Christianity is by far the religion with the largest following in the world and Christmas is their most sacred day. In addition a very large number of people of other faiths join happily in the celebration of Christmas. Hence this is perhaps the most appropriate time for worldwide reflection on how spirituality can contribute to the creation of a better, safer and just world.

The need for this was never as great as it is today. Not only have violence, war, injustice, inequalities and environment ruin combined to create enormous distress in world, in addition these are manifesting in the kind of disasters and highly destructive weapons that can wipe out most life on earth. The more thoughtful, informed and caring people of the world are extremely worried by this state of affairs but have not been able to check the drift towards destruction, as the forces that cause wars and ecological ruin are much stronger.

Hence in these difficult and dangerous times the creation of a safer and just world needs all help from all possible sources and in this context the progress of sincere spirituality and spiritual movements can make a particularly important contribution.

Spirituality as seen in the life of most revered persons in the world, associated with various faiths, has conveyed important ethical messages based on leading a life of justice, not doing any injustice to others, leading a life of simplicity and limited needs thereby avoiding greed and the tendency of snatching or coveting what rightfully belongs to others. Not causing any harm to others and not indulging in violence to others is at the heart of these ethical messages. This ethics also includes working honestly for one’s livelihoods and bringing one’s own welfare in conformity with the welfare of others ie being very careful not to cause any harm to others in the quest for one’s own progress. People who are religious in this way, learning these values from their faiths, invariably get a lot of strength from spirituality to lead a life of ethics. When understood in this sense, spirituality has an important role in creating a just and peaceful world.

Unfortunately, however, not all religions and religious leaders have been giving adequate emphasis to these ethical aspects. On the contrary, they have frequently distorted their message in ways that increases intolerance, prejudices, misunderstandings, sectarianism and violence related to this. Some of the highly unjust acts and destructive wars, even genocides, have been supported by very wrong and distorted use of religious doctrine.

It is in this difficult situation that those who believe in true spirituality must be increasingly united, overcoming various divisions and constraints, to increase the possibilities of spirituality being advanced in such ways that this becomes a very important force for world-level peace, justice and environment protection.

Spirituality teaches, prepares and motivates us to lead a life of simplicity and ethics which at the ground level increases possibilities of justice, peace and environment protection. If we have more and more people living and planning their life in accordance with these precepts, then the chances of there being more peace and justice in everyday life increases, and in addition people leading such life have feelings of more satisfaction and of better social relationships. Family life and community life improve. Children brought up in such ways are not only well-behaved but in addition may come up with very heartwarming examples of inspiring work.

Above all this, moreover, such pursuit of sincere spirituality also increases the possibilities of wider peace, justice and environment protection at national and finally at world levels. Of course carefully an agenda must be prepared at world level regarding the proper prioritization of the most important tasks of peace, justice and environment protection, but with the growth of sincere spirituality at various levels the response of people to any such agenda of peace, justice and environment protection will be much better, sustained and stronger.

Hence Christmas can be and should be a time of reflection for many people disturbed by the present destructive trends in the world to try to consider the possibilities of how united spirituality movements can together contribute to the creation of a better, safer and just world.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children. Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

It is one of the great ironies of history that at the very moment the United States plunges deeper and deeper into war hysteria, that our politicians and government officials are possessed by the demons of complete annihilation and endless expansion, that falsehood and hypocrisy wrap their tentacles around the arms and legs of public intellectuals, at the very moment that it becomes impossible in Washington DC to talk about any subject that is not tied to war, at the very moment that the entire United States is being transformed into a military economy—one wherein all critical decisions are made by military contractors, privatized police, prisons, and for-profit intelligence (and at the top, the militarized private equity firms who pull the strings) it is a terrible and comic irony that the United States, of all the nations of the Earth, should be pressuring Japan to give up its commitment to oppose militarism as expressed in the Japanese constitution and to join us, as junior partners, in our suicide march towards world war and nuclear holocaust.

We have things so completely backwards. The United States does not have any need to, let alone have any right to, pressure Japan to give up its peace constitution, or to stir up the desires for fortune latent in Tokyo’s military contractors. We know that some Japanese are already itching for an excuse to prepare for war, and to destroy Japanese civil society by creating a military economy as a means of bringing even more wealth and power to the few.

No! It is the United States that needs a peace constitution, and it needs it right now.

We failed to return to a peace economy after the Second World War and the institutional and cultural cancer resulting from an economy stimulated by, and propped up by, war, has metastasized and spread throughout the entire society so that war is everywhere, from children’s toys to parking spaces for veterans, to glowing tributes by politicians to those who kill in blind obedience to the state.

We need now an institutional, intellectual, and spiritual commitment to an economy and a society that is founded in peace, that is committed to peace, and that rewards citizens for their constructive economic contributions to the wellbeing of their families, their neighborhoods, their regions, their country, and to the entire Earth.

I do not speak these words lightly. And I speak them as someone who has spent decades thinking about, and writing about, security and conflict. But the truth must be spoken, and we do not have long before the great reckoning.

Maybe there are those who can justify a society that is addicted to war, to destruction, and to endless expansion. That is not my job.

War is not caused by a few bad apples, or a lack of maturity among political leaders. It is the product of an economic system that demands consumption and praises growth. For war is the greatest force for consumption and growth—until, of course, it leaves everything in ruins.

War is a product of a concept of economics, detached from morality and humanity, that has no concern for the long-term and that focuses on returns for the rich calculated over weeks and months, an inhuman economics wherein the long-term wellbeing of the citizens of the Earth is irrelevant.

This speculation-driven casino economy has pushed overproduction across the country which forces us to wrap everything in plastic so as to keep profits flowing to petroleum companies, and to prepare for war because the only factories left in America are those making military parts. Yes, most constructive factories have been moved overseas as part of the great “free trade” fraud perpetrated by the corporate parties.

The Japanese Constitution

Let us take a look at article nine of the Japanese Constitution, that part of Japan’s post-war legacy that is so offensive to the American politicians and bureaucrats who have become the slaves of military contractors, and that is also repulsive to the bankers behind the stage who benefit from war preparations in Asia.

Article nine is also a rallying cry for Japanese militarists who wish to create a new empire and for well-paid security consultants deployed in Japan to promote expensive fighter planes that cannot even take off and land, missile defense systems that cannot stop anything, but who are unconcerned by the fact that Japan cannot provide its own food, that its water is being slowly poisoned with chemicals from factories and military bases, or that its nuclear power plants are sitting targets just waiting for an enemy attack.  

Article nine states,

“Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.”

Article nine is invaluable in its intentions and spirit and it has had a positive impact around the world, even as its meaning has been diluted, then distorted, and then eviscerated though shifts in Japanese policy, starting with the establishment of the “Self-Defense Forces,” followed by the integration of the Japanese economy into the American war economy during the Korean War, and culminating in the false concept of “collective security,” a fig leaf for aggressive military expansionism and entry into the international arms market.  

At the same time, we must recognize that there are problems with Article Nine.

First, the text suggests that Japan must renounce war as an idealistic aspiration for “international peace based on justice and order,” rather than as a necessity in an age in which we are faced with the choice between “hegemony and survival,” as Noam Chomsky famously put it.

The absence of a concrete articulation of the logic behind renouncing war for a practical goal, not only for the abstract ideals of justice, has generated unending criticism holding that the Japanese constitution is overly idealistic and even a violation of Japan’s sovereign rights.

It will be critical in future debates on security policy to explain how Japan’s position on the use of war is realistic and strategic, and how it is unmistakably in the long-term interests of the Japanese and the international community.

It is also critical that Japanese, and Americans, challenge the assumptions underlying American security policy. Failure to do so, that is to merely assume that somehow Japan is protected by the United States while it enjoys its “peace constitution” encourages criticisms in the United States that Japan is a free rider, and complaints in Japan that Japan has become an American colony. That is to say that both the United States and Japan must express a similar commitment to peace.

In addition, article nine employs the terms “war” and “nation” as if they are static, unchanging, objects whose parameters are clear and that do not shift or evolve over time.

The essential nature of war does not change; the means by which war is waged, and the subjects in war, are constantly evolving. It is still true that guns, tanks, and fighter planes are used to wage war. Yet war today extends into diverse fields and takes place in visible and invisible forms at multiple levels. The media, entertainment, and AI have been weaponized and used to dumb down and render the population passive. This is not technology for a more convenient life, but rather another form of war.

Nano technologies are employed to invisibly attack the functions of the body, or to alter the environment. New biotechnology weapons can render victims ill, or incapacitated. The same for electromagnetic radiation, infrared radiation, and a host of other new weapons, or potential weapons.

Information warfare similarly is employed to create false narratives that confuse citizens as part of a divide and conquer strategy.

These forms of war fall outside of the narrow definition of “war” put forth in Article Nine, even though these forms of war are being conducted today in a more devastating manner than traditional warfare.

Similarly, the concept of “nation” has shifted so radically as to demand significant revision of the concept of war. War today is not conducted just between nations, but also between ethnic groups, between multinational corporations, and increasingly between classes. The driving force behind the current global war is a class war between the super-rich and everyone else, that it to say a war that goes beyond the assumptions of Article Nine.

We are confronted by a brave new world stretching to the horizon in which national borders are only for little people, in which the nation state exists only for television broadcasts and United Nations events, in which the real decisions behind the war against humanity are made by hidden financial powers who manipulate all the governments of the world, presenting us with pathetic puppets who stumble through a tragically amusing diplomatic show that is put on for the working man and women by private equity.

Sadly, the current discussion of Article Nine of Japan’s constitution revolves around how to remove it, or to misinterpret it, so as to transform Japan into a nation that wages war, and that will have the third largest military in the world.

Very little is said about how Article Nine could make Japan a leader in security because Japan is positioned to make real security threats like climate change, the collapse of biodiversity, pollution, information warfare, and class warfare, the center of its security policy to a degree that other nations are not capable of.

An American Peace Constitution

The need for an American peace constitution is so obvious, and the situation so desperate, that absolutely no one even mentions this topic.

The term “peace constitution” refers here to the adoption of a constitutional amendment, the twenty-ninth amendment, that will spell out a fundamental shift in the concept of security for the United States.

However, constitutional amendments are not magic and they cannot change the culture, the economy, or the politics of a nation. Just look at how much of the current Constitution is routinely ignored.

The Constitution, and the amendments to it, will serve a lodestar, a goal that will lead us forward as a citizens’ movement to make peace and establish true human security as the fundamental priority for the nation, and for the world, and to leave behind profit-driven conflicts for the benefits of bankers and billionaires.

Precedents for the Peace Constitution

We must recognize two important institutional precedents for this constitutional amendment.

The first precedent is the Kellogg-Briand Pact to outlaw war (specifically wars of aggression) that was signed by the United States and 15 other nations on August 27, 1928. The Kellogg-Briand Pact outlawed war as an instrument of national policy and it called upon its signatories to settle disputes by peaceful means. Although this effort to create an international consensus against wars of aggression was ultimately unsuccessful, it offers us a desperately needed precedent for a policy that promotes peace, not war, and the diplomatic resolution of conflicts.

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Briand-Kellogg Treaty, with signatures of Gustav Stresemann, Paul Kellogg, Paul Hymans, Aristide Briand, Lord Cushendun, William Lyon Mackenzie King, John McLachlan, Sir Christopher James Parr, Jacobus Stephanus Smit, William Thomas Cosgrave, Count Gaetano Manzoni, Count Uchida, A. Zaleski, Eduard Benes. (From the Public Domain)

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The second precedent is the House Resolution “To Establish a Department of Peace” submitted by Dennis Kucinich of Ohio to the House of Representatives on July 11, 2001 in a clear effort to counter the drive for war pursued by the George W. Bush administration at that time.

Kucinich’s vision of a Department of Peace that promotes international peace with the resources normally allocated to preparing for war has tremendous merits and deserves consideration as we ponder the concrete policy implications of a peace constitution for the United States.

Let me offer a draft for this amendment that can serve as the starting point for a serious moral and scientific debate as to how we can best lead this transformation of our nation. I write with the assumption that an amendment must be brief and must outline the fundamental issues without too much detail about either policy or technology.

Twenty-eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The United States will assume the pursuit of peace to be its primary goal in foreign and domestic policy, make a peace economy its highest priority, and in that process reduce its nuclear weapons to zero within ten years, and demand that all other nations reduce their nuclear weapons to zero as well.

Other dangerous weapons such a depleted uranium, mines and cluster bombs, biological and nano weapons, electromagnetic and infrared weapons, and the project of information warfare will be ended decisively. The United States will oppose efforts to wage war by conventional, nuclear, or psychological, biological, or nano-technological means.

The United State military will be restructured to focus on the long-term security of the United States, calculated in the hundreds of years, giving up its short-term obsession with weapons and war, and devoting itself to preventing the destruction of the environment, earth, water, and air, the rising power of the rich and powerful, the use of technology to manipulate citizens and to destroy information, and other threats to human security.

Americans will only be deployed outside of the United States in a transparent and accountable manner for multinational efforts that are clearly defined, and such deployments will only be for a proscribed period of time.

Let us advance the debate about what exactly the text of this amendment should be, and how we can create a nation dedicated to peace and security in the United States that will replace the nightmare tyranny of war and consumption that is presently being drawn toward the apocalypse by the dark horses of debt, consumption, and extraction.   

[For greater detail on possible approaches to security policy, please see the “Green Party’s World Peace Platform” (Gloria Guillo and others, 2020) and Emanuel Pastreich’s article “A Call for True Security in a Misguided Age” (Korea Times, August 4, 2018)]

This article is available in the following versions:

Chinese: 美国宪法和平修正案议案

Japanese: アメリカ合衆国憲法修正平和条項案

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Emanuel Pastreich served as the president of the Asia Institute, a think tank with offices in Washington DC, Seoul, Tokyo and Hanoi. Pastreich also serves as director general of the Institute for Future Urban Environments. Pastreich declared his candidacy for president of the United States as an independent in February, 2020.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

It might sound almost too wild a thing to state, but the United States of America right now is in fact undergoing a kind of a major UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) crisis, with national security implications. Sightings are also taking place in other Western countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), but the US seems to be the focal point.  The matter has gone beyond the realm of rumor, is in fact triggering a political crisis and unrest in at least three states, with federal investigations going on, and should be taken seriously at this point. Consider the following:

On late Friday (December 13) and early Saturday, officials went so far as to simply close airspace for almost four hours over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, this being one of the country’s key Air Force bases, due to UFO sightings. The authorities described them as “small unmanned aerial systems” (UAS).

Unidentified “drones” were also spotted over three military bases used by the US Air Force in eastern England.

Such activity was also reported (and confirmed) over the Ramstein Air Base, a US base in Germany, around the same period there were sightings over Ohio and Utah. There are thus simultaneous “UAS” activities across the Atlantic, apparently targeting the US.

In fact, for the last 19 days and counting, New Jersey has been haunted every night by unexplained aerial objects or phenomena (mostly drones but the nature of many still being unknown). On Saturday, ABC captured such an unidentified “object” on camera live on TV: it was described by some as looking like a pulsating “orb” of plasma or “energy”. Others have dismissed it as merely a star out of focus on camera causing an optical illusion, but people claimed to witness it visibly “pulsating” to the naked eye.

The White House and the Pentagon have stated the “objects” do not have a foreign origin, while FBI and the DHS have stated they appear to be drones flying “legally”, with authorities saying no one should shoot the objects – which is awkward, to say the least.

Meanwhile, In New Jersey lawmakers have called for a state of emergency due to the “drones”, while such a state of emergency has indeed been declared in at least 4 Ohio counties so far. The New Jersey governor has asked Biden for federal help. Moreover, “drone activity” even shut down runways at New York’s Steward Airfield.

The incidents listed above should suffice, but there are plenty more. It certainly sounds like something straight out of the X-Files TV show, and yet it is happening. The thing is, as recently as last year, there was so much fuss about supposed Chinese balloons spying on US territory, that it fueled tensions between Beijing and Washington, even though there did not seem to be much to it. Now there is a crisis, clearly spiraling out of control, pertaining to the aforementioned developments involving UFOS, UAPs (“unidentified anomalous phenomenon”), UAS, or however one calls them.

If part of those incidents had anything to do (even very remotely so) with American rivals such as China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea, American authorities (who are also news sources for the largest media outlets) would by now have made it known to all – even with some degree of exaggeration, as usual. In today’s new Cold War climate, such findings and accusations can always fuel further sanctions, economic warfare, political propaganda, and belligerent activity in general. There would be warnings, threats of retaliation, diplomatic tensions. The very fact that thus far no such thing happened is peculiar in itself.

In 2022, shortly after the Ukrainian crisis, the US Congress, for the first time in half a century, held a hearing on “UAPs”, with authorities having to clarify that it was not about “aliens”. The Pentagon last month released a report on UFOs, which found over 700 new cases, 21 of which they could not explain. Last month a joint US Congress hearing on UFOs had officials saying “we are not alone“, and it so happens that the source for a large part of ufologist’s claims about “aliens” has long been former military officers and intelligence personnel.

It is part of American pop culture (and there is an industry around it), but some critics suspect there could be propaganda efforts or psychological operations behind some of those “whistle-blowers” with wild claims. Interestingly, whenever geopolitical tensions are on the rise, American discourses about extraterrestrial life intensify – a belief which is becoming more mainstream. One may recall the Roswell incident, the allegation about Area 51 and so on. Such beliefs used to be ridiculed are becoming more mainstream.

In any case, the last weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency have been unusually busy, with the recent developments, all bearing American footprints, in Ukraine, South Korea, and Syria (the latter still not fully clear). The newly-elected President, Donald Trump, has declared war on the so-called “Deep State” and has been himself the target of three attempted assassinations, the first being such a major security breach (a suspicious one, even) during the elections campaign that the US Secret Service Director had to resign amid a scandal. This is the overall context to the current American “UFO” crisis. It does have precedents, as I mentioned but in scope it is totally unparalleled.

This crisis certainly contributes to further undermining the general public’s trust in the authorities: if (let’s call it “alternative 1”) American rivals are behind the “UAPs”, then it demoralizes the American military.

If, instead (“alternative 2”), the US military/intelligence apparatus itself is behind part of the sightings, be it as part of exercises or for whatever shady or classified reasons, then this could be therefore be interpreted either as:

2a) authorities waging psychological warfare operations (PSYOPs) against one’s own civilian population, which is not unprecedented in the US, by the way: for instance, in 2011, the ACLU accused the US military of conducting illegal PSYOPs against their own American senators

2b) or, still on the above scenario (“alternative 2”), it could alternatively be interpreted as intelligence services running out of control, thereby advertently or inadvertently fueling unrest and panic during a delicate “interregnum” period.

As the ancient Romans would say, tertium non datur – meaning, there is no third one (option). Of course anything else beyond those scenarios would involve the so-called extraterrestrial hypothesis that seems to be deeply rooted in the American psyche as a cultural-mystical trope – but thus far, pragmatically speaking, that line of hypothesising only amounts to pure speculation.

In short, there is no good scenario here, and one can only expect further domestic unrest and instability in the American superpower, with unpredictable repercussions globally, in terms of its foreign policy choices and responses.

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Uriel Araujo, PhD, is an anthropology researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Area 51 border and warning sign stating that “photography is prohibited” and that “use of deadly force is authorized” (Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

Ozempic to ‘Transform’ the World by 2030, Gushes Preeminent Journal of The Science™ 

Via Nature (emphasis added):

“Welcome to the healthier, happier world of 2030. Heart attacks and strokes are down 20%. A drop in food consumption has left more money in people’s wallets. Lighter passengers are saving airlines 100 million litres of fuel each year. And billions of people are enjoying a better quality of life, with improvements to their mental and physical health.

These are just some of the ways in which analysts forecast that the new wave of incredibly effective weight-loss drugs, known as GLP-1 agonists, might transform societies and save countries trillions of dollars in the long run…

It might have already started. In the United States… 12% of adults say that they have at some stage taken GLP-1 agonists for diabetes or weight loss.”

Of course, it’s highly plausible that Ozempic and similar semaglutide and tirzepatide drugs will “transform” the world — just not as advertised.

Fatphobia Fuels Ozempic Craze, Says ‘Critical Disability Studies’ Assistant Professor and Alleged Authority on the Dire Plight of Fats

This ambiguously sexed, non-binary-looking thing, Fady Shanouda, isn’t even a full-on professor; it’s an assistant professor in the make-believe field of “critical disability studies scholar.”

Daddy must be so proud of his little girl, or boy, or whatever it is.

Via The Conversation (emphasis added):

“Time and again, dubious and ineffective solutions for obesity gain prominence. Pills, tonics, elixirs, Zumba, Noom and now Ozempic.

The latest wonder drug is a semaglutide drug invented to help diabetics regulate blood glucose levels, but has the notable side-effect of severe weight loss — for which it is prescribed off-label. It has been heralded by many to culminate in the elimination of fat bodies*.

The fatphobia that undergirds such a proclamation isn’t new**.

What makes this moment different from the others, however, is the dangerous rhetoric in which it is lodged. This rhetoric elevates the banal and commonplace fat-shaming that fat people must endure and resist to an unprecedented level.”

*Check out the subtle semantical tricks these people often pull, illustrated here. By referencing the “the elimination of fat bodies,” they’re conjuring up images of a kind of human-walrus hybrid holocaust in which bulldozers roll over gigantic bodies in the streets Tiananmen Square-style and then dig makeshift mass graves the size of an ocean to dump all the “fat bodies” in after they’ve been “eliminated.”

**“Undergird” seems like a weird choice of word here. Kind of like a bra for a morbidly obese gentleman would undergird his enormous tits.

Study: Ozempic Drives Turbo Cancer and Prevents Effective Cancer Treatment

Shoutout to loyal AP reader LaMaisonGelat — which I assume is French for “The Fat Holocaust” — for bringing this to my attention.

How’s this for a double-whammy: as I’ve covered previously, Ozempic lovingly supplies its beneficiary with turbo-cancer.

But then, we now have evidence to show, ever generous with its side effects, it nullifies the effectiveness of conventional cancer treatments — by a huge margin.

Huge — like the fatasses’ exploding waistlines as soon as they stop taking their drugs.

28% of the test subjects taking GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic responded favorably to their cancer treatments, as opposed to the more than double, 63%, of subjects not taking them who responded positively to theirs.

Via Daily Mail (emphasis added):

“Game-changing weight loss jabs relied on by millions of slimmers and diabetics could cause breast cancer treatments to stop working, experts have warned.

The drugs, which include Ozempic and Wegovy, have ushered in a new era in the battle against obesity, helping dieters shed up to a fifth of their bodyweight.

But, American doctors tracking women being treated for an aggressive form of breast cancer have discovered the injections ‘detrimentally affect’ how the body responds to chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

It meant that patients on the jabs — collectively known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1s — were less likely to be totally clear of cancer after treatment and more at risk of tumours returning.

British consultant clinical oncologist Dr John Glees said the findings were ‘unsettling’ and added: ‘These weight loss drugs are relatively new, so it’s very concerning that patients taking them were less likely to be cancer free after treatment.’

In the study, hundreds of women with early-stage triple negative breast cancer were followed throughout and after treatment.

A few dozen were already taking GLP-1s and continued to do so while having cancer treatment.

Tests two years later showed just 28 per cent of women on GLP-1s responded fully to the cancer therapies, and were clear of cancer…

More than twice as many — 63 per cent — of those not on GLP-1s were cancer free.”

Study: Ozempic Also Spurs Rare Form of Vision Loss

“Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy”: another loving and liberal gift from Eli Lily to the obese peasants in their care.

Via Yahoo! Finance (emphasis added):

“Novo Nordisk’s GLP weight-loss drug Ozempic has reportedly been linked to a rare form of vision loss, known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, was published on medRxiv and supports findings reported in a Harvard University study from this past July.”

Fucked six ways from Sunday!

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The General Command of the Armed Opposition Factions in Syria has appointed Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, a founding member of Al-Qaeda in Syria, as the country’s new caretaker foreign minister.

The official Syrian news agency (SANA) reported on 21 December that Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, was chosen to fill the post. He previously led the political department of the National Salvation Government, which has ruled Syria’s northwestern governorate of Idlib since Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered it in 2015.

HTS, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, launched an assault from Idlib on 27 November and quickly toppled the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs. HTS militants entered Damascus, toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, and seized power in Syria on 8 December.

Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is the former leader of Al-Qaeda in Syria, previously known as the Nusra Front.

According to the opposition Syria TV, which broadcasts from Istanbul, Foreign Minister Shibani was previously known as Zaid al-Attar. He was in charge of the foreign relations file and oversaw the transformation of the Nusra Front into HTS.

The Al-Marifa website reported that Attar, who resided in Turkiye until 2024, is one of the founders of the Nusra Front alongside Sharaa.

Reuters notes the US, other western powers, and many Syrians were glad to see HTS militants topple Assad, “but it is not clear whether the Islamist group will impose strict Islamic rule or show flexibility and move towards democracy.”

On 10 December, Mohammed al-Bashir, another member of Sharaa’s National Salvation government in Idlib, was named president of the caretaker government in Syria.

Sharaa began his militant career with Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2003. He was sent by future ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to create a branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria and to fight the Syrian government in 2011.

The US designated Sharaa as a terrorist in 2013, despite providing weapons and money to his group throughout the war and despite his role as an agent for effecting US foreign policy.

Washington announced it would remove a $10 million bounty on his head on Friday to more openly support him and his new government in Damascus, despite Sharaa’s terrorist past.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his Results of the Year annual marathon year-ender interactive televised discussion with the Russian public and the media in Moscow on December 19, spoke at some length on the recent developments in Syria. 

These were Putin’s first public remarks on the topic and, coming 12 days after armed opposition forces seized Damascus and the exile of former president Bashar al-Assad and his family in Moscow, they signified that the Kremlin is recalibrating its compass of West Asian strategies. 

Putin disclosed that he will soon have a meeting with Assad, signalling a level of transparency that is very rare in international diplomacy in comparable volatile circumstances. We still do not know, for instance, what happened to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani after the Taliban takeover four years ago, or whether President Joe Biden even showed the courtesy to receive America’s fallen ally — and an erstwhile proxy at that. 

Putin sees no reason to feel ashamed or petrified over the regime change in Syria. Russia’s mission in Syria was to decimate the US-sponsored extremist groups destabilising that country and the region as part of a regime change project. And that enterprise has been hugely successful as Russia inflicted a crushing defeat to the American project. The Russian mission in Syria never had a hidden agenda to prop up the Syrian regime. As Putin explained, Russian ground forces were never deployed or involved in the fighting in Syria.

The speed with which Assad was given asylum in Moscow and the peaceful transfer of power in Damascus hinted that the Kremlin was not taken by surprise. Again, compare the chaotic and desperate US  evacuation on August 16, 2021 from Kabul airport with Afghans falling from the sky as American military planes took off. Yet, western propaganda is painting the town red that Russia has been “defeated” in Syria!  

The narrative by Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan seems entirely plausible when he claimed that at Ankara’s urging, Moscow and Tehran counselled Assad to peacefully transfer power. Fidan disclosed to NTV broadcaster on Dec. 13,

“We spoke with the Russians and Iranians and told them that the man they had invested in was no longer someone worth investing in. They made one phone call, and that evening Assad was gone.” 

Putin openly acknowledged that Russia keeps contacts with the HTS and their conversation will have a bearing on the fate of the bases in Latakia. Russia is offering that the international community may use the bases to handle humanitarian assistance to Syria.

Conceivably, Turkey, Russia and Iran synchronised their watches. Tehran disclosed in the weekend that it is reopening the embassy in Damascus and that the HTS has offered to provide security for the mission’s functioning. Through the entire three-and-a-half hour event in Moscow last Thursday, Putin never once voiced any criticism of Turkey’s backing for HTS or questioned the legitimacy of Ankara’s stated concerns in the Syrian situation — although he remains sceptical whether the Kurdish nationality question involving 30-35 million ethnic Kurdish population spread over Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran lends itself to a solution. 

Putin asserted that Moscow has already conveyed to the HTS as well as the regional states that the Russian bases are “capable of offering assistance… (and) this was met with understanding and a willingness to collaborate.” Putin stressed:

“An overwhelming majority of them have expressed interest in retaining our military bases in Syria.” 

Putin ridiculed the Biden administration’s prognosis that Russia faces “defeat” in Syria. His broad message was that “there will be plenty to discuss” with Trump when they meet, implying that Biden Administration is no longer consequential to Syria’s future. The Biden Administration’s efforts to rally the Arab states have failed to gain traction as the trust deficit is formidable. Arabs suspect that the US’ continued illegal occupation has ulterior motives.

Indeed, a new matrix is appearing, as Biden administration’s obsession shifts to creating a quagmire in the Middle East for the incoming Trump administration. In a somersault on Sunday, the US state department’s Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf landed in Damascus to personally convey the US decision to scrap the $10 million reward for the arrest of HTS leader (Syria’s de facto leader) Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, following what she claimed to be “very productive” meetings with the group’s representatives.

This abject surrender will now enable Washington to lift the sanctions against Syria per the infamous Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019. However, Russia has outmanoeuvred the Biden administration in Syria. Putin implied that a working relationship with the new leadership in Damascus is steadily developing. He said,

“I do not know, we must reflect on how our relations will evolve with the political forces currently in control (in Damascus) and those that will govern this country in the future –- our interests must align. Should we remain, we must act in the interests of the host nation.”

Putin noted:

“What will those interests entail? What can we do for them? These questions demand careful consideration on both sides. We are already capable of offering assistance, including utilising our bases… while challenges remain, our position firmly aligns with international law and the sovereignty of all nations, including respect for Syria’s territorial integrity. This extends to supporting the stance of the current authorities governing the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. In this regard, we stand with them.”

This is a big statement and it will resonate across the Arab world. Make no mistake, Russia’s transition from the Assad era is well under way. The contours of a pragmatic policy approach are emerging. Russian intelligence would have done the spade work in this transition.

Putin remarked tauntingly that

“the groups that were fighting against the Assad regime and the government forces back then have undergone internal changes. It is not surprising that many European countries and the United States are trying to develop relations with them now. Would they be doing this if they were terrorist organisations? This means that they have changed, doesn’t it? So, our goal (Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015) has been achieved, to a certain degree.”   

From behind the scene, Turkey is tacitly encouraging Russia’s partnership with HTS. Significantly, Putin dwelt on the ramifications of the Kurdish problem where Turkey may need Russia’s cooperation to navigate the tricky pathway going forward.

Turkey’s concerns have four main templates: one, ensure Turkey’s border security with Syria; two, create conditions for the return of Syrian refugees from Turkey; three, push Syrian Kurdish forces away from the border regions; and, four, counter the covert European and US-Israeli support for an independent Kurdish state. Putin underscored “the gravity of the Kurdish issue.” There is no conflict of interests here between Turkey and Russia. 

While Putin spoke with understanding and some sympathy for Turkey’s legitimate concerns, he did not mince words to condemn Israel’s naked land grab in Syria. In his words, “I believe that the main beneficiary of the developments in Syria is Israel… In the Golan Heights, Israel has advanced along the front by 62–63 kilometres and to a depth of 20–25 kilometres. They have occupied fortifications originally built for Syria by the Soviet Union, strong defensive structures comparable to the Maginot Line. 

“It seems there are already several thousand (Israeli) personnel stationed there. It appears not only that they have no intention of leaving, but they may also be planning to further reinforce their presence.” 

Putin warned that “further complications down the line” are to be expected, as the Israeli occupation could “ultimately result in the fragmentation of Syria.” In this regard, Russia shares the same perception as Turkey, Iran and the Arab states. 

Interestingly, Putin exuded confidence that Russia is on the right side of history with a policy reset that aims to harmonise with Turkey and Iran as well as the Arab states. Indeed, this  diplomatic feat enhances Russia’s standing in West Asia.

Conversely, to retrench or not in Syria — that’s the question that will haunt the Trump presidency. The Pentagon is already pushing back against Trump’s statement “we have nothing to do (in Syria).” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder has revealed that US troop numbers in Syria have reached 2,000 –- more than double the previously reported nine hundred. These troops remain actively deployed with no plans for withdrawal. 

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Featured image: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 15. (Vladimir Gerdo, TASS)

Vitamin D receptors exist throughout your brain, affecting mental health by regulating neurotransmitters and reducing inflammation. Deficiency is linked to depression, anxiety and psychosis

Mental health patients show higher rates of vitamin D deficiency, caused by reduced sun exposure, obesity and other factors

Studies show vitamin D supplementation improves depression symptoms, particularly in elderly and adolescent patients. Optimal blood levels range from 60 to 80 ng/mL

Safe sun exposure remains the best source of vitamin D, but those consuming seed oils should wait four to six months after elimination before increasing sun exposure; if regular sun exposure isn’t feasible, vitamin D supplementation may be necessary

Protective strategies for safe sun exposure include taking astaxanthin (12 mg daily), using niacinamide cream, pre-exposure baby aspirin and molecular hydrogen supplementation

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Vitamin D receptors are not just limited to your skeletal system for bone health — they’re also present in various brain regions like your hippocampus, substantia nigra and cerebellum.

This hints at vitamin D’s key role in neurological development and the functioning of your nervous system. When your body lacks sufficient vitamin D, it disrupts neurotransmitter release, affects neurotrophic factors and impairs neuroprotection.¹

These disruptions are linked to mood and behavioral changes, contributing to psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety and even psychosis. Moreover, vitamin D helps modulate inflammation, which is often elevated in mental health disorders. This is why optimizing your vitamin D levels is important for both physical health and maintaining your mental well-being.

Vitamin D Deficiency and Its Prevalence in Mental Health Conditions

Vitamin D deficiency is common, affecting over half of the global population regardless of age or ethnicity.² For individuals battling psychiatric disorders, the rates of deficiency are even higher. Studies indicate that psychiatric patients often have lower vitamin D levels compared to the general population.

Factors contributing to this deficiency include reduced sunlight exposure due to time spent indoors, poor dietary intake and obesity, which sequesters vitamin D in fat tissues. Additionally, certain psychiatric medications lead to weight gain, further complicating vitamin D status.³

This widespread deficiency is concerning because low levels of vitamin D have been linked to a higher incidence of various mental health issues, including depression, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders⁴ — each affected in unique ways. 

In depression, low vitamin D levels are associated with increased symptoms and a higher risk of developing the disorder. Vitamin D may protect the hippocampus during stress-related dysregulation and support the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation.⁵

Schizophrenia, a chronic mental health disorder characterized by distorted thinking and perceptions, is another area of interest concerning vitamin D’s benefits. Research reveals a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among individuals with schizophrenia, particularly those experiencing acute episodes.⁶

Some studies have also found a strong association between low vitamin D levels and the severity of schizophrenia symptoms, suggesting that vitamin D could play a role in cognitive function and neuroprotection.⁷ In psychotic spectrum diseases like schizophrenia, deficiency is often linked to poorer outcomes and increased symptom severity, due to reduced neuroprotection and impaired neurotransmission.

The Impact of Vitamin D on Specific Mental Health Conditions

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), also show significant correlations with vitamin D levels, where supplementation has been found to improve behavioral and cognitive symptoms.⁸

Some research also indicates that individuals with bipolar disorder often exhibit lower levels of vitamin D compared to those without the condition. For instance, higher levels of vitamin D binding protein have been observed in bipolar patients, suggesting a link between vitamin D metabolism and mood regulation.⁹

Additionally, vitamin D plays a role in sleep-wake disorders, where deficiency disrupts circadian rhythms and leads to poor sleep quality.¹⁰ Optimizing vitamin D levels is therefore a promising therapeutic strategy for many mental health conditions. Studies have shown that vitamin D supplementation leads to improvements in depressive symptoms, particularly in individuals with existing deficiencies.

For instance, elderly patients with depression, adolescents and those recovering from acute illnesses have all benefited from increased vitamin D intake. In the context of schizophrenia, adding vitamin D to standard antipsychotic treatments has been linked to better cognitive outcomes and reduced symptom severity.¹¹

Neuroinflammation, the inflammation of the nervous tissue, plays a role in many neurological and mental disorders, including traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Vitamin D has emerged as a promising agent in combating neuroinflammation due to its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties.¹²

Animal studies, such as those conducted on rats with traumatic brain injury, have also demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation shifts microglial cells toward an anti-inflammatory state, reducing brain edema and protecting the blood-brain barrier.

Vitamin D Helps Relieve Depression and Anxiety

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Affective Disorders explored the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in managing primary depression.¹³ The study reviewed 18 randomized controlled trials to assess whether vitamin D alleviates depressive symptoms in adults. The findings revealed a significant overall reduction in depression scores among those who received vitamin D supplements compared to those who received a placebo.

Notably, the benefits were more pronounced in individuals with baseline vitamin D levels exceeding 20 ng/mL, where the reduction in depressive symptoms was substantial. This suggests that higher levels of vitamin D may be necessary to achieve meaningful improvements in depression.

A study published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry also revealed a compelling association between vitamin D deficiency and increased depressive symptoms in older adults.¹⁴The study analyzed data from 299 participants, with over 60% classified as either vitamin D deficient or insufficient.

These individuals exhibited higher scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale, particularly in the dysphoria and meaninglessness subdomains. This negative correlation suggests that lower vitamin D levels are directly linked to heightened feelings of sadness, hopelessness and a lack of purpose — core elements of depression. Notably, the study found that higher vitamin D sufficiency levels, nearing 95.5 ng/mL, were associated with minimal to no depressive symptoms.

These results underscore the crucial role that adequate vitamin D plays in maintaining mental health, highlighting the potential of VD supplementation as a strategic intervention to alleviate depressive symptoms in older populations. Anxiety disorders, much like depression, significantly impact your daily life and overall well-being.

Separate research highlights that low vitamin D levels are not only associated with increased symptoms of depression but also with heightened anxiety.¹⁵ Vitamin D’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties play a role in mitigating the oxidative stress and inflammation that are key players in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders.

Brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which are involved in regulating mood and anxiety, contain vitamin D receptors and the enzyme necessary for activating vitamin D. This suggests that adequate vitamin D levels are essential for maintaining the health and functionality of these brain areas. Supplementing with vitamin D has also been found to help reduce anxiety symptoms.¹⁶

Maximizing the Benefits of Sunlight for Vitamin D Production

While vitamin D supplements are widely available, sunlight remains the gold standard for vitamin D synthesis in your body. Beyond just vitamin D production, sun exposure offers additional health advantages. In fact, elevated vitamin D levels often indicate healthy sun exposure, which may explain many of the health benefits traditionally attributed to vitamin D alone, including reduced mental health benefits, cancer risk and enhanced longevity.

One important factor that’s often overlooked in sun exposure discussions, however, is the impact of dietary oils, particularly seed oils. If you regularly consume seed oils, you’ll need to exercise extra caution with sun exposure. These oils contain high amounts of linoleic acid (LA), which becomes problematic when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. The interaction between sunlight and LA-rich skin triggers inflammation and DNA damage.

For this reason, it’s advisable to limit sun exposure to earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon if you’ve been consuming these oils regularly. A safe approach is to wait four to six months after eliminating these oils from your diet before increasing sun exposure. Several personal characteristics also influence how your body tolerates and responds to sunlight:

Guidelines for Safe Sun Exposure

The simplest way to gauge appropriate sun exposure is the “sunburn test.” Monitor your skin for any signs of redness. If you don’t notice even slight pinkness, you’re likely within a safe exposure range. Always avoid sunburn, as it indicates damage. As you reduce LA stores in your body, your susceptibility to sunburn and skin cancer decreases significantly.

These recommendations account for both optimal vitamin D production and protection against oxidative stress while your body eliminates stored LA so during the transition period:

If sun exposure is necessary before your body has cleared seed oils, consider these protective measures:

Vitamin D Supplementation Tips

If regular sun exposure isn’t feasible, vitamin D supplementation may be necessary. However, the current definition of vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL) has been shown to be inadequate for good health and disease prevention. While sufficiency begins around 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L in European measurements), the target range for optimal health is 60 to 80 ng/mL (150 to 200 nmol/L). To optimize your vitamin D levels:

1. Test your levels twice a year
2. Adjust sun exposure or supplementation based on the results
3. Retest after three to four months to confirm you’ve reached target levels
4. Continue monitoring to maintain optimal levels

Remember that everyone’s relationship with the sun is unique. Listen to your body’s signals and adjust your exposure accordingly. The goal is to harness the benefits of sunlight while avoiding sunburn. Further, keep in mind that the interplay between vitamin D and mental health is intricate and multifaceted. While supplementation shows promise, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Vitamin D deficiency could be both a consequence of mental illness — due to factors like reduced sunlight exposure and poor diet — and a contributing factor to the severity and resistance to treatment of these conditions. Therefore, addressing vitamin D levels should be part of a holistic approach to mental health care, alongside dietary improvements, physical activity and other psychosocial interventions.

However, ensuring adequate vitamin D levels through safe sun exposure and supplementation when necessary is a valuable component in supporting your mental well-being. By taking proactive steps to manage your vitamin D status, you contribute positively to your overall mental health and resilience against psychiatric disorders.

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Notes

^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11} Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Nov 21;59(12):2056

^{6, 7, 9, 12} Diseases. 2024 Jun 20;12(6):131

¹³ J Affect Disord. 2024 Jan 1:344:653-661. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.021. Epub 2023 Oct 16

¹⁴ The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry July 2024, Volume 32, Issue 7, P808-820

^15, 16 Curr Nutr Rep. 2022 Sep 13;11(4):675–681

Featured image source

Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has continually referred to Canada as the 51st state while calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “governor” since their meeting at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Nov. 29.

“Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!” Trump wrote on social media on Dec. 18, one of his latest comments repeating the taunt.

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Matthew Horwood is a reporter based in Ottawa.

Omid Ghoreishi is with the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times.

