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CDC: Influenza Vaccines Only 42% Effective This Year

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By Marco Cáceres

The influenza vaccines currently being administered in the United States are estimated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be 42 percent effective in adults. This is an interim estimate for the 2023-2024 “flu season” published in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on Feb. 29, 2024.1 2 3

By “effective,” the CDC is referring to reducing the risk of influenza-related hospitalizations or “medically attended influenza virus infection, not actually preventing influenza infections—notably influenza A (H1N1) and B (Victoria lineage).1 In its report, the agency stated:

These findings indicate that the 2023–24 seasonal influenza vaccine is effective at reducing the risk of influenza-associated outpatient visits and hospitalization.1

Less Than 25 Percent of Suspected ILI Cases are Influenza

Most influenza-like-illness (ILI) which occurs during the “flu season” is not actually caused by  type A or type B influenza. Studies show that less than 25 percent of suspected ILI cases turn out to be influenza after lab testing. There are many other respiratory infections that look like influenza but are caused by other types of viruses and bacteria.2.4

According to Sascha Ellington, PhD, leader of the CDC’s influenza prevention and control team, the 42 percent influenza vaccine effectiveness rate falls within the “range” that the CDC “typically” sees when the vaccine is a “good match with the [influenza] viruses that are circulating.” This season’s rate thus far lags behind the estimated 54 percent effectiveness rate for the flu shot in 2022-2023, but it is better than the 36 percent rate for 2021-2022.1 2 3 5 6

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Rate Under 50 Percent for Most Years

The 42 percent influenza vaccine effectiveness rate this year is roughly comparable to most annual rates during the past two decades. Since the 2004-2005 flu season, the CDC has estimated the flu shot to be more than 50 percent effective only five times—52 percent in 2006-2007, 56 percent in 2009-2010, 60 percent in 2010-2011, 52 percent in 2013-2014 and 54 percent in 2022-2023. In other words, the influenza vaccine the CDC recommends children and adults get every year has been more than 50 percent ineffective in preventing type A or type B influenza infections nearly three out of every four years.6 7

Influenza activity in the U.S. tends to peak in February and can last as late as May, although the CDC has noted that since the start of the COVID pandemic, the “timing and duration of influenza infection activity has been less predictable.” The CDC usually provides an estimate in June for the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine for the second half of the “flu season,” as well as an effectiveness estimate for the entire season.3 8

[…]

Via https://thevaccinereaction.org/2024/03/influenza-vaccines-only-42-percent-effective-in-adults-this-year/

Net zero costs to hit poorest households hardest

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Not a Lot of People Know That

The costs of hitting net zero could hit the poorest households hardest, [British] regulator OFGEM has warned, as it launched a consultation into affordability across the energy market. 

OFGEM raised concerns on Monday about how energy bills are being used to shoulder the cost of going green, particularly as the Government ramps up the roll-out of renewables such as wind and solar.

In a statement on Monday, OFGEM said the short-term costs of net zero “could disproportionately hit lower-income consumers” who are unable to invest in new technologies or change their behaviour.

Fears over the cost of net zero falling disproportionately on lower-income households come amid warnings that customer debts have increased by 50% OFGEM said that it remained “very concerned that struggling households have a limited ability to cope with future price shocks”.

It said: “The cost of recovering bad debts, and the high number of consumers who are locked into debt and repayment plans, could have serious consequences for the retail energy sector”.

Financial challenges had led to customers choosing to ration their energy usage, OFGEM said, which has created “harms associated with living in a cold, damp home” and fuelling mental illness.

From https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/03/11/net-zero-costs-hit-poorest-households-hardest-warns-ofgem/

They might have also added the crippling costs of heat pumps and EVs.

Anybody with half a braincell could have forecast all of this years ago. A much bigger proportion of poorer households’ incomes goes on basics, such as energy, than richer ones, who also benefit from generous subsidies for solar panels and Teslas.

Quite why OFGEM have left it so long to realise this is a mystery.

[…]

Via https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2024/03/12/net-zero-costs-to-hit-poorest-households-hardest-warns-ofgem/

Nord Stream Sues Insurance Companies in London Court

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The operator of Nord Stream gas pipelines has sued its insurers in a London court for 400 million euros ($436 million) for their refusal to cover damages following the explosions, the Financial Times reported, citing court documents.
The operator reportedly sued Lloyd’s of London and Arch Insurance companies in February.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, were hit by explosions in September 2022. Nord Stream’s operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented, and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take.

