Did an Indian company called Nagarjuna Cement mock the September 11 attack in its controversial advertisement?! Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Nagarjuna Cement mocks September 11 attack in viral video!
People are sharing a video which purportedly shows a controversial advertisement by Nagarjuna Cement mocking the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States.
The viral video shows an airliner flying into a tall building and bouncing off it, instead of exploding. The airplane then reverses and goes around the building, suggesting that the building was simply too hard to take down.
Translated : his cement is impressive, and the airplane head is also very hard 😂 #fyp #viral #recommended #didn’t expect that #India
Circulating on WhatsApp : India Cement advertisement that upset USA. 🤣
印度水泥广告 美国人震怒！
President-Elect Togo : This Indian ad is saying if you used their cement, 9/11 wouldn’t have happened
Remington 870 : Indian commercial showing how strong Indian cement is compared to U.S. that, 9/11 could never happen if built with Indian materials. 9/11 suggest U.S does tofu construction, no other countries building would collapse this easily.
Truth : Nagarjuna Cement did not create video mock September 11 attack!
This is yet another example of fake news circulating on TikTok, YouTube, and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why…
Nagarjuna Cement did not create that 9/11 attack advertisement
First, let me just point out that Nagarjuna Cement did not create any viral advertisement mocking the September 11 attack on one of the World Trade Center towers.
If that was really the case, it would have been reported widely by media outlets all over the world. Yet, there has been no legitimate news report of any Nagarjuna Cement advertisement mocking the 9/11 attacks.
Nagarjuna Cement refuted claims it created the video
Nagarjuna Cement itself publicly refuted (archive) the claim that it created the video as an advertisement on its account on X (formerly Twitter) on 20 March 2024:
Kind Attn: For the past few days this meme has been circulated on social media platforms.We would like everyone to know that we have nothing to do with this content or the creator and we wish to report the illegal usage of our copyrighted/trademark brand logo and our ad content.
The viral Nagarjuna Cement advertisement mocking the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers was actually created from two separate video clips.
The first 5 seconds was taken from a 3D animation of an airliner bouncing off a World Trade Center tower, with the bonk sound effect, that was created by animator Wraysque and posted on YouTube on 20 February 2024.
When someone mentioned to Wraqsque that the video was being used in the Nagarjuna Cement video, he/she said:
lmao,,, i dont think they ever mentioned my channel on their vid, glad u found my channel, here is a cookie
The second part was taken from the last 13 seconds of an actual Nagarjuna advertisement that was posted on YouTube more than 3 years ago – on 13 May 2021.
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The UK will require travellers from 83 new countries to register and pay for ETA in 2025! Here is what you need to know…
UK imposes ETA on 83 new countries in 2025!
On Tuesday, 10 September 2024, the UK government expanded the roll-out of its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system to 83 new countries in 2025.
The ETA is basically digital permission to travel for visitors who currently do not need a visa for short stays, or do not already have a UK immigration status. You will also need to apply for an ETA if you are only transiting through the UK (even if you are not going through border control).
The United Kingdom launched its ETA system in November 2023, with the pilot phase involving citizens of Qatar. It was then expanded in February 2024 to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan (now cancelled).
The expanded roll-out of the UK’s ETA system in 2025 will be split into two stages involving 49 countries in January, and another 34 European countries in April.
Travellers from the affected countries who do not have a visa will need an ETA to travel to the UK:
for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or short-term study,
for up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession
for a permitted paid engagement
if transiting through the UK – including if you’re not going through UK border control
How much does UK ETA cost?
Each ETA application will cost £10 (about €12 / US$13 / RM60), and you cannot get a refund after you apply.
Every person travelling to the UK must have an ETA, including babies and children. Each person must apply separately, although you can apply for other people.
How long does UK ETA last?
Every approved UK ETA will last 2 years, and you will be allowed to make multiple visits to the UK during that two-year period, or until the passport it is tied to expires – whichever is sooner.
The UK government says travellers can typically expect to get a decision on their ETA application within 3 working days, although occasionally, it may take longer than 3 working days.
Applications using the UK ETA app may get a quicker decision, according to the British High Commission.
Once your ETA is approved, you will receive an email confirmation. There is no ETA to print or bring with you. The ETA is linked electronically to the passport you applied with. You must therefore travel to the UK using the same passport.
You will need to take and upload a photo of the passport you will use to travel to the UK, and scan your face. You will also need to take and upload a photo of yourself, and answer some questions.
You will then have to pay for your ETA application using a credit card, a debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
Please note that you will need to complete your ETA application within 20 minutes, or it will time out and you will need to start the whole process over again.
UK ETA expands to these 49 countries in January 2025
Citizens of these 49 countries and territories will need to have an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025 onwards. They will be able to apply and pay for ETA authorisation starting 27 November 2024.
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including British national overseas)
Israel
Japan
Kiribati
Macao Special Administrative Region
Malaysia
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Federated States of Micronesia
Nauru
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Samoa
Seychelles
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Korea
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Taiwan (if you have a passport issued by Taiwan that includes in it the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan)
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
United States
Uruguay
UK ETA expands to European countries in April 2025
Citizens of these 34 European countries will need to have an ETA to travel to the UK without visa from 2 April 2025 onwards. They will be able to apply and pay for ETA authorisation starting 5 March 2025.
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Vatican City
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Do you now need ETA – Electronic Travel Authorisation – to travel to the UK?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2024-09-12 Originally posted @ 2023-09-02
Claim : You now need ETA to travel to the UK!
A video clip called New UK travel requirements has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media. It warns that people who travel to the UK on or after 15 November 2023, must apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
This has led some people who already booked their flights to the UK to panic, as they were not aware of such requirements.
Here is what you need to know about the UK ETA programme, and what countries are affected.
UK ETA video is genuine
First, I would like to point out that the video is genuine, and was originally posted by the UK Home Office on 9 March 2023.
It appears to have been edited and shared by Homely Stay UK on WhatsApp and social media, where it was shared without context, leading to mass panic.
UK will soon require ETA for non-visa travellers
The warning is, of course, true – the United Kingdom will soon require non-visa travellers to apply and pay for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
The ETA scheme is part of the UK’s plan to fully digitise its borders by 2025. But note that the ETA only applies to travellers who currently do NOT require a visa to travel to the UK.
An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will soon be a requirement for people who do not need a visa to come to the UK. It will give you permission to travel to the UK, and it will be electronically linked to your passport.
You’ll need an ETA to:
come to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or study
come to the UK for up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession
What the video does not reveal is that only travellers from Qatar must have an ETA to travel to the UK from 15 November 2023 onwards.
No other country is affected by this 15 November 2023 deadline, only Qatar. So stop panicking!
If you’re from another country : You do not need to apply for an ETA now. More nationalities will be added to the scheme later.
Even if you are a resident of Qatar, there is no need to panic – you can only apply for an ETA from 25 October 2023 onwards.
UK will roll-out ETA through 2024-2025
The United Kingdom will slowly roll out its ETA programme throughout 2024-2025.
From 22 February 2024 onwards, travellers from these six countries in the Middle East will need an ETA to travel to the UK:
Bahrain
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Even travellers from these countries do not need to apply until 1 February 2024 onwards.
All non-visa travellers from all other countries will need an ETA by 2025. On 10 September 2024, the UK government finally revealed its schedule for 83 new countries to apply for ETA in 2025.
Each traveller will require his or her own ETA, including children and babies. Each ETA will cost £10 per applicant.
How long does each ETA last?
Your ETA will last for 2 years, and can use it to make multiple visits to the UK. However, you should know that having an ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK.
In addition, the ETA is not transferrable to a new / renewed passport. If your passport expires in less than 2 years, you will need to get a new ETA for your new / renewed passport.
You will need to take and upload a photo of the passport you will use to travel to the UK, and scan your face. You will also need to take and upload a photo of yourself, and answer some questions.
You will then have to pay for your UK ETA application using a credit card, a debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
Please note that you will need to complete your UK ETA application within 20 minutes, or it will time out and you will need to start the whole process over again.
You will usually get a decision within 3 working days, but there may be delays if the UK government needs to make further checks
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is the Trump transition team planning to arrest elites for chemtrail crimes?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Trump team is planning to arrest elites for chemtrail crimes!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims or suggests that the Trump transition team is planning to arrest elites for chemtrail crimes!
Here is an excerpt of the (intentionally?) rambling and confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Trump Insider: Arrest Warrants Ready for Elites Spraying ‘Genocidal’ Chemtrails
In a groundbreaking development, the Trump transition team are preparing to authorize officials to arrest elite figures allegedly involved in the covert operation of spraying chemtrails to manipulate weather patterns, control populations, and disperse harmful toxins, including aluminium and barium.
These high-level arrests are set to target those at the top who have orchestrated these activities, rather than the operational staff unaware of the full scope of their actions.
On Monday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent shock waves through the corridors of power in D.C. and Davos when he promised to stop the government’s clandestine chemtrails operations poisoning Americans and citizens of other nations.
According to a Trump campaign team member, evidence is being gathered, arrest warrants prepared, and prosecutors readied to bring down the criminal cartel that has been using stratospheric spraying operations to advance their agenda of contamination and control:
Did you catch that? They are determined to go after those at the top, not the operational staff who may or may not be aware of the crimes they are involved in perpetrating.
It all began going wrong for the mainstream media when Kennedy Jr responded a video on X that featured footage of chemtrails planes and a voice over detailing secrets about the pilots who fly these machines.
As Kennedy Jr explained, chemtrails are not a conspiracy theory, they are a conspiracy crime, and as part of the Trump administration he will ensure that the perpetrators are exposed and bought to justice.
Truth : Trump team is not planning to arrest elites for chemtrail crimes!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Trump campaign did not announce plans for chemtrail crimes
Let me start by simply pointing out that the Trump campaign did not announce any plans to arrest anyone for “chemtrail crimes”. That’s probably because there isn’t any actual law against chemtrails in the first place!
If the Trump campaign ever mentioned anything about arresting people for chemtrail crimes, it would have been reported widely, and mocked by scientists and people all over the world.
Of course, none of that ever happened. There was no legitimate media reporting, no mockery or howls of laughter on social media, nothing. Zilch. That’s because it was all made up.
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any actual evidence the Trump campaign is preparing to arrest people for “chemtrail crimes”.
The term “chemtrails” refers to the belief that condensation trails (contrails) left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents being deliberately spread for various nefarious purposes.
The truth is – chemtrails do not exist. The white trails you see behind airplanes flying at high altitudes are contrails – trails of water vapour from aircraft engines that condenses into ice crystals in the extremely cold air.
In fact, these contrails have been seen since aircraft were able to fly at high altitudes, and were prominent during World War 2, when contrails were often seen during high-altitude bombing missions.
On top of that, it would require many tens of thousands of people in the aviation industry to work in perfect unison to cover up an industry-wide conspiracy to spray people with chemicals or biological agents like mpox. In truth – such a conspiracy would have been exposed within hours, if not days.
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence that chemtrails exist, much less are an actual crime that people can get arrested for, never mind evidence that the Trump campaign plans to arrest people for “chemtrail crimes”.
Fact #3 : The People’s Voice is known for fake news
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should think twice about sharing anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the UAE freeze a French fighter jet deal after France arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov?! Take a look at the viral claims and video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : UAE froze French fighter jet deal over Pavel Durov arrest!
People are sharing news reports and/or an Al Jazeera video, which purportedly claim that the UAE just froze its contract to purchase 80 fighter jets from France, over its arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.
Firstpost : #FPWorld: Following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended the deal with France for 80 warplanes, according to a report.
Financial Express : UAE cancels $20 billion Rafale deal with France despite Telegram CEO’s release
Kim Dotcom : The French Govt just lost $17 billion over the arrest of Pavel Durov. The UAE froze a deal to purchase 80 Rafale fighter jets and says that the arrest of Pavel Durov is outrageous. Pavel is a citizen of the UAE and a close friend of the Deputy Prime Minister Hamdan Al Maktoum.
Chuck Callesto : SHOCK REPORT: ⚠️United Arab Emirates government look to have FROZEN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS worth of contracts with France after the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov..
Zlatti71. : The UAE has frozen a contract to purchase 80 fighter jets from France: Durov’s arrest has angered the sheikhs.
– The United Arab Emirates took drastic measures by freezing a contract to purchase 80 French fighter jets following the arrest of Pavel Durov.
– The creator of Telegram, who is personally acquainted with the son of the UAE Prime Minister, found himself at the center of an international scandal that has infuriated the sheikhs to the limit.
– Experts believe that by its actions, France has made a serious mistake, provoking the anger of influential allies. Now, Paris is paying for its rashness, and the future of the deal, as well as the trust of the UAE, hangs by a thread.
Suppressed News. : BREAKING: The UAE has frozen a contract to purchase 80 fighter jets from France worth at-least $10B as a response to Telegram Owner Pavel Durov’s arrest as it has angered the sheikhs.
Mete Sohtaoğlu : 📹📸 #UAE- The United Arab Emirates has frozen its contract to purchase 80 Rafale fighter jets from France worth a staggering €17 billion over the arrest of Telegram owner Pavel Durov
Truth : UAE did not freeze French fighter jet deal over Pavel Durov arrest!
This appears to be yet another example of Russian propaganda, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No evidence UAE froze French fighter jet deal
Let me start by pointing out that there is no evidence that the United Arab Emirates froze its 2021 deal to purchase 80 Rafale F4 fighter jets.
If that actually happened, it would have been announced by the UAE authorities, and condemned by the French government. As a public-listed company, Dassault would also have to issue a statement on such a shocking development. It would also have resulted in widespread coverage by the mainstream media.
Yet, none of that happened. This fake news appears to have proliferated mainly through Telegram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Fact #2 : Al Jazeera video is fake
The viral Al Jazeera video, which claims that the UAE has frozen its contract to purchase 80 fighter jets from France, is fake. Al Jazeera never created, nor posted, this video.
The last time Al Jazeera ever posted about any arms deal between the UAE and France, was on 4 December 2021, when it reported on the UAE and France signing an arms deal involving 80 Rafael fighter jets and 12 military helicopters.
To be clear – Al Jazeera never made or posted the viral video below, or its contents:
The UAE has frozen the contract actions for the purchase of 80 fighter aircraft from France. This comes after the arrest of businessman Pavel Durov in Paris.
It is known that the UAE Prime Minister vetoed the continuation of action on the contract. Experts believe that the contract freeze is directly related to the arrest of UAE citizen Pavel Durov.
Pavel Durov had direct contact with the son of Emirati Prime Minister Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. Thanks to the influence of Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Pavel Durov was granted UAE citizenship in 2021.
80 Rafale F4 fighter aircraft were due for delivery in 2027. The estimated value of the contract is about $10 billion. Amid the scandal surrounding Pavel Durov, the contract has been frozen. That could be a serious image blow for the French military-industrial complex.
Political analyst Marwan Bishara is sure that such a decision by the UAE is a consequence of a political mistake by the French government.
“Detaining a businessman who assets are based in the UAE on far-fetched charges that cast a shadow over the entire UAE is a sure way to spoil diplomatic relations between France and the UAE.”
Marwan Bishara emphasises that the UAE leadership has not been notified of France’s intentions regarding their citizen.
Fact #2 : Fake Al Jazeera report started in Telegram
Ironically, this fake Al Jazeera report appears to have originated in Telegram. According to Maria Dubovikova (archive) who traced this hoax, here is the timeline on 27 August 2024 (Moscow Time):
20:29 : Russian Telegram group Condottiero posted (translated) – “The UAE unilaterally suspended the contract for the purchase of 80 French fighter jets due to Durov’s arrest. Additionally, the Sheikhs are considering a complete blockade of trade operations with France, including in the defense sector.”
20:35 : Russian Telegram group Topaz posted (translated) – “The United Arab Emirates have frozen the contract to purchase 80 fighter jets from France following the arrest of Pavel Durov. They are also considering the possibility of a complete blockade of military-technical cooperation with France.”
By 11 PM (23:00), a fake video appeared on X, mimicking an Al Jazeera news video with this information. This video was never on the Qatari outlet’s platforms.