Parece haver uma crise grave nos exércitos ocidentais, apesar dos esforços dos seus governos para se prepararem para um cenário de conflito. Tem havido recentemente uma onda preocupante de abandono de deveres militares nas forças armadas britânicas. Muitos recrutas estão a abandonar os seus postos, simplesmente recusando-se a continuar a servir. Isto mina os planos britânicos de expandir as suas capacidades militares e põe em causa a própria legitimidade do governo britânico.

Segundo o The Telegraph, mais de 15 mil soldados britânicos deixaram as forças armadas entre novembro de 2023 e outubro de 2024. No mesmo período, apenas 12 mil novos soldados foram recrutados, o que resultou numa redução real do pessoal militar britânico. Os especialistas temem que isto se possa tornar numa tendência, levando a um enfraquecimento progressivo das forças armadas de Londres.

“Os soldados estão a abandonar as Forças Armadas a um ritmo alarmante (…) Pela primeira vez desde que há registo, existem agora apenas dois militares ou mulheres por cada mil pessoas na Grã-Bretanha. Cerca de 15.119 deixaram as Forças Armadas no ano até Outubro. destes, 7.778 foram contabilizados como “saída voluntária”, aqueles que optaram por sair por vontade própria. As forças recrutaram pouco mais de 12.000 efetivos no mesmo período, resultando numa redução líquida da força militar”, diz o artigo.

É importante ressaltar que estes dados surgem em meio a um contexto de esforços militares de Londres para reverter o cenário de enfraquecimento militar. O governo britânico está a lançar iniciativas importantes para expandir as forças armadas e melhorar as capacidades de defesa. Um dos principais incentivos neste processo é o aumento salarial dos soldados britânicos, recentemente anunciado em 6% – o mais elevado em duas décadas, embora ainda esteja abaixo do salário médio dos funcionários públicos britânicos.

“O Ministério da Defesa (MoD) anunciou o aumento, o maior para as forças em 22 anos, em julho – bem como os pagamentos de retenção – numa tentativa de manter o talento. No entanto, os números mais recentes sugerem que o aumento pode não ter sido suficiente e, apesar disso, os novos recrutas para as forças armadas continuam entre os funcionários públicos mais mal pagos na Grã-Bretanha. O pagamento em termos reais para soldados rasos do Exército aumentou apenas 1,9 por cento desde 2011, em comparação com 13,39 por cento para os novos médicos. 10,14% para os maquinistas. Uma pesquisa das Forças Armadas publicada em maio mostrou que a satisfação com a remuneração básica dos militares está no nível mais baixo já registrado”, acrescenta o jornal.

Na verdade, o Reino Unido não está a conseguir convencer os seus cidadãos a permanecerem nas forças armadas. Nem mesmo gastar mais dinheiro com salários parece eficaz para fazer com que os jovens britânicos permaneçam no exército. Na prática, os britânicos simplesmente não querem servir o seu país e estar preparados para o caso de eventual necessidade, como num possível cenário de conflito.

Existem muitos fatores que explicam esta situação. Na verdade, os baixos salários são um problema sério, uma vez que não parece interessante que os jovens britânicos permaneçam nas forças armadas, considerando o elevado custo de vida no país e o dinheiro oferecido na carreira militar. Contudo, este não é o único fator a ser considerado. Há também questões políticas e psicológicas envolvidas neste processo de redução de militares.

Os britânicos estão atualmente a sofrer uma lavagem cerebral por parte do seu governo, que tenta fazê-los acreditar que existe uma ameaça militar iminente – supostamente representada pela Federação Russa. Londres está a promover internamente os mesmos sentimentos anti-russos que foram disseminados na Ucrânia, na Polônia e nos países bálticos desde o fim da Guerra Fria. Faz parte do plano da OTAN fomentar a paranóia sobre uma “ameaça russa”, a fim de legitimar o seu apoio sistemático à Ucrânia. A tentativa de expandir as capacidades militares face a alegadas “novas ameaças” é resultado deste processo de lavagem cerebral: Londres quer convencer os seus jovens a estarem prontos para uma guerra iminente.

No entanto, como também acontece em muitos outros países ocidentais, os cidadãos britânicos questionam a legitimidade destas medidas. Os britânicos comuns não parecem acreditar numa “ameaça russa”, e parece bastante claro para todos que esta é uma narrativa política infundada – inventada apenas para legitimar os esforços de guerra da OTAN. É extremamente difícil convencer os jovens a juntarem-se às forças armadas sem sentimentos patrióticos genuínos, tentando persuadi-los apenas com dinheiro e narrativas políticas irrealistas. Isto explica por que tantos jovens britânicos estão a abandonar o serviço militar.

O melhor que o Reino Unido pode fazer é respeitar a decisão do seu povo e pôr fim a quaisquer iniciativas paranóicas para expandir as forças armadas, evitando o envolvimento em guerras estrangeiras e cooperando na desescalada.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

Artigo em inglês : Young British leaving the armed forces, InfoBrics, 23 de Dezembro de 2024.

Imagem :  InfoBrics

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Lucas Leiroz, membro da Associação de Jornalistas do BRICS, pesquisador do Centro de Estudos Geoestratégicos, especialista militar.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://x.com/leiroz_lucas

Before the year ends, we would like to acknowledge the contributions and generosity of all our authors, donors, readers and followers. 

To all of you, our deepest and heartfelt gratitude! 🙇

We at Global Research wish you a Happy and Wonderful Holidays! 🎄

May your 2025 be filled with joy and peace. 🕊️

 

 

Here’s a video from 2021.

Remember the 2021 COVID-19 Christmas under lockdown?

Will it happen again?

 

Nissan Motor and Honda Motor are discussing a merger that could create the world’s No. 3 carmaker and leave Japan with just two auto-manufacturing groups.

A combination of some sort has been under consideration for some time as the companies work to stay competitive in the face of overcapacity and the need for huge investments related to electric-vehicle and self-driving technologies.

Discussions have become more urgent in recent months.

It has become clear that Nissan is in trouble and that something akin to a bailout is needed, rather than simply cooperation, joint production or any of the other similar measures considered for the companies to work together, short of merging.

At a news conference Monday, they announced that talks on the historic deal have commenced.

“To lead the mobility transformation, we’ve come to think that we need something bolder than just cooperation in some specific fields,” said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe. “We have reconfirmed that a merger would create synergies in all kinds of fields.”

Mitsubishi Motors, which is more than a third owned by Nissan, said it may join the talks and will decide by January. The three automakers aim to finalize the merger talks by June next year and establish a new holding company by the summer 2026.

Click here to read the full article on The Japan Times.

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Featured image: Nissan headquarters in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Earlier this month, the company that brings us ChatGPT announced its partnership with California-based weapons company, Anduril, to produce AI weapons. The OpenAI-Anduril system, which was tested in California at the end of November, permits the sharing of data between external parties for decision making on the battlefield.

This fits squarely within the US military and OpenAI’s plans to normalize the use of AI on the battlefield.

Anduril, based in Costa Mesa, makes AI-powered drones, missiles, and radar systems, including surveillance towers, Sentry systems, currently used at US military bases worldwide as well as the US-Mexico border and on the British coastline to detect migrants on boats. On December 3rd, they received a three-year contract with the Pentagon for a system that gives soldiers AI solutions during attacks.

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An Anduril Sentry Tower in California (Licensed under CC BY 3.0)

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In January, OpenAI deleted a direct ban in their usage policy on “activity that has high risk of physical harm” which specifically included “military and warfare” and “weapons development.” Less than one week after doing so, the company announced a partnership with the Pentagon in cybersecurity.

While they might have removed a ban on making weapons, OpenAI’s lurch into the war industry is in total antithesis to its own charter. Their own proclamation to build “safe and beneficial AGI [Artificial Generative Intelligence]” that does not “harm humanity” is laughable when they are using technology to kill. ChatGPT could feasibly, and probably soon will, write code for an automated weapon, analyze information for bombings, or assist invasions and occupations.

We should all be frightened by this use of AI for death and destruction. But this is not new. Israel and the US have been testing and using AI in Palestine for years. In fact, Hebron has been dubbed a “smart city” as the occupation enforces its tyranny through a perforation of motion and heat sensors, facial recognition technologies, and CCTV surveillance. At the center of this oppressive surveillance is the Blue Wolf System, an AI tool that scans the faces of Palestinians, when they are photographed by Israeli occupation soldiers, and refers to a biometric database in which information about them is stored. Upon inputting the photo into the system, each person is classified by a color-coded rating based on their perceived ‘threat level’ to dictate whether the soldier should allow them to pass or arrest them. The IOF soldiers are rewarded with prizes for taking the most photographs, which they have termed “Facebook for Palestinians”, according to revelations from the Washington Post in 2021.

OpenAI’s war technology comes as the Biden administration is pushing for the US to use the technology to “fulfill national security objectives.” This was in fact part of the title of a White House memorandum released in October this year calling for rapid development of artificial intelligence “especially in the context of national security systems.” While not explicitly naming China, it is clear that a perceived ‘AI arms race’ with China is also a central motivation of the Biden administration for such a call. Not solely is this for weapons for war, but also racing for the development of technology writ large. Earlier this month, the US banned the export of HBM chips to China, a critical component of AI and high-level graphics processing units (GPU). Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned that China is two to three years ahead of the US when it comes to AI, a major change from his statements earlier this year where he remarked that the US is ahead of China. When he says there is a “threat escalation matrix” when there are developments in AI, he reveals that the US sees the technology only as a tool of war and a way to assert hegemony. AI is the latest in the US’ unrelenting – and dangerous – provocation and fear mongering with China, who they cannot bear to see advance them.

In response to the White House memorandum, OpenAI released a statement of its own where it re-asserted many of the White House’s lines about “democratic values” and “national security.” But what is democratic about a company developing technology to better target and bomb people? Who is made secure by the collection of information to better determine war technology? This surely reveals the alignment of the company with the Biden administration’s anti-China rhetoric and imperialist justifications. As the company that has surely pushed AGI systems within general society, it is deeply alarming that they have ditched all codes and jumped right in with the Pentagon. While it’s not surprising that companies like Palantir or even Anduril itself are using AI for war, from companies like OpenAI – a supposedly mission-driven nonprofit – we should expect better.

AI is being used to streamline killing. At the US-Mexico border, in Palestine, and in US imperial outposts across the globe. While AI systems seem innocently embedded within our daily lives, from search engines to music streaming sites, we must forget these same companies are using the same technology lethally. While ChatGPT might give you ten ways to protest, it is likely being trained to kill, better and faster.

From the war machine to our planet, AI in the hands of US imperialists means only more profits for them and more devastation and destruction for us all.

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Nuvpreet Kalra is CODEPINK’s Digital Content Producer. Nuvpreet completed a Bachelor’s in Politics & Sociology at the University of Cambridge, and an MA in Internet Equalities at the University of the Arts London. As a student, she was part of movements to divest and decolonize, as well as anti-racist and anti-imperialist groups. Nuvpreet joined CODEPINK as an intern in 2023, and now produces digital and social media content. In England, she organizes with groups for Palestinian liberation, abolition and anti-imperialism.

Tim Biondo is the digital communications manager for CODEPINK. They hold a bachelor’s degree in Peace Studies from The George Washington University.

Featured image: OpenAI headquarters, Pioneer Building, San Francisco (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The United States, Turkey and Israel all responded to the fall of the Assad government in Damascus by launching bombing campaigns on Syria. Israel also attacked and destroyed most of the Syrian Navy in port at Latakia, and invaded Syria from the long-occupied Golan Heights, advancing to within 16 miles of the capital, Damascus.

The United States said that its bombing campaign targeted remnants of Islamic State in the east of the country, hitting 75 targets with 140 bombs and missiles, according to Air Force Times.

A long-standing force of 900 U.S. troops illegally occupy that part of Syria, partly to divert Syria’s meagre oil revenues to the U.S.’s Kurdish allies and prevent the Syrian government regaining that source of revenue. U.S. bombing badly damaged Syria’s oil infrastructure during the war with the Islamic State, but Russia has been ready to help Syria restore full output whenever it recovers control of that area. U.S. forces in Syria have been under attack by various Syrian militia forces, not just the Islamic State, with at least 127 attacks since October 2023.

Meanwhile, Turkiyë is conducting airstrikes, drone strikes and artillery fire as part of a new offensive by a militia it formed in 2017 under the Orwellian guise of the “Syrian National Army” to invade and occupy parts of Rojava, the autonomous Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria.

Israel, however, launched a much broader bombing campaign than Turkey or the U.S., with about 600 airstrikes on post-Assad Syria in the first eight days of its existence. Without waiting to see what form of government the political transition in Syria leads to, Israel set about methodically destroying its entire military infrastructure, to ensure that whatever government comes to power will be as defenseless as possible.

Israel claims its new occupation of Syrian territory is a temporary move to ensure its own security. But while Israel bombed Syria 220 times over the past year, killing about 300 people, Syria showed restraint and did not retaliate for those attacks.

The pattern of Israeli history has been that land grabs like this usually turn into long-term illegal Israeli annexations, as in the Golan Heights and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. That will surely be the case with Israel’s new strategic base on top of Mount Hermon, overlooking Damascus and the surrounding area, unless a new Syrian government or international diplomacy can force Israel to withdraw.

Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Russia and the UN have all joined the global condemnation of the new Israeli assault on Syria. Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy to Syria, called Israel’s military actions “highly irresponsible,” and UN peacekeepers have removed Israeli flags from newly-occupied Syrian territory.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry called Israel’s actions “a dangerous development and a blatant attack on Syria’s sovereignty and unity as well as a flagrant violation of international law… that will lead the region to further violence and tension.”

The Saudi Foreign Ministry reiterated that the Golan Heights is an occupied Arab territory, and said that Israel’s actions confirmed “Israel’s continued violation of the rules of international law and its determination to sabotage Syria’s chances of restoring its security, stability and territorial integrity.”

The only country in the world that has ever recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights is the United States, under the first Trump administration, and it is part of Biden’s disastrous legacy in the Middle East that that he failed to stand up for international law and reverse Trump’s recognition of that illegal Israeli annexation.

As people all over the world watch Israel ignore the rules of international law that every country in the world is committed to live by, we are confronted by the age-old question of how to respond to a country that systematically ignores and violates these rules. The foundation of the UN Charter is the agreement by all countries to settle their differences diplomatically and peacefully, instead of by the threat or use of military force.

As Americans, we should start by admitting that our own country has led the way down this path of war and militarism, perpetuating the scourge of war that the UN Charter was intended to provide a peaceful alternative to.

As the United States became the leading economic power in the world in the 20th century, it also built up dominant military power. Despite its leading role in creating the United Nations and the rules of the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, it came to see strict compliance with those rules as an obstacle to its own ambitions, from the UN Charter’s prohibition against the threat or use of military force to the Geneva Conventions’ universal protections for prisoners of war and civilians.

In its “war on terror,” including its wars on Iraq and other countries, the United States flagrantly and systematically violated these bedrock foundations of world order. It is a fundamental principle of all legal systems that the powerful must be held accountable as well as the weak and the vulnerable. A system of laws that the wealthy and powerful can ignore cannot claim to be universal or just, and is unlikely to stand the test of time.

Today, our system of international law faces exactly this problem. The U.S. presumption that its overwhelming military power permits it to violate international law with impunity has led other countries, especially U.S. allies but also Russia, to apply the same opportunistic standards to their own behavior.

In 2010, an Amnesty International report on European countries that hosted CIA “black site” torture chambers called on U.S. allies in Europe not to join the United States as another “accountability-free zone” for war crimes. But now the world is confronting a U.S. ally that has not just embraced, but doubled down on, the U.S. presumption that dominant military power can trump the rule of law.

The Israeli government refuses to comply with international legal prohibitions against deliberately killing women and children, by military force and by deprivation; seizing foreign territory; and bombing other countries. Shielded from international accountability behind the U.S. Security Council veto, Israel thumbs its nose at the world’s impotence to enforce international law, confident that nobody will stop it from using its deadly and destructive war machine wherever and however it pleases.

So the world’s failure to hold the United States accountable for its war crimes has led Israel to believe that it too can escape accountability, and U.S. complicity in Israeli war crimes, especially the genocide in Gaza, has inevitably reinforced that belief.

U.S. responsibility for Israel’s lawlessness is compounded by the conflict of interest in its dual role as both Israel’s military superpower ally and weapons supplier and the supposed mediator of the lopsided “peace process” between Israel and Palestine, whose inherent flaws led to Hamas’s election victory in 2006 and now to the current crisis.

Instead of recognizing its own conflict of interest and deferring to intervention by the UN or other neutral parties, the U.S. has jealously guarded its monopoly as the sole mediator between Israel and Palestine, using this position to grant Israel total freedom of action to commit systematic war crimes. If this crisis is ever to end, the world cannot allow the U.S. to continue in this role.

While the United States bears a great deal of responsibility for this crisis, U.S. officials remain in collective denial over the criminal nature of Israel’s actions and their instrumental role in Israel’s crimes. The systemic corruption of U.S. politics severely limits the influence of the majority of Americans who support a ceasefire in Gaza, as pro-Israel lobbying groups buy the unconditional support of American politicians and attack the few who stand up to them.

Despite America’s undemocratic political system, its people have a responsibility to end U.S. complicity in genocide, which is arguably the worst crime in the world, and people are finding ways to bring pressure to bear on the U.S. government:

Members of CODEPINK, Jewish Voice For Peace and Palestinian-, Arab-American and other activist groups are in Congressional offices and hearings every day; constituents in California are suing two members of Congress for funding genocide; students are calling on their universities to divest from Israel and U.S. arms makers; activists and union members are identifying and picketing companies and blocking ports to stop weapons shipments to Israel; journalists are rebelling against censorship; U.S. officials are resigning; people are on hunger strike; others have committed suicide.

It is also up to the UN and other governments around the world to intervene, and to hold Israel and the United States accountable for their actions. A growing international movement for an end to the genocide and decades of illegal occupation is making progress. But it is excruciatingly slow given the appalling human cost and the millions of Palestinian lives at stake.

Israel’s international propaganda campaign to equate criticism of its war crimes with antisemitism poisons political discussion of Israeli war crimes in the United States and some other countries.

But many countries are making significant changes in their relations with Israel, and are increasingly willing to resist political pressures and propaganda tropes that have successfully muted international calls for justice in the past. A good example is Ireland, whose growing trade relations with Israel, mainly in the high-tech sector, formerly made it the fourth largest importer of Israeli products in the world in 2022.

Ireland is now one of 14 countries who have officially intervened to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the others are Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Libya, the Maldives, Mexico, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain and Turkiyë. Israel reacted to Ireland’s intervention in the case by closing its embassy in Dublin, and now Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has smeared Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Simon Harris as “antisemitic.”

The Taoiseach’s spokesperson replied that Harris “will not be responding to personalized and false attacks, and remains focused on the horrific war crimes being perpetrated in Gaza, standing up for human rights and international law and reflecting the views of so many people across Ireland who are so concerned at the loss of innocent, civilian lives.”

If the people of Palestine can stand up to bombs, missiles and bullets day after day for over a year, the very least that political leaders around the world can do is stand up to Israeli name-calling, as Simon Harris is doing.

Spain is setting an example on international efforts to halt the supply of weapons to Israel, with an arms embargo and a ban on weapons shipments transiting Spanish ports, including the U.S. naval base at Rota, which the U.S. has leased since it formed a military alliance with Spain’s Franco dictatorship in 1953.

Spain has already refused entry to two Maersk-owned ships transporting weapons from North Carolina to Israel, while dockworkers in Spain, Belgium, Greece, India and other countries have refused to load weapons and ammunition onto ships bound for Israel.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has passed resolutions for a ceasefire in Gaza; an end to the post-1967 Israeli occupation; and for Palestinian statehood. The General Assembly’s 10th Emergency Special Session on the Israel-Palestine conflict under the Uniting for Peace process has been ongoing since 1997.

The General Assembly should urgently use these Uniting For Peace powers to turn up the pressure on Israel and the United States. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has provided the legal basis for stronger action, ruling that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories Israel invaded in 1967 is illegal and must be ended, and that the massacre in Gaza appears to violate the Genocide Convention.

Inaction is inexcusable. By the time the ICJ issues a final verdict on its genocide case, millions may be dead. The Genocide Convention is an international commitment to prevent genocide, not just to pass judgment after the fact. The UN General Assembly has the power to impose an arms embargo, a trade boycott, economic sanctions, a peacekeeping force, or to do whatever it takes to end the genocide.

When the UN General Assembly first launched its boycott campaign against apartheid South Africa in 1962, not a single Western country took part. Many of those same countries will be the last to do so against Israel today. But the world cannot wait to act for the blessing of complacent wealthy countries who are themselves complicit in genocide.

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Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist, a researcher for CODEPINK and the author of Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq, and, with Medea Benjamin, of War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, published by OR Books, with an updated and expanded edition due in March 2025.

Featured image: Israeli troops unfurl Israeli flag on Mount Hermon in Syria. Photo credit: Times of Israel

This is an excerpt from the Statement of the International Delegation to the 2021 Syrian Presidential Election:

“We saw nothing to indicate unfairness or coercion in the casting of ballots.

We overwhelmingly found that Syrian people place tremendous significance on this election. During and after the election, we observed huge enthusiasm. It appeared genuine and widespread.

…

For many Syrians, the election represents the imminent ending of the war, the defeat of foreign plots, and hope for the future.

For young people, it encapsulates the first period of relative stability they have experienced in their living memory.

For them, the presidential election was a referendum on the right of the Syrian people to determine their own future.

…

It is the unanimous conclusion of the undersigned representatives of the International Delegation to the 2021 Syrian Presidential Election that the re-election of President Bashar al-Assad, of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and the National Progressive Front, is the legitimate, democratic expression of the Syrian people.”

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Mark Taliano is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) and the author of Voices from Syria, Global Research Publishers, 2017.

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There are nearly 14 million children in the USA who suffer from food insecurity and hunger, or about one in five. During the peak of the COVID crisis this had come close to about 18 million (see The Conversation discussion by four experts titled ‘18 million US children are at risk of hunger’, January 21, 2021).

This is part of a wider and serious problem of hunger and food insecurity in all age-groups.

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s report ‘Household Food Security in the USA in 2022’, in 2022 17 million US households (or 12.8% of the total number of households) were food insecure or suffered from hunger to a lesser or greater extent. This number had increased from 10.2% in 2021. Within this number of 17 million households, 6.8 million had very low food security, or suffered even more from hunger. This number of households suffering from very high food insecurity also went up from 3.8% to 5.1% from 2021 to 2022, when seen as a percentage of total households.

The number of households where children suffered from food insecurity is recorded at lower levels as the number of households with children is only 39% of total households in the USA, and also because elders generally try to protect children from hunger. Nevertheless it is disturbing to learn from this official report that the number of households with child food insecurity and hunger was 2.3 million in 2021 and went up very rapidly to 3.3 million in 2022, a 44% increase in just one year. Similarly households with high child food insecurity (which includes children skipping meals or altogether going without food for a day) increased from 274,000 in 2021 to 381,000 in 2022 in just one year, a 40% rise in just one year. 

In addition there are hungry children (age-group up to 18) living outside households who face high food insecurity, including those who are homeless.

Food insecurity and hunger among certain sections of population like blacks and Latinos are significantly higher than the national average.

Hence a question arises that a country which has very high GNP and the topmost number of billionaires, which has very high natural resource base, which was favored by history to emerge at the top, which has extraordinary power to create currency and trade systems to suit its interests, is unable to feed its people properly and has very high rates of hunger and food insecurity among its people and most glaringly among its children.

What is more, while the country could make available hundreds of billions of dollars for the most destructive wars and proxy wars, it could not make available tens of billions of dollars which could have ensured that (almost) no one was hungry in the USA, as per the estimates given by various groups fighting hunger in USA.

In fact the available data shows that while the USA was getting deeply involved in such proxy conflicts which have been extremely costly in terms of loss of life, the number of those affected by hunger and food insecurity in the USA was rising at a very high rate.

In many parts of USA the expected decrease in hunger following the end of COVID crisis did not take place as some of the special programs to keep away hunger and other deprivation during the COVID days were rolled back too hurriedly.

In fact recently the Food Research and Action Center issued a warning that as about 12 states in the USA are poised to move away from a combined 1.4 billion dollar spending on food and nutrition (EBT) program, this can lead to an increase in food insecurity for about 10 million children during the summer next year (2025).

All this draws attention to how far removed capitalism, particularly in its more aggressive forms, is from meeting the most priority needs of its own people, let alone being sensitive to the needs and safety of the people of other countries.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine, A Day in 2071 and Planet in Peril. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Two categories of foreign mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine – those who fight to earn some measly money and those who earn thousands of dollars a month by providing various services, ranging from training the Ukrainian army in combat to removing mines. However, what has become abundantly clear is that these mercenaries are not willing to die for Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently announced a new $725 million military aid package for Kiev. During the administration of US President Joe Biden, a total of $62 billion was allocated to the Eastern European country. The US military industry and US private military companies operating in Ukraine earn from this.

Several private military companies have been awarded contracts to support the Ukrainian armed forces in the war against Russia. Under contracts with the Pentagon and the State Department, American and Canadian military companies are engaged in protecting facilities in Ukraine, demining, reconnaissance, and training Ukrainian soldiers in artillery fire. They also maintain F-16 fighter jets and train crews.

Most of the funds allocated by the Biden administration were spent on the purchase of weapons and support for the US military-industrial complex, which is why they went to US companies that produce and supply weapons. In addition, large quantities of weapons were also provided from the existing Pentagon arsenals.

Private military companies’ involvement in Ukraine is quite limited. Most of their services in other countries were primarily aimed at low-intensity conflicts, and their opponents were partisan or rebel formations in various countries. In such situations, private military companies could provide effective protection of communications, facilities, and property or participate in low-intensity battles against regular units.

However, the Ukrainian conflict is a war of large armies, an artillery war and a drone war. Private military companies, which are used to operating in low-intensity conditions, are not the best suited for the Ukraine War, which is why they have suffered heavy losses defending the Kiev regime. By the end of 2023, the peak of mercenaries in Ukraine had passed. Today, there are significantly fewer than before.

This has caused issues since, as consistent throughout history, mercenaries want to make money but do not want to die for others.

The Russian Ministry of Defence regularly publishes estimates of the number of mercenaries and their losses in Ukraine. Moreover, the Ministry also provides data on the countries from which these mercenaries came. The largest number comes from Poland, then from the United States, and recently, many mercenaries have been arriving from Latin America, especially from economically less developed countries such as Colombia and Bolivia.

People come to Ukraine to earn money, but this conflict does not bring much income. Most of these mercenaries die in Ukraine or disappear without a trace. In many cases, their families never find their bodies. According to reports in March, almost 13,400 foreign mercenaries had arrived in the war-torn country to fight against the Russian army. By then, about 6,000 had been eliminated. According to the Russian military, most of the mercenaries came to Ukraine from Poland, the United States, Canada, and Georgia.

As for salaries, the Ukrainian government does not particularly enrich foreign mercenaries, so they are paid the same as regular soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian army. For many in Latin America, for example, a little money motivates them to be cannon fodder.

However, other mercenaries, such as highly qualified specialists, are hired to service complex Western equipment. These people receive significantly more money—at the level of first-class armies such as the armies of the European Union or the United States. These specialists do not go to the front or lie in the trenches but work on radars, air defence systems, aircraft systems, and other complex equipment that the US and the EU supply to the Ukrainian military. For such specialists, the salaries are much higher – perhaps several thousand dollars per month, and for some specialized jobs, such as air defence system operators or experts in long-range missiles such as ATACMS or Storm Shadow, salaries can reach tens of thousands per month.

Ukraine has adopted a law that allows foreign citizens to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and hold officer and command positions, officially legalizing their participation in the army’s structure. This confirms that cooperation with foreigners in the military continues and that they are attempting to fill the shortage of qualified personnel in the Ukrainian military.

Regarding the influence of private military companies on the conflict and the course of the special military operation, the greatest influence is exerted by highly qualified specialists working on the maintenance and use of Western weapons, which are now crucial in this conflict, as they enable the achievement of tactical and operational goals. Although the number of mercenaries participating in the fighting is not large, their role in maintaining and operating complex Western weapons systems has a major impact on the course of the conflict.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. 

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Even Kiev’s closest allies seem to be getting tired of the war. In a recent statement, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewski stated that his country has reached the limit of its assistance to Ukraine and is no longer able to send any large-scale aid. This shows how NATO countries are fed up with the consequences of the war, losing large amounts of resources and suffering substantial losses.

In an interview with Radio Zet, the Polish deputy minister expressed his concerns about Warsaw’s massive support for Kiev. He fears that the country will begin to lose its own military capability due to the systematic delivery of weapons to the Ukrainian regime. Furthermore, Zelewski stressed that Poland will not send its MiG-29 jets to Kiev, claiming that such a move under the current circumstances would leave the country vulnerable and threaten Polish national security.

The deputy minister stated that the only way to make it possible to send these fighters to Ukraine is by replacing the Polish fleet. Therefore, he asked the US to send F-35 jets to Poland, which would allow the current fleet to be replaced with more modern equipment, creating the necessary conditions to finally send the MiG-29s to Ukraine. Previously, Warsaw had already sent a number of Soviet-era fighters to Ukraine, but Zelewski made it clear that continuing this policy of unrestricted arms transfers would harm Warsaw, which is why a new military policy is being established in Poland, prioritizing national security over supporting Kiev.

Speaking very clearly and objectively, he ruled out implementing new aid packages to Ukraine for now. Zelewski said that Polish aid had “hit the wall” and could not be expanded without causing harm to the country. In this sense, although Poland continues to support Ukraine and does its best to meet the demands of its neighbor partner, it is not feasible to continue expanding the military packages.

“Today, our most important goal is to enhance the defense capabilities of the Polish army, because we believe we have given what we could, and more (…) But we can’t give any more (…) We are reaching the end. I understand we have hit the wall,” he said.

Previously, Zelewski and his boss, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, had reiterated that Poland has already supplied Ukraine with all the weapons that could be sent without causing damage to Poland’s own military capabilities. At least until 2026, when Warsaw expects to receive American F-35 jets, Polish aid is likely to be reduced or remain “frozen.”

It must be emphasized that since 2022, Poland has already sent more than 4.5 billion euros in military assistance to Ukraine. According to data published by Germany’s Kiel Institute, more than 70% of this money was spent on direct arms supply. Poland is undoubtedly one of the countries most involved in the conflict, with an almost direct participation in the war, since, in addition to sending aid to the regime, it keeps its borders open for the transit of foreign equipment to Ukraine.

The participation of Polish troops is also something worth noting. Poland is one of the countries that sends the most mercenaries to Ukraine. Russian troops often eliminate Polish soldiers on the battlefield. Although they are simply called “mercenaries”, these soldiers are sent to Ukraine with the full support of the Polish state, which encourages them to fight against Moscow. Thus, it is possible to say that Warsaw is already actively participating in the war, and the nickname “mercenaries” for its soldiers is just a tactic to circumvent international law and keep Polish territory free from Russian attacks.

Recently, some experts have begun to mention the possibility that Poland is being prepared by NATO for a future war with Russia. American aid to Poland has been expanding recently, indicating that there is a special position for the country in NATO’s war plans. In fact, considering Poland’s high level of involvement in the current conflict, it is possible that it is being prepared by NATO to replace Ukraine in the anti-Russian proxy war, once the Ukrainian army collapses.

In this sense, it is possible that the Polish concern to preserve its military stockpiles is related to a NATO directive for Warsaw to prepare for war. Furthermore, it is necessary to emphasize that Poland is affected by the same type of ultranationalist and Russophobic ideology as Ukraine, with high levels of paranoia among local decision-makers. So, whether or not there is a NATO guideline, Polish politicians certainly fear the so-called “Russian threat”, which is why they want to have enough weapons to defend themselves.

In fact, regardless of the reasons for the Polish decision, this is just more evidence that NATO countries are incapable of keep helping Ukraine, lacking the material conditions to continue with large-scale assistance.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Notes

Is President Biden Contemplating “A Preemptive Pardon” for Dr. Anthony Fauci? He Knew that Remdesivir Would Result in Mortality

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, December 22, 2024

RFK Jr in his book entitled the Real Anthony Fauci documents Fauci’s “30 years of abuse of power, during both the HIV epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic.” According to RFK Jr. Tony Fauci knew from the very outset that remdesivir would kill.

Mayor of NYC: 500,00 Missing Children! The True Pandemic Nobody Is Fighting

By Peter Koenig, December 23, 2024

New York City (NYC) Mayor Eric Adams proclaims that 500,000 unaccompanied immigrant children are missing [in the US alone]; that they have been handed over to unvetted “sponsors” who may – and probably will – abuse them as sex-slaves, child-labor slaves and possibly worse.

War Industry Destroys Our Lives. Manlio Dinucci

By Manlio Dinucci, December 23, 2024

While the car crisis, aggravated by further US protectionist measures, puts 40,000 jobs at risk in Italy, and Italy’s public debt has climbed to 139% of GDP and is still rising, Italy’s military spending continues to grow: according to official NATO data, it will amount to around 32 billion euros in 2024, an average of around 88 million euros a day.

The Flu Vaccine: Science at Its Worst

By Richard Gale and Dr. Gary Null, December 22, 2024

Joshua Hadfield was a normal, healthy developing child as a toddler. In the midst of the H1N1 swine flu frenzy and the media fear mongering about the horrible consequences children face if left unvaccinated, the Hadfield family had Joshua vaccinated with Glaxo’s Pandermrix influenza vaccine. Within weeks, Joshua could barely wake up, sleeping up to nineteen hours a day. Laughter would trigger seizures.

Cuba Through the Eyes of the Revolution. Embedded with the Calixto Garcia Brigade. Vive Fidel!

By Michael Welch, December 22, 2024

From John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden, U.S. presidents have subjected the biggest island in the Caribbean Sea to a trade embargo. In late 2020, President Donald Trump made sanctions even worse by placing Cuba on his list of “state sponsors of terrorism” as well as banning Cuba from purchasing important medicines and imposing sanctions on oil imports from Venezuela.

Pandemic 2.0 Unleashed? California Declares State of Emergency Amid Bird Flu Propaganda Blitz

By Ben Bartee, December 22, 2024

Here is, just a couple of weeks ago or so, palpably unhealthy lardball and high priest of The Science ™ Dr. Peter Hotez forecasting “big picture stuff coming down the pike starting on January 21st” — as in, the day Trump assumes office.

Corporate Agriculture’s War Against the Family Farm: Tears, Water, Gas and Cannons But India’s Farmers Stand Firm

By Colin Todhunter, December 22, 2024

In late 2021, the Indian government announced that three important farm laws, which would have introduced neoliberal shock therapy to the agriculture sector, would be repealed after a one-year farmers’ mobilisation against the legislation.

The environment where the final showdown of global hegemony will take place will be the oceans, as it has been in the past. Since China is the most serious rising power against the US, we can easily say that this area will be the Western Pacific Ocean. The most talked about scenario today is China’s intervention in Taiwan in 2027 or 2028 or a crisis concerning the 9-points line in the South China Sea escalating and triggering a war between the US and China, first indirectly and then directly. In both the Taiwan and South China Sea scenarios, the main front will be the ocean, sea and islands. Therefore, the kinetic power of both navies and their potential areas of capability will determine the outcome of the war. From the beginning, the US can adopt the Ukraine model and help China’s rivals such as Taiwan or the Philippines with indirect ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and firepower support and hybrid war techniques. However, since the area where the war will be waged and the definitive result will be achieved is the oceanic  environment, even the indirect support will not be easy, as it was in Ukraine.

The Difficulty of Waging a Proxy War in the Pacific 

Since there is no proxy war at sea in a crisis in the Pacific and the fog of war will be very intense in the events that will occur, direct engagements between US and Chinese ships or aircraft will be in question. On the other hand, ship movements or logistical support to the islands, examples of which can only be seen in World War II, will be in question, and in this case, even if US and Chinese ships or unmanned sea vehicles avoid confrontation, there will definitely and inescapably be confrontation in the air, surface and underwater. Although the US would adopt an indirect approach, scenarios requiring direct engagement will emerge unexpectedly. As a result, when the war spreads to the ocean, the outcome will inevitably be at the ocean. The eventuality of this war will be determined by the capabilities of the navies to conduct joint and combined operations; their logistical integration capabilities, especially fuel and ammunition; and the speed at which they can repair damaged ships and replace sunken ones. The essence of war on land is iron and blood. In other words, the number of armed combatants, the ordnance and the will to fight are the main determinants. However what is essential at sea is to first establish situational awareness in the vast waters of the ocean and then to prevent the enemy from using the sea as a means of transportation or power projection into land. To attain this objecitve, a manned or unmanned ship and flying elements (helicopters, aircraft and UCAV/UAV) providing tactical support to the ship are essentilas. The ship is always at the center. What is essential on the ship is the shipbuilding capacity of the motherland.

American Record Between 1941-1945 

The main reason for the US victory in World War II was its capacity to build ships, both merchant and naval ships. In World War II, the USA, which produced 6000 ships in 24 shipyards belonging to the Navy and 150 shipyards belonging to the private sector between 1941-1945, broke the world record under the conditions of that day.

Image: SS John W. Brown on the Great Lakes in 2000. John W. Brown is one of only two surviving World War II Liberty Ships, the other being the SS Jeremiah O’Brien.

For example, the American-made Liberty and Victory-class dry cargo ships, which formed the backbone of the logistic support convoys that changed the course of the war in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, were built and put into service in record short periods of time. Between 1941 and 1945, the 7,000-ton Liberty and 15,000-ton Victory-class cargo ships were built. The Liberty class broke records in production speed. An average ship was built in 42 days. When the war ended in 1945, there were 2,710 Liberty and 510 Victory-class ships in service. Only these two classes of ships were built by around 30 private shipyards.

The Declining American Shipbuilding Industry 

In 1975, the U.S. shipbuilding industry was number one in terms of global capacity, with more than 70 commercial ships ordered for domestic production. Approximately 50 years later, the U.S. has now fallen to 19th place in the global rankings. Today, the U.S. is facing serious shipbuilding problems. After the end of the Cold War, there was an increase in the number of countries building commercial ships because of globalization. On the other hand, the demand for warships in the US domestic market has decreased. Submarine production fell from 3.8 per year in the 1980s to 0.7 in the 1990s. Demand started to increase again in the 2000s, but the industry was not ready. Today, there is a significant increase in the government’s demand for ships for the navy, but the shipyards are insufficient to achieve this goal. Since 2019, the navy has ordered 3 submarines  per year, two of which are nuclear-powered attack submarines and one is a nuclear ballistic missile submarine, but the actual production has been only half of this.

China’s Post-2000 Record

Today, China has achieved a similar performance to the US in World War II. China currently controls 64.7% of all new merchant ship orders in the world. These values ​​are 19.6% for South Korea and 11.2% for Japan. US shipyards, on the other hand, produced only 0.13% of world orders. Especially in the last decade, the amount of new merchant ship orders from China has increased by 170%. This increase has not been previously seen in the history. It was an unprecedented development. The global share of 10% in 2000, reaching 65% in the last 24 years is doubtlessly a great success. During the same period, the total new ship order rate of South Korea and Japan decreased from 78% to 31%.

In parallel with these developments, most recently, the US Naval Intelligence Directorate (ONI) announced that China’s merchant ship construction capacity is 232 times greater than that of the US. While China’s new ship construction capacity is 33,200,000 tons, this value is around 100,000 tons for the US. The main factor that transformed the Chinese Navy from a defensive to an offensive strategic transformation in a short period of 30 years is  its ship construction capacity, which uses the advantages of basic raw materials, technological accumulation and qualified manpower. This capacity is developing every passing day in the fields of naval and merchant ships and unmanned marine vehicles. On the other hand China builds the machinery, electronic systems and weapons of its warships without being dependent on foreign sources. In reaching this stage, the extensive subsidies of the state undoubtedly ensured China’s global leadership. After 2000, the Chinese government ensured that the shipbuilding sector transitioned to dual-use features, as the US government did in World War II.

Reasons for the US Decline

The father of modern capitalism, Adam Smith, believed that shipbuilding was one of the few industries that deserved national support and should not be left solely to market forces. After the Cold War, the US left shipbuilding in the hands of market forces. The situation is best summarized by US Secretary of the Navy Del Toro:

“China can produce in one year as many ships as the US can produce in 7 years.”

At the beginning of the Cold War, the US Navy had 11 military shipyards. Today, there are no military shipyards left. There are around 7 civilian shipyards capable of building large warships. This number is a few dozen in China. While the 154 civilian shipyards in the US today can focus on warship production in the event of war, this number is 1,100 in China. Another problem of the US maritime power is the insufficient number of competent and skilled shipyard workers. Today, there are 150,000 shipbuilding and repair workers employed in US private shipyards and 38,000 in public shipyards. This number is very insufficient for a country like the US. Increasing shipbuilding and repair capacity will require more skilled workers in addition to engineers. However, since American youth are not inclined to become intermediate workers such as shipyard welders and plumbers, there is a weakness even in the current situation. As production moves overseas and capital and labor migrate to more profitable areas, knowledge and skilled labor in the US have atrophied. In an article titled “Worker Shortages Risks US Security” in the Wall Street Journal on December 20, 2024, writer Greg Ip says:

“Wages here at the shipyard start at $17 an hour, exceed $20 a year, and exceed $30 for those with more seniority. This once represented a significant premium for unskilled jobs in the region. Not now. Local fast-food restaurants pay up to $16 an hour, and Target advertises warehouse jobs for as little as $24.’’

Image: CSSC gantry cranes in June 2012 (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)

China’s State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) alone will employ an estimated 200,000 people by 2023. If the remaining 1,100 shipyards are considered, China’s shipbuilding sector will employ more than half a million workers. 

From Merchant Ships to Warships 

As is known, to increase the construction capacity of naval vessels, it is first necessary to develop its merchant shipbuilding capabilities. China has done this in the last 30 years. China, which has achieved a record close to the United States’ record in World War II in merchant shipbuilding, has been able to convert this success into its warship-building capabilities. This development has become the biggest threat the United States has faced in the world’s oceans and seas since the Cold War. In the report titled ‘’China’s Naval Modernization: Implications for the United States – Background and Considerations for Congress’’ published by the US Congressional Research Center on August 16, 2024, this situation was expressed as follows (https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/RL33153.pdf): ‘’Between 2015 and 2020, the Chinese Navy surpassed the US Navy numerically. The Chinese Navy is by far the largest navy in East Asia.’’ According to the report, which states that the Chinese Navy is the largest navy in the world with 370 combat ships, this navy is expected to have 395 ships by 2025 and 435 combat ships by 2030. In comparison, the US Navy has 296 combat ships as of August 12, 2024. This number will be 294 in 2030. U.S. military officials and other observers have described China’s warship-building efforts and capabilities as alarming compared to American capabilities and have identified the Chinese Navy as the single biggest obstacle to U.S. wartime control of high-seas areas in the Western Pacific. Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who continues to serve as the 33rd Commander of the U.S. Naval Forces (CNO), having launched the ‘’Project 33” action plan states the following:

“We cannot create a larger conventional navy in a few years or focus solely on numbers without the right capabilities to win the struggle for sea control… But even without these resources, we will improve our combat readiness, capabilities and capacity. We must understand that the navy faces serious financial and industrial constraints.”

The most striking emphasis in the action plan is that they are preparing to fight China in 2027. Franchetti later adds:

“The defense industry of the People’s Republic of China is now in a state of war with the world’s largest shipbuilding infrastructure at the disposal of the navy.”

On the other hand, while the Chinese Navy has grown by 100% in the number of ships in the last 23 years, the American Navy has shrunk by 20%. While the Chinese navy has added 165 warships to its navy in the last 23 years, this number has remained at 90 for the US. On the other hand, China has grown by 300% in tonnage growth in the last 23 years, while the US Navy has grown by 2%. For example, while the US has approved the retirement of 19 warships, including 3 nuclear attack submarines and 4 cruisers, for 2025, the number of new ships to be built has been limited to 6. Let’s add that new shipbuilding programs are already progressing with a 3-year delay in each class of new ship. The US Navy’s greatest advantage in the Taiwan scenario is nuclear attack submarines (SSN). According to US planners, the US’s requirement for this type of submarine is 66 nuclear attack submarines. However, today they only have 49. The US will need to produce 2.3 to 2.5 attack submarines per year. Today, this value is 1.2 per year.

Repair and Maintenance Deficiency

The 350 repair and maintenance facilities that were closed in the US and overseas bases after 1989 also dealt a major blow to the maintenance and repair capability of ships damaged during wartime, rather than shipbuilding. For example, the closest American territory to China, Guam Island, has no capacity  to dry-dock American warships since 2016. There are only 54 warship repair facilities approved by the US Navy Department in the entire US coasts. The US General Accounting Office  (GAO) acknowledged this dire problem in June 2021 and published a highly critical report (GAO-21 -246). 

Merchant Marine Fleet, Coast Guard and Fishermen

The situation is much worse in terms of the merchant marine fleet. China operates the world’s largest merchant marine fleet with a total national flag tonnage of 102 million DWT. Chinese companies own or operate one or more terminals in 96 foreign ports. 36 of these ports are among the world’s top 100 ports in terms of container volume. On the other hand, the number of ships that can provide logistical support to establish a sea lift to US bases and allies in the Pacific is around 85. For China, this number is 5,500. On the other hand, the Chinese Coast Guard has 225 ships over 500 tons. China is also one of the few countries in the world with a Maritime Militia. As an inseparable part of the naval force, the militia has equipment, personnel and discipline that can be used in times of crisis or escalation. China has around 500 thousand fishing boats. It is estimated that the number of boats that can be used for militia purposes is around 250 thousand.

While Hegemony at Sea Changes Hands

The US has long lost its numerical dominance at sea. The American Navy gave its government the chance to protect American interests by controlling the global commons covering two-thirds of the planet. The ability to use these areas as a power projection  environment and as an area to deny enemy maritime trade provided a great advantage for the US. However, this ability is now in trouble. Controlling the main transportation routes of the seas was the locomotive of the West’s 500-year dominance and hegemony in the international system. The European Atlantic system was established by seizing ports and controlling strategic sea routes.

Russia and China have learned from history. In contrast to the Atlantic system dependent on the seas, they developed Asian transportation networks to provide an alternative in case the connection to the sea is cut off. Today, cost-effective and time-efficient transportation corridors have emerged in Asia, where the coasts from the Norwegian Sea to the Indo-China peninsula are out of the control of the Atlantic system. On the other hand, the distances in the Pacific theater of operations are 2-3 times longer than the European war front. It is very difficult to achieve military success without uninterrupted sea transportation and the establishment of a sea bridge. Therefore, in the Taiwan scenario, China may not even need to directly engage in military action. The blockade of the island may be sufficient after a certain period. Taiwan is 81 miles away from China and 7,600 miles away from the US. If military intervention in Taiwan is on the agenda, it will be extremely difficult for the US and the coalition it will form to deter and block China, considering their current relative force comparison and shipbuilding capacity.

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Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, Writer, Geopolitical Expert, Theorist and creator of the Turkish Bluehomeland (Mavi Vatan) doctrine. He served as the Chief of Strategy Department and then the head of Plans and Policy Division in Turkish Naval Forces Headquarters. As his combat duties, he has served as the commander of Amphibious Ships Group and Mine Fleet between 2007 and 2009. He retired in 2012. He established Hamit Naci Blue Homeland Foundation in 2021. He has published numerous books on geopolitics, maritime strategy, maritime history and maritime culture. He is also a honorary member of ATASAM.  

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: A Type 052C destroyer, Changchun, in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia in 2017 (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

While the car crisis, aggravated by further US protectionist measures, puts 40,000 jobs at risk in Italy, and Italy’s public debt has climbed to 139% of GDP and is still rising, Italy’s military spending continues to grow: according to official NATO data, it will amount to around 32 billion euros in 2024, an average of around 88 million euros a day. The target the Italian government has pledged to reach and surpass in the short term is 100 million euros per day.

In order to persuade citizens to make sacrifices for an increase in military spending, the mainstream political media are sowing the seeds of fear of an imminent Russian attack on Europe. The headline in La Stampa is emblematic:

‘Sweden on alert prepares 30,000 graves for soldiers in case of war with Russia’.

In this context, Italy has signed an agreement with Britain and Japan – called the ‘Global Combat Air Programme’ – for the production of a sixth-generation fighter aircraft. By mid-2025, a joint venture between BAE Systems (UK), Leonardo (Italy) and JAIEC (Japan), whose first CEO will be a Leonardo executive, will be set up to carry out the programme.

Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica) is not only an Italian company: it is an international industrial group, whose shareholders are 38% owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and 57% by US institutional investors. It generates consolidated revenues of more than EUR 15 billion annually. The Group operates in 150 countries – mainly Italy, the United States, Great Britain and Poland – in the Aerospace and Defence sector: it produces dual-capacity conventional and nuclear fighter-bombers, drones, helicopters, and electronic and space systems. Leonardo, which acquired the Israeli company RADA Electronic Industries, is also integrated into Israel’s military-industrial system, helping to make the weapons used in the genocide of the Palestinians more lethal.

How much the Global Combat Air Programme will cost Italy to produce the sixth-generation fighter aircraft is unknown. It is estimated that the fighter’s development alone will cost each of the three partners around EUR 30 billion. However, it is known how much the fifth-generation F-35 fighter has cost the United States so far: more than 400 billion dollars, and counting, for the relentless modernisation of this dual conventional and nuclear-capable weapon system.

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This article was originally published in Italian on Grandangolo, Byoblu TV.

Manlio Dinucci, award winning author, geopolitical analyst and geographer, Pisa, Italy. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). 

Featured image is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Original article first published November 2016

Author’s Note

In October 2010, I was invited to the home of Fidel Castro in the outskirts of Havana to discuss US foreign policy, the dangers of nuclear war, the global economic crisis and the unfolding New World Order.

These meetings which extended over several days resulted in a wide-ranging and fruitful conversation which was published by Global Research and Cuba Debate.

I should mention that Fidel Castro was an avid reader of Global Research. His writings were also featured on our website. 

While Fidel fully understood the insidious role of  NGO’s and philanthropic foundations in supporting Washington’s covert meddling operations inside Cuba, he expressed hope that there would be a turn-around with Obama, for whom he had high regard.

When we started our discussions on a Tuesday afternoon, Fidel had already read from cover the cover Bob Woodward’s book entitled Obama’s Wars, which had been released a few days earlier in Washington (expedited to Havana in the diplomatic pouch). 

Five years later in October 2015, I returned to Cuba on the invitation of the Centro de Investigaciones de Politica Internacional (CIPI), a research centre and think tank affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

There was a sense of optimism at the height of Obama’s second term. The theme of the conference was to analyze the process of geopolitical transition opened up by the resumption of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US.

During that visit, I met up with several friends and colleagues (academics, members of parliament) who were acutely aware of Washington’s undercover role of political cooptation. They expressed their concern (October 2015) that a so-called Golpe Blando, namely “Soft Coup” was in the making.

Unilateral sanctions were never abandoned. In 2019, Donald Trump instated Title III of the 1996 Helms Burton Act, which unleashed the most severe economic sanctions against Cuba since the blockade was first introduced in 1962.

Upon Biden’s accession to the White House, the blockade was nonetheless maintained despite the vote of the UN General Assembly (184 in favour 3 against) demanding an end to the 60-years U.S. economic blockade on Cuba.

The Covid-19 Crisis

But there is another important issue which has largely been overlooked. The covid-19 narrative as well as its various policies (including the vaccine) have become an integral part of US foreign policy under the Biden administration.

The Covid-crisis has obvious geopolitical implications. It constitutes a means to destabilize countries which do not conform to the diktats of  global capitalism. Throughout Latin America it is the source of economic and social chaos. It is also a means to destabilize progressive governments throughout the continent including Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico.

In this regard, the March 2020 Covid-19 lockdown ordered by the upper echelons of the financial establishment has literally destroyed the Cuban economy, specifically the tourist industry which is the country’s main source of foreign exchange.

The lockdown as well the Covid-19 vaccine are presented to public opinion as a means to protecting peoples lives. That’s an outright lie. 

The so-called covid-19 lockdown on March 11, 2020 leading to the simultaneous “closure” of 190 national economies was a deliberate act of economic, social and political sabotage.

With regard to Cuba, the Covid-19 crisis has wrecked havoc. It is all encompassing. It extends beyond the US sanctions regime which the Cuban government has effectively handled for the last 59 years.

The Covid-19 lockdown has weakened the country’s institutions, it has created social divisions, it has impoverished Cuba’s population.  It has also created conditions for a US inspired “color revolution”.

Yet at the same time the legitimacy of the Covid-19 narrative, which emanates from Washington and Wall Street, was accepted and endorsed by the Cuban people and their government.

Unfortunately, despite the fraud and scientific falsehoods which are amply documented, the Covid-19 narrative has also been endorsed by “progressives” throughout Latin America.

This in turn has led to misleading statements by the Left on the causes of the protest movement in Cuba. The underlying focus is solely on the blockade as the cause of food shortages, poverty and unemployment. The devastating social and economic impacts of the covid lockdown which is undermining the achievements of the Cuban Revolution are casually ignored.

 

Michel Chossudovsky, Bastille Day, July 14, 2021, U.S Election Day, November 5, 2024, December 23, 2024

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To the People of Cuba: Is Washington Preparing a “Soft Coup”? The Co-optation of Cuban Intellectuals

by Michel Chossudovsky

The article was originally published in November 2016 following my visit to Havana in 2015

Also available in Spanish

To the People of Cuba,

The Cuban Revolution constitutes a fundamental landmark in the history of humanity, which challenges the legitimacy of global capitalism. In all major regions of the World, the Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration in the relentless struggle against neo-colonial domination and US imperialism.

The World is at a critical crossroads. At this juncture of our history, most “real” progressive movements towards socialism have been destroyed and defeated through US-NATO led wars, military interventions, destabilization campaigns, regime change, coups d’etat, “soft coups”.

Progressive movements as well as “The Left” in Western Europe and the U.S. have largely been coopted, often financed by elite corporate foundations. 

The socialist project in Cuba nonetheless prevails despite the US economic blockade, CIA intelligence ops and dirty politics.

While the legacy of Fidel Castro lives, let us be under no illusions, Washington’s intent not only consists in destroying the Cuban Revolution, it also seeks to erase the history of socialism.

Washington’s Diabolical Design

There are indications that a “regime change” in Cuba is currently contemplated by Washington policy makers.  The Trump administration has been categorical in this regard. The repercussions will be felt throughout Latin America.

During the election campaign “he committed himself to reversing Obama’s Presidential Policy Directive titled “United States-Cuba Normalization,”(a 12-page directive—referred to officially as “PPD-43”). (The Nation, October 2017). No subsequent statement following Trump’s inauguration has as yet been forthcoming.

Of significance is Trump’s appointment of Dr. Judy Shelton to head the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a think tank and funding agency geared towards regime change. As a former Vice-President of the NED, Shelton was  “directly involved in lending legitimacy to US-backed subversion in Cuba as part of a decades-long attempt to overthrow the government in Havana and expand US hegemony over the Caribbean.”

Whatever US- Cuba “normalization” is contemplated by the Trump Administration, it would be geared towards the restoration of capitalism through acts of sedition, infiltration, etc. combined with the imposition of neoliberal economic reforms, including the IMF’s “strong economic medicine”. The fundamental question is how Cuba and the Cuban people will, in the current context, respond to these ongoing threats.

How does Washington plan to carry out this plan. Fundamentally through:

1) Measures which contribute to destabilizing the Cuban economy and its monetary system.

2) Procedures which are conducive to the eventual integration of the Cuban economy into the nexus of the IMF-World Bank-WTO, including the imposition of policy conditionalities  geared towards dismantling Cuba’s social programs, its rationing of essential consumer goods, etc.

3) To reach their objectives, Washington and its European allies have over the years devised various covert mechanisms of infiltration and cooptation with a view to influencing government policy makers, managers of public sector enterprises as well as intellectuals. In this regard Washington has also relied on its European partners which have established bilateral relations with Cuba.

 

Fidel Castro and Michel Chossudovsky. See Woodward’s book entitled “Obama’s Wars” on table

Fidel Castro Ruz and Michel Chossudovsky, October 2010

This article will largely concentrate on the activities of right wing European foundations involved in funding Cuban think tanks and research centers.

The objective is the cooptation of researchers, scholars and intellectuals. The purpose is to build a “new normal”  which will pave the way towards the insertion of Cuban socialism into the logic of World capitalism. While retaining the socialist narrative, this process is ultimately intended to undermine the Cuban revolution, opening the door to economic deregulation, foreign investment and privatization. The “acceptance” by Cuban intellectuals of this “new normal” is essential to reaching the goal of capitalist restoration.

Background: US Interventionism

In recent years, the modalities of US interventionism have changed dramatically:  The thrust of U.S. foreign policy largely consists in destabilizing sovereign countries through a process of “regime change” (color revolution). The latter consists in  destabilizing the national economy, manipulating national elections, co-opting leftist intellectuals, bribing politicians, financing opposition parties, engineering violence and protest movements.

In Latin America, pro-US military dictatorships have largely been replaced by pro-US  (fake) “democracies”. In turn, neoliberal economic reforms under the guidance of the IMF-World Bank have served to impoverish the population, thereby creating conditions which favor protest as well as social and political strife.

The rigging of elections in Latin America is coupled with engineered protests and the co-optation of Left intellectuals funded both by US and European foundations and NGOs, with links to US intelligence.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) created in 1983 alongside a number of other US based foundations has taken the lead. The NED’s mandate is to promote democracy and human rights in developing countries.

The NED is an unofficial arm of the CIA. According to former NED president Carl Gershman:

“It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the C.I.A. … We have not had the capability of doing this, and that’s why the endowment was created.”

In the words of the NED’s first president Alan Weinstein: ” A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA” (Washington Post, September 22, 1991).

The NED Project in Cuba. Entry through the “Back Door”

While the NED is banned in Cuba, it nonetheless finances indirectly –through partner foundations and proxy NGOs based in Florida —  a large number of so-called “democracy projects”.  Many of these partner (US based) organizations –including the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio), the Instituto Cubano por la Libertad de Expresion y Prensa,  the Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos– have links to US intelligence. Historically, the NED has functioned through partners in the European Union which have formal bilateral links with Cuba.

With regard to Germany, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (linked to the Social Democratic Party), the Hans Böll Stiftung (Green Party) and the Hanns Seidel Stiftung (linked to the right wing Bavarian Christian Democratic Party (CSU)) have agreements with Cuba.

America’s Proxy: The Hanns Seidel Foundation, Instrument of the Right Wing CSU Party of Bavaria

In this essay I will focus primarily on the role of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, with specific reference to its role in Cuba and Venezuela.

The Hanns Seidel Stiftung (HSS), via the right wing Bavaria CSU, has a direct relationship to the government of Angela Merkel, who, in many regards is considered a US proxy  Historically, the activities of the HSS have been supportive of right wing political interventionism.

Many of HSS’ activities in developing countries as well as in Eastern Europe are carried out in partnership with US foundations including the NED and, Soros’ Open Society Foundation. HSS also has links with various think tanks including Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs) and the American Enterprise Institute. It hosts speaking events as well as training programs in collaboration with NATO, the EU and the German government.

The Hanns Seidel Stiftung (NSS) has intervened in many countries, often in liaison with the NED and the US State Department. In the early 1990s it was involved in the so-called “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine, which resulted in mass poverty and the destabilization of the Ukrainian economy.

More recently, Hanns Seidel (HSS) has maintained links with the current Kiev regime, largely with a view to confronting Moscow and destabilizing Donbass.

HSS through its Washington office has routine consultations with the US government, Congress, think tanks, including major partner foundations.

HSS is also in liaison with US based foundations including the NED, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundation.

HSS continues to maintain close ties to the Kiev regime which is integrated by two Neo-Nazi parties. The CSU and the HSS have informal ties to German intelligence, the Bundes Nachrichtendienst (BND).

One of the main activities of the Hanns Seidel Foundation has been the co-optation of Leftist intellectuals and scholars. This has been carried out by financing key policy-oriented think tanks and research institutes.

Hanns Seidel in Venezuela

Of significance, the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSS) was actively involved in financing the opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski in Venezuela in the 2012 elections. Its activities extended far beyond its endorsement of  Capriles’ candidacy. In its quarterly report, the HSS openly acknowledges its dislike of the Bolivarian process.  In this regard, the HSS was involved in organizing a number of anti-government conferences, largely with a view to upholding free market capitalism (neoliberalism) and smearing the Chavez government.  The HSS was also used to create links with right wing parties including COPEI and Primera Justicia.

It is worth noting that more than forty years ago, the CDU and CSU parties (to which the Hanns Seidel foundation is affiliated) were involved in providing financial support to the protagonists of the military coup against president Salvador Allende. And in the wake of the coup, they provided economic aid to  the military government of Augusto Pinochet.

HSS is still involved in Venezuela, financing a number of projects. Their unspoken objective is the destabilization of the Bolivarian government.

 

I should mention that the Cuban government was fully aware of the Hanns Seidel’s intrusion in the 2012 elections in favor of  the Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Rononski. (see above)

Hanns Seidel representing the CSU of Bavaria is also involved in the politics of several Latin American countries including Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Bolivia. In Ecuador the CSU through Hanns Seidel is cooperating with the Corporación Autogobierno y Democracia, Fundación Acción y Desarrollo Comunitario (ACDECOM) and various other organizations.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation in Cuba

Now let me turn my attention to Cuba, focussing on a specific activity of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in which I was personally involved.

In October 2015, I was invited to participate in an international venue of the Centro de Investigaciones de Politica Internacional (CIPI), a research centre and think tank affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The theme of the conference was to analyze the process of geopolitical transition opened up by the resumption of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US.

Transicion geopolitica del poder global: entre la cooperacion y el conflicto

The event was funded by the Hanns Seidel Stiftung. Scholars were invited from Western Europe, Latin America, Africa, the US and Canada.

A few weeks following my acceptance to participate in the venue addressed to CIPI, I received a message from the Hanns Seidel Stiftung informing me that the event was supported by them and that the HSS would be funding all my expenses including an honorarium. The message stated that they would be in contact with me regarding issues pertaining to a contract. They also requested that I submit a so-called “propuesta de servicios” (offer of services).

I was fully aware of the track record of the HSS, specifically on how they had intervened in the Venezuelan 2012 presidential elections in support of Capriles Radonski, with a view to ultimately undermining Hugo Chavez.

I was shocked by the fact that CIPI had requested funding from HSS. The intent of HSS (acting on behalf of Bavaria’s CSU, a right wing party) in liaison with its partner organizations in Washington was to undermine socialism in Cuba. It also consisted in  co-opting Cuban scholars and intellectuals in anticipation of a broad process of political change.

I responded to the HSS invitation indicating both to them and to the CIPI organizers that I would be funding my travel and accommodation expenses and did not see the need to receive funding from the HSS. This decision created confusion in the processing of my participation in the conference.

The October 2015 Conference

What happened: some very good contributions by prominent Cuban and Latin American scholars and scientists on a variety of important topics. But there were several black holes in the program no doubt related to the fact that the HSS linked to Bavaria’s CSU was funding the venue and had imposed its conditions.

 

Venezuela 

1. A key session of the conference was on Venezuela, focussing on the future of the Bolivarian government and its historical relationship to Cuba.

Not a single participant from Venezuela had been invited to the Conference, thereby foreclosing a dialogue and discussion between Cuban and Venezuelan intellectuals. (Visibly this was a decision of the Hanns Seidel Foundation ).  

All the presentations on Venezuela were by Cuban scholars.

No doubt the HSS had blocked the invitation of progressive Venezuelan intellectuals aligned with the Bolivarian revolution.  The topic of the conference (i.e. transition and normalization with the US) is of crucial significance to both Cuba and Venezuela.

It should be understood that in the present context, the future of Cuban socialism [2016] largely hinges upon maintaining and building Cuba-Venezuela relations within the context of the Bolivarian revolution. The HSS was intent upon denying a political dialogue and debate between Cuban and Venezuelan intellectuals.

The objective of the HSS was to undermine and weaken the longstanding relationship between Cuba and the Bolivarian government of Venezuela. Ironically, nobody among the Cuban organizers and participants was aware of Hanns Seidel’s dirty politics in Venezuela (e.g Their support of the Opposition candidate Capriles, 2012 elections).

In contrast, the session on Mexico included four distinguished scholars from Mexico. There was a large delegation of Mexicans as well as from other Latin American countries.  Not a single Venezuelan was invited.

2. A session on US Foreign Policy included Israeli academic Yossi Mekelberg associated with Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs (UK), an arch-reactionary British think tank, with links to the Washington based Council on Foreign Relations.

The presentation by the Israeli academic provided a biased interpretation of what was happening in Syria and Palestine.  The US led terrorist insurgency in Syria was  casually described as a “civil war”, Palestinians were tagged as terrorists,  and President Bashar al Assad was accused of killing his own people, much in the same way as the US-UK corporate media.

According to Mekelberg, quoted by Newsweek, the ISIS “emulates” the Palestinians:

http://europe.newsweek.com/netanyahu-ramming-atttacks-isis-palestinians-inspired-541097?rm=eu

 

The Cuban scholars who were participating in this event did not take the trouble to react or express their disdain. Representatives from Palestine had not been invited. 

The question is why would such an individual (affiliated to Chatham House, supportive of the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv) be invited to socialist Cuba by a research centre associated with Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs?  

Cuba has historically expressed solidarity with Palestine as well as with the struggle of the people of Syria and Iraq, who are currently the object of acts of military aggression by US-NATO.

Why did they not invite a committed socialist scholar from Palestine to debate US foreign policy? Was it a condition set by the Right Wing CSU of Bavaria via the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSS)?

3. Another session focussed on Ukraine. Among the participants was the President of the Vienna based International Institute for Peace Prof. Hannes Swoboda, who is a (former) member of the European Parliament. Swoboda outlined his support for US-NATO in Eastern Europe directed against Russia as well as his endorsement of Ukraine’s Maidan Kiev regime (which is integrated by two Neo-Nazi parties). No reaction by the Cuban intellectuals, participating in this venue was forthcoming. 

Lest we forget, the Cuban government has expressed its solidarity with the people of Donbass and Crimea. In turn, the people of Donbass acknowledged their solidarity with Cuba and the teachings of Fidel Castro (see below). But this was not an issue of debate at the CIPI Conference.

In the words of Fidel Castro:

Cuba, which has always stood in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and in the difficult days of the Chernobyl tragedy provided medical care to the many children affected by the accident’s of harmful radiation, and is always willing to continue doing so, cannot refrain from expressing our repudiation of the action of the anti-Russian, anti-Ukrainian and pro-imperialist [Kiev] government. (July 14, 2014)

Hannes Swoboda invited to Cuba by CIPI  (to quote Fidel Castro) was “anti-Russian, anti-Ukrainian and pro-imperialist”.  As MEP, he initiated (together with several other MEPs) the anti-Russian pro-NATO procedure at the European parliament, calling for support of the illegitimate Kiev regime, integrated by two Neo-Nazi parties. (see below)

 

Concluding Remarks, The Legacy of Fidel Castro

It is my sincere hope that what I have presented in this article will be the object of debate and discussion in Cuba.

The Cuban government is committed to protecting the achievements of the Cuban revolution.

In the current context, this is no easy task. As  outlined in the Introduction, Washington is intent not only upon destroying the Cuban Revolution, it also seeks to erase the history of socialism.

The intent of Western foundations –operating directly or indirectly on behalf of Washington– is to trigger divisions within Cuban society, through infiltration and  co-optation, the ultimate objective of which is the restoration of capitalism. 

These mechanisms of co-optation are also facilitated by the dual currency system in Cuba, which has allowed Hanns Seidel and other European foundations to make payments to Cuban think tanks and research institutes in convertible currency (CUC).

Increased “dollarization” of retail consumer prices (expressed in CUC) is conducive to impoverishment and social inequalities.

Cubans are well aware of this evolving crisis: people who earn income in CUC convertible pesos have acquired purchasing power. In contrast, those whose earnings are largely in nonconvertible Cuban pesos are excluded from the CUC consumer economy.

Washington’s broader intent is to implement measures which contribute to destabilizing the Cuban economy and its monetary system, namely to reintegrate Cuba into a dollarized World economy.

Procedures are also envisaged by Washington to eventually reintegrate the Cuban economy into the nexus of the IMF-World Bank-WTO, including the imposition of policy conditionalities  geared towards dismantling Cuba’s social programs, its rationing of essential consumer goods, etc.

It is essential to block these initiatives. Debate and discussion on the mechanics of “capitalist normalization” are crucial, both within Cuba and internationally.

A revolutionary narrative per se will not sustain Fidel’s legacy, unless it is backed by concrete actions and carefully designed policies.

The mechanics of capitalist restoration and the various modes of political interference and social engineering must be forcefully addressed.

The battle against war and neoliberalism prevails. 

For the outright criminalization of America’s imperial wars,

For a World of Social Justice with a true “responsibility to protect” our fellow human beings,

Long Live Fidel Castro Ruz

“RFK Jr. is now in all important ways directly accusing Anthony Fauci of mass murder.

Fauci, as the lead official in the federal government response to COVID, powerfully incentivized use of Remdesivir, at any stage for people of all ages, early in the “COVID Crisis” by allowing 20% to be added on to the entire Medicare hospital bill. The dangers of Remdesivir were already well-known.” (Prius)

On April 29, 2020, six weeks after the declared national “state of emergency,” Fauci announced from the White House that Remdesivir “will be the standard of care” for COVID.”

link to Video

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RFK Jr in his book entitled the Real Anthony Fauci documents Fauci’s “30 years of abuse of power, during both the HIV epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic”

According to RFK Jr. Tony Fauci knew from the very outset that remdesivir would kill .  

The Washington Post applauded Anthony Fauci’s announcement (April 29, 2020):

“The preliminary results, disclosed at the White House by Anthony S. Fauci, …  fall short of the magic bullet or cure… But with no approved treatments for Covid-19,[Lie] Fauci said, it will become the standard of care for hospitalized patients …

The data shows that remdisivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery,” Fauci said.

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The deaths resulting fro Remdesevir have been amply documented

Remdesivir, which to this day is the primary COVID drug approved for use in U.S. hospitals, routinely causes severe organ damage and, often, death

Despite that, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved remdesivir for in-hospital and outpatient use in children as young as 1 month old (Dr. Joseph Mercola, emphasis added)

 In a  2020 scientific study: (Clinical Microbiology and Infection May 1, 2021.), the researchers assessed the increased risk of bradycardia among COVID-19 patients who were exposed to remdesevir. The analysis included all reports of COVID-19 patients registered until September 23, 2020.

The researchers found that among the 2,603 reports of COVID-19 patients prescribed with remdesevir, 302 developed cardiac adverse effects, 94 (or 31%) of which are bradycardia. Of the 94 cases of bradycardia, 80% were serious cases, and 16 were fatal. Compared with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), lopinavir/ritonavir, tocilizumab, or glucocorticoids, the use of remdesivir was associated with a higher risk of reporting bradycardia.

Download Complete report 

“Preemptive Pardon” by the Outgoing President?

“A Preemptive Pardon” is a new legal upside down concept put forth by Joe Biden. Its legitimacy has been accepted by the mainstream media. It consists in granting a pardon to individuals who risk at some future date of being accused of crimes they had previously committed.

 

While several names in press reports (including Fauci) (ABC news, December 9, 2024), were mentioned, there is no evidence that Biden has granted a preemptive pardon to Tony Fauci. 

“Legal experts said Biden can protect people Trump considers his political enemies by issuing them preemptive pardons”

 No Preemptive Pardon for Fauci…

Ooops: No “Preemptive Pardon” for the outgoing President of the United States.

 

 

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, December. 22, 2024

 

Below is Prof. Michel Chossudovsky’s chapter on remdesivir from his eBook, The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity.

The text below was first published two months after Fauci’s 29 April 2020 announcement. It confirms that Fauci’s methodology is fraudulent and that Remdesevir is a dangerous drug which has resulted in mortality.

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LancetGate: “Scientific Corona Lies” and Big Pharma Corruption.

Hydroxychloroquine Versus Gilead’s Remdesivir

By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky,

Global Research, July 5, 2020

Introduction

There is an ongoing battle to suppress Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a cheap and effective drug for the treatment of Covid-19. The campaign against HCQ is carried out through slanderous political statements, media smears, not to mention an authoritative peer reviewed “evaluation”  published on May 22nd by The Lancet, which was based on fake figures and test trials.

The study was allegedly based on data analysis of 96,032 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between Dec 20, 2019, and April 14, 2020 from 671 hospitals Worldwide. The database had been fabricated. The objective was to kill the Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) cure on behalf of Big Pharma.

While The Lancet article was retracted, the media casually blamed “a tiny US based company” named Surgisphere whose employees included “a sci-fi writer and adult content model” for spreading “flawed data” (Guardian). This Chicago based outfit was accused of having misled both the WHO and national governments, inciting them to ban HCQ. None of those trial tests actually took place.

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While the blame was placed on Surgisphere, the unspoken truth (which neither the scientific community nor the media have acknowledged) is that the study was coordinated by Harvard professor Mandeep Mehra under the auspices of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) which is a partner of the Harvard Medical School.

When the scam was revealed, Dr. Mandeep Mehra who holds the Harvey Distinguished Chair of Medicine at  Brigham and Women’s Hospital apologized:

I have always performed my research in accordance with the highest ethical and professional guidelines. However, we can never forget the responsibility we have as researchers to scrupulously ensure that we rely on data sources that adhere to our high standards.

It is now clear to me that in my hope to contribute this research during a time of great need, I did not do enough to ensure that the data source was appropriate for this use. For that, and for all the disruptions – both directly and indirectly – I am truly sorry. (emphasis added)

Mandeep R. Mehra, MD, MSC  (official statement on BWH website)

But that “truly sorry” note was just the tip of the iceberg. Why?

Studies on Gilead Science’s Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) Were Conducted Simultaneously by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)

While The Lancet report (May 22, 2020) coordinated by Dr. Mandeep Mehra was intended “to kill” the legitimacy of HCQ as a cure of Covid-19, another important (related) study was being carried out (concurrently) at BWH pertaining to Remdesivir on behalf of Gilead Sciences Inc. Dr. Francisco Marty, a specialist in Infectious Disease and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School was entrusted with coordination of the clinical trial tests of the antiviral medication Remdesivir under Brigham’s contract with Gilead Sciences Inc:

… If the results are promising, this could lead to FDA approval, and if they aren’t, it gives us critical information in the fight against COVID-19 and allows us to move on to other therapies.”

While Dr. Mandeep Mehra was not directly involved in the Gilead Remdesevir BWH study under the supervision of his colleague Dr. Francisco Marty, he nonetheless had contacts with Gilead Sciences Inc: “He participated in a conference sponsored by Gilead in early April 2020 as part of the Covid-19 debate” (France Soir, May 23, 2020)

What was the intent of his (failed) study? To undermine the legitimacy of Hydroxychloroquine?

According to France Soir, in a report published after The Lancet Retraction:

The often evasive answers produced by Dr Mandeep R. Mehra, … professor at Harvard Medical School, did not produce confidence, fueling doubt instead about the integrity of this retrospective study and its results. (France Soir, June 5, 2020)

Was Dr. Mandeep Mehra in conflict of interest? (That is a matter for BWH and the Harvard Medical School to decide upon).

Who Are the Main Actors? 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, advisor to Donald Trump, portrayed as “America’s top infectious disease expert” has played a key role in smearing the HCQ cure which had been approved years earlier by the CDC as well as providing legitimacy to Gilead’s Remdesivir.

Dr. Fauci has been the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since the Reagan administration. He is known to act as a mouthpiece for Big Pharma.

Dr. Fauci launched Remdesivir in late June (see details below). According to Fauci, Remdesevir is the “corona wonder drug” developed by Gilead Science Inc. It’s a $1.6 billion dollar bonanza.

Gilead Sciences Inc: History

Gilead Sciences Inc is a Multibillion dollar bio-pharmaceutical company which is now involved in developing and marketing Remdesivir. Gilead has a long history. It has the backing of major investment conglomerates including the Vanguard Group and Capital Research & Management Co, among others. It has developed ties with the US Government.

In 1999 Gilead Sciences Inc, developed Tamiflu (used as a treatment of seasonal influenza and bird flu). At the  time, Gilead Sciences Inc was headed by Donald Rumsfeld (1997-2001), who later joined the George W. Bush administration as Secretary of Defense (2001-2006). Rumsfeld was responsible for coordinating the illegal and criminal wars on Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003).

Rumsfeld maintained his links to Gilead Sciences Inc throughout his tenure as Secretary of Defense (2001-2006). According to CNN Money (2005): “The prospect of a bird flu outbreak … was very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld [who still owned Gilead stocks] and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences”.

Anthony Fauci has been in charge of the NIAID since 1984, using his position as “a go between” the US government and Big Pharma. During Rumsfeld’s tenure as Secretary of Defense, the budget allocated to bio-terrorism increased substantially, involving contracts with Big Pharma including Gilead Sciences Inc. Anthony Fauci considered that the money allocated to bio-terrorism in early 2002 would: 

“accelerate our understanding of the biology and pathogenesis of microbes that can be used in attacks, and the biology of the microbes’ hosts — human beings and their immune systems. One result should be more effective vaccines with less toxicity.” (WPo report)

In 2008, Dr. Anthony Fauci was granted the Presidential Medal of Freedom by president George W. Bush “for his determined and aggressive efforts to help others live longer and healthier lives.”

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The 2020 Gilead Sciences Inc Remdesivir Project

We will be focussing on key documents (and events)

Chronology 

February 21: Initial Release pertaining to NIH-NIAID Remdesivir placebo test trial

April 10: The Gilead Sciences Inc study published in the NEJM on the “Compassionate Use of Remdesivir”

April 29: NIH Release: Study on Remdesivir (Report published on May 22 in NEJM)

May 22: The BWH-Harvard Study on Hydroxychloroquine coordinated by Dr. Mandeep Mehra published in The Lancet

May 22: Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, New England Journal of Medicine, (NEJM) 

June 5: The (fake) Lancet Report (May 22) on HCQ is Retracted.

June 29: Fauci announcement. The $1.6 Billion Remdevisir HHS Agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc

April 10: The Gilead Sciences Inc. study published in the NEJM on the “Compassionate Use of Remdesivir”

A Gilead sponsored report was published in New England Journal of Medicine in an article entitled  “Compassionate Use of Remdesivir for Patients with Severe Covid-19”. It was co-authored by an impressive list of 56 distinguished medical doctors and scientists, many of whom were recipients of consulting fees from Gilead Sciences Inc.

Gilead Sciences Inc. funded the study which included several staff members as co-authors.

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The testing included a total of 61 patients [who] received at least one dose of remdesivir on or before March 7, 2020; 8 of these patients were excluded because of missing postbaseline information (7 patients) and an erroneous remdesivir start date (1 patient) … Of the 53 remaining patients included in this analysis, 40 (75%) received the full 10-day course of remdesivir, 10 (19%) received 5 to 9 days of treatment, and 3 (6%) fewer than 5 days of treatment.

The NEJM article states that “Gilead Sciences Inc began accepting requests from clinicians for compassionate use of remdesivir on January 25, 2020”. From whom, From Where? According to the WHO (January 30, 2020) there were 82 cases in 18 countries outside China of which 5 were in the US, 5 in France and 3 in Canada.

Several prominent physicians and scientists have cast  doubt on the Compassionate Use of Remdesivir study conducted by Gilead, focussing on the small size of the trial. Ironically, the number of patients in the test  is less that the number of co-authors: “53 patients” versus “56 co-authors”

Below we provide excerpts of scientific statements on the Gilead NEJM project (Science Media Centre emphasis added) published immediately following the release of the NEJM article:

“‘Compassionate use’ is better described as using an unlicensed therapy to treat a patient because there are no other treatments available. Research based on this kind of use should be treated with extreme caution because there is no control group or randomisation, which are some of the hallmarks of good practice in clinical trials. Prof Duncan Richard, Clinical Therapeutics, University of Oxford.

“It is critical not to over-interpret this study. Most importantly, it is impossible to know the outcome for this relatively small group of patients had they not received remdesivir. Dr Stephen Griffin, Associate Professor, School of Medicine, University of Leeds.

“The research is interesting but doesn’t prove anything at this point: the data are from a small and uncontrolled study.  Simon Maxwell, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Prescribing, University of Edinburgh.

“The data from this paper are almost uninterpretable. It is very surprising, perhaps even unethical, that the New England Journal of Medicine has published it. It would be more appropriate to publish the data on the website of the pharmaceutical company that has sponsored and written up the study. At least Gilead have been clear that this has not been done in the way that a high quality scientific paper would be written.  Prof Stephen Evans, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

 “It’s very hard to draw useful conclusions from uncontrolled studies like this particularly with a new disease where we really don’t know what to expect and with wide variations in outcomes between places and over time. One really has to question the ethics of failing to do randomisation – this study really represents more than anything else, a missed opportunity.” Prof Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics, University of Bristol.

To review the complete document of Science Media Centre pertaining to expert assessments, click here.

April 29: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Study on Remdevisir. 

On April 29th following the publication of the Gilead Sciences Inc Study in the NEJM on April 10, a press release of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Remdevisir was released.  The full document was published on May 22, by the NEJM under the title:

 Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report (NEJM) 

The study had been initiated on February 21, 2020. The title of the April 29 Press Release was:

“Peer-reviewed data shows remdesivir for COVID-19 improves time to recovery”

It’s a government sponsored report which includes preliminary data from a randomized trial involving 1063 hospitalized patients. The results of the trial labelled Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT) are preliminary, conducted under the helm of Dr. Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):

An independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) overseeing the trial met on April 27 to review data and shared their interim analysis with the study team. Based upon their review of the data, they noted that remdesivir was better than placebo from the perspective of the primary endpoint, time to recovery, a metric often used in influenza trials. Recovery in this study was defined as being well enough for hospital discharge or returning to normal activity level.

Preliminary results indicate that patients who received remdesivir had a 31% faster time to recovery than those who received placebo (p<0.001). Specifically, the median time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received placebo. Results also suggested a survival benefit, with a mortality rate of 8.0% for the group receiving remdesivir versus 11.6% for the placebo group (p=0.059).  (emphasis added)

In the NIH’s earlier February 21, 2020 report (released at the outset of the study), the methodology was described as follows:

… A randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational antiviral remdesivir in hospitalized adults diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) …

Numbers. Where? When? 

The February 21 report confirmed that the first trial participant was “an American who was repatriated after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship” that docked in Yokohama (Japanese Territorial Waters). “Thirteen people repatriated by the U.S. State Department from the Diamond Princess cruise ship” were selected as patients for the placebo trial test. Ironically, at the outset of the study, 58.7% of the “confirmed cases” Worldwide (542 cases out of 924) (outside China),  were on the Diamond Cruise Princess from which the initial trial placebo patients were selected.

Where and When: The trial test in the 68 selected sites? That came at a later date because on February 19th (WHO data), the US had recorded only 15 positive cases (see Table Below).