Russia considers the explosions of the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. There are no official results of the investigation yet, but Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in February 2023, alleging that the explosions had been organized by the United States with the support of Norway. Washington has denied any involvement in the incident. See https://sputnikglobe.com/nord-stream-leaks/
To date, none of the Western countries involved in the subsequent investigation – Sweden, Denmark, and Germany – have presented explanations of what happened or named a culprit. Moreover, Sweden announced on February 7 that it would drop its investigation into explosions.
[…]

How Five Months of War Has Paralyzed Israel’s Economy

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By Press TV Website Staff

Last month, in what economic pundits saw as a death knell for the already-beleaguered Israeli economy,  a US credit rating agency downgraded the regime’s rating and outlook.

The downgrade from “stable” to “negative”, according to Moody’s, is the direct consequence of the Israeli regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and political instability inside the occupied territories marked by growing discontent and simmering protests.

A few weeks ago, the Israeli regime’s Central Bureau of Statistics released another damning report, according to which Tel Aviv’s economy shrank by nearly one-fifth in the last quarter of 2023.

Amid depleting consumer spending, trade and investment since October 7, Israel’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded a 19.4 percent drop in its annual rate in the last three months of 2023.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime launched a devastating war on the coastal Palestinian territory on October 7, stung by the unprecedented Al-Aqsa Storm Operation led by Hamas.

In the last 156 days, more than 31,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children and nearly 9,000 women have been killed in Gaza. It has also spawned the worst humanitarian crisis in the territory.

According to observers, the indiscriminate bombings on Gaza have badly backfired on the regime amid both internal and external turmoil for the Netanyahu regime.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists have in recent months been forced to abandon their jobs while many more have fled in panic, due to which major industries have come to a grinding halt.

The labor shortage is acute as over 350,000 reservists have been pressed into military service, as per the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which says the law has caused a “pronounced slowdown” of the Israeli economy, which had grown about 3 percent before October 7.

Foreign investments have also virtually ended as investors are not willing to put their money on tinderbox – both due to the war in Gaza as well as the internal turmoil for the Netanyahu regime.

According to the data from the Israeli labor ministry in December, about 950,000 jobs were lost in the first three months of the war, which has increased manifolds now as the situation remains precarious and the war rages on – now into its sixth month.

Multi-national brands linked to the Israeli regime have also faced blanket boycotts in recent months, suffering enormous losses. Many companies have tried to distance themselves from the regime.

Domestic economy in tatters

Every sector of the Israeli economy – from high-tech to agriculture to tourism to various industries – has been irreparably dented by the raging war on Gaza, a problem exacerbated by the shortage of workforce and precarious situation.

Many businesses have suspended their operations while others have been forced to shut down their operations. Some workers have been forced to join military duty while many others have fled.

A Bloomberg survey last month said the Israeli economy suffered one of its worst-ever slumps after it launched the genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza, with businesses coming to a screeching halt.

The regime’s GDP plummeted by 19.4 percent in the last quarter of 2023, which the report said was worse than every estimate in its survey of analysts.

“The release highlights the degree to which the Israeli economy has been affected by the conflict, particularly on the private activity side,” Goldman Sachs economists Tadas Gedminas and Kevin Daly were quoted as saying in the report.

Israeli newspaper Maariv, in a report earlier this week, also said the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza has contributed to massive losses for the regime in both political and economic spheres.

It followed another report published by the Israeli website Walla, which cited the Director of the Israeli Tax Authority Shai Aharonovitz as saying that the damage caused by the Gaza war is “six times greater” than the Second Lebanon War (2006), and about half a million compensation claims have been filed by those who have suffered due to it.

According to analysts, the Israeli war on Gaza, which has failed in all its stated objectives, has resulted in a steep drop in the regime’s tax revenues, skyrocketing debt and economic recession.

The regime’s GDP has also taken a serious blow, as attested by Moody’s report in February, which cut the regime’s rating to ‘A2’ and described its credit outlook as ‘negative’.

It was the first time ever that the regime’s economic outlook was downgraded, pointing to the staggering costs of the war that is increasingly turning out to be an exercise in futility.

The war, according to analysts, has discouraged potential investors and disrupted the labor market, especially with hundreds of thousands of workers summoned for mandatory military duty.

In a report in November, the Bank of Israel said the absence of thousands of workers from their jobs was costing the Israeli economy an estimated $600 million a week, or about 6 percent of the weekly GDP.

That number, according to economic analysts, has surged dramatically in the past three months, to the tune of a few billion dollars every week.

