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From Oakland to Tehran Part 1 – The History of Iranian/American Emnity

From Oakland to Iran – Part 1

Press TV (2024)

Film Review

https://www.presstv.ir/doc/Detail/2025/02/15/742838/Imam-Khomeini-Iran-colonialism-US-Abbas-Muntaqim-Revolution-1979-Documentary-PressTV

Abbas Muntaqim, an African American instructor at Berkeley, became curious about the 1979 Iranian Revolution after converting to Islam. It intrigued him that the Iranian students released all women and African Americans after taking over the US embassy on November 4, 1979.

In Part 1, Muntagim visits with Iranian historian Khoshrow Motazed to better understand the origin of Iran’s hostile relationship with the US. According to Motazed, Iranians greatly admired Americans in the 19th century for freeing themselves from British colonialism. In 1835, their country admitted the first American missionaries to start a hospital to treat plague, typhoid and malnutrition. One of them, Dr Howard Baskerville, was killed during Iran’s Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911), fighting alongside Sattar Khan, Iran’s national hero.

As late as 1909, only the country’s central region enjoyed any autonomy, as the Russians controlled northern Iran and the British the south. Seeking to free themselves from foreign occupation, Iran’s parliament asked the US to send an economic advisor, William Morgan Shuster, who the parliament appointed as Treasurer-General in 1911. When both Russia and Britain threatened to occupy the entire country, they were forced to expel him. Britain acquired their first Iranian oil concession in 1901 and began exporting oil in 1912.

Following the onset of World War I, the entire country came under joint British and Russian occupation. British confiscation of Iranian foodstuffs for their troops resulted in death by starvation roughly half the population (8 to 10 million people). With Russian troops withdrawing following the1917 Bolshevik revolution, Iran became a full fledged British colony in 1921. In 1925, the UK instigated a coup to install a new king, Reza Khan, despite Iran’s 20-year status as a constitutional republic.

During World War II, Russia invaded Iran from the Northeast and Britain from the the Southwest. Reza Shah was deposed and his son Mohammed Reza became king. At British invitation, the US assisted in occupying Iran with 30,000 troops. According to Motazed, they created a little Detroit, took over the Iranian railroad (which they virtually destroyed with their heavy movement of troops and equipment), drank and fought a lot and molested Iranian women.

Based on America’s anti-colonial history, Iran expected the US to support the strong grassroots movement that forced the British to leave Iran and led to the election of Mohammad Mosadegh (who favored nationalizing Iran’s oil) as Iranian prime minister. Although Truman supported Mossaddegh, following Eisenhower’s 1952 election, the US (via the CIA) opted to support Britain’s Operation Ajax. The latter incited Iraq to invade Iran, kidnap Iran’s police chief and their highest ranking military officer and kill them.

Afraid of being deposed like his father, Mohammed Reza dismissed Mossadegh on August 19, 1953 and on October 21, 1954 signed new contracts granting the five American oil companies a 40% share (divided equally among the five of them) of Iran’s oil revenues. British Petroleum, in turn, granted a 40% share and Royal Dutch a 14% share. This arrangement continued until the 1979 revolution.

On December 7, 1953, during a student protest against vice-president Nixon’s visit to Tehran, the Iranian military stormed the University of Tehran attacking and killing three students. With the assistance of the US and Israel, Shah Reza formed the Savak, a secret police that kept order by brutally repressing Iranian civilians. All Savak operatives were sent to Israel for training in torture techniques.

 

Harvard Takes Trump to Court

By Alga Fredly

Harvard University’s professors sued the Trump administration on April 11 after it threatened to withhold nearly $9 billion in grants and contracts if the university fails to adopt the administration’s required structural changes.

The Harvard faculty chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) filed a lawsuit alleging that the administration’s action represents an “unlawful and unprecedented misuse of federal funding and civil rights enforcement authority to undermine academic freedom and free speech” on a university’s campus.

According to the court filing, the university received a letter from the administration on April 3 outlining the “non-exhaustive preconditions” it must meet in order to keep its government funding, following an investigation into the university’s failures to address anti-Semitism on campus.

Among the requirements are a review of programs that fuel anti-Semitic harassment on campus, to “improve viewpoint diversity, and end ideological capture” within the university. Harvard was also required to enact a mask ban and eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to the lawsuit.

It stated that the administration threatened to terminate at least $255.6 million in contracts and place more than $8.7 billion in multiyear grant commitments to Harvard University and its affiliates under review unless the university agrees to implement the proposed changes.

“Harvard, like all American universities, depends on federal funding to conduct its academic research. Threats like these are an existential ‘gun to the head’ for a university,” the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs accused the administration of misusing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, an anti-discrimination law that applies to federally funded institutions, to “coerce universities into undermining free speech.”

“These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech,” they state.

The professors asked the court to preliminarily and permanently enjoin any further investigation or review of the university’s federal funding. They also requested that it block the administration from using its authority to penalize Harvard over the viewpoints of its members.

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” said Harvard President Alan Garber in a message.

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Harvard University is one of 60 institutions of higher education currently under investigation for allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment on campus.

Protests erupted across universities in the United States after Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip with the stated goal of eradicating the Hamas terrorist group. The operation was retaliation for Hamas launching a land, sea, and air attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking hostage 251 more. Last spring, pro-Palestinian protesters camped out on campus and, at one point, took over a building.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has previously urged university leaders to prevent discrimination against Jewish students on campus or risk losing federal funding.

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” McMahon said in a statement on March 10.

“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”

Harvard University’s professors also filed a motion on April 11 seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from cutting funding while the litigation continues, saying that it would cause “severe irreparable harm” to the university and disrupt its research operations.

“No law in this country permits Trump to suspend billions from universities simply because he doesn’t like the constitutionally protected speech of their students & faculty,” Nikolas Bowie of Harvard’s AAUP said in a statement.

[…]

Via https://www.algora.com/Algora_blog/2025/04/14/will-not-surrender-harvard-takes-trump-to-court

“Widespread Freezes”: Trump’s Tariff Blitz Sends US Import Bookings Crashing, Global Supply Chains Crack

Zero Hedge

The latest high-frequency data on container freight bookings reveals that Chinese shippers rushed shipments to the U.S. over the last year to front-run the trade war—but have now abruptly paused shipments amid sky-high levies.

Freight data firm Vizion published a new report Friday titled “Tariff Shockwave: U.S. Import Bookings Collapse After Q1 Surge. ”

Here are snippets from the alarming report that warns about “widespread booking freezes” and unfolding global trade turmoil:

U.S. Import Bookings YoY % Change: 5-Year View

The chart below illustrates year-over-year changes in U.S. import bookings, highlighting key shifts over the past five years. After a surge during the pandemic that peaked in 2021, booking volumes declined sharply through 2022. A steady recovery began in 2023 and gained momentum through 2024, leading to a strong start in early 2025.

But that momentum didn’t last. March 2025 bookings fell 20% from January peaks, even though volumes were still 30% higher year-over-year compared to 2024. The most likely explanation? Shippers moved quickly to front-load shipments ahead of anticipated tariff increases.

A Sudden April Crash in Bookings

As tariff-related uncertainty intensified, booking volumes collapsed in real time. Comparing the week of March 24–31, 2025 to the following week, April 1–8, 2025, we saw sharp declines:

Global TEUs Booked: ↓ 49% Overall U.S. Imports: ↓ 64% Overall U.S. Exports: ↓ 30% U.S. Imports from China: ↓ 64% U.S. Exports to China: ↓ 36%

This dramatic drop aligned with two key developments: the April 4th U.S. tariff announcement, followed by China’s retaliatory measures announced on April 5. The result? A widespread booking freeze, as shippers paused mid-shipment cycle to reassess costs, timelines, and broader trade strategy.

Week-over-Week Drop in U.S. Imports by Product Type

Zooming in on product-level trends between March 31-April 6, 2025, and the prior week (March 24-30) reveals sharp booking declines across several categories:

Apparel & Accessories: ↓ 59% Wool, Fabrics, and Textiles: ↓ 57% Art, Antiques, Umbrellas, Feathers: ↓ 50%

These are largely discretionary or seasonal categories, often the first to react to rising costs, demand shifts, or trade policy changes. Many of these goods also fall under one of many tariff adjustments, making them more sensitive to uncertainty and pricing volatility in the short term.

‍Week-over-Week Drop in U.S. Imports from China by Product Type

Imports from China showed similar pain, particularly in foundational manufacturing inputs:

Plastics: ↓ 45.4% Copper: ↓ 31.1% Wood Products: ↓ 24.0%

These categories are deeply tied to industrial and manufacturing supply chains and now face significant tariff pressure. On April 10, the White House clarified that tariffs on Chinese goods now total 145%, combining the previously announced 125% rate with an additional 20% import tax tied to other enforcements. This sharp increase in effective duty rates has already created significant hesitation in forward bookings from China, especially in high-volume, high-cost raw material categories.

The analysts at Vizion summed tariffs have sparked vast amounts of uncertainty:

The message is clear : Shippers moved early to get ahead of tariffs, and then hit the brakes as conditions changed. This behavior, visible in booking data weeks before it shows up at the port, shows just how critical forward-looking logistics intelligence has become.

With tariffs from other trade partners currently on a 90-day pause, shippers are navigating a highly uncertain and fast-changing trade environment. The rest of 2025 is likely to bring continued volatility marked by demand swings, accelerated ordering patterns, and a re-evaluation of sourcing strategies the global response to these trade actions continues to unfold.

Emerging signs of trade disruption on major maritime shipping lanes between China and the U.S. come as Chinese suppliers are being swamped with canceled or reduced orders from U.S. companies…

Amazon Cancels Orders, Walmart Pulls Forecast As Tariffs Take Hold Chinese Sellers On Amazon Panic After Trump’s Tariff Bazooka

We previously noted that the latest high-frequency indicators from Goldman—dated April 3 and covering Chinese consumption, mobility, production, investment, and broader macro activity—show that Trump’s tariff blitz has not yet impacted the real economy, particularly in terms of traffic congestion.

Are China Road Traffic Indicators Set To Collapse As Tariff War Cancels Factory Orders

However, as we also pointed out, with suppliers pulling back on orders and container shipments declining, these high-frequency indicators could be on the verge of deteriorating…

[…]

Via https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/widespread-freezes-trumps-tariff-blitz-sends-us-import-bookings-crashing-global-supply

Young Adults Likely Produce Toxic Spike Protein for Over a Year After COVID mRNA Injection

This article originally appeared on Focal Points and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Persistent elevation of inflammatory cytokines over one year post-injection indicates ongoing immune stimulation likely driven by systemic Spike protein production.

The study titled, Altered Circulating Cytokine Profile Among mRNA‐Vaccinated Young Adults: A Year‐Long Follow‐Up Study, was just published in the journal Immunity, Inflammation and Disease:

Objectives

This longitudinal study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on cytokine profile.

Methods

A total of 84 Saudi subjects (57.1% females) with mean age of 27.2 ± 12.3 participated in this longitudinal study. Anthropometric data and fasting blood samples were obtained at baseline and after final vaccination, with an average follow-up duration of 14.1 ± 3.6 months for adolescents and 13.3 ± 3.0 months for adults, calculated from the first dose of vaccination. Assessment of cytokine profiles was done using commercially available assays.

Results

After follow-up, a significant increase in weight and body mass index was observed overall (p = 0.003 and p = 0.002, respectively). Postvaccination, significant increases were observed in several cytokines, including basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (p p = 0.005), interleukin-1 beta (IL1β) (p p p = 0.003), IL7 (p = 0.001), IL17E (p p = 0.03), MCP3 (p = 0.001), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) (p p p p = 0.008), IL4 (p = 0.04), and TNFα (p = 0.015) compared to women. Age-based analysis showed that older participants had more pronounced increases in EGF (p = 0.011), IL6 (p = 0.029), MCP1 (p = 0.042), and TNFα (p = 0.017), while younger participants had a greater increase in VEGFA (p = 0.025).

Conclusions

The findings of this study indicated that COVID-19 vaccination resulted in an increase in cytokine levels, which signifies the persistence of the humoral immune response to messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. This effect may be attributed to the persistent production of spike protein and highly inflammatory nature of mRNA–lipid nanoparticle. Additionally, the results suggested differences in cytokine levels based on gender and age. Notably, the cytokine profile remains favorably altered in young adults who received mRNA vaccinations, even after 1 year.

In other words, this study found that in young adults (mean age = 27.2), mRNA injection likely leads to sustained Spike protein production lasting at least one year—evidenced by persistently elevated levels of multiple proinflammatory cytokines. Elevation of inflammatory markers is likely to play a role in symptomatic long pandemic syndromes.

Key Points from the Study:Long-Term Immune Stimulation

Participants showed significantly elevated cytokine levels 13–14 months post-vaccination, well beyond the expected duration of a typical immune response.

Cytokines Upregulated After mRNA Injection

TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-4, IL-7, IL-17E
These cytokines are associated with chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and autoimmune activation.

VEGFA (angiogenesis), FGF2, IFN-γ
These markers are linked to vascular remodeling, tissue repair, and persistent immune activation.

MCP-1, MCP-3
These markers are associated with chronic inflammation, vascular remodeling, and autoimmunity.

Only One Cytokine Decreased

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF) levels dropped significantly, possibly indicating immune system dysregulation.

Mechanistic Implication

The authors suggest this sustained cytokine activity may stem from the persistent expression of Spike protein, driven by:

Modified nucleoside-stabilized mRNAPro-inflammatory lipid nanoparticles known for systemic biodistributionBiological and Clinical ConcernsProlonged IL-6 and TNF-α elevation is linked to autoimmune conditions and post-acute inflammatory syndromes.Persistent VEGFA suggests ongoing vascular endothelial activation and potential long-term cardiovascular effects.

These findings are not unexpected — 130 peer reviewed studies have documented:

I) the systemic biodistribution of the injected mRNA,
II) the persistence of both the synthetic mRNA and the spike protein it encodes, and
III) the toxic potential of the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery system used to transport the genetic payload.

As yet another study reveals grave harms linked to the COVID-19 mRNA injections, the case for their immediate removal from the market grows stronger and more urgent.

[…]

Via https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/young-adults-may-produce-toxic-spike

US airstrikes in Yemen lay groundwork for ‘ground invasion’ by UAE-backed militias

(Photo credit: Getty)

The Cradle

With US support, UAE proxy militias in Yemen are planning a ground offensive to take the port city of Hodeidah from the Ansarallah-led Yemeni government and armed forces, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 15 April, in a move that would reignite the country’s devastating civil war.

“Private American security contractors provided advice to the Yemeni factions on a potential ground operation, people involved in the planning said. The United Arab Emirates, which supports these factions, raised the plan with American officials in recent weeks,” the WSJ wrote.

The ground offensive seeks to take advantage of the recent US bombing campaign targeting the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF).

US officials speaking with the newspaper said Washington has launched more than 350 strikes during its current campaign against Yemen and claim that the YAF has been weakened as a result.

While the Ansarallah-led National Salvation Government controls Yemen’s most populous areas, including the capital, Sanaa, and the strategic port city of Hodeidah, other parts of the country have remained in control of UAE and Saudi-supported factions since the end of the civil war in 2022.

Under the plan being discussed, factions of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) would deploy their forces north to the western Yemeni coast and try to seize the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, pro-UAE Yemeni sources said.

If successful, the ground operation would push the YAF back from large parts of the coast from where they have launched attacks on Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea.

The YAF began targeting Israeli-linked ships in November 2023 in response to Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The US launched a war against Yemen and the YAF on Israel’s behalf shortly thereafter.

Capturing Hodeidah would be a “major blow” to the Ansarallah-led Yemeni government, “depriving them of an economic lifeline while also cutting off their main route to receive arms from Iran,” the WSJ wrote.

“A major ground offensive risks reigniting a Yemeni civil war that has been dormant for years and that spurred a humanitarian crisis when a Saudi–Emirati coalition supported local ground forces with a bombing campaign,” the WSJ added.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, which supports another Yemeni faction, the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), have privately said they will not join or help a ground offensive in Yemen.

During the civil war, the Saudi-led coalition, alongside the UAE, conducted a major bombing campaign in Yemen that killed nearly 15,000 people, while the Saudi navy blockaded Yemen’s major ports, causing a humanitarian crisis that killed hundreds of thousands more.

In 2018, the Saudi Kingdom launched three operations against Ansarallah in an attempt to capture Hodeidah, yet failed.

Ansarallah forces retaliated by launching ballistic missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities, including striking a Saudi Aramco oil storage facility in Jeddah, which threatened to devastate the kingdom’s oil production and exports.

The YAF also responded to the UAE’s aggression on Yemen by launching its first drone and missile attacks on Abu Dhabi in January 2022, targeting three oil trucks and an under-construction airport extension infrastructure.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia allegedly cooperated with and recruited fighters from the local Al-Qaeda affiliate, known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), to assist in their proxy war against Ansarallah.

[…]

Via https://thecradle.co/articles/us-airstrikes-in-yemen-lay-groundwork-for-ground-invasion-by-uae-backed-militias-report

Is El Salvador CECOT Prison Replacing Guantanamo Bay Where Prisoners Have No Rights to Due Process?

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele was in the Oval Office with President Trump today, and said that he does not plan to return a Maryland man whom the Trump administration admitted was mistakenly deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge had previously ordered that he NOT be deported there, and where his life is allegedly in danger.

The Trump Administration, which the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0 had to return the man who was deported illegally, is taking the position that it has no authority over El Salvador, and is unable to do so.

Even more concerning, Trump today said he wanted to send U.S. Citizens to this prison in El Salvador as well.

He told reporters today that he was open to deporting U.S. citizens if they had committed “violent, criminal acts.”

According to the Washington Post:

Trump also told reporters on Monday that he was open to deporting U.S. citizens if they had committed violent, criminal acts.

“If it’s a homegrown criminal, I have no problem,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “We’re studying the laws right now, Pam [Bondi, the attorney general] is studying. If we can do that, that’s good.”

U.S. laws, of course, do not allow a U.S. Citizen to be arbitrarily deported, so this is just code speak to Pam Bondi to “find me an emergency order I can invoke to bypass the laws and do it by executive order,” his #1 playbook for ignoring The Constitution of the United States, which he began in 2020 with the PREP Act emergency orders to rush experimental “vaccines” into the market that would never have been approved by the FDA under current laws.

So there you have it. No conspiracy theories, just the plain FACT that Donald Trump is now on the record as saying he wants to deport U.S. Citizens whom he declares are “criminals.”

This should come as no surprise based on the Trump Administration’s actions so far under Trump 2.0, which has included rounding up Green Card permanent residents who are here legally, and have also reportedly had ICE detain U.S. Citizens as well, including Americans from Puerto Rico and indigenous native Americans living on reservations.

Several members of Congress have requested more information from Trump about how many U.S. Citizens are currently being detained by ICE, but they have allegedly refused to answer these Congressional inquiries, according to a new report published by Pro Publica. Congress Has Demanded Answers to ICE Detaining Americans. The Administration Has Responded With Silence.

[…]

Via https://vaccineimpact.com/2025/is-el-salvador-cecot-prison-replacing-guantanamo-bay-where-prisoners-have-no-rights-to-due-process-of-law-trump-is-trying-to-send-u-s-citizens-to-el-salvador/

Trump Backs Away from Improving Relations with Russia

Dr Paul Craig Roberts

Trump gives in to the military/security complex, renews weapons to Ukraine and extends sanctions on Russia for a year.

On April 10, Trump declared a continuation of the national emergency with Russia and renewed President Biden’s April 2021 executive order declaring Russia to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the United States.”

By renewing Biden’s executive order, Trump even buys into the Russiagate charges against himself:

Among the “harmful” activities ascribed to Russia in the document are “efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners.”

Russia is also blamed for a Washington specialty: “undermining security of countries and violating principles of international law.”

Trump has already cluttered the peace negotiations with his demand for Ukrainian rare earth minerals.  Now he has introduced another extraneous issue – his demand for control of the pipeline through which Russian natural gas is delivered to Europe.  Yes, Putin is still supplying Russia’s active enemies with energy.  What sense does it make to help your enemies make war against you?

The Kremlin remains unable to read the writing on the wall.  Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that “our dialogue with the American side is ongoing,” and that Moscow remains open to resolving the Ukraine conflict diplomatically.  The Kremlin thinks it is building relations with Washington by being the only party to keep the ceasefire on energy infrastructure. It is not succeeding.  Trump has already threatened Russia with more sanctions unless Russia agrees to a total ceasefire.  What incentive does Russia have to do that when Zelensky? US? NATO? won’t even keep a partial ceasefire?

[…]

Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-backs-away-improving-relations-russia/5884343

RFK Jr. Launches ‘Massive Testing and Research’ Into Autism Epidemic

by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a Cabinet meeting on Thursday that the government has launched a “massive testing and research effort” to determine what causes autism.

He said the effort involves hundreds of scientists globally and will be completed by September. Once the environmental causes of autism are identified, “We’ll be able to eliminate those exposures,” he said.

At the meeting, President Donald Trump responded, “There will be no bigger news conference than that.” He added, “If you can come up with that answer where you stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe it’s a shot. But something’s causing it.”

Reporting on the announcement in the mainstream media framed Kennedy as a longtime vaccine critic who has put forward the “discredited” and “debunked” theory that there is a link between vaccines and autism.

In a conversation with Fox’s Martha MacCallum, who said studies have shown there is no connection between vaccines and autism, Kennedy responded:

“The studies that they did were very very narrow. They did about 17 studies and the Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, said that 14 of those studies are invalid. And the biggest weakness of those studies is that they never studied vaccinated versus unvaccinated, which is the only way that you can really make this determination.

“But more importantly, none of the vaccines that are given to children within the first six months of life were ever studied.”

Kennedy said the autism study, coordinated through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is not focused exclusively on vaccines. “Everything is on the table — our food system, our water, our air — we will find out what’s triggering this epidemic. We know it is an environmental toxin that is causing this cataclysm. Through research at NIH, we will find an answer to this question.”

He also said that “epidemics are not caused by genes” and that although there may be a genetic vulnerability, there also must be an environmental toxin.

In a post on X later that day, Kennedy reiterated that thanks to Trump’s Make America Healthy Again commission, “We’ll soon identify the root causes of the autism epidemic.”

Since it was announced last month that the public health agencies were planning a large study into potential connections between vaccines and autism, mainstream media have repeated claims that the idea has been “debunked” and sought to discredit people investigating the link.

Last month, The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that HHS had tapped researcher David Geier — an expert on the connections between toxic exposures and autism — to lead a study of possible links between vaccines and autism. The Post and other media outlets used the opportunity to attack Geier and the need for such a study.

This week, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) also published a hit piece on Geier, saying experts were “alarmed” by his appointment to work on the study.

Commenting on the JAMA piece, epidemiologist Nick Hulscher wrote on Substack:

“The so-called ‘alarm’ is really panic from institutions that fear what a real, independent investigation might uncover. For the first time, the vaccine safety narrative isn’t being fully controlled by Big Pharma and vaccine ideologues — they are nervous that their false religion of Vaccine Ideology is set to crumble.”

Mary Holland: Study is ‘long overdue’

Kennedy’s announcement comes during Autism Awareness Month.

Rates of autism in the U.S. have been rising for decades. Approximately 1 in 36 children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Autism prevalence in the 1990s, which was 1 in 1,000 children, already represented a tenfold increase over the condition’s estimated prevalence in the 1970s.

Since the CDC started collecting the data, prevalence estimates have skyrocketed from 1 in 150 in 2000 to 1 in 36 children in 2023.

Kennedy said the CDC will release its latest report next week, and the numbers will be even higher — 1 in 31 children, with some communities hit even harder.

The CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network releases a report on autism prevalence every two years. The network tracks autism rates among a sample of hundreds of thousands of 8-year-old and 4-year-old children across the country. Prevalence estimates are based on rates among the older cohort, who are more likely to have received a diagnosis because they are older.

Children’s Health Defense CEO Mary Holland celebrated the news about the search for autism’s cause. Given the alarmingly high and increasing rates of autism, she said the study has been a long time coming.

“It is long overdue to hear the president and cabinet addressing the autism epidemic,” she said. “With the autism rate in 8-year-olds near 1 in 31, the rate among younger children must be higher still. This true epidemic threatens the future of the United States.”

Holland said it was notable that Trump said openly that vaccines could be causing autism. “We welcome the president’s open-mindedness and resolve to get to the bottom of autism causation in the next months.”

Reporting on yesterday’s news, most mainstream media outlets, including Newsweek and USA Today, implied there is no autism epidemic and the only reason for increasing autism rates is better diagnosis.

CNN similarly reported that increasing rates are due to better diagnosis. The outlet conceded that autism is likely caused by genetic and environmental factors, which haven’t been fully determined. CNN said the only thing definitively known about autism is that it isn’t caused by vaccines.

Research by autism experts, including authors on the CDC’s autism report, have found claims that better diagnosis alone accounts for the skyrocketing rates are wrong. The rates of children with severe autism are increasing, and rates among minority children are growing disproportionately.

“It seems reasonable to ask that public health officials stop downplaying the ongoