World News
Israel Conducts Airstrikes in Gaza After Intercepting Hamas Terrorist Missile Fire
Breitbart – The Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes in response to rocket fire from Gaza on over the weekend.
The Israel Defense Forces wrote on Twitter that its Air Force struck targets related to the Islamic militant group Hamas, including a military compound used to store rocket ammunition, on Saturday night after two rockets were fired into Israel and were intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System.
“We will continue to operate against any attempts to harm Israeli civilians,” the IDF said.
Hamas said the rocket attacks came in response to Israeli forces injuring at least two protesters along the border fence on Saturday night.
“Israel’s deliberate attack on demonstrators in eastern Gaza Strip and shooting of live ammunition is another crime in a long list being carried out against the Palestinian people,” a spokesperson for the group said.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned that the IDF would not stop striking the Gaza strip unless attacks from Hamas end.
“The IDF will respond forcefully to any violation of sovereignty until complete quite is restored in the south. If Sderot isn’t quiet, Gaza won’t be either,” said Gantz.
UN Tells UK: Don’t Use Navy to Stop Illegals, Migrant Numbers Are ‘Low and Manageable’
Breitbart – The UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have told the UK not to use the navy to repel illegal boat migrants coming from France, claiming that Britain can cope with the constant stream of new arrivals because numbers are “low”.
More than 4,500 illegals have crossed the English Channel and landed on Britain’s shores in the first eight months of 2020 — more than double the 1,890 who arrived in the whole of 2019.
Last week, the British government announced that it had asked the military to aid UK Border Force and is considering an Australian-style push-back programme to force boats of illegal migrants back to France.
Not only are the French reportedly playing hardball over accepting back the migrants, but the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the IOM — which has said that mass migration is “inevitable, desirable, [and] necessary” — are telling the UK not to repel the boats, either.
The bodies claimed in a press release that they were “troubled by the proposal to intercept boats and return those attempting to cross the English Channel irregularly”, alleging it could cause “harmful and fatal incidents”.
“Although increasing numbers of people have been crossing the Channel by boat this summer, the numbers remain low and manageable,” the globalist bodies said, implying that the UK should simply continue to accept the high number of illegal incursions into Britain.
Julian Assange Court Case Delayed Again in Bizarre Circumstances
Global Research – “I have never in my career faced so much difficulty attempting to trial monitor as in Julian Assange’s case.” — Rebecca Vincent, Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders.
There were bizarre scenes at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London today, as the extradition process of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange (present via videophone from Belmarsh prison) was again delayed.
Proceedings were held up this morning so Assange could converse for the first time in five months with his legal team. The prosecution team failed to turn up at the hearing because they were told events started at 3:30 p.m. Only five members of the press were allowed to enter the courtroom to monitor proceedings. Other journalists, observers, and NGOs attempting to listen via telephone could not, as they were given the number to another courtroom. One journalist who did make it inside claimed that the judge, Vanessa Baraitser, was, “clearly reading from a pre-written ruling.”
Assange sat in a conference room used by the entire prison, without a mask, and was seen coughing a number of times. At one point, proceedings in the courtroom were interrupted by screaming coming from another booth in Belmarsh prison, loud enough to cause a delay. Present at the hearing, Assange’s mother, Christine, warned that he would not survive extradition to the United States.
Perhaps most bizarre, however, is that the United States Department of Justice dropped its original indictment in June, just two days after Assange’s defense team submitted their full and final evidence for the extradition hearing. Today was the first time Assange saw the charges against him. Yet they are almost identical to those previously issued, save for slightly broadening the scope to include some interactions with hacking groups in 2011. The U.S. D.O.J. itself admitted that their new indictment “does not add additional counts to the prior 18-count superseding indictment returned against Assange in May 2019,” leading Wikileaks to allege that the U.S. is attempting to string the process along until after the November election, in order to avoid any negative consequences for the Trump administration.
Sweden Resists COVID Hysteria: No Lockdowns, No Masks, No Vaccine, No Problem
Health Impact News – Here in the United States, we have become inundated with tales of COVID-19 doom and gloom. In America, the mainstream narrative is rife with hopelessness.
We are told that there is simply no way to stop this virus without repetitive lockdowns, healthy quarantine, even of asymptomatic individuals, and universal mask mandates.