The fake news then spread outside of Russian Telegram channels, after being shared by Western opinion leaders like Kim Dotcom, Candace Owens, Chuck Callesto, etc.
Fact #3 : No evidence Marwan Bishara ever mentioned Pavel Durov
I could also find no evidence that Marwan Bishara ever commented on Pavel Durov, or his arrest by French authorities, or any response by the UAE government or leaders.
In fact, Marwan Bishara has not written any opinion piece for Al Jazeera for more than half a year – his last piece was posted on 24 November 2023, and it was about the Gaza war.
Fact #4 : UAE to receive Rafale F4 fighter jets only in 2027
There is also the inconvenient fact that Dassault is only expected to ship its first Rafale F4 fighter jet to the UAE in 2027, which is 3 years away. So there is nothing to freeze, so to speak.
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has just vowed to stop the crime of chemtrails! Take a look at what chemtrails are all about, and find out what the facts really are!
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vows to stop the crime of chemtrails!
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed to stop the crime of chemtrails, in response to a video on X (formerly Twitter), which purportedly shows a whistleblower pilot speaking about chemtrails.
Here is an excerpt of the article, which is long and (intentionally?) confusing, so feel free to skip to the next part for the facts!
Concerned Citizen : “I call them tanker terminators – we are paid more than any other pilot”
Chemtrail Pilot Whistleblower.
I’m convinced the majority of them are remotely operated – the tech obviously exists & there’s way too many.
This came after RFK Jr. suspended his US Presidential aspirations for a role in Donald Trump’s campaign. Donald Trump also said, on Sunday, that RFK Jr. would tackle health issues in a potential future Trump Administration.
His response suggests that a potential Trump Administration will “stop” that crime. Over 3 million people saw his reply, at the time I wrote this article.
Why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is wrong about chemtrails!
In this article, I will go through some of the key claims about chemtrails, and share with you what the facts really are!
Fact #1 : Chemtrails do not exist
The term “chemtrails” refers to the belief that condensation trails (contrails) left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents being deliberately spread for various nefarious purposes.
Chemtrail conspiracists believe that governments or corporations are using chemtrails to make people sick, control the population, test biological or chemical weapons, or change the weather.
The truth is – chemtrails do not exist. The white trails you see behind airplanes flying at high altitudes are contrails – short for condensation trails.
Contrails are usually trails of water vapour from aircraft engines that can condense into ice crystals inextremely cold air. Such engine contrails generally form at high altitudes – usually above 8,000 metres (26,000 feet), where the air temperature is below −36.5 °C (−34 °F), but can also form at lower altitudes if the air is cool and moist.
Contrails can also be triggered by changes in the air pressure over the wing surface, or in wingtip vortices. They can also form at the tips of rotating propellers. Such contrails are usually seen at low altitudes, particularly when the ambient humidity is high.
For example, you can see contrails forming at the tips of this Curtiss P-40 Warhawk’s propellers. Obviously, this antique warbird isn’t being used to spray chemicals or toxins through its propellers!
According to atmospheric scientists, such contrails can dissipate after a short time, or persist for a long time – it all depends on the atmospheric conditions the plane is flying through.
If the air is very dry, contrails will not form, or will be short-lasting. But if the air is humid and cold, the water vapour will immediately condense into ice particles, which can persist for a long time.
Conspiracists insist that contrails persist for a long time in the sky because they contain chemicals or toxins that are used to control people’s minds, or make them sick. But that wouldn’t make sense, because those chemicals or toxins are persisting in the air for hours, instead of dispersing to affect people below.
Real villains who actually fund chemtrail missions will want the chemicals or toxins to quickly disperse to both avoid detection, and to rapidly affect the people below. They wouldn’t want the chemicals or toxins to stay impotently for hours high in the sky.
After all, letting the chemicals or toxins stay in the sky for a long time will let people on the ground get away from the danger zone, get under shelter, or put on protective gear – defeating the nefarious plan.
Interestingly, many of these chemtrail conspiracists do not run away, get under shelter, or put on protective gear whenever they see what they call “chemtrails”. Instead, they take photos and videos to post on social media. You have to wonder – is that what people normally do when they are being gassed???
Fact #3 : It’s silly to spray chemicals so high in the sky
It is also silly for any nefarious government or corporation to spray chemicals or toxins or mind control drugs so high in the sky.
Wind speeds increase with altitude. At normal flight altitude, the wind can actually reach speeds of 200 km/h or more. So anything that is sprayed at such a high altitude will get blown to a completely different area.
That’s why crop-dusters fly close to the ground – to ensure that the pesticide or herbicide only hits the targeted area, and not get blown elsewhere. Similarly, the US Air Force and US Army used low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and even armoured personnel carriers (APC) to spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
On top of that, chemicals or toxins released at such high altitudes will get diluted as it disperses into the air. By the time it reaches the ground (if it ever does), it would be in really low concentrations. That’s the same reason why aircraft are allowed to dump fuel to reduce weight in emergency situations – tons of jet fuel can be dumped at high altitude because it will dissipate before reaching the ground.
Fact #4 : Contrails existed decades before chemtrail conspiracy
The chemtrail conspiracy only started in the late 1990s, after the US Air Force published a 1996 report about weather modification. However, such contrails were seen for decades before the first conspiracist even thought of the concept.
Large, long-lasting contrails have been seen since aircraft were able to fly at high altitudes, and were prominent during World War 2, when contrails were often seen during high-altitude bombing missions.
Flight crews on such high-altitude bombing missions have personally seen those contrails forming from their own aircraft, as well as aircraft around them. So have people on the ground.
Fact #5 : Contrails form over uninhabited areas too
Contrails are seen forming even when the aircraft is flying over open oceans and uninhabited areas.
Why would any nefarious government or corporation spray chemicals or biological agents over oceans and uninhabited areas? Surely they don’t plan to control the minds of fishes, or wildlife?
Fact #6 : It would be impossible to cover up such a conspiracy
Any large-scale program to spray chemicals or toxins using high-altitude aircraft would be impossible to conceal.
It would require many tens of thousands of people in the aviation industry to work in perfect unison to cover up an industry-wide conspiracy to spray people with chemicals or biological agents. Not only would the pilots and engineers be willing participants, it would require airlines to sacrifice space, weight and money on their flights to load those chemicals or biological agents.
Thousands more would also need to manufacture, store and transport those chemicals and biological agents, while thousands more people working at airports will need to assist in the storage and loading of those chemicals and biological agents.
It is inconceivable that so many people would be such willing participants in any program that would harm other people, including their family and friends. In truth – such a conspiracy would have been exposed within hours, if not days.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is Bill Gates using chemtrails to spread monkeypox in major cities?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Bill Gates is using chemtrails to spread monkeypox!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that a whistleblower at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has revealed that Bill Gates is using chemtrails to spread monkeypox in major cities!
Here is an excerpt of the (intentionally?) rambling and confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Whistleblower: Bill Gates Seeding Monkeypox in Major Cities via Chemtrails
A disturbing revelation has emerged from within the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as a whistleblower comes forward to expose a plan to use the existing chemtrails operation to unleash the next pandemic.
A senior scientist has bravely broken her silence to reveal a covert operation known as “Project Skypox” which involves spraying a highly contagious variety of aerosolized monkeypox over unsuspecting civilian populations with a view to causing a new pandemic and rolling out a punishing regime of vaccines and restrictions.
Claiming that staff at the Gates Foundation are divided over the morality of this operation, the senior scientist warns that Gates is laser-focused on the plan and determined to push ahead with it whether his staff agree with him or not.
According to WHO chief Dr. Tedros, who receives the vast bulk of his paycheck from Bill Gates, sovereign nations to coordinate a global response to what he describes as the “Mpox international health emergency” following a minor outbreak in isolated parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Gates Foundation conveniently already has enough mpox vaccinations ready to vaccinate the bulk of the world but there is just one problem, according to a brave Gates Foundation scientist who has become the highest placed whistleblower in the history of the organization.
According to the whistleblower, Mpox just isn’t contagious enough and the elite are desperately seeking new ways to infect the global population so they can roll out the next phase of their totalitarian master plan to enslave humanity
The Gates Foundation whistleblower revealed the organization is working with globalist institutions including the United Nations and World Economic Forum to expedite an mRNA vaccine rollout in the same manner as the Covid pandemic.
Except this vaccine will be pumped into the arms of the masses even faster, without any testing, and the consequences will be even worse.
According to the Gates Foundation insider, the organization is being placed under enormous strain by Gates’ increasingly psychopathic methods.
Truth : Bill Gates is not using chemtrails to spread monkeypox!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : There is no whistleblower
Let me start by pointing out that there is no whistleblower scientist at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
If a high-level employee at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation actually blew the whistle on a conspiracy to spread monkeypox (now known as mpox), it would have been covered widely by the mainstream media. There would also have been massive outrage not only by the public, but also public health officials. In fact, such a shocking revelation would have triggered criminal investigations across the world!
Yet, there has been no media coverage, no outraged public health officials or public, not even a single criminal investigation. That’s because it never happened, and the story was completely made up!
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article provided no evidence that such a whistleblower exists, never mind actually proving the claims he/she made.
Fact #2 : Monkeypox cannot spread through chemtrails
The whole concept of using airplanes to spread monkeypox through chemtrails is utter nonsense. Any genuine whistleblower scientist would know it’s impossible to spread monkeypox by spraying it from 10 kilometres up in the sky.
For one thing – human transmission of mpox occurs mainly through direct contact with the infectious skin, or other lesions in the mouth or on genitals. According to the WHO, it can also spread through very close contact, like:
face-to-face (talking or breathing)
skin-to-skin (touching or vaginal/anal sex)
mouth-to-mouth (kissing)
mouth-to-skin contact (oral sex or kissing the skin)
respiratory droplets or short-range aerosols from prolonged close contact
In other words – you cannot spread mpox by spraying it from tens of thousands of feet up in the sky. Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence to back up its “fact checked” claim.
The term “chemtrails” refers to the belief that condensation trails (contrails) left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents being deliberately spread for various nefarious purposes.
The truth is – chemtrails do not exist. The white trails you see behind airplanes flying at high altitudes are contrails – trails of water vapour from aircraft engines that condenses into ice crystals in the extremely cold air.
In fact, these contrails have been seen since aircraft were able to fly at high altitudes, and were prominent during World War 2, when contrails were often seen during high-altitude bombing missions.
On top of that, it would require many tens of thousands of people in the aviation industry to work in perfect unison to cover up an industry-wide conspiracy to spray people with chemicals or biological agents like mpox. In truth – such a conspiracy would have been exposed within hours, if not days.
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence of an industry-wide conspiracy to spray major cities with monkeypox, never mind actual evidence that Bill Gates was involved in such a nefarious plot.
Fact #4 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Were eight doctors with mRNA turbo cancer evidence suddenly killed in a plane crash?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Doctors with mRNA cancer evidence killed in plane crash!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that eight doctors with mRNA turbo cancer evidence were suddenly killed in a plane crash!
Here is an excerpt of the long and (intentionally?) confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Doctors Killed in Plane Crash Vowed To Release Evidence Linking mRNA to Turbo Cancer
Eight cancer doctors who dedicated their lives to saving others and blowing the whistle on the devastating turbo cancer epidemic sweeping the world have been found dead.
The bodies of six world-leading oncologists and two resident medics were found on Friday in the wreckage of a plane that plunged from the sky in Brazil and exploded in a fireball, killing all 62 people on board.
The doctors were on their way to an international conference in Sao Paolo where they were set to present their findings that mRNA and the COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for the explosion of turbo cancers and autoimmune disease wreaking havoc around the world today.
Six leading oncologists and two resident medics were on their way to a blockbuster cancer conference in Sao Paulo when the twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-500 VoePass Airline flight plunged from the sky and crashed into a gated community.
The plane was at an altitude of 16,000 feet when it went into a “death spiral” and plummeted to the ground in fifty seconds.
Eyewitnesses who caught the crash on video said it appeared to stall before circling to the ground and bursting into flames at around 1.30pm local time
A total of 15 doctors were scheduled to take the doomed flight but miraculously seven had taken an earlier plane.
According to a colleague, the whistleblowing doctors were set to present evidence to the world that the public were misled about the nature of the mRNA COVID-19 injections.
The doctors on the doomed flight had concluded that governments and regulators must urgently recall the mRNA vaccines before even more harm is done.
Truth : Doctors with mRNA cancer evidence were not killed in plane crash!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Voepass Flight 2283 possibly crashed due to ice buildup
Let me start by pointing out that Flight 2283, which was operated by Voepass Linhas Aéreas, stalled and entered into a flat spin on 9 August 2024. After a rapid descent at around 13:22 local time, Flight 2283 crashed in Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people onboard.
Both flight recorders from Flight 2283 were recovered, and the Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) is currently investigating the crash, together with the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), and the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The authorities have yet to determine the actual cause of the crash, so anyone who claims that the crash was intentional in any way, is likely lying to you.
In fact, aviation experts say that ice buildup could have been a factor, as four ATR 72 aircraft crashed due to icing problems in the past – American Eagle Flight 4184, TransAsia Airways Flight 791, Aero Caribbean Flight 883, and UTair Flight 120.
Fact #2 : Doctors were not presenting mRNA turbo cancer evidence
I should also point out that the doctors onboard Flight 2283 were not on their way to present any evidence about mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, or turbo cancer at the oncology conference.
According to the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), the doctors were heading to the oncology conference as part of their CME (Continuing Medical Education) – getting updates on oncology, and learning from their colleagues.
Translated : The CFM also expressed its solidarity with the victims’ families, stating that they were seeking knowledge and updates, which is a common and necessary practice among members of the profession.
Needless to say – the doctors onboard Flight 2283 have never called for governments and regulators to “urgently recall the mRNA vaccines”.
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence to back up its “fact checked” claim that the doctors were headed to the conference to “present their findings that mRNA and the COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for the explosion of turbo cancers and autoimmune disease wreaking havoc around the world today“.
There is no such thing as “turbo cancer”, and after billions of doses have been administered worldwide in the past 3 years – there is still no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine can cause cancer, or make cancer go “turbo”.
The US National Cancer Institute also clearly states that there is no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead to recurrence, or lead to disease progression. It also pointedly stated that COVID-19 vaccines do not change your DNA.
Fact #4 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the Harris-Walz campaign use fake crowd photos created using generative AI technology?! Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Harris-Walz campaign used fake AI crowd photos!
Some people are sharing photos, which they claim prove that the Harris-Walz campaign got caught using fake crowd photos created using generative AI technology!
Donald Trump : Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she “A.l.’d” it, and showed a massive “crowd” of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST! She was turned in by a maintenance worker at the airport when he noticed the fake crowd picture, but there was nobody there, later confirmed by the reflection of the mirror like finish on the Vice Presidential Plane. She’s a CHEATER. She had NOBODY waiting, and the “crowd” looked like 10,000 people! Same thing is happening with her fake “crowds” at her speeches. This is the way the Democrats win Elections, by CHEATING – And they’re even worse at the Ballot Box. She should be disqualified because the creation of a fake image is ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Anyone who does that will cheat at ANYTHING!
Dinesh D’Souza : Check the reflection in the plane. Does this look like a real picture to you?
Chuck Callesto : BREAKING REPORT: Harris campaign BUSTED using FAKE crowd photo at campaign rally stop..
Blaire White (screenshot) : Kamala Harris using AI to inflate crowds is so INSANE that it’s taken me seeing 5+ examples to believe it.
Laura Loomer : Kamala Harris’s campaign is using AI to manipulate her campaign photos and videos. And it’s all being orchestrated by @MikeNellis, a senior advisor to Kamala Harris who works with Loren Merchan, the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan as I have previously reported.
Truth : Harris-Walz campaign did not use fake AI crowd photos!
This is yet another example of fake news about the 2024 US Presidential election, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Airport photo is genuine and was not created by AI
Many people, including former President Donald Trump, falsely claimed that the Harris-Walz campaign faked photos of the crowd that greeted Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The photo is genuine, and is one of the many taken and posted by people who attended the event, which was attended by thousands of people, as well as prominent politicians. It was also live streamed by dozens of news channel.
