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High Linoleic Acid Intake During Pregnancy May Harm Fetal Growth and Raise Obesity Risk

Dr Joseph Mercola

Story at-a-glanceHigh linoleic acid (LA) intake during pregnancy may harm fetal growth and increase obesity risk in children. LA is found in seed oils and processed foods, with consumption increasing significantly in recent decadesExcessive LA interferes with the production of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, disrupting the balance needed for optimal fetal development and triggering increased inflammation during pregnancyHigh maternal LA intake is associated with altered birth weight, increased risk of childhood obesity and long-term health consequences, including metabolic diseases and brain development issuesAnimal studies show that high-LA diets during pregnancy negatively impact offspring’s brain composition, endocannabinoid system, kidney development and liver function, with some effects being more pronounced in malesTo optimize cellular energy and support a healthy pregnancy, it’s recommended to reduce LA intake below 5 grams daily by avoiding seed oils and processed foods, and limiting consumption of chicken and pork

If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, you might want to take a closer look at your diet, particularly your intake of linoleic acid (LA). Consuming too much of this omega-6 fatty acid during pregnancy could have negative effects on your baby’s growth and long-term health, according to research published in Nutrients.1

LA is found in seed oils, processed foods and even some seemingly healthy options like chicken, nuts and seeds. While it’s believed to be an essential fatty acid that your body needs, the modern Western diet typically provides far more than necessary. It is virtually impossible to not receive the necessary amount of 500 mg in any diet that includes food, making it questionable at best if it is indeed an essential fat.

Over the past few decades, LA consumption has skyrocketed from about 2% of daily energy intake, or about 2 to 4 grams a day, to 7%, or 19 grams daily.2 This dramatic increase is causing unintended consequences for pregnant women and their developing babies. Remember you likely only need 500 mg (one half of one gram) to meet your requirements.

The Delicate Balance of Fatty Acids in Fetal Development

Your body uses linoleic acid and its omega-3 counterpart, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), to produce longer-chain fatty acids crucial for fetal development. These include arachidonic acid (AA) from LA, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from ALA. These fatty acids play vital roles in brain and retinal development, cell membrane formation and overall growth.

However, LA and ALA compete for the same enzymes in this conversion process. When you consume too much LA, it interferes with the production of beneficial EPA and DHA from ALA. The optimal ratio of LA to ALA in your diet should be around 1:1 or 2:1. Unfortunately, the current excess of LA in many diets has pushed this ratio to as high as 20:1,3 disrupting the delicate balance needed for optimal fetal development.

Inflammation and Fetal Growth: The LA Connection

High levels of LA in your diet during pregnancy may trigger increased inflammation, negatively impacting fetal growth. When your body metabolizes LA, it produces AA and other proinflammatory compounds like prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxane. These substances increase levels of inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and C-reactive proteins.4

Chronic inflammation during pregnancy has been linked to various adverse outcomes, including premature labor, intrauterine growth restriction and low birth weight. Animal studies have shown that a high-LA diet increases the production of these inflammatory compounds in pregnant mothers. These findings suggest that excessive LA intake creates an inflammatory environment that’s harmful for your developing baby.5

LA intake during pregnancy may also have a significant influence on the baby’s birth weight and length — two important indicators of long-term health. Interestingly, the relationship between LA and birth weight isn’t straightforward.

Some studies have found an inverted U-shaped correlation, where both low (<4% of energy) and high (>8% of energy) LA intakes were associated with lower birth weights. Other research has shown that high maternal LA intake in early pregnancy is linked to decreased birth weight and higher rates of small-for-gestational-age babies.

Long-Term Consequences: Childhood Obesity and Metabolic Diseases

The effects of high maternal LA intake don’t stop at birth — they may extend well into the child’s future.6 Studies have shown that children born to mothers who consumed high levels of LA during pregnancy have an increased risk of obesity by age 7.7

This heightened risk of childhood obesity is concerning because it sets the stage for various chronic diseases later in life, including high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, chronic inflammation, hyperinsulinemia and endothelial dysfunction. Animal studies support these findings, showing that offspring of mothers fed high-LA diets during pregnancy had higher body weights at weaning and increased fat deposition.8

The mechanisms behind these long-term effects are still being investigated, but they likely involve changes in gene expression, alterations in fat metabolism and disruptions to the endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in regulating appetite and metabolism.