And even with all of those extreme policy measures put in place, the politicians and public health officials tell us that we will have to wait for a vaccine for the country to even think about our “new normal” following the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s one country that they don’t seem to want to talk about – Sweden. And for good reason. Sweden debunks the hysteria.
Sweden shows how unnecessary all of the interventions to “fight” the virus are. Sweden shows us that a rational, evidence-based approach to the pandemic is now thriving.
In Sweden, there’s no masks, no lockdown, no vaccine, and most importantly, no problem.
Life has largely returned to normal in Sweden, and it all happened without the economy-destroying non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) demanded by the “public health expert” class, who guaranteed that chaos would come to every country that disobeyed their commands to hit the self-destruct button for their nations.
The Swedish government has provided its advanced metrics on the COVID-19 pandemic to the public, and the data includes the ever-important statistics on actual day of death, and other useful information. I ran the numbers month by month so you can get a very clear picture of Sweden’s downward trend.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
US Universities Are Asking Students To Report Anyone Not Following Covid Guidelines
Infowars – Several universities in the US have set up systems so students can report on each other if they see anyone breaking the Covid ‘rules’.
Campus Reform notes that universities in Miami, Texas, and New Orleans have all encouraged students to play campus stasi when it comes to the Covid guidelines.
Yale has also got in on the act with a hotline, along with The University of North Georgia, whose plea for students to police each other prompted the Southeastern Legal Foundation to pen a letter warning that the system may violate students’ privacy and freedom of speech.
“Colleges have a duty to protect student health and safety, especially during uncertain times like these. However, even in unprecedented times, students’ First Amendment rights remain unchanged. That means colleges and universities cannot engage in viewpoint or content-based discrimination, cannot enact vague and overbroad policies, and cannot chill student expression,” the letter urges.
It continues, “With a Concern Form at students’ fingertips, students wishing to prevent a controversial speaker from visiting campus or to stop a student organization from garnering interest in their cause can simply report members of that organization as symptomatic. Without stricter reporting guidelines and limits, it appears that such events could be shut down entirely with the press of a button. This may sound unlikely, but then again, who would have predicted 2020 to turn out as it has?”
The SLF also warned that Fourth Amendment rights may be under threat as students could be forced to get tested for COVID-19, without probable cause.
Donald Trump: ‘My Biggest Opponent’ Is ‘Corrupt Media,’ Not Joe Biden
Breitbart – President Donald Trump said during a Fox & Friends phone interview on Monday morning that the media remain his biggest opponent in the 2020 election, not former Vice President Joe Biden.
“My biggest opponent isn’t Biden. It’s not the Democrats. It’s the corrupt media,” Trump said. “We have a corrupt media in this country.”
During the interview, the president spoke about the media and recalled his daily press conferences with White House reporters.
“I keep saying to my people here I am getting bombs thrown at me every day by people that are totally, frankly, dishonest reporters. … They’re espousing the views of the radical left,” he said.
Trump credited his daily press conferences for helping boost his polls and said that biased reporters “make our people angrier.”
“I have these people, there’s fire out of their eyes coming. They’re asking me questions, and I see the fire is burning in their eyes, and I’m looking at some of them. I said, ‘Boy, how can you have so much hatred?’” he said.
Trump also said that Biden continues to hide in his basement to avoid the media.
“He doesn’t come out because he can’t. He doesn’t take any questions from reporters. … This guy doesn’t come out of his basement and hasn’t taken one question,” Trump said.
Pelosi Calls Back House to Vote on Postal Service
Voice of America – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is calling the lawmakers back into session from a summer recess to vote on funding for the U.S. Postal Service as the new postmaster general proposes cost-cutting measures.
Democrats fear that the cuts in service are aimed at delaying the delivery of mail-in ballots in the November 3 presidential election.
The House would consider legislation to keep the post office from implementing what Pelosi calls changes to “operations or level of service” that it had at the start of 2020.
“The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services: delivering prescriptions, Social Security checks, paychecks, tax returns and absentee ballots to millions of Americans, including in our most remote communities,” Pelosi said.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to recall the Senate to quickly act on what he says is the “extensive damage” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has done so “people can get their paychecks, medicines, and other necessities delivered on time, and to ensure our elections will remain completely free and fair.”
Pelosi and Schumer have called on DeJoy and U.S. Postal Service Chairman Robert Duncan to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee next week.
President Donald Trump has alleged without evidence that voting by mail will lead to election fraud. He admitted last week that he is delaying $25 billion in emergency funding for the Postal Service to make voting by mail harder.
