Author Archives: stuartbramhall

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About stuartbramhall

Retired child and adolescent psychiatrist and American expatriate in New Zealand. In 2002, I made the difficult decision to close my 25-year Seattle practice after 15 years of covert FBI harassment. I describe the unrelenting phone harassment, illegal break-ins and six attempts on my life in my 2010 book The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee.

WW3 cancelled! Putin Wins as US/UK back down on hyped use of Long Range Missiles

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The Free

Because this time Russia was serious, with intense preparations and well publicized explanations why the ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles can only be fired by NATO personnel and their satellite guidance. Why it must mean war with NATO.

Because this demand is a last gasp ploy by Zelensky to save his own skin as Ukraine collapses.

[…]

Because perhaps of an unproven shocking massive unstoppable hypersonic warning attack by Russia on a deserted mountain right next to a key US Naval base near Seattle (see Has WW3 begun! Possible Hypersonic Missile Strike as Warning Near US Naval Base . War begins if Biden Okays Missile Attacks on Russia today)

Because European Russophobia is finally falling apart, with even Scholz calling for peace.

Because of a shocking prank interview with Poland’s foreign minister Sikorsky dynamiting the Euro position (see below).

Because it made no practical sense, even if Russia backed down, as there is little stock of the hyper expensive long range missiles and Russia has been shooting many of them down.

So what happens next

The war goes on. Logically Ukraine had lost from the beginning, only for US’s post Afghanistan desire for looting Ukraine, supposedly weakening Russia, promoting its arms industry and fanning russophobia to self sabotage its EU economic rivals.

Russia says it will make no deal until Kursk is cleared of Ukraine/NATO forces.

What is proposed by Trump and Scholz is basically a rehash of the 2014 Minsk agreements which were cynically ignored, as now officially admitted, while NATO armed Ukraine’s far right racist attacks on ethnic Russian areas for 8 years.

So the war goes on and on, with up to half a million dead soldiers. With up to half the Ukrainian population dead, disabled or escaped the collapsing repressive state which is only kept going by declining foreign subsidies, and facing a new mass illegal emigration due to a coming winter with little electricity.

[…]

Via https://thefreeonline.com/2024/09/14/ww3-cancelled-putin-wins-deadly-nuclear-chicken-as-us-uk-back-down-on-hyped-use-of-their-long-range-missiles/

New Zealand First lawmakers insisting on an honest COVID vaccine inquiry

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By Steve Kirsch

…There really is ONE party in NZ who care about the thousands of New Zealanders left with sickness and injury after (mandated) Covid injections: NEW ZEALAND FIRST (nzfirst.nz).

These lawmakers want to get to the truth about what happened and why, if the vaccines are so safe, there are so many “coincidences.”

The speaker is Tanya Unkovich, a New Zealand politician, representing New Zealand First as a member of parliament since the 2023 general election. She is the author of four books, and has previously worked in finance, as a life coach, and public speaker.

Wikipedia says this about Tanya:

During the campaign, she faced criticism for participating in a Nuremberg trials Telegram group that likened COVID-19 vaccines to Nazi war crimes.[8]

In other words, she calls a spade a spade. A rarity in politics today.

[…]

Give Tanya a follow on X, especially if you live in New Zealand. She only has 1,640 followers right now!

[…]

 

The Emergence of Islamic Culture

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Episode 4 Creating an Islamic Culture

The Middle Ages Around the World

Dr Joyce E Salisbury

Film Review

Islam is built on five pillars of faith: monotheism (“there is no god but Allah”), prayer, alms giving and pilgrimage (the Hajj). Ramadan, Islam’s annual month of fasting, celebrates Mohammad’s first revelations from the angel Gabriel. The Hajj or pilgrimage to the Ka’aba in Mecca is based on the Islamic belief that Abraham and Ismail built the shrine dedicated to the ancient meteor worshiped by Saudi tribes.

Following Mohammad’s death, there was major conflict over his successor. His third wife Aiha wanted her father Abu Bakr to become the caliph (successor). Other followers wanted a religious leader, specifically Mohammad’s son-in-law and cousin Ali to succeed him. Ali, who supported Abu Bakr, but not his successor, was assassinated in 667. After Ali’s murder the Umayyad dynasty, which lasted nearly a century, took over the caliphate and became the Sunni branch of Islam.

Shi’ite Muslims have always believed the caliphate should remain in the Prophet’s family. Ali’s sons Hassan and Hussayn became the second and third Shi’ite rulers. Hussayn and his son were murdered in 680. The early Shi’ite branch of Islam ruled Egypt and North Africa from the 10th century on.

The current Houthis of Yemen belong to a third branch of Islam which views Hussayn’s grandson Zaid as the legitimate Shi’ite successor. Establishing a separate Zaidi state in Yemen, they have long played an important role in Middle East trade.

In North Africa, Berber tribesmen refused to accept Arab commanders and created their own Berber caliphate in the 11th century.

In 750 the Abbasids overthrew the Ummayyad caliphate and moved its capital to Damascus to engage more fully in the Silk Road trade. By the 10th century the caliphate had fragmented into regional territories ruled by military commanders called emirs. The Abbassids, who continued to control the former Persian empire, moved their capitol to Baghdad and relied on Persian administrators* and traders to run their caliphate. Although the Koran prohibits alcohol consumption, Muslims drank wine in the wine-producing cultures of Persia and Spain.