In addition, Shayan Sardarizadeh of BBC Verify checked the metadata of the original photo, and confirmed that it was taken using an iPhone 12 Pro Max on 7 August at 18:28 local time.
While it is possible that some photos might have been digitally manipulated to make them appear fake, or created by generative AI software, the size of the crowd is indisputable. According to the local news outlet MLive, “about about 15,000 people filled the hangar, the crowd spilling out onto the tarmac.”
Fact #2 : Telephoto lens make the crowd appear closer than it really is
People are pointing to the reflection of Air Force Two’s fuselage and engine cowling, which appear to show the hangar but no sign of any people. That does not mean the photo was created by AI.
For one thing – the photo appears to have been taken using a telephoto lens, which makes the crowd appear much closer to Air Force Two than it really is.
As this video below shows, the crowd was actually located close to the hangar, and a considerable distance away from Air Force Two. Hence, they would not be so obviously seen in the reflection of Air Force Two’s fuselage or engine cowling.
Fact #3 : Reflections are “compressed” on curved surfaces
The second reason why you don’t see the large crowds visibly reflected on Air Force Two’s fuselage and engine cowling is because they are curved surfaces, on which reflections would appear compressed.
It may seem silly but let me just point out that the fuselage and engine cowling of Air Force Two are cylindrical. Like funhouse mirrors, shiny cylindrical surfaces distort reflections, and will not reflect an image like a flat mirror.
If you look closely, you can see how the hangar appears compressed vertically – it appears to be very long, but squashed flat, like someone sat on it. You can actually see the crowd in that photo – it just appears as a dark line because its reflection was compressed vertically by the curved surface.
This video, which was created by someone else (sorry, I don’t know who, but will update this article with the correct credit when I identify the creator) recreated the scene using Blender, to show and explain why the crowd’s reflection can be seen in the photo – they just appear compressed.
Some conspiracists pointed out that the aircraft in the photo lacks a tail number, with some pointing out that Air Force Two should have the tail number 80002.
While generative AI can and do create images with distorted or even missing text, that is no the case with the viral photo of Air Force Two at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The truth is – the US Air Force started removing tail numbers and other individually-identifying markings from its C-32A and C-32B executive and personnel transport jets for operational security reasons.
In fact, when JD Vance – the Republican candidate for Vice President recently walked up to Air Force Two in Wisconsin on 7 August 2024, photos and videos clearly show that it lacked any tail number.
Fact #5 : AI stadium crowd photo was not created by Harris-Walz campaign
The viral stadium photo, which purportedly shows supporters of the Harris-Walz campaign, was created using generative AI software. There are many obvious signs of generative AI in that viral photo, as many people have pointed out.
However, it was not created or shared by the Harris-Walz campaign. It was created and posted (archive) by a parody account on X (formerly Twitter) called Dr. Literaleigh A Pheline 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@Sarcasmcat24).
When American YouTuber and political commentator, Blair White, shared that photo, @Sarcasmcat24pointed out to her that it was AI-generated:
That’s a photo that I generated with AI
Zoom in a bit, you’ll see that the faces aren’t even well developed.
Yeah, I run a parody account, glad you enjoyed the post! 😜
White has since deleted her post, but many continue to post this fake photo (on the right) and falsely claim that it was posted or created by the Harris-Walz campaign. That’s simply not true.
Fact #6 : This is just political fake news
Ultimately, this is yet another example of political fake news surrounding the upcoming 2024 US Presidential election. Here are some other examples I fact checked recently:
As the 2024 US Presidential election draws close, you can expect more of such fake news to appear, so be wary and skeptical!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Do Boeing 777 airliners have a fatal flaw, that could result in its fuel tank catching fire and exploding?! Find out what’s going on!
Claim : Boeing 777 Fuel Tank Can Explode From Fatal Flaw!
Boeing is in the hot seat again, after the Daily Mail and the New York Post reported that its 777 airliner has a fatal flaw that could result in its fuel tank catching fire and exploding!
Daily Mail : Exclusive – Revealed: 300 Boeing Planes used by United and American Airlines have potential flaw that could cause ‘fire or explosion’ on jets, according to FAA
The FAA proposed a new airworthiness directive earlier this year to address a potential flaw in Boeing jets, DailyMail.com can reveal.
According to the FAA proposal, the issue involved an electrical fault on the company’s 777 jets that, if left unaddressed, could cause fuel tanks on the planes’ wings to catch fire and explode.
Discovery of the flaw exposes that nearly 300 more Boeing planes are potentially at risk, including jets used by United and American Airlines, according to the notice by the Federal Aviation Administration.
New York Post : FAA reveals flaw in another major Boeing plane that could result in fuel tank exploding
Yet another fleet of Boeing airplanes was found to have a potentially disastrous flaw — one that could set the entire aircraft ablaze.
The aircraft manufacturer discovered that its 777 liner has poor electrical insulation near its fuel tank, according to a proposed rule the Federal Aviation Administration posted in March.
“This condition, if not addressed, could result in an ignition source inside the fuel tank and subsequent fire or explosion,” the Airworthiness Directives note states.
Boeing + FAA Deny 777 Fuel Tanks Can Explode From Fatal Flaw!
After the reports came out, both Boeing and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) pushed back on those claims.
The FAA said that it was not an immediate safety risk, while Boeing said that the regulatory process was being “sensationalised“, and called the Daily Mail’s report as “misleading and reckless“.
It makes incorrect connections and sensationalizes the standard regulatory process that has helped ensure air travel is the safest form of transportation.
This is not an immediate safety of flight issue. There are multiple redundancies designed into modern commercial airplanes to ensure protection for electromagnetic effects.
The 777 fleet has been operating for nearly 30 years, and has safely flown more than 3.9 billion passengers.
It should be noted that Boeing described this problem in a November 2023 alert bulletin. While it was not mandatory, it is likely that many airlines have already taken action, or are planning to fix the flaw, based on that Boeing alert.
The FAA also pointed out that its proposed airworthiness directive was based on the 21 November 2023 alert by Boeing, and would make mandatory what Boeing recommended.
The proposed [airworthiness directive], which the FAA issued in March 2024, would require installing electrical bonding and grounding to a component in the center fuel tank. It would make mandatory service actions that Boeing described in a November 2023 alert bulletin.
I should point out that the flaw is not due to “poor electrical insulation” as the New York Post reported – the word “insulation” isn’t even mentioned once in the FAA notice. Rather, the flaw is due to a lack of an electrical bond to ground a cover plate – like a wire or something similarly conductive to dissipate any accumulated static.
In addition, it was not the FAA that came up with the solution. The FAA notice actually referred to the Boeing service bulletin of 21 November 2023 (PDF), which had detailed instructions on the fix!
Guidance for accomplishing the actions required by this AD can be found in Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 777–47A0007, dated November 21, 2023, which is referred to in Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 777–47A0007 RB, dated November 21, 2023.
The Boeing 777 requirements bulletin also listed a “recommended compliance time” of 42 months – 3.5 years, which suggests that Boeing does not consider it an immediate threat to aircraft safety. The FAA also concurred in its airworthiness directive proposal.
I should also point out that modern airliners like the Boeing 777 come with nitrogen-generating or nitrogen-inerting systems to reduce the risk of fuel tank explosions, after the tragic explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.
Boeing uses a Nitrogen Generation System (NGS) in its aircraft, which separates oxygen-rich air from the left engine’s bleed air, which is discharged from the aircraft. The remaining nitrogen-enriched air is pumped into the centre fuel tank.
As more nitrogen-enriched air is pumped into the centre fuel tank, the oxygen level drops from the usual 21% to 12% or less – at which point the oxygen concentration is too low to support combustion, thus mitigating the risk of an explosion.
In fact, the proposed FAA airworthiness directive specifically points to the Boeing 777’s nitrogen enriched air distribution system (NEADS). Ironically, the NEADS cover plate assembly is the potential source of electrostatic discharge.
So Boeing and the FAA would be correct that even though the cover plate assembly lacked “a designed electrical bond for electrostatic discharge“, there is no immediate safety risk, as there are redundancies built in, like the nitrogen-enriched air.
In short – this is hardly the “fatal flaw” that some people are claiming, and it can be easily resolved by simply installing an electrical bond at less than $2,400 per aircraft – mostly in manpower costs.
That said, you will want to eliminate all potential causes of sparking in the fuel tank, no matter how remote, even if there are other protective measures in place. Hopefully, the FAA will soon issue this airworthiness directive to make it mandatory, instead of optional.
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi alive after surviving the helicopter crash?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Iranian President Is Alive After Surviving Crash!
Within hours of news breaking that the helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi and other officials crashed, people started sharing a photo while claiming that the Iranian President is alive, after surviving the helicopter crash!
Aussie Cossack (deleted) : Iran’s President survived the helicopter crash and is en router to Tabriz in the Presidential motorcade
Mario Nawfal : 🚨🇮🇷BREAKING: IRANIAN PRESIDENT AND FM CONTINUE TO TABRIZ BY CAR AFTER EMERGENCY LANDING
The President’s convoy continued to Tabriz, Iran, by land.
The Mi-171 helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdolahian landed hard in East Azerbaijan due to foggy weather.
East Azerbaijan Governor Ayatollah Al-Hashem and other officials were also on board.
Nadira Ali : Bad news for Zionists.. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is safe.
Truth : Iranian President Confirmed Dead After Helicopter Crash!
This appears to be yet another example of fake news circulating on social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Ebrahim Raisi Was Confirmed Dead
On Sunday, 19 May 2024, the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi arrived at the northern border between Iran and Azerbaijan, to inaugurate the Gir Galasi hydroelectric dam with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. After that inauguration, the Iranian delegation left in a convoy of three helicopters to Tabriz.
At approximately 1:30 PM local time, the helicopter carrying the Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Governor of East Azerbaijan Malek Rahmati, and Supreme Leader Representative in East Azerbaijan Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, crashed shortly after some passengers made an emergency call.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) described the crash as a “hard landing”. Even at 10:30 AM (GMT+8) on Monday 20, it was unknown if anyone was injured or killed in that crash.
An Iranian official told Reuters that rescuers were still struggling to reach the crash site, and that the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were “at risk following the helicopter crash”.
At approximately 12:30 PM (GMT+8) on 20 May, Iranian state TV confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others were killed in the helicopter crash.
Fact #2 : Viral Photo Taken In July 2022, Not May 2024
The photo being shared as “evidence” that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi survived the helicopter crash was actually taken at Firuzkuh, Tehran on 30 July 2022 – almost 2 years ago!
That handout photo was taken and provided by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), and shows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visiting Firuzkuh after floods.
Fact #3 : Crashed Helicopter Was Bell 212, Not Mi-17
In addition, the helicopter that crashed was a US-made Bell 212 helicopter with a blue and white colour scheme.
It is a completely different helicopter from the Mi-17 seen in the July 2022 photo, which has a red and white colour scheme, and the logo of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).
Here is a comparison of the 2022 photo being used to mislead people, and an actual photo taken of the Bell 212 helicopter that carried Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Beware of social media accounts that keep posting unverified and/or fake news, photos and videos. They are only doing it to generate income from the views, clicks, and engagement.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Israel and the United States cause the helicopter used by the President of Iran to malfunction and crash?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Israel + US Crashed Iran President’s Helicopter!
Within hours of news breaking that the helicopter carrying the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials crashed, people started sharing a message claiming that Israel and the United States caused the helicopter used by the President of Iran to malfunction and crash!
Reactions to the “purported” crash of the helicopter carrying the Iran President and other top ranking Iranian officials
📍 All the analysts believe that the President and the other ministers are probably dead by now despite rescue efforts underway to find the plane.
📍 Majority of analysts commenting believe that what caused the crash was the use by Israel 🇮🇱 and the US 🇺🇸 of their own systems to disable navigation systems and get the helicopter to malfunction and crash.
📍Relations between US 🇺🇸 and IRĀN 🇮🇷 were lately getting worse. Hezbollah in Lebanon has been using increasingly advanced weaponry against Israel 🇮🇱 and IRĀN 🇮🇷 has been showing signs of continuing with its program of Uranium enrichment despite US 🇺🇸 opposition.
Sharīf as-Sarifī, media anchor in Egypt 🇪🇬 who largely follows the Sissī line (hence why he is allowed to air, from Egypt 🇪🇬, in his YouTube channel) says: So now that the plane carrying Ibrāhīm Ra’isī and other important political personalities has disappeared. The majority thinks this is not due just to bad weather and this was an assassination.
📍Why? Because the plane was followed by two other two. It was just not any other plane.
📌How would that happen? Israel 🇮🇱 has some equipment that allows to mess up the navigation systems of planes and other vehicles, such as those carrying missiles. Now all the analysts are suspecting this is what impacted the plane carrying the Iranian 🇮🇷President and other ministers.
📍 Sharīf also points to the situation in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 with leadership there keen to move to develop its own nuclear enrichment program. Talks of a US-Saudi Nuclear deal is now in the open. This is all in the works and is the backdrop against which one should look at this possible assassination attempt.
📍This US – Saudi Nuclear Deal is restricted by the US, and it is all part of the normalization deal between Saudi 🇸🇦 and Israel 🇮🇱. The condition that the US is putting on the table for Saudi is: NO Saudi citizen should be ever allowed into the nuclear enrichment facilities to be established in Saudi and only US citizens can enter them so as to prevent any Saudi citizen from learning and being able to develop the program himself.
The Russian Foreign Minister is angry with Israel and claims:
“Israel carried out the assassination of the Iranian President under the auspices of the United States of America.”
No Evidence Israel + US Crashed Iran President’s Helicopter!
This appears to be yet another example of fake news circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Unknown If Ebrahim Raisi Was Dead Or Alive At That Time
On Sunday, 19 May 2024, the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi arrived at the northern border between Iran and Azerbaijan, to inaugurate the Gir Galasi hydroelectric dam with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. After that inauguration, the Iranian delegation left in a convoy of three helicopters to Tabriz.
At approximately 1:30 PM local time, the helicopter carrying the Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Governor of East Azerbaijan Malek Rahmati, and Supreme Leader Representative in East Azerbaijan Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, crashed shortly after some passengers made an emergency call.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) described the crash as a “hard landing”. Even at 10:30 AM (GMT+8) on Monday 20, it was unknown if anyone was injured or killed in that crash.
An Iranian official told Reuters that rescuers were still struggling to reach the crash site, and that the lives of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were “at risk following the helicopter crash”.
How is it possible for anyone to know that Israel and the United States are responsible for the helicopter crash, when rescuers had not even reached the crash site that day, never mind investigate the cause of the crash at that time???
It was only at approximately 12:30 PM (GMT+8) on 20 May – almost a whole day later, that Iranian state TV confirmed that President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others were killed in the helicopter crash.
The viral message claimed that Israel and the US brought down the helicopter carrying the Iranian president by [remotely] disabling its navigation system.
If there was an electronic attack on the helicopter, it would have affected the other two helicopters travelling in the same convoy. Yet the other two helicopters landed safely.
In addition, the flight crew and occupants of those two helicopters did not claim or report that there was an attack on the helicopter that crashed.
Fact #3 : Iranian State Media Blamed Bad Weather For Crash
Iranian state media did not blame Israel or the United States for the helicopter crash. Instead, Iranian state media blamed bad weather for crash, and said that the helicopter made a “hard landing” after getting into difficulties while travelling through heavy fog in the mountainous area.
The rain and heavy fog also made it extremely difficult for rescue efforts, with Iranian state TV broadcasting footage of rescuers trying to reach in the rain and fog trying to reach the crash site. Iranian state media quoted a regional army commander as saying:
The area has very cold, rainy, and foggy weather conditions. The rain is gradually turning into snow.
If the Iranians are not even blaming Israel or the United States for the crash, why would anyone claim otherwise???
Fact #4 : No Reputable Analyst Claimed Israel / US Involvement
The viral message claimed that “the majority of analysts” or “all the analysts” believe that the helicopter crash was caused by Israel and the United States. That’s utter nonsense.
Currently, no reputable analyst has made such claims. In fact, the viral message did not even name a single analyst who made such a claim!
Fact #5 : Viral Photos Show Trident Pier In Gaza!