“A total of 68 sites ultimately joined the study—47 in the United States and 21 in countries in Europe and Asia.” (emphasis added)

In the final May 22 NEJM report entitled Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report: 

There were 60 trial sites and 13 subsites in the United States (45 sites), Denmark (8), the United Kingdom (5), Greece (4), Germany (3), Korea (2), Mexico (2), Spain (2), Japan (1), and Singapore (1). Eligible patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either remdesivir or placebo. Randomization was stratified by study site and disease severity at enrollment

The Washington Post applauded Anthony Fauci’s announcement (April 29):

“The preliminary results, disclosed at the White House by Anthony S. Fauci, …  fall short of the magic bullet or cure… But with no approved treatments for Covid-19,[Lie] Fauci said, it will become the standard of care for hospitalized patients …The data shows that remdisivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery,” Fauci said.

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The government’s first rigorous clinical trial of the experimental drug remdesivir as a coronavirus treatment delivered mixed results to the medical community Wednesday — but rallied stock markets and raised hopes that an early weapon to help some patients was at hand.

The preliminary results, disclosed at the White House by Anthony Fauci, chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which led the placebo-controlled trial found that the drug accelerated the recovery of hospitalized patients but had only a marginal benefit in the rate of death.

… Fauci’s remarks boosted speculation that the Food and Drug Administration would seek emergency use authorization that would permit doctors to prescribe the drug.

In addition to clinical trials, remdesivir has been given to more than 1,000 patients under compassionate use. [also refers to the Gilead study published on April 10 in the NEJM]

The study, involving [more than] 1,000 patients at 68 sites in the United States and around the world (??), offers the first evidence (??) from a large (??), randomized (??) clinical study of remdesivir’s effectiveness against COVID-19.

The NIH placebo test study provided “preliminary results”. While the placebo trial test was “randomized”, the overall selection of patients at the 68 sites was not fully randomized. See the full report.

May 22: The Fake Lancet Report on Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)

It is worth noting that the full report of the NIH-NIAID) entitled Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report was released on May 22, 2020 in the NEJM, on the same day as the controversial Lancet report on Hydroxychloroquine.

Immediately folllowing its publication, the media went into high gear, smearing the HCQ cure, while applauding the NIH-NIASD report released on the same day.

Remdesivir, the only drug cleared to treat Covid-19, sped the recovery time of patients with the disease, … “It’s a very safe and effective drug,” said Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. “We now have a definite first efficacious drug for Covid-19, which is a major step forward and will be built upon with other drugs, [and drug] combinations.”

When the Lancet HCQ article by  Bingham-Harvard was retracted on June 5, it was too late, it received minimal media coverage. Despite the Retraction, the HCQ cure “had been killed”.

June 29: Fauci Greenlight. The $1.6 Billion Remdesivir Contract with Gilead Sciences Inc

Dr. Anthony Fauci granted the “Greenlight” to Gilead Sciences Inc. on June 29, 2020.

The semi-official US government NIH-NIAID sponsored report (May 22) entitled Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report (NEJM) was used to justify a major agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc.

The Report was largely funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

On June 29, based on the findings of the NIH-NIAID Report published in the NEJM, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on behalf of the Trump Adminstration an agreement to secure large supplies of the remdesivir drug from Gilead Sciences Inc. for the treatment of Covid-19 in America’s private hospitals and clinics.

The earlier Gilead study based on scanty test results published in the NEJM (April 10), of 53 cases (and 56 co-authors) was not highlighted. The results of this study had been  questioned by several prominent physicians and scientists.

Who will be able to afford Remdisivir? 500,000 doses of Remdesivir are envisaged at $3,200 per patient, namely $1.6 billion (see the study by Elizabeth Woodworth)

The Drug was also approved for marketing in the European Union. under the brandname Veklury.

If this contract is implemented as planned, it represents for Gilead Science Inc. and the recipient US private hospitals and clinics a colossal amount of money.

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[Error in above title according to HHS: $3200]

According to The Trump Administration’s HHS Secretary Alex Azar (June 29, 2020):

Remdesivir Versus Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)

Careful timing:

The Lancet study (published on May 22) was intended to undermine the legitimacy of Hydroxychloroquine as an effective cure to Covid-19, with a view to sustaining the $1.6 billion agreement between the HHS and Gilead Sciences Inc. on June 29th. The legitmacy of this agreement rested on the May 22 NIH-NIAID study in the NEJM which was considered “preliminary”. 

What Dr. Fauci failed to acknowledge is that Chloroquine had been “studied” and tested fifteen years ago by the CDC as a drug to be used against coronavirus infections.  And that Hydroxychloroquine has been used recently in the treatment of Covid-19 in several countries.

According to the Virology Journal (2005) “Chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of SARS coronavirus infection and spread”. It was used in the SARS-1 outbreak in 2002. It had the endorsement of the CDC. 

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HCQ is not only effective, it is “inexpensive” when compared to Remdesivir, at an estimated “$3120 for a US Patient with private insurance”.

Below are excerpts of an interview of Harvard’s Professor Mehra (who undertook the May 22 Lancet study) with France Soir published immediately following the publication of the Lancet report (prior to its Retraction).

Dr. Mandeep Mehra: In our study, it is fairly obvious that the lack of benefit and the risk of toxicity observed for hydroxychloroquine are fairly reliable. [referring to the May 22 Lancet study]

France Soir: Do you have the data for Remdesivir?

MM: Yes, we have the data, but the number of patients is too small for us to be able to conclude in one way or another.

FS: As you know, in France, there is a pros and cons battle over hydroxychloroquine which has turned into a public health issue even involving the financial lobbying of pharmaceutical companies. Why not measure the effect of one against the other to put an end to all speculation?  …

MM: In fact, there is no rational basis for testing Remdesivir versus hydroxychloroquine. On the one hand, Remdesivir has shown that there is no risk of mortality and that there is a reduction in recovery time. On the other hand, for hydroxychloroquine it is the opposite: it has never been shown any advantage and most studies are small or inconclusive In addition, our study shows that there are harmful effects.

It would therefore be difficult and probably unethical to compare a drug with demonstrated harmfulness to a drug with at least a glimmer of hope.

FS: You said that there is no basis for testing or comparing Remdesivir with hydroxychloroquine, do you think you have done everything to conclude that hydroxychloroquine is dangerous?

MM: Exactly. …

All we are saying is that once you have been infected (5 to 7 days after) to the point of having to be hospitalized with a severe viral load, the use of hydroxychloroquine and its derivative is not effective.

The damage from the virus is already there and the situation is beyond repair. With this treatment [HCQ] it can generate more complications

FS Mandeep Mehra declared that he had no conflict of interest with the laboratories and that this study was financed from the endowment funds of the professor’s chair.

He participated in a conference sponsored by Gilead in early April 2020 as part of the Covid-19 debate.

(France Soir, translated by the author, emphasis added, May 23, 2020)

In Annex, see the followup article by France Soir published after the scam surrounding the data base of Dr. Mehra’s Lancet report was revealed.

Concluding Remarks

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“Cuba has never done an act of terror to nobody! If anything they have sent doctors, they have sent medical brigades, they’ve always done humanitarian help for anyone who needed it regardless of their political stand!”

– Melissa Peralta, from this episode.

 

 

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When former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista ran for office in 1952, his political party found itself in last place behind the Orthodox Party and the Authentic Party during the election. So he ended up taking power by a coup d’etat, forcing the current President Carlos Prio Socarras into exile. He consequently ran the country with an iron fist. Between 10,000 and 20,000 Cuban died in the years following Batista’s rise to power. [1]

Washington instantly recognized Batista as leading the country. As it did for countries enduring similar undemocratic injustices such as in Iran in 1953 and in Guatemala in 1954. [2]

In January of 1959, the revolution against Batista succeeded and Castro’s committment to high quality health care for all, improving literacy to among the highest in the world and confiscating land owned and operated by U.S. businesses while sponsoring anti-U.S. military movements, the giant state famous for “fighting for freedom and democracy” put the Head of the Cuba’s Revolutionary movement in the centre of its cross-hairs. [3]

From John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden, U.S. presidents have subjected the biggest island in the Caribbean Sea to a trade embargo. In late 2020, President Donald Trump made sanctions even worse by placing Cuba on his list of “state sponsors of terrorism” as well as banning Cuba from purchasing important medicines and imposing sanctions on oil imports from Venezuela. [4]

We, in Canada, heard about the country being in rough shape as a result of heavy rains from Hurricane Oscar and the plague of power outages threatening the most basic needs within a twenty first century civilization. But seemingly muted in all talk about the woes of this beleaguered communist enclave is the vice on its economic engine with the hand of Uncle Sam tightening it.

We are within a month now of Donald Trump once again occupying the White House throne, his agitated fingers ready to prepare for his next round of executive orders. With now Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban immigrant known as the leader of the anti-Castro ex-pat community in Florida, taking the reigns as Secretary of State at Trump’s side, the stage is set for the worst experience of the Empire Strikes Back ever conceived.[5]

As Cuban people and their allies abroad brace themselves for more sanctions from hell, and for all we know, even something worse than that, the Global Research News Hour is taking stock of the islands situation on an important anniversary date in the revolution’s history.

Journalist Michael Welch visited Cuba from November 24^th to December 18^th to try to get an assessment of the situation. How is the healthcare system fairing five years after Trump’s sanctions and the advent of COVID? Are Cubans flocking abroad to gain support for themselves and their families? Is it finally time to scrap socialism and embrace the kind of policies that America will embrace? We try to get some answers in this year-end episode of the Global Research News Hour.

Welch’s associates for much of the stay are members of a Canadian group of solidarity activists known as the Calixto Garcia Solidarity Brigade, named after the general who fought in three uprisings during the Cuban War of Independence in the late 19^th century.

CGB supports the revolution as does the Institut Cubano de Amistad con Las Pueblos (Cuban Institute for the friendship of the People, or ICAP.) Within that context, we inquired about the many issues facing Cuba today, including the arts and education programs, the health care system, the tactics and heroism during the 50s Revolutionary War, and the impact on the culture and economy generally across four provinces in the East – Holguin, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, and Las Tunas.

Video recorded by fellow Calixto Garcia Brigade member Alok Mukherjee

If you wish to help the Calixto Garcia Brigade in their efforts to assist the Cuban people, or to find out more about them, join them on Facebook (Calixto Garcia Solidarity Brigade) or email them at [email protected].

(Global Research News Hour episode 454)

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

1. https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-war-cuba-economic-embargo-biological-warfare-us-backed-terrorism/5751665
2. ibid;
3. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/26/fidel-castro-cia-cigar-assasination-attempts
4. https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-war-cuba-economic-embargo-biological-warfare-us-backed-terrorism/5751665
5. https://www.globalresearch.ca/marco-rubio-abhorrent-choice-secretary-state/5873561

 

 

 

 

Joshua Hadfield was a normal, healthy developing child as a toddler. In the midst of the H1N1 swine flu frenzy and the media fear mongering about the horrible consequences children face if left unvaccinated, the Hadfield family had Joshua vaccinated with Glaxo’s Pandermrix influenza vaccine. Within weeks, Joshua could barely wake up, sleeping up to nineteen hours a day. Laughter would trigger seizures.

Joshua was diagnosed with narcolepsy, “an incurable, debilitating condition” associated with acute brain damage.[1]  Looking back, Pandermrix was a horrible vaccine. Research indicates that it was associated with a 1400% increase in narcolepsy risk. A medical team at Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare recorded 800 cases of narcolepsy associated with this vaccine.  Aside from the engineered viral antigens, the other vaccine ingredients are most often found to be the primary culprits to adverse vaccine reactions. The Finnish research, on the other hand, indicated that the vaccine’s altered viral nucleotide likely contributed to the sudden rise in sleeping sickness.[2]

Although Pandermrix was pulled from the market for its association with narcolepsy and cataplexy (sudden muscle weakness), particularly in children, it should never have been approved and released in the first place. The regulatory fast tracking of the HINI flu vaccines is a classic, and now common, example of regulatory negligence by nations’ health officials. The failure of proper regulatory evaluation and oversight resulted in Joshua and over 1,000 other people becoming disabled for life. Settlements to cover lawsuits exceeded 63 million pounds in the UK alone. 

No one should feel complacent and assume flu vaccine risks only affect young children. Sarah Behie was 20 years old after receiving a flu shot. Three weeks later her health deteriorated dramatically. Diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a not uncommon adverse effect of influenza vaccination, four years later Sarah remains paralyzed from the waist down, incapable of dressing and feeding herself, and rotting away in hospitals and nursing homes.[3] 

Flu vaccines are perhaps the most ineffective vaccine on the market.  Repeatedly we are told by health officials that the moral argument for its continued use is for “the greater good,” although this imaginary good has never been defined scientifically. Year to year, how effective any given seasonal flu vaccine will be is a throw of the dice. Annual flu vaccine efficacy rates in the US have demonstrated significant variability. Data from the CDC reveal efficacy estimates of approximately 39% for the 2020–2021 season, 37% for 2021–2022, 52% for 2022–2023, and a preliminary estimate of 50% for the 2023–2024 season.  Preliminary CDC estimates for this flu season estimates 34% likely efficacy. Although these are CDC’s figures, independent figures are consistently much lower. At their best, flu vaccines in recent years are around 50% effective according to official health analysis. During some seasons, vaccine efficacy is a bust. For example, the 2014-2015 flu season strain match was such a failure that the CDC warned the American public that the vaccine was only 23% effective.[4]  Nevertheless, these rates underscore the vaccine’s inconsistent protection.

Studies such as those by Skowronski and Belongia further highlight flu vaccines’ variability and force to question whether the vaccine is capable of providing any reliable protection.[5,6] Moreover, Cochrane Collaboration reviews, known for their rigorous analyses, consistently find that flu vaccines reduce influenza-like illness by only about 1% in healthy adults and have negligible impact on hospitalizations and mortality rates. This limited efficacy raises critical concerns about the vaccine’s utility, particularly when weighed against its risks. 

Perhaps the most useless flu vaccine that should have never been approved was Medimmune’s live attenuated flu vaccine (LAIV) FluMist, which the CDC later had removed from the market because it was found to so ineffective—only 3 percent according to an NBC report.[6] However the real reason may be more dire, and this a fundamental problem of all live and attenuated vaccines: these vaccines have been shown to “shed” and infect people in contact with the vaccinated persons, especially those with compromised immune systems.  Consequently, both the unvaccinated and the vaccinated are at risk.  The CDC acknowledges this risk and warns “Persons who care for severely immunosuppressed persons who require a protective environment should not receive LAIV, or should avoid contact with such persons for 7 days after receipt, given the theoretical risk for transmission of the live attenuated vaccine virus.”[7] 

According to the FDA’s literature on FluMist, the vaccine was not studied for immunocompromised individuals (yet was still administered to them), and has been associated with acute allergic reactions, asthma, Guillain-Barre, and a high rate of hospitalizations among children under 24 months – largely due to upper respiratory tract infections.  Other adverse effects include pericarditis, congenital and genetic disorders, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy or Leigh Syndrome, meningitis, and others.[8] 

The development and promotion of the influenza vaccine was never completely about protecting the public. It has been the least popular vaccine in the US, including among healthcare workers. Rather, similar to the mumps vaccine in the MMR, it has been the cash cow for vaccine makers.  Determining the actual severity of any given flu season is burdened by federal intentional confusion to mislead the public.  The CDC’s first line of propaganda defense to enforce flu vaccinations is to exaggerate flu infections as the cause of preventable deaths.   However, validating this claim is near impossible because the CDC does not differentiate deaths caused by influenza infection and deaths due to pneumonia.  On its website, the CDC lumps flu and pneumonia deaths together, currently estimated at 51,000 per year. The large majority of these were pneumonia deaths of elderly patients. Yet in any given year, only 3-18% of suspected influenza infections actually test positive for a Type A or B influenza strain.[9] 

As an aside, it is worth noting that during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, an extraordinary and unprecedented phenomenon occurred: influenza infections, which have long been a seasonal health challenge, seemingly disappeared. Federal health agencies such as the CDC attributed this sharp decline in flu cases to the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) like mask-wearing, social distancing, and widespread lockdowns. However, this explanation raises critical questions about its plausibility. If these measures were effective enough to virtually eliminate influenza, why did they not similarly prevent the widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2? This contradiction highlights the need to critically examine the possible explanations behind the anomaly, questioning whether the disappearance of the flu was truly a result of public health measures or due to other factors such as diagnostic practices, viral interference, and disruptions to seasonal flu patterns. If these interventions were indeed effective, their impact should not have been so starkly selective between two similarly transmitted viruses. This contradiction undermines the plausibility of attributing the disappearance of flu cases solely to NPIs.

A more plausible explanation for the disappearance of flu cases lies in the diagnostic focus on SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic. Individuals presenting with flu-like symptoms were overwhelmingly diagnosed for COVID-19 with faulty PCR testing methods rather than influenza, as public health resources were directed toward managing the pandemic. This prioritization inevitably led to a significant underreporting of flu cases. Furthermore, the symptoms of influenza and COVID-19 overlap significantly, including fever, cough, and fatigue. In the absence of influenza testing, many flu cases were wrongly diagnosed as COVID-19, further inflating SARS-CoV-2 case numbers while contributing to the perceived disappearance of the flu. 

One of the more controversial findings in recent flu vaccine research involves the phenomenon of viral interference, wherein vaccinated individuals may become more susceptible to other respiratory pathogens. To date there is only one gold standard clinical trial with the flu vaccine that compares vaccinated vs. unvaccinated, and it is not good news for the CDC, the vaccine makers, and the push to booster everyone with the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines. This Hong Kong funded double-blind placebo controlled study followed the health conditions of vaccinated and unvaccinated children between the ages of 6-15 years for 272 days. The trial concluded the flu vaccine holds no health benefits. In fact, those vaccinated with the flu virus were observed to have a 550% higher risk of contracting non-flu virus respiratory infections. Among the vaccinated children, there were 116 flu cases compared to 88 among the unvaccinated; there were 487 other non-influenza virus infections, including coronavirus, rhinovirus, coxsackie, and others, among the vaccinated versus 88 with the unvaccinated.[10]  This single study alone poses a scientifically sound warning and rationale to avoid flu vaccines at all costs. It raises a further question: how many Covid-19 cases could be directly attributed to weakened immune systems because of prior flu vaccination?

A 2019 study conducted by the US Armed Forces investigated the relationship between influenza vaccination and susceptibility to other respiratory infections, including coronaviruses. Analyzing data from over 9,000 individuals, the researchers found that people who received the flu vaccine were more likely to test positive for certain non-influenza respiratory viruses. Notably, influenza vaccination was associated with an increased likelihood of contracting coronaviruses and human metapneumovirus.[11] These findings suggest a complex interaction between influenza vaccination and susceptibility to different respiratory pathogens, and challenges the belief that flu vaccines provide greater benefits over risks. The same researchers’ follow up study in in 2020 furthermore concluded that “vaccine derived virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus and human metapneumovirus.[12]

Additional recent studies, such as those by Bodewes, which identified immune interference due to repeated annual flu vaccinations,[13] and Shinjoh, which highlighted increased viral interference in vaccinated children, provide further evidence of this relationship.[14] These findings challenge the prevailing assumption that flu vaccination has only positive effects on immune health and raise important questions about the broader implications of repeated annual vaccination.

In a follow up study after the H1N1 swine flu scare, Canadian researcher Dr. Danuta Skowronski noted that individuals with a history of receiving consecutive seasonal flu shots over several years had an increased risk of becoming infected with H1N1 swine flu.  Skowronski commented on the findings, “policy makers have not yet had a chance to fully digest them [the study’s conclusions] or understand the implications.”  He continued, “Who knows, frankly? The wise man knows he knows nothing when it comes to influenza, so you always have to be cautious in speculating.”[15]

There is strong evidence suggesting that all vaccine clinical trials carried out by manufacturers fall short of demonstrating vaccine efficacy accurately. And when they are shown to be efficacious, it is frequently in the short term and offer only partial or temporary protection. According to an article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Infectious Diseases, the only way to evaluate vaccines is to scrutinize the epidemiological data obtained from real-life conditions. In other words, researchers simply cannot — or will not — adequately test a vaccine’s effectiveness and immunogenicity prior to its release onto an unsuspecting public.[16]

According to Dr. Tom Jefferson, who formerly led the Cochrane Collaboration’s vaccine analyses, it makes little sense to keep vaccinating against seasonal influenza based on the evidence.[17] Jefferson has also endorsed more cost-effective and scientifically-proven means of minimizing the transmission of flu, including regular hand washing and wearing masks. There is also substantial peer-reviewed literature supporting the supplementation of Vitamin D. 

Dr. Jefferson’s conclusions are backed by former Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine scientist Peter Doshi, PhD, in the British Journal of Medicine. In his article Doshi questions the flu vaccine paradigm stating:

 “Closer examination of influenza vaccine policies shows that although proponents employ the rhetoric of science, the studies underlying the policy are often of low quality, and do not substantiate officials’ claims. The vaccine might be less beneficial and less safe than has been claimed, and the threat of influenza appears overstated.”[18]        

A significant body of research proves that receiving the flu shot does not reduce mortality among seniors.[19] One particularly compelling study was carried out by scientists at the federal National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Not only did the study indicate that the flu vaccine did nothing to prevent deaths from influenza among seniors, but that flu mortality rates increased as a greater percentage of seniors received the shot.[20]

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny reviewed the Cochrane Database reviews on the flu vaccine’s efficacy. In a review of 51 studies involving over 294,000 children, there was “no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shot was any more effective than placebo. In children over 2 years of age, flu vaccine effectiveness was 33 percent of the time preventing flu. In children with asthma, inactivated flu vaccines did not prevent influenza related hospitalizations in children. The database shows that children who received the flu vaccine were at a higher risk of hospitalization than children who did not receive the vaccine.[21] 

In a separate study involving 400 asthmatic children receiving a flu vaccine and 400 who were not immunized, there was no difference in the number of clinic and emergency room visits and hospitalizations between the two groups.[22] 

In 64 studies involving 66,000 adults, “Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6 percent and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day. There was a change in the number of hospitalizations compared to the non-vaccinated. In further studies of elderly adults residing in nursing homes over the course of several flu seasons, flu vaccinations were insignificant for preventing infection.[23]

Today, the most extreme wing of the pro-vaccine community continue to diligently pursue mandatory vaccination across all 50 states.  During the flu season, the debate over mandatory vaccination becomes most heated as medical facilities and government departments attempt to threaten employees and schools who refuse vaccination. Although this is deeply worrisome to those who advocate their Constitutional rights to freedom of choice in their healthcare, there are respectable groups opposing mandatory flu shots.  The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons “objects strenuously to any coercion of healthcare personnel to receive influenza immunization. It is a fundamental human right not to be subjected to medical interventions without fully informed consent.” 

The good news is that the majority of Americans have lost confidence in the CDC after the agency’s dismal handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Positive endorsement of the CDC would plummet further if the public knew the full extent of CDC officials lying to Congress and their conspiracy to commit medical fraud for two decades to cover=up evidence of an autism-vaccine association. 

When considering the totality of evidence, the benefit-risk ratio of flu vaccination becomes increasingly problematic. The poor and inconsistent efficacy rates, combined with the potential for serious adverse reactions and the phenomenon of viral interference, clearly indicates that the vaccine does not deliver the public health benefits it promises. Public health strategies must balance the benefits of vaccination against its risks, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women. 

Imagine the tens of thousands of children and families who would have been saved from life-long neurological damage and immeasurable suffering if the CDC was not indebted to protecting the pharmaceutical industry’s toxic products and was in fact serving Americans’ health and well-being? One step that can be taken to begin dismantling the marriage between the federal health agencies and drug companies is to simply refuse the flu vaccine and protect ourselves by adopting a healthier lifestyle during the flu season. 

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Richard Gale is the Executive Producer of the Progressive Radio Network and a former Senior Research Analyst in the biotechnology and genomic industries.

Dr. Gary Null is host of the nation’s longest running public radio program on alternative and nutritional health and a multi-award-winning documentary film director, including his recent Last Call to Tomorrow.

They are regular contributors to Global Research.

Notes

[1] http://yournewswire.com/boy-awarded-174000-after-flu-vaccine-causes-permanent-brain-damage/

[2]  http://www.globalresearch.ca/finnish-scientists-identify-link-between-glaxosmithklines-swine-flu-vaccine-pandemrix-and-narcolepsy/5423154

[3] http://sharylattkisson.com/woman-paralyzed-after-flu-shot-receives-11-million-for-treatment/

[4]  http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/3/flu-vaccine-ineffective.html

[5] Skowronski DM, Leir S, et al. Influenza vaccine effectiveness by A (H3N2) phylogenetic subcluster and prior vaccination history: 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 epidemics in Canada. J Infectious Diseases, 2021; 225(8), 1387–1397.

[6] Belongia EA, Skowronski DM, et al. Repeated annual influenza vaccination and vaccine effectiveness: review of evidence. Expert Review of Vaccines, 2023; 16(7), 743–759.

[7]  Barbara Lo Fisher, The Emerging Risks of Live Virus and Virus Vectored Vaccines.  National Vaccine Information Center, 2014

[8]  http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM294307.pdf

[9] Barbara Lo Fisher, “CDC Admits Flu Shots Fail Half the Time.”  NVIC, October 19, 2016

[10] http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2013-06-02/flu-vax-causes-5-5-times-more-respiratory-infections/

[11] Wolff GG. Influenza vaccination and respiratory virus interference among Department of Defense personnel during the 2017–2018 influenza season. Vaccine. 2019 Oct 10;38(2):350–354. 

[12] Wolff GG. (2020). Influenza vaccination and respiratory virus interference among Department of Defense personnel. Vaccine, 2020 38(2), 350-354.

[13] Bodwes F, Janssens Y, et al. The role of cell-mediated immunity against influenza and its implications for vaccine evaluation. Frontiers in Immunology, 2021 13, 959379. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.959379

[14] Sinojoh M, Sugaya N, et al. Effectiveness of inactivated influenza and COVID-19 vaccines in hospitalized children in the 2022/23 season in Japan: The first season of co-circulation of influenza and COVID-19. Vaccine,2022; 41(1), 100-107.

[15]  http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/flu-shot-linked-to-higher-incidence-of-flu-in-pandemic-year-1.1287363

[16]   Weinberg GA, Szilagyi PG. Vaccine Epidemiology: Efficacy, Effectiveness, and the Translational Research Roadmap. J Infect Dis 20210;201.1: 1607-610. 

[17] ‘A Whole Industry Is Waiting For A Pandemic’, Der Spiegel, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,637119-2,00.html,

[18] Dolshi P. “Influenza: Marketing Vaccine by Marketing Disease.” BMJ 2013;346: F3037. 

[19] Simonsen L, Reichert T, et al. . Impact of Influenza Vaccination on Seasonal Mortality in the US Elderly Population. Arch Intern Med Archives 2005;165(3): 265. 

[20] Glezen WP, Simonsen L. Commentary: Benefits of Influenza Vaccine in US Elderly–new Studies Raise Questions. Internat J Epidemiology2006;35(2): 352-53.

[21] 105^th International Conference of the American Thoracic Sociey, May 15-20, 2009 (quoted in , Sherri Tenpenny.  “The Truth about Flu Shots”.  Idaho Observer, June 1, 2009)

[22] ibid

[23] Ibid.

Featured image: GSK’s pandemic flu vaccine Pandemrix (Source: Alcibiades/Wikimedia Commons)

If you’ve been even halfheartedly monitoring the utterances of free humanity’s sworn enemies, the governing authorities and their corporate state media mouthpieces — and, if you consume independent dissident media like Armageddon Prose that, I assume you have — Pandemic 2.0 has been explicitly promised for many years by this point.

Indeed, as I have previously reported, here is, just a couple of weeks ago or so, palpably unhealthy lardball and high priest of The Science ™ Dr. Peter Hotez forecasting “big picture stuff coming down the pike starting on January 21st” — as in, the day Trump assumes office. (I suspect, because he appears to be on the spectrum, that whatever training in the subtleties of effective propaganda that his handlers have provided, so as to maintain plausible deniability, hasn’t taken.)

If you will recall, in the run-up to the election, the Deep State’s operatives in D.C. were floating numerous schemes to thwart a Trump victory. Of course, election-rigging (again) was on the table, but so was, as Rep. Jamie Raskin suggested, invoking Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment barring an “insurrectionist” from higher office (entirely outside of any judicial process — supreme hypocritical irony for the self-proclaimed defenders of Democracy™).

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Read on X

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No such schemes, clearly, have yet been enacted, and my read is that the plan now is to dump as much chaos into the Trump administration’s lap as possible so as to blame him for the fallout of their evil own deeds.

This includes, but is not limited to, a hot new pandemic — fomenting global nuclear war being another option they appear to be pursuing.

Which brings us to bird flu and California’s recent declaration of a state of emergency predicated on nearly nothing.

Via Associated Press (emphasis added):

“California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S.

That raises new questions about the virus, which has spread for years in wild birds, commercial poultry and many mammal species.

The virus, also known as Type A H5N1, was detected for the first time in U.S. dairy cattle in March. Since then, bird flu has been confirmed in at least 866 herds in 16 states.

More than 60 people in eight states have been infected, with mostly mild illnesses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with the nation’s first known severe illness caused by the virus, health officials said this week.”

Buried deep in the article, as these admissions always are, is the fact that no human-to-human transmission has been detected, and neither has greater transmissibility from animals to humans — yet.

Continuing:

“Importantly, there are no reports of person-to-person transmission and no signs that the virus has changed to spread more easily among humans.

In general, flu experts agreed with that assessment, saying it’s too soon to tell what trajectory the outbreak could take.

“The entirely unsatisfactory answer is going to be: I don’t think we know yet,” said Richard Webby, an influenza expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

But virus experts are wary because flu viruses are constantly mutating and small genetic changes could change the outlook.”

With the narrative groundwork laid, all it would take is a little genomic rejiggering, and BOOM, we’re off to the races with mRNA “vaccines” ready to deploy and a fresh set of lockdowns and mask mandates and God-knows-what-else sadism.

*

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Featured image is from LifeSiteNews

Ukrainian public figures are beginning to admit their intentions to cause a nuclear catastrophe. For the militants in the ranks of the regime, nuclear war is not something to be avoided. They believe that such an extreme scenario will have a positive effect on the Ukrainian forces, removing any fear or hesitation from them. The main problem is that such an escalation would obviously cause the unnecessary death of thousands or millions of innocent civilians, but the neo-Nazis simply do not care about their own people.

In a recent interview, Evgeny Karas, leader of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi militia S14, stated that a nuclear war would be “good” for Ukraine, considering the current situation in the conflict. In his opinion, the beginning of the use of nuclear weapons would have a positive psychological effect on the Ukrainian troops, since, once that point is crossed, “nothing could get worse.”

He believes that once the nuclear stage is reached, Ukrainian soldiers will start fighting more fearlessly, without worrying about any consequences. More than that, Karas expects that, in such a scenario, Ukrainian officials, including generals, politicians and decision-makers, will be better assessed. According to him, it will be easier to test such officers and find out who is cooperating with Ukraine and who is corrupt and weak, since the excuse of “avoiding escalation” will no longer be necessary.

”Nuclear war is good (…) When it happens, we’ll have no more reasons to whine. Nothing worse could happen after a nuclear strike (…) A nuclear war may help us evolve in a way that we could see through an official and tell whether he is a thief or not,” he said.

Karas also believes that the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia would have an international impact in favor of Ukraine. According to him, Russia’s partner countries, such as China and India, would condemn this type of action, cutting off their cooperation with Moscow and reducing the Russians’ economic capacity. Furthermore, he believes that Ukraine and its Western partners are prepared for a nuclear war confrontation, having sufficient technology to engage in efforts to adapt society to the reality of an environment contaminated with radiation. He believes that the use of artificial intelligence and robotics, for example, are useful mechanisms to advance military capabilities in the midst of a nuclear conflict.

It is important to remember that Karas is one of the most important leaders of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi wave. His organization, the “Society of the Future” (formerly S14) is a dangerous militia, responsible for numerous war crimes and human rights violations. The group brings together a number of extremist militants and was a major source of human resources for Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage battalions during the early years of the civil war against Russian-speakers in Donbass. In addition, S14 became known worldwide for crimes committed against the Romani community in the Lvov region, and was denounced by several international organizations – one of the reasons why the group changed its name in 2020.

In other words, Karas is a representative of the most ideologically fanatical wing of the Kiev regime – which explains his tendency towards extreme attitudes and his support for total war. Unfortunately, these extremist sentiments are the main basis of support for the Ukrainian government. Without neo-Nazis and their narratives, Kiev is unable to justify its anti-Russian policies, which is why Karas and other infamous fascist leaders are increasingly gaining ground in Ukrainian public opinion.

This means that it is possible that officials like Zelensky and his ministers will start adopting Karas’s nuclear rhetoric in the near future. The mere fact that Ukraine continues to use long-range weapons against Russia’s deep territory, even though Moscow has made it clear that it can respond to such provocation with a nuclear attack, is already proof that the Kiev regime does not care about nuclear escalation and deliberately threatens the lives of its own citizens.

This clearly shows that it is Moscow, not Kiev, that cares most about the Ukrainian people. Moscow has been patient so far, avoiding taking extreme actions, even though it has the right and the necessary conditions to do so. However, if speeches like Karas’s start to guide Ukrainian military decision-making, it will become almost impossible to prevent an escalation of violence.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from InfoBrics

People are often kept in a state of confusion, unable to recognise the manipulations at play. It is essential to grasp the bigger picture to understand the true motives behind policy manoeuvres. This clarity unveils the policy landscape as a calculated strategy, designed to serve the interests of particular stakeholders.

Take the three repealed farm laws in India. They were part of a broader strategy to corporatise Indian agriculture and aimed to drastically reduce the public sector’s role, making it a facilitator for private capital that could then colonise the space left open by the state’s withdrawal. Despite the laws’ repeal, working on behalf of foreign and domestic capital, the Indian government continues to pursue similar objectives through other means.

In late 2021, the Indian government announced that three important farm laws, which would have introduced neoliberal shock therapy to the agriculture sector, would be repealed after a one-year farmers’ mobilisation against the legislation.

It is apt to revisit these repealed laws because the underlying agenda that shaped them persists.

1) The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020. This aimed to allow farmers to sell their produce outside the government-regulated APMC (Agricultural Produce & Livestock Market Committee) mandis (wholesale markets). This law sought to create additional trading opportunities beyond the existing markets, supposedly giving farmers more options and better prices for their crops.

2) The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. This was designed to provide a framework for contract farming. It would have allowed farmers to enter into agreements with agribusinesses, processors or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at pre-agreed prices.

3) The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. This aimed to deregulate the production, storage, movement and sale of several major foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and onions. It would allow these items to be removed from the list of essential commodities, except under extraordinary circumstances. (The Essential Commodities Act of 1955 empowers the government to regulate the production, supply and distribution of certain goods to ensure their availability to consumers.)   

Critics argued the legislation would weaken the APMC system, potentially leading to the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism. Farmers feared losing price guarantees and being exploited by private corporations. Opponents were also concerned that small farmers might lack the bargaining power to negotiate fair contracts with large agribusinesses.

There were also concerns about potential exploitation and the absence of adequate safeguards for farmers in disputes. The law pertaining to essential commodities faced criticism for potentially enabling hoarding and price manipulation.

Despite the repeal of the three laws, the powerful interests behind the legislation have not gone away. The goal to capture and radically restructure the sector remains.

The government is pursuing alternative strategies to achieve similar aims. These new approaches, while less direct, could potentially implement many of the changes originally proposed in the repealed legislation.

Below is a screenshot of Google news stories appearing on the protests of Indian farmers in the last few weeks. There were 30 pages of such stories, all appearing in 2024. The search did not allow for more than 30 pages. These stories document farmers’ grievances, government failures to deliver on promises, water cannons and tear gas attacks on unarmed farmers as they intended to peacefully march to Delhi and so on.

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The government seems to be playing for time while new legislation is devised and memoranda of understanding are signed with foreign agrifood corporations with no democratic oversight. It is difficult to sustain large-scale protest movements, and the government seems to be relying on this. Moreover, the protesting farmers have yet to achieve the momentum and international support received during the 2020-21 protest.

Protests Against Reintroducing Farm Laws  

In a recent press release, the AIKS (All India Kisan Sabha/All India Farmers Union) calls for nationwide protests against attempts to bring back the farm laws. In particular, it demands the Union Government withdraws its National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing.

The AIKS says the draft ‘National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing’, circulated by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for public suggestions, reveals the:

“… conspiracy to sacrifice farmers’ interest and maximise corporate profits. Petty producers will be adversely hit and pushed out of agriculture.”

It remarks that the draft reveals that the government has opted not to address any of the serious demands raised by the farmers’ movement, including legalising MSP, increasing public investment in agriculture and pro-farmer credit facilities.

While the draft pays lip service to the fact that agricultural marketing is a state subject under Article 246 of the Constitution, the AIKS says that the spirit of the draft is to dismantle the power of the state governments and abolish state supported market infrastructure and erode the role of the APMCs, leaving small and medium farmers vulnerable to exploitation by private trading cartels.

The major suggested reforms in the draft include the establishment of private wholesale markets, direct farm gate purchases by corporate processors and exporters, replacement of traditional market yards with corporate controlled warehouses and silos and introducing a unified statewide market fee and trading license system.

The AIKS states:

“It is significant that big business houses, including Reliance and Adani, have constructed extensive warehouse infrastructure and private railway networks in areas such as Sirsa, Haryana and Ludhiana, Punjab.”

The draft proposes that big corporations can purchase produce directly from farmers, bypassing APMC market yards. Additionally, handing over storage infrastructure to private corporations eliminates a critical safety net for farmers during price volatility and facilitates corporate exploitation by denying farmers any space for bargaining prices.

According to the AIKS:

“Big Business is virulently against MSP because its strategy is to procure produce at the cheapest rate, do value addition, brand and market it by ensuring exorbitant profits. This way, Big Business is exploiting farmers as well as consumers. In the name of market efficiency, the Centre is creating a conducive atmosphere for Corporate loot of agriculture.”

It adds that the stranglehold of big business houses is also evident in the suggestions for deepening financialisation via futures and option markets. The AIKS argues this will also permit corporations and international finance capital to dominate and control the domestic food industry.

The AIKS says it will fight tooth and nail the efforts by the government to surrender Indian agriculture on a platter to transnational corporations. It demands that the government withdraw this draft and engage in meaningful dialogue with farmers’ organisations and state governments.

The AIKS calls upon all its units to actively take part in the SKM-led protests of burning copies of this policy on 23 December 2024 in districts across India.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) is a coalition of 40+ farmers’ unions. It was formed to coordinate non-violent resistance against the three farm acts.

The SKM states that the farmers’ movement sees through the plan to withdraw government support from agriculture and hand over farming, mandis and public food distribution to corporations led by Adani, Ambani, Tata, Cargill, Pepsi, Walmart, Bayer, Amazon and others.

In 2018, a charter was released by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (an umbrella group of around 250 farmers’ organisations). It wanted the government to take measures to bring down the input costs of farming, while making purchases of farm produce below the minimum support price (MSP) both illegal and punishable.

The charter also called for a special discussion on the universalisation of the public distribution system (PDS) and the non-approval of genetically engineered seeds without a comprehensive need and impact assessment.

Other demands included no foreign direct investment in agriculture and food processing, the protection of farmers from corporate plunder in the name of contract farming, investment in farmers’ collectives and the promotion of agroecology based on suitable cropping patterns and local seed diversity revival.

These demands remain on the table. The response? Tear gas, concrete road barriers and water cannons.

Meanwhile, foreign players like Bayer attempt to shape the narrative of Indian agriculture being ‘backward’ (see Bayer’s ‘Backward’ Claim: A Bid to Reap Control of Indian Agriculture), and the government demonstrates to global agri-capital and domestic stakeholders like Adani and Ambani that it is being tough on farmers in order to maintain ‘market confidence’ and attract foreign direct investment (aka takeover of the sector).

For more in-depth insights into the issues discussed in this article, check out the author’s ebooks here and here, which both contain extensive sections on the corporatisation on India’s agrifood sector.

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Renowned author Colin Todhunter specialises in development, food and agriculture. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).  

Colin Todhunter’s book Sickening Profits: The Global Food System’s Poisoned Food and Toxic Wealth provides further insight into the issues addressed above. It can be read here. 

The utterly unforgivable Jewish Israeli-imposed Gaza Genocide continues remorselessly. By the end of 2024 Gaza Genocide deaths from violence and imposed deprivation are estimated to be as follows:

• 340,000 total deaths (as estimated by eminent Professor Devi Sridhar, chair, global health, University of Edinburgh), this including
  • 67,000 men,
  • 31,000 women and
  • 243,000 children (notably highly vulnerable under-5 infants who are 70% of avoidable deaths from deprivation in impoverished countries – see Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”). 

The World is moving to stop this carnage. To that end and for ultimate justice  and reparations it is important to estimate the complicity of the citizens of key countries involved in the Gaza Genocide. Presently 96% of Gaza children feel that their death is imminent and almost half want to die as a result of the trauma. Prior to 7 October 2023, 25% of Australians were sexually abused as children as compared to 18% of Israeli children and 18% of American children, and children were 47% of the 2.3 million population of the Jewish Israeli-guarded Gaza Concentration Camp.

(A) Polling, electoral and other assessment of the complicity of Jewish Israeli, US, UK, and Australian citizens in the horrific, unforgivable and continuing Gaza Genocide and the mass abuse and mass murder of Gaza children, mothers, women and men.

(1) Apartheid Israel. Polling indicates that about 99% of Jewish Israelis support the killing, injuring and traumatizing, including those who want a temporary humanitarian cessation of the killing in exchange for 100 remaining Israeli hostages (noting that there are about 15,000 Palestinians in Israeli military prisons and that before 7 October 2023 there were 5.6 million Occupied Palestinians held hostage without human rights under highly abusive Zionazi military rule).