How Too Much Linoleic Acid During Pregnancy Harms Baby’s Brain

A separate animal study also uncovered concerning effects of consuming too much LA during pregnancy and early life.9 Australian researchers found that high maternal LA intake altered the fatty acid composition and plasmalogen levels in offspring brains, with more pronounced changes in males. Plasmalogens are a class of lipids vital for brain cell protection and function.

The researchers observed increased levels of inflammatory mediators like arachidonic acid in the brains of male offspring exposed to high-LA diets. Additionally, they found decreased ratios of DHA to n-6 docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) in both male and female offspring brains when fed high-LA diets after birth.

DHA is crucial for optimal brain development, while elevated n-6 DPA has been linked to learning and memory deficits. These findings suggest that excessive LA consumption during pregnancy and early life negatively impacts neurodevelopment, particularly in male offspring.

Intriguingly, the study revealed sex-specific effects of high-LA diets on offspring brain composition. Male offspring showed greater diversity in brain fatty acid concentrations compared to females when exposed to elevated LA levels. This suggests that the developing male brain may be more susceptible to the effects of high-LA intake.

High-LA Diet Led to Endocannabinoid System Disruption and Hormonal Changes

Consumption of high-LA diets during pregnancy and early life also impact children’s endocannabinoid system, which is crucial for early brain development. The study found that several endocannabinoids and related compounds, including anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and AA, were significantly elevated in offspring exposed to postnatal high-LA diets.10

Male offspring showed more pronounced changes in endocannabinoid levels compared to females, further emphasizing the sex-specific nature of LA’s effects. Additionally, the research revealed that high-LA diets significantly increased testosterone levels in male offspring. These alterations in endocannabinoid signaling and hormone levels could have far-reaching consequences for brain function, behavior and overall health.

The endocannabinoid system plays vital roles in neurotransmitter regulation, synaptic plasticity and various cognitive processes, making these findings particularly concerning for long-term brain health and development.11

Maternal High Linoleic Acid Diet Disrupts Kidney Development

Diet during pregnancy doesn’t just affect the baby’s brain — it also impacts kidney development. Recent research on rats has shown that a maternal diet high in LA alters the expression of genes crucial for kidney formation in embryonic offspring.12 Specifically, the study found decreased expression of Ret and Gdnf, genes responsible for branching morphogenesis — a critical process in early kidney development.

This reduction could lead to decreased nephron formation, which is essential for proper kidney function. The study also noted that these genetic alterations occurred despite no changes in kidney weight at the embryonic stage, highlighting the importance of looking beyond organ size when assessing developmental impacts.

The findings raise concerns about the long-term consequences of excessive LA consumption during pregnancy, as reduced nephron endowment in humans has been linked to an increased risk of various diseases in adulthood.13

Further, high linoleic acid intake during pregnancy could disrupt important cellular signaling pathways in the baby’s developing kidneys. The study revealed that offspring from mothers consuming a high-LA diet showed decreased expression of mTOR, Akt3 and Prkab2 — key components of the megalin signaling pathway.

[…]

These alterations in cellular signaling could have far-reaching consequences for kidney function and overall health. Importantly, these changes were observed at the embryonic stage, which means the maternal diet’s impact on fetal kidney development begins very early in pregnancy.15 The effects of excessive LA intake during pregnancy extend to other organ systems as well.

High-LA Diet During Pregnancy Alters Offspring Liver Function

A mother’s diet during pregnancy also has lasting impacts on her child’s liver function. Research published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences shows that consuming high levels of LA while pregnant may alter lipid metabolism in offspring, setting them up for liver issues later in life.16

In this study, researchers fed pregnant rats either a low-LA diet (1.44% of calories from LA) or a high-LA diet (6.21% of calories from LA) to mimic typical Western consumption levels. They then examined the effects on the adolescent offspring’s liver health and function.

The results revealed concerning changes in cholesterol storage, fatty acid handling and expression of key genes involved in lipid metabolism. In other words, a mother’s high intake of vegetable oils and other LA-rich foods during pregnancy could negatively impact her child’s liver development and function.17

Male and female offspring were affected differently by their mother’s high-LA intake. In male offspring, maternal high LA decreased liver cholesterol levels and increased expression of PPARγ, a gene involved in fatty acid storage. For female offspring, maternal high LA increased expression of genes involved in cholesterol synthesis.