Although the Koran is full of significant reforms for women (the right to inherit and to initiative divorce), their fate during the Middle Ages depended on local cultural practices. At the time, all respectable Mediterranean and European women wore veils and/or head coverings, regardless of their religious beliefs. Although there’s nothing about female genital mutilation** in the Koran, owing to it earlier prevalence Egypt and Aksum, it became linked with Islam as it spread to Asia and the rest of Africa.

As Arabic Muslim armies transformed the territories they conquered, Arabic became the language of trade and government and the dinar became the principle currency. Renamed Kairouan, Carthage, the capitol of Tunisia became a major center of learning, a did Cordova, the capitol of Al Andalus (the Iberian peninsula). Cordova reached a population of 250,000 under Muslim rule and became famous for its library and stunning mosques and public buildings.

*The Persians taught their Muslim overlords to play chess and backgammon, to wear trousers instead of traditional Arab robes and to eat off tables instead of the floor.

**Muslims continued male circumcision because it was ordained in the Old Testament. Christians abandoned the practice, based on St Paul’s teachings that “the circumcision of the heart” had replaced it.

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/13172786/13172795

Possible Hypersonic Missile Strike Near Bremerton Naval Base in Washington State

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Bremerton Naval Base by Brian McMorrow | Bremerton washington, Bremerton, Naval

Bremerton Naval Base

Hal Turner

The United States Geological Survey reports an “Other Event” caused the equivalent of a Magnitude 2.6 earthquake, 0.8 km ABOVE ground  at 09:12 UTC this morning.  Word is this “Other Event” was . . . . an explosion – possibly of a Hypersonic missile –sent as “a message” to the Untied States.

Below is a screen shot of the USGS website reporting this “Other Event.” See https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/uw62037567/executive

If this “Other Event” was a missile hit, then the missile would have had to pass over Naval Base Bremerton, WA to reach where the “Other Event” (explosion?) took place.   Bremerton, near Seattle, is a massive, perhaps Primary, Naval Base for the US in the Pacific.

[…]

There are mountains in that area where the “other event” took place at a “Depth” of -0.8km.  Yes, that’s a minus sign in front of the “Depth” meaning the “Other Event” took place above the ground by about 2,624 feet.  Some of the mountains in that area ARE that high.  So if a missile hit a mountain at that height, the resulting explosion could very well register as a Magnitude 2.7 earthquake “above” ground.

For a frame of reference, when the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, seismographs registered the massive collapse as a Magnitude 2.1 “earthquake.”   So the fact that this “Other Event” registers stronger . . . . as 2.7 . . . . gives readers an idea of how powerful this “other event” actually was.

There is no visual evidence of any Landslide in that area.  There is no major snowpack yet, and so there is no sign of any massive Avalanche.

So what caused this “Other Event” as being reported by the US Geological Survey (HERE)?

Was it a “message” to the USA over its continued meddling in the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

Was it a clear warning from, perhaps, a Russian Submarine, that the US authorizing Ukraine to use West-supplied, long-range, precision missiles against Russia, could result in Russia using missiles against the USA?

That decision on whether or not Ukraine will be allowed to use long range weapons, will be made today, and is expected to be announced from the White House.

Russian President Putin, just yesterday, warned that if this decision is made, and Ukraine is given use of West-supplied missiles to hit Russia, then the United States, European countries and NATO will be “at war” with Russia.  (Story Here)

It is starting to LOOK like, the U.S. was just sent a very real message.

[…]

Via https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/national-news/above-ground-incident-explosion-in-washington-state-sends-message-to-us-device-past-right-over-naval-base-bremerton

Ed Note – the US has no hypersonic missiles of its own nor any defense against hypersonic missiles. See Why the US Can’t Win Against Russia

Approve Western Weapons Strikes Deep into Russia – a “State of War” will exist

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Hal Turner Radio Show

Russian leadership has issued a follow-up statement to President Vladimir Putin’s Thursday brief video address warning that if the US and UK authorize Ukraine to pursue long-range strikes on Russian soil, then NATO and the Russian Federation will be in an official state of war.

On Friday Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, informed the UN Security council that NATO countries would “start an open war” in allowing Western long-range missiles to target Russia.

“If such a decision is made, that means NATO countries are starting an open war against Russia,” Moscow’s envoy introduced. “In that case, we will obviously be forced to make certain decisions, with all the attendant consequences for Western aggressors.”

[…]

Via https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/russia-formally-notifies-united-nations-if-us-uk-approve-western-weapons-strikes-deep-into-russia-a-state-of-war-will-exist

From 11 September to 7 October: The Fake ‘War on Terror’ Collapses

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Pepe Escobar

For 22 years, the US executed Israel’s regional destabilization program using phantom terrorists as justification for the ‘War on Terror.’ But 7 October 2023 killed Washington’s never-ending war project – with a flip of the switch, US adversaries have now turned the ‘Long War’ on Israel.

Colonization … is the best affair of business in which the capital of an old and wealthy country can engage … the same rules of international morality do not apply … between civilized nations and barbarians.

– John Stuart Mill, quoted by Eileen Sullivan in “Liberalism and Imperialism: JS Mill’s Defense of the British Empire,” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 44, 1983.

The events of 11 September 2001 were intended to impose and enshrine a new Exceptionalist paradigm on the young 21st century. History, though, ruled otherwise.

Cast as an attack on the US Homeland, 11 September 2001, immediately generated the Global War on Terror (GWOT), launched at 11 pm on the same day. Initially christened “The Long War” by the Pentagon, the term was later sanitized by the administration of Barack Obama as “Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).”