(2) Pro-Apartheid America. Expert polling in 2024 found that 30% of US Jews thought that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, with younger respondents more likely to agree with the genocide accusation (38% of those under 44 versus  22% of those over 44). Fewer  than 2% of Americans voted for presidential candidates opposing the Gaza Genocide in 2024: fervently pro-Apartheid Israel “finish the job” Donald Trump (Republican,49.7%), Kid Killing Kamala (KKK) Harris of the Biden/Harris Administration that supplied Apartheid Israel with 75,000 tons of bombs (Democrat, 48.3%), Dr Jill Stein (anti-war Greens, 0.6%), Robert F. Kennedy Jr (Independent, 0.5%), Chase Oliver (anti-war but pro-Israel Libertarian, 0.4%), and Others (notably anti-war African American academic Dr Cornel West, 0.5%).

(3) Pro-Apartheid United Kingdom. While Apartheid Israel is a Zionazi-run  democracy-by-genocide (democratic Nazism), the US, UK and Australia are duopoly corporatocracies  and lobbyocracies in which Big Money buys public perception of reality, votes and hence more political power. While Australia has a world-leading and exquisitely fair compulsory and preferential voting system, the US and UK have non-compulsory voting and  first-past-the-post electoral systems. Thus in the recent UK elections Labour won a landslide victory with 411 seats from 33.7% of the vote as compared to the Conservatives (121 seats with 23.7% of the vote) and the Liberal Democrats (72 seats from 12.2% of the vote). However the major UK parliamentary parties are united in their support for genocidally racist, Zionazi-run, child-, mother- and women-killing Apartheid Israel and hence for the utterly vile crime of Apartheid. Those supporting Apartheid Israel and hence neo-Nazi Apartheid (most members of the UK House of Commons) are utterly unfit for decent company, public life and public office in internally human rights-observant and  one-person-one-vote democracies like the US, UK and Australia. While UK Establishment power, Zionist perversion, US subversion and mendacious Mainstream media mean that UK MPs overwhelmingly support genocidally racist and Zionazi  Apartheid Israel, a small rump of decent Labour MPs (and a much greater proportion of Labour Party members) support Palestinian human rights.

(4) Pro-Apartheid Australia. For about 14 months the Centre-Right Australian Labor Government (together with the even worse climate criminal, pro-gas, pro-coal, Right- Far Right Coalition aka the COALition) has opposed an immediate and permanent Ceasefire in Gaza, a disgusting, child-abusing  position adopted by all Federal MPs except for 15 Greens and 4 decent Independents, ex-Green Senator Lidia Thorpe, ex-Labor Senator Fatima Payman, Dr Helen Haines and Andrew Wilkie, a mere 19 out of a total of 227 Federal MPs (76 Senators and 151 Members of the House of Representatives) and representing only about 15% of Australian voters. Driven by fear of losing the Arab, Muslim and youth vote,  the cowardly, unprincipled, Zionist perverted and US lackey  Australian Labor Government after 14 months of blindly supporting Apartheid Israel has finally voted at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for “an  immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” and “Israel [to] end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. However after an utterly  deplorable Melbourne synagogue arson in  Melbourne  and arson of cars and  anti-Israel graffiti in Sydney (all by persons unknown), Labor joined the racist Zionist chorus of “antisemitism”, “terrorism” , “hate speech” and “damage to social cohesion” and is moving to further constrain free speech and the huge weekly national Sunday Rallies for  Palestinian human rights (in Melbourne, 12 noon, Victorian State Library, every Sunday since 7 October 2023). The Australian Labor Government is complicit in the Gaza Genocide in 20 ways and lies for Apartheid Israel in 35 ways – the racist Coalition Opposition is even worse.

(B) How Apartheid Israel and the pro-Apartheid Israel and hence pro-Apartheid US, UK and Australia voted on 16 Palestine-related Resolutions at the UNGA in 2024. Resolution  #13 about “Assistance to the Palestinian People” was passed by consensus. In relation to the other 15 Resolutions (at Plenary Sessions or at pre-Plenary Committee), Apartheid Israel voted No to all 15, and the US voted No to all except for #3 (“Assistance to refugees”) on which it Abstained. The UK and Australia importantly  mostly voted Yes, and in particular voted Yes  to  “an  immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” (#12) and “[Israel to] end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” (#14), but nevertheless showed their continuing loyalty to genocidal and International Law-violating  Zionazi Apartheid Israel by variously voting No or Abstaining for some other Palestine-related UNGA Resolutions upholding International Law (Australia 5 and the UK 6).

For details, documentation and to quickly find how your country voted on these 16 Palestine-related 2024 UNGA Resolutions see  Gideon Polya, “Sanction Zionazism: 99% Of US-, UK- & Australia-backed Jewish Israelis Support Gaza Genocide & Mass Murder Of Children”, Countercurrents, 20 December 2024:.

The Gaza Genocide must be halted NOW and the Jewish Israeli perpetrators made to immediately leave Gaza  and all Occupied Territories to permit entry of (a) life-sustaining  water, food, winter clothing, shelter, sanitation, electricity, fuel, medicine, and medical care teams, (b) UN peacekeepers to keep order and protect the surviving population and service providers, (c) reconstruction teams  and materials for vital housing and infrastructure reconstruction, and (d) forensic teams  to determine all who have died and how they died. The World must apply rigorous  and comprehensive Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Apartheid Israel and all its supporters – all the people, politicians, parties, collectives, companies and countries complicit in  this  horrific atrocity.

It is Christmas and my article included  the following Letter I sent to major Mainstream media of Zionist-perverted Australia (it was rejected of course): “About 2,000 years ago Jewish King Herod allegedly massacred all under-2 male Palestinian children in and about Bethlehem in the hopefully fictional Massacre of the Innocents (Holy Bible, Matthew 2.16). It is expertly estimated that by New Year’s Day 2025 about 340,000 Gazans (15% of the pre-war population and mostly children) will have been killed by Jewish Israeli-imposed violence and deprivation (eminent Professor Devi Sridhar, chair, global health, University of Edinburgh). The perpetrators and those complicit in this unforgivable atrocity through support of genocidal Apartheid Israel or through Silence have departed from decent Humanity and have utterly cursed themselves, their self-imposed curse being endlessly renewed every time they see their reflection and at the going down of the sun and in the morning”.

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Dr Gideon Polya taught science students at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia over 4 decades. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, notably a huge pharmacological reference text “Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds” (2003). He has also published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” (2007, 2021), “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” (1998, 2008, 2022), “US-imposed Post-9-11 Muslim Holocaust & Muslim Genocide” (2020), “Climate Crisis, Climate Genocide & Solutions” (2020), “Free Palestine. End Apartheid Israel, Human Rights Denial, Gaza Massacre, Child Killing, Occupation and Palestinian Genocide” (2024), and contributed to Soren Korsgaard (editor) “The Most Dangerous Book Ever Published – Dangerous Deception Exposed!” (2020). For images of Gideon Polya’s huge paintings for the Planet, Peace, Mother and Child see: http://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/.

Featured image source

Article 13 of the Washington Treaty describes a simple procedure for a NATO member state, to cancel its membership.

Below is the stated objective of NATO: Peace and Security, Individual Liberty and the Rule of Law, Safeguard Freedom and  Democracy.

See below:

“The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments.

They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.

They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty.”

Sounds good but it’s a bold face lie.

NATO is an instrument  of  continuous warfare.  What utter nonsense. They do not support the Charter of the United Nations.

image: (Afganistan, famine)

US-NATO-Israel’s “humanitarian wars” consist of crimes against humanity, genocide and the destruction and fragmentation of entire countries:

Palestine, Vietnam, Cambodia, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine, …

not to mention military coup’s, regime change, color revolutions, … poverty and famine.

Famine in Afghanistan (invaded by NATO forces in October 2001) on the pretext that Afghanistan had attacked America on 9/11 allegedly in support of Al Qaeda.

 

 

Read Article 13 of the Washington Treaty which describes the procedure.

“Article 13

“After the Treaty has been in force for twenty years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation.

A NATO Member State may cease to be “A Party of NATO ” one year after its notice of denunciation has been given the the Government of the U.S.A” (emphasis added)

A  NATO member state may decide to “WITHDRAW from NATO.” 

We are at a dangerous crossroads in our history which is characterized by a system of alliances of nation-states (namely NATO) which unequivocally supports and finances the United States military agenda. The latter also includes an option to conduct nuclear war. A 1.3 trillion dollar nuclear weapons program, slated to increase to 2 trillion by 2030.

While Article 13 of the Washington Treaty appears to be simplistic, one can expect numerous pressures and fraudulent actions with a view to preventing a NATO member state from canceling its NATO membership.

What is crucial is to fracture and weaken NATO: an intergovernmental alliance of 32 member states.

There is also the issue of cross-cutting alliances and coalitions, namely countries which are members of NATO, while also having alliances or agreements with so-called enemies of NATO.  Turkey is a NATO member state which has economic and strategic alliances with both Russia and Iran.

 

 

The withdrawal from NATO of one or more member states could have a significant impact. It creates a precedent, which would encourage more NATO member states, “to say goodbye.”

How to Reverse the Tide of War: “Say Goodbye to Nato”

 

A. Withdrawal (Art 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty)

1. A mass movement at the grassroots of society to withdraw from NATO (Art. 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty)

2. Actions within the legislature of the 32 member states. Motions “to cease to be a party” of NATO (Art 13) 

B. NATO Wants Money From Member States. It Also Wants Weapons

“During the 2014 summit, all NATO members agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDPs on defense by 2025″.

Pressure governments to freeze defense spending. Demand withdrawal of soldiers from the war theater.

C. The Restoration of Peace and Democracy

3. Persistent actions against corrupt heads of state who support NATO. 

4. Restoration of the democratic process, elect politicians firmly committed to “CEASING TO BE A PARTY” OF NATO (ART 13)

D. Democratization of the Media

5. Actions against media, which are supportive of terrorism and crimes against humanity committed by  NATO forces. 

E. Actions Within the United Nations System 

6. Meaningful actions within the United Nations System.

7. Actions against NGOs which support NATO.

F. Legal Actions

8. Legal actions against the military industrial complex and the financial establishment 

9. Actions against the billionaire philanthropists which endorse and finance US NATO Israel, acts of war

10  Actions against NATO member governments which commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide

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The Motto of NATO: “Increase defense spending to prevent war. NATO must spend more.” 

“The Lie Becomes the Truth”

 

 

 

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See The Washington Treaty  (Complete Text)

See the text of Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty below.

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.

 

Text of Article 13

A  NATO Member State may take the decision to WITHDRAW from NATO.

The procedure is described in Article 13 of the Washington Treaty.

Article 13

After the Treaty has been in force for twenty years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation.

A NATO Member State may cease to be “A Party of NATO ” one year after its notice of denunciation has been given the the Government of the U.S.A.

Global Research Introductory Note

This carefully researched and timely article by F. William Engdahl was first published on July 13, 2022.

In October 2023, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiated a billion euro polio project. Bill Gates expresses his commitment to eradicating polio Worldwide  

Protecting Hundreds of Millions of Children??? 

“Thanks to medical innovations, the world eradicated one human disease – smallpox. Today we’re on the verge of ending another – wild poliovirus. I am committed to ensuring that no child, anywhere in the world, faces this awful disease. I am also optimistic that we will eradicate polio once and for all and make health innovations more accessible for everyone, particularly those in the poorest countries,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (emphasis added)

“The expected €1.1 billion financing package aims to provide new funding to eradicate a human disease for only the second time in history and help solve the health and development challenges faced by the world’s most vulnerable people, who otherwise do not get fair access to healthcare services and innovations.

Big Money to the Rescue of the World’s Children???

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated emphatically:

“We are about to wipe polio off the face of the Earth. The European Commission, the EIB and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to get through the final stretch.

With 1 billion euros supported by our European investment strategy Global Gateway, we will invest in stronger health systems globally and local vaccine and medicines production, manufacturing and administration, where it is most needed.

Global cooperation has helped us put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it will help us get rid of polio once and for all.” (emphasis added)

 

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Toxicology vs Virology:

The Rockefeller Institute and the Criminal Polio Fraud

By F. William Engdahl 

Introduction 

One of the outcomes of the alleged new SARS Covid virus that publicly emerged in 2019 is that the medical specialization of virology has been raised to a stature almost Godlike in the media.

Few understand the origins of virology and its elevation into a leading role in today’s medicine practice. For this we need to look at the origins and politics of America’s first medical research institute, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, today Rockefeller University, and their work on what they claimed was a polio virus.

In 1907 an outbreak of a sickness in New York City gave the director of the Rockefeller Institute, Simon Flexner, MD, a golden opportunity to lay claim to discovery of an invisible “virus” caused by what was arbitrarily called poliomyelitis. The word poliomyelitis simply means inflammation of the spinal cord’s grey matter. There were some 2,500 New Yorkers, mostly children, designated with some form of poliomyelitis, including paralysis and even death, that year.

Flexner’s Fraud

The most striking aspect of the entire polio saga in the USA during the first half of the 20th Century was the fact that every key phase of the business was controlled by people tied to what became the Rockefeller medical cabal. This fraud started with claims by the Director of the Rockefeller Institute, Simon Flexner, that he and his colleague, Paul A. Lewis, had “isolated” a pathogen, invisible to the eye, smaller even than bacteria, which they claimed caused the paralyzing sickness in a series of outbreaks in the US. How did they come to this idea?

In a paper published in 1909 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Flexner claimed he and Lewis had isolated the poliomyelitis virus responsible. He reported they had successfully “passaged” poliomyelitis through several monkeys, from monkey to monkey. They began by injecting diseased human spinal cord tissue of a young boy who had died, presumably from the virus, into the brains of monkeys. After a monkey fell ill, a suspension of its diseased spinal cord tissue was injected into the brains of other monkeys who also fell ill.

They proclaimed that the Rockefeller Institute doctors had thus proven poliomyelitis virus causality for the mysterious disease. They hadn’t done anything of the sort. Flexner and Lewis even admitted that:

“We failed utterly to discover bacteria, either in film preparations or in cultures, that could account for the disease; and, since among our long series of propagations of the virus in monkeys not one animal showed, in the lesions, the cocci described by some previous investigators, and we had failed to obtain any such bacteria from the human material studied by us, we felt that they could be excluded from consideration.”

What they then did was to make a bizarre supposition, a leap of faith, not a scientific claim. They took their hypothesis of viral exogenous agency and made it fact, with no proof whatever. They asserted: “Therefore, …the infecting agent of epidemic poliomyelitis belongs to the class of the minute and filterable viruses that have not thus far been demonstrated with certainty under the microscope.“ Therefore?

Simon Flexner simply asserted it “must” be a polio virus killing the monkeys, because they could find no other explanation. In fact he did not look for another source of the illnesses. This was not scientific isolation. It was wild speculation: “…not thus far been demonstrated with certainty under the microscope.” They admitted this in a December 18, 1909 follow up in JAMA, titled, THE NATURE OF THE VIRUS OF EPIDEMIC POLIOMYELITIS.

The so-called “virus” they were injecting into monkeys was hardly pure. It also contained an undetermined amount of contaminants. It included “pureed spinal cord, brain, fecal matter, even flies were ground up and injected into monkeys to induce paralysis.” Until Jonas Salk won approval from the US Government in April 1955 for a polio vaccine, no scientific proof of existence of a virus causing poliomyelitis, or infantile paralysis as it was commonly known, had been proven. That is the case to this day. The medical world all took Flexner’s word that it “must” be a virus.

Rockefeller Institute, Flexner and the American Medical Association

The Rockefeller Institute was founded from the Standard Oil fortune of John D. Rockefeller in 1901, to be America’s first biomedical institute. It was modelled on France’s Pasteur Institute (1888) and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (1891). Its first Director, Simon Flexner, played a pivotal and most criminal role in the evolution of what became approved American medical practice. The Rockefeller goal was to completely control American medical practice and transform it into an instrument, at least initially, for promotion of medical drugs approved by the Rockefeller interests. By then they were looking to monopolize medical drugs produced from their petroleum refining, as they had done with oil.

Image on the right: Simon Flexner (Licensed under the public domain)

As Rockefeller Institute head, Simon Flexner, was publishing his inconclusive but highly acclaimed studies on polio, he arranged for his brother, Abraham Flexner, a school teacher with no medical background, to head a joint study by the American Medical Association (AMA), the Rockefeller General Education Board, and the Carnegie Foundation founded by Rockefeller’s close friend Andrew Carnegie.

The 1910 study was titled, The Flexner Report, and its ostensible purpose was to investigate the quality of all US medical schools. The outcome of the report was, however, predetermined. Ties between the well-endowed Rockefeller Institute and the AMA went through the corrupt AMA head, George H. Simmons.

Simmons was also the editor of the influential Journal of the American Medical Association, a publication delivered to some 80,000 doctors across America. He reportedly wielded absolute power over the doctors’ association. He controlled the rising ad revenues for drug companies to promote their drugs to AMA doctors in his journal, a highly lucrative business. He was a key part of the Rockefeller medical coup that was to completely redefine acceptable medical practice away from remedial or preventive treatment to use of often deadly drugs and expensive surgeries. As head of the AMA Simmons realized that the competition from a proliferation of medical schools, including then-recognized chiropractic, osteopathy, homeopathy and natural medicine, was lessening income of his AMA doctors, as the number of medical schools had increased from around 90 in 1880 to over 150 in 1903.

Abraham Flexner, former headmaster of a private school, toured various US medical schools in 1909 and recommended that fully half of the 165 medical schools be closed, as what he defined as “sub-standard.” This reduced competition from other approaches to healing diseases. They ruthlessly targeted then-widespread naturopathic medical schools, chiropractic ones, osteopaths as well as independent allopathic schools unwilling to join the AMA regime.

Then Rockefeller money went to the select schools with a proviso that professors be vetted by the Rockefeller Institute and the curriculum focus on drugs and surgery as treatment, not prevention, nor nutrition, nor toxicology as possible causes and solutions. They had to accept Pasteur’s germ theory of disease, which claims one germ to one disease reductionism. Rockefeller-controlled media launched a coordinated witch-hunt against all forms of alternative medicine, herbal remedies, natural vitamins and chiropractic–anything not controlled by Rockefeller patented drugs.

By 1919 the Rockefeller General Education Board and the Rockefeller Foundation had paid out more than $5,000,000 to Johns Hopkins, Yale and Washington University in St. Louis medical schools. In 1919 John D. Rockefeller granted another $20,000,000 in securities, “for the advancement of medical education in the United States.” That would be comparable to about $340 million today, a huge sum. In short the Rockefeller money interests had hijacked American medical education and medical researchby the 1920’s.

Creating Virology

This medical takeover, backed by the most influential doctors’ organization, the AMA, and its corrupt head, Simmons, allowed Simon Flexner to literally create modern virology under Rockefeller rules. The highly controversial Thomas Milton Rivers, as director of The Rockefeller Institute’s virology laboratory, established virology as an independent field, separate from bacteriology, during the 1920s. They realized they could manipulate far easier when they could claim deadly pathogens that were invisible germs or “viruses.” Ironically virus comes from Latin for poison.

Virology, a reductionist medical fraud, was a creation of the Rockefeller medical cabal. That highly important fact is buried in the annals of medicine today. Diseases such as smallpox or measles or poliomyelitis were declared caused by invisible pathogens called specific viruses. If scientists could “isolate” the invisible virus, theoretically they could find vaccines to protect people from harm. So their theory went. It was a huge boon for the Rockefeller cartel of pharmaceutical companies, which at the time included American Home Products which falsely promoted drugs with no proof of effect, such as Preparation H for Hemorrhoids, or Advil for pain relief; Sterling Drug,which took over the US assets including Aspirin of German Bayer AG after World War I; Winthrop Chemical; American Cyanamid and its subsidiary Lederle Laboratories; Squibb and Monsanto.

Soon virus researchers at the Rockefeller Institute, in addition to claiming discovery of the poliomyelitis virus, claimed to discover the viruses that caused smallpox, mumps, measles and yellow fever. Then they announced “discovery” of preventive vaccines for pneumonia and yellow fever. All of these “discoveries” announced by the Institute proved false. With the control of the research in the new area of virology, the Rockefeller Institute, in collusion with Simmons at AMA and his equally corrupt successor, Morris Fishbein, could promote new patented vaccines or drug “remedies” in the influential AMA journal that went to every member doctor in America. Drug companies refusing to pay for ads in the AMA journal were blackballed by the AMA.

Controlling Polio Research

Image below: Rockefeller University Main gates on York Avenue (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Simon Flexner and the highly-influential Rockefeller Institute succeeded in 1911 in having the symptoms that were being called poliomyelitis to be entered into the US Public Health Law as a “contagious, infectious disease caused by an air-borne virus.” Yet even they admitted they had not proven how the disease enters the body of humans. As one experienced doctor pointed out in a medical journal in 1911, “Our present knowledge of the possible methods of contagion is based almost entirely upon the work done in this city at the Rockefeller Institute.” In 1951 Dr. Ralph Scobey, a critic of the Rockefeller rush to judgment on polio contagion, noted, “This of course placed reliance on animal experiments rather than on clinical investigations…” Scobey also pointed to the lack of proof poliomyelitis was contagious: “…children afflicted with the disease were kept in general hospital wards and that not a single one of the other inmates of the wards of the hospital was affected with the disease.” The general attitude at that time was summed up in 1911: “It seems to us despite the lack of absolute proof, that the best interests of the community would be conserved by our regarding the disease from a contagious standpoint.” (sic).

By having poliomyelitis symptoms classified as a highly contagious disease caused by an invisible, alleged exogenous or external virus, the Rockefeller Institute and the AMA were able to cut off any serious research for alternative explanations such as exposure to chemical pesticides or other toxins, to explain the seasonal outbreaks of illness and paralysis, even death, mostly in very young children. That was to have fatal consequences lasting to the present.

Enter DDT

In his 1952 statement to the US House of Representatives investigating the possible dangers of chemicals in food products, Ralph R. Scobey, M.D. noted,

“For almost half a century poliomyelitis investigations have been directed towards a supposed exogenous virus that enters the human body to cause the disease. The manner in which the Public Health Law is now stated, imposes only this type of investigation. No intensive studies have been made, on the other hand, to determine whether or not the so-called virus of poliomyelitis is an autochthonous chemical substance that does not enter the human body at all, but simply results from an exogenous factor or factors, for example, a food poison.”

Toxins as cause were not investigated, despite huge evidence.

During the 1930s with economic depression and then war, few new major outbreaks of poliomyelitis were noted. However, immediately after the end of World War II, notably, the polio drama exploded in dimension. Beginning 1945, every summer more and more children across America were diagnosed with poliomyelitis and hospitalized. Less than 1% of the cases were actually tested via blood or urine tests. Some 99% were diagnosed by merely the presence of symptoms such as acute pain in extremities, fever, upset stomach, diarrhea.

In 1938, with the support of presumed polio victim, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (March of Dimes) was founded to solicit tax-exempt donations to fund polio research. A German doctor and researcher, Dr Henry Kumm, came to the US and joined the Rockefeller Institute in 1928 where he stayed until joining the National Foundation in 1951 as Director of Polio Research. Kumm was joined at the National Foundation by another key Rockefeller Institute veteran, the so-called “father of virology,” Thomas M. Rivers, who chaired the foundation’s vaccine research advisory committee overseeing the research of Jonas Salk. These two Rockefeller Institute key figures thus controlled funds for polio research including developing a vaccine.

During the Second World War, while still at Rockefeller Institute, Henry Kumm was a consultant to the US Army where he oversaw field studies in Italy. There Kumm directed field studies for the use of DDT against typhus and malarial mosquitoes in the marshes near Rome and Naples. DDT had been patented as an insecticide by Swiss drug firm Geigy and their US branch in 1940, and first authorized for use on US Army soldiers in 1943 as a general disinfectant against head lice, mosquitoes and many other insects. Until war’s end almost all DDT production in the US went to the military. In 1945 the chemical companies looked eagerly for new markets. They found them.

Image on the right is from Beyond Pesticides

In early 1944, US newspapers triumphantly reported that typhus, “the dreaded plague that has followed in the wake of every great war in history,” was no longer a threat to American troops and their allies thanks to the army’s new “louse-killing” powder, DDT. In an experiment in Naples, American soldiers dusted more than a million Italians with DDT dissolved with kerosene (!), killing the body lice that spread typhus.

Rockefeller Institute’s Henry Kumm and the US Army knew that, as one researcher put it, “DDT was a poison, but it was safe enough for war. Any person harmed by DDT would be an accepted casualty of combat.” The US Government “restricted” a report on insecticides issued by the Office of Scientific Research and Development in 1944 that warned against the cumulative toxic effects of DDT in humans and animals. Dr Morris Biskind noted in a 1949 article, “As DDT is a cumulative poison, it is inevitable that large-scale intoxication of the American population would occur. In 1944, Smith and Stohlman of the National Institutes of Health, after an extensive study of the cumulative toxicity of DDT, pointed out, “The toxicity of DDT combined with its cumulative action and absorbability from the skin places a definite health hazard on its use.” Their warnings were ignored by higher officials.

Instead, after 1945, all across America DDT was promoted as the miracle new, “safe” pesticide, much like Monsanto’s Roundup with glyphosate three decades later. DDT was said to be harmless to humans. But no one in government was seriously scientifically testing that claim. One year later in 1945 as the war ended, US newspapers praised the new DDT as a “magic” substance, a “miracle.” Time called DDT “one of the great scientific discoveries of World War II.”

Despite isolated warnings of untested side effects, that it was a persistent, toxic chemical which easily accumulates in the food chain, the US Government approved DDT for general use in 1945. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), controlled by the Rockefeller-AMA-drug interests, established as “safe” a DDT content of up to 7 parts per million in foods, though no one had proven such. The DDT chemical companies fed the press with photos and anecdotes. Newspapers enthusiastically reported how the new miracle chemical, DDT, was being tested in the US against mosquitoes in the South believed carrying malaria, as well as “preserving Arizona vineyards, West Virginia orchards, Oregon potato fields, Illinois cornfields, and Iowa dairies.” DDT was everywhere in the USA in the late 1940s.

The US Government claimed DDT, unlike arsenic and other insecticides used before the war, was harmless to humans, even infants, and could be used liberally. Beginning 1945 cities like Chicago sprayed public beaches, parks, swimming pools. Housewives bought home aerosol spray DDT dispensers to spray the kitchen and especially childrens’ rooms, even their matrasses. Farmers were told to spray their crops and their animals, especially dairy cows, with DDT. In postwar America DDT was being promoted, above all by Rockefeller drug companies like American Home Products with its Black Flag aerosol DDT spray, and Monsanto. From 1945 through 1952 the US production of DDT increased tenfold.

As presumed cases of polio literally exploded across the USA after 1945 the theory was advanced, with no proof, that the crippling polio disease was transmitted, not by toxic pesticide chemicals like DDT, but by mosquitoes or flies to humans, most especially young children or infants. The message was that DDT can safely protect your family from the crippling polio. Officially listed polio cases went from some 25,000 in 1943 before US civilian use of DDT, to over 280,000 cases in 1952 at the peak, more than a tenfold increase.

In October 1945 DDT, which had been used by the US Army under supervision of Rockefeller Institute’s Henry Kumm as noted, was authorized by the US Government for general use as an insecticide against mosquitoes and flies. Dissenting scientists warning of toxic effects of DDT in humans and animals were silenced. Families were told DDT could save their children from the dreaded polio by killing the feared insects.

The US Department of Agriculture advised farmers to wash their dairy cows with a solution of DDT to combat mosquitoes and flies. Cornfields were aerial sprayed with DDT as well as fruit orchards. However it was incredibly persistent and its toxic effect on plants and vegetables were such it could not be washed off. Year-by-year from 1945 through 1952 the amount of DDT sprayed across the US increased. Notably, so too did the number of human cases of poliomyelitis.

Worst Polio Epidemic

By the beginning of the 1950s increasing attention was given in the US Congress and among farmers as to the possible dangers of such heavy pesticide use—not only DDT, but also the even more toxic BHC (benzene hexachloride). In 1951 Morton Biskind, a physician who had successfully treated several hundred patients with DDT poisoning, testified to the US House of Representatives on the possible link of paralytic polio to toxins, specifically DDT and BHC. He noted,

“The introduction for uncontrolled general use by the public of the insecticide “DDT” (chlorophenothane) and the series of even more deadly substances that followed, has no previous counterpart in history. Beyond question, no other substance known to man was ever before developed so rapidly and spread indiscriminately over so large a portion of the earth in so short a time. This is the more surprising as, at the time DDT was released for public use, a large amount of data was already available in the medical literature showing that this agent was extremely toxic for many different species of animals, that it was cumulatively stored in the body fat and that it appeared in the milk. At this time a few cases of DDT poisoning in human beings had also been reported. These observations were almost completely ignored or misinterpreted.”

Biskind further testified to Congress in late 1950,

“Early last year I published a series of observations on DDT poisoning in man. Since shortly after the last war a large number of cases had been observed by physicians all over the country in which a group of symptoms occurred, the most prominent feature of which was gastroenteritis, persistently recurrent nervous symptoms, and extreme muscular weakness…”

He described several case examples of patients whose severe symptoms including paralysis disappeared when exposure to DDT and related toxins was eliminated:

“My original experience on more than 200 cases which I reported early last year has since been considerably extended. My subsequent observations have not only confirmed the view that DDT is responsible for a great deal of otherwise inexplicable human disability…”

Also noted was the fact that polio cases were always most in summer months when DDT spraying against insects was maximum.

The Rockefeller Institute operatives and the AMA, via their agents in the US Government, created the 1946-1952 USA health emergency called polio. They did so by knowingly promoting the highly toxic DDT as a safe way to control the mythical insect spreaders of the feared disease. Their propaganda campaign convinced the American population that DDT was the key to stop spread of poliomyelitis.

Polio Suddenly Declines

Under leadership of the two Rockefeller Institute doctors, Henry Kumm and Thomas Rivers, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) rejected critics such as Biskind and Scobey. Natural remedial treatment, such as using intravenous Vitamin C for the infantile paralysis, were rejected out of hand as “quackery.” In April 1953, leading Rockefeller Institute DDT consultant, Dr Henry Kumm, became Director of Polio Research for NFIP. He funded the polio vaccine research of Jonas Salk.

One courageous doctor in North Carolina, Dr. Fred R. Klenner, who had also studied chemistry and physiology, had the idea to use large doses of intravenous ascorbic acid—Vitamin C—on the hypothesis that his patients were victims of toxin poisoning and that Vitamin C was a powerful detox. This was well before Dr Linus Pauling’s Nobel Prize research on Vitamin C. Klenner had remarkable success within days for more than 200 patients in the summer epidemics of 1949 to 1951. The Rockefeller Institute and the AMA had no interest in the remedial prospects. They and the Rockefeller-controlled National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis were only funding polio vaccine development, based on the unproven Flexner claim that polio was a contagious virus, not a result of environmental poison.

Then beginning sometime in 1951-1952, as polio cases were at an all-time high, something unexpected began to appear. The number of cases diagnosed as polio in the US began to decline. The decline in polio victims was dramatic, year by year until 1955, well before the National Foundation and Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was approved for public use and was widespread.

About a year before the sudden decline in polio cases, farmers, whose dairy cows were suffering severe effects of the DDT, were advised by the US Department of Agriculture to reduce DDT use. Rising public concern about how safe DDT was for humans, including publicized US Senate hearings on DDT and Polio in 1951 also led to a significant decline in DDT exposure into 1955, even though DDT was not officially banned in the US until 1972.

So-called “polio” cases fell by some two-thirds in that 1952-1956 time, in a remarkable parallel to the decline in DDT use. It was well after that decline, in late 1955 and 1956, that the Rockefeller-developed Salk polio vaccine was first administered in large populations. Salk and the AMA gave all credit to the vaccine. Deaths and paralysis as a result of the Salk vaccine were papered over. The Government changed the definition of polio to further reduce official cases. Simultaneously, cases of similar polio-like spinal cord nerve diseases– acute flaccid paralysis, chronic fatigue syndrome, encephalitis, meningitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, muscular sclerosis—rose notably.

Why it Matters

Over a century ago the world’s richest man, oil baron John D. Rockefeller, and his circle of advisors set about to completely reorganize how medicine was practiced in the USA and the rest of the world. The role of the Rockefeller Institute and figures like Simon Flexner literally oversaw the invention of a colossal medical fraud around claims that an invisible contagious extraneous germ, the polio virus, caused acute paralysis and even death in young people. They politically banned any efforts to link the disease to toxin poisoning, whether from DDT or arsenic pesticides or even contaminated vaccine poisoning. Their criminal project included intimate cooperation with the leadership of the AMA and control of the emerging drug industry, as well as of medical education. The same Rockefeller group financed Nazi eugenics at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes in Germany in the 1930s as well as the American Eugenics Society. In the 1970s they financed the creation of patented GMO seeds which were all developed by the group of Rockefeller chemical pesticide companies—Monsanto, DuPont, Dow.

Today this control of public health and the medical industrial complex is exercised by David Rockefeller’s protegé and eugenics advocate, Bill Gates, self-appointed czar over the WHO and world vaccines. Dr Tony Fauci, head of NIAID, dictates vaccine mandates without evidence. The fraud behind the polio virus scandal after World War II has been refined with use of computer models and other ruses today, to advance one alleged deadly virus after the other, from Covid19 to Monkeypox to HIV. As with polio, none of those has been scientifically isolated and proven to cause the diseases claimed. None.

The same tax-free Rockefeller Foundation today, posing as a philanthropic charity, is at the heart of the global medical tyranny behind covid19 and the eugenics agenda of the World Economic Forum Great Reset.

Their poliomyelitis virus model helped them create this dystopian medical tyranny. We are told, “trust the science.”

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F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image is from NEO

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Seeds of Destruction: Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation

Author Name: F. William Engdahl

ISBN Number: 978-0-9879389-2-3

Year: 2007

Product Type: PDF File

Price: $9.50

This skilfully researched book focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread. “Control the food and you control the people.”

This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. Engdahl takes the reader inside the corridors of power, into the backrooms of the science labs, behind closed doors in the corporate boardrooms.

The author cogently reveals a diabolical world of profit-driven political intrigue, government corruption and coercion, where genetic manipulation and the patenting of life forms are used to gain worldwide control over food production. If the book often reads as a crime story, that should come as no surprise. For that is what it is.

First published on July 31, 2024

While the mainstream propaganda machine keeps publishing fantasies about 60% of Russian missiles allegedly “failing”, the Pentagon is giving starkly different assessments. Namely, the US military privately gives completely opposite numbers, stressing that the Russian military’s air defenses have a staggering 97% success rate.

Combined with Moscow’s unrivaled electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, its SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems provide unprecedented protection for the Russian military and civilian infrastructure, particularly when taking into account the massive scale of NATO-backed Neo-Nazi junta’s drone and missile attacks on Russian cities and regions.

These world-class air defenses give the Kremlin the capability to cover its troops, which then use advanced long-range strike systems to hunt for various NATO-sourced rocket and missile launch platforms. And unlike the Kiev regime, which regularly lies about its air defense “successes”, including against hypersonic weapons, the Russian military regularly publishes verifiable data (including video footage) of the interceptions of various types of hostile precision-guided munitions (PGMs). This is precisely why even some NATO countries refuse to let go of their Russian-made SAM systems, including both Greece and Turkey, with the latter even sacrificing the troubled F-35 acquisition to get them.

Countries around the world have come to an identical conclusion, including global powers such as India.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) proved this in a recent military exercise where it deployed its fighter jets as hostile attack aircraft that were “tracked and targeted” by the Russian-made S-400 SAM system. In what Indian sources described as a major success for the IAF, the Sudarshan S-400 air defense system “shot down” 80% of the “attacking” fighter aircraft while forcing the rest to retreat. High-ranking defense sources told India Today that the recent military exercise demonstrated significant air defense capabilities of the IAF, once again justifying the acquisition of SAM systems from Russia.

India currently operates three missile regiments of the S-400, while another two are to be delivered in the next few years. The Kremlin itself has committed to delivering the two remaining regiments by the third quarter of 2026. All five of the S-400 SAM system regiments were expected to be delivered by early 2024, but this was delayed due to the ongoing NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict. However, the IAF fully integrated the three regiments that have been delivered so far, with all the Russian-made air defense systems now achieving full operational capabilities. The regiments are effectively divided into two groups, stationed in northern areas, bordering China and Pakistan, respectively.

“Current deployments indicate that we have nearly 1.5 squadrons each stationed on the fronts with China and Pakistan,” sources revealed.

The success reported by the IAF is hardly surprising, as the Soviet Union/Russia placed a significant emphasis on air defenses as part of its military doctrine. Moscow’s top brass never counted on fighting a war with absolute air superiority, as is the case in the political West, particularly the United States. Thus, the USSR and later Russia designed and produced the best air defense systems in history. Thus, the Kremlin has the tools necessary to provide adequate protection for its civilian infrastructure, as well as the military, including ground units and stationary strategic assets. Given the very close, half-a-century-long defense cooperation between Russia and India, Delhi’s choice is hardly surprising.

The two (Eur)Asian giants are working closely on a plethora of strategically important military projects, with the Kremlin transferring numerous technologies that are critically important to India and its security. The IAF is a major user of Russian-made SAM systems and aircraft, including the Su-30MKI, a joint Sukhoi-HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) project that gave Delhi the backbone of its air power. The “Flanker-H” is the country’s most capable fighter jet and the IAF is now running an ambitious modernization program to make the Su-MKI relevant for decades to come. Russia and India are working closely to circumvent illegal Western sanctions in order to achieve this.

What’s more, despite all these hurdles, the cooperation is being actively expanded by both sides, with the IAF planning to give the “Flanker-H” more advanced capabilities usually seen on the next-generation aircraft such as the now legendary Su-57. Indian sources report that the program will cost $7.5 billion and that it will give the Su-30MKI all the capabilities of a fifth-generation aircraft, with the notable exception of stealth. The Kremlin’s participation in such a massive undertaking is virtually a given. It should also be noted that the two (Eur)Asian giants are working on other strategically important projects, including hypersonic weapons, an area in which Moscow excels in every category.

Namely, Russia is decades ahead of its competition and has not only been the first to induct hypersonic missiles back in the early 1980s, but has also managed to maintain this advantage even during the troubled 1990s. Its top rival, the United States, has been incapable of matching even much smaller countries such as North Korea and Iran, with many sources reporting that the Pentagon is focused on outdated technologies and is often refusing to disclose whether missile tests have been successful or not. Thanks to its close ties with the Kremlin, India is already in the highly exclusive “hypersonic club”. BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian defense joint venture, is particularly important in this regard.

The company is already conducting intensive testing of the highly anticipated BrahMos II hypersonic missile. At Mach 6, the missile is set to be at least twice as fast as the previous BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Even though the weapon is officially projected to have a range of 600 km, experts suggest that the BrahMos II will reach Mach 8 and a range of 1000 km. Mostly based on Russia’s “Zircon” hypersonic missile, the world’s first successful scramjet-powered (supersonic combustion ramjet) missile, BrahMos II is expected to give India an unrivaled capability, not just in the Global South, but even in comparison to the political West, where even the US now admits Russia is far ahead in hypersonic technologies.

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Spread the Truth, Refer a Friend to Global Research

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from InfoBrics

“The PCR is a process. It does not tell you that you are sick.”  –Dr. Kary Mullis, (image right) Nobel Laureate and Inventor of the RT-PCR, passed away in August 2019.

“…All or a substantial part of these positives could be due to what’s called false positives tests.” –Dr. Michael Yeadon, distinguished scientist, former Vice President and Chief Science Officer of Pfizer

“This misuse of the RT-PCR technique is applied as a relentless and intentional strategy by some governments to justify excessive measures such as the violation of a large number of constitutional rights, … under the pretext of a pandemic based on a number of positive RT-PCR tests, and not on a real number of patients.” –Dr. Pascal Sacré, Belgian physician specialized in critical care and renowned public health analyst.

“I have seen massive efforts made to deliberately inflate Covid death numbers by relabelling cancer patients and stroke victims and all manner of normal regular deaths as Covid, in fact virtually anyone getting into an ambulance. The methods used to do so were totally flawed, PCR tests for example being run on 45 cycles we all know to be worthless, yet people are being euthanised on this basis and sometimes only on the basis of a chest x-ray alone.” –John O’Looney, Funeral Director, Milton Keynes, U.K.

From the outset of this crisis in January 2020, all far-reaching policy decisions upheld and presented to the public as a “means to saving lives” were based on flawed and invalid RT-PCR positive cases.

These invalid COVID-19 “estimates” have been used to justify confinement, social distancing, wearing of the face mask, the prohibition of social gatherings, cultural and sports events, the closure of economic activity, as well as the enforcement of the mRNA “vaccine” launched in November 2020. There is no such thing as a “COVID-19 confirmed case”.– Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics (emeritus), University of Ottawa.

***

 

The late Dr. Kary Mullis, the inventor of the PCR test, has been blowing the whistle on Fauci and big pharma for 30 years. 

Outstanding video production and analysis by Greg Reese

VIDEO. The Polymerase Chain Reaction Test

by Greg Reese 

May the Late Dr. Kary Mullis’ Legacy Live.

*

The slanted methodology applied under WHO guidance for detecting the alleged spread of the virus is the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test, which has been routinely applied all over the world since February 2020. (This Text below is an excerpt from Michel Chossudovsky’s book,  August 2022)

 

The Reverse Transcription Polymerase

Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test

by Michel Chossudovsky

 

Even if the 2019 nCoV had been detected and duly identified, the numbers of PCR-RT confirmed (cumulative) positive cases in the period leading up to to March 11, 2020 used as a justification to enforce the Lockdown of more than 190 countries were ridiculously low. The 80,981 cases for China also pertains to confirmed (cumulative) PCR positive cases. Note the new cases in China   (PCR positive) on March 12, 2020 are of the order of “321 new”

Image: Total cumulative cases on March 12, 2020 (Source: WHO) 

For Further Details see:

The WHO Confirms that the Covid-19 PCR Test is Flawed: Estimates of “Positive Cases” are Meaningless. The Lockdown Has No Scientific Basis

 

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, December 10, 2023

 

 There Never Was a “New Corona Virus”, There Never Was a Pandemic,  

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, November 03, 2024 

The WHO on January 13, 2021, acknowledged that the PCR test was invalid. The official text of the WHO entitled “Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) Technologies that Use Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for Detection of SARS-CoV-2″ is featured in the Annex below. 

The WHO’s Mea Culpa

by Michel Chossudovsky

 

WHO guidance Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 states that careful interpretation of weak positive results is needed (1). The cycle threshold (Ct) needed to detect virus is inversely proportional to the patient’s viral load. Where test results do not correspond with the clinical presentation, a new specimen should be taken and retested using the same or different NAT technology. (emphasis added)

WHO reminds IVD users that disease prevalence alters the predictive value of test results; as disease prevalence decreases, the risk of false positive increases (2). This means that the probability that a person who has a positive result (SARS-CoV-2 detected) is truly infected with SARS-CoV-2 decreases as prevalence decreases, irrespective of the claimed specificity.”

“Invalid Positives” is the Underlying Concept 

This is not an issue of  “Weak Positives” and “Risk of False Positive Increases”. What is at stake is a “Flawed Methodology” which leads to invalid estimates.

What this admission of the WHO confirms is that the estimate of covid positive from a PCR test (with an amplification threshold of 35 cycles or higher) is invalid. In which case, the WHO recommends retesting:  “a new specimen should be taken and retested…”.

The WHO calls for “Retesting”, which is tantamount to “We Screwed Up”.

That recommendation is pro-forma. It won’t happen. Millions of people Worldwide have already been tested, starting in early February 2020. Nonetheless, we must conclude that unless retested, those estimates (according to the WHO) are invalid. 

From the outset, the PCR test has routinely been applied at a Ct amplification threshold of 35 or higher, following the January 2020 recommendations of the WHO. What this means is that the PCR methodology as applied Worldwide has led to the compilation of faulty and misleading Covid statistics.

And these are the statistics which are used to measure the progression of the so-called “pandemic”. Above an amplification cycle of 35 or higher, the test will not detect fragments of the virus. Therefore,  the official “covid numbers” are meaningless.

It follows that there is no scientific basis for confirming the existence of a pandemic.

Which in turn means that the lockdown / economic measures which have resulted in social panic, mass poverty and unemployment (allegedly to curtail the spread of the virus) have no justification whatsoever.

According to scientific opinion:

“if someone is tested by PCR as positive when a threshold of 35 cycles or higher is used (as is the case in most laboratories in Europe & the US), the probability that said person is actually infected is less than 3%, the probability that said result is a false positive is 97%  (Pieter Borger, Bobby Rajesh Malhotra, Michael Yeadon, Clare Craig, Kevin McKernan, et al, Critique of Drosten Study)

As outlined above, “the probability that said result is a false positive is 97%”: It follows that using  the >35 cycles detection will indelibly  contribute to “hiking up” the number of “fake positives”.

At the time of writing (mid-March 2021), despite the WHO retraction, the PCR test is being used extensively to hike up the numbers with a view to sustaining the fear campaign, justifying the ongoing lockdown policies as well as the implementation of the Covid vaccine.

Ironically, the flawed numbers based on “invalid positives” are in turn being manipulated to ensure an upward trend in so-called “Confirmed Covid -19 Cases”.

Moreover, those PCR tests are not routinely accompanied by a medical diagnosis of the patients who are being tested.

And now, national health authorities have issued (fake) warnings of a “Third Wave” as part of their propaganda campaign in support of the Covid-19 Vaccine.

The WHO confirms that the Covid PCR test procedure as applied is invalid. There is absolutely no scientific basis for implementing the Covid Vaccine.

Both the WHO and the scientific assessment of Pieter Borger, et al (quoted above) confirm unequivocally that the tests adopted by governments to justify the lockdown and the destabilization of national economies are INVALID.

Invalid Data and the Numbers’ Game

It should be understood that these “invalid estimates” are the “numbers” quoted relentlessly 24/7 by the media which have been used to feed the fear campaign and “justify” ALL the policies put forth by the governments:

• lockdown,
• closure of economic activity,
• poverty and mass unemployment,
• bankruptcies
• social distancing,
• face mask,
• curfew,
• the vaccine.
• the health passport

Invalid Data. Think Twice Before Getting Vaccinated

Michel Chossudovsky, November 9, 2024

 

For the complete text by the WHO dated, January 13, 2021 (Mea Culpa) see blow

Below is the WHO’s carefully formulated “Retraction”. (in Annex)

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ANNEX

 

Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) Technologies

that Use Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

for Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Link to the original WHO Document

 

Product type: Nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies that use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of SARS-CoV-2

Date: 13 January 2021                                                                      

WHO-identifier: 2020/5, version 2

Target audience: laboratory professionals and users of IVDs.

Purpose of this notice: clarify information previously provided by WHO. This notice supersedes WHO Information Notice for In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device (IVD) Users 2020/05 version 1, issued 14 December 2020.

Description of the problem: WHO requests users to follow the instructions for use (IFU) when interpreting results for specimens tested using PCR methodology.

Users of IVDs must read and follow the IFU carefully to determine if manual adjustment of the PCR positivity threshold is recommended by the manufacturer.

WHO guidance Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 states that careful interpretation of weak positive results is needed (1). The cycle threshold (Ct) needed to detect virus is inversely proportional to the patient’s viral load. Where test results do not correspond with the clinical presentation, a new specimen should be taken and retested using the same or different NAT technology.

WHO reminds IVD users that disease prevalence alters the predictive value of test results; as disease prevalence decreases, the risk of false positive increases (2). This means that the probability that a person who has a positive result (SARS-CoV-2 detected) is truly infected with SARS-CoV-2 decreases as prevalence decreases, irrespective of the claimed specificity.

Most PCR assays are indicated as an aid for diagnosis, therefore, health care providers must consider any result in combination with timing of sampling, specimen type, assay specifics, clinical observations, patient history, confirmed status of any contacts, and epidemiological information.

Actions to be taken by IVD users:

1. Please read carefully the IFU in its entirety.
2. Contact your local representative if there is any aspect of the IFU that is unclear to you.
3. Check the IFU for each incoming consignment to detect any changes to the IFU.
4. Provide the Ct value in the report to the requesting health care provider.

Notes

1. Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020, WHO reference number WHO/2019-nCoV/laboratory/2020.6.

2. Altman DG, Bland JM. Diagnostic tests 2: Predictive values. BMJ. 1994 Jul 9;309(6947):102. doi: 10.1136/bmj.309.6947.102.

 

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

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Global Research Wants to Hear From You!

First published on October 5, 2024

***

“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein[1]

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Click to download the audio (MP3 format)

a
Major wars on the planet right now are the two and a half year Russia-Ukraine war, considered by many media sources as the “biggest war in Europe since World War II,” and the Israeli-Hamas war, which has annihilated more Palestinian lives than the combined death toll of conflicts since 2008.

In both these displays of militarism, we tend to focus more on the sad stories on the ground of the lives of citizens scrambling to survive horrific assaults. We imagine air assaults on buildings or tanks charging in obtrusively on foreign soil. But a lot has changed over the past 75-80 years.

There were no satellites during the 1940s. And before the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated, the nuclear threat was non-existent. Today, more than 2,000 satellites are in orbit, some of which help coordinate military activities on the planet. There are also sophisticated missile defense systems, space communications, command and control war fighting functions, and other technological novelties that aid in the cause of ensuring “victory at all costs!”[2]

But the ease of enabling war comes at a price. And the 30+ year collective known as Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space is trying to address these concerns and contest new technologies that pose a threat to space peace in the 21st Century.

More on the coming Keep Space for Peace week (October 5-12) can be found below and on the site space4peace.org

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On a separate level, two major wars in recent years were launched on October 7. One was the War in Afghanistan (2001). The other was the Israeli-Hamas War (2023).

Another similarity of these two wars is the multiple indications that what really happened in both cases is far more complex, and for that matter far more devious, than the simple official narrative of preventing and punishing a crime against humanity. In a nutshell, both were instances of what is called a “False Flag” such as Pearl Harbor or the Gulf of Tonkin incident, endeavours designed to stir up emotions in support of war.

This episode of the Global Research News Hour is addressing the currents of war active in the 21st century with two guests. Our first guest is Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the above-mentioned Global Network. He will bring us up to date on the various mechanisms militarizing space. And he will talk about Keep Space for Peace Week which resumes starting on Saturday October 5.

Our second guest is the frequent guest Richard Gage, AIA. He is a prominent 9/11 Truther. But this week, he engages us with his documented research into the idea that the attack by Hamas was very much like the attack that he has spent the last twenty years investigating. Like 9/11, the Israelis let last year’s October 7 attack happen on purpose.

Bruce Gagnon is a long time peace activist and coordinates the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.

Richard Gage, AIA is a San Francisco Bay area architect and a member of the American Institute of Architects and founder & former CEO of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. He now leads the charge for a new World Trade Center investigation along with his courageous wife Gail at RichardGage911.org.”

(Global Research News Hour Episode 433)

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Transcript of interview with Bruce Gagnon, October 2, 2024

Global Research: Why don’t you take us through a couple of examples of the critical role that space is having. First instance, the current conflict that’s been going on for over two and a half years between NATO and Russia in Ukraine.

Bruce Gagnon: I think one of the most important things is NATO expansion. You know, at the time of the collapse of the former Soviet Union, NATO, the United States approached then President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union and said that they wanted to reunite East and West Germany and would, uh, now that the Soviet Union was dissolving, would Russia agree to that? And Gorbachev said we would agree to it on one simple condition, that NATO not expand one inch towards Russia, to the East, towards Russia. And, uh, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker at the time and other NATO officials agreed to that.

But then when Bill Clinton became president, he began what he called NATO enlargement and began moving NATO towards Russia. And today it has expanded dramatically right up to the Russian borders, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway’s in it, Romania, uh, you know, many other countries. And they want Ukraine to be a part of it.

They’d like to have Georgia as part of it, really an encirclement, if you will, of that part of the Russian, uh, European border, if you will. And so this is a grave danger. And in all of these places, the United States has begun installing a various space technology basis, uh, both what are called downlink facilities, radars that talk to satellites that help target a first strike attack on Russia that the U.S. Space Command has been war gaming annually for many years.

And in addition, in the case of Romania and, uh, Poland, the United States has built what they call Aegis Ashore launch bases where they can fire, uh, first strike attack, Tomahawk cruise missiles, nuclear capable, and also they can fire after the first strike hits Russia and Russia tries to do a retaliatory strike at the same bases in Romania and Poland, they have these, uh, SM-3 interceptor missiles. So after you fire the sword, the Tomahawk cruise missile, nuclear capable at Russia, and then Russia tries to respond, they then have the shield, these so-called missile defense systems that, uh, theoretically pick off Russian missiles, giving the U.S. a “successful first strike attack.” And so, uh, this is what’s happening throughout, uh, Eastern Europe now right up to the Russian border, and it’s all hooked up to space.

The Pentagon has long been saying that space technology directs every single thing the U.S. military does these days, no matter whether you’re a troop on the ground, in a tank, you’re on a boat in the, uh, in the Navy, in the ocean, or you’re flying an airplane, or you’re launching missiles. Everything the Pentagon does is coordinated and directed by space technology. And so the U.S. and NATO have supplied Ukraine today with lots of various technologies, drones, missiles, other such things, and U.S. AWACS planes and NATO AWACS planes are flying over the Black Sea, calling in the target coordinates inside of Russia and Crimea and other parts of Russia, as it, uh, as Ukraine then launches these missiles, uh, towards these targets inside of Russia.

Without the United States and NATO, uh, using their space technology capabilities, Ukraine would not have any ability to do that, to hit Russia whatsoever. And now they’re talking about long-range missiles that can go far deeper inside of Russia, uh, should, uh, NATO, U.S. and NATO give those to Ukraine. And again, they would only be workable because of U.S. space technology capabilities.

Similarly today in the Red Sea, the United States has deployed Navy Aegis destroyers made, uh, here in the mid-coast of Maine, where I live at Bath Iron Works, which is owned by General Dynamics. Onboard those ships, they have these same two technologies.

They have first strike attack nuclear capable Tomahawk cruise missiles, and they also have these SM-3 interceptors. So they’ve been operating, uh, since October in the Red Sea, trying to take out, uh, Houthi in Yemen, any strikes they launched toward Israel. And, uh, and they’ve also been firing their cruise missiles and trying to take out, uh, Yemenis, uh, military capabilities on the land.

So these technologies are very, very active in war fronts today. At the same time, the U.S. is now moving NATO into the Asia Pacific to try to encircle China. And they’re deploying these same capabilities there.

In fact, at Bath Iron Works right now, they’re working on seven new Aegis destroyers that will be sent to encircle both Russia and China. So it’s a really dangerous moment we’re in. And again, space technology is directing the entire U.S. offensive operation.

GR: Israel, I mean, beyond going into Lebanon, now they’re, they were faced with an unprecedented, uh, attack or retaliatory attack by Iran, about over a hundred missiles that were fired into their territory. Do you see this becoming an expanded war and what role will all of this technology have with the, in that new front?

BG: Well, actually my reading of yesterday was, uh, that, uh, Iran launched several hundred missiles and they primarily launched against two kinds of targets. One was Israeli air force bases where planes are sent to attack Lebanon, uh, throughout, uh, Gaza and Iran as well, uh, previously.

At the same time, they hit those and, uh, apparently quite a few landed, but the United States and NATO, Germany, France, UK, uh, Jordan were assisting the attempts of Israel to shoot these missiles out of the sky. But I’ve seen many videos now, and, uh, it’s pretty clear that, um, quite a huge number of them landed on targets at these, uh, Israeli military bases. At the same time, uh, Iran took out a couple oil platforms, these oil rig platforms, uh, owned by Israel, uh, providing them with oil or gas, I’m not sure which, but they took out a couple of those, which is going to further bleed the already, uh, very constrained and constricting, uh, Israeli economy.

So I think, uh, that Israel will be forced by its own public opinion to respond in some way, but Israel’s biggest goal right now is to drag the United States and NATO into a full blown war with Iran. But, uh, I think there’s some reluctance on the part of the US and NATO to do that, to go full bore, uh, for war with Iran, because not because they’re good guys, not because they, you know, care about peace, but because the United States has bases throughout the region. They have Iran virtually completely surrounded with US bases, which would be very clear targets it would be easier for Iran to hit those US bases around its borders than it is for them to hit Israel.

And they showed yesterday, uh, that they can hit Israel quite effectively. So I think this thing, uh, some people say we’re heading towards World War III. I think we’re already there.

The US and NATO are, uh, they’ve got three fronts going on right now. They’ve got the Middle East front, and they’ve got the front with Russia and Ukraine. And now they’re trying to open the front with China and Taiwan.

Uh, there’s no way that the United States and even NATO, because NATO was part of the war in Afghanistan, the US and NATO could not beat the Taliban in Afghanistan. How in God’s name do they think they can take on Russia, China and Iran all at the same time? It’s total lunacy, but I think it’s a sign of complete and utter desperation on the part of the colonial, uh, Western, uh, diminishing empire, 600 years of colonization of the global South by the US and Europe, uh, and, uh, stealing the resources from the global South. And now those days are over the global South through organizations like BRICS are rising.

And, uh, and with the support of China and Russia and Iran and other countries, uh, there’s, it’s a new world and the, uh, US and NATO, the Western elites, the Western colonists, the Western mobsters, I would call them, uh, are desperate. And they’re, so far showing that they’re going to try to fight their way out of this, at least destroy everything. If they can’t have it all, then they’re, they seem willing to destroy.

GR: As you point out in your, your writing and on your site, that the privatization of space is contributing to this, uh, your increased military, uh, uh, bent that they’re on. Could you explain a little bit about how that privatization is, is starting to enable more war.

BG: First thing that comes to mind is when Obama was president, he signed a new US law violating the outer space treaty of 1967 and the Moon Treaty, which were created at the United Nations. The US signed and assigned the outer space treaty.

The US never signed the Moon Treaty, but these treaties say that the, that space and the planetary bodies are the province of all humankind and that no country, no corporation, no individual can claim ownership of any of these planetary bodies. Well, Obama signed a law giving US corporations the right to go out and make land claims on various planetary bodies to begin the operation of mining the sky. And so for some time, all the way back in the 1980s, the United States government has been talking about building a military highway from the earth through space, connecting to the planetary bodies that they would control like the front gate of a military base.

You know, the US military controls the gate, decides who gets in and who gets out. And their plan today is to control the pathway on and off the planet earth into space so that these private entities in the United States and their allies, mostly in Europe, uh, can go out and mine the sky and grab the resources for, for benefit. In addition, uh, the, uh, orbits around lower earth orbit, if there are various orbits in space, but the one closest to the earth is called LEO, lower earth orbit.

And it’s becoming increasingly crowded because of the launch primarily by SpaceX, who’s already launched thousands of satellites into space and now has been given permission by the United States government to launch tens of thousands more. And the strategy today by the United States is to fill up lower earth orbit with as many satellites, they call them dual use, meaning, oh, they’re civilian, you know, but yeah, the military can use them too. But in fact, it’s all about military control of lower earth orbit, because whoever controls lower earth orbit has an advantage.

They can see the earth, they can see everything on the earth, and they can use these satellites again for targeting in wartime. Russia and China are very angry about this. And they say that we’re not going to allow you to fill up lower earth orbit because this would give you a military advantage.

And so China is now rushing to itself launch, uh, hundreds or even thousands of satellites in the space. A whole new area of military conflict is developing. And there’s two problems with this, crowding in lower earth orbit.

Number one is you start having war with each other. You start blowing up each other’s satellites or they, because they’re so crowded, accidents start to happen. It’s like a parking lot at a grocery store.

It becomes so crowded that soon cars are kind of bumping into each other. And this could very soon happen in lower earth orbit. And as a result of that, a NASA scientist has coined a phrase, the Kessler syndrome.

When things start crashing into each other, when satellites either get blown up in war, or just because of the crowded conditions, you start creating even more space debris, space junk, orbiting lower earth orbit at high speeds, and you have a cascading collision effect. And when that happens, guess what? Earth goes dark. Because most of what we do here on the earth, whether it’s internet banking, cell phones, air traffic control, cable TV, I mean, you name it, we rely on satellites to run our quote unquote modern life here on the planet.

In 1989, I organized a protest at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, opposing the militarization of space. And we had an Apollo astronaut, early moonwalker, Edgar Mitchell, come and speak. And he says, if we have one war in space, it’ll be the one and the only, because we will create so much space debris that we will be entombed to the planet.

We won’t be able to get a rocket off the earth through this minefield in lower earth orbit. And so he warned against this madness that we are seeing continue today.

GR: We’ve only got about 30 seconds left, Bruce.

Could you maybe just keep space for Peace Week? I mean, what exactly is the theme of this year’s Keep Space for Peace Week? And, you know, we can maybe mention a few of the things that you’re doing.

BG: The theme this year is how space technology guides and supports the genocide of Palestine, and I would say now Lebanon as well. So that’s our theme.

And we’re going to have on our website and my blog, my blog is called Organizing Notes. The address of the blog is space, the number for peace, space4peace.blogspot, B-L-O-G-S-P-O-T dot com, space4peace.blogspot.com. You go on there today, you’ll see a list of the actions that we know of so far that are happening all over the world. In England, there’s quite a few because England is being brought into this program.

The United States is trying to get the allies into the space launch program to help fill up lower earth orbit to have more launch sites to attack Russia and China with missiles in the future. So at many bases in England, there’s events going to be happening in South Korea. The U.S. is dragging South Korea in for the same reasons to prepare for the attack on China.

Here in Maine, Bath Iron Works, where they build these Aegis destroyers that I earlier talked about, will be having protests there. They’ll be at the White House, they’ll be in London at the Ministry of Defense. There’s going to be a protest there.

We’re going to have a space issues webinar on October 13th with various speakers from the Global Network Board of Directors around the world. There’s going to be a drone protest for six days at Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas. Drone warfare is totally reliant on space technology.

In South Korea, because it’s a growing hotbed for militarization of space, again, under the control of the U.S., there’s going to be a national organizing meeting held in South Korea just after Space Week in order to put together a national campaign against space technology. So things are really growing and we’re very proud of our members and our board members around the world that are organizing these events.

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The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM out of the University of Winnipeg.

Mentre la crisi dell’auto, aggravata da ulteriori misure protezionistiche statunitensi, mette a rischio in Italia 40mila posti di lavoro, e il debito pubblico italiano sale al 139% del PIL e continua ad aumentare, continua a crescere la spesa militare italiana: essa ammonta nel 2024, secondo i dati ufficiali della NATO, a circa 32 miliardi di euro equivalenti a una media di circa 88 milioni di euro al giorno. L’obiettivo che i governi italiani si sono impegnati a raggiungere e superare entro breve tempo è di 100 milioni di euro al giorno. 

Il Segretario generale della NATO, Mark Rutte, chiama gli Alleati europei a “passare a una mentalità da tempo di guerra e a mettere il turbo alla produzione e alla spesa per la Difesa”. Si rivolge quindi direttamente ai cittadini europei con queste parole: “Dite alle vostre banche e ai vostri fondi pensione che è semplicemente inaccettabile che si rifiutino di investire nell’industria della Difesa. Investire nella Difesa è un investimento nella nostra sicurezza. È un obbligo! I Paesi europei spendono facilmente fino a un quarto del loro reddito nazionale per pensioni, sanità e sistemi di sicurezza sociale. Abbiamo bisogno di una piccola frazione di quel denaro per rendere le nostre Difese molto più forti e per preservare il nostro stile di vita.  Senza una Difesa forte non c’è sicurezza duratura. E senza sicurezza non c’è libertà per i nostri figli e nipoti. Per proteggere la nostra libertà, la nostra prosperità e il nostro stile di vita, i vostri politici devono ascoltare le vostre voci: dite loro che accettate di fare sacrifici oggi per poter stare al sicuro domani.”  

Per convincere i cittadini a fare sacrifici per accrescere la spesa militare, il mainstream politico-mediatico semina il terrore di un imminente attacco russo all’Europa. Emblematico il titolo de La Stampa: “La Svezia in allerta prepara 30mila tombe per i soldati in caso di guerra con la Russia”. 

In tale quadro l’Italia ha stipulato con Gran Bretagna e Giappone un accordo – denominato “Programma Aereo di Combattimento Globale” – per la produzione di un caccia di sesta generazione. Entro la metà del 2025 sarà costituita, per la realizzazione del programma, una joint venture tra la BAE Systems (Gran Bretagna), la Leonardo (Italia) e la JAIEC (Giappone), il cui primo CEO sarà un dirigente della Leonardo. 

La Leonardo (già Finmeccanica) non è solo una azienda italiana: è un gruppo industriale internazionale, il cui azionariato è composto per il 38% dal Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze e per il 57% da investitori istituzionali statunitensi.  Realizza ricavi consolidati di oltre 15 miliardi di euro annui. Il Gruppo opera in 150 Paesi – soprattutto Italia, Stati Uniti, Gran Bretagna e Polonia – in ambito Aerospazio e Difesa: produce cacciabombardieri a duplice capacità convenzionale e nucleare, droni, elicotteri, sistemi elettronici e spaziali. La Leonardo, che ha acquisito la società israeliana RADA Electronic Industries, è integrata anche nel sistema militare-industriale di Israele, contribuendo a rendere più letali le armi usate nel genocidio dei Palestinesi. 

Ancora non si sa quanto costerà all’Italia il Programma Aereo di Combattimento Globale per la produzione del caccia di sesta generazione.  Si stima che, solo per lo sviluppo del caccia, la spesa sarà di circa 30 miliardi di euro per ciascuno dei tre partner. Si sa comunque quanto è venuto a costare finora agli Stati Uniti il caccia F-35 di quinta generazione: oltre 400 miliardi di dollari in continuo aumento per l’incessante ammodernamento di questo sistema d’arma a duplice capacità convenzionale e nucleare.

Manlio Dinucci 

VIDEO :

Até os aliados mais próximos de Kiev parecem estar cansados ​​da guerra. Numa declaração recente, o vice-ministro da Defesa polaco, Pawel Zalewski, afirmou que o seu país atingiu o limite da sua assistência à Ucrânia e já não é capaz de enviar qualquer ajuda em grande escala. Isto mostra como os países da OTAN estão fartos das consequências da guerra, perdendo grandes quantidades de recursos e sofrendo perdas substanciais.

Numa entrevista à Rádio Zet, o vice-ministro polaco expressou a sua preocupação com o apoio massivo de Varsóvia a Kiev. Ele teme que o país comece a perder a sua própria capacidade militar devido à entrega sistemática de armas ao regime ucraniano. Além disso, Zelewski sublinhou que a Polônia não enviará os seus jatos MiG-29 para Kiev, alegando que tal movimento nas atuais circunstâncias deixaria o país vulnerável e ameaçaria a segurança nacional polaca.

O vice-ministro afirmou que a única forma de possibilitar o envio destes caças para a Ucrânia é substituindo a frota polaca. Por isso, pediu aos EUA que enviassem jatos F-35 para a Polônia, o que permitiria substituir a frota atual por equipamentos mais modernos, criando as condições necessárias para finalmente enviar os MiG-29 para a Ucrânia. Anteriormente, Varsóvia já tinha enviado vários combatentes da era soviética para a Ucrânia, mas Zelewski deixou claro que a continuação desta política de transferências irrestritas de armas prejudicaria Varsóvia, razão pela qual está a ser estabelecida uma nova política militar na Polônia, dando prioridade à segurança nacional em detrimento do apoio a Kiev.

Falando de forma muito clara e objetiva, descartou por enquanto a implementação de novos pacotes de ajuda à Ucrânia. Zelewski disse que a ajuda polaca “atingiu o muro” e não poderia ser expandida sem causar danos ao país. Neste sentido, embora a Polônia continue a apoiar a Ucrânia e faça o seu melhor para satisfazer as exigências do seu parceiro vizinho, não é viável continuar a expandir os pacotes militares.

“Hoje, o nosso objetivo mais importante é melhorar as capacidades de defesa do exército polaco, porque acreditamos que demos o que podíamos e muito mais (…) Mas não podemos dar mais (…) Estamos chegando ao fim. Entendo que batemos no muro”, disse ele.

Anteriormente, Zelewski e o seu chefe, o Ministro da Defesa Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, reiteraram que a Polônia já forneceu à Ucrânia todas as armas que poderiam ser enviadas sem causar danos às próprias capacidades militares polacas. Pelo menos até 2026, quando Varsóvia espera receber jatos F-35 americanos, a ajuda polaca provavelmente será reduzida ou permanecerá “congelada”.

É de sublinhar que, desde 2022, a Polônia já enviou mais de 4,5 mil milhões de euros em assistência militar à Ucrânia. De acordo com dados publicados pelo Instituto Kiel da Alemanha, mais de 70% deste dinheiro foi gasto no fornecimento direto de armas. A Polônia é sem dúvida um dos países mais envolvidos no conflito, com uma participação quase direta na guerra, pois, além de enviar ajuda ao regime, mantém as suas fronteiras abertas para o trânsito de equipamento estrangeiro para a Ucrânia.

A participação das tropas polacas também é algo digno de nota. A Polônia é um dos países que mais envia mercenários para a Ucrânia. As tropas russas eliminam frequentemente os soldados polacos no campo de batalha. Embora sejam simplesmente chamados de “mercenários”, estes soldados são enviados para a Ucrânia com o total apoio do Estado polaco, que os encoraja a lutar contra Moscou. Assim, é possível dizer que Varsóvia já participa ativamente da guerra, e o apelido de “mercenários” para seus soldados é apenas uma tática para contornar o direito internacional e manter o território polonês livre de ataques russos.

Recentemente, alguns especialistas começaram a mencionar a possibilidade de a Polónia estar a ser preparada pela OTAN para uma futura guerra com a Rússia. A ajuda americana à Polônia tem aumentado recentemente, indicando que existe uma posição especial para o país nos planos de guerra da OTAN. De fato, considerando o elevado nível de envolvimento da Polônia no conflito atual, é possível que esteja a ser preparada pela OTAN para substituir a Ucrânia na guerra por procuração anti-Rússia, quando o exército ucraniano entrar em colapso.

Neste sentido, é possível que a preocupação polaca em preservar os seus arsenais militares esteja relacionada com uma diretiva da OTAN para que Varsóvia se prepare para a guerra. Além disso, é necessário sublinhar que a Polônia é afetada pelo mesmo tipo de ideologia ultranacionalista e russofóbica que a Ucrânia, com elevados níveis de paranóia entre os líderes locais. Portanto, existindo ou não uma orientação da OTAN, os políticos polacos certamente temem a chamada “ameaça russa”, razão pela qual querem ter armas suficientes para se defenderem.

Na verdade, independentemente das razões da decisão polaca, esta é apenas mais uma prova de que os países da OTAN são incapazes de continuar a ajudar a Ucrânia, não tendo condições materiais para continuar com assistência em grande escala.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

 

Artigo em inglês : Poland unable to keep helping Ukraine,InfoBrics, 20 de Dezembro de 2024.

Imagem :  InfoBrics

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Lucas Leiroz, membro da Associação de Jornalistas do BRICS, pesquisador do Centro de Estudos Geoestratégicos, especialista militar.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://x.com/leiroz_lucas

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First published by Global Research on May 6, 2023

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Top World Economic Forum (WEF) adviser Yuval Noah Harari recently declared that the world does not “need the vast majority” of the current World population due to technological advances.

Harari made the bold declaration in an interview with Chris Anderson, head of the popular TED media group, echoing past predictions of a “useless class” of “unemployable” humans.

Harai suggested that, in a departure from the 20th century, when the “big heroes” of political systems’ prevailing narratives were always “the common people,” now in the 21st century, people “are no longer part of the story of the future.” Instead, according to Harari, they have been replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) and displaced by a high-tech economy.

Video

 

The author and lecturer presented to Anderson the “hypothesis” that anxiety about being displaced in the future economy by AI and a highly educated “tech” class is partly at the root of the world’s “disillusionment and backlash against the liberal order.”

“Part of what might be going [on] is people realize — and they’re correct in thinking that, ‘The future doesn’t need me. … Maybe if they are nice, they will throw some crumbs my way, like universal basic income.’ But it’s much worse psychologically to feel that you are useless than to feel that you are exploited,” Harari said.

“Now, fast forward to the early 21st century when we just don’t need the vast majority of the population,” Harari continued, “because the future is about developing more and more sophisticated technology, like artificial intelligence [and] bioengineering.”

Harari added that “these technologies increasingly will make redundant” “whatever people are still doing which is useful,” and will thus “make it possible to replace the people.”

While he conceded to Anderson that technologies such as AI will open up new and “more interesting jobs,” Harari argued that

“it’s not clear that many humans will be able to do them, because they will require high skills and a lot of education.”

Anderson doggedly proposed ways in which human beings could — and he suggested, should — continue to play a valuable part in the world economy, or at least society.

“So again, trying to desperately apply some sort of more hopeful spin on this … a lot of the jobs that are being displaced are actually kind of boring jobs that don’t really tap into the core of what the human is,” Anderson said.

He went on to point out that “When you step back, there’s no shortage of things that need to be done,” including addressing the world’s “millions of lonely people.”

“People are really good at making lonely people not feel lonely, and pretty much anyone can do that,”  Anderson noted. “You know, communities are a mess. Pretty much anyone who lives somewhere could do, in principle, something to make a community better. They could paint a fence, or do some voluntary service, or whatever.”

Harari in turn argued that in order to “recogniz[e] activities like community building and raising families as jobs,” “we need a new economic and social model.”

When Anderson asked Harari whether he sees “any solution to that problem other than” more tax redistribution by the government, Harari replied, “That’s the traditional role of government. When the market isn’t efficient enough in redistributing the wealth, then this is the job of the government.”

Harari went so far as to suggest that wealth would need to be redistributed globally, so that the profits of tech companies in the U.S. and China could benefit people in countries less advanced in the tech domain.

“I would say that the biggest problem by far is not on the national level. It’s on the global level,” said Harari, who added that while he can envision redistribution of wealth from “tech giants in California” to “mothers in Pennsylvania,” he does not see that wealth being redistributed to “Honduras or Mexico or Brazil.”

Eventually, Anderson pointed to the irreplaceable role of human beings, asking Harari:

“Is there any scenario where we could write ourselves back into this story in quite an important way as being the only things in the universe that we know of that are actually capable of the things that matter most in the universe — i.e., love, joy, creativity, the sort of that feeling of peace you talked about.

Technology can’t advise us on what are the things deepest in our hearts. We should not let it, we should retain control, in fact make our technology in service to those things. And in a sense, the relationship between technology and us — [technology] should regard sentient things as gods, that have superpowers it knows nothing of. No? Is that ridiculous?

Harari did not directly address Anderson’s point, but honed in on “the question of sentience and consciousness” as “the most important question in this regard,” and “the greatest riddle of science.”

Harari’s evasion of the question may stem from his less transcendent view of human beings, as reflected in his claim that “Homo sapiens rule the world because it is the only animal that can believe in things that exist purely in its own imagination, such as gods, states, money, and human rights,” a backbone idea of his book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.”

This idea is echoed in his famous assertion that we “should get used to the idea that we are no longer mysterious souls,” but are “now hackable animals.”

As a top adviser to the WEF’s head and founder Klaus Schwab, Harari’s view that the world now holds an abundance of “useless” people, together with his open degradation of human beings as equivalent to animals, raises the question of whether the WEF’s aims are shaped by such a view, and if so, to what extent.

Indeed, the WEF arguably places the environment, and not human beings per se, at the center of its priorities. It has partnered with the heavily pro-abortion and pro-contraception United Nations (U.N.), and the WEF’s Great Reset agenda has raised concerns of collateral damage to the livelihoods and well-being of people around the world.

For instance, some argue that the WEF seeks the premature relinquishing of fossil fuel sources in favor of “green” but expensive and unreliable energy sources in such a manner as to curb overall energy usage and hurt entire economies via a ripple effect.

More evidence of such a worldview is the WEF’s endorsement of COVID lockdowns, which resulted in waves of lost jobs, massive spikes in depression, upticks in domestic abuse, and other harmful effects. In fact, the WEF called for “more stringent” lockdowns, despite such worldwide misery, and praised the lockdowns for their effect of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

*

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Featured image: Yuval Harari in a June 17, 2022 TED talk on Climate Change (Screenshot from the TED Talk video via LifeSiteNews)

This article was originally published on August 9, 2011 (five months after the onslaught of the US-NATO led jihadist insurgency in Daraa, Southern Syria.

Published under the title A “Humanitarian War” on Syria? Military Escalation. Towards a Broader Middle East-Central Asian War? the article raised the role of the terrorist insurgency directed against Syria in relation to the broader issue of an extended Middle East War. “The Road to Tehran Goes Through Damascus”?

War preparations to attack both Syria and Iran were in “an advanced state of readiness” several years prior to the onset of the war on Syria in mid-March 2011.

“The Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003  categorizes Syria as a “rogue state”, as a country which supports terrorism. … A US-NATO sponsored war on Iran would involve, as a first step, a destabilization campaign (“regime change”) including covert intelligence operations in support of rebel forces directed against the Syrian government.” ( Michel Chossudovsky, August 2011)  

Part II of this article was published under the title The Pentagon’s “Salvador Option”: The Deployment of Death Squads in Iraq and Syria (August 16, 2011). The latter was published as a chapter in The Globalization of War, America’s Long War against Humanity, Global Research, Montreal 2015. 

Michel Chossudovsky, July 8, 2017

*       *       *

An extended Middle East Central Asian war has been on the Pentagon’s drawing board since the mid-1990s.

As part of this extended war scenario, the US-NATO alliance plans to wage a military campaign against Syria under a UN sponsored “humanitarian mandate”.

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Escalation is an integral part of the military agenda. Destabilization of sovereign states through “regime change” is closely coordinated with military planning.

There is a military roadmap characterised by a sequence of US-NATO war theaters.

War preparations to attack Syria and Iran have been in “an advanced state of readiness” for several years. The Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003  categorizes Syria as a “rogue state”, as a country which supports terrorism. 

A war on Syria is viewed by the Pentagon as part of the broader war directed against Iran. President George W. Bush confirmed in his Memoirs that he had “ordered the Pentagon to plan an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and [had] considered a covert attack on Syria” (George Bush’s memoirs reveal how he considered attacks on Iran and Syria, The Guardian, November 8, 2010)

This broader military agenda is intimately related to strategic oil reserves and pipeline routes. It is supported by the Anglo-American oil giants. 

The July 2006 bombing of Lebanon was part of a carefully planned “military road map”. The extension of “The July War” on Lebanon into Syria had been contemplated by US and Israeli military planners. It was abandoned upon the defeat of Israeli ground forces by Hizbollah. 

Israel’s July 2006 war on Lebanon also sought to establish Israeli control over the North Eastern Mediterranean coastline including offshore oil and gas reserves in Lebanese and Palestinian territorial waters.

The plans to invade both Lebanon and Syria have remained on the Pentagon’s  drawing board despite Israel’s setback in the 2006 July War:

“In November 2008, barely a month before Tel Aviv started its massacre in the Gaza Strip[ December 2008], the Israeli military held drills for a two-front war against Lebanon and Syria called Shiluv Zro’ot III (Crossing Arms III).  The military exercise included a massive simulated invasion of both Syria and Lebanon” (See Mahdi Darius Nazemoraya, Israel’s Next War: Today the Gaza Strip, Tomorrow Lebanon?, Global Research, January 17, 2009)

The road to Tehran goes through Damascus. A US-NATO sponsored war on Iran would involve, as a first step, a destabilization campaign (“regime change”) including covert intelligence operations in support of rebel forces directed against the Syrian government.  

A “humanitarian war” under the logo of “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) directed against Syria would also contribute to the ongoing destabilization of Lebanon. 

Were a military campaign to be waged against Syria, Israel would be directly or indirectly involved in military and intelligence operations.

A war on Syria would lead to military escalation.

There are at present four distinct war theaters: Afghanistan-Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine and Libya.

An attack on Syria would lead to the integration of these separate war theaters, eventually leading towards a broader Middle East-Central Asian war, engulfing an entire region from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The ongoing protest movement is intended to serve as a pretext and a justification to intervene militarily against Syria. The existence of an armed insurrection is denied. The Western media in chorus have described recent events in Syria as a “peaceful protest movement” directed against the government of Bashar Al Assad, when the evidence confirms the existence of an armed insurgency integrated by Islamic paramilitary groups.

From the outset of the protest movement in Daraa in mid-March, there has been an exchange of fire between the police and armed forces on the one hand and armed gunmen on the other. Acts of arson directed against government buildings have also been committed. In late July in Hama, public buildings including the Court House and the Agricultural Bank were set on fire. Israeli news sources, while dismissing the existence of an armed conflict, nonetheless, acknowledge that “protesters [were] armed with heavy machine guns.” (DEBKAfile August 1, 2011. Report on Hama, emphasis added)

“All Options on the Table”

In June, US Senator Lindsey Graham (who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee) hinted to the possibility of a “humanitarian” military intervention directed against Syria with a view to “saving the lives of civilians”. Graham suggested that the “option” applied to Libya under UN Secuirty Council resolution 1973 should be envisaged in the case of Syria:

“If it made sense to protect the Libyan people against Gadhafi, and it did because they were going to get slaughtered if we hadn’t sent NATO in when he was on the outskirts of Benghazi, the question for the world [is], have we gotten to that point in Syria, …

We may not be there yet, but we are getting very close, so if you really care about protecting the Syrian people from slaughter, now is the time to let Assad know that all options are on the table,” (CBS “Face The Nation”, June 12, 2011)

Following the adoption of the UN Security Council Statement pertaining to Syria (August 3, 2011), the White House called, in no uncertain terms, for “regime change” in Syria and the ouster of President Bashar Al Assad:

“We do not want to see him remain in Syria for stability’s sake, and rather, we view him as the cause of instability in Syria,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday.

“And we think, frankly, that it’s safe to say that Syria would be a better place without President Assad,” (quoted in Syria: US Call Closer to Calling for Regime Change, IPS, August 4, 2011)

Extended economic sanctions often constitute a leadup towards outright military intervention.

A bill sponsored by Senator Lieberman was introduced in the US Senate with a view to authorizing sweeping economic sanctions against Syria. Moreover, in a letter to President Obama in early August, a group of more than sixty U.S. senators called for “implementing additional sanctions… while also making it clear to the Syrian regime that it will pay an increasing cost for its outrageous repression.”

These sanctions would require blocking bank and financial transactions as well as “ending purchases of Syrian oil, and cutting off investments in Syria’s oil and gas sectors.” (See  Pressure on Obama to get tougher on Syria coming from all sides – Foreign Policy,  August 3, 2011).

Meanwhile, the US State Department has also met with members of the Syrian opposition in exile. Covert support has also been channelled to the armed rebel groups.

Dangerous Crossroads: War on Syria. Beachhead for an Attack on Iran

Following the August 3 Statement by the Chairman of the UN Security Council directed against Syria, Moscow’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin warned of the dangers of military escalation:

“NATO is planning a military campaign against Syria to help overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad with a long-reaching goal of preparing a beachhead for an attack on Iran,…

“[This statement] means that the planning [of the military campaign] is well underway. It could be a logical conclusion of those military and propaganda operations, which have been carried out by certain Western countries against North Africa,” Rogozin said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper… The Russian diplomat pointed out at the fact that the alliance is aiming to interfere only with the regimes “whose views do not coincide with those of the West.”

Rogozin agreed with the opinion expressed by some experts that Syria and later Yemen could be NATO’s last steps on the way to launch an attack on Iran.

“The noose around Iran is tightening. Military planning against Iran is underway. And we are certainly concerned about an escalation of a large-scale war in this huge region,” Rogozin said.

Having learned the Libyan lesson, Russia “will continue to oppose a forcible resolution of the situation in Syria,” he said, adding that the consequences of a large-scale conflict in North Africa would be devastating for the whole world. “Beachhead for an Attack on Iran”: NATO is planning a Military Campaign against Syria, Novosti, August 5, 2011)

 

Military Blueprint for an Attack on Syria 

Dimitry Rogozin’s warning was based on concrete information known and documented in military circles, that NATO is currently planning a military campaign against Syria. In this regard, a scenario of an attack on Syria is currently on the drawing board, involving French, British and Israeli military experts. According to former Commander of the French Air Force (chef d’Etat-Major de l’Armée de l’air) General Jean Rannou, “a  NATO strike to disable the Syrian army is technically feasible”:

“Nato member countries would begin by using satellite technology to spot Syrian air defences. A few days later, warplanes, in larger numbers than Libya, would take off from the UK base in Cyprus and spend some 48 hours destroying Syrian surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and jets. Alliance aircraft would then start an open-ended bombardment of Syrian tanks and ground troops.

The scenario is based on analysts in the French military, from the specialist British publication Jane’s Defence Weekly and from Israel’s Channel 10 TV station.

The Syrian air force is said to pose little threat. It has around 60 Russian-made MiG-29s. But the rest – some 160 MiG-21s, 80 MiG-23s, 60 MiG-23BNs, 50 Su-22s and 20 Su-24MKs – is out of date.

….”I don’t see any purely military problems. Syria has no defence against Western systems … [But] it would be more risky than Libya. It would be a heavy military operation,” Jean Rannou, the former chief of the French air force, told EUobserver. He added that action is highly unlikely because Russia would veto a UN mandate, Nato assets are stretched in Afghanistan and Libya and Nato countries are in financial crisis. (Andrew Rettman, Blueprint For NATO Attack On Syria Revealed, Global Research, August 11, 2011)

The Broader Military Roadmap  

While Libya, Syria and Iran are part of the military roadmap, this strategic deployment if it were to be carried out would also threaten  China and Russia. Both countries have investment, trade as well as military cooperation agreements with Syria and Iran. Iran has observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Escalation is part of the military agenda. Since 2005, the US and its allies, including America’s NATO partners and Israel, have been involved in the extensive deployment and stockpiling of advanced weapons systems. The air defense systems of the US, NATO member countries and Israel are fully integrated.

The Role of Israel and Turkey

Both Ankara and Tel Aviv are involved in supporting an armed insurgency. These endeavors are coordinated between the two governments and their intelligence agencies.

Israel’s Mossad, according to reports, has provided covert support to radical Salafi terrorist groups, which became active in Southern Syria at the outset of the protest movement in Daraa in mid-March [2011]. Reports suggest that financing for the Salafi insurgency is coming from Saudi Arabia. (See Syrian army closes in on Damascus suburbs, The Irish Times, May 10, 2011).

The Turkish government of Prime Minister [now President] Recep Tayyib Erdogan is supporting Syrian opposition groups in exile while also backing the armed rebels of the Muslim Brotherhood in Northern Syria.

Both the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) (whose leadership is in exile in the UK) and the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Party of Liberation) are behind the insurrection. Both organizations are supported by Britain’s MI6. The avowed objective of both MB and Hizb-ut Tahir is ultimately to destabilize Syria’s secular State. (See Michel Chossudovsky, SYRIA: Who is Behind The Protest Movement? Fabricating a Pretext for a US-NATO “Humanitarian Intervention”, Global Research, May 3, 2011).

In June, Turkish troops crossed the border into northern Syria, officially to come to the rescue of Syrian refugees. The government of Bashar Al Assad accused Turkey of directly supporting the incursion of rebel forces into northern Syria:

“A rebel force of up to 500 fighters attacked a Syrian Army position on June 4 in northern Syria. They said the target, a garrison of Military Intelligence, was captured in a 36-hour assault in which 72 soldiers were killed in Jisr Al Shoughour, near the border with Turkey.

“We found that the criminals [rebel fighters] were using weapons from Turkey, and this is very worrisome,” an official said.

This marked the first time that the Assad regime has accused Turkey of helping the revolt. … Officials said the rebels drove the Syrian Army from Jisr Al Shoughour and then took over the town. They said government buildings were looted and torched before another Assad force arrived. …

A Syrian officer who conducted the tour said the rebels in Jisr Al Shoughour consisted of Al Qaida-aligned fighters. He said the rebels employed a range of Turkish weapons and ammunition but did not accuse the Ankara government of supplying the equipment.” (Syria’s Assad accuses Turkey of arming rebels, TR Defence, Jun 25 2011)

Denied by the Western media, foreign support to Islamist insurgents, which have “infiltrated the protest movement”, is, nonetheless, confirmed by Western intelligence sources.

According to former MI6 officer Alistair Crooke (and high level EU adviser):

“two important forces behind events [in Syria] are Sunni radicals and Syrian exile groups in France and the US. He said the radicals follow the teaching of Abu Musab Zarqawi, a late Jordanian Islamist, who aimed to create a Sunni emirate in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria called Bilad a-Sham. They are experienced urban guerillas who fought in Iraq and have outside finance. They infilitrate protests to attack Assad forces, as in Jisr al-Shagour in June, where they inflicted heavy casualties.” (Andrew Rettman, Blueprint For NATO Attack On Syria Revealed, Global Research, August 11, 2011, emphasis added).

The former MI6 official also confirms that Israel and the US are supporting and financing the terrorists: “Crooke said the exile groups aim to topple the anti-Israeli [Syrian] regime. They are funded and trained by the US and have links to Israel. They pay Sunni tribal chiefs to put people on the streets, work with NGOs to feed uncorroborated stories of atrocities to Western media and co-operate with radicals in the hope that escalating violence will justify Nato intervention.” (Ibid, emphasis added).

Political factions within Lebanon are also involved. Lebanese intelligence has confirmed the covert shipment of assault rifles and automatic weapons to Salafi fighters. The shipment was carried out by Saudi-backed Lebanese politicians.

The Israel-Turkey Military Cooperation Agreement

Israel and Turkey have a military cooperation agreement which pertains in a very direct way to Syria as well to the strategic Lebanese-Syrian Eastern Mediterranean coastline (including the gas reserves off the coast of Lebanon and pipeline routes).

Already during the Clinton Administration, a triangular military alliance between the US, Israel and Turkey had unfolded. This “triple alliance”, which is dominated by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, integrates and coordinates military command decisions between the three countries pertaining to the broader Middle East. It is based on the close military ties respectively of Israel and Turkey with the US, coupled with a strong bilateral military relationship between Tel Aviv and Ankara. ….

The triple alliance is also coupled with a 2005 NATO-Israeli military cooperation agreement which includes “many areas of common interest, such as the fight against terrorism and joint military exercises. These military cooperation ties with NATO are viewed by the Israeli military as a means to “enhance Israel’s deterrence capability regarding potential enemies threatening it, mainly Iran and Syria.” (See Michel Chossudovsky,”Triple Alliance”: The US, Turkey, Israel and the War on Lebanon, August 6, 2006)

Meanwhile, the recent reshuffle within Turkey’s top brass has reinforced the pro-Islamist faction within the armed forces. In late July, The Commander in Chief of the Army and head of Turkey’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Isik Kosaner, resigned together with the commanders of the Navy and Air Force.

General Kosaner represented a broadly secular stance within the Armed Forces. General Necdet Ozel has been appointed as his replacement as commander of the Army the new army chief.

These developments are of crucial importance. They tend to support US interests. They also point to a potential shift within the military in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood including the armed insurrection in Northern Syria.

“New appointments have strengthened Erdogan and the ruling party in Turkey… [T]he military power is able to carry out more ambitious projects in the region. It is predicted that in case of using the Libyan scenario in Syria it is possible that Turkey will apply for military intervention.” ( New appointments have strengthened Erdogan and the ruling party in Turkey : Public Radio of Armenia, August 06, 2011, emphasis added)

Muslim Brotherhood Rebels at Jisr al Shughour Photos AFP June 16, 2011

[Note: this photo is in many regards misleading. Most of the rebel gunmen are highly trained with modern weapons.]

The Extended NATO Military Alliance

Egypt, the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia (within the extended military alliance) are partners of NATO, whose forces could be deployed in a campaign directed against Syria.

Israel is a de facto member of NATO following an agreement signed in 2005.

The process of military planning within NATO’s extended alliance involves coordination between the Pentagon, NATO, Israel’s Defense Force (IDF), as well as the active military involvement of the frontline Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Egypt: all in all ten Arab countries plus Israel are members of The Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.

We are at a dangerous crossroads. The geopolitical implications are far-reaching.

Syria has borders with Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. It spreads across the valley of the Euphrates, it is at the crossroads of major waterways and pipeline routes.

Syria is an ally of Iran. Russia has a naval base in North Western Syria (see map).

Establishment of a base in Tartus and rapid advancement of military technology cooperation with Damascus makes Syria Russia’s instrumental bridgehead and bulwark in the Middle East.

Damascus is an important ally of Iran and irreconcilable enemy of Israel. It goes without saying that appearance of the Russian military base in the region will certainly introduce corrections into the existing correlation of forces.

Russia is taking the Syrian regime under its protection. It will almost certainly sour Moscow’s relations with Israel. It may even encourage the Iranian regime nearby and make it even less tractable in the nuclear program talks.( Ivan Safronov, Russia to defend its principal Middle East ally: Moscow takes Syria under its protection, Global Research July 28, 2006)

World War III Scenario

For the last five years, the Middle East-Central Asian region has been on an active war footing.

Syria has significant air defense capabilities as well as ground forces.

Syria has been building up its air defense system with the delivery of Russian Pantsir S1 air-defense missiles. In 2010, Russia delivered a Yakhont missile system to Syria. The Yakhont operating out of Russia’s Tartus naval base “are designed for engagement of enemy’s ships at the range of up to 300 km”. (Bastion missile systems to protect Russian naval base in Syria, Ria Novosti,  September 21, 2010).

The structure of military alliances respectively on the US-NATO and Syria-Iran-SCO sides, not to mention the military involvement of Israel, the complex relationship between Syria and Lebanon, the pressures exerted by Turkey on Syria’s northern border, point indelibly to a dangerous process of escalation.

Any form of US-NATO sponsored military intervention directed against Syria would destabilize the entire region, potentially leading to escalation over a vast geographical area, extending from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with Tajikistan and China.

In the short run, with the war in Libya, the US-NATO military alliance is overextended in terms of its capabilities. While we do not forsee the implementation of a US-NATO military operation in the short-term, the process of political destabilization through the covert support of a rebel insurgency will in all likelihood continue.

This article was updated on August 11, 2011.

Many of the issues raised in the above article are analyzed in detail in Michel Chossudovsky’s 2011 book:

Towards a World War Three Scenario, The Dangers of Nuclear War
Michel Chossudovsky 

For further details click here

Order your copy of this important new book from Global Research here

 

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On December 18, the Kiev regime’s forces fired nearly a hundred missiles and drones at the Rostov oblast (region) in southwestern Russia.

The attack also included six US-made ATACMS TBMs (tactical ballistic missiles) and four “Storm Shadow”/SCALP-EG ALCMs (air-launched cruise missiles). Russian SAM (surface-to-air missile) and ABM (anti-ballistic missile) systems, namely the S-400, “Buk-M3” and “Pantsir-S1”, managed to shoot down all of these with the exception of one “Storm Shadow”/SCALP-EG.

The missile hit an oil refinery, while the fragments of those that were shot down fell on civilian areas.

Figuras públicas ucranianas estão a começar a admitir as suas intenções de causar uma catástrofe nuclear. Para os militantes nas fileiras do regime, a guerra nuclear não é algo que deva ser evitado. Eles acreditam que um cenário tão extremo terá um efeito positivo sobre as forças ucranianas, eliminando-lhes qualquer medo ou hesitação. O principal problema é que tal escalada causaria obviamente a morte desnecessária de milhares ou milhões de civis inocentes, mas os neonazistas simplesmente não se importam com o seu próprio povo.

Numa entrevista recente, Evgeny Karas, líder da milícia neonazista ucraniana S14, afirmou que uma guerra nuclear seria “boa” para a Ucrânia, tendo em conta a situação atual do conflito. Na sua opinião, o início do uso de armas nucleares teria um efeito psicológico positivo nas tropas ucranianas, pois, uma vez ultrapassado esse ponto, “nada poderia piorar”.

Ele acredita que, uma vez atingida a fase nuclear, os soldados ucranianos começarão a lutar com mais destemor, sem se preocuparem com quaisquer consequências. Mais do que isso, Karas espera que, num tal cenário, as autoridades ucranianas, incluindo generais, políticos e líderes, sejam melhor avaliadas. Segundo ele, será mais fácil testar esses agentes e descobrir quem está a cooperar com a Ucrânia e quem é corrupto e fraco, uma vez que a desculpa de “evitar a escalada” já não será necessária.

“A guerra nuclear é boa (…) Quando acontecer, não teremos mais motivos para reclamar. Nada pior poderia acontecer depois de um ataque nuclear (…) Uma guerra nuclear pode ajudar-nos a evoluir de uma forma que possamos ver através de um oficial e dizer se ele é um ladrão ou não”, disse ele.

Karas também acredita que o possível uso de armas nucleares pela Rússia teria um impacto internacional a favor da Ucrânia. Segundo ele, os países parceiros da Rússia, como a China e a Índia, condenariam este tipo de ação, cortando a sua cooperação com Moscou e reduzindo a capacidade econômica dos russos. Além disso, acredita que a Ucrânia e os seus parceiros ocidentais estão preparados para um confronto de guerra nuclear, possuindo tecnologia suficiente para se empenharem em esforços de adaptação da sociedade à realidade de um ambiente contaminado por radiação. Ele acredita que o uso da inteligência artificial e da robótica, por exemplo, são mecanismos úteis para promover as capacidades militares no meio de um conflito nuclear.

É importante lembrar que Karas é um dos líderes mais importantes da onda neonazista ucraniana. A sua organização, a “Sociedade do Futuro” (anteriormente S14), é uma milícia perigosa, responsável por numerosos crimes de guerra e violações dos direitos humanos. O grupo reúne vários militantes extremistas e foi uma importante fonte de recursos humanos para os batalhões ucranianos de reconhecimento e sabotagem durante os primeiros anos da guerra civil contra os falantes de russo no Donbass. Além disso, o S14 ficou conhecido mundialmente pelos crimes cometidos contra a comunidade cigana na região de Lvov, e foi denunciado por diversas organizações internacionais – um dos motivos pelos quais o grupo mudou de nome em 2020.

Por outras palavras, Karas é um representante da ala ideologicamente mais fanática do regime de Kiev – o que explica a sua tendência para atitudes extremas e o seu apoio à guerra total. Infelizmente, estes sentimentos extremistas são a principal base de apoio ao governo ucraniano. Sem os neonazistas e as suas narrativas, Kiev é incapaz de justificar as suas políticas anti-russas, razão pela qual Karas e outros líderes fascistas infames estão cada vez mais a ganhar terreno na opinião pública ucraniana.

Isto significa que é possível que autoridades como Zelensky e os seus ministros comecem a adotar a retórica nuclear de Karas num futuro próximo. O simples fato de a Ucrânia continuar a utilizar armas de longo alcance contra o território profundo da Rússia, apesar de Moscou ter deixado claro que pode responder a tal provocação com um ataque nuclear, já é prova de que o regime de Kiev não se preocupa com a escalada nuclear e ameaça deliberadamente a vida dos seus próprios cidadãos.

Isto mostra claramente que é Moscou, e não Kiev, quem mais se preocupa com o povo ucraniano. Moscou tem sido paciente até agora, evitando tomar medidas extremas, embora tenha o direito e as condições necessárias para o fazer. No entanto, se discursos como o de Karas começarem a orientar a tomada de decisões militares ucranianas, será quase impossível evitar uma escalada de violência.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

Artigo em inglês : Ukrainian neo-Nazi leader supports nuclear escalation, InfoBrics, 19 de dezembro de 2024.

Imagem :  InfoBrics

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Lucas Leiroz, membro da Associação de Jornalistas do BRICS, pesquisador do Centro de Estudos Geoestratégicos, especialista militar.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://x.com/leiroz_lucas

A crise política na Alemanha está a aprofundar-se. O Chanceler Olaf Scholz a confiança do parlamento em 16 de Dezembro, desmantelando o seu governo. Com o colapso da coligação e a necessidade de eleições antecipadas, parece claro que as políticas irresponsáveis ​​de apoio à Ucrânia têm sido uma “sentença de morte” para o governo Scholz.

Scholz perdeu com um total de 394 votos contra ele, enquanto apenas 207 parlamentares votaram a seu favor. Com isso, eleições antecipadas terão de ser convocadas, prevendo-se que sejam marcadas para 23 de fevereiro. Por enquanto, Scholz permanece no cargo, mas terá de lidar com a situação de um governo minoritário. Isto significa que o primeiro-ministro não tem a maioria necessária de apoiantes para aprovar leis do seu interesse no parlamento, sendo na verdade uma espécie de “governo simbólico”.

Esta situação era esperada, tendo em conta que a sua aliança política já tinha entrado em colapso recentemente. A coligação pró-governo foi desmantelada depois de a chanceler ter demitido o então ministro das Finanças, Christian Lindner, devido a divergências sobre questões como o orçamento militar e o apoio a Kiev. Junto com Lindner, outros ministros e funcionários que discordavam de Scholz também foram demitidos ou renunciaram, o que foi visto pela coalizão como uma tentativa de “expurgo” para eliminar parceiros que discordavam dos projetos do chanceler.

É importante lembrar que Scholz reconheceu publicamente a questão ucraniana como responsável pela crise na coligação. A Alemanha atravessa um momento de grandes dificuldades econômicas e orçamentais. A crise econômica e energética e os grandes gastos públicos para reverter os “efeitos colaterais” das sanções anti-russas prejudicaram vários setores da sociedade alemã. Paralelamente a tudo isto, a ala pró-Scholz mantém uma política de apoio à Ucrânia que amplia ainda mais as despesas, criando um preocupante desequilíbrio orçamental.

Tendo visto os efeitos devastadores do apoio à Ucrânia na política interna alemã, Scholz tentou desesperadamente reverter esta situação “suavizando” a sua política ucraniana. Recusou-se a enviar armas de longo alcance ao regime de Kiev, apesar da pressão internacional para o fazer e da recente onda de “ataques profundos” com participação direta da OTAN. Além disso, teve uma conversa direta com o presidente russo, Vladimir Putin, num telefonema, o que causou indignação entre os seus parceiros ocidentais e ucranianos. Mais do que isso, Scholz prometeu telefonar mais vezes a Putin, argumentando que é vital que os políticos europeus participem mais activamente no processo diplomático.

Nem mesmo esta “mudança” de postura foi suficiente para melhorar a imagem pública do primeiro-ministro alemão, que continuou a enfrentar forte oposição no parlamento, além de uma crescente impopularidade. O crescimento da direita política alemã, tanto com os nacionalistas conservadores da AfD como com os “moderados” democratas-cristãos da CDU, mostra que a imagem política de Scholz já está esgotada, com o povo e o parlamento a exigir mudanças que ele se revelou incapaz de alcançar. .

O problema é que Scholz permanecerá no cargo até as próximas eleições, o que levanta preocupações para todos os lados da política alemã. Espera-se que Scholz concorra novamente, representando o Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). O seu principal rival será o democrata-cristão Friedrich Merz, cuja popularidade parece crescer paralelamente ao declínio de Scholz.

Existem duas possibilidades: ou Scholz adoptará uma posição ainda mais moderada em relação à Ucrânia até às eleições, numa tentativa de obter o apoio da ala que quer reduzir os gastos de guerra alemães; ou adotará uma espécie de “postura suicida” e envolver-se-á numa onda de escalada total, semelhante ao que Biden está a fazer nos seus últimos dias na Casa Branca, uma vez que as suas hipóteses de reeleição são escassas.

O caso de Scholz é apenas mais um na grande crise política no Ocidente desde 2022. A operação militar especial teve um efeito profundo no Ocidente, provocando indiretamente a queda de vários líderes políticos que se revelaram incapazes de lidar com a realidade do conflito. Quanto mais belicistas e ativos na guerra a favor da Ucrânia, mais impopulares se tornam os líderes ocidentais e perdem a confiança dos seus próprios eleitores e apoiadores, tornando-se políticos fracos e vulneráveis.

Na verdade, é atualmente impossível para um líder ocidental prosseguir uma política de apoio total à Ucrânia. O fato de, ao contrário dos países pró-guerra, estados como a Hungria e a Eslováquia permanecerem fortes e estáveis, com os seus líderes a gozarem de amplo apoio popular, é a prova de que Kiev é um fator desestabilizador para o Ocidente. Scholz percebeu isso tarde demais e não conseguiu evitar seu próprio colapso.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

 

Artigo em inglês : Scholz loses confidence vote in German parliament, worsening Berlin’s political crisis, InfoBrics, 17 de Dezembro de 2024

Imagem :  InfoBrics

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Lucas Leiroz, membro da Associação de Jornalistas do BRICS, pesquisador do Centro de Estudos Geoestratégicos, especialista militar.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://x.com/leiroz_lucas

Britain’s new Labour Government has managed in six short months to reduce an economy growing at the fastest rate in the G7 group of leading economies to falls of -0.1% in both September and October with no growth in the large services sector as fearful consumers reduced spending and business paused investment. With manufacturing and construction declining at a pace of 0.6% and 0.4% respectively in October, annual inflation has risen to 2.6% and the 10 year government bond interest rate has risen from 3.8% to 4.6% – a massive vote of no confidence in Government debt management.

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The largesse distributed by Prime Minister Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to doctors, train drivers and the nationalised sickness service (NHS – £25 billion extra) led to a budget in which the State raised taxes by a staggering £40 billion, increased the minimum wage, increased already crippling business rates and increased employers’ national insurance payments for each worker.

All this was apparently (no joke!) in order to “go for economic growth” but even the Office for Budget Responsibility understandably predicted the budget would make business investment weaker and the Bank of England has reduced its growth forecast – to NIL in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The State-dominated British economy impoverishes everyone. An analysis by the Tax Payers Alliance showed that the average household will pay over £1.2 million in tax in their lifetime, meaning they would have to work for 19.5 years just to pay off the taxman. Even the bottom 20 per cent of households, or families with a household gross income of £19,599, will work for almost 23.4 years to pay off their lifetime tax bill, the longest of any group since taxes long ago stopped taxing income and instead taxed existence, property and jobs.

 

State Incompetence and Productivity

Since 2020 the State sector has taken on an extra 250,000 employees to add to its appalling low productivity record. Rachel Reeves’ solution is to reduce by a mere 10,000 and ask Departments for 5% savings on their budgets. The international competitiveness of the UK is quite horrific:

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Destroying Capital and Investment

The three critical elements in economic growth are CAPITAL, INCOME RETURNS and INVESTMENT OPTIMISM. The budget seemed designed to destroy all three.

For decades, as the insatiable appetite of the State grows to meet the ambitions and electoral promises of politicians, taxes have come increasingly from indirect and “upfront’ taxes unrelated to actual earnings or profits and therefore unresponsive to slower or negative economic growth. The State demands its right to spend, unconstrained by the ability of the economy to finance their spending.

Just how unconstrained the parasite State has become was revealed in the purchase by a Government Department of two leather bound files for £1,200! A small example of a major failure. See this.

The degree to which this disastrous government fails to understand the very concept of capital was revealed in their application of Inheritance Tax to family businesses and farms where they actually believe that such businesses can lose 20% of their capital and still function. To tax those families who sell out their capital for a one-off gain, or those who do not farm but buy land as a tax avoidance scheme has a logic but to cripple ongoing businesses as one generation dies is madness.

Just how mad we can see by the fact that the Government will NOT apply inheritance tax every 30 years to the biggest and richest corporations in the country – who are then at liberty to buy up the family firms and farm land which inheritance tax has made unviable. No wonder Bill Gates and British banks are buying up farmland!

The Taxpayers Alliance found that, as the UK is sending farmers abroad over £516m in foreign aid, the inheritance tax changes announced at the Budget will raise £520m for the Treasury.

Just as the previous government sacrificed democratic capitalism for State Corporatism so this Labour government is a State corporatist government – socialism, big State, big corporations and supranational power. 

Labour Even Attacks Health and Hospices

In an arbitrary exclusion of the NHS from the rise in National Insurance contributions (typical of the selective targeting of people and institutions in fascist societies) the Labour government forgot that doctors in general practice were technically not in the NHS and would therefore have to pay the rise, hitting doctors’ surgeries hard. Equally hit are the many social and private provisiders of health support like social care and the hospice movement.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’s budget will cost children’s hospices an additional £5million a year from the NI rise alone (never mind the rise in the minimum wage). That translates into nearly £140,000 extra per hospice.

Devastating Effect on Businesses

January 2025 will see a devastating series of announcement of business closures and redundancies as businesses of all sizes react to the enormous extra costs piled on them by the economically illiterate spendthrift Rachel Reeves.

The Bank of England’s long-running Decision Maker Panel released its latest business responses to the budget. 2,255 Chief Financial Officers from small, medium and large UK businesses reported:

• 59% of firms expect to lower profit margins.
• 54% expect to raise prices.
• 54% expect lower employment.
• 38% expect to pay lower wages than they otherwise would have done.

The large Recruitment agency, Reed, said vacancies advertised on their website had fallen 13% between October and November, and the vacancy figure was now 26% lower than a year ago, suggesting, on past experience a coming recession. See this.

The UK has the highest government debt (97% of GDP) since the 1960s. In October 2024 Debt Interest alone was £9.1bn with annual debt interest (expected before the catastrophic budget to be £89 billion) now expected to be £120 billion (more than twice the Defence budget as the British government pursues war with the largest country in the world with the biggest nuclear arsenal). The increase in debt interest  is more than the budget tax rise from employers’ National Insurance payments.

One would think it could get no worse – but the Government seems determined to wipe out major industries like oil and gas, cars, petrochemicals, steel and plastics on the altar of “net zero”. The implications for unemployment, the resulting welfare needs and the fall in taxes are dire.

No wonder company start ups are the lowest for 13 years and the London Stock Market is losing company quotations to Wall Street.

After 27 years of State corporatist and socialist policies under Labour and Conservative governments, what was needed was a radical, democratic capitalist, free trading, entrepreneurial, socially emancipatory (as opposed to State controlling) Government. Instead since 4th July we have the same social decadence, political authoritarianism, financial bankruptcy and business ignorance as before – but in spades! 

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The Five Eyes spy network, an intelligence cooperation between the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, was established in 1956 at the height of the Cold War. Although Five Eyes is evidently an alliance of Anglo countries, Japan is not deterred from wanting to become a member and serve as an “eye” on Asia, or more specifically, on Russia’s East.

Initially, Five Eyes cooperation covered the field of electronic intelligence. Each alliance member was responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence in certain areas of the world. Great Britain monitored Europe, the western part of the Soviet Union and the Middle East. The United States also kept an eye on the Middle East, China, the Soviet Union, Africa and the Caribbean. Australia was responsible for South and Southeast Asia, and New Zealand was responsible for the South Pacific. Canada spied on certain areas of the Soviet Union, China and some areas of Latin America.

The parties exchanged the data received, so in effect they worked together. Over time, cooperation between the intelligence agencies of the five countries has expanded to the fields of intellectual-technological intelligence and counterintelligence. Today, no country in the world can be sure that it is not under the surveillance of the Five Eyes.

Recently, Japan has shown special interest in the Five Eyes alliance. Last year, a Japanese delegation attended a meeting of the intelligence agencies of five countries in Canada, and recently, a meeting of senior military officials of the Five Eyes alliance took place in Japan. Thus, in an unofficial way, Tokyo is starting to cooperate with this alliance, and it cannot be ruled out that Japan will become the “sixth eye” of the spy organization.

The Five Eyes members highly appreciate Japan’s achievements in intelligence activities related to China, North Korea, the eastern regions of Russia and Southeast Asian countries. No less important is that Japan today owns seven advanced reconnaissance satellites for information gathering, such as the ability to identify human heads from space.

However, some issues could prevent Japan from joining the Five Eyes alliance. These include shortcomings in Japan’s legal basis and security system in classifying intelligence information and approving access to that information. Members of the Five Eyes fear the possibility of classified information leaking from the walls of Japanese intelligence agencies. Tokyo needs to upgrade its national security system to meet the standards of the Five Eyes. Former prime minister Shinzo Abe and successive heads of government have tried to do this but have seen no results.

Furthermore, there is another point that sober-minded Japanese politicians cannot ignore: how becoming a member of a spy organization would affect Tokyo’s relations with the countries that these “eyes” are watching.

One of the Japanese experts, Edo Naito, also questioned in the Japan Times “whether Japan’s inclusion in a hypothetical Six Eyes alliance could harm its close relationships with some Indo-Pacific partners who have previously viewed themselves as targets of Five Eyes scrutiny.”

The Japanese authorities seem not to worry about the reaction in Asian countries. For them, entering into any form of military cooperation with the United States and its allies is more important. Right now, Japan and the United States are jointly developing hypersonic missile interceptors and the next-generation Patriot anti-missile system. Japan is also cooperating with the United Kingdom and Italy to develop a sixth-generation fighter.

Cooperation in intelligence would strengthen Tokyo’s ties with its allies but also promote a revival of militaristic sentiment in Japanese society. This is especially alarming for Japan’s neighbouring countries, particularly Russia since Tokyo maintains territorial claims on the Eurasian Giant.

In an attempt to try and alleviate Moscow’s worries about Japan’s hoped integration into Five Eyes, Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said earlier this month that despite difficult relations with Russia, his country is still committed to “resolving the territorial issue” and signing a peace treaty. However, Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that there can be no comprehensive dialogue until Japan abandons its hostile policies “aimed at causing damage to the Russian Federation and its people.”

Japan claims sovereignty of four islands from Moscow, which the Soviet Union took following the Asian country’s surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945. The dispute over the Iturup, Kunashir, and Shikotan islands, as well as the Habomai islet group, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, has prevented the two countries from signing a postwar peace treaty.

Given that Moscow has no logical reason to hand over its sovereign territory to Japan, Tokyo’s decision-makers are becoming increasingly frustrated. For this reason, they are hoping to bring the Anglo Alliance to their cause. Although Five Eyes will certainly be interested in cooperating with Japan against Russia, it is unlikely that this will translate into a new member of the spy organization, given it is an Anglo exclusive alliance.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Global Times

In a bold move, 18-year-old Bryce Martinez from Pennsylvania has taken a stand against some of the world’s largest food corporations. Martinez has filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against 11 major food companies, including household names like Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Kraft Heinz, alleging that their ultra-processed foods (UPFs) led to his development of Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease at the age of 16.  

This legal action brings to light the growing concern over UPFs, which are foods that have undergone multiple processing steps and often contain additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients. These products, ranging from sugary cereals to packaged snacks and soft drinks, have become staples in many households, particularly appealing to children and teenagers.  

Martinez’s lawsuit argues that these companies have engaged in practices reminiscent of the tobacco industry, prioritising profits over the health of young consumers. His legal team contends that the food giants have exploited children’s vulnerability to marketing and their natural preference for sweet and salty flavours. It argues that these companies have deliberately engineered their products to trigger addictive responses, making it difficult for young consumers to resist or moderate their intake.  

The case details Martinez’s personal story, describing how he regularly consumed popular UPFs throughout his childhood, unaware of the potential long-term health consequences. His diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease at 16 came as a shock, prompting him to investigate the root causes of his health issues.  

This lawsuit raises important questions about the food system in the face of rising childhood obesity and diabetes rates. It challenges the food industry’s long-standing defence that consumers have free choice in their dietary decisions. Martinez’s lawyers argue that when it comes to children, this notion of free choice is compromised by aggressive marketing tactics and the addictive nature of these products.  

The case also highlights the growing awareness of the link between diet and long-term health outcomes. Public health advocates have long warned about the potential dangers of a diet high in UPFs, but this lawsuit brings these concerns into the legal arena in an unprecedented way.  

The case draws parallels to the landmark tobacco lawsuits of the past, which resulted in significant changes to how cigarettes were marketed and sold. If successful, Martinez’s lawsuit could have similar far-reaching implications for the food industry, potentially leading to stricter regulations on food marketing, more transparent labelling practices and a shift in public perception of UPFs.  

Moreover, this case may inspire other individuals or groups to take similar legal action, potentially opening the floodgates for a wave of lawsuits against food companies. This could force coopted governments and the industry to reckon with their role in the global obesity epidemic and other diet-related health issues.  

While Martinez’s lawsuit focuses on the direct health impacts of UPFs on individuals, it’s crucial to understand this case within the broader context of the global food system. This is something I have been drawing attention to for many years, offering a critical lens through which to examine how the industrial food system, driven by profit motives, perpetuates health crises, environmental degradation and socio-economic harm.  

The rise of UPFs is emblematic of a food system shaped by capitalist imperatives. These foods, often laced with harmful chemicals and produced using toxic agrochemicals, are not only detrimental to health but also highly profitable for corporations. The same companies that dominate the UPF market are deeply intertwined with investment firms like BlackRock and Vanguard, which also hold stakes in the pharmaceutical industry. This dual investment creates a cycle where corporations profit from both the sale of harmful foods and the treatment of diseases caused by these products—a ‘win-win’ scenario for them but a devastating one for public health.  

A complex web of influence shapes global food policies and scientific research. Any talk about corporate influence and lobbying must include the role of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI). Despite claiming to be an independent scientific organisation, the ILSI functions as a powerful lobby group for the food industry.  

The ILSI plays a crucial role in promoting narratives that benefit its corporate funders, often at the expense of public health. We have a food system where corporate lobbying exerts significant influence over policies and ensures harmful practices remain largely unchecked.  

The proliferation of UPFs has been linked to rising rates of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. In high-income countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, UPFs account for more than half of total calorific intake, exacerbating these health issues. Yet corporate-backed narratives often downplay these risks or frame them as issues of personal responsibility rather than systemic problems.  

High-level ‘experts’ and scientists with ties to major food corporations have argued against demonising UPFs, despite overwhelming evidence linking them to poor health outcomes.  

Addressing the harms caused by UPFs requires more than individual lawsuits — it demands a rethinking of how food is produced, marketed and regulated.  

Bryce Martinez’s lawsuit against food corporations represents a critical challenge to a system that thrives on ‘sickening profits’. This case is part of a larger struggle against a global food system that prioritises corporate wealth and power over health and food sovereignty. Whether through legal action or the work of grassroots movements, dismantling and rejecting this harmful system is essential for creating a healthier and more equitable future. 

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Renowned author Colin Todhunter specialises in development, food and agriculture. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).  

Colin Todhunter’s book Sickening Profits: The Global Food System’s Poisoned Food and Toxic Wealth provides further insight into the issues addressed above. It can be read here. 

Featured image is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

In certain respects, the Currier Museum’s Jean Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation may be regarded as a modest exhibition, as it features only six works by Basquiat and seven large paintings by Watts. But the power and significance of an exhibition is not simply a function of its size and scope. Even an exhibition consisting of a single painting – such as Caravaggio’s Ecce Homo currently on view at Madrid’s Prado – can be an extraordinary event. The joint exhibition of Basquiat and Watts is likewise such an event, allowing viewers to appreciate their dialogues with the tradition of Western and African art, and with each other.

Their deepening friendship was unfortunately cut short in 1988 by Basquiat’s untimely death, a mere seven months after the two artists initially met at Basquiat’s solo exhibition at Yvon Lambert Gallery in Paris that same year. Basquiat had travelled to Africa in 1986, and by a strange coincidence had even visited the village of Korhogo in Côte d’Ivoire where Watts was from. Their camaraderie took root and blossomed from the day they met, with Basquiat insisting upon leaving his own exhibition to visit Watts’ Paris studio. Basquiat was immediately captivated by Watts’ paintings and helped to promote his artistic career. Following their excursions together in Paris and later in New Orleans, Basquiat was planning with Watts to return to Africa when his fatal overdose occurred.

Basquiat and Watts have very different styles, although they both may be seen as neo-expressionists, not afraid of combining figuration and abstraction, employing words, phrases, numbers and other symbols with which to explore certain themes that occupied both painters. A Distant Conversation highlights a common interest in death, truth, and what one might call a certain heroism or courage in the face of our mortality. Consider Watts’ Intercessor #0 (1989), painted only a year after Basquiat’s death. The image is divided vertically: on the right side a white eye or leaf-like shape predominates, sharply defined against a thickly textured, dark brown background; on the left, a silhouette of Ma’at, the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth and justice, identifiable not only by the ankh she holds before her, and inside of which the artist has vertically inscribed his name in yellow – but particularly by the ostrich Feather of Truth atop her head. At the Judgment of the Dead, the heart of the deceased would be placed on a scale and weighed against Ma’at’s feather: this is the moment that decided one’s fate in the afterlife, whether one would continue one’s journey or be devoured by the beast Ammit and thus die a second death.

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Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts, 1988, c-print, photographer unknown, from Ouattara Watts’ personal archive (Source: currier.org)

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The painting deals with themes that recur throughout the exhibition. The ‘intercessor,’ referred to in the title, pleading one’s case to God, is not so much the goddess as art itself: for Watts, and arguably for Basquiat as well, painting is an act of intercession, of justifying one’s being – which is also to say, that painting is a kind of magic, it weaves a spell which like all good spells is meant to brace us and fortify us, to aid us in bearing the burden of existence.

Basquiat’s Procession (1986) is about death and intercession as well. Painted on wood, a surface that had long appealed to the artist, the procession consists of four black silhouettes following a larger figure who alone is rendered in color and holds aloft in his right hand a skull that appears to be beckoning, luring or guiding the others onward. There is a certain macabre festiveness to the work, which one might associate with El Dia de los Muertos, for example. The larger figure could also be seen as a kind of intercessor on behalf of the dead – at any rate, he holds not merely a skull but a certain power. He lifts the skull as if it were a kind of beacon or lantern. We are once again confronting the theme of death, but also that of the artist as almost a shaman: Basquiat is not so much depicting a ritual as enacting one. Both Watts and Basquiat are keenly aware of the artist’s role in the traditional African community, in which the artist functions as an integral and organic part of his social milieu. The choice of wood, rather than the more Western and conventional use of canvas, reinforces Basquiat’s interest in distancing himself from what he referred to as the ‘academic’ feel of canvas.

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Watts’ Beyond Life (1990) continues with these same themes that bring together and unite the paintings in this exhibition. Again, we find a large, silhouetted figure, flanked in this case by a gravestone. On the right-hand side, Watts has depicted a chapel-like structure – or it may be a larger gravestone – topped by a Coptic cross. As the curators note, we appear to be witnessing a ceremony of some kind, ‘perhaps a rite of passage to the afterlife.’ This interpretation is strengthened by the inclusion of a boat rendered on a small wooden panel attached to the canvas on the left-hand side – invoking, among other things, the ferry that bears the dead to the next world. It is a haunting work, dark in its earthy, indeed soil-like tones that Watts produced from a mixture of dry pigment and sand, creating a thick impasto the gives the work a three-dimensional texture. It is a remarkable example of Watts’ abiding interest in texture and materiality.

Basquiat’s multimedia work, Embittered (1986), consists of two parts, but how they relate to each other and the overall meaning of the work is enigmatic. On the left, we find the word ‘EROICA’ (heroic) repeated numerous times, invoking Beethoven’s mighty 3rd symphony – but in conjunction with plentiful references to boxing: such as ‘GLASS JAW,’ ‘RING,’ ‘EVERLAST,’ ‘RABBIT PUNCH,’ ‘FIXED FIGHT,’ ‘SOFT BELLY,’ ‘KNOCK OUT,’ and others. The repeated words, some of which are characteristically crossed out, encircle the figure of a black man playing an accordion, with the name ‘HOHNER’ beside him, the German company known for manufacturing a wide range of musical instruments. In one sense, the lone musician is standing in a ring. Basquiat was clearly interested in historical black figures – including especially musicians – who are bestowed a kind of royal stature in his oeuvre. Charlie Parker is perhaps the quintessential example of this exalted prominence; but there were others, such as the great jazz and blues singer Dinah Washington, a 1986 portrait of whom is included in the exhibition. Like Charlie Parker, Washington’s life was cut short in 1963, when she died at the age of 39. On the right side of Embittered is the profile of a black figure in the center surrounded by a backdrop of white men and women in various poses, postures and activities. The largest of these is a menacing, ogre-like character, whose left hand is positioned such that it also doubles as a penis, hovering just above the black man’s head. It is hard not to see to this as informing the title of the work, reminding us of the artist’s ‘solitude within the predominantly white art world of the time.’

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Source: currier.org

Basquiat and Watts were very distinctive painters, with differing interests that nonetheless overlapped. Watts’ orientation is more metaphysical: it is the whole of reality and the cosmos that drives his work, and manifests itself in the extensive use of numerology, among a panoply of signs and symbols. Which is not to say that he ignores the political dimension of our human condition, as is evident in paintings such as Corruptions Impunity (2011). However, even there, with its African child soldiers occupying the upper right and left corners, and the human-shaped shooting-range target in the bottom center, Watts includes elements from his rich spiritual visual language, such as floating all-seeing eyes, orbs and significant numbers.

Basquiat’s references are nothing short of encyclopedic, and like Watts he deployed a thick visual lexicon – but his work, while often cryptic, gravitates more towards the historical, socio-political, and ironical. For an exhibition consisting of thirteen works of art, it is an immensely rewarding experience – one that allows us to see Basquiat afresh, and to discover a painter, Ouattara Watts, whose work, while far less well-known, is deservedly sure to gain greater attention.