The regime’s tourism industry has also been affected. Monthly figures announced by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that in January only 500 single-day visits to the occupied territories were registered, compared to 14,000 in January 2023, marking a drastic decrease of 96 percent.

The travel industry used to make up nearly 3 percent of the regime’s GDP in 2019, before the pandemic. The figure fell to 1.1 percent in 2021 and has been virtually paralyzed since October 7.

The Israeli newspaper Calcalist reported in January that about 900,000 tourists were expected to visit the occupied territories in the three months after the start of the war. The number dropped to 190,000 because many of them opted out. That number has also sharply come down now.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/03/11/721674/down-out-how-5-months-israeli-war-paralyzed-its-economy

Doctors’ Offices to Be Replaced With Smart Home Digital Medical Prisons

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https://healthimpactnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/smart-home-medical-prisons-2.jpg

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

It has been well-reported in the corporate media that hundreds of thousands of medical professionals have quit or retired since COVID, and those that remain are over-worked and unhappy, with many planning on retiring within the next few years.

Millions of people in the U.S. have died or been disabled since the COVID scam started in 2020, further burdening the medical system as patients increase, while medical professionals and services have decreased.

The corporate media blames this on the fake COVID “virus”, but many in the alternative media know better, and like myself, have documented how most of these deaths and injuries are actually due to the COVID shots and other COVID protocols that were implemented starting in 2020, showing how it was the medical system itself that caused most of these casualties.

The entire medical system is in the process of collapsing, as it is unsustainable in its current form.

The future of the medical system that the Globalists on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley are now investing in, is home medical care, and “telehealth.” They are rapidly investing in technology to convert homes into “Smart Homes” where patients can be treated right in their own homes using the Internet and “smart” devices.

They are, of course, selling this to the public as something positive, as after all, who wouldn’t want to receive medical care in the comfort of one’s home?

However, as has always been the case, when the Globalists promise their consumers slaves things like “comfort”, “safety,” “convenience”, etc. – these products and services ALWAYS come at a cost, mainly the cost of giving up your privacy and allowing the system to have total control over you.

And if that system of “comfort, safety, and convenience” fails, they will take no responsibility for the consequences.

When a person’s home becomes a “Medical Smart Home” replacing hospitals and doctors’ offices where everything that runs that home is dependent upon the technology, what is going to happen when the Internet goes down, or the power grid becomes unstable and you don’t have reliable electricity any more?

Goal: Your Home is Your Prison

An article published today by Heather Landi at Fierce Healthcare reported where the “Hospital-at-Home” industry is today, and what they feel is necessary to increase this business (government funding).

Momentum behind hospital-at-home continues to grow, but proponents say Congress needs to act to fuel more investment

Hospital-at-home programs got a big boost in 2020 when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Acute Hospital Care at Home Waiver during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CMS allowed certain Medicare-certified hospitals to treat patients with inpatient-level care at home using Section 1135 waivers of the Social Security Act. CMS waived specific hospital Conditions of Participation that require 24-hour onsite nursing for patients.

As of March 1, 315 hospitals across 131 systems in 37 states have been approved to participate in the Acute Hospital Care at Home program. Before the waiver, 20 of these programs existed across the U.S.

However, that CMS waiver is set to expire at the end of this year and legislative action is needed to extend the waiver or make the program permanent.

Healthcare heavyweights, the American Medical Association and the American Telemedicine Association joined major health systems like Geisinger and Mass General Brigham along with tech-enabled companies to pen a letter to Congressional leaders calling for at least a five-year extension to the CMS waiver.

Home-based services for lower-acuity patients help hospitals address critical capacity issues by freeing up hospital beds for the sickest patients without increasing health system costs, proponents of the programs say.

[…]

McKinsey & Company estimates that up to $265 billion worth of care services, representing up to 25% of the total cost of care, for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries could shift from traditional facilities to the home by 2025 without a reduction in quality or access.

(Full article.)

[…]

The investment into technology that the Technocrats foolishly believe will replace medical professionals is advancing about as fast as the Government-funded push into electronic vehicles (EVs) that has been rapidly advancing the past few years, and if this goes far enough, the results could be far more devastating than the collapsing EV market that is currently happening.

We now live in a generation that believes our lives are dependent upon technology, being fooled into believing that science fiction technology fantasy lands can turn into reality if they just invest enough money to make all this a reality (non-virtual)

Look at this article published by the technology publication The Information late last year, where Silicon Valley investors believe they can replace doctors and clinics through an “AI Doctor-in-a-Box CarePod” that they are placing in malls and office buildings.