He has since backed away from that statement, saying he will approve the funds if Democrats pass the coronavirus relief package Republicans favor.
49 People Shot In Last 72 Hours In New York As City Hits Its “Expiration Date”
ZeroHedge – The gentrified New York City that made the Big Apple the envy of billionaires, oligarchs, child molesters and money laundering criminals from around the world is no more, and in its place is the hellish New York from the 1970s.
According to Gothamist, between Thursday and Saturday, 49 people were shot in the largest city in the United States, as the uptick in gun violence continues this summer and is rushing to catch up with that other progressive paradise, Chicago.
Putting the surge in context, the number of people shot over the three days is five times more than the eight who were shot during the same days last year according to the Washington Examiner. While most of the shooting victims were merely wounded, at least six people were killed by gunshot wounds over the 3-day interval, compared to three homicides that took place during the same time last year.
Year to date, there have been 1,087 shooting victims so far in 888 different incidents throughout the city, roughly double the crime observed in 2019. Last year at this time, there had been 577 shooting victims in 488 incidents in New York City.
Among those murdered was an off-duty corrections officer who worked at Rikers Island. John Jeff, 28, had just left a party in Queens at 3 a.m. on Saturday morning when he was shot in the head and chest.
“Early this morning, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association was notified that New York City Correction Officer John Jeff, assigned to the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, was found dead in South Jamaica Queens. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds. He was 28 years old and was on the job for just over two years with his whole life and career ahead of him. He was well-liked and highly regarded by his fellow officers,” Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio Jr. said in a statement.
Neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots outside their homes, and sources told ABC 7 the killing appeared to be planned.
“I heard nine shots,” resident Raymond Leslie said. “You really don’t want to come out on these streets at night because it’s getting increasingly dangerous.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose actions – or lack thereof – have been blamed by many for triggering a historic exodus among New York residents, denounced the shooting tweeting, “This is a tragedy.”
“Chirlane and I are keeping this young man’s family, loved ones and brothers and sisters in @CorrectionNYC in our hearts today. An investigation into this cowardly attack is ongoing. If you have any information please contact the NYPD,” the mayor tweeted.
Seattle rioters ransack businesses to demand city council vote to defund the police
NaturalNews – Sunday evening, organized by Antifa and the city’s chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement. These riots come as the Seattle City Council, which comprises entirely of Democrats and socialists, is expected to put to a vote a measure that would defund the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
The riots began in the afternoon and were situated primarily around the city’s First Hill neighborhood, which is right next to downtown Seattle. Much of the damage was situated along several streets. Some of the businesses that were targeted include Amazon Go, which was swarmed with rioters who had sledgehammers and were breaking windows; a Whole Foods , where private security personnel were able to fend off the would-be looters; as well as a Starbucks, a Chase Bank and a Key Bank, where several windows were smashed and protective plywood coverings were peeled off.
Several other businesses in the area experienced limited cosmetic damages, such as smashed storefronts and windows that looked like they were hit by a baseball bat several times.
By the evening the rioters and looters began making their way north to Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill, where they congregated before dispersing of their own accord.
Parts of the Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square neighborhoods – directly to the north and the southwest of First Hill, respectively – were also targeted by smaller bands of organized looters. (Related: Seattle Mayor again blames Trump after rioters blew open a police station using a van full of explosives.)
“Sadly it’s become routine,” said Jamie Munson, whose Simply Seattle store in Pioneer Square was targeted. “We’ve gotten good at calling the insurance company, boarding up windows and protecting the store. It’s just exhausting.” Munson’s storefront was smashed and spray painted. Two of his three stores have been attacked five times since the rioting in the city began in late May and early June.
Doctors Lay Out Plan to ‘Punish’ People Who Refuse Coronavirus Vaccine: ‘There Is No Alternative’
Global Research – ‘Simply put, getting vaccinated is going to be our patriotic duty,’ and America should consider making it difficult for the unvaccinated to participate in society, three doctors wrote.
A coronavirus vaccine should be mandatory, and tax penalties, higher insurance premiums, and denial of many government and private services ought to be considered for those refusing the shot, two doctors and an attorney argued in USA Today on Thursday.
“[W]hile the measures that will be necessary to defeat the coronavirus will seem draconian, even anti-American to some, we believe that there is no alternative. Simply put, getting vaccinated is going to be our patriotic duty,” wrote Dr. Michael Lederman, Dr. Stuart Youngner, and Maxwell J. Mehlman.
