
	As you truncate that time, as you diagnose and treat, what you do is you stop the infection in its tracks.
	Furthermore, he also said that DARPA has developed a filter that can remove the virus from people's blood via a dialysis machine, and that the FDA has already approved it.
	Now, if you would like to read more about what's happening with the military, the virus, and these vaccines, those links will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
	And now, before we move on over and discuss the radioactive wastewater in Japan that's about to be released into the Pacific Ocean, I would like to take a quick moment and introduce our sponsor for today's episode, and I will do so from the sound booth.
	The sponsor of today's episode is AMAC, that's A-M-A-C, and it stands for the Association of Mature American Citizens.
	Now even though I consider myself a mature American citizen, I am about 20 years too young to join.
	But if you or someone in your family is 50 years old or older, You should consider joining AMAC. They are basically the conservative version of the AARP and they have basically three main benefits to joining.
	The first one is the money-saving benefit.
	If you're a member, they will give you a ton of discounts to places like retail shops, restaurants, on insurance plans, on vitamins.
	It's actually a pretty long list of discounts you'll get.
	I'll throw the link in the description box below this video.
	You can check out the full list.
	The second benefit is that they will send you a magazine directly to your doorstep.
	And even though I'm not a member, I have read their magazine and it's pretty good.
	It's filled with a lot of really good thought-provoking articles.
	And then the third benefit, and what people consider the best, is that they actually fight for conservative values on Capitol Hill.
	Basically, they're fighting against what they're calling the socialist storm that's brewing in America.
	And so if you are interested, it doesn't cost that much.
	It's only about $16 per year.
	Check out AMAC. The link will be in the description box below this video.
	Or you can go on over to amac.us forward slash facts matter.
	Again, that's amac.us forward slash facts matter.
	And AMAC, thank you so much for sponsoring this episode.
	And now Roman in the studio, back to you.
	Now, quite a few things are happening right now outside of the U.S. that might have very serious direct consequences to our lives.
	Let's go through some of them together, starting over in Japan.
	Now believe it or not, the Fukushima disaster was already ten full years ago.
	Time just flies.
	If you remember, that was when an earthquake as well as a tsunami caused a near meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant over in Japan.
	Back then, the reactor shut down, there was a loss of power to the backup generators which were fueling the cooling system, which then led to three nuclear meltdowns, three hydrogen explosions, and the release of radioactive contamination into about a dozen of the units inside of the facilities.
	And this was, again, if you remember, the worst nuclear incident since Chernobyl back in the 80s.
	Now, for the last 10 years, Japan has kept the cooling water, which was contaminated with radiation, at the Fukushima plant, at the area of Fukushima, where they have been treating it over the last 10 years.
	They're currently storing over 1,000 tanks of this water, which amounts to over a million tons of radioactive wastewater.
	And in about a year, they will run out of storage space.
	And so the big question is, and it has always been the big question for the last 10 years, was what were they ultimately going to do with this water?
	Well, yesterday, after a meeting of cabinet ministers, the Japanese government decided to begin releasing this treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
	Now, according to the Japanese Prime Minister, the ocean release was the most realistic option, and that disposing this water was unavoidable for the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant.
	Now, the most important question that you're probably wondering for yourself right now is whether this is actually safe.
	Well, that remains a bit of a mystery.
	According to the company that currently runs the Fukushima plant, they have been able to reduce the amount of radioactive materials in this water to a safe level, all except for something called tritium, which they say they are unable to remove from the water, Now, as of yet, by the way, there is no scientific consensus on whether this whole endeavor is safe or not.
	However, according to this article in Forbes, they say it's okay.
	So, take it for what it's worth.
	If you would like to read more about this radioactive wastewater that's about to be released into the Pacific Ocean, the links to those articles, including that Forbes article that says the whole thing is okay, will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
	However, while we're on the subject of nuclear material, let's talk a bit about Iran.
	Over the weekend, on Saturday to be specific, advanced centrifuges began to work over at the Natanz nuclear site, which is located in the Midwest of Iran.
	However, the very next day, after those centrifuges came online, this nuclear site experienced a blackout, a loss of electricity.
	Now, while Iranian officials did not say what specifically caused this power failure, they did call it nuclear terrorism and accused Israel of committing sabotage.
	Now, by the way, as of today, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for this blackout.
	Regardless, the very next day, which was now yesterday, Tuesday, Iranian officials came out and announced that they will begin to enrich uranium to 60% purity, bringing them one step closer to enriching uranium to levels which are suitable for a bomb.
	For your reference, by the way, uranium needs to be enriched to 90% purity in order to be suitable for a bomb, so 60% is not that far off.
	Now publicly, Iran says that it has never sought to obtain or develop nuclear weapons and that it seeks nuclear technology for civilian purposes in the fields of medicine as well as energy.
	In fact, the man who made the announcement about enriching uranium to 60%, he is the spokesman for the Iranian nuclear agency, he was quoted as saying this.
	From tonight, practical preparations for 60% enrichment will begin in Natanz.
	60% uranium is used to make a variety of radiopharmaceuticals.
	Now, to give you some broader context, all of this is happening at the same time that diplomatic talks have resumed over the possibility of reviving the Iran nuclear deal, which, if you remember, was did away with by President Trump.
	And as a part of that deal, Iran was only allowed to enrich uranium to a purity of 3.6%, which is far, far below the 60% that they have just announced.
	Now, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, she called Iran's decision provocative, but added this during a press conference.
	And so, according to that statement, as of right now, the discussions to revive the Iran nuclear deal are still ongoing and will continue, in fact, tomorrow in Vienna.
	If you'd like to read more about this nuclear situation over in Iran, that link will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
	And now let's talk a bit about Russia.
	Over the last several weeks, the tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been intensifying.
	Not only have there been more skirmishes over in eastern Ukraine, but also Vladimir Putin has stationed tens of thousands of troops at the Ukraine-Russia border.
	According to the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian president, Russia has stationed 40,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern border and another 40,000 troops in Crimea, which, if you remember, was a region technically inside of Ukraine up until 2014, when Vladimir Putin unilaterally annexed it and he put it under Russian control.
	And actually since then, since 2014, there have been constant battles in Ukraine's eastern region between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia rebels, who believe that that area should actually belong to Russia.
	According to the Ukrainian government, this seven-year-long conflict, which actually in some parts looks like World War I trench warfare, has now caused the lives of over 14,000 people.
	Now, as to why Russia is escalating their troop presence on the eastern border, they claim that it is largely a response to NATO. According to the Russian defense minister, he claims that this buildup is a response by Russia, which counters efforts by the United States, as well as its NATO allies, to beef up their forces near Russia's borders.
	Here's what he said during a meeting.
	In the past three weeks, the Russian military has deployed two armies and three airborne formations to western regions as a response to the alliance's military activities threatening Russia.
	The troops have shown their full readiness to fulfill tasks to ensure the country's security.
	Furthermore, he said that Russian troops are free to deploy wherever they wish within Russian territory.
	However, as this Russian buildup occurs, America is getting more involved.
	First of all, Joe Biden had a phone call with Vladimir Putin yesterday, where for one, he called on Russia to de-escalate tensions, and secondly, he proposed an in-person meeting with Putin to discuss these disputes.
	So that was on the diplomatic side.
	On the military side, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, he recently made this statement.
	And furthermore, Mr.
	Blinken has notified Turkey that two American warships will be sailing to the Black Sea on April 14th and April 15th, so today and tomorrow, and they are planning on staying there in the Black Sea for at least three weeks.
	Now, this news was not taken too well by the Russian defense minister, who said this.
	American ships have absolutely nothing to do near our shores.
	They are testing our strength and playing on our nerves.
	Seeing itself as the queen of the seas, the U.S. should realize that the risks of various incidents are very high.
	We warn the U.S. that it should stay away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast for their own benefit.
	Now, outside of these warships, the Biden administration has also chosen to reverse President Trump's policy, and they are stationing more troops over in Germany.
	And just for your reference, at this moment, the United States has about 62,000 troops in all of Europe, and out of those, 34,000 are stationed in Germany.
	As to how all this will ultimately play out, well, only time will tell.
	If you would like to read more about these escalations between Ukraine, Russia, NATO, and the US, those links will be in the description box below this video for you to check out.
	And now lastly, as we already discussed in several other episodes, on the very same day that Joe Biden was sworn into office, YouTube made the unilateral decision to demonetize our program.
	We can now no longer run any ads before, during, or after our episodes, and the Super Chat feature has just been disabled.
	They are essentially snuffing out our ability to monetize our content.
	Now, fortunately, we do occasionally have sponsors, usually companies run by patriots who sponsor content like ours, but when YouTube stops our ability to advertise on the program, it essentially does snuff out our advertising revenue.
	So, if you would like to support Epoch Times, I will throw a link into the description box below this video to a page where you can subscribe.
	honest, independent journalism, but you will also have unfettered access to all of our investigative reports, all of our opinion content, our interviews, our documentaries, and if anything ever happens here on YouTube, you will have continued access to all of our video programs like Facts Matter, Crossroads, American Thought Leaders, and all the rest.
	Again, that link will be in the description box below this video.
	I hope you click on it.
	I hope you check it out.
	I hope you subscribe.
	And I hope that you join us on this journey of exploring this world through honest journalism that's based in truth and tradition.
	And lastly, if you haven't already, smash that like button for the YouTube algorithm.
	Subscribe to this YouTube channel in order to get honest news content delivered directly into your YouTube feed while you still can.
	And until next time, I'm your host, Roman from the Epoch Times.

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