Healthcare Without Health Workers: A Unicorn Pivots to an AI Doctor-in-a-Box

If Adrian Aoun has his way, the next time you visit the doctor’s office, you won’t see a single medical professional. In fact, he said, “I don’t even believe a doctor’s office should exist.”

Instead, the outspoken founder and CEO of primary care startup Forward wants you to entrust your health to a landmark new product, the CarePod—a whirring, purring autonomous module that looks like an airport lactation room crossed with a space capsule. Aoun hopes the compartments will soon be found inside malls and office buildings around the U.S. “What we really need is healthcare to be a product, not a service,” he said. “I just want to take every single thing that doctors and nurses are doing and migrate it over to hardware and software.”

Today’s unveiling of the CarePod comes alongside a $100 million Series E round that will help Forward build and deploy the devices. The new funding includes equity financing of more than $50 million as well as debt financing; Aoun declined to disclose the valuation. Preexisting backers Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins chair John Doerr, Tencent and Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, and new investors Samsung Next and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority participated in the round.

The Forward CarePod is a single-occupancy compartment lit from within by violet LED lights and a chest-high touchscreen. An ambient electric hum reverberates around the vestibule while a calming yet eerily robotic voice—like Siri’s phlebotomist sister—instructs you on where to stand, how much to disrobe and when to sit back in a leather chair and strap on a blood-pressure monitor.

Patients can choose from a variety of apps that guide them through basic health exams ranging from biometric body scans and mental health surveys to blood-pressure monitoring and Covid-19 tests. Eventually CarePod users will be able to draw their own blood, which will then be tested in a miniaturized lab concealed inside the shell of the pod. That service isn’t ready yet, but Aoun demonstrated the process for The Information, suctioning a small amount of blood from his upper arm using a painless capillary-vacuum device that he likened to a mechanical leech. After the demo, blood began oozing out of Aoun’s arm as he struggled to bandage the injection point.

The autonomous medical station represents a major pivot for Forward, which runs 19 high-end health tech clinics located in urban areas across the U.S. The company, which charges $149 per month for subscription concierge care, is embarking on its post-pandemic era, which deemphasizes one-on-one time with doctors. It plans to roll out CarePods in major cities, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, through the end of the year and into the first quarter of 2024. Access to CarePods will cost $99 per month, with no discounts or bundles for existing Forward subscribers.

(Full article – Subscription needed.)

[…]

Solution: Just Say NO to (Pharmaceutical) Drugs!

The solution to not allowing yourself to become a prisoner of the Medical Mafia is actually very simple (although difficult to implement): Just stop using their products!

I am a testimony of how a person can live successfully in this world without using pharmaceutical products, as I have not purchased prescription drugs or visited a hospital for many years now. Pharmaceutical products and services are NOT essential to life. The human population has survived for thousands of years without modern pharmaceutical drugs and the allopathic medical system which started in the 1800s.

[…]

Via https://healthimpactnews.com/2024/doctors-offices-to-be-replaced-with-smart-home-digital-medical-prisons/

 

SSRI antidepressant drugs are a SCAM: The “chemical imbalance” myth EXPOSED

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SSRI antidepressant drugs are a SCAM: The “chemical imbalance” myth EXPOSED

Dr Eddy Betterman

You will never hear about it on television “news” because Big Pharma controls all the networks – just look at the commercials to see for yourself – but the fact is that antidepressant drugs like SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) do not work and are based on scam science.

Late last year, research published by Frontiers in Psychiatry revealed that the only thing many people need to beat depression is psychotherapy alone. This, researchers found, is more effective than taking antidepressants, or than taking antidepressants while undergoing psychotherapy.

Not only are antidepressants useless, they are also dangerous, the research further revealed, significantly increasing one’s risk of committing suicide or making a suicide attempt.

“Among the antidepressants, SSRI use was associated with an increased risk of suicide and suicide attempt,” the research states. “In addition, the risk of suicide and suicide attempt between SSRIs and other antidepressants was similar.”

“Clinicians should evaluate carefully their patients and be cautious with patients at risk to have treatment emergence or worsening of suicidal ideation (TESI / TWOSI) when prescribing antidepressants to children and young patients.”

(Related: A comprehensive review found that depression is not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain as is commonly claimed.)

Especially dangerous for children

These findings are significant, not just because they support earlier findings of the same conclusion, but also because Big Pharma continues to push SSRIs and other antidepressants on Americans, including American children.