To make the fake message more convincing, it comes with two photos, purportedly of US Army equipment used to attack the helicopter carrying the President of Iran. That’s just utter nonsense.
For one thing – the photos were taken at the Trident pier the US military built to provide aid to the Gaza Strip – over a thousand kilometres away!
In addition, it only shows point defences protecting the pier, specifically a Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) system with a 20mm Gatling gun, and the M-LIDS system which targets drones and other UAVs.
These point defence systems are very short-ranged, and cannot attack helicopters flying over a thousand kilometres away!
Fact #6 : Russia Did Not Blame Israel + US For Iran Helicopter Crash
Finally, the viral message falsely claimed that Russian Foreign Minister said that “Israel carried out the assassination of the Iranian President under the auspices of the United States of America.”
That’s not true. Sergey Lavrov has not commented on the Iranian president’s helicopter crash, never mind blame Israel and the United States for it.
Only Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has commented on the helicopter crash, stating:
We are closely following the reports about the passengers of the third helicopter, which carried top-ranking Iranian officials, including President Raisi.
We sincerely hope that they are alive and their lives are out of danger. Russia is ready to offer all necessary help in the search for the missing helicopter and the investigation of the accident.
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Conspiracists were just proven wrong (again!) when the autopsy of John Barnett showed that the Boeing whistleblower did indeed commit suicide!
Claim : John Barnett Did Not Commit Suicide!
Right after news broke that John Barnett was found dead in his truck outside a Holiday Inn in Charleston, some people immediately suggested that the Boeing whistleblower might have been assassinated to prevent his testimony against the aerospace giant.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr : John Barnett worked for Boeing for 32 years. The company worked to destroy his life after he exposed safety concerns. I’m proud that my sister Rory worked to tell his story in her award winning documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. Boeing killed 346 people out of greed. Let’s hope there is a genuine investigation of John Barnett’s “suicide.”
Megatron : ⚡ 🇺🇲 Video emerges of dead Boeing whistleblower John Barnett discussing Boeing’s inadequate safety measures for airplanes.
This is one of the reasons why they decided to “Suicide” him.
Champagne Joshi : Boeing whistleblower John Barnett predicted he might end up dead and that a story could surface that he killed himself according to a close family friend.
“I know that he did not commit suicide,” said Jennifer, a friend of Barnett’s. “There’s no way.”
Owen Gregorian : ‘If anything happens, it’s not suicide’: Boeing whistleblower’s prediction before death
A close family friend of John Barnett said he predicted he might wind up dead and that a story could surface that he killed himself.
But at the time, he told her not to believe it.
“I know that he did not commit suicide,” said Jennifer, a friend of Barnett’s. “There’s no way.”
Truth : John Barnett Was Alone When He Committed Suicide!
Here is what you need to know about John Barnett’s unfortunate death, and why he committed suicide, and was not assassinated…
Fact #1 : John Barnett Committed Suicide
On Friday, 17 May 2024, both the Charleston Police Department and the Charleston County Coroner’s Office separately concluded their extensive investigations, and both issued reports that concluded that John Barnett committed suicide.
John Barnett had been in Charleston, South Carolina, to give his testimony against his former employer – the embattled aerospace giant, Boeing, when he was found dead from a gunshot wound in his truck, in the parking lot of his hotel, a Holiday Inn. He was 62 years old when he died.
The reports released by the police and the coroner, included nearly 100 pages of incident reports, a 911 recording from the hotel worker who found Barnett, and a photo of the note that Barnett left behind. Ultimately, it has been confirmed that John Barnett committed suicide, and he was alone in his truck:
investigators found him alone and locked inside his truck, with the key fob in his pants pocket,
there was no sign of forced entry, or a physical struggle,
his phone and hotel key card showed no suspicious activity,
his truck was undisturbed until the discovery of his body the next morning,
the ballistics report showed that the bullet was “fired by the firearm located in the victim’s hand”, and
the silver Smith and Wesson handgun was registered to Barnett, and legally purchased in 2000,
The report from Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal read, “All findings were consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound“, and concluded that the manner of death is best deemed “suicide“.
The police investigation also revealed that a notebook with Barnett’s fingerprints were found next to him, together with “what amounts to a suicide note”, and that only his fingerprints were found on the suicide note.
Comprehensive fingerprint analysis confirmed Mr. Barnett’s fingerprints on the notebook. Three prints were inconclusive due to insufficient detail for identification. All fingerprints on the page containing the note were identified as Mr. Barnett’s.
The police also shared a photo of the handwritten suicide note, with a jumble of thoughts written in three different orientations:
I can’t do this any longer!!! Enough!! Boeing!!! Family & friends I love you all
And I wasn’t stoned when I wrote this… really!
Trump 2024
American come together or die!! I pray the motherfucker that destroyed my life pay!!! I pray Boeing pays!!!
Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying ass leaders can kiss my ass
To my family and friends, I found my purpose! I’m at peace! I love you more
P.S. The entire system for whistleblowers protection is fucked up too!!
Fact #3 : John Barnett Was Alone When He Committed Suicide
Conspiracists have been claiming or suggesting that John Barnett was somehow assassinated to prevent his testimony against Boeing, never mind the fact that his testimony is already on the record.
Fortunately, investigators were able to recover surveillance footage which showed that John Barnett was alone when he committed suicide:
On March 8, Barnett entered the Holiday Inn alone at 7:26 PM, and went to his room at 7:36 PM, and left the building by himself at 8:37 PM.
His Dodge Ram was seen backing into a parking lot at 8:45 PM, and remained stationary throughout the night, and into the morning of March 9.
No one else entered or exited the truck, and no one approached the truck, in the surveillance footage.
The truck’s brake lights blinked on and off at around 7:20 AM on March 9. A Holiday Inn worker told police officers he heard a “pop” sound that morning, but didn’t think anything of it.
Mr. Barnett’s vehicle was captured on video reversing into a parking space at 8:45 p.m., where it remained stationary until it was discovered by officers the following morning. Throughout the night, there was no video evidence of anyone interacting with the vehicle, entering it, or the vehicle leaving its parking spot.
John Barnett’s attorneys called him at around 9 AM. When he didn’t answer, they called the hotel and asked for a welfare check. Hotel employees searched the hotel and parking lot, which was when they found Barnett dead in his truck, which was locked.
Thanks to the surveillance footage, the investigators can conclusively prove that John Barnett committed suicide, and was not “assassinated” by Boeing, or the Deep State, the New World Order, the Illuminati, or the bogeyman of the day.
Fact #4 : John Barnett Had Mental Health Challenges
The Charleston County Coroner’s Office looked at John Barnett’s medical records, and interviewed his family members, attorneys, and people connected to him.
Its report described how John Bartnett was under chronic stress because of the whistleblower case, and that he was suffering from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, while grieving the 2022 death of his wife.
Regardless of what he may have told his family and friends earlier, the preponderance of evidence show that John Barnett took his own life.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Watch out for the Malaysia Airlines free flight scam, and find out why you really cannot get 6 months of free flights for just RM8.80!
Malaysia Airlines Free Flight Scam : What Is It?!
Many people are seeing advertisements on Facebook promoting a Malaysia Airlines Enrich card, which claims to offer 6 months of free flights for just RM8.80!
Malaysia Airlines Free Flight Scam : What You Must Know!
This is yet another scam circulating on Facebook, and here are reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Laws Requiring Malaysia Airlines To Sell Cheap Tickets
First, let me just point out that there is no law requiring Malaysia Airlines to sell flight tickets at such ridiculous prices.
Think about it – you can’t even get a taxi ride for RM8.80 these days, and you expect to travel for free on Malaysia Airlines for 6 months???
Even when AirAsia promoted its Unlimited Pass for domestic flights at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was priced at RM399 and had a lot of restrictions.
Fact #2 : Malaysia Airlines Called It A Scam
To convince you that it’s genuine, and not a scam, the scammers use alternate accounts to post comments, claiming that they received the card, or they confirmed with Malaysia Airlines that the offer is genuine:
I called the Malaysia Airlines hotline to clarify if this promotion exists or it is the work of scammers. The airline manager has confirmed that this is a limited promotion only for Facebook users. Now I’m waiting for my card 🔥
Well, I called up Malaysia Airlines myself, and the staff member confirmed that it is a scam. She also informed me that they received several calls about this scam.
To be clear – there is no such free flight promotion from Malaysia Airlines.
Fact #3 : Enrich Is Malaysia Airlines’ Loyalty Card
To convince you that it’s a genuine deal, the scammers use alternate accounts to post photos of the Malaysia Airlines Enrich card they allegedly received through this promotion.
The trouble is – Enrich is the frequent flyer program for Malaysia Airlines. It’s free for anyone to sign up for Enrich loyalty program and receive a card like that. There is no need to pay RM8.80 for an Enrich card.
The Blue card you see below is actually the basic tier that everyone gets when they sign up for Enrich. Only after flying multiple flights on MAS will Enrich members be able to upgrade to the Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers.
Fact #4 : Those Are Fake Enrich Cards!
If you look closely at the Enrich cards being shown by these scammers, you will notice a few problems.
None of them have the member’s name, or the membership number! They all state “Name Of Card Holder” and the Member ID is **********, making them fake Enrich cards!
On top of that, the fake Enrich cards state “Card For 6 Free Flight“. Not only is that poor grammar – flights, not flight, it also runs counter to the scam promotion, which claims to offer 6 months of free flights, not just 6 free flights!
Fact #5 : That’s Not The Official Malaysia Airlines Page
The scam is being run out of the Promotion | Malaysia Airlines page on Facebook. It is not the official Malaysia Airlines Facebook page, which is at https://www.facebook.com/malaysiaairlines/.
This fake Malaysia Airlines page is also new, apparently created on 19 March 2024.
If Malaysia Airlines has any promotion on its flights, it would be posted on its official website, or its official Facebook page. Never on a completely new Facebook page.
Fact #6 : Scam Leads To Non-MAS Website
If you click on the scam page to order the fake Malaysia Airlines free flights card, you will be taken to a website using the domain gizmoshp.store, which appears to be a placeholder page with Polish text.
It is likely that the scammers keyed in the wrong URL, or their scam page wasn’t been setup properly. Or the page may have malicious scripts.
In any case, please do NOT click on the order button, or attempt to visit this website.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is the FAA planning to eliminate white men from the aviation industry?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : FAA Plans To Eliminate White Men From Aviation Industry!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims or suggests that the FAA just admitted its plan is to eliminate white men from the aviation industry, while fast tracking disabled minorities into key roles like pilots and air traffic controllers!
Here is an excerpt from the long, and (intentionally?) rambling article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
FAA Admits Plan Is To ‘Eliminate White Men’ From Aviation Industry
A leaked Zoom call recording shows Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials admitting that the plan is to completely eliminate white men from the aviation industry while fast tracking disabled minorities into key roles like pilots and air traffic controllers.
The DailyWire’s Matt Walsh obtained the leaked Zoom call from 2022 between senior officials at the FAA’s Flight Program Operations division talking about implementing Diversity Equity and Inclusion measures in the aviation industry.
“The footage begins with FAA acting deputy chief operating officer Angela McCullough saying more workers need to go from ‘ramp to cockpit,’ meaning she wants to see more baggage handlers become airline pilots,” Walsh declared on X.
Infowars.com reports: McCullough then complains that Flight Operations is “white-male dominated” and tells the managers they need to “talk about what the future could look like.”
But the DEI insanity extends far beyond the pilots. According to Walsh, an “industry-wide embrace of overt mental illness afflicts every aspect of aviation.”
And “billions of dollars in critical grant funding” is going to DEI programs and initiatives rather than other important aspects of the industry.
This comes after the FAA announced a diversity push that would include focusing on hiring people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities.
Truth : FAA Does Not Plan To Eliminate White Men From Aviation Industry!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : FAA Is A US Federal Government Agency
Let me just start by pointing out that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a US federal government agency. It only has powers over civil aviation in the United States, and its surrounding international waters.
The FAA has no power or authority over civil aviation in the rest of the world.
It is therefore impossible for the FAA to “completely eliminate white men from the aviation industry“, even if it really wanted to do that (which it doesn’t).
Fact #2 : Video Does Not Show FAA Plan To Eliminate White Men
Nothing posted by Matt Walsh, Infowars, or The People’s Voice, show the FAA admitting to any plan to eliminate white men from the aviation industry.
The leaked video only shows what appears to be an FAA internal meeting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures that the aviation industry can adopt to make flight operations more inclusive and representative of the population.
In fact, FAA Acting Deputy Chief Operating Officer Angela McCullough is seen stating talking about potentially developing “partnerships” with university or trade schools to encourage a more diverse flight operations team.
Are there opportunities for any partnerships with universities or trade schools which specialised… we kinda talked about from ramp to cockpit. There are some things we would want to look at.
Unfortunately, the video ended abruptly at that point, which makes me wonder – could the video be missing context about what Angela McCullough was saying in that meeting?
But even without the rest of the video, you can see that Angela never once said that she or the FAA planned to eliminate white men from the aviation industry.
In fact, Matt Walsh himself did not even claim that the FAA plans to eliminate all white men from the aviation industry. So why would anyone make that claim based on his posts???
Fact #3 : There’s Nothing Wrong With Retraining People
It is uncertain what Angela McCullough meant by “from ramp to cockpit”, but it could simply mean offering people working in aviation ramp operations the opportunity to train and become pilots.
There is nothing wrong with retraining people for a different job, if that’s what the industry needs, and if they are interested and capable in the new job.
People can, and do, learn new skills to change jobs and even industries. As long as they are qualified for those new jobs, what exactly is wrong with that?
Only fools would believe that the FAA will ever let baggage handlers become airline pilots without training or passing qualification tests.
Fact #4 : Being Transgender Is Not A Mental Illness
Matt Walsh appears to suggest or claim that being transgender is an “overt mental illness”. That’s just not true.
Being transgender was once considered a psychological problem that can be treated. However, the American Psychiatric Association revised its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2012, to remove being transgender as a mental disorder.
With the release of DSM-5 in 2013, being transgender itself is no longer a mental disorder. Some transgender people are now diagnosed with “gender dysphoria”, if they face emotional stress related to their gender identity.
All psychiatric diagnoses occur within a cultural context. We know there is a whole community of people out there who are not seeking medical attention and live between the two binary categories. We wanted to send the message that the therapist’s job isn’t to pathologize. – Jack Drescher, a member of the APA subcommittee responsible for the change
Just because someone disagrees with the American Psychiatric Association’s definition, does not mean that the aviation industry is embracing “overt mental illness”.
The People’s Voice article used a photo of two young black female pilots (above). On of the off-chance that it was chosen to convey the perception that unqualified female minority pilots may soon begin putting your lives at risk, let me just say that it couldn’t be further from the truth.
The two female pilots are Captain Tara Wright, and First Officer Mallory Cave. They made made history on 13 May 2018, as the first African-American female flight crew to fly an Alaska Airlines flight from San Francisco to Portland.
Not only are they both fully-qualified pilots, Captain Wright was also the first-ever African-American female pilot to fly for US Airways, before becoming its first African-American female pilot to be promoted to Captain in 2017.
Captain Wright is only the 7th African-American woman to ever become a captain in any major airline, which points to the lack of diversity and representation in the aviation industry.
Fact #6 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Publishing Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did five SIA pilots die suddenly from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, after Singapore Airlines demanded that they get fully-vaccinated?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Five Singapore Airlines Pilots Died Suddenly From Vaccine In 7 Months!
People are sharing obituary photos of five SIA pilots, suggesting that they died suddenly from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, after Singapore Airlines demanded that they get fully-vaccinated!
aussie17 : 5th Singapore Airlines Pilot died last week in a span of 7 months.
The airline has apprx 3000 pilots. can someone calculate the odds?
Jack Straw : 5th Singapore Airlines pilot died last week in a span of 7 months
Why do you think all private jet owners and cabal elites these days only employ unvaccinated pilots?
No Evidence Any SIA Pilots Died From COVID-19 Vaccine!
It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all sudden deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Their Cause Of Death Are Unknown
First, let me just confirm that there were indeed five Singapore Airlines pilots who died between the months of May and December 2023, based on their obituaries:
However, none of their obituaries mentioned their individual cause of death. They also do not appear to have any social media accounts, or families posting about their deaths on social media.