The changes observed could increase risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or other metabolic issues later in life, especially when combined with a poor diet in adulthood.18 While this study was in rats, it raises important questions about how maternal diet may be impacting human liver development and long-term health outcomes.

An additional concerning finding was that the mother’s high-LA intake increased blood levels of uric acid in male offspring. There was also an interaction effect on uric acid levels in females. While the levels were still within normal physiological range, elevated uric acid is associated with a range of health issues including kidney disease, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.19

Uric acid activates the immune system and alters kidney cell function, promoting inflammation and tissue damage. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that consuming high levels of seed oils rich in linoleic acid during pregnancy may have unintended negative consequences for offspring health across multiple organ systems.

Optimizing Your Cellular Energy Is Key for a Healthy Pregnancy

Research continues to build showing that excessive LA intake during pregnancy puts your future children at risk. Scientists explained in Current Medicinal Chemistry that high intake of foods rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), like LA, are “transformed into inflammatory metabolites promoting the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and autoimmune or inflammatory conditions.”20 Further:21

“An elevated intake of n-6 PUFA, specifically LA, during pregnancy [negatively] influences children’s motor, cognitive, and verbal development during infancy and early childhood. Similarly, they could harm the placenta and the development of other fetal organs such as the fat tissue, liver, and cardiovascular system …”

A growing fetus requires lots of energy, so supporting cellular energy production is key to a healthy pregnancy and ensuring future generations are full of vitality. Optimizing your mitochondrial function is crucial for improving your cellular energy, but LA is a mitochondrial poison. To optimize your mitochondrial function, reduce consumption of LA as much as possible.

I recommend keeping your intake below 5 grams a day. To achieve this, it’s best to eliminate seed oils and even fruit-based oils like olive or avocado from your diet, as these are often mixed with less expensive seed oils. Instead, use ghee, butter or beef tallow for cooking. Stay away from ultraprocessed foods, which typically contain high amounts of seed oils.

[…]

Via https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/11/27/linoleic-acid-pregnancy.aspx

ATACMS Fired by Ukraine at Targets in Russia Likely Manufactured in 1990s

Sputnik – 26.11.2024

MOSCOW – The ATACMS missiles used by Ukraine against targets in Russia’s Kursk Region were most likely originally produced in the 1990s and had been modified at least twice to extend their lifespan.

This is according to a Sputnik correspondent’s analysis of the photos of the destroyed missile parts released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine fired five ATACMS missiles on the S-400 division in the Kursk Region — three missiles were intercepted and two reached the target, injuring a number of service personnel.

In addition, seven ATACMS missiles have been destroyed and one reached the target in Ukraine’s strike on the Vostochny airfield also in the Kursk Region, where two soldiers have been wounded by falling missile fragments.

The photos released by the Russian Defense Ministry showed that the ATACMS missiles were produced by “Lockheed Martin Vought Systems,” which is the name the US defense contractor used until 1999, according to annual budget reports of the US Army.

From the year 2000, the US defense contractor changed its name to “Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control,” the budget report of the US Army released in 2000 showed.

The name of the manufacturer on the ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine indicated that the weapons were most likely originally produced in the late 1990s, when the US Army began to procure such missiles in large quantities.

The ATACMS missiles have a service life of 10 years and would require about $1 million per unit to reset its service life, according to previous US Army budget reports.

[…]

Via https://sputnikglobe.com/20241126/atacms-fired-by-ukraine-at-targets-in-russia-likely-manufactured-in-1990s-1121011333.html

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya Picked For NIH Chief as Free Speech Takes Center Stage in Science

Cindy Harper

With a decision that has garnered the attention of both supporters and skeptics of America’s public health establishment, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. For a nation battered by years of pandemic policies, conflicting narratives, and public mistrust, there’s more to this nomination— it’s a declaration.

Dr. Bhattacharya, a Stanford professor and a leading voice in health policy, has been a consistent advocate for evidence-based decision-making and open scientific discourse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he gained national attention for his principled stance against lockdowns and sweeping mandates, which he argued caused more harm than good. Now, he’s poised to bring that same conviction to one of the most influential scientific institutions in the world.

Rather than being welcomed as a critical voice, Bhattacharya faced vilification from a system allergic to dissent.

Fighting for Free Speech in Science

Perhaps Bhattacharya’s most defining moment came when he fought back against censorship. The Stanford professor became a plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of colluding with Big Tech to silence dissenting voices on public health.

The suppression of ideas, Bhattacharya argued, isn’t just an affront to the First Amendment; it’s antithetical to the scientific method. By standing up, he wasn’t just defending his views but ensuring that future debates about public health policy could happen in the open, where they belong.

A New Era for the NIH

With his appointment as NIH director, Bhattacharya is stepping into a role that carries enormous responsibility. But for a man who has spent his career challenging conventional wisdom, this is an opportunity to turn the page on a period of public disillusionment with science.

In an X post following the announcement, Bhattacharya, who was once blacklisted from Twitter under the old regime, promised to reform America’s scientific institutions to make them “worthy of trust again” and to ensure that NIH-funded research would focus on improving health outcomes for all Americans.

President Trump underscored this vision, calling Bhattacharya a leader who will restore the NIH to its “Gold Standard” while addressing America’s greatest health challenges. Paired with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., another advocate for reform, Bhattacharya is set to tackle systemic issues such as chronic illness, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and the erosion of public trust in science.

[…]

Via https://reclaimthenet.org/dr-jay-bhattacharya-picked-for-nih-chief-as-free-speech-takes-center-stage-in-science

Harris Campaign Advisor David Plouffe Accidently Exposes How Legacy Media Lied to Americans With Junk Polls

David Plouffe on Pod Save America./VIdeo screenshot.

Margaret Flavin

There have been extensive postmortems on Kamala Harris’s failed campaign and the absolute drubbing she received from Donald Trump.

Democrat strategist James Carville said the moment he knew the campaign was doomed was when ‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin asked Harris, “If anything, would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?”

Kamala answered, “There is not a thing that comes to mind.”

But legacy media keep gaslighting voters with polls showing Harris neck and neck with Trump and even leading in some surprising places.

Recently, Harris campaign advisor David Plouffe sat down with fellow Harris campaign alums Jen O’Malley Dillon, Quentin Fulks, and Stephanie Cutter on Pod Save America to discuss what went wrong.

The junk polls pushed by the legacy media were an overt gesture to help Democrats and influence the mindset of the electorate.  Case in point:  Ann Selzer’s shocking poll suggesting that Kamala Harris was leading Donald Trump in Iowa by 3 percent.

Leftwing outlets used the Iowa poll constantly in an attempt to embolden Harris supporters and suppress Trump supporters.

Selzer’s poll was precisely as it appeared: junk. Ultimately, Selzer was 16 points off. President Trump won the state of Iowa by +13.

Despite all the polls legacy media used to gaslight Americans, Plouffe admitted during the podcast that the campaign’s internal polling never actually had Harris ahead of Trump.

“We didn’t get the breaks we needed on Election Day,” he said.

“I think it surprised people, because there was these public polls that came out in late September, early October, showing us with leads that we never saw.”

The Harris campaign knew what was likely coming on election day.  Legacy media knew.  If they were actually journalists rather than the unpaid marketing wing of the DNC, they would have reported the facts.  But their motivation to shill for leftists outweighs their desire to deliver the truth.

Watch:

Here’s where Kamala Harris advisor David Plouffe admits internal polling never showed Kamala Harris ahead of Trump in battleground states — even after spending $1 billion pic.twitter.com/AVnH2kfll7

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 27, 2024

You can watch the entire episode here:

David Plouffe initially deleted his account, likely so he didn’t have to answer public questions about the FAKE data he was peddling to media in the final week, which unsurprisingly, they didn’t even bother to confirm, but then the account reappears and now he is admitting on… pic.twitter.com/rsNC7a7qhE

— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) November 27, 2024

[…]

Via https://theblogginghounds.com/2024/11/27/harris-campaign-advisor-david-plouffe-accidently-exposes-how-legacy-media-lied-to-the-american-people-with-junk-polls/

Russia Threatens Air Strikes with New Missile on American Bases in the Middle East, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, and North Dakota

Image Source.

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

The Russian media is reporting today that airstrikes inside Russia are continuing with American-made ATACMS missiles launched from Ukraine, and they have vowed to retaliate.

Russia’s Defense Ministry Vows Retaliation for Ukrainian ATACMS Assault on Kursk Region

Upon examining the areas attacked in the Kursk Region, it was confirmed that Ukrainian militants fired American-made ATACMS missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that it is preparing retaliatory actions against Ukraine for attacking with ATACMS missiles in the Kursk Region.

Over the past three days, Ukrainian forces carried out two strikes with long-range Western weapons on targets in Russia’s Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry said.

On November 23, the Ukrainian military launched five ATACMS missiles near the village of Lotarevka at the position of the S-400 anti–aircraft missile division. Three missiles were destroyed, and two reached the target.

On November 25, Ukrainian troops struck the Vostochny airfield in Russia’s Kursk Region using ATACMS missiles. Seven were shot down, but one reached its target. As a result, two soldiers were slightly injured from falling rocket fragments.

Earlier on Monday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby, after a long denial, confirmed that Ukraine is allowed to use US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles to fire at targets in the western Russian region of Kursk. (Source.)

Russia has also produced a video today showing how long it takes for their new Oreshnik missile to reach American troops stationed in the Middle East, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, and North Dakota, making it clear that Europe is not the only place that should fear imminent attacks by their new missiles.

There is currently no known missile defense system that can intercept the Russian Oreshnik missile.

With the first devastating launch of an Oreshnik missile into Ukraine late last week, and the continuing bombing of Russia with American ATACMS missiles, this is not just rhetoric anymore.

https://videon.img.ria.ru/Out/Flv/20241126/2024_11_26__40effl5c.m32.mp4

[…]

Via https://vaccineimpact.com/2024/russia-threatens-air-strikes-with-new-missile-on-american-bases-in-the-middle-east-alaska-hawaii-montana-and-north-dakota/

Going beyond nuclear

Dmitry Orlov

On 21 November 2024 Russia performed a test of its new intermediate range missile system, which its designers called “Oreshnik”. This it had the right to do ever since Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, but didn’t use its right until now. Russia’s position was that it won’t violate the ABM treaty until the US does, which the US recently did by firing up its Aegis Ashore installation in Poland, which is an air defense system and as such entirely obsolete and useless, but which can also fire offensive Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Western media reported the Oreshnik strike as an attack on the city of Dnipro, which is actually Dnepropetrovsk. It was founded in 1776 on orders of Prince Potemkin and intended as the third, southern capital of the Russian Empire, after St. Petersburg and Moscow. Originally named Yekaterinoslav, in honor of Catherine the Great, it was renamed to Dnepropetrovsk by the Bolsheviks in 1926. Well, the Oreshnik strike was not on that city. That was fake news.

The Oreshnik strike was on a city-sized factory called Yuzhmash located near the city of Dnepropetrovsk. The factory is so large that it had its own transit system. It made ICBMS during the Soviet era. At its height, it produced 100 of them a year — one every three days. Under Ukrainian management it languished and although some US defense companies showed interest in it and even invested some funds in it, these probably got stolen just like everything else in the Ukraine these days.

The Oreshnik is a new system, developed over the past few years and first tested during its strike on Yuzhmash, which it smashed to rubble and pulverized. The Oreshnik is a non-nuclear solid fuel rocket with 6 hypersonic reentry vehicles. On reentry, the six projectiles maneuver violently and accelerate to Mach 10 making them impossible to intercept using any technology, existing or envisioned. It is highly accurate, packs a punch equivalent to its weight in TNT and concentrates it on a small area. Its range includes all of Europe including the UK and, if launched from Russian far east, Japan, South Korea and most of Alaska.

This was the first test of the system and the fact that it used a real target instead of a test target shows the level of confidence its makers had in it. It is also the first of several such systems in the pipeline, with different technical characteristics. The goal, obviously, is to be able to carry out strategic strikes using non-nuclear means and with global reach, and to do so with complete confidence that no air defense system will be able to affect them in any way.

The use of Oreshnik coincided with the use of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles against Russian territory. A key point is that although launched from Ukrainian territory, these systems have to be operated by NATO personnel, implying that the US and the UK are now at war with Russia. To make matters worse, the Biden and Starmer administrations have given permission to use these rockets against “Russian territory,” although what they mean by “Russian territory” varies from what the Russian constitution defines: according to these NATO powers, Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson and Crimea are not Russian territory, but Kursk and Belgorod are. However, this is a distinction without a difference.

The missile attacks that Biden and Starmer had authorized have been almost entirely inconsequential because Russian air defense systems can and do shoot them down quite readily. Thus, in terms of achieving any military aims, be they tactical or strategic, these rockets are strictly a waste of time and money. However, they do serve as a useful casus belli from the Russian point of view, giving Russia a legal right to retaliate that would not be viewed as an act of unprovoked aggression by the global majority (which happens to be on Russia’s side and wants Russia to win).

It seems that now Russia has everything it could possibly want:

• All of what remains of the former Ukraine for a test range on which to test its new hypersonic rocket systems
• A weapon against which NATO can do nothing and which can reach all of Europe, including all of the UK, as well as Alaska, where the US has plenty of military assets
• A casus belli in the form of ATACMS and Storm Shadow rocket attacks on internationally recognized Russian territory that gives it the legal right to counterattack<
• A means of pursuing its tactical and strategic goals without escalating to a nuclear confrontation, since Oreshnik is a conventional weapon

Russia really has just one strategic goal: to defang the US and NATO so that they no longer have the ability to pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation and its allies. Can Oreshnik be used to defang the US, and what would be the most efficacious way to do so?

Here I veer into guesswork, but my very strong hunch is that this can be accomplished by neutralizing the US military-industrial complex and Oreshnik isn’t quite the weapon of choice for achieving this goal because the assets in question are on US territory. But given that Oreshnik already has a mobile version as well as a silo-based version (typical Russian practice) there is no reason why a ship-based version couldn’t be developed as well, to be fired from halfway across the Atlantic Ocean.

The appropriate list of targets should not include government installations, since these typically house the products of the US military-industrial complex rather than its assets, and it is not a problem for it to make more of them. Instead, the target list should consist entirely of the industrial assets and sites of US defense contractors. That would inflict maximum pain, to the point of altering US foreign policy. In general, the more military conflict there is around the world, the better it is for the MIC. But the moment they see their own industrial assets being destroyed (which cannot be replaced quickly and sometimes not at all) they will start clamoring for peace.

In response to such a conventional attack by Russia, the US would have no good choices. It could go nuclear, thus assuring its own complete destruction from a Russian counterattack while Russia could very well shoot down most, perhaps even all, of what the US could throw at it, given that the US nuclear deterrent is quite old, subsonic and increasingly unreliable. It could stage an attack using conventional weapons, with even less of an effect. It could capitulate and sue for peace.

Thus, Russia is a year or two or three away from being able to eliminate the US and, with it, the rest of NATO, as peer competitors. As it stands already, Oreshnik has rendered NATO completely useless since none of its members can defend any of its other members from a Russian strike, nor can any of them retaliate for such a strike in any manner beyond the ineffectual or the suicidal. But the process of getting there is bound to be messy because of a severe shortage of people in positions of power, in the US or in Europe, who are capable of taking on board such facts.

Their modus operandi involves making horrible mistakes and then refusing to acquiesce in making them for as long as possible, hoping that everyone forgets and that they will escape responsibility. They may be expert at campaigning, public relations and advertising — herding idiots, that is — but military strategy is entirely beyond their abilities for the vast majority of them. And since they can only function through groupthink and can only communicate by reciting tried and tested platitudes about “stopping Russian aggression” and “sending a message to Putin,” the problem cannot be solved without taking it out of their hands entirely. The only hope is that the managers of financial capital which owns the US military industrial complex, seeing various bits of their industrial empire collapse into rubble, will demand that the government do something to cut their losses.

In a shootout with Americans, aim for their wallets. That’s the only part of their anatomies that can feel pain. Luckily, the Russian now seem to have a non-nuclear precision weapon that can do just that.

[…]

Via https://boosty.to/cluborlov/posts/ec9e99a3-c664-4988-a25c-fee22f4601ad

European states vow to arrest Israeli PM

© Getty Images / Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket

RT

Several Western states have pledged to execute an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Hague-based court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu along with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Ibrahim al-Masri. West Jerusalem claims that al-Masri is already dead. The warrants are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza conflict.

The decision has elicited mixed reactions in the West. Several nations emphasized their respect for the independence of the court, while others voiced support for Israel.

The Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, and Norway all claimed they would meet their commitments and obligations under the Rome Statute and international law. However, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stressed that the ICC was “wrong” to put Netanyahu and Gallant on the same level as Hamas. Austria also said that it would obey the decision, but its foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, added that the warrant was “utterly incomprehensible.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp assured the country’s parliament that the authorities would act on the warrants and avoid non-essential contacts with those named.

Geert Wilders, the head of the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom, a member of the ruling coalition, condemned the decision, saying that the Israeli authorities are being confronted with arrest warrants instead of receiving international understanding and support.

Earlier this month, the Dutch capital saw rioting between Israeli soccer fans, who chanted anti-Palestinian slogans, and pro-Palestinian locals.

In France, Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said that potentially acting on the warrants was a “complex legal issue” while admitting the importance of acting in line with ICC statutes. At the same time, Lemoine declined to say whether France would arrest Netanyahu or Gallant if they came to the country.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban denounced the ICC’s decision, telling a state radio station that he would invite the Israeli leader to Hungary.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/news/608045-european-states-vow-arrest-netanyahu/

Türkiye protests latest US sanctions against Russia

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar © Getty Images / Hakan Akgun;  AnadoluRT Ankara is demanding an exemption to use Gazprombank to pay for natural gas imports, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said

Türkiye is currently in talks with the US to secure a sanctions waiver that would allow it to continue using Russia’s Gazprombank to pay for natural gas imports, the country’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters on Monday.

Last week, the US Treasury Department imposed restrictions on more than 50 Russian financial institutions, including Gazprombank, which is linked to the eponymous Russian gas giant, and six of its international subsidiaries. The sanctions have effectively cut off Russia’s primary bank for energy-related transactions from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, meaning it can no longer be used for dollar-based transactions.

According to Bayraktar, unless a special exemption is made, Türkiye, which imports nearly all of its gas, won’t be able to pay Moscow for natural resources. Russia currently accounts for more than 50% of the country’s pipeline imports, according to Reuters.

In his comments, Bayraktar pointed to a previous waiver granted to Ankara when Washington had sanctioned Iran in 2012. At the time, the sanctions against Tehran included a clause that allowed the US President to issue a special exemption if an oil-importing country faced “exceptional circumstances” that made it impossible to reduce Iranian oil imports. Bayraktar has argued that Türkiye now needs a similar waiver for Gazprombank in order to secure its supply of natural gas.

  “These sanctions will affect Turkey. We cannot pay. If we cannot pay, we cannot buy the goods. The foreign ministry is in talks,” Bayraktar said.

The latest US sanctions have also sparked disdain among several other European buyers of Russian gas. Last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused Washington of trying to undermine energy security in the Central European region by imposing restrictions on Gazprombank.

In a post on Facebook, the diplomat stated that any attempts to jeopardize energy supplies to Hungary are “considered as an offence against our sovereignty” and stressed that Budapest denounces all such attacks and has vowed to “resist the pressure and pursue our national interests.”

He added that Hungary is currently in talks with other countries, such as Bulgaria, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Slovakia in hopes of finding a solution for securing energy supplies.

Meanwhile, despite the EU announcing plans to eliminate its dependence on Russian energy, it has remained one of the world’s major importers of Russian fossil fuels while its members have purchased record volumes of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Moscow.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/news/608239-turkiye-protest-us-russia-sanctions/

Bioterrorism: Covid19 was the 34th bioweapon release from 1970-2000

S D Wells

Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins or chemical concoctions with the goal of causing widespread chaos, mass sickness and death and economic destruction. In the past 50 years, nearly three dozen terrorist attacks are documented that involved biological agents, yet up until Covid-19 was created and released, all the other biological attacks only racked up about 800 injuries and 9 deaths, according to records published in PubMed. Two-thirds of those biological terrorist attacks occurred on U.S. soil.

After 9/11 happened, the U.S. Government was hell-bent on finding the terrorists responsible and bringing them to justice. That infamous event wasn’t chalked up as “bioterrorism,” even though the toxic fire, burning jet fuel and asbestos, poisoned thousands of humans, but it certainly was terrorism, and it occurred right here on U.S. soil, in one of the most densely populated cities in the nation.

So then, why is it that after Covid-19 was released from the Wuhan laboratory and spread around the world, the U.S. Government made ZERO attempts to find the terrorists who infected the masses? Maybe because it was an inside job, just like 9/11 was suspected to be.

The New Age of Pandemics ushers in a whole new age of bioweapons, and those developing and releasing “gain of function” viruses should be arrested for terrorism

The four-year-long 34th act of bioterrorism is almost over. Covid has almost come to an end, and not because of vaccines, masks or social distancing. The Covid bioweapons developed by the US military industrial complex destroyed the lives and livelihoods of a few billion people . . . These bioweapons included the deadly mRNA “clot shots.” This new age form of terrorism has only just begun.