There is no “alternative to vaccine-induced herd immunity in a pandemic,” they argued. “Broad induction of immunity in the population by immunization will be necessary to end this pandemic.”
The USA Today article, published August 6, is titled “Defeat COVID-19 by requiring vaccination for all. It’s not un-American, it’s patriotic.” Its original subhead (see screenshot below) read,
“Make vaccines free, don’t allow religious or personal objections, and punish those who won’t be vaccinated. They are threatening the lives of others.” It has since been changed to “Make vaccines free, don’t allow religious or personal objections, and create disincentives for those who refuse vaccines shown to be safe and effective.”
“When a vaccine is ready,” the doctors wrote, it must be free and exemptions must only be made for people with “medical contraindications to immunization.”
But “medical conditions that prohibit all COVID-19 vaccines will be rare,” they claimed. No religious or personal objections to receiving the shot or shots should be honored, they wrote, and harsh penalties should be adopted by important sectors of society to pressure the populace to comply.
The physicians proposed,
“Private businesses could refuse to employ or serve unvaccinated individuals. Schools could refuse to allow unimmunized children to attend classes. Public and commercial transit companies — airlines, trains and buses — could exclude refusers. Public and private auditoriums could require evidence of immunization for entry.”
They then outlined how a “registry of immunization will be needed with names entered after immunization is completed.” People who receive the vaccine should be issued “certification cards” with expiration dates (“the durability of protection by different vaccines may vary and may require periodic booster immunizations”).
The concept of “immunization cards” or digital vaccine records was floated shortly before the coronavirus outbreak and since the virus has spread.
CDC reports thousands of coronavirus deaths involve other contributing causes, raising questions about America’s real death toll
NaturalNews – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three percent of Americans who died from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) had a range of “adverse events” listed on death certificates that seem far removed from the disease such as “contact with venomous animals and plants” and “air and space transport accidents.”
The CDC’s most recent death count figures, updated on August 12 and covering the period from the first known coronavirus case in the U.S. all the way to Aug. 8, show that a total of 145,378 Americans have died from COVID-19.
Of these, six percent only list COVID-19 as the only cause mentioned. The CDC bases its classifications on the information listed in death certificates.
“For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death,” wrote the CDC in an explanatory note.
In its report, the CDC also provided a list of comorbidities – health conditions and contributing causes of death – mentioned on death certificates in conjunction with deaths involving COVID-19. Included in these comorbidities was a category called “intentional and unintentional injury, poisoning and other adverse events,” which were cited in 4,401 cases, or around three percent of the total COVID-19 deaths.
“From looking at some of these records, it seems that these are largely cases where someone hospitalized with a non-fatal injury has contracted COVID-19 while in the hospital and subsequently died,” Jeff Lancashire, a spokesman for the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, said to Just the News.
Medical professionals refer to a CDC-endorsed document in determining whether a factor in a COVID-19 death is listed as a direct cause of death or whether it merely contributed to death but not the underlying cause. The underlying cause of death (UCOD) is defined as the disease or injury that initiated the events resulting in death.
“If COVID–19 played a role in the death, this condition should be specified on the death certificate,” the guidance states. “In many cases, it is likely that it will be the UCOD, as it can lead to various life-threatening conditions, such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).”
In addition, the guidance states that in a case where “a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 cannot be made, but is suspected or likely,” then medical professionals can still report COVID-19 as the “probable” or “presumed” cause of death.
CHD Will Sue the University of California Over Mandatory Flu Vaccine Policy
Children’s Health Defence – Dr. Janet Napolitano says mandatory flu shots will “lessen the chance of being infected with COVID.” However, prevailing research suggests that flu vaccines actually raise the risk from coronavirus infection.
A January 2020 US Pentagon study (Wolff 2020) found that the flu shot INCREASES the risks from coronavirus by 36%. “Receiving influenza vaccination may increase the risk of other respiratory viruses, a phenomenon known as “virus interference…’vaccine derived’ virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus…”
Many other studies suggest the increased risk of viral respiratory infections, including coronavirus, following vaccination for influenza.
Children’s Health Defense is aware of a contrary study published last month by Gunther Fink et. al. That report appears to conclude that flu vaccines may be prophylactic against coronavirus. The study, of Brazilian populations, has many dubious unexplained outcomes including a 47% death rate among study subjects, raising numerous unanswered questions about the methodology and validity of this research. UC campuses should not be encouraging flu shots until we have unambiguous science supporting efficacy against COVID.