Some netizens have claimed that Captains Wee Leong and Colin Tan died suddenly from cardiac arrest, while Captains Fernando Cid and Sebastian Tan died from cancer. It is unknown if any of those causes of death are accurate.
Until and unless Singapore Airlines, or the families of the five pilots, publicly announce their individual cause of death, anyone who tells you that they died of this or that cause is likely lying to you.
Fact #2 : No Evidence SIA Required Additional Vaccine Doses
In January 2021, Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that it hopes to become the world’s first airline to vaccinated all of its crew members against COVID-19. SIA set a deadline of September 1, and managed to vaccinate 99% of its active pilots, cabin crew and frontline ground crew by 19 August 2021.
However, there is no evidence that Singapore Airlines demanded that its pilots and cabin crew get additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of January 2024, the Singapore Ministry of Health only recommends that senior citizens 60 years and older, medically vulnerable people, and residents of aged care facilities receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine dose. Even then, that was a “recommendation”, not a requirement.
It is unlikely for Singapore Airlines to mandate additional COVID-19 vaccine doses, when the Singapore Ministry of Health did not recommend it for healthy young or middle-aged adults.
Until and unless Singapore Airlines, or the families of the four pilots, confirm it, anyone who tells you that the five SIA pilots received additional COVID-19 vaccine doses is likely lying to you.
Fact #3 : Singapore Airlines Had About 3,000 Pilots In 2022
In May 2022 (last year), SIA Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong announced that Singapore Airlines was looking to recruit 2,000 cabin crew as air travel was picking up.
While he declined to say how many pilots SIA employed in 2022, he said that the number of pilots at SIA Group is still similar to pre-COVID-19 numbers, with just “a very small number” who have left. Pre-pandemic, Singapore Airlines had about 3,200 pilots.
While it may shocking to hear that five SIA pilots died in 2023, it is not really shocking when you factor in the death rate in Singapore, which is 5.8 per 1,000 (2021).
Assuming Singapore Airlines only has 3,000 pilots, it should expect 17 of its pilots to die on a given year, or about 1.5 pilots a month. Five pilots dying in 2023 is therefore exceptionally low.
Anti-vaccine activists are holding up pilots as healthier and less likely to die than the general population. But that’s not quite true.
Past studies (example | example) and a recent April 2023 narrative review have shown that airline pilots not only die at a younger age than the general population, they are also at greater risk of suffering from cancers like malignant melanoma, cardiovascular diseases, and cataracts.
So is it
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Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Foreign visitors are now required to complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC)prior to arrival in Malaysia! Here is what you need to know…
Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) Requirement
From 1 December 2023 onwards, the Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) requires foreign visitors to complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) prior to their arrival in Malaysia.
The Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) replaces the physical white arrival card that foreign visitors usually complete before or on arrival in Malaysia.
This new rule applies to all foreign visitors, except:
people transiting / transferring through Singapore without seeking immigration clearance,
Malaysian Permanent Resident, and
Malaysian Automated Clearance System (MACS) holders
As an added benefit, foreign visitors from 10 countries can register their fingerprint at the immigration country, and will thereafter be able to use the Autogate (Egate) at Malaysian airports and other ports of entry to quickly get through immigration!
Australia
Brunei
Germany
Japan
South Korea
New Zealand
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
United States
United Kingdom
But please note that the MDAC is not a visa. Neither is it an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) that some countries use to pre-register visitors for multiple entries.
All foreign visitors (except those who were explicitly exempted above) will need to register for the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) for the first time.
Enrol for the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) at this official link.
Complete and submit the MDAC within three days (3) prior to your arrival in Malaysia.
You will be required to fill in these information:
a) Full name
b) Passport number
c) Nationality
d) Sex
e) Date of Birth
f) Date of Passport Expiry
g) Email address
h) Mobile Number
i) Date of Arrival : Must be within 3 days (including date of submission)
j) Date of Departure
k) Mode of Travel : Air / Land / Sea
l) Last Port of Embarkation
On arrival in Malaysia, you will need to enroll and verify your passport manually at the Malaysian Immigration Department counter.
After that manual enrolment, you will be allowed to use the Egate autogate system when you depart Malaysia.
On Subsequent Visits
On subsequent visits, foreign visitors will need to:
Complete and submit the MDAC within three days (3) prior to your arrival in Malaysia.
Use the Autogate system on arrival and departure
As you can see, the new Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) does more than just eliminate waste and improve efficiency through digital transformation of the physical arrival card. It also streamlines the immigration process for foreign visitors, and allows some of them to breeze through using the Egate system!
But again – please note that you can only submit the MDAC within 3 days of your trip, and this includes the date of submission.
Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) : Other Important Things
Here are other things about the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card that may be important:
You can check the status of your MDAC registration information here.
You can check the visit pass record for the latest 3 months here.
You can check your Egate eligibility status here. *
* Please note that Egate eligibility is only open to business and social travellers from these 10 countries, who have an e-Passport, and will only start after you have enrolled your fingerprints (biometric verification) at the immigration counter.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
From tomorrow onwards, citizens from 6 countries will start enjoying visa-free travel to China for 15 days! Here is what you need to know!
China Offers Visa-Free Travel For 6 New Countries!
China will start offering visa-free travel to 6 additional countries on a trial basis, starting on 1 December 2023.
On Friday, 24 November 2023, China announced that citizens from these 6 countries will enjoy visa-free travel for up to 15 days:
France
Germany
Italy
The Netherlands
Spain
Malaysia
These six countries will join Singapore, Japan, and Brunei, whose citizens already enjoy visa-free travel to China for up to 15 days.
According to Chinese government spokesperson Mao Ning, China has taken this step to help “promote the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world“.
This visa-free travel for those 6 countries, however, is a trial that will last from 1 December 2023 until 30 November 2024. This trial program may or may not be extended after that.
China Visa-Free Travel To Hopefully Revive Tourism
Travellers to China are generally required to apply for a visa. China is hoping that offering visa-free travel to certain favoured countries will help to revive its tourism industry that has been hard-hit by strict COVID-19 measures in the past 3 years.
China had the world’s strictest COVID-19 measures, maintaining them long after the rest of the world reopened. Even when the Chinese government decided to reopen its borders, it required inbound travellers to quarantine, which discouraged travel
It was only in March 2023 that China began issuing all types of travel visas again, and in July that it restored the 15-day visa-free travel for Singapore, Japan and Brunei. In August, China finally scrapped all COVID-19 test requirements for inbound travellers.
With visa-free travel removing the onerous application for a Chinese travel visa, it is likely that there will be tourists and business visitors who will take opportunity of the one-year trial to visit China. The only question is whether it is a surge, or merely a tiny bump.
After all, potential travellers would need to worry about the lack of access to essential apps like Google Maps, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. as well as popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. There is also the risk of being detained in China, and prevented from returning home.
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China just announced that citizens from 6 countries will enjoy visa-free travel for 15 days! Here is what you need to know!
China : Visa-Free Travel For 6 Countries!
On Friday, 24 November 2023, China announced that citizens from these 6 countries will enjoy visa-free travel for up to 15 days:
France
Germany
Italy
The Netherlands
Spain
Malaysia
These six countries will join Singapore, Japan and Brunei, whose citizens already enjoy visa-free travel to China for up to 15 days.
According to Chinese government spokesperson Mao Ning, China has taken this step to help “promote the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world“.
This visa-free travel for those 6 countries, however, is a trial that will last from 1 December 2023 until 30 November 2024. This trial program may or may not be extended after that.
Travellers to China are generally required to apply for a visa. China appears to be trying out this visa-free travel option to revive its tourism industry that has been hard-hit by strict COVID-19 measures in the past 3 years.
China had the world’s strictest COVID-19 measures, maintaining them long after the rest of the world reopened. Even when the Chinese government decided to reopen its borders, it required inbound travellers to quarantine, which discouraged travel
It was only in March 2023 that China began issuing all types of travel visas again, and in July that it restored the 15-day visa-free travel for Singapore, Japan and Brunei. In August, China finally scrapped all COVID-19 test requirements for inbound travellers.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did a senior Ukrainian pilot just defect to Russia with his Su-27 fighter loaded with NATO missiles, and electronics?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Ukrainian Su-27 Pilot Defected To Russia
People are sharing two photos of a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet, claiming / suggesting that it was just flown to Russia by a defecting Ukrainian flight commander, fully-loaded with NATO missiles, radar, and electronic warfare equipment.
A Ukrainian “flight commander” flew a SU-27 jet over the Russian border and landed in one of our bases.
Can’t wait for the F-16…
Intelligence FRONT : A senior pilot who served as a squadron commander in the Ukrainian Air Force escaped with a Su-27 jet and took refuge in Russia. It is said that the pilot arrived with a large amount of information, documents and some intact western-made missiles, radar and electronic warfare pod on the plane. This is the first time such an incident has occurred, and the fact that the incoming pilot is a high-ranking figure with plenty of documentation, and that the planes are already NATO integrated and carry NATO equipment and missiles, constitutes a historical opportunity for the Russians regarding NATO air equipment and missiles. It was also a chance to obtain extensive information about the situation of the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense forces, as well as NATO activities in the country.
US Civil Defense News :🚨Update: Ukrainian flight captain decided he wanted to live and defected to Russia, flying and landing his fighter jet in Russia. They realize the war is over. They lost. It’s time to move on!!!
No Evidence Ukrainian Su-27 Pilot Defected To Russia!
This appears to be another example of FAKE NEWS / VATNIK PROPAGANDA circulating on X (formerly Twitter), and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Photos Were Taken At RIAT 1996
First, let me just point out that the claim or suggestion that a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet with the tail number 48 just defected to Russia is definitely false.
The two photos of the same Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft with the tail number 48 were not taken recently, or even in Ukraine or Russia.
The photos are of a Ukrainian Su-27S at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) show, was held at RAF Fairfore in Gloucestershire in the UK. They were taken in July 1996 – more than 27 years ago!
The photo above was taken by Mike Freer, who captioned it as a Ukrainian Su-27S “departing RIAT 96”.
The photo below was taken by Peter Fothergill, who took his photo on 19 July 1996, but only uploaded it to the AirFighters website on 1 September 2020.
Fact #2 : No Evidence Of Pilot Defecting With Su-27
Claims that a senior Ukrainian officer or flight commander defected to Russia with a Su-27 fighter jet loaded with NATO missiles and electronics have been circulating on X (formerly Twitter) since 18 November 2023.
However, none of those who posted the news have actually provided any evidence that such a defection took place.
The defection of a senior Ukrainian pilot would have been major news, especially if he flew a Su-27 fighter jet loaded with NATO missiles and electronics to Russia. Yet, Russian news media have not mentioned such a stunning development.
The claims appear to be based on a short report by the Russian state news agency, TASS. On 18 November 2023, TASS reported that a Ukrainian military pilot defected to Russia.
According to Alexey Voyevoda – a Ka-52 helicopter pilot who organised the flight, the pilot is now “consulting with the Federal Security Service”.
MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. A military pilot of the Ukrainian armed forces has defected to Russia, a Ka-52 helicopter pilot, who organized the flight, told TASS.
“The Ukrainian military pilot is in Russia, consulting with the Federal Security Service,” Alexey Voyevoda said.
Voyevoda explained that he cannot yet disclose the details of this operation.
You will note that the TASS report never said that it was a senior pilot, or a flight commander. It also never said that the pilot flew to Russia with a Su-27 fighter jet, much less one loaded with NATO missiles or electronics.
Fact #4 : Ka-52 Extraction Is Plausible
The Kamov Ka-52 Alligator (Hokum B) is a two-seater helicopter, seating a pilot and a gunner side-by-side.
While it is not capable of carrying any passengers, it is possible for a Ka-52 pilot like Alexey Voyevoda to fly into Ukraine without a gunner, to extract a defecting Ukrainian pilot.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did a Grab delivery rider really fly from Thailand to buy chicken rice in Singapore?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Grab Delivery Rider Flew To Singapore To Buy Chicken Rice!
A TikTok video, which allegedly shows a Grab delivery rider flying from Thailand to Singapore, simply to buy chicken rice, has racked up millions of views.
The 27-second video was recorded and posted by a Thai TikToker called Thita Vy, with these comments:
I want to eat Tokyo snacks.Will he go buy it in Japan for me? #grab #grabth
She apparently encountered this Grab delivery rider, while flying from Bangkok to Singapore. At first, she thought someone had ordered food delivery at the airport. But the man allegedly told her that he had been asked by a customer in Thailand to buy chicken rice in Singapore!
The viral video shows the man queuing up for the flight with the signature green Grab thermal bag, while holding a passport with his flight ticket. He is then shown stowing the thermal bag in the plane’s overhead compartment.
Truth : That’s Not (Really) A Grab Delivery Rider!
Now, we all know that chicken rice in Malaysia is tastier (and much cheaper!) than chicken rice in Singapore, Heck, everything is tastier and cheaper in Malaysia! 😉
In fact, Malaysian food is so delicious, someone actually sent a helicopter to collect 36 packets of Nasi Ganja from a famous nasi kandar outlet Ipoh in July 2021! But I digress…
Here is what we know so far about this viral story about chicken rice…
Fact #1 : Video Was Allegedly Recorded At DMK
According to the media outlet, 8world, the TikToker alleged that the incident occurred on 12 October 2023, at the Don Mueang International Airport.
That is plausible because the video shows people boarding an AirAsia flight, and AirAsia flies from the Bangkok Don Mueang Airport (DMK) to Changi International Airport (SIN) several times a day.
Fact #2 : The Man Flew From Bangkok To Singapore
The video shows the man holding a Thai passport, as he is waiting to board the AirAsia flight. It then cuts to the Changi International Airport, where the man is seen checking the green Grab thermal bag.
So the video does appear to show the man taking an AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Singapore. It, however, does not show him actually purchasing any chicken rice.
Fact #3 : Grab Labelled Video As Fictional
After the video went viral, Grab came out to refute the video, calling it “fictional”:
We understand that the fictional video was created by a member of the public independently.
Fact #4 : Man Was Not A Registered Grab Delivery Rider
In addition, a Grab spokesperson said that it does not offer cross-border food delivery services, and the man in the video was not registered with them as “a delivery partner”:
We do not offer such a service, and the person starring as a delivery partner in the video is not registered with Grab.
It is certainly plausible for rich folks to go to extreme measures to get their favourite foods. For example, Macau tycoon Stanley Ho famously sent 88 Musang King (Mao Shan Wang) durians on a private plane from Singapore to Hong Kong. Note – the durians were from Malaysia. 😉
That said, it doesn’t make sense for the man to put on a Grab uniform, or bring the Grab thermal bag… especially if he isn’t actually a Grab delivery rider!
Fact #5 : Grab Does Not Offer Cross-Border Food Deliveries
Grab said that it does not offer cross-border food deliveries. The only cross-border delivery service Grab offers is its 100+ Cities Delivery service, which is in beta testing.
Even that option only allows users to “order and send food and physical gifts from GrabFood and GrabMart merchant-partners that are available in the recipient’s city within an hour”.
In other words – the food and physical gifts must already be present in the recipient’s city. The only thing that is “cross-border” is the ability to order from another country.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Truth : Viral Video Does Not Show Bangkok Mall Shooting!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Video Was Posted In Douyin
I traced the video that was posted to Douyin – China’s version of TikTok. The original poster (OP) is a Douyin user called Master ho (@yzz945201314), and here is the direct link to the video.
Fact #2 : Video Was Posted In August 2023
Master ho posted the video on 9 August 2023. The Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok only occurred on 3 October 2023 – almost two months later.
So there is simply impossible for the viral video to be of the Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok.
Fact #3 : Video Was Recorded In Phuket In June 2023
Even though the viral video was only posted to Douyin in August, it was originally recorded more than a month earlier – on Friday, 28 June 2023.
It was also not recorded in the Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok. Rather, it was recorded in the Domestic Terminal of the Phuket International Airport.
If you look carefully at the video, you will notice the airport check-in counters, and people carrying luggages. The video was obviously recorded at an airport, and not a mall.
Fact #4 : Siam Paragon Shooter Was Only Armed With Pistol
The Siam Paragon mall shooter was an unnamed 14 year-old teenager from the nearby private secondary school – The Essence.
The boy was only armed with a modified Glock 9mm pistol, and did not have any long guns with him.
The shooter in the viral video was not only armed with a handgun, he also had what looked like an automatic rifle.
Fact #5 : It Was An Active Shooter Drill
The viral video does not show any actual crime, or gun violence taking place. It was an emergency security drill to simulate a response to an “active shooter” in the Phuket International Airport. In the photo above, you can even see a man taking photos or videos of the drill!
The drill was called “Full-scal exercise of Phuket International Airport Emergency Plan (PEMEX 2023), and conducted on the second floor of the Domestic Terminal, at around 11 PM – -after boarding for the final departing domestic flight had cleared the area.
The exercise was designed to simulate the coordinated response of security and anti-terrorism personnel to an active shooter taking hostages in the domestic terminal area. Thai agencies and personnel that took part in this PEMEX 2023 exercise included:
Thai Provincial Police Region 8
Sakhu Police
Phuket Airline Operations Committee (AOC)
Airports of Thailand ground service company (AOTGA)
Airports of Thailand private security company (AOT AVSEC)
Vachira Phuket Hospital
Phuket Provincial Public Health Office
Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (OrBorTor) for Mai Khao, Sakhu, and Thepkrasattri.
The truth is – anyone who analyses the video will realise that there are many “issues” with this video:
the gunshots do not sound like real gunshots
gunshots ring out even when the gunman isn’t shooting
none of the victims are bleeding
the person recording the video is bravely standing up to record the video for almost 2.5 minutes
the person recording the video can be heard laughing at around 0:18 in the video
at around 1:30, another man can be seen recording the scene from the upper floor
Fact #7 : OP Likely Reposted From A Different Source
The Douyin poster, Master ho, does not appear to be the person recording the video. He mistakenly labelled the location as Songkhla Airport – more accurately known as the Hat Yai International Airport in the Songkhla Province.
泰国宋卡机场发生枪击事件，听说是演习农 因 因 因
A shooting incident occurred at Songkhla Airport in Thailand. It was said that it an exercise.
However, he clearly stated in the description, and his subsequent comments, that it was just a drill.
Whoever copied this video from his Douyin account is certainly aware that the video was of an airport drill, and posted almost 3 months earlier.
The only conclusion we can draw from this is that – whoever copied the video to share in October 2023, is intentionally trying to mislead people.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Infowars has been proven wrong about its claims that the Biden Administration will introduce a face mask mandate in September 2023!
Claim : Biden Admin Will Order Face Mask Mandate!
People have been sharing an Infowars article which claimed that the Biden Administration will order a new face mask mandate for TSA and airport employees, followed by “full Covid lockdowns“. Here is an excerpt:
Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers
The Biden regime is preparing to reinstate full COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with masking mandates for TSA and airport employees reportedly as early as mid-September, Infowars first to report.
A high-level TSA official reached out to Infowars, detailing a Tuesday meeting where TSA managers were informed of new memorandums and policies that would reimplement mask-wearing.
These policies will reinstate the mask mandate for TSA and airport employees starting in mid-September.
The official added that by mid-October, mask-wearing will be mandated for pilots, flight staff, passengers, and all airport patrons.
Following this disclosure from the TSA official, Infowars reached out to a trusted Border Patrol source, also in a managerial position.
This source corroborated the directives, confirming that similar measures were being planned for Border Patrol personnel.
“They were told it was not a matter of “if” but “when” official Covid numbers will go back up and they expect by mid-October a return to forced-masking policies that the Biden administration previously only reluctantly ended after massive pressure,” Infowars reported.
Infowars Proven Wrong About Biden Face Mask Mandate!
Infowars first claimed on August 18, 2023, that TSA and Border whistleblowers leaked information about a rollout of “full Covid restrictions”, which would include a face mask mandate in September, followed by full Covid lockdowns in December.
Well, it is now October 3, 2023, and there is nary a sight of any face mask mandate for TSA or airport employees in the United States. Infowars has been proven WRONG yet again.
Frankly, that’s hardly surprising. Alex Jones and/or Infowars never actually showed any evidence that the Biden Administration is planning to introduce a face mask mandate for air travel, much less full COVID-19 restrictions which would include lockdowns.
If you watch the video above, you can see that Alex Jones has a ton of paper on his table. Unfortunately, none of them were the leaked memorandum or policy documents from his TSA and Border Patrol whistleblowers.
Rather, they appear to be nothing more than printed copies of news articles! Alex Jones never showed any evidence of the “planned COVID-19 protocols” that were supposed to roll out in the middle of September 2023.
And it’s already October 2023, without a single TSA agent or Border Patrol officer required to wear a face mask in the United States.
I should point out that lockdowns are, frankly, no longer necessary because a combination of vaccines and prior infections have given people significant protection against COVID-19 infections.
Even though cases are spiking due to new variants (which are more adept at evading protection), hospitals and healthcare workers are no longer overloaded with COVID-19 patients. In fact, there has been multiple waves of new COVID-19 variants, but they have not necessitated new lockdowns.
That’s why the WHO itself declared on 5 May 2023 that COVID-19 as a whole is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Instead, COVID-19 is now considered “an established and ongoing health issue“.
Finally, I should also point out that any order for a face mask mandate on public transportation, including airlines, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, not the TSA or Border Control.
It was the US CDC that issued the first and only face mask mandate for public transportation in the United States (PDF download) on January 29, 2021. The TSA and Border Control had nothing to do with that, but only issued their own directives to comply with the CDC order.
However, the CDC face mask mandate was made “unenforceable” by court order on April 18, 2022, and expired when the Biden Administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.
If the CDC ever issues another face mask mandate, it seems inevitable that it would be challenged in court, and made “unenforceable” by another court order. So what really is this panic over a “future” face mask mandate?
I should also point out that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers all over the world have had no issues wearing face masks to protect themselves and their patients. Seriously, stop being such a wuss.
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Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are Japanese airports now empty after Chinese tourists boycotted Japan over the release of the radioactive Fukushima waste water?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Japanese Airports Now Empty After Chinese Boycott!
People are sharing a TikTok video which claims that Japanese airports are now empty after Chinese tourists boycott Japan over the release of the radioactive Fukushima waste water!
Chinese tourists start boycotting Japan and Japanese international airport is so empty. 80% tax free stores are shutting down and hundreds employees are losing jobs. Also planned flights are cancelled because of not enough travellers to make airplane take off.
Japanese airports losing Chinese tourists How desolate is it? It feels like it’s really getting “cold”! Flights are almost always late! There is no huge purchasing power of the Chinese people For Japan’s airports and tourism industry It’s basically equivalent to a devastating blow 80% of shops in the airport have been closed Even go bankrupt Only a few stores are left to hold on. Japan’s largest duty-free shop facing the Chinese has closed down In the past, all the shops in Japanese airports basically spoke Chinese. Moreover, it is overcrowded and even the checkout line has to wait for half an hour. Now I can’t even see a ghost Not a single passenger said anything You can’t even see the staff One of the busiest airports in the world It’s basically cold in Japanese airports now When I took this video This should be the busiest time However, I became the only customer in the whole place My friend used to work at a Japanese airport All are now unemployed Japan is not opening up the country Estimate Japan’s tourism industry And the aviation industry is really going to die.
Japanese Airports Are Not Empty + There’s No Chinese Boycott!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima NPS, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Evidence Japanese Airports Are Empty
First, let me just point out that the viral video does not actually show any evidence that Japanese airports are now empty because Chinese tourists boycotted Japan over the release of the Fukushima treated waste water.
There are many videos showing empty Japanese airports like Narita and Haneda during the COVID-19 pandemic. The viral TikTok video could easily be a mishmash of those videos.
Unfortunately, the TikTok video creator covered up the video with text too much for me to trace the original videos. But it looks like a compilation of different videos.
Fact #2 : Chinese Account For 10% Of Travellers To Japan
Even if there is an unofficial Chinese travel boycott to Japan, it wouldn’t make Japanese airports empty, or force shops to close.
While that makes Chinese tourists the second largest group of foreign tourists to Japan, a complete boycott wouldn’t make Japanese airports look like a ghost town, or force their shops to close down.
Fact #3 : At Least Part Of Video Was Recorded On 12 October
Although the TikTok video creator tried to mask any identifiable features in the video, he/she let something slip.
If you look closely at the date on the flight information display that showed flight cancellations, the date was 12 October.
The year is not listed, but it is only 6 September 2023 today, and the Fukushima-Daiichi NPS only started to release its waste water on 24 August 2023.
Unless the TikTok video creator has a time machine, he/she used at least one video recorded on 12 October from past years. It may not even be as recent as the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
For example, many airlines cancelled flights in or out of Japan from 11-13 October 2019, when Super Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan.
Fact #4 : Subtitles Suggest Video Was Before Japan Reopened Borders
On the other hand, the final three Chinese subtitles in the video suggest that the video was recorded before Japan reopened its borders on 11 October 2022.
Japan is not opening up the country Estimate Japan’s tourism industry And the aviation industry is really going to die.
日本在不开国 估计日本的旅游业 和航空业真的要完蛋
Fact #5 : No Evidence Of Chinese Travel Boycott
In any case, there is no evidence of any Chinese travel boycott, whether official or unofficial. Many airlines are still flying people from China to Japan.
I checked to see how many flights there are from Chinese cities to a single airport from 11 September to 17 September 2023.
Instead of seeing a dearth of flights since there is a Chinese boycott, I counted no less than 158 flights from Chinese cities to Narita International Airport over 1 week!
That’s an average of 22.5 flights per day from China to Narita International Airport. And that’s just one airport in Japan. What boycott???
Fact #6 : Many Narita Airport Shops Do Not Open 24/7
The viral TikTok video appears to show that the Dior and LEGO stores are shuttered and closed at the Narita International Airport. But did they really close down as the video claims?
The truth is – not all shops inside the Narita or Haneda airports open 24/7. Dior at Narita Airport, for example, opens from 7:30 AM until 9 PM daily. The LEGO Store at Narita Airport only opens from from 9 AM until 7 PM.
If you land late at night, you will be able to record a similar video showing both shops closed. Does that mean that they shut down because of a Chinese boycott? Obviously, not.
Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is the Biden Administration preparing to reinstate FULL COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with face mask mandates in mid-September 2023?! Find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-30 : Added video fact check, and other updates Originally posted @ 2023-08-25
Claim : Biden Admin Is Reinstating Full COVID Lockdowns!
People are sharing an article by The Gateway Pundit, which claims that the Biden Administration is preparing to reinstate FULL COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with face mask mandates in mid-September 2023!
The article is pretty long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers
The Biden regime is preparing to reinstate full COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with masking mandates for TSA and airport employees reportedly as early as mid-September, Infowars first to report.
A high-level TSA official reached out to Infowars, detailing a Tuesday meeting where TSA managers were informed of new memorandums and policies that would reimplement mask-wearing.
These policies will reinstate the mask mandate for TSA and airport employees starting in mid-September.
The official added that by mid-October, mask-wearing will be mandated for pilots, flight staff, passengers, and all airport patrons.
Following this disclosure from the TSA official, Infowars reached out to a trusted Border Patrol source, also in a managerial position.
This source corroborated the directives, confirming that similar measures were being planned for Border Patrol personnel.
“They were told it was not a matter of “if” but “when” official Covid numbers will go back up and they expect by mid-October a return to forced-masking policies that the Biden administration previously only reluctantly ended after massive pressure,” Infowars reported.
The news outlet added, “Both whistleblowers were told this rollout will be in tandem with the new Covid “variant” hysteria that the MSM has been reporting on this week.”
The media is now pushing for another lockdown. Another fear porn from the so-called health experts and media just in time for the next election. The same old playbook.
No Evidence Biden Administration Is Reinstating COVID Lockdowns!
The Gateway Pundit was basically just summarising what Infowars claimed, and here is what you need to know:
Fact #1 : Infowars Is Notorious Fake News Website
First, let me just point out that Infowars is notorious for posting conspiracy theories and fake news.
2020 study by four universities – Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers, found that Infowars was amongst the top 5 most shared websites for COVID-19 fake news.
Infowars is listed as #4 on the Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites list.
Infowars video editor Josh Owens admitted to intentionally creating misleading videos – “It’s not about truth, it’s not about accuracy — it’s about what’s going to make people click on this video…In essence, we lied.“
Both Alex Jones and Infowars have been subjected to multiple lawsuits, losing them one after another. In December 2022, he and the Infowars parent company was ordered to pay about $1.5 billion for spreading lies about the 2002 Sandy Hook mass shooting.
Based on its reputation, everything posted by InfoWars should be considered as FAKE NEWS until proven otherwise.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from InfoWars. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Fact #2 : Alex Jones + Infowars Provided No Evidence
If you watch the Infowars video where Alex Jones detailed the “exclusive news” that the Biden Administration is planning to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions, you may be forgiven for thinking that all those papers on his table are leaked memorandum and policy documents that TSA and Border Patrol whistleblowers provided.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case. While there is A TON of papers on his massive table, they appear to be nothing more than printed copies of news articles. Alex Jones never showed any evidence of the “planned COVID-19 protocols” that will roll out in the middle of September 2023.
It’s easy to make outlandish claims, it’s quite another thing to back them with actual evidence. Needless to say, Infowars offered ZERO evidence to back up its claims.
Fact #3 : Lockdowns Were Necessary Because There Was No Vaccine
In his video, Alex Jones said that his whistleblowers were told to expect “a return to the full COVID protocol of 2020/2021” by December 2023.
The problem with that claim is that many governments implemented lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, because there was no treatment and vaccines were not yet invented or available in sufficient quantities.
Lockdowns were used as a way to limit transmission, and prevent hospitals and healthcare workers from being overloaded with COVID-19 patients.
Now that many people have some protection from a prior infection, or from COVID-19 vaccines, there has been no new need for governments to implement new lockdowns. In fact, there has been multiple waves of new COVID-19 variants, but they have not necessitated new lockdowns.
So the claim that the Biden Administration is going to implement COVID-19 lockdowns in December 2023 over the new Eris EG.5 variant is not supported by the prevailing evidence.
Fact #4 : WHO Declared COVID-19 Is No Longer PHEIC
It is interesting that the whistleblowers mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) may declare (an emergency?) over the new EG.5 Eris variant.
For one thing, the WHO itself declared on 5 May 2023 that COVID-19 as a whole is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Instead, COVID-19 is now considered “an established and ongoing health issue“.
Fact #5 : Eris Variant Is Not More Dangerous
The WHO has been monitoring the new EG.5 “Eris” variant, designating it as a “variant of interest”. However, that does not mean Eris is a more dangerous variant.
According to the WHO, the EG. 5 variant has increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, but…
presents a low public health risk at a global level, and
has no reported changes in disease severity to date
While it is possible that EG.5 / Eris will become the dominant COVID-19 variant moving into the winter months of 2023, it has the same symptoms and severity as past variants.
Fact #6 : New Vaccines Are Coming In September 2023
Even if the Eris / EG.5 becomes dominant, it is unlikely for the United States to require lockdowns in December 2023, because new COVID-19 vaccines coming in September will offer better protection against it.
From late September 2023 onwards, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are introducing new COVID-19 vaccines that will target XBB variants. As EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage, the new vaccines are expected to offer better protection against this new variant.
EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage and is more closely related to the XBB variants than it is to previous vaccine strains.
For this reason, the expectation is that the reformulated vaccines that will be available this fall will offer better protection to EG.5 than previous vaccines.
– Justin Lessler, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
In short, there really isn’t a need for new lockdowns, because the improved COVID-19 vaccines are already coming in the fall of 2023.
Fact #7 : Biden Administration Does Not Want New Lockdowns
I should now point out that it is against the Biden Administration’s interest to implement new lockdowns, which would cripple the economy. In fact, the Biden Administration mentioned this when it released its National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan (PDF download) in March 2022.
The path forward in the fight against COVID-19 is clear: schools, workers, and workplaces have resources and guidance to prevent shutdowns.