The US-manufactured War on Terror spent a notoriously un-trackable eight trillion dollars defeating a phantom enemy, killed over half a million people – overwhelmingly Muslims – and branched out into illegal wars against seven Muslim-majority states. All of this was relentlessly justified on “humanitarian grounds” and allegedly supported by the “international community” – before that term, too, was renamed as the “rules-based international order.”

Cui Bono? (who stands to gain) remains the paramount question related to all matters related to 11 September 2001. A tight network of fervently Israel-first neocons strategically positioned across the defense and national security establishments by Vice President Dick Cheney – who had served as secretary of defense in the administration of George W Bush’s father – sprang into action to impose the long-planned agenda of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). That far-reaching agenda had waited in the wings for the right trigger – a “new Pearl Harbor” – to justify a slew of regime-change operations and wars across much of West Asia and other Muslim states, reshaping global geopolitics for the benefit of Israel.

US General Wesley Clark’s notorious revelation of a secret Cheney regime plot to destroy seven major Islamic countries over five years, from Iraq, Syria, and Libya all the way to Iran, showed us that the planning had already been done in advance. These targeted nations had one thing in common: they were resolute enemies of the occupation state and firm supporters of Palestinian rights.

The sweet deal, from Tel Aviv’s perspective, was that the War on Terror would have the US and its western allies fighting all these serial Israeli-profiting wars on behalf of “civilization” and against the “barbarians.” The Israelis couldn’t have been more happy or smug about the direction this was going.

It’s no wonder that 7 October 2023 is a mirror image of 11 September 2001. The occupation state itself advertised this as Israel’s own “11 September.” Parallels abound in more ways than one, but certainly not in the way Israel-firsters and the cabal of extremists leading Tel Aviv expected.

Syria: the turning point

The western Hegemon excels in constructing narratives and is currently wallowing in the Russophobia, Iranophobia, and Sinophobia swamps of its own creation. Discrediting official, immutable narratives, such as the one about 11 September, remains the ultimate taboo.

But a false narrative construct cannot hold out forever. Three years ago, on the 20th anniversary of the Twin Towers collapsing and the onset of the War on Terror, we witnessed a great unraveling in the intersection of Central and South Asia: the Taliban were back in power, celebrating their victory over the Hegemon in a discombobulated Forever War.

By then, the “seven countries in five years” obsession – aiming to forge a “New Middle East” – was being derailed across the spectrum. Syria was the turning point, though some would argue that the tea leaves were already cast when the Lebanese resistance defeated Israel in 2000, then again in 2006.

But smashing independent Syria would have paved the way for the Hegemon – and Israel’s – Holy Grail: regime change in Iran.

US occupation forces entered Syria in late 2014 under the pretext of fighting “terror.” That was Obama’s OCO in action. In reality, though, Washington was using two key terror outfits – Daesh, aka ISIL, aka ISIS, and Al Qaeda, aka Jabhat al-Nusra, aka Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – to try to destroy Damascus.

That was conclusively proved by a declassified 2012 US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) document, later confirmed by General Michael Flynn, the DIA’s chief when the assessment was written: “I think it was a willful decision [by the Obama administration]” when it comes to helping, not fighting, terror.

ISIS was conceived to fight both the Iraqi and Syrian armies. The terror group was an offspring of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), then renamed Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), then rebranded as ISIL, and finally ISIS, after it crossed the Syrian border in 2012.

The crucial point is that both ISIS and Nusra Front (later Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) were hardcore Salafi-jihadi Al-Qaeda offshoots.

Russia entering the Syrian theater at Damascus’ invitation in September 2015 was the real game-changer. Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to actually engage in a real war on terror in Syrian territory before that terror reached the Russian Federation’s borders. This was captured by the standard formulation in Moscow at the time: the distance from Aleppo to Grozny is only 900 kilometers.

The Russians, after all, had already been subjected to the same brand and modus operandi of terror in Chechnya in the 1990s. Afterward, many Chechen jihadis escaped, only to end up joining dodgy outfits in Syria financed by the Saudis.

The late, great Lebanese analyst Anis Naqqash later confirmed that it was the legendary Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani who convinced Putin, in person, to enter the Syrian theater of war and help defeat the terrorism. This strategic masterplan, it transpires, was to fatally debilitate the US in West Asia.

The US security establishment, of course, would never forgive Putin, and especially Soleimani, for defeating their handy jihadist foot soldiers. On the orders of President Donald Trump, the anti-ISIS Iranian general was assassinated in Baghdad in January 2020, alongside Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, deputy leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), a broad spectrum of Iraqi fighters who had coalesced to defeat ISIS in Iraq.

Burying the legacy of 11 September

Soleimani’s strategic tour de force of setting up and coordinating the Axis of Resistance against Israel and the US was years in the making. In Iraq, for instance, the PMUs were propelled to the forefront of the resistance because the Iraqi military – US-trained and US-controlled – simply could not fight ISIS.

The PMUs were created after a fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Sistani in June 2014 – when ISIS began its Iraqi rampage – by imploring “all Iraqi citizens” to “defend the country, its people, the honor of its citizens and its sacred sites.”

Several PMUs were backed by Soleimani’s Quds Force – who, ironically, for the rest of the decade would be invariably branded by Washington as a master “terrorist.” In parallel, crucially, the Iraqi government hosted an anti-ISIS intel center in Baghdad, led by Russia.

The credit for defeating ISIS in Iraq went mostly to the PMUs, complemented by its help to Damascus via the integration of PMU units into the Syrian Arab Army. That was what a real war on terror was all about, not that misnomered American construct called the “War on Terror.”

Best yet, the indigenously West Asian response to terror was and remains non-sectarian. Tehran supports secular, pluralist Syria and Sunni Palestine; Lebanon features a Hezbollah–Christian alliance; Iraq’s PMUs feature a Sunni–Shia–Christian alliance. Divide and Rule simply do not apply in a homegrown anti-terror strategy.

Then, what happened on 7 October 2023 propelled the regional resistance forces’ ethos to a whole new level.

In one swift move, it destroyed the myth of Israeli military invincibility and its much-lauded surveillance and intelligence primacy. Even as the horrifying genocide across Gaza proceeds unabated (with possibly as many as 200,000 civilian deaths, according to The Lancet), the Israeli economy is being eviscerated.

Yemen’s strategic blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb and the Red Sea to any Israel-linked or destined shipping vessel is a masterstroke of efficiency and simplicity. Not only has it already bankrupted Israel’s strategic Eilat Port, but also, as a bonus, has offered a spectacular humiliation of the thalassocratic Hegemon, with the Yemenis de facto defeating the US Navy.

In less than a year, the concerted strategies of the Axis of Resistance have essentially buried six feet under the fake War on Terror and its multi-trillion-dollar gravy train.

As much as Israel profited from events after 11 September, Tel Aviv’s actions after 7 October rapidly accelerated its unraveling. Today, amidst massive Global Majority condemnation of Israel’s Gaza genocide, the occupation state stands as a pariah – tainting its allies and exposing the Hegemon’s hypocrisy with each passing day.

For the Hegemon, it gets even more alarming. Recall the 1997 warning of Dr Zbigniew “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski: “It is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America.”

In the end, all the combined sound and fury of 11 September, the War on Terror, Long War, Operation This-And-That over two decades, metastasized into exactly what “Zbig” feared. Not only has a mere “challenger” emerged, but a full-fledged Russia–China strategic partnership that is setting a new tone for Eurasia.

Suddenly, Washington has forgotten all about terrorism. This is the real “enemy” – now considered the top two US “strategic threats.” Not Al-Qaeda and its many incarnations, a flimsy figment of the CIA’s imagination, rehabilitated and sanitized in the previous decade as those mythical “moderate rebels” in Syria.

What’s even more eerie is that the conceptually nonsensical War on Terror forged by the neocons immediately after 11 September is now morphing into a war of terror (italics mine), embodying the desperate Hail Mary pass by the CIA and MI6 to “confront Russian aggression” in Ukraine.

And that’s bound to be metastasized into the Sinophobia swamp because those same western intelligence agencies consider the rise of China to be “the greatest geopolitical and intelligence challenge” of the 21st century.

The War on Terror has been debunked; it is now dead. But get ready for serial wars of terror by a Hegemon unaccustomed to not owning the narrative, the seas, and the ground.

[…]

Via https://libya360.wordpress.com/2024/09/13/from-11-september-to-7-october-the-fake-war-on-terror-collapses/

How Low Testosterone Affects Men’s Health

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Dr Mercola

Story at-a-glance

  • Low testosterone affects up to 38.7% of men over 45, causing symptoms like low libido, fatigue and weight gain. It’s linked to increased risks of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease
  • Obesity and diabetes are closely connected to lower testosterone levels, creating a cycle that’s hard to break. Excess fat tissue interferes with testosterone production through various mechanisms
  • Low testosterone levels (below 213 ng/dL) are associated with higher all-cause mortality risk. Balanced hormone levels, including luteinizing hormone and estradiol, are crucial for overall health
  • Andropause, or male menopause, involves a gradual decline in testosterone levels starting around age 40. This affects cardiovascular health, body composition and increases risks of heart problems
  • Natural strategies to boost testosterone include KAATSU training, regular sun exposure and avoiding endocrine-disrupting chemicals

If you’re a man over 45, you may be experiencing symptoms like low libido, fatigue, mood changes or weight gain without realizing one common underlying cause — low testosterone. Up to 38.7% of men in this age group have insufficient testosterone levels.1

The American Urology Association considers levels below 350 ng/dL to be low, though some experts argue for a lower threshold of 250 ng/dL.2 Regardless of the exact number, it’s the combination of low levels and symptoms that matters.

Low testosterone isn’t just about sexual health. It can increase your risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease as you age. Symptoms may include obesity, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporotic fractures, generalized weakness and even facial hair loss.3 If you’re experiencing these signs, it’s worth investigating your testosterone levels.

Ideally, blood samples should be taken between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. when testosterone is highest. Don’t dismiss your symptoms just because you’re getting older — low testosterone is a treatable condition that can significantly impact your quality of life. While I don’t recommend testosterone supplements, there are multiple ways to increase your testosterone levels naturally.

The Testosterone-Obesity-Diabetes Connection

Your body composition plays a crucial role in testosterone production. Obesity and diabetes are closely linked to lower testosterone levels, creating a vicious cycle that can be hard to break. Excess fat tissue, especially around your abdomen, can interfere with testosterone production in several ways:4

1. Leptin resistance — Fat cells produce leptin, which can lead to central leptin resistance and reduce signals in your brain that stimulate testosterone production.

2. Increased estrogen — Fat tissue contains an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen, further lowering your testosterone levels.

3. Inflammation — Fat cells produce inflammatory cytokines that can interfere with testosterone production and reduce insulin sensitivity.

These mechanisms not only lower your testosterone but also contribute to insulin resistance, putting you at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Low testosterone can also lead to decreased muscle mass and increased fat accumulation, worsening the cycle. If you’re struggling with weight issues or diabetes, it’s essential to have your testosterone levels checked. Addressing low testosterone could be a key factor in improving your metabolic health and breaking this harmful cycle.

Low Testosterone May Increase Your Risk of All-Cause Mortality

There’s a strong relationship between sex hormones and mortality risk in men. A comprehensive meta-analysis of nine studies, covering more than 255,830 participant-years, has revealed some eye-opening insights.5 If your testosterone levels fall below 213 ng/dL, you may face a higher risk of all-cause mortality. Also concerning, testosterone levels below 153 ng/dL were associated with increased cardiovascular mortality risk.

But testosterone isn’t the only hormone you should be concerned about. The study found that men with luteinizing hormone (LH) levels above 10 IU/L or estradiol levels below 5.1 pmol/L also had a higher risk of all-cause mortality. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining balanced hormone levels as you age. It’s not just about feeling energetic or maintaining muscle mass — your hormone levels could be a matter of life and death.

While testosterone often takes center stage in discussions about male hormones, this research highlights the importance of often-overlooked players, including dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT, a potent form of testosterone responsible for the expression of male features, showed a nonlinear relationship with mortality risk.6

Both very low and very high levels were associated with increased risk. Men with DHT levels below 0.69 nmol/L had a 19% higher risk of all-cause mortality and a 29% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality compared to those with levels around 2.45 nmol/L.7 However, risk also increased at DHT levels above 2.45 nmol/L. These findings underscore the complexity of hormonal health. It’s not always a case of “more is better” — balance is key.

While much of the research focused on mortality risk, the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also provided valuable insights into the relationship between hormones and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Men with DHT concentrations below 0.59 nmol/L had an increased risk of incident cardiovascular events.8

The Link Between ‘Male Menopause’ and Cardiovascular Health

As you enter your 40s and beyond, you may be unaware of a silent threat to your heart health: andropause, also known as male menopause. While it’s not directly comparable to female menopause, there are some similarities and important differences to consider.

Unlike female menopause, which involves a relatively abrupt drop in hormone levels, men experience a gradual decline in testosterone levels as they age. This process typically begins around age 40 and continues throughout life. Men can experience a decrease in testosterone levels of about 1% per year after age 40.9

This gradual decline in testosterone levels doesn’t just affect your libido and muscle mass; it also impacts your cardiovascular system. Research has shown that men with lower testosterone levels are at higher risk for cardiac problems and mortality.10 In fact, a significant number of men with congestive heart failure have been found to have testosterone deficiency.11

Low testosterone levels can contribute to the accumulation of visceral fat, which is closely linked to insulin resistance and an unfavorable lipid profile. These factors can accelerate the hardening of your arteries, a process known as atherosclerosis. However, maintaining healthy testosterone levels can have protective effects on your heart. It can help shorten the heart-rate-corrected QT interval, improve glycemic control and induce vasodilation.12

Andropause and Body Composition: More Than Just Weight Gain

As you age and your testosterone levels decline, you might notice changes in your body composition that go beyond simply gaining a few pounds. Testosterone plays a crucial role in regulating your body’s fat distribution and muscle mass. When levels drop, you may experience a shift in where your body stores fat — from under your skin to deep in the abdomen (visceral fat).13

Visceral fat is metabolically active and can increase your risk of various health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. At the same time, lower testosterone can lead to a loss of muscle mass, a condition known as sarcopenia. This double whammy of increased fat and decreased muscle can significantly impact your strength, mobility and overall health.

The good news is that addressing low testosterone levels can help reverse these trends. Increasing testosterone levels has been shown to decrease visceral fat accumulation and increase lean body mass.14 It does this by activating androgen receptors, which initiate a fat-burning process and promote the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into muscle fibers rather than fat cells.

The Role of Biomarkers in Diagnosing Andropause

Recognizing andropause isn’t always straightforward, but certain biomarkers can provide valuable insights into your hormonal health. While testosterone is the primary hormone associated with andropause, it’s not the only one to consider. Other hormones and proteins in your body can offer a more complete picture of your endocrine health.15

For instance, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels tend to increase with age, which can affect the amount of free testosterone available in your body. Estradiol, a form of estrogen, also plays a role. The ratio of testosterone to estradiol can be a useful indicator of andropause, with lower ratios associated with more severe symptoms.16

Other biomarkers to consider include dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), a precursor to testosterone that also declines with age, and prolactin, which tends to increase in older men and can contribute to symptoms like decreased libido. Even your thyroid hormone (thyroxine) and sleep hormone (melatonin) levels can provide clues about your andropause status.17

Obesity and Sleep Apnea: A Double Threat to Testosterone Levels

If you’re carrying excess weight, particularly around your midsection, you may be facing a double threat to your testosterone levels. A study of severely obese men revealed that obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS) is strongly associated with lower testosterone, independent of age and body mass index.18 OSAS, characterized by repeated breathing pauses during sleep, affected a staggering 96.2% of the study participants.

The more severe the sleep apnea, as measured by frequency of breathing disruptions and oxygen desaturation, the lower the total and free testosterone levels tended to be. This relationship held true even after accounting for other factors like metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels.

The findings suggest that poor sleep quality and intermittent nighttime oxygen deprivation may be directly impacting your body’s ability to produce testosterone, beyond the known effects of excess body fat. Your overall metabolic health also plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy testosterone levels. Both total and free testosterone showed negative correlations with various metabolic factors, including waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting glucose levels.

Interestingly, the researchers used a continuous metabolic syndrome score to quantify overall metabolic health, finding that higher scores (indicating poorer metabolic health) were linked to lower testosterone levels.19 This underscores the importance of addressing not just weight, but also the underlying metabolic imbalances that often accompany obesity, to support your hormonal health.

Testosterone Therapy: No Increased Heart Risk for Men

While I don’t recommend testosterone supplements, concerns about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and heart health may be unfounded, according to a comprehensive study published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases.20 This meta-analysis of 30 randomized controlled trials, involving 11,502 patients, suggests that TRT does not increase your risk of heart problems or death.21

The researchers examined various cardiovascular outcomes, including overall cardiovascular events, stroke, heart attack and death from any cause. They found no significant difference between men receiving testosterone therapy and those given a placebo. This held true across all measured outcomes, with similar rates of events in both groups.

These findings challenge the 2015 U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning about potential cardiovascular risks associated with testosterone products.22 This information could be particularly relevant if you’re over 50, as the average age of participants in the analyzed studies ranged from 61 to 62 years old.

However, it’s important to note that this research doesn’t mean TRT is risk-free or suitable for everyone. The study focused specifically on men with diagnosed hypogonadism, not those using testosterone for other reasons.

Strategies to Raise Testosterone Naturally

There are only four hormones I believe many adults can benefit from — progesterone, thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone. However, if you have low testosterone, there are several evidence-based strategies you can use to boost your levels naturally.

One innovative approach gaining attention is KAATSU training, also known as blood flow restriction training. This technique involves using specialized bands to partially restrict blood flow to your limbs during exercise, tricking your body into thinking it’s working harder than it actually is. Research suggests this can lead to increased growth hormone and testosterone production.23

Avoiding endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates, bisphenol A and PFOAs is also important, as these chemicals affect testosterone levels.24 Regular sun exposure is another strategy; if you get sufficient sun exposure it will increase your testosterone levels.25

While a gradual decline in testosterone levels is a common part of aging, it’s important to recognize that significant drops can lead to serious health consequences. To optimize your levels, work with a holistic health care provider to develop a personalized approach, as hormone balance is complex and individual. By staying informed and proactive about hormonal health, men can take steps to maintain their vitality and reduce health risks as they age.

[…]

Via https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/09/13/low-testosterone-mens-health.aspx

Why the US Can’t Win Against Russia

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Dmitry Orlov

It’s an obvious paradox that somehow goes largely unnoticed. The US spends more on the military than the next nine countries combined, making up nearly 40% of what the entire world spends on its militaries. And what it gets for all that money is simply appallingly bad:

• The US is decades behind Russia, China, Iran and North Korea in developing hypersonic weapons that cannot be intercepted.

• The US also hasn’t been able to compete in the area of air and space defense systems; the best it can offer is the Patriot system which has shown itself worse than useless in the Ukraine, having recently shot down a donated F-16 jet.

• Its nuclear deterrent is decades old and an unknown portion of it is out of service altogether while most of the knowhow needed to update it has simply been lost.

• Its military bases are scattered throughout the world but cannot defend themselves against sporadic rocket attacks and play an increasingly marginal role in contemporary geopolitics.

• The population in the US is extremely unwell due to the obesity epidemic, high prevalence of childhood diabetes and rampant drug use. As a result, only a third of young men is fit enough to serve in the military and many fewer than that are actually willing to do so. At the same time, the failing public education system makes it nearly impossible to find enough recruits that can operate modern, high-tech weapons systems.

This list can be continued, but these five bullet points should be enough to tell you that something is terribly wrong with the entire scheme: money spent on the US military is, quite clearly, misspent. Moreover, the financial position of the US is now a sad joke: interest payments on the federal debt outstrip spending on defense and the federal budget deficit is getting ready to top $2 trillion per year. Last I checked, the US federal debt stood at around $35.3 trillion and was growing by around $4 trillion a year. The interest on that debt was $1.1 trillion a year ($3 billion a day). Interest payments are roughly double what they were a couple of years ago and are bound to increase.

An eventual problem with continuous and accelerating debt accumulation seems inevitable. A game of musical chairs played with federal outlays is bound to ensue, with defense outlays taking part. But let us assume that the Pentagon and the US defense contractors will continue being funded — for now. The question is, What good will that do? Where has US military action resulted in anything resembling success? Let us not even consider World War II, which was won through the efforts of the Red Army in defeating both the Germany’s Third Reich, occupying Berlin on May 2, 1945, and Imperial Japan’s Kwantung Army, which surrendered to the Soviets on August 16 1945.

• Was the Korean War a victory? No, North Korea now has nuclear missiles that can hit not just Guam or California but most places in the continental US. Attempts to negotiate with the North Korean leadership during the Trump regime failed due to the failure of US leadership to make good on the promises it made.

• Was the Vietnam War a victory? No, the US was forced to pull out in a spectacular rout, all of Vietnam has remained under communist leadership ever since (along with neighboring China and Laos) and is now in a special partnership with Russia.

• Was the Afghanistan campaign a success? No, after the disastrous pullout from Kabul early during the Biden regime the Taliban, which the US intervened in order to destroy, came back into power and has made trade and development deals with China and Russia.

• Was the Iraq War (the second one) a success? Again, no, Iraq has been badly damaged by US involvement but what remains of it is aligned with Iran and with Syria and is working closely with Russia and China while its government has made repeated demands for the remaining US troops to leave.

These are the results of direct US military involvement. The situation is no better for US proxies:

• In the Ukraine, over $100 billion spent on equipping the Ukrainians to defeat Russia (a fool’s errand if there ever was one) has resulted in well over a million casualties and a loss of almost 40% of territory (from 603’500km2 in 1991 to 467’000km2 in the beginning of 2024; it has lost another 100’000km2 since then). With the attempted Ukrainian invasion of the Russian region of Kursk an unmitigated disaster and with the entire front along the Donbass receding in the direction of the Dniepr River at an accelerating pace, the Ukrainian project appears to be nearing its end.

• In Israel, a military operation against HAMAS that was supposed to take a couple of weeks has now taken nearly a year, has resulted in genocide (with over 10% of the civilian population killed) and with no end in sight. Moreover, it seems to be leading to an escalation by pulling neighboring countries into the conflict. Actions by Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement have forced the port of Eilat on the Red Sea into bankruptcy and have played havoc with shipments to and from Israel. As a result, Israeli GDP shrank by 19%. Israel is losing jobs and population and its businesses are going bankrupt at a high rate.

These can be seen as localized failures — costly and embarrassing, yes, but perhaps not quite fatal. The cost aspect can actually be viewed as a positive in the perverse system of economic incentives that is in place in the US: the high cost of failure drives up the profits of US defense contractors. This contradiction in terms — costs being viewed as benefits — is in line with the overall perverse economic strategy pursued by the US, which views private wealth as sacred and public wealth as something that needs to be privatized.

But what about control of sea lanes? Unlike all of the examples listed above, loss of control of sea lanes, and, in particular, strategic choke points such as the Suez Canal, poses a systemic problem for the US as a sea empire. And yet control of the Suez has been lost — to Yemen, of all the impoverished, wretched places in the world! The only ships that can now safely transit the Red Sea and the Suez Canal on their way to or from the Mediterranean are Russian and Chinese ships, while any ships that are suspected of trading with Israel are fired upon and sometimes sunk.

Can the US, with all of its military might, its aircraft carrier fleet and its military bases throughout the Middle East — in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates — fix this problem? Well, it tried: in December 2023 it launched Operation Prosperity Guardian. Have you heard anything about it lately? No, you haven’t. Was it a success? No, it was a failure.

To solve this riddle, we’ll need to consider the situation through the prism of Moneybag Logic. Remember, the only real objective of moneybags is high stock market valuations and generous dividends paid out by US defense contractors; nothing else matters. Viewed from this angle, the inevitability of US failure becomes obvious.

Can the US armed forces destroy Yemen? Of course they can! But who will pay for it? The US government, of course. And where will the money go? To the corporations that make and service the weapons and outfit and supply the army, the navy and the air force.

These corporations are run by efficient financial managers — money whisperers, that is — and these efficient financial managers found it efficient have these corporations take on a lot of debt when interests rates were low, because that served the immediate purpose of paying out generous dividends and keeping stock prices high. But then a terrible thing happened: interest rates shot up and stayed there as the Federal Reserve struggled to contain high inflation. As a result, the revenue streams required to keep these defense contractors profitable are now quite outrageously high and a full-scale operation to defeat Ansar Allah lies far beyond what the US federal budget can spare.<

But the US is the richest country in the world; haven’t you heard that somewhere before? Well, where’s the money, then? Certainly not in the population at large, which is increasingly impoverished and indebted, with a third of it unable to afford everyday expenses, never mind planning for emergencies like a war against Yemen. Taking what money it does have from the population at large will prevent it from making payments to the corporations and the moneybags wouldn’t like that.

Speaking of corporations, they certainly do have money. But they have two peculiarities. First, they directly appoint the US government: the president, the head of CIA, the head of Federal Reserve are all working for a certain private corporate conglomerate. How could they possibly act against its interests? Second, the corporations have found numerous ways to play shell games with their money: tax havens, offshores and so on, all designed by representatives of that same private corporate conglomerate that were judiciously inserted into the US Congress and the various federal agencies.

And there we have it: war requires money; this money has to be paid by the government to the corporations; and this money can only come from the corporations because nobody else has any. Oh, and the government is being run by the corporations. Seems like a dead end, doesn’t it? No corporation would agree to rob itself to pay the government in order to get some of that money back eventually. That would be financially inefficient. Any moneybag whisperer would tell you that!

But lifting the Red Sea blockade would be in the interests of these same corporations, wouldn’t it? The US government is not particularly interested in the Suez Canal: what oil it needs can come directly from the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, which is controlled by Iran, so peace with Iran is key, but that seems to be holding for now in spite of Israeli provocations. That oil doesn’t have to pass through the Suez on its way to the US. Europe is very much interested in the Suez because sending cargo around the Horn of Africa adds time and expense. But the answer to this problem is Victoria Nuland’s sacramental “Fuck the EU!”

But corporate interests are different from national interests: the EU is going into recession because of high cargo prices and inefficient logistics and this hurts corporate bottom lines. The US could intervene militarily to fix the logistics if the corporations paid it. But they can’t do that because it would be financially inefficient. And they can’t afford to be financially inefficient because that would hurt dividends, stock prices and executive bonuses. Like corporate automatons (which is what they are) they will maximize stockholder value (their sacred responsibility) all the way to bankruptcy, and then they will optimize reorganizations or liquidations for the benefit of the creditors.

If this is the case with little Yemen, then what about the idea of the US and its adjunct NATO going to war against Russia, which is the world’s fourth largest economy and sits on mother lodes of oil, natural gas, enriched uranium, titanium, nickel, gold, grain and much else, has rockets that nobody (except Russia itself) knows how to intercept including exotics like nuclear-powered cruise missiles with infinite range and tsunami-causing nuclear torpedoes?

[…]

Via https://boosty.to/cluborlov/posts/9f7d7bfe-2f20-4c0e-993f-9815abfc6c3c

Labour Party decides to murder pensioners to boost Net Zero

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Keir Starmer squirmed on the winter fuel allowance cut today as he was grilled by Rishi Sunak at PMQs

By Dr. Vernon Coleman

So, predictably, Keir “Free Suits” Starmer, the murderer in chief, has won his sordid little vote in the House of Murderers.

Every Labour MP who voted to support Starmer’s policy to stop giving pensioners a few valuable quid towards their heating bills is a coward as well as a murderer – too frightened of losing their jobs to do the right thing. And the ones who merely abstained from voting are little better, because they didn’t have the guts to vote against Starmer’s plan to kill old people.

Three cheers for Jon Trickett MP – the only Labour MP who had the balls to vote for old people and against Starmer and Company.

It’s time to get rid of all political parties. All MPs should be independent and driven by compassion, decency, fairness and honour.

I repeat: every craven MP who voted for Starmer’s “Let’s Kill Some More Pensioners” policy is a coward, a milksop, a namby-pamby, a yellow-belly, a sissy, a big girl’s blouse, a poltroon, a dingo and a candy ass funk. They knew that cancelling the winter fuel payment would result in many deaths. Starmer himself stated that it would kill thousands. That’s premeditated murder. If you do something knowing that it will kill people then you are a murderer. If, online, you recommend setting fire to a hotel then you rightly go to prison. But Starmer didn’t just talk about killing old people. He’s doing it.

Incidentally, pensioners over 73 years old receive £8,000 a year – NOT the £12,000 a year that Starmer talks about. (I know because that’s what I get – after a lifetime of paying tax and national insurance.) Try eating and keeping warm on £8,000 a year when the local council and the BBC have taken a big chunk of what you get. (For the record I don’t watch television and don’t pay the TV licence fee.) Don’t expect to eat as well.

Politicians deliberately killed pensioners (and others) during the absurd covid fraud. And now they’re at it again. I believe that killing pensioners is part of the plan to take us through Net Zero into the Great Reset. And, of course, to pay for huge pay rises for well-paid trade union members such as junior doctors and train drivers.

In a few months, we will be able to call all MPs who voted for this cruel decision murderers as well as cowards. And those who abstained from voting will be just as guilty.

Keir “Free Suits” Starmer and Labour party leaders are just murderers, of course. (I call Starmer “Free Suits” by the way because in the last Parliament he grabbed £76,000 worth of freebies including suits.)

The Labour Party would rather send billions of pounds worth of bombs and bullets to kill people in the Ukraine war than use a tiny part of that money to save British lives.

Here’s a new political message for the next election: “The Labour Party is the party that hates old people enough to kill them.”

[…]

Via https://www.vernoncoleman.com/

Unions Count Cost of Green Industrialization

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By Paul Homewood

Net Zero Watch has welcomed robust comments by GMB Union leader, Gary Smith, who has warned that Net Zero policies are “hollowing out working class communities”.

The remarks came as Tata Steel announced 2,500 job losses through the closure of two of the last remaining blast furnaces, meaning the UK will be the first major industrialised economy without the ability to produce virgin steel – potentially critical for defence and other high-grade industrial uses. Instead, new electric arc furnaces are supposed produce recycled steel, albeit supporting far fewer jobs and producing a more limited range of steel grades.

Gary Smith told the BBC:

This was a mess created under the Tories…but let’s be under no illusions… Thousands of jobs are going to go, a community is going to be hollowed out. We’re going to see huge reductions in our carbon emissions, but at what price?”

The Unite Union also voiced their concerns about the impact of Ed Miliband’s Net Zero policies, in particular in the North Sea, where many high paying working class jobs depend on the Oil and Gas sector. Their leader Sharon Graham said:

Right now there is talk of a ‘just transition’ but in reality 30,000 workers in the North sea are on a jobs cliff edge. Make no mistake – Unite will not stand by and watch those workers becoming the miners of our generation.”

These remarks are the most high-profile critical statements that major unions have ever made concerning the impact of Net Zero. Net Zero Watch director Andrew Montford said:

The threat Net Zero represents to workforces has been clear for many years. A more robust tone from union leaderships is to be welcomed. We can only pray that it’s not too late.”

And Mr Montford warned that ever-rising electricity prices are likely to make the new steel plants uncompetitive:

UK industrial electricity prices have been rising for 20 years, ever since we started installing windfarms, and that trend will continue. The planned arc furnaces may already be dead in the water.

[…]

Via https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2024/09/12/unions-count-the-cost-of-green-deindustrialisation/