If you want to join our fight against the “UC Jab” visit CHD and fill out the form. Please include details about your opposition to this mandate. We would like plaintiffs representing all the UC system schools and disciplines.
Energy & Environment
Death Valley Hits 130 Degrees, Hottest Temperature on Earth Since 1913
Breitbart – Temperatures in Death Valley, California, reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, as local utilities barely managed to maintain power to the state in the midst of a heat wave.
The 130º reading is one of the highest temperatures ever recorded at the site — and the hottest temperature recorded on earth since 1913.
The National Weather Service tweeted: “Per the climate data in xmACIS2, this is the first time since 1913 that Death Valley has reached 130F. In July 2013, it last reached 129F. If valid, it would be the hottest August temperature at the site by 3F.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that the temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit was “possibly the highest mercury reading on Earth since 1913,” adding: “If the National Weather Service’s recording is correct, it would also be among the top-three highest temperatures to have ever been measured in Death Valley, as well as the highest temperature ever seen there during the month of August.”
2 Million Californians Lose Power as Heat Wave Sparks Rolling Blackouts
Democracy Now – In California, around 2 million residents had their power shut off Friday in the state’s first rolling blackouts since 2001. An unrelenting heat wave has engulfed the region and is expected to last halfway through this week, as the coronavirus outbreak introduces yet new challenges for Californians seeking to escape the heat in cooling centers or other public places.
Meanwhile, in Iowa, hundreds of thousands remain without electricity after a deadly inland hurricane ravaged the state last Monday, leveling homes and devastating millions of acres of farmland.
Utility Companies Are Lobbying Against a Federal Ban on Shut-Offs During the Coronavirus Crisis. Is Yours One of Them?
Activist Post – Utility companies, commissions, and legislators in California, Ohio, and Illinois have been getting significant press coverage lately for not acting in the best interest of the public (see 1, 2, 3).
Thanks to the Washington Post for reporting more unsympathetic behavior:
Disconnections are resuming soon as the state bans expire. Duke Energy, which serves about 7.4 million electric customers across six states, went beyond other power providers in March by voluntarily suspending shut-offs and waiving late fees. But the Charlotte-based electric power company is preparing to resume disconnections in Florida, Indiana and Ohio.
“We will continue to assist customers experiencing economic hardship from the pandemic as we begin to return to standard billing and payment practices” in those states, spokesman Philip Sgro said.
AEP, too, voluntarily stopped disconnections in March. But a month later, the Columbus, Ohio-based utility was lobbying against a federal ban on shut-offs, according to a public records request obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute, a clean-energy advocacy group.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, which represents state public service commissioners nationwide, also opposes a federal intervention on its regulatory members’ turf.
David Pomerantz, head of the Energy and Policy Institute, says electric utilities are trying to have it both ways. “They say they’re going to do the right thing by keeping the lights and air conditioning on during summer heat waves, all while furiously lobbying behind the scenes to avoid being held accountable to that promise,” he said.
AEP has since resumed shut-offs in Oklahoma, as well as for “a very small number” of customers in Michigan, according to spokeswoman Melissa McHenry. “Disconnecting customers is always our last resort when dealing with unpaid bills, and customers who work with us on a payment plan will not be disconnected,” McHenry said.
Watkins, who gets her power from AEP in Virginia, is now attending online nursing school and is grateful AEP stopped disconnections in March. But Virginia is among the states scheduled to lift their moratoriums on Sept. 1.
“That’s good,” Watkins said. “But I’m just thinking: When they’re done doing that, the people that haven’t been able to pay or just pay a little bit, are they going to have to pay that big amount right then, or their stuff is going to be turned off?”
Science & Technology
Viral Shadowgate Documentary Deleted by Facebook and YouTube After Film Maker’s Arrest
Infowars – The Shadowgate documentary, which went viral after one of its producers was arrested on Friday, has now been removed by both YouTube and Facebook.
Journalist Millie Weaver was charged with alleged “robbery, tampering with evidence, obstruction justice, and domestic violence” after police officers apparently from a local SWAT team showed up at her Ohio home Friday morning and took her to the Portage County Jail in Ravenna.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that there was a “secret indictment” against Weaver but refused to give further details.
A woman claiming to be Weaver’s mother later commented that there had been a family dispute over a $50 cellphone on April 25, but that she had almost immediately dropped all charges against Weaver and expressed shock that her daughter had been arrested.
The arrest occurred on the eve of Weaver releasing Shadowgate, a documentary that purports to expose the “operational role the shadow government played behind the scenes carrying out the coup against President Trump.”
After the documentary received millions of views following its upload to Facebook and YouTube, both websites censored the film, with YouTube claiming the movie violated its rules against “hate speech.”
Weaver is expected to appear in front of a “tentative bond meeting” later today.
There is also a live protest against her arrest taking place in Ohio right now.
The full Shadowgate documentary can still be seen here: https://banned.video/watch?id=5f37fcc2df77c4044ee2eb03
Brain Scans Dig Further Into The Mystery Of Gulf War Syndrome
IFLS – Gulf War syndrome continues to be a medical mystery. Almost one-third of the 700,000 US and Allied soldiers who participated in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq experience an unusual array of symptoms, including fatigue, muscle pain, “brain fog”, headaches, cognitive problems, insomnia, and digestive problems. While the underlying cause of the illness is still hazy, a new study has helped to further bust the old belief that Gulf War illness (GWI) is the same as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
The two illnesses share some symptoms: problems with cognitive function, “brain fog”, issues with memory, pain, and fatigue following exercise. However, recent brain scans revealed that people with the two conditions show vastly different neural activity when carrying out memory tests after exercise.
A previous study published in 2017 by this same research group also suggested the two illnesses are separate conditions. For this new study, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have dug deep into how the conditions differ. They discovered that veterans with GWI showed decreased brain activity in the periaqueductal gray (a pain processing region) and in a part of the brain responsible for fine motor control, cognition, pain, and emotion, while people with CFS had increased activity in the periaqueductal gray and parts of the brain responsible for vigilance and attention.
Their new findings were recently reported in the journal Brain Communications.
The Persian Gulf War kicked off in August 1990 after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the neighboring oil-rich nation of Kuwait in order to pay off the vast debts amounted during the Iran-Iraq War. The move was met with international condemnation, eventually leading to the US, the UK, and other nations launching a military conflict against Iraq. One of the defining images of the war has become the Kuwaiti oil fires, in which the Iraqi army set fire to hundreds of oil wells as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991.
This stunning event and the exposure to chemicals are also often considered as a prime suspect in the development of Gulf War syndrome. In 2003, the European Molecular Biology Organization noted the condition has been “linked to exposure to depleted uranium, pesticides, vaccines, particulate matter and gases from burning oil wells, biological and chemical weapons, and the anti-nerve-gas drug pyridostigmine bromide (PB).”
However, researchers are still struggling to reach an agreement about the underlying cause of the condition. Some have indicated that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could be linked to some aspects of the illness, although veterans of the Gulf War show extremely different symptoms to those who served in other wars both before and after.
Unfortunately, this confusion and lack of solid scientific knowledge mean that people with Gulf War syndrome are often misdiagnosed and their illness remains widely misunderstood.
“Now that CFS and GWI have been shown to affect different regions of the brain, these regions can be more closely examined using neuroimaging and other techniques to further our understanding of the similarities and differences between the two illnesses,” Dr James Baraniuk, study author and professor of medicine at Georgetown, said in a statement. “Once this new information is adopted broadly, diagnoses and treatments for both disorders should improve.”
Health
Mycotoxins: The Hidden Hormone Danger In Our Food Supply
Natural Blaze – Over 30 years ago, scientists observed mycotoxin contaminated animal feed (grains) interfering with normal sexual development in young female pigs, resulting in estrogenic syndromes and precocious puberty. More recent human research in the U.S. is confirms that the contamination of our food supply with fungal toxins is adversely affecting the sexual development of young girls.
Grains, once considered the foundation of the USDA’s “food pyramid” (and still a key component of its updated “food plate”), have recently come under scrutiny due to their purported evolutionary incompatibility (e.g. Paleo and/or ancestral diets), their co-option by biotech and agricultural corporations (e.g. Monsanto/Bayer’s Franken-Corn), as well as the fact that they convert to “sugar” within the body, to name but a few of a growing list of concerns. But there may be a more ancient problem affecting all grains, including both organic and conventional varieties, that Nature herself produces, and it goes by the name of mycotoxins.