Finally, I should also point out that any order for a face mask mandate on public transportation, including airlines, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, not the TSA or Border Control.
It was the US CDC that issued the first and only face mask mandate for public transportation in the United States (PDF download) on January 29, 2021. The TSA and Border Control had nothing to do with that, but only issued their own directives to comply with the CDC order.
However, the CDC face mask mandate was made “unenforceable” by court order on April 18, 2022, and expired when the Biden Administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.
If the CDC ever issues another face mask mandate, it seems inevitable that it would be challenged in court, and made “unenforceable” by another court order. So what really is this panic over a “future” face mask mandate?
I should also point out that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers all over the world have had no issues wearing face masks to protect themselves and their patients. Seriously, stop being such a wuss.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is the Biden Administration preparing to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions beginning in mid-September 2023?! Find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-24 : Added a fact check video, updated parts of the article Originally posted @ 2023-08-19
Claim : Biden Admin Bringing Back Full COVID Restrictions!
People are sharing an InfoWars article which claims that the Biden Administration is preparing to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions, beginning in mid-September 2023!
The article is pretty long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
EXCLUSIVE: Biden Admin Preparing to Bring Back FULL Covid Restrictions, Rollout to Begin Mid-September
Whistleblowers from the TSA and Border Patrol have raised the alarm to Infowars that the Biden administration is setting the stage for full Covid lockdowns that will begin with incremental restrictions like masking TSA employees in mid-September.
The first source, a high-level TSA official confirmed and known to Infowars, reached out to Infowars and cited a Tuesday meeting in which TSA managers were told new memorandums & policies were being completed that would reimplement masking, starting with TSA & airport employees as early as mid-September.
The TSA official also said next week they will receive new guidelines on how the policy will escalate: by mid-October, mask-wearing will be required by pilots, flight staff, passengers, and airport patrons.
After hearing from the TSA manager, Infowars reached out to our trusted Border Patrol source who is also a manager. This source confirmed the same directives were being given to Border Patrol.
They were told it was not a matter of “if” but “when” official Covid numbers will go back up and they expect by mid-October a return to forced-masking policies that the Biden administration previously only reluctantly ended after massive pressure.
Both whistleblowers were told this rollout will be in tandem with the new Covid “variant” hysteria that the MSM has been reporting on this week.
Infowars’ analysis is clear: this new rollout’s timing is perfect for the embattled Biden administration to put the country back in a state of civil emergency and even martial law to further divide and confuse the public and move forward with the greatest election meddling in history.
Many times, Alex Jones has warned that the system will bring back biomedical tyranny. And the launch of this new crisis in September will allow a build-up of control that would allow the use of mail-in ballots for the next presidential election.
Remember, mail-in ballots were decisive for Biden’s victory last election.
We now know the Covid lockdowns were an international psychological warfare operation run by the Ministry of Defense and Pentagon.
Countries worldwide implemented fear campaigns for political purposes and to push experimental shots.
But this time around, the masses have awakened to the globalist playbook of conquest, and may not be as receptive to MSM hysteria.
Simply put, the Deep State is getting desperate and is behaving like a cornered animal.
No Evidence Biden Administration Is Bringing Back COVID Restrictions!
Let’s take a look at what Infowars just claimed, and find out what the facts really are!
Fact #1 : InfoWars Is Notorious Fake News Website
First, let me just point out that InfoWars is notorious for posting conspiracy theories and fake news.
2020 study by four universities – Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers, found that InfoWars was amongst the top 5 most shared websites for COVID-19 fake news.
InfoWars is listed as #4 on the Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites list.
InfoWars video editor Josh Owens admitted to intentionally creating misleading videos – “It’s not about truth, it’s not about accuracy — it’s about what’s going to make people click on this video…In essence, we lied.“
Both Alex Jones and InfoWars have been subjected to multiple lawsuits, losing them one after another. In December 2022, he and the InfoWars parent company was ordered to pay about $1.5 billion for spreading lies about the 2002 Sandy Hook mass shooting.
Based on its reputation, everything posted by InfoWars should be considered as FAKE NEWS until proven otherwise.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from InfoWars. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Fact #2 : Alex Jones + InfoWars Provided No Evidence
If you watch the InfoWars video where Alex Jones detailed the “exclusive news” that the Biden Administration is planning to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions, you may be forgiven for thinking that all those papers on his table were leaked memorandum and policy documents that TSA and Border Patrol whistleblowers provided.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case. While there is A TON of papers on his massive table, they appear to be nothing more than printed copies of news articles. Alex Jones never showed any evidence of the “planned COVID-19 protocols” that will roll out in the middle of September 2023.
It’s easy to make outlandish claims, it’s quite another thing to back them with actual evidence. Needless to say, InfoWars offered ZERO evidence to back up its claims.
Fact #3 : Lockdowns Were Necessary Because There Was No Vaccine
In his video, Alex Jones said that his whistleblowers were told to expect “a return to the full COVID protocol of 2020/2021” by December 2023.
The problem with that claim is that many governments implemented lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, because there was no treatment and vaccines were not yet invented or available in sufficient quantities.
Lockdowns were used as a way to limit transmission, and prevent hospitals and healthcare workers from being overloaded with COVID-19 patients.
Now that many people have some protection from a prior infection, or from COVID-19 vaccines, there has been no new need for governments to implement new lockdowns. In fact, there has been multiple waves of new COVID-19 variants, but they have not necessitated new lockdowns.
So the claim that the Biden Administration is going to implement COVID-19 lockdowns in December 2023 over the new Eris EG.5 variant is not supported by the prevailing evidence.
Fact #4 : WHO Declared COVID-19 Is No Longer PHEIC
It is interesting that the whistleblowers mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) may declare (an emergency?) over the new EG.5 Eris variant.
For one thing, the WHO itself declared on 5 May 2023 that COVID-19 as a whole is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Instead, COVID-19 is now considered “an established and ongoing health issue“.
Fact #5 : Eris Variant Is Not More Dangerous
The WHO has been monitoring the new EG.5 “Eris” variant, designating it as a “variant of interest”. However, that does not mean Eris is a more dangerous variant.
According to the WHO, the EG. 5 variant has increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, but…
presents a low public health risk at a global level, and
has no reported changes in disease severity to date
While it is possible that EG.5 / Eris will become the dominant COVID-19 variant moving into the winter months of 2023, it has the same symptoms and severity as past variants.
Fact #6 : New Vaccines Are Coming In September 2023
Even if the Eris / EG.5 becomes dominant, it is unlikely for the United States to require lockdowns in December 2023, because new COVID-19 vaccines coming in September will offer better protection against it.
From late September 2023 onwards, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are introducing new COVID-19 vaccines that will target XBB variants. As EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage, the new vaccines are expected to offer better protection against this new variant.
EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage and is more closely related to the XBB variants than it is to previous vaccine strains.
For this reason, the expectation is that the reformulated vaccines that will be available this fall will offer better protection to EG.5 than previous vaccines.
– Justin Lessler, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
In short, there really isn’t a need for new lockdowns, because the improved COVID-19 vaccines are already coming in the fall of 2023.
Fact #7 : Biden Administration Does Not Want New Lockdowns
I should now point out that it is against the Biden Administration’s interest to implement new lockdowns, which would cripple the economy. In fact, the Biden Administration mentioned this when it released its National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan (PDF download) in March 2022.
The path forward in the fight against COVID-19 is clear: schools, workers, and workplaces have resources and guidance to prevent shutdowns.
Finally, I should also point out that any order for a face mask mandate on public transportation, including airlines, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, not the TSA or Border Control.
It was the US CDC that issued the first and only face mask mandate for public transportation in the United States (PDF download) on January 29, 2021. The TSA and Border Control had nothing to do with that, but only issued their own directives to comply with the CDC order.
However, the CDC face mask mandate was made “unenforceable” by court order on April 18, 2022, and expired when the Biden Administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.
If the CDC ever issues another face mask mandate, it seems inevitable that it would be challenged in court, and made “unenforceable” by another court order. So what really is this panic over a “future” face mask mandate?
I should also point out that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers all over the world have had no issues wearing face masks to protect themselves and their patients. Seriously, stop being such a wuss.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 die suddenly from the COVID-19 vaccine during the flight?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!
Some people are suggesting or claiming that the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 died suddenly mid-flight due to a COVID-19 vaccine injury or SADS!
William Makis MD : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!
Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died!
2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK! #DiedSuddenly #cdnpoli #ableg
Stew Peters : ANOTHER pilot #DiedSuddenly, MID FLIGHT. Qatar Airlines vaxxed all their pilots, evidently.
#PureBloods will rule the world one day soon.
Jack Straw : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!
Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died! 2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK!
No Evidence Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!
It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to blame all sudden deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Here are the reasons why this is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists…
Fact #1 : Qatar Airways Pilot Was Passenger Aboard QR579
First, let me just point out that the pilot who died aboard Qatar Airways flight QR579 was not the senior pilot for that flight. He was aboard the flight as a passenger.
To be clear – Qatar Airways flight QR579 was never in any danger during the tragic incident. It was not one of its two pilots who had a medical emergency and died.
Fact #2 : He Died Onboard Qatar Airways QR579
On August 16, 2023, Qatar Airways flight QR579 took off from Delhi, heading towards Doha. 30 minutes into its flight, the Airbus A350-900 aircraft suddenly turned left and headed for Dubai International Airport (DXB), where it landed 30 minutes later.
Later, it was reported that the aircraft with the registration of A7-ALM diverted to Dubai due to a medical emergency – a senior pilot who was travelling as a passenger, suddenly fell critically ill onboard.
Despite a swift response and medical assistance onboard flight QR579, he could not be saved. He was declared dead on arrive at Dubai International Airport.
Fact #3 : The Pilot Allegedly Died From Cardiac Arrest
The Qatar Airways pilot was a 51 year-old man of Indian origin, who had flown SpiceJet’s inaugural flight in 2005:
The pilot had worked with Alliance Air and spent 17 years in SpiceJet. He had operated SpiceJet’s first flight, Delhi-Ahmedabad, on May 23, 2005. Last year he had joined Qatar Airways where he was flying the Boeing 777.
A colleague who worked with the pilot for several years expressed shock, stating that “He was very fit and his untimely demise has come as a big shock for everyone who knew him“. That quote is being used to claim or suggest that the pilot “must have” died from a COVID-19 vaccine injury of some sort.
There is no evidence that his death has anything to do with COVID-19 vaccines. And certainly, people pushing those claims offered ZERO evidence to back up their “expert opinions”.
Officially, Qatar Airways has not commented on the death of the pilot. But India’s Zee News reported that the pilot was ascertained to have died from cardiac arrest.
While it is likely that the pilot died from sudden cardiac arrest, I would caution that the pilot’s official cause of death remains unknown.
Until and unless his family and/or Qatar Airways or the Dubai authorities reveal his official cause of death, any claim that he died from this or that cause should be taken with a pinch of salt.
While anti-vaccination activists claim that there is a sudden surge of “untimely deaths” from cardiac arrest, it has long been a major cause of death… long before the COVID-19 vaccines were invented.
The United States alone records over half a million cases of sudden cardiac arrest cases every year – an incidence of about 130 per 100,000 individuals per year. Many people have undiagnosed heart conditions that may not produce noticeable symptoms in daily life, but could result in sudden cardiac arrest at any time.
A 2012 study discovered that people in Southern India who died from sudden cardiac arrest were 5-8 years younger compared to people in the western hemisphere.
10% of all deaths in Southern India were caused by sudden cardiac death
almost half were 60 years-old or younger
many were diagnosed with heart disease
over 80% had at least one risk factor for coronary artery disease – hypertension, diabetes, or smoking
they were generally 5-8 years younger than similar cases in the western hemisphere
Fact #5 : Unknown If Qatar Airways Pilot Was Vaccinated
Despite suggestions that the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated, there isn’t any actual evidence that he ever received the COVID-19 vaccine. We don’t even know his name, much less his COVID-19 vaccination status!
Qatar Airways also never mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for its pilots or its aircrew. Instead, pilots and aircrew were offered two options – get vaccinated, or undergo a COVID-19 test every few days.
[H]ow did Qatar Airways achieve 100 per cent crew vaccination without threatening dismissal against vaccine-hesitant workers?
Unlike the United States, cabin crew in Qatar weren’t immediately prioritised for the vaccine and supply issues meant that Qatar hasn’t had a surplus of vaccines that are going to waste either.
But when crew did become eligible, they had a simple choice – get vaccinated or have an invasive COVID-19 test every few days to prove your negative status.
That said – the pilot is likely fully-vaccinated. He only joined Qatar Airways in 2022. Previously, he was with SpiceJet. While it is unknown whether SpiceJet has a vaccine mandate for its aircrew, SpiceJet is promoting the fact that its crew members and ground personnel are fully-vaccinated and masked.
Even so, I should point out that COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in India, and the pilot may possibly have left SpiceJet over the vaccination mandate (if there’s one). So it is still possible that the pilot was not vaccinated against COVID-19. We simply do not know his vaccination status for sure. Heck, we don’t even know his name!
Until and unless the pilot’s family (or Qatar Airways) reveals his COVID-19 vaccination status, anyone who tells you that the unnamed pilot was vaccinated or otherwise, is likely lying to you. None of us have any evidence of that.
Fact #6 : Vaccine Side Effects Appear Within Hours / Days
Even if the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, he would have received his doses more than a year ago! It is quite impossible for him to suffer from vaccine side effects, because they appear within hours or days, not months later.
Mild side effects like injection site pain, fever, muscle ache, headache, lethargy develop within minutes to hours of the vaccination.
Anaphylaxis develops within minutes, while other severe adverse reactions like myocarditis and VITT develop within days or weeks.
The spike proteins produced by the COVID-19 vaccines also do not stick around for months. If these spike proteins are permanent (as antivaxxers claim), we would have lifelong immunity.
Your own immune system will identify the spike proteins as foreign, and destroy them within a matter of days, although some may last for up to a few weeks. This is part of how vaccines teach your immune system to identify the enemy and destroy it.
Fact #7 : Claims Of COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries Often Proven False
Most claims of sudden deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false. Here is the latest dozen of other false sudden death claims!
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next death or tragedy…
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are travellers queuing up for hours at KLIA after immigration officers started a Work to Rule protest?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Long Queues At KLIA Due To Immigration Work To Rule Protest!
People are sharing a video, claiming that it shows long queues at KLIA after immigration officers started a Work to Rule protest, over recent accusations of corruption!
Work to rule being enforced by immigration officers in KLIA as protest over the recent issue. Terrible if true! 🫢🧐🤨🤨🤨
Here’s a You Tuber telling us his story at the KLIA today. 😰😥😱
In the 1 minute and 22 seconds long video, a foreign tourist is seen complaining that he had to spend 2 hours getting through immigration at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
After waiting in line for an hour, he was sent to an immigration office where he had to wait for another hour before he was questioned. Only after an extensive questioning was the tourist released with a 90-day pass.
No Evidence Long Queues At KLIA Are Due To Immigration Protest!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why!
Fact #1 : Fake News Is Based On Immigration Corruption Claims
First, I should point out that this fake news is based on the recent accusations of corruption involving immigration officers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Here is a quick recap.
On Thursday, 29 June 2023, two ladies arrived at KLIA from Shenzhen, China – a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station, and her personal assistant.
The senior official was duly cleared and allowed entry by the Immigration Department, but her personal assistant was denied entry, and allegedly told that there were discrepancies in her travel documents. The lady was allegedly told that she would need to pay several thousand ringgit to be allowed to enter Malaysia.
The Chinese TV official called up the consulate general of Malaysia in Guangzhou to seek help. The consulate general’s staff then contacted Malaysia Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing, who went to KLIA to investigate the matter. The personal assistant was later allowed to enter Malaysia, after the Minister intervened.
A day later, Tiong claimed that there was a “culture of corruption” within the Immigration Department’s handling of foreign visitors at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
I feel it is high time that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) enter KLIA in full force to probe what is actually happening in this major entry point.
I’m grateful that my presence there managed to uncover an embarrassing situation for the country, in which there is a culture of corruption among a number of officers as well as chronic abuse of power at the country’s major gateway.