Now, they want to develop deadly vaccines BEFORE the new gain-of-function viruses and pathogens are released, all-but admitting they plan to use their new creations for terrorism and complete decimation and control of the populace.

The NIH, CDC, and WHO are calling for massive investments in ‘cutting-edge vaccine platforms’ to defend against bioweapons they themselves are creating. How ironic. They’re calling it a ‘critical race against time.’

Then, after they release these bioweapons that they call ‘novel viruses,’ there’s another form of terrorism called misinformation, where the mass media industrial complex tries to censor the whistleblowers, truth media and all non-scripted independent news. This is an attack using propaganda and censorship, while the terrorists themselves spread disinformation everywhere.

From Anthrax to Monkeypox, and from Zika to Swine Flu [Ed Ebola can also be added to this list], we’ve experienced just about every kind of bioterrorism imaginable, but it usually comes from rogue government agencies and their cohorts in the military, rather than from a small group of jihad-style psychopaths with twisted religious convictions.

There’s a new call to ban gain-of-function research. The former White House “Covid Czar” is warning the world right now about the impending age of bioweapon pandemics, also known as ‘plandemics’ or ‘scamdemics.’ Whether or not these new viruses, that can jump from animals to humans, and then spread from human to human, are released on purpose or stolen by terrorists and then released, the end result is the same.

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Via https://dreddymd.com/2024/11/26/covid-19-was-34th-terrorist-attack-involving-biological-agents-1970-to-2020/

Linguistics: How to Identify a Language Family

Episode 11 How to Identify a Language Famiy

Language Families of the World

Dr John McWhorter

Film Review

According to McWhorter, it’s the job of historical linguists to identify language families and to construct a prototype language they likely descended from.

He asserts the Polynesian (Austronesian) languages were the easiest to categorize into a family because they separated so recently (about 700 years ago). In fact many words are virtually identical in the different Polynesian languages. He gives Maori, Hawaiian, Samoan and Fijian as examples:

He gives the following examples:

[English – post]

Maori – pouHawaiian – pouSamoan – pouFijian – bou

Proto-Austronesian root – pou (majority rule + “p” to “b” shift common in many languages)

[English – taboo]

Maori – tapuHawaiian – kapuSamoan – tapuFijian – tabu

Proto-Austronesian root – tapu (t to k shift also common)

[English – cry]

Maori – tangiHawaiian – kangiSamoan – tangiFijian – tagi

Proto-Austronesian root – tangi

English – stay

Maori – honoHawaiian – honoSamoan – fonoFijian – vono

Proto-Austronesian root – fono (because “h” is badly enunciated “f”)

In search for similarities, historical linguists tend to focus on words that are used frequently (which makes them less likely to change). American linguist Morris Swadesh made the following list of the most heavily used words in most languages: I, you, we, this, that, who, what, long, one, two, all, many, mall, man, woman, person, skin, blood, egg, hear and I.

McWhorter also gives two Indo-European examples:

[English – father]

Greek – paterLatin – paterGerman – vaterHindu – pitaa (“v” commonly shifts to “p”)Irish – athirPashto – plaarTochuan – pacar (“t” commonly shifts to “c”)Albanian – ata

Proto-Indo-European root – pater

English – bride or daughter-in-law

Old English – snoruSanskrit – susaRussian – shokha (in Russian “s” can shift to “k” and feminine words must end in “a”)Latin – nurusGreet – nuosArmenian – nusa

Proto-Indo-European root – snusos (must have started with “s” because they only drop off over time – they aren’t added)

Words suggesting Finnish and Hungarian belong to same language family:

Blood is “heri” in Finnish and “vér” in Hungarian.Hand is “käsi” in Finnish and “kéz” in Hungarian.Water is “ves” in Finnish and “viz” in HungarianWhat is “mïta” in Finnish and “mit” in Hungarian.Three is “koeme” in Finnish and “három” in Hungarian (representing “k”to “h” shift)Fish is “kala” in Finnish and “hal” in HungarianHead is “päã” in Finnish and “fö” in HungarianNest is “pesã” in Finnish and “fézek” in Hungarian

Film can be viewed with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/6120000/6120024