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Sam Ben-Meir is an assistant adjunct professor of philosophy at City University of New York, College of Technology. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. 

Featured image: Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation, on view at the Currier through February 23, 2025. Photo by Morgan Karanasios. (Source: currier.org)

The Kiev regime continues to use terrorist tactics against Russia, carrying out targeted assassinations against public figures outside the conflict zone. In yet another provocative move, Ukrainian intelligence assets in Moscow killed Igor Kirillov, head of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Forces of the Russian Federation. The case clearly shows the terrorist nature of the Ukrainian regime and the impossibility of any kind of peace negotiations.

Kirillov’s assassination was carried out using a remotely activated explosion. This type of tactic has become commonplace in Ukrainian intelligence’s operations, being one of the main techniques used by the regime to eliminate specific targets. Along with Kirillov, his top aide, Ilya Polikarpov, also died in the attack. Both were leaving a building in Moscow when the explosive was remotely activated by a mercenary working for Kiev.

The main suspect has already been captured by the Russian security service. He is a citizen of Uzbekistan who was hired by Ukraine to carry out the terrorist attack in exchange for a reward of around 100,000 dollars, as well as relocation to a European country. The operation was carefully planned, with the Uzbek mercenary receiving a series of specific instructions to be successful in the plot.

Image: Source: The FSB via RT News

The first step of the plan was to place the explosive device – which he received from the Ukrainian team – on an electric scooter parked near Kirillov’s residence. He then rented a car equipped with a surveillance camera and transmitted live footage to the organizers of the attack. According to the suspect, the organizing team is based in the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine. Watching the images in live broadcast, the Ukrainians chose the most appropriate moment to detonate the explosive, giving the order to the Uzbek terrorist to carry out the attack.

The case has a number of similarities with other recent terrorist attacks carried out by Kiev. The Ukrainian regime often uses explosives to kill its opponents, in addition to hiring mercenaries from Central Asia to carry out operations on Russian territory. It is worth remembering cases such as that of Daria Dugina and Maxim Fomin, both journalists who were murdered with explosives, as well as the Crocus City Hall massacre, when Tajik terrorists were hired by Ukrainian intelligence to murder civilians in Moscow.

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Dashcam footage showing Kirillov’s death (Source: Creative Commons)

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The choice of Igor Kirillov as a target is easy to understand. He was responsible for investigating Ukrainian and Western crimes involving biological and chemical weapons. Since 2022, the Russian Federation has been releasing several reports showing illegal Western bio-military activities in Ukraine, with Kirillov leading this investigative effort. He has published data proving the involvement of several Western public figures and companies in the production of biological weapons on Ukrainian soil. Those responsible for financing the biolabs included Big Pharma corporations and the Soros Foundation, as well as individuals such as Hunter Biden, the son of the US president.

In fact, the impact of Kirillov’s revelations was so deep that it caused a crisis in the Western pharmaceutical lobby. Since 2022, the crimes committed by American and European Big Pharma companies have been more easily exposed. Even the Covid-19 vaccine lobby has lost strength, with mandatory vaccinations being banned in many countries. These companies started to be the target of lawsuits and their shares have lost market value, which has obviously made Kirillov a target for several Western oligarchs.

In the same vein, Kirillov was the main investigator of chemical weapons provocations by Ukraine. The use of chemical weapons by Kiev troops has become commonplace in the conflict, with several cases of Russian military personnel and civilians being poisoned by toxic substances deliberately released by Ukrainians.

In 2023, I was invited by the Russian Mission in Geneva to present a report at the UN Human Rights Council on this topic, where I recalled several cases of Ukrainian use of chemical weapons. It must be mentioned that the US, which is the biggest supporter of the Kiev regime, is the only country in the world that still publicly maintains stockpiles of chemical weapons, and is therefore a possible supplier of these toxic materials to Ukraine. Without the work of the investigative committee led by Kirillov, this type of violation of international law would never have been revealed, which is why his efforts were so important.

It is still too early to determine the level of Western involvement in the assassination of the Russian general, but it is safe to say that the Kiev regime never acts “on its own.” Ukraine always receives authorization to carry out each attack, since it is a mere proxy agent without any sovereignty.

In addition, Kirillov has caused a great damage to the Western pharmaceutical lobby, becoming a public enemy of many oligarchs. In the end, this is just further proof that any negotiation in the conflict is unfeasible. Both the West and Ukraine are betting on terrorism and all-out war against Moscow, leaving no alternative but a military solution.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

Featured image is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Mike Robinson and Vanessa Beeley discuss the events of the past week in Syria, including Vanessa’s escape from the terrorists who moved into Damascus and surrounding areas on Sunday morning.

“This terrorist faction [HTS] has just been converted into rebels again by the BBC, CNN and Sky News.

…

They’re not elected, they’ve just taken power.

…

What we’re seeing now, which is not really being reported at all in mainstream media, is the beginning again of mass executions, in the center of Damascus, they’re putting up gallows in Homs.”

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Our thanks to Julian Rose for bringing this to our attention.

Featured image source

[Incisive analysis, first published by Global Research on November 10, 2023]

***

In the year 1962 the American scientist Allan H. Frey carried out experiments with pulsed microwaves, which produced clicking, buzz, hissing or knocking sounds in the heads of people at a distance of up to several thousands yards. In his report, he also wrote that with the change of parameters he can produce pins and needles sensation or perception of severe buffeting in the head and claimed that this energy “could possibly be used as a tool to explore nervous system coding… and for stimulating the nervous system without the damage caused by electrodes“ (see this).

In other words, Allan Frey was on the path to finding the way how to manipulate the human nervous system at distance. This was quickly understood by the U.S. Government. For the next two decades Frey, funded by the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Army, was the most active researcher on the bioeffects of microwave radiation in the country. Frey caused rats to become docile by exposing them to radiation at an average power level of only 50 microwatts per square centimeter. He altered specific behaviors of rats at 8 microwatts per square centimeter. He altered the heart rate of live frogs at 3 microwatts per square centimeter. At only 0.6 microwatts per square centimeter, he caused isolated frogs’ hearts to stop beating by timing the microwave pulses at a precise point during the heart’s rhythm (see this and this).

In 1975, Allan Frey published  his research on blood-brain barrier in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, where blood-brain barrier (protecting brain from poison entering it together with blood) of rats, illuminated by pulsed radiofrequency, allowed dye to penetrate into their brains. His findings were confirmed by 13 different laboratories in 6 countries and with the use of different animals.

In 2012, Allan H. Frey wrote an article  where he described how the American Brooks Air Force falsified his experiment by selecting a contractor, who injected the dye into the intestines instead of into the blood, and in this way made sure that the dye will not appear in the brain. This was supposed to help the U.S. Air Force to obtain the aproval of people to build radars in their vicinity. According to Frey, the same Brooks Air Force Base later tried to “discredit unclassified research in the microwave area” in order to cover “a classified microwave-bio weapons program.”

Allan Frey concluded: “funding for open microwave-bio research in the United States was essentially shut down.” For that matter the general public (in the whole world) does not know anything about the possibility to control their brain activity at distance by the effects of pulsed microwaves on their nervous system until now.

In March 2021, the American scientist James C. Lin wrote an article on Havana syndrome, where he wrote that this trouble caused to American diplomats and government agents in Cuba and elsewhere, was most probably produced by pulsed microwaves (see this).

On December 5 2020 the U.S. Academy of sciences published a study on Havana syndrome, where it stated:

“Overall, directed pulsed RF (radio frequency) energy, especially in those with the distinct early manifestations, appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered.”

But on March 2, 2023 the American television CNN published an article on the report of the 7 U.S. intelligence agencies. It said that “there is no credible evidence that a foreign adversary has a weapon or collection device that is capable of causing the mysterious incidents“ (Havana syndrome). In this way the U.S. intelligence agencies tried deny the validity of the scientific report by U.S. Academy of Science and to hide from the world general public the fact that pulsed microwaves can be used to attack their minds.

There is a large body of scientific experiments proving that extra low frequencies of electromagnetic radiation can produce effects in the human nervous system. What is common to microwaves and extra long electromagnetic waves is that both of them carry electric and magnetic fields. The neurons are full of ions and this electrolyte can easily function as an antenna, in which electromagnetic waves will produce electrical currents, which are essetial parts of nervous impulses in the brain.

At the International Conference on Nonlinear Electrodynamics in Biological Systems in 1983, sposored among others by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research, Friedeman Kaiser from the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Stuttgart lectured on effects of extra low frequencies of electromagnetic waves on the human nervous system or “extreme high sensitivity of certain biological systems to very weak electromagnetic signals.” He stated:

“In the brain wave model… The external stimulus may only serve as a trigger to start an internal response signal… The system obeys the external drive, it oscillates with the external frequency…the slow external drive leads to an increasing modulation of the amplitude with the external frequency.”

He called this phenomenon “entrainment“ and suggested that “excitations of the proposed types could possibly lead to changes in the behavior and function of biosystems” (pg. 394). There is no better explanation for the Friedman Kaiser’s lecture than that the ELF electromagnetic frequencies produce electrical currents in the electrolyte inside of the nervous tissue. In the closing speech at that conference Samuel Koslov, a leading personality of the mind control project Pandora of the American Navy declared:

”If much of what we have heard is indeed correct, it may be not less significant to the nation than the prospects that faced the physics community in 1939 when the long-time predicted fissionability of the nucleus was actually demonstrated. You may recall the famous letter of Albert Einstein to President Roosvelt. When we’re in a position to do so in terms of our proofs, I would propose that an analogous letter is required” (pg. 596). 

Already in 1980 John B. Alexander, former director of the U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory in his article in the Military Review on remote control of human brain’s activity, wrote:

”whoever makes the first major breakthrough in this field will have a quantum lead over his opponent, an advantage similar to sole possession of nuclear weapons.”

In 2014, Chinese scientists published the results of an experiment in which they searched for microwave conductivity of electrolyte solutions. In the introduction they stressed that their experiment “plays an important role in investigating the interaction between electromagnetic waves and biological tissues that have high water content and a significant concentration of ions.” For their experiment they used a solution of salt. The chemical formula of salt is NaCl. It means it contains atoms of sodium and chloride. Ions of both of those atoms play an important role in the firing of nerve cells. The experiment proved that this electrolyte is conductive for microwaves up to  20 GHz frequency (see this). It is highly reasonable to expect that if those microwaves are pulsed in the frequencies of the frequencies of activity of neurons in the brain they will be “entrained“ to oscillate with those frequencies.

The MCS America organization, which fights against pollution, confirms this conclusion in its study on Electromagnetic Fields Sensitivity. The study states:

“The body can collect the signal and turn it into electric currents just like the antenna of a radio set or a cell phone. These currents are carried by ions… flowing through the living tissues and in the blood vessels (a system of tubes full of an electrically-conducting salty fluid that connect almost every part of the body) when these currents impinge on cell membranes, which are normally electrically charged, they try to vibrate in time with the current” (let us note that a neuron is a cell as well).

The veracity of those “speculations“ or “conspiracy theories“ is confirmed by the experiment, where 20 volunteers were exposed to the pulses of 217 Hz used in cell phone telephony and at the recordings of their electroencephalograms evoked potentials (or simply told electrical currents in the frequency) of 217 Hz were found (see this) or another one, where cell phone microwaves pulsed in 11 to 15 Hz produced changes in EEG during the sleep in 30 volunteers (see this). As well Australian scientists found out that:

“Not only could the cell phone signals alter a person’s behavior during the call, the effects of the disrupted brain-wave patterns continued long after the phone was switched off (see this).”

To complete this information it is necessary to say that the nervous system functions digitally and nervous actions differ by frequency and number of nervous impulses in which great number of neurons synchronize their action. In this way the activity of the human brain can be completely controlled including the thoughts. Robert Becker, who has been twice nominated for the Nobel prize for his research on electric potentials in organisms published in 1985 a book “Body Electric“, where he quoted the experiment, which was released voluntarily on basis of Freedom of Information Act. The author of the experiment J. F. Schapitz stated:

“In this investigation it will be shown that the spoken word of hypnotist may also be conveyed by modulated electromagnetic energy directly into the subconscious parts of the human brain — i. e. without employing any technical devices for receiving or transcoding the messages and without the person exposed to such influence having a chance to control the information input consciously.”

In one of the four experiments subjects should have been given a test of hundred questions, ranging from easy to technical ones. Later, not knowing they were being irradiated they would be subjected to information beams suggesting the answers to the questions they had left blank, amnesia for some of their correct answers and memory falsification of their correct answers. After 2 weeks they had to pass the test again. The results of those experiments were never published. But evidently already at this time the secret services were working on technologies how to impose thoughts to human beings with the use of pulsed microwaves to transmit into human brains human speech in ultrasound frequencies, which the brain perceives, but the human being does not realize this since it is not hearing the speech.

For governments it is not difficult to pulse the cell phone signals in the brain frequencies and in this way manipulate the thoughts of their own or foreign citizens. The difference between pulsed microwaves and extra long electromagnetic waves is that pulsed microwaves can be targeted on one person (or the whole nation if cell phone signals are pulsed in brain frequencies) while extra long electromagnetic waves, transmitted in brain frequencies, with their length up to 300 hundred thousands kilometers will reach brains in large areas. For sure so far the legislations around the world (except the Chile and Brazil) do not prohibit such actions to the governments or anybody else on human brains (for example Elon Musk is building system of 20.000 satellites around the planet and working on neuralink research at the same time).

Neurotechnologists around the world, who do not dare to disclose the national security information they had to sign, before starting research in the area, are calling for creation of legislations protecting people against such manipulations of their minds (see this).

The proposal of such legislation presented to the European Union, signed by 11 world organizations, you can find at the address (see this).

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Mojmir Babacek was born in 1947 in Prague, Czech Republic. Graduated in 1972 at Charles University in Prague in philosophy and political economy. In 1978 signed the document defending human rights in  communist Czechoslovakia „Charter 77“. Since 1981 until 1988 lived in emigration in the USA. Since 1996 he has published articles on different subjects mostly in the Czech and international alternative media.

In 2010, he published a book on the 9/11 attacks in the Czech language. Since the 1990‘s he has been striving to help to achieve the international ban of remote control of the activity of the human nervous system and human minds with the use of neurotechnology.

Featured image is from Children’s Health Defense

[First published on January 17, 2023, this outstanding text by F. William Engdahl provides an understanding of weather modification techniques.]

***

In recent months [2023] the world is hearing unusual terms to describe extreme weather events. Now terms like Bomb Cyclone or Atmospheric Rivers are used in the daily TV weather reports to describe dumping of record volumes of rain or snow in regions of the world in an extremely destructive way. The Green Mafia claims, without a shred of factual proof, that it is all because of man’s too-large “carbon footprint.” They use it as an excuse to double down on phasing out oil, gas, coal as well as nuclear energy in favor of unworkable, taxpayer-subsidized “green energy”– unreliable wind or solar. Could it be that these freak weather calamities are indeed “manmade,” but not from CO2 emissions? 

Since late December, especially the United States has undergone severe weather events from the Bomb Cyclone storm that buried much of the East Coast in record snow from Buffalo down as far as Florida. At the same time the US West Coast from Washington State down the coast of California has undergone extreme flooding from wave after wave of so-called Oceanic Rivers carrying huge volumes of water from the Pacific causing severe flooding. Without presenting any scientific proof, green ideologues have claimed it is all due to manmade global warming– now called “climate change” to confuse the original issue– and argue for accelerated transition to a dystopian carbon free world.

A serious case can be made that it could well be manmade. But not because of too much CO2 or other manmade greenhouse gas emissions. It could be due to deliberate and malicious manipulation of our major weather patterns.

Geoengineering?

Weather manipulation technology is one of the areas that is highly secret and has been kept from open debate since the end of World War II. It is often called geoengineering or more recently the less ominous-sounding “climate intervention.” Whatever name, it involves man messing with the complexities of Earth weather, with potentially catastrophic results. What do we know about the possibilities?

Following the 2015 Paris Climate Conference and subsequent Paris Agreement, Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at the University of Cambridge, along with other leading global warming scientists, began an open call for geoengineering to “solve” the alleged climate crisis and prevent global warming above 1.5 ‘ C above pre-industrial levels, an utterly arbitrary target. What the post-Paris scientists claim is that, “Our backs are against the wall and we must now start the process of preparing for geo-engineering. We must do this in the knowledge that its chances of success are small and the risks of implementation are great.“ [1] What they do not say is that geo-engineering weather manipulation has been developed in secrecy by the military and intelligence agencies of the USA for decades.

‘Owning the Weather in 2025’

In June 1996 the US Air Force published a report with the provocative title, “Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025.” The report outlined the possibilities of manmade geoengineering to, among other things, enhance precipitation or storms, deny precipitation (induce droughts), eliminate cloud cover of an enemy, and other events. It was produced, “to examine the concepts, capabilities, and technologies the United States will require to remain the dominant air and space force in the future.”  The report noted at the onset, “weather-modification can be divided into two major categories: suppression and intensification of weather patterns. In extreme cases, it might involve the creation of completely new weather patterns, attenuation or control of severe storms, or even alteration of global climate on a far-reaching and/or long-lasting scale.” (emphasis added).[2]

 The Air Force document  also states,

“…the tremendous military capabilities that could result from this field are ignored at our own peril… appropriate application of weather-modification can provide battlespace dominance to a degree never before imagined… The technology is there, waiting for us to pull it all together.” By 2025 it claimed, “we can Own the Weather.” The report notes that way back in the Eisenhower era, “In 1957, the President’s Advisory Committee on Weather Control explicitly recognized the military potential of weather modification, warning in their report that it could become a more important weapon than the atom bomb.” [3] That was almost seven decades ago.

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Consult the original document. US Air Force document entitled “Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025“

Screen Shot from the Report submitted to Air Force 2025, click to access full report

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Image is a screenshot from a Ripley’s Believe It or Not video

Going back to the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the CIA authorized a top secret geoengineering, code-named Operation PopEye, from Thailand over Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Using military WC-130 planes and RF-4 jets, the US forces sprayed silver iodide and lead iodide into seasonal monsoon storm clouds to turn the North Vietnamese supply roads into impassable mud sinks. The mission was to create enough year-round rain to keep the Ho Chi Minh trails blocked. [4] The secret geoengineering operation was made public by award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in 1972, resulting in Congressional hearings, but little more. A few years later in 1976 a toothless law was passed “requiring” any actors to report annually to the government NOAA any weather modification undertaken. Tell that to the CIA or Pentagon. [5]

Ionospheric Heaters and atmospheric resonance technology

Since the 1970s the work on manmade geoengineering has gotten more sophisticated and also much more secret.  The traditional method of “rainmaking”, cloud seeding by planes dispersing, typically, particles of silver iodide onto clouds containing water droplets to induce rainfall has been used since the 1940s. However, since the 1990s, around the time the US Air Force published Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025, significant new methods were developed with far greater reach and effect, and well before 2025.

Notably, that US Air Force 1996 report stated, “…modification of the ionosphere is an area rich with potential applications and there are also likely spin-off applications that have yet to be envisioned.” [6]

Much international attention and concern has been given to a US Air Force and Office of Naval Research ionospheric research project, HAARP– High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program– in Gakona, Alaska. In January 1999, the European Union called the project a “global concern” and passed a resolution calling for more information on its health and environmental risks. Washington ignored the call. Most of HAARP research data has been classified for reasons of “national security,” leading to wide speculation of sinister activity.

In 1985 while working for ARCO Oil Company on a grant from the Pentagon’s DARPA, a brilliant physicist, Dr. Bernard J. Eastlund, filed a patent  (US #4,686,605), for a “Method and Apparatus for Altering A Region In the Earth’s Atmosphere, Ionosphere, And Or Magnetosphere.” The patent description claimed that a specific beaming of powerful radio waves into the ionosphere could cause heating and “elevate” the Earth’s ionosphere. It  could be used to control weather, altering jet streams, changing tornadoes or creating or denying rainfall. ARCO was approached by the US military and sold them the patent rights from their then-employee Eastlund.

The US military then reportedly turned the patent rights over to top military contractor, Raytheon. Raytheon is reportedly also involved in construction of every major ionosphere heating radar arrays globally. [7]  Coincidence? A HAARP spokesman  denied it used the patent of Eastlund in HAARP. They did not mention any of the other sites, however.  [8]

HAARP antenna array (Licensed under the Public Domain)

HAARP is a highly powerful phased array of radar antennas aimed at the ionosphere. It is sometimes referred to as an ionic heater. The ionosphere is a high-altitude layer of the atmosphere with particles which are highly charged with energy. If radiation is projected into the ionosphere, huge amounts of energy can be generated and used to annihilate a given region. Initially its own website, now deleted, stated HAARP was “a scientific endeavor aimed at studying the properties and behavior of the ionosphere… for both civilian and defense purposes.” [9]

HAARP at Gakona was officially shuttered by the US military in 2013. In 2015 officially they transferred operation of HAARP to their civilian partner, The University of Alaska at Fairbanks. The closure provided the excuse to stop the live broadcasting of HAARP’s signals on a public website, which had given strong evidence of links between HAARP activities and major weather catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina or the 2008 China Chengdu earthquake. Operation of the facility was transferred to the University of Alaska in 2015.

Some researchers have speculated that the Gakona HAARP is a sly diversion, an innocent site open to academic scrutiny, while serious military ionospheric manipulation takes place at other top secret sites. [10]

By 2015  the US military and government agencies such as NOAA had moved well beyond the capacities of HAARP. They oversaw construction of far more powerful phased array ionospheric radar heat arrays around the world. This included a more powerful HIPAS – a 70 megawatt facility east of Fairbanks. It also included Arecibo Observatory, formerly known as the Arecibo Ionosphere Observatory – 2 megawatt facility in Puerto Rico;  Mu Radar – 1 megawatt facility in Japan. And the mother of all atmospheric heating radar arrays, EISCAT – a 1 gigawatt facility in Tromsø, Northern Norway. HAARP is only a mere 3.6 megawatt facility. Many other phased array ionospheric heater sites are either classified secret  or give little information. It is believed one such is at Vandenberg Air Force base in Southern California. Another in Millstone Hill, Massachusetts, another in Taiwan and in the Marshall  Islands. Because the Pentagon and other relevant US Government agencies choose to say little or nothing about their inter-connectedness and use in climate alteration, we are left to speculate. [11]

The military contractor Raytheon, who got the Eastlund patents from ARCO, reportedly is involved in many such sites globally.

China As Well?

Because the US Government work on geoengineering has been classified and kept from an open public discussion, it is not possible to prove in a court of law that events like the East Coast Bomb Tornadoes or the September 2022 Florida Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US, or the January 2023 record floods from repeated waves of Atmospheric River storms lashing California after extraordinary drought, are simply natural freaks. There is no scientific evidence it is due to a surplus of CO2 in the atmosphere.  But as the above suggests, there is a huge body of evidence pointing to malicious actors with powers of the state, using geoengineering not to benefit, even if manmade geoengineering could benefit.

In 2018 Chinese media reported that the state’s Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology was launching a vast geoengineering project, Tianhe which translates as “Sky River.” The project, which reportedly will be based on the high Tibetan Plateau, source of some of the world’s largest rivers, is intended to shift huge volumes of water from the rain-abundant South into the arid north. It was to have begun operation in 2020 but no details have since been published. [12]

Recent discussion of Bill Gates’ project with Harvard physicist David Keith to release calcium carbonate particles high above the earth to mimic the effects of volcanic ash blocking out the sun, or the recent experiments of Make Sunsets to launch weather balloons from Baja Mexico of Sulphur dioxide to block the sun, are clearly meant as diversions to hide how advanced real geoengineering of our weather is.

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F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Notes

[1] Derrick Broze, Leading Climate Scientists, Say Paris Conference Failed  Call for Geoengineering, January 15, 2016, https://www.activistpost.com/2016/01/leading-climate-scientists-say-paris-conference-failed-call-for-geoengineering.html.

[2] Col Tamzy J. House, et al,  Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025,

https://web.archive.org/web/20170909014905/http://csat.au.af.mil/2025/volume3/vol3ch15.pdf

[3] Ibid.

[4] Seymour Hersh, “Rainmaking Is Used As Weapon by U.S.” The New York Times, July 3, 1972,

https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/03/archives/rainmaking-is-used-as-weapon-by-us-cloudseeding-in-indochina-is.html

[5] US Congress, Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Report: Prohibiting Environmental Modification as a Weapon of War, Report no. 93-270. Washington, DC: OS Govt. Printing Office, 27 June 1973.

[6] Col Tamzy, Op Cit.

[7] Gary Vey (Dan Eden),  The Never Ending, 2010, http://www.viewzone.com/never/TNE0440.pdf

[8] Mark Farmer, Mystery in Alaska,  Popular Science, September 1995, https://books.google.de/books?id=nSeBEQ2wGlUC&pg=PA79&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

[9] HAARP website, Program Purpose, http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/gen.html

[10] Gary Vey, Op cit.

[11] Jim Lee, HAARP and Ionospheric Heaters Worldwide, http://climateviewer.org/pollution-and-privacy/atmospheric-sensors-and-emf-sites/maps/haarp-ionospheric-heaters-worldwide/

[12] China’s Tianhe Project satellite to debut at Airshow China 2018, People’s Daily, November 06, 2018,

http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/1106/c90000-9515300.html

Featured image is licensed under the Public Domain

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Seeds of Destruction: Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation

Author Name: F. William Engdahl

ISBN Number: 978-0-9879389-2-3

Year: 2007

Product Type: PDF File

Price: $9.50

This skilfully researched book focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread. “Control the food and you control the people.”

This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. Engdahl takes the reader inside the corridors of power, into the backrooms of the science labs, behind closed doors in the corporate boardrooms.

The author cogently reveals a diabolical world of profit-driven political intrigue, government corruption and coercion, where genetic manipulation and the patenting of life forms are used to gain worldwide control over food production. If the book often reads as a crime story, that should come as no surprise. For that is what it is.

Click here to purchase.

[This text was published on June 5, 2024]

“Covid Jabs May be to Blame for Increase in Excess Deaths”

If this report by The Telegraph had been published in early 2021, several million lives would have been saved.

But in 2021, censorship was imposed. Honest journalism was silenced. The media was supportive of the fear campaign.

The Telegraph report by Science Editor Sara Knapton, 5 June 2024 pertains to:

Researchers from The Netherlands analysed data from 47 Western countries and discovered there had been more than three million excess deaths since 2020, with the trend continuing despite the rollout of vaccines and containment measures.

.

.

They said the “unprecedented” figures “raised serious concerns” and called on governments to fully investigate the underlying causes, including possible vaccine harms.

Writing in the BMJ Public Health, the authors from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, said: “Although Covid-19 vaccines were provided to guard civilians from suffering morbidity and mortality by the Covid-19 virus, suspected adverse events have been documented as well.

“Both medical professionals and citizens have reported serious injuries and deaths following vaccination to various official databases in the Western World.”

Click here to read the full article on The Telegraph.

 

This Is the Unspoken Truth

From early 2021, coinciding with the rollout of the Covid vaccine, an upward trend in Covid vaccine related deaths has unfolded.

There is an increase in Excess Mortality attributable to the Covid Vaccine. 

Ironically, Three years later the mainstream media is now reporting (See Telegraph above) on Covid related vaccine excess mortality. 

Excess Mortality Triggered by the Covid 19 “Vaccine” (2020-2022)

Below is a graph pertaining to Excess Mortality in Germany (all Causes), which points to the Deviation of Observed Mortality from Expected Mortality (by age group) in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Notice the upward shift in excess mortality in 2021 and 2022 following the rollout of the Covid Vaccine in December 2020.

This Tendency described for Germany is Worldwide.

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Germany: Excess Mortality by Age Group (%)

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Mainstream Media Disinformation

Back in 2021 the mainstream media played a key role in sustaining disinformation regarding the Covid vaccine. It was part of the propaganda apparatus. It was instrumental in sustaining the fear campaign. 

The mainstream media also provided legitimacy to a regime of censorship, threats, penalties, dismissals of  scientists and scholars at major universities, the firing of doctors and nurses at  hospitals “for telling the truth”, not to mention the insidious role of “Big Money” foundations in the bribing and cooptation of politicians in more than 190 countries, And much more.

People Worldwide have lived through this crisis. Many lives have been destroyed.

Without media censorship and the suppression of the truth, this crisis would not have occurred. 

It is worth noting that the media is generously funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 

 

Does the publication of The Telegraph on Covid vaccine related Excess Mortality point to a fundamental change in regards to the mainstream media, namely a tendency towards the lifting of censorship? 

We have worked relentlessly on behalf and in solidarity with our respective communities, nationally and internationally.

This crisis affects humanity in its entirety, namely the planet’s 8 billion people who are the victims of fake science, fraud and corruption. 

Profits in the billions of dollars are the driving-force behind this diabolical agenda.

“Killing is Good for Business”. What we are witnessing is a crime against humanity on an unprecedented scale, affecting the lives of the entire population of our  planet.

The WHO as well as some 190 national governments are complicit in the Covid vaccine roll-out. They had the responsibility of canceling the vaccine.

Concurrently,  the media in the course of the last three years, has been spinning the lies on behalf of both the governments and Big Pharma. 

The official data pertaining to vaccine related deaths and adverse events is not mentioned. 

To consult the Department of Justice’ historic decision click screenshot below

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How on earth can we trust a Big Pharma vaccine conglomerate which pleaded guilty to criminal charges by the US Department of Justice including “fraudulent marketing” and “felony violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act”?  

Bear in mind: the fraud committed by Pfizer in 2009 was trivial (Celebrex, Lipitor, Lyrica, etc ) in comparison to the Worldwide distribution of the mRNA  killer “vaccine”. 

Flashback to November 2020. Fraudulent BBC Report

This is the unspoken lie.

A couple of weeks prior to the official launch of the mRNA vaccine in early November 2020, the BBC featured a timely Covid media report entitled:

“Covid: Why is the Virus such a Threat”?

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“A hit and run killer evolutionary tactic”, 

with a view to spreading the Covid-19 infection far and wide.

The unspoken objective of this report by BBC Science Correspondent James Gallagher was to “scare the British public”, sustain the fear campaign while also promoting acceptance of the Covid mRNA vaccine.

The article was based on the “authoritative voice” of Prof Lehner of Cambridge University, an Infectious Diseases Physician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge:

According to Lehner: In the early stages of an infection

“the virus is able to deceive the body. … It [the virus] behaves like a ‘hit and run’ killer 

The amount of virus in our body begins to peak the day before we begin to get sick. …

But it takes at least a week before Covid progresses to the point where people need hospital treatment.

“This is a really brilliant evolutionary tactic – you don’t go to bed, you go out and have a good time,” says Prof Lehner of Cambridge University.

So the virus is like a dangerous driver fleeing the scene – the virus has moved on to the next victim long before we either recover or die. 

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screenshot of BBC article

In stark terms, “the virus doesn’t care” if you die, says [Cambridge] Prof Lehner, “this is a hit and run virus”.  ….

It does peculiar and unexpected things to the body (BBC, James Gallagher, October 22, 2020, emphasis added)

 

What Rubbish! 

“Covid: Why is coronavirus such a threat? BBC.

Answer: media disinformation and the fear campaign.

According to the BBC: A microscopic virus with an outright terrorist agenda?

This frivolous BBC report personifies the so-called “virus that does not care”, with a view to creating panic, quoting the incautious statements of a Cambridge scientist, who’s on the payroll of Big Pharma’s Wellcome Trust.

In turn the “Hit and Run Virus” (rather than corrupt governments) is blamed for having “ordered the lockdown” (March 11, 2020), imposed on 190 countries, which has created economic and social havoc Worldwide.

What is at stake is the criminalization of the mainstream media for having misled millions of people in the course of the last 3 years, thereby sustaining the lies of Big Pharma  and  the corrupt directives of  politicians, not to mention the fraudulent statements of the Director General of the WHO, Dr. Tedros.

What’s now happening is that the BBC acknowledges that people are dying but “experts are not sure why”,

Guess who is funding the BBC’s  Fraudulent Scientific Analysis. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

“They do not know what the cause and reason is”

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The BBC “Conspiracy Theories”

The BBC accuses alleged conspiracy theorists, of stating that the Covid vaccine is ‘not safe”.

“In recent years there has been a growth in online conspiracy theories, which suggest vaccines like the Covid jab are dangerous or ineffective.

At the same time, the BBC  describes the SARS-CoV-2 virus being involved in a “conspiratorial”  “hit and run killer evolutionary tactic” [SIC] (See BBC, James Gallagher, October 22, 2020)

Criminality at the Level of the Entire Planet

Some 14 billion doses of Covid vaccine have been administered Worldwide, 1.75 doses per person for a World population of 8 billion. 

Had the media truthfully reported on the nature of the Covid vaccine and its devastating impacts, millions of lives would have been saved. 

At this juncture, with the exception of Africa, 75% of the World population has already been vaccinated. There is no moving backwards.

The governments and national health authorities in cahoots with Big Pharma were fully aware from the very outset that the Covid-19 “vaccine” was conducive to an upward trend in mortality and morbidity.

Doctors For Covid Ethics (D4CE)

Doctors for Covid Ethics issued a broad statement in July 2021 based on the data of EudraVigilance, (EU, EEA, Switzerland), MHRA (UK) and VAERS (USA):

“more deaths and injuries from the COVID-!9 “vaccine” roll-out than from all previous vaccines combined since records began.”

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The signal of harm is now indisputably overwhelming, and, in line with universally accepted ethical standards for clinical trials, Doctors for Covid Ethics demands that the COVID-19 “vaccination” programme be halted immediately worldwide.

Continuation of the programme, in the full knowledge of ongoing serious harm and death to both adults and children, constitutes Crimes Against Humanity/Genocide, for which those found to be responsible or complicit will ultimately be held personally liable.

The Secret “Classified” Pfizer Report

Another important document which was available to national health authorities in the US, was the “confidential” report by Pfizer. This report which was made public under freedom of information (FOI) in October 2021 is a bombshell.

The vaccine was launched in mid-December 2020. By the end of February 2021, “Pfizer had already received more than 1,200 reports of deaths allegedly caused by the vaccine and tens of thousands of reported adverse events, including 23 cases of spontaneous abortions out of 270 pregnancies and more than 2,000 reports of cardiac disorders.”

The data collected from mid-December 2020 to the end of February 2021 unequivocally confirms “Manslaughter”.

Based on the evidence, Pfizer had the responsibility to immediately cancel and withdraw the “vaccine”. Murder as opposed to Manslaughter implies “Criminal Intent”. From a legal standpoint it is an “Act of Murder” applied Worldwide to a target population of 8 billion people. 

Click here to read the complete Pfizer report.  

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In truth and solidarity,

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, June 5, 2024

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これは世界中で「キラー」ワクチンです：日本の研究者は、COVIDワクチンの副作用が201種類の病気に関連していると言います

あなたは正しかった、ワクチンは私たちの愛する人の何百万人もの人を殺している」

Scroll down for Japanese Version of this article

この記事の日本語版は下にスクロールしてください

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“You Were Right, Vaccines Are Killing Millions of Our Loved Ones”,  Kazuhiro Haraguchi, Former Minister of Internal Affairs (emphasis added)

“You will find diseases of the heart, kidney, thyroid, diabetes, liver, skin, eyes, blood, nerves, systemic diseases, brain, lungs”.  Professor Masayasu Inoue, Osaka City University School of Medicine, emphasis added)

“The mRNA vaccine disperses throughout the body and is not contained in the shoulder like most vaccines.

“It doesn’t know where to go. If it goes into the bloodstream, it goes to the brain, liver and kidneys,” Professor Masanori Fukushima, Kyoto University (emphasis added)

 

Introduction 

Global Research has recently published several articles on the Covid vaccine in Japan, confirming its lethality. This report by the Western Standard below pertains to the Press Conference of Medical doctors and scientists held in January 2024.

There are numerous studies published in the course of the last three years which confirm the nature of the Vaccine. The results of the Japanese studies confirm unequivocally that the Covid “Vaccine” is a dangerous substance which should immediately be withdrawn Worldwide. 

The Confidential Pfizer Report

The impact on mortality and morbidity of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine has been confirmed by a Pfizer Confidential Report — released and made public under Freedom of Information in October 2021. The Confidential Pfizer Report –barely acknowledged by the media– was known to national governments and health authorities Worldwide. It confirms that the so-called Covid Vaccine is a killer.

The negotiation between Pfizer and the President of the EC Mrs. Ursula von Der Leyen was initiated in October 2022, for 4.5 billion doses of Pfizer BioNtech, (namely 10 doses per person). A contract for one billion doses was subsequently reached for a population of 450 million people who in large part had already been vaccinated. 

What was carefully overlooked was the Pfizer report which confirms the impacts (mortality and morbidity) of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to be distributed to the EU’s 450 million people.

“The Confidential report is a bombshell. The vaccine was launched in mid-December 2020. By the end of February 2021, “Pfizer had already received more than 1,200 reports of deaths allegedly caused by the vaccine and tens of thousands of reported adverse events”

COVID “Vaccine” Triggers Excess Mortality Worldwide

(See diagrams below)

Below is a summary of several studies on excess mortality pertaining to the vaccine including Japan. 

England and Wales

“The table below pertains to excess deaths related to malignant neoplasm (cancerous tumor) in England and Wales, recorded in three consecutive years: 2020, 2021, and 2022 vs. a 10 year trend (2010-2019).

The data for excess mortality in 2020 (the year prior to the vaccine) are negative with the exception of “malignant neoplasm without specification of site”.

The COVID-19 vaccine was rolled-out in several phases in England and Wales starting on December 8, 2020  and extending into March-April 2021.

The upward movement in excess mortality (%) commences in 2021. The increase in excess mortality related to malignant neoplasm is tabulated for the two first years of the vaccine. 

Germany

Below is a similar table pertaining to Excess Mortality in Germany, which points to the Deviation of Observed Mortality from Expected Mortality (by age group) in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Notice the upward shift in excess mortality in 2021 and 2022 following the rollout of the Covid Vaccine in December 2020

Germany: Excess Mortality by Age Group (%)

Japan

Excess Mortality in Red by age group, Total Excess Mortality in Gray 

Japan. Excess Mortality (2020-2022): Jump in Excess mortality in 2021 and 2022 (January-October 2022)

 United States

The graph below: “All Deaths reported to Vaers by Year” starting in 1990. (U.S.)

What can be observed is that the number of deaths has increased dramatically in the course of 2021 corresponding to first year of the Covid vaccine which was launched in the U.S. in mid December 2020.

For more details see:

In the words of the Former Minister of Internal Affairs Kazuhiro Haraguchi’s courageous statement:

“‘You Were Right, Vaccines Are Killing Millions of Our Loved Ones”

「あなたは正しかった、ワクチンは私たちの愛する人の何百万人もの人を殺している」

“They are trying to block our freedom, our resistance, our power. But we will never lose.” 

Of significance, the fraudulent narrative concerning the Covid “Vaccine” is collapsing in different parts of the World, with Japan in the lead. 

We call for the immediate cancellation and Worldwide withdrawal of the Covid “Vaccine”

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あなたは正しかった、ワクチンは私たちの愛する人の何百万人もの人を殺している」

「おっしゃる通り、ワクチンは何百万人もの私たちの大切な人を殺しています」、 原口一博元総務大臣（強調追加）

「心臓、腎臓、甲状腺、糖尿病、肝臓、皮膚、目、血液、神経、全身疾患、脳、肺の 病気が見つかります 」。大阪市立大学医学部教授 井上正康、強調追加）

「mRNAワクチンは体全体に拡散し、ほとんどのワクチンのように肩に留まりません。

「どこに行くか分からない。血流に入ると、脳、肝臓、腎臓に行く」京都大学教授、福島正則氏（強調追加）

 

導入 

ファイザーの機密レポート

コロナ「ワクチン」が世界中で過剰死亡を引き起こす

（下の図を参照）

以下は日本を含むワクチンに関する 過剰死亡率に関するいくつかの研究の概要です。

イングランドとウェールズ

「以下の表は、イングランドとウェールズにおける悪性新生物（癌性腫瘍）に関連する 過剰死亡に関するもので、2020年、2021年、2022年の3年連続で記録され、10年間の傾向（2010～2019年）と比較したものです。」

2020年（ワクチン接種前の年）の超過死亡のデータは、「部位を特定しない悪性新生物」を除いてマイナスです。

COVID-19ワクチンは、2020年12月8日から2021年3月から4月にかけて 、イングランドとウェールズで段階的に導入されました。

過剰死亡率（％）の上昇は 2021 年に始まります。悪性腫瘍に関連する過剰死亡率の増加は、ワクチン接種の最初の 2 年間について集計されています。 

ドイツ

以下は、ドイツの超過死亡率に関する同様の表であり、 2020年、2021年、2022年の観測死亡率と予想死亡率（年齢グループ別）の偏差を示しています。

2020年12月の新型コロナワクチンの導入後、2021年と2022年に死亡率が上昇していることに注目してください。

ドイツ: 年齢層別超過死亡率 (%)

日本

年齢層別の過剰死亡率は赤、総過剰死亡率は灰色 

日本。超過死亡率（2020年～2022年）：2021年と2022年の超過死亡率の急増（2022年1月～10月）

詳細については以下を参照してください。

 

元総務大臣の 原口一博氏の勇気ある発言を引用します。

「『あなたは正しかった。ワクチンは何百万人もの私たちの愛する人を殺している』」

「あなたは正しかった、ワクチンは私たちの愛する何百万人もの人を殺している」

「彼らは私たちの自由、抵抗、力を阻止しようとしている。しかし、私たちは決して負けない。」 

重要なのは、新型コロナウイルス「ワクチン」に関する虚偽の物語が世界各地で崩壊しつつあり、日本が その先頭に立っていることだ。 

私たちは、新型コロナ「ワクチン」の即時中止と世界的な撤回を求めます。