Tiong also said that he learnt that some immigration officers would demand up to RM3,000 to free tourists from detention, and he would be sending the information to the MACC.
They would demand RM3,000 to enable the tourists to go through a ‘special lane’ and RM12,000 for visa processing costs.
I should also point out that the term, work to rule, refers to a situation where employees strictly follow their working hours, and do no more than the minimum required by their contract or job.
By that definition, it is unknown if any Immigration officer in KLIA is currently “protesting” through work to rule measures. They could simply be seen as doing their jobs, but nothing beyond that.
Fact #3 : Video Was Taken In May 2022
While it is impossible to know whether immigration officers are protesting through work to rule action, I can tell you that the viral video has absolutely nothing to do with the current controversy involving Malaysian Immigration officers at KLIA.
That’s because the video was originally taken in May 2022. The YouTuber in the video is called Ken Abroad, and he posted the video on 22 May 2023, with the title, “I Almost Got Denied Entry To Malaysia 🇲🇾“.
In the video, he detailed his journey from his home in Germany to Malaysia, via Turkey. When he landed in KLIA over a year ago, he spent more than 2 hours getting through immigration.
But notably – Ken Abroad was released without paying a single cent to immigration officers. Neither did he accuse them of corruption.
Fact #4 : Video Was Edited
The viral video originally had a long runtime of 15 minutes and 51 seconds, but was cropped to just 1 minute and 22 seconds.
Whoever cut this video to share on WhatsApp and social media platforms would obviously be aware that this was originally posted more than a year ago on YouTube.
Fact #5 : Complaints About KLIA Queues Are Perennial
Complaints about long queues at KLIA immigration are perennial. If you check social media, you can see people complaining about this months and years ago, even before the COVID-19 pandemic!
Such queues are also not limited to KLIA immigration counters. They have been documented in airports all over the world, especially in very busy airports (like Heathrow and LAX), and during busy times (when multiple flights land at around the same time).
Just because there is a queue at the immigration counters does not mean there is any industrial work to rule action going on. Often, it just means that there is a large number of people queuing up to get processed.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Timothy Shim gives us the low-down on the 5 strategies for negotiating airfare discounts with SAP Concur!
Negotiating Airfare Discounts with SAP Concur!
Whether it’s a short hop to a neighboring city for a client meeting or an international conference halfway around the globe, airfare costs can significantly dent your company’s budget. That’s where systems like SAP Concur step in.
From leveraging data to setting up effective travel policies, we will explore five strategies for negotiating airfare discounts with SAP Concur. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s understand what SAP Concur is and how it functions as a critical part of your corporate travel management toolkit.
5 Minute Read
Use SAP Concur’s robust reporting tools to gain insights into your company’s travel patterns and use this information to identify potential areas for negotiation with airlines.
Centralize your company’s travel bookings with SAP Concur and present your travel volume data to airlines when negotiating for discounts.
Use SAP Concur to plan and book corporate travel in advance, demonstrating your commitment to airlines and leveraging this in your negotiations for better rates.
Track airfare fluctuations with SAP Concur and use your active engagement with market trends to secure better deals from airlines.
Leverage SAP Concur to manage and track your company’s relationships with airlines, leveraging your loyalty and long-term commitment to negotiate for ongoing discounts.
5 Strategies for Negotiating Airfare Discounts with SAP Concur!
SAP Concur is a cloud-based solution integrating travel, expense, and invoice management into one unified system. It aims to simplify these processes and provide a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Travel Management with SAP Concur
Concur Travel is a feature within the platform that allows businesses to manage and streamline their corporate travel processes. It offers a comprehensive range of services, including online booking tools, travel management services, and mobile applications.
These services aid companies in reducing costs, enforcing travel policies, and providing travelers with a smooth and efficient experience.
Expense and Invoice Management
Concur Expense and Concur Invoice are additional features to simplify the expense and invoice management processes. Concur Expense lets employees quickly capture and submit expense reports from any location.
That does much to reduce errors and improve compliance. Concur Invoice automates invoice processing, helping businesses manage spending and cash flow more effectively.
SAP Concur’s Impact on Business Operations
By integrating travel, expense, and invoice management, SAP Concur gives businesses visibility and control over their spending. It also offers valuable insights into spending patterns, helping companies make informed decisions and save money.
Whether a business has a small travel team or a large multinational operation, SAP Concur is designed to adapt to unique needs and deliver tangible benefits.
The first step to effective negotiation is knowing your ground, and in the context of airfare discounts, that means understanding your travel data. SAP Concur shines here, providing businesses comprehensive insights into their travel habits.
Key Data Points to Focus On
First, pay close attention to your company’s frequently traveled routes, preferred airlines, and ticket classes. Focus on asking the right questions to provide the most actionable insights for your business. For example;
Which routes are your employees traveling the most?
Which airlines are they choosing?
Are they booking economy, business, or first-class tickets?
These data points provide a solid foundation for negotiation discussions with airlines.
Analyzing Trends and Patterns
SAP Concur allows you to analyze trends and patterns in your travel data over time. For instance, you may find that your employees travel more frequently during certain times of the year or prefer specific airlines for international flights. These patterns can provide leverage when negotiating airfare discounts.
Translating Data into Negotiation Power
Armed with this data, you can approach airlines with confidence. Showcase your loyalty to specific airlines, emphasize the volume of business you bring, and demonstrate your understanding of your company’s travel needs.
When airlines see that you know your travel patterns and preferences, they’re more likely to consider offering discounts.
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur’s reporting tools to gain a comprehensive overview of your company’s travel patterns.
Analyze the data to identify trends, such as the most frequently traveled routes, the most used airlines, and peak travel periods.
Use this information to identify potential areas for negotiation with airlines.
Once you’ve grasped your travel data, it’s time to focus on volume. As with many things in business, higher volumes can often lead to better deals, and air travel is no different.
With SAP Concur, you can aggregate your travel data to demonstrate the volume of your bookings, forming a compelling case for discounts.
Consolidating Travel Bookings
It’s essential to consolidate your company’s travel bookings as much as possible. Instead of allowing your employees to book flights individually, use SAP Concur to centralize your travel bookings.
This simplifies the booking process and allows you to negotiate with airlines as a single, high-volume customer.
Presenting Your Case to Airlines
When you approach airlines with a substantial volume of business, you’re in a much stronger negotiating position. Airlines are always looking for consistent, reliable customers. Showing them that you provide significant business can encourage them to offer you better rates.
The Win-Win Situation
By offering airlines a substantial and steady volume of business, you’re creating a win-win situation. The airline gets a reliable source of revenue, and in return, your company gets more favorable airfare rates. This symbiotic relationship is the heart of effective negotiation.
Leveraging SAP Concur’s Tools
SAP Concur provides the tools necessary to leverage your travel volume effectively. This platform is an essential partner in your negotiation journey, from consolidating bookings to presenting comprehensive reports.
Using SAP Concur to showcase your travel volume, you can confidently negotiate airfare discounts and ensure your company gets the best possible deals.
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur to centralize all your company’s travel bookings.
Make a report showcasing your company’s travel volume.
Present this report to airlines when negotiating discounts.
Strategy #3: Utilize Advanced Booking
We’ve all heard the saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” right? In our case, replace “worm” with “discount.” Being an early bird can be a real game-changer when bagging those sweet airfare deals. And here’s where SAP Concur comes in handy, making advanced booking a breeze.
Think about it – when airlines see steady, early bookings, they’re more willing to give us a break with some discounts. Plus, it’s a stress reliever! You get to avoid the last-minute scramble for tickets, and it’s easier to plan your budget when you know the costs upfront.
SAP Concur is like that incredibly organized friend we all wish we had. With its advanced booking feature, planning your corporate travel well in advance is simple. You can book flights, reserve hotels, and even arrange ground transport, all in one place.
The Art of Negotiation with Advanced Booking
But let’s get back to the discounts. Advanced booking can give you a leg up when negotiating with airlines. Showing them that your company is organized and committed to booking in advance can be a persuasive argument for a lower rate.
Creating a Win-Win Situation (Again!)
Just like with travel volume, advanced booking creates a win-win situation. The airlines have the security of early and regular bookings, and you get to bag those tempting discounts. It’s like a beautiful dance, and SAP Concur is your dance partner, guiding you through each step.
So, remember to plan. It’s not just about saving your sanity; it’s about saving dollars. Advanced booking with SAP Concur? That’s a smart move.
Actionable Tips
● Use SAP Concur’s booking tools to plan and book corporate travel well in advance.
● Track the cost savings achieved through advanced booking.
● Highlight your company’s commitment to early booking when negotiating with airlines.
Next up on our list of strategies is dynamic pricing. That might sound like some sort of jargon straight out of a business textbook, but trust me, it’s more complex than it sounds. It’s all about adaptability, flexibility, and being ready to ride the ever-changing airfare prices.
Airfare prices are like a rollercoaster—they go up, down, and make sudden turns. As a savvy business, we must monitor these fluctuations and use them to our advantage. When we know that prices are changing, we can swoop in and grab those discounts when they pop up.
This is where SAP Concur struts its stuff. It allows us to track these price changes and alerts us when prices drop. It’s like having a vigilant guard dog that barks (or, in this case, sends notifications) when a good deal is on the horizon.
Dynamic Pricing and Negotiation
When you’re at the negotiating table with airlines, being able to talk about dynamic pricing can give you an edge. It shows airlines that you’re not only aware of the market trends but you’re also ready to react to them. This can make them more willing to offer special deals and discounts.
Creating Yet Another Win-Win
By now, you’ve probably noticed a pattern—we’re all about creating win-win situations. With dynamic pricing, the airlines get a customer who’s engaged and responsive to the market, and you get to save some of those hard-earned dollars.
So, let’s embrace the rollercoaster of dynamic pricing. We can ride the ups and downs with great discounts with SAP Concur. Remember, being adaptable in business is a virtue; in this case, it can save you money!
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur’s tracking features to keep an eye on airfare fluctuations.
Book immediately to secure the lower rate when you notice a significant price drop.
Mention your dynamic pricing strategy during negotiations with airlines to show that you’re an active and engaged customer.
Last but not least is the power of long-term partnerships. We’re not just talking about fleeting, one-off deals here. No, we’re looking at the big picture—establishing relationships with airlines that can lead to ongoing discounts.
Loyalty goes a long way in business, and air travel is no different. Airlines appreciate customers who stick around. Knowing they can count on your company’s regular patronage gives them stability.
This is where SAP Concur’s ability to track and manage your travel data shines. It helps you keep track of your company’s relationship with each airline and makes it easier to demonstrate your loyalty when negotiating for better rates.
Using Partnerships to Negotiate Discounts
When you’ve established a long-term relationship with an airline, you’re no longer just another customer—you’re a valued partner. This gives you a significant advantage when negotiating airfare discounts.
Airlines are more likely to give better rates to customers who will continue to bring them business.
The Long Game Wins
Establishing long-term partnerships is like playing the long game. Yes, it requires commitment and consistency, but the payoff can be substantial. Airlines get the assurance of your loyalty, and you get the benefit of ongoing discounts. It’s a classic win-win.
Actionable Tips
● Use SAP Concur to track your company’s relationship with each airline.
● Share this data with airlines to demonstrate your loyalty and commitment.
● Leverage your long-term relationship with airlines to negotiate for ongoing discounts.
Final Thoughts: Turning Strategies into Savings with SAP Concur
We’ve certainly covered some ground! From understanding your travel data, leveraging your travel volume, utilizing advanced booking, and implementing dynamic pricing, to establishing long-term partnerships, it’s clear that there are multiple strategies for negotiating airfare discounts.
And guess what? SAP Concur has been our faithful companion, offering us the tools and features to implement these strategies effectively. It’s more than a travel, expense, and invoice management platform.
It’s a powerful ally that helps us navigate the tricky terrain of corporate travel and airfare negotiation.
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Was this viral photo of an amazing full circle rainbow captured by a pilot flying at 30,000 feet?!
Take a look at the photo, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : This Rare Rainbow Was Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!
People are sharing what they claim is a rare rainbow captured by Lloyd J Ferraro, a pilot flying over the Pacific Ocean at at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Rainbow at 30,000 Feet: Pilot’s Photo Captures Rare and Breathtaking Sight
A rare sight was captured from the cockpit of a commercial airplane as pilot Lloyd J Ferraro took a stunning photograph of a complete rainbow from an altitude of 30,000 feet. The breathtaking image shows the colors of the rainbow in their full spectrum, arching gracefully across the sky.
Rainbows have long been a source of fascination for people around the world, with their vivid colors and seemingly magical appearance. While rainbows can be seen from the ground after a storm, it is much rarer to witness a complete rainbow from the vantage point of an airplane.
According to Ferraro, he was flying over the Pacific Ocean when he spotted the rainbow and decided to capture the moment on camera. The resulting photograph has since gone viral, captivating people around the world with its beauty and rarity.
The image not only showcases the beauty of nature but also highlights the incredible capabilities of modern technology. Ferraro was able to capture the stunning photograph using a smartphone camera, demonstrating how accessible and advanced our technology has become.
This incredible photo serves as a reminder of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us in our everyday lives. It is a testament to the power of nature and the marvels of modern technology, and it has inspired people around the world to appreciate the small moments of beauty that exist in the world around us.
Truth : Rare Rainbow Was Not Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!
This is yet another example of FAKE PHOTOS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Photo Was Not Taken By Lloyd J Ferraro
Lead Stories spoke to the pilot, Lloyd J Ferraro, on March 1, 2023. He has seen circular rainbows while flying, but he did not take that viral photo.
Ferraro shared that both he and his colleague copied and shared the rainbow image on social media, but he did not take the photo himself.
Fact #2 : Circular Rainbows Are Not Particularly Rare
Lloyd J Ferraro said that full-circle rainbows are not as rare as people think, and people do not need to be in an airplane to see one – a full circle rainbow can be observed from any high vantage point, like a mountain top.
In fact, NASA featured this full circle rainbow photo as its Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 27, 2022. That amazing photo of a full circle rainbow was taken using a drone by Swiss photographer Lukas Moesch over the Lofoten islands of Norway.
NASA also explained why full circle rainbows are more commonly seen from the air, instead of the ground.
Have you ever seen an entire rainbow? From the ground, typically, only the top portion of a rainbow is visible because directions toward the ground have fewer raindrops. From the air, though, the entire 360-degree circle of a rainbow is more commonly visible.
Pictured here, a full-circle rainbow was captured over the Lofoten Islands of Norway in September by a drone passing through a rain shower.
An observer-dependent phenomenon primarily caused by the internal reflection of sunlight by raindrops, the rainbow has a full diameter of 84 degrees. The Sun is in the exact opposite direction from the rainbow’s center. As a bonus, a second rainbow that was more faint and color-reversed was visible outside the first.
Lloyd J Ferraro could not have been the creator of the photo, because the viral photo of the rare circular rainbow circulated much earlier.
It appeared to have been posted in the Facebook group, Beautiful Nature, as part of a 5-photo collection of rainbows on February 6, 2023. After that, it went viral with many people sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
But a closer examination of these photos will show a digital watermark at their lower right corners. These photos were created by someone with the user ID of 5463530014 on the Chinese social shopping platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
Fact #4 : Professor Labelled Rainbow Photo As Fake
Lead Stories asked Roland Stull, a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of British Columbia to analyse the photo. He labelled it as a fake rainbow photo, and explained why:
It is fake. Rainbows form a circle centered around the shadow of the photographer or the camera; namely, looking away from the sun.
In the photo you attached, based on the sides of the clouds that are illuminated by the sun, the rainbow incorrectly appears to be in the direction of the sun, not opposite to the sun. Also, the rainbow circle itself appears to be incorrectly touching the location in the sky where the sun is (even though it is hidden behind a cloud), instead of the circle being centered on a shadow opposite to the sun (i.e., centered around the “anti-solar” point).
Fact #5 : Rainbow Photo Most Likely Generated By AI
It is not possible to know if the fake rainbow photo was digitally drawn by an artist, or created by AI image generators.
However, due to the numerous examples of similar rainbow photos with the same tone and colour palette, they were all likely generated by text-to-image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E or Stable Diffusion.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