Judge Orders Fluoride Opponents To Refile Petition With The EPA In Historic #FluorideTrial
The Last American Vagabond – The judge in the ongoing fluoride trial has decided to post-pone a ruling and ordered the plaintiffs to file a new petition with the EPA.
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen once again delayed a ruling in the case between the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Judge Chen told the FAN to file a new petition with the EPA while the court waits on the release of a review of the research on fluoride.
After mildly heated discussion between the parties, Judge Chen decided to hold the case in abeyance, essentially a state of legal limbo. Chen said he would keep the record open and will allow the reviewing of evidence already on the record but not submission of new evidence. The FAN is now tasked with submitting a brand new petition and the EPA is ordered to complete the legally required review of the petition within 90 days of receipt. Judge Chen set the next status conference for November 5, 2020.
The Fluoride Action Network released the following statement after Judge Chen made his ruling:
“While we had hoped for a quicker resolution to the TSCA fluoride trial, FAN sees many positives from the court’s ruling yesterday. The judge reiterated that there is substantial evidence of neurotoxicity from fluoride exposure. We think the judge in this case is highly intelligent and discerning. We’re hopeful the court will rule in our favor and acknowledge that water fluoridation presents an unreasonable neurotoxic risk to the public.”
The Fluoride Action Network is aiming to prove the harms caused by community water fluoridation. The government is defending water fluoridation and seeking a dismissal of the petition by the plaintiffs. Beginning in June, Judge Chen heard arguments from witnesses with the FAN and EPA. Attorneys with FAN argue that water fluoridation violates the 1970 Toxic Substances Control Act provisions which prohibit the “particular use” of a chemical which has been found to present an unreasonable risk to the general public. Under section 21 of the TSCA citizens are allowed to petition the EPA to regulate or ban individual chemicals.
After two weeks of testimony in June, Judge Chen ordered the parties to attempt to reach an agreement and decide whether FAN should file a new petition. Neither the EPA or the FAN were interested in amending their position.
On Thursday, Judge Chen recapped the previous hearings and his reasons for giving EPA and FAN a chance to come to an agreement. The judge expressed disappointment with the failure to reach an agreement.
Before announcing his decision to put the case on hold, Judge Chen repeatedly told plaintiffs attorney Michael Connett that there were serious questions regarding the “standing” of the petition. “I will not be convinced otherwise,” Judge Chen said forcefully. “FAN must submit a new petition.”
During the discussions Connett told Judge Chen that following the last hearing in June, the EPA promised to make staff available to the plaintiffs so they could fulfill the judge’s order to collaborate on a potential conclusion. However, shortly afterwards the EPA’s attorney Debra Carfora emailed Connett to tell him they didn’t see a point in making staff available. Carfora later told the judge the EPA simply does not have the resources to work with plaintiffs as previously claimed.
Judge Chen’s decision to delay a ruling and order a new petition was guided in part by the upcoming release of the National Academy of Sciences’ draft review of the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) review of the literature on fluoride. The original NTP monograph on the fluoride research received criticism from the NAS. The NTP subsequently released a second draft of the monograph and now the NAS is completing a review of the second draft.
Connett told Judge Chen it was uncertain when the final report from the NTP will be released and the court should not wait until the final version to reach a conclusion. Judge Chen said he believes the upcoming NTP monograph would “substantially” contribute to the pool of knowledge.
Eating This Type Of Veggie Can Keep Your Body At Its Healthiest, Says An MD
Mind Body Green – Enjoying an elaborate meal three times a day sounds great in theory, but most days, there’s not enough time or energy to spend cooking. However, just because a meal isn’t time-consuming to create doesn’t mean it has to lack nutrients.
To ensure a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals in every meal, family medicine doctor Robert Rountree, M.D., recommends adding sea veggies to your diet.
Why sea veggies?
In a mindbodygreen podcast episode, Rountree says sea vegetables, like kelp and chlorella, are a great source of nutrients. They provide antioxidants, like vitamins A, C, E, and beta-carotene. Seaweed is also a gut-friendly source of dietary fiber and prebiotics, which can help enhance digestion.*
Kelp is especially favored for its high—but not too high—iodine levels. The recommended dietary allowance for iodine is 150 micrograms per day, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “The problem is that we don’t get enough iodine in our diet,” Rountree says. While iodine supplements may help some people increase their intake, they may cause others to exceed the recommended value, which can increase the risk for hyper- or hypothyroidism.
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