Just last month, drug giant Pfizer aired a commercial during the Super(stupid) Bowl offering a tribute to “Science,” pretending as though its drug offerings have changed the world for the better.

The only thing Pfizer has changed is the way people look at health, as well as the overall health of the country for the worse. The truth is that nobody needs antidepressant drugs – what most people need is love, care and proper nutrition to overcome feelings of sadness and malaise.

One wonders why more doctors are failing to read the latest science debunking the SSRI / antidepressant scam, as well as the “chemical imbalance in the brain” myth that has long underpinned Big Pharma’s efforts to profit from depression by selling dangerous snake oil to the masses.

Perhaps it is because doctors themselves are profiting from SSRI and antidepressant prescriptions, many of them well aware of the fact that the drugs are dangerous and useless.

“SSRIs, from what I’ve read, are as additive or more so than nicotine,” commented someone with diagnosed anxiety who learned the hard way about addiction. “Now we have 50+million people totally addicted to a substance that nudges them towards anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation.”

“It is all corrupt. Unless it is a surgery or an anti-biotic (which are totally over prescribed), Western medicine is a sham. Even surgeons see surgery as the solution to all problems.”

“The incentives are all wrong. The problems are generational and trillions of dollars deep. It will take an absolute revolution – almost French Revolution-style awakening of the American public for something to change.”

Another wrote that taking vitamin D – or better yet, getting more skin exposure to natural sunlight – is enough to alleviate most of his depression symptoms, along with regular exercise.

“St. John’s Wort takes care of the rare anxiety,” this person added. “There was lots of trial and error there, but I’ve found what works for me. I’ve tried anti-depressants in the past. They make me alternate between suicidal depression and homicidal rage. No thanks.”

Another, a 54-year veteran psychiatrist, stated that he has been helping people overcome their depression for decades, never once using a drug to treat any mental or emotional disorder.

[…]

Via https://dreddymd.com/2024/03/11/ssri-antidepressant-drugs-scam-chemical-imbalance-myth/

Pilots Keep Dying

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Dr William Makis

AIR CANADA – Ottawa, Ontario – Mar. 3, 2024 – 55 year old Pilot Anand Acharya died after an almost 2 year battle with brain cancer. He was a PhD and an Air Canada Pilot on Boeing 777.

DELTA – NYC – Feb. 16, 2024 – 58 year old Capt Geoffrey John Brock died unexpectedly on Feb. 16, 2024 during a layover in Honolulu, HI.

DELTA – NYC – Feb. 15, 2024 – 41 year old Michael David O’Leary died suddenly after a 1.5 month battle with cancer. In 2022, Mike began working for Delta Airlines at JFK Airport in New York City, flying domestic and international routes throughout the United States and the world.

Pilot Deaths in 2024

Feb. 12, 2024 – United Airlines Pilot – 39 year old US Air Force Major Matthew Charles Kettler of Mason, Ohio, and current United Airlines pilot, died suddenly on Feb. 12, 2024.

Pilot Deaths On Duty in 2023

Sep. 23, 2023 – Alaska Airlines Pilot Death – 37 year old Captain Eric McRae died suddenly in his hotel room during layover, was to fly that morning

Aug. 17, 2023 – IndiGo Flight (NAG-PNQ) Nagpur to Pune, India, 40 year old Pilot Manoj Subramanium died after collapsing at the boarding gate, about to board.

Aug. 16, 2023 – Qatar Airways Flight QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Qatar, 51 year old pilot collapsed as a passenger inflight and died, plane diverted to Dubai.

Aug. 14, 2023 – LATAM Flight LA505 (MIA-SCL) Miami to Santiago, Chile – 2 hours into 8hr flight, 56 year old Captain Ivan Andaur collapsed and died in the lavatory – plane diverted to Panama City!

July 16, 2023 – Small plane – 2006 Piper Meridian, flying from Westchester NY, crashed at Martha’s Vineyard Airport after pilot had medical emergency upon final approach and passenger took control of the plane and attempted a landing. Pilot, 79 year old Randolph Bonnist, died later in hospital.

June 4, 2023 – Small plane – Cessna Citation N611VG flying Tennessee to Long Island, fighter jets spotted pilot slumped over in cockpit unconscious, plane crashed and all onboard died

May 3, 2023 – Air Transat and Air Canada Pilot Eddy Vorperian, age 48, died suddenly during layover in Croatia

March 11, 2023 – British Airways (CAI-LHR) pilot died of heart attack in crew hotel in Cairo before a Cairo to London flight (name & age not released)

Military Pilot Incapacitations and Deaths

July 19, 2023 – 37 year old US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Andrew James Lingenfelter, of Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, died on July 19, 2023 after battle with Pancreatic Turbo Cancer

May 9, 2023 – United Airlines and US Air Force Pilot Lt. Col. Michael Fugett, age 46, died unexpectedly at his home

Pilot Deaths (Not On Duty)

Dec. 24, 2023 – Singapore Airlines – Captain Lee Meng Chye Martin died suddenly

Dec. 5, 2023 – Volaris (El Salvador) Pilot – 30s year old Jose Espinal – El Salvador Pilot for Volaris (El Salvador), Air Jazeera Airways (Kuwait) and former VECA & TACA Airlines, died suddenly on Dec.5, 2023.

Nov. 16, 2023 – Air India Pilot – 37 year old Air India Pilot Captain Himanil Kumar had cardiac arrest at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport during training

Oct. 18, 2023 – Austrian Airlines Pilot – 43 year old Christian Zimmerebner, AUA Austrian Airlines Pilot and member of Dorfgastein mountain rescue, died suddenly on Oct.18, 2023 due to “serious illness”

May 2023 – 4 Singapore Airlines pilots died suddenly in May 2023

May 26, 2023 – Singapore Airlines Pilot – Capt Sebestian Tan Aik Chuang: died May 26, 2023 (cancer)

May 25, 2023 – Singapore Airlines Pilot – Capt Tan Joo Huat Colin: died May 25, 2023 (sudden)

May 24, 2023 – Singapore Airlines Pilot – Capt Fernando Cid: died May 24, 2023 (cancer)

May 11, 2023 – Singapore Airlines Pilot – Capt Wee Loong: died May 11, 2023 (sudden death)

April 13, 2023 – Phil Thomas, graduate of Flight Training Pilot academy in Cadiz, Spain (FTEJerez) died suddenly.

March 17, 2023 – Westjet Pilot – 39 year old Benjamin Paul Vige died suddenly in Calgary

Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/covid-mrna-vaccines-three-young-pilots-have-died-suddenly-past-3-weeks/5851833

Trump Has Plan to End Ukrainian Conflict

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Trump has plan to end Ukraine conflict – Orban
FILE PHOTO: Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally. ©  Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
RT

The “detailed” scheme involves cutting Kiev off from US aid, the Hungarian PM said

Donald Trump intends to end the Ukraine conflict, if reelected as US president, and has a “detailed plan” to do so, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told local media, after meeting the presumed Republican nominee.

The former US leader repeatedly claimed on his campaign trail that, if he had remained in the White House for a second term, there would be no hostilities between Moscow and Kiev. If voted back in, he promises to end the conflict “in 24 hours” by applying pressure on stakeholders.

Orban, who spoke with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, did not explain how exactly the American would do that, but said that cutting the flow of US aid was a crucial part of the plan.

”If the US will not provide the money, Europeans on their own will not be able to finance this war, and then the war will end,” Orban said in an interview with M1 broadcaster on Sunday.

During his presidency, Trump had shown himself to be “a man of peace,” the Hungarian leader claimed. That stance puts him in alignment with Hungary, unlike the administration of US President Joe Biden and many members of the EU, he added.

”The American Democratic government and the leadership of the EU, as well as the leadership of the largest EU member states are pro-war governments. Donald Trump is pro-peace, Hungary is pro-peace. At the bottom of everything lies this difference,” Orban declared.

The Kremlin declined to weigh in on the remarks, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying on Monday that Orban’s account of Trump’s intentions was too vague for any specific commentary.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky previously expressed skepticism about Trump’s ability to deliver on the promise. He said if the plan was feasible, the American politician should share it with the public, or at least with Kiev. The Ukrainian government claims that a “just peace” requires a military victory over Russia and that it would agree to nothing short of that.

Moscow has said that its strategic goals in the military operation against Kiev will be achieved one way or another. The US and its allies, who continue to arm Ukraine, cannot change that outcome and are only prolonging the suffering of the country’s people, Russian officials have stated.
[…]

Foreign Fighters From US, France and India Are Fighting Israel’s War in Gaza

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Gaza foreign fighters Feature photo

Mintpress News
Israelis aren’t the only demographic among the IDF’s forces in Gaza. Foreign fighters from as far away as the United States, France, Spain, the Netherlands and even India actively participate in the hostilities. While the exact number of internationals fighting in Gaza isn’t known, what is known is that citizens from numerous countries appear to be at least complicit in what has been called a genocide.

Under Israel’s Law of Return, any individual with at least one Jewish grandparent or spouse can obtain Israeli citizenship. In this regard, many born abroad can serve in Israel’s military while still keeping their birthplace’s nationality. They often emigrate and then serve in the army.

Currently, 45% of the Israeli army’s “lone soldiers,” those who serve but don’t have family in Israel, are new immigrants. The current “lone soldier” program has troops from over 60 countries, with approximately 35% from the U.S. It’s important to note, though, that individuals part of Israel’s “lone soldier” program are not considered mercenaries, who are professionals hired by a country’s government to fight in its war and aren’t citizens of said country.

To widen the recruitment pool, the Israeli military now accepts great-grandchildren of Jews to join. While they aren’t eligible to become Israeli citizens under the Law of Return, they can serve in the Israeli army.

Another route is volunteering in Israel’s Mahal program, which permits Jewish youth from other countries to join the army without becoming citizens. There are currently 500 Mahal volunteers in Israel’s military.

“Most mercenaries fighting for Israel now are welcomed based on their religious affiliations and dual citizenships, making their accountability pretty complex,” Mustafa Fetouri, a Libyan journalist and analyst, told MintPress News. “Many countries whose citizens are fighting for Israel, including the USA, have laws criminalizing such actions, but it is not a straightforward issue when the dual citizenship is factored in.”

Fetouri expanded on this, writing in the Middle East Monitor that “America’s Neutrality Act, dating back to the founding days of the US, mak[es] it illegal for any American citizen to take part in any foreign war, or establish a militia for that purpose.” He noted the legislation, however, hasn’t been reinforced lately “as hundreds of Americans have participated in wars in Ukraine, in Libya in 2011 and, now, in Gaza.”

The Israeli military also openly recruits nationals of other countries. For instance, the Israeli consulate in Toronto has advertised appointments with its military representative for those wishing to join the military.

The consulate’s website said, “Young people who wish to enlist in the IDF or anyone who has not fulfilled their obligations according to the Israeli Defense Service Law are invited to meet with him.”

Organizations like Nefesh B’Nefesh, which encourages Jewish immigration to Israel from North America, have hosted events on joining the Israeli military. Sar-El (National Project for Volunteers for Israel) recruits Jewish and non-Jewish internationals to assist Israeli military efforts on army bases, such as packaging food and medical supplies.

The Nationalities Serving

In November, the Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, revealed that Spanish mercenary Pedro Diaz Flores is now fighting for Israel, having previously fought in Ukraine with the neo-Nazi Azov Brigade.

“So I came for economy, for money. They pay very well, they offer good equipment, and the work is calm. It is 3,900 euros [$4,187] per week, complementary missions aside,” Flores told El Mundo.

While pictured next to a border checkpoint with the Gaza Strip, he told the newspaper he’s working in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, saying, “We only provide security support to arms convoys or the troops of the Israeli armed forces that are in the Gaza Strip, we do not fight Hamas directly, nor are we involved in assault operations.”

“We are in charge of the security of the checkpoints and access control on the borders of Gaza and Jordan. There are many PMCs [private military companies] here, and they share the work. Traditionally, they have guarded border terminals between Eilat and Aqaba,” he added.

He told the newspaper he was recruited by Raven and Global CST. Information on Raven isn’t available online. MintPress News reached out to Global CST to verify Flores’ contract. Global CST said it doesn’t know Flores and that “Global CST holds no security or military activities of any type or form, not in Israel, not in Gaza, and not in any other territory worldwide.”

Global CST told MintPress News it’s a renewable energy company and denied reports it’s providing defense and security services to governments and other organizations. On LinkedIn, Global CST is described as offering “strategic consulting and project integration management.” The website listed on Global-CST’s LinkedIn is currently down. When asked for a website, Global CST directed MintPress to Global Group’s website, which promotes agricultural projects worldwide.

The LinkedIn profile of the firm’s founder, Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli general, details Global CST as an “Israeli-based security consultancy group…which has built a vast and unique track record in various continents around the globe, such as South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.” Global CST confirmed to MintPress News Ziv is its founder. The company, which also operates under the name Global N.T.M., was established in 2006 and remains active.

In 2018, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Global CST and Ziv for allegedly supplying weapons to South Sudan. The U.S. Treasury Department said Ziv used an agricultural company “as a cover for the sale of approximately $150 million worth of weapons to the government, including rifles, grenade launchers and shoulder-fired rockets.”

The U.S. also said Ziv “planned to organize attacks by mercenaries on South Sudanese oil fields and infrastructure in an effort to create a problem that only his company and affiliates could solve.” The U.S. lifted its sanctions on Ziv and his company in 2020 without an explanation.

Since El Mundo’s publication, reports have also emerged of other nationalities involved in a more direct capacity with Israel’s assault on Gaza. Footage has surfaced of Israeli soldiers speaking with American accents or with American flag patches on their uniforms.

According to the U.S. State Department, 21 American citizens who were members of the Israeli military have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Canadian media has reported its own nationals are volunteering with the Israeli army and are motivated to serve in Gaza. And British newspaper, The Guardian, reported British nationals have been killed in Gaza while fighting for Israel. Britons are also arriving in droves to volunteer with the military like doctors and university chaplains. Around 100 British citizens are currently part of Israel’s military.

In December, Al Jazeera reported seven Ukrainian mercenaries were reportedly killed near Gaza City while fighting alongside Israeli forces. This news came as images of Israeli soldiers speaking Ukrainian circulated on social media. The Ukrainian government denies its citizens are fighting in Gaza, however.

“We did not send any soldiers to the Gaza Strip or any other region of the world,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

“The footage that shows people speaking Ukrainian in the Gaza Strip may be Israelis of Ukrainian or Slavic origins who have no connection to the state,” the spokesperson added.

According to Australian journalist CJ Werleman, Israeli soldiers of Indian origin are also fighting in Gaza. The Indian Foreign Ministry did not respond to inquiries on whether its citizens are fighting in Gaza.

Close examination of Forward Observation Group’s Instagram account suggests the group has been cooperating with the Israeli army since October — first stationed around the Gaza border and then located within the enclave by the end of November. The last image on its account from Gaza is dated January 16. Another post dated January 11 depicts camera footage of Israeli soldiers fighting in Gaza. It is captioned, “Helmet cam footage from a LOTAR Special Forces team leader we embedded with shortly after the OCT 7th attack.” A recent Instagram Story from Forward Observations shows a soldier in a hospital bed draped with Forward Observation’s flag. An Israeli flag hangs on the wall next to him.

[…]

Via https://www.mintpressnews.com/foreign-fighters-from-us-france-india-fighting-israel-war-gaza/286985/

French Revolution: Napoleon Seizes Power

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Episode 39 Bonaparte Seizes Power

Living the French Revolution and Age of Napoleon

Dr Suzanne M Desan

Film Review

Although Napoleon could have been shot for abandoning his army in Egypt (see French Revolution: Napoleon Invades Egypt), his skill at self-promotion made him a national hero. In 1799, Directory member Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès shoulder-trapped him to launch a coup ending the Revolution and installing a more conservative/authoritarian government.

Although the Directory lasted the longest of any of France’s revolutionary governments, it was extremely ineffectual owing to intense factional fighting between conservative and left-leaning Directors. It had already overturned several elections. In the Coup of Fructidor (18 Fructidor or September 4, 1797), recently elected neo-Jacobins ousted its three most conservative Directors and arrested and deported 53 conservative deputies. In 1798, majority conservatives launched a similar purge against recently elected leftist deputies.

Facing imminent invasion by an Austrian regime fearful the French revolution would spread to the rest of Europe, by 1799 the Directory had lost popular support – mainly due to its enactment of universal conscription (to defend France against Austria and other European regimes threatening to crush the revolution) and strict laws limiting religious practice.

Fellow coup conspirators in the legislature’s upper chamber prepared for the imminent coup by moving both legislative chambers to the Paris suburb of St Cloud (they used a rumored neo-Jacobian coup* as an excuse). After Napoleon, who the Directory had appointed Commissioner of Paris, assembled 7,000 troops outside the chambers, three (of the five) Directory members resigned.

The first time Napoleon and his troops stormed first the upper and lower chamber, the deputies shouted them down and they withdrew. After lower chamber president, Napoleon’s brother Lucien Bonaparte, gave the troops a rousing speech about their essential role in preventing a return of the Reign of Terror, they stormed the lower chamber with drawn bayonets. When General Joachim Murat (who later married Napoleon’s sister Caroline) gave the order to physically expel the deputies, they fled of their own accord.

Napoleon supporters in the upper chamber proceeded to vote the Directory out of existence, replacing it with a new government consisting of three proconsuls (which included Napoleon and Sieyès).

*Which they feared could trigger a popular uprising in Paris.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/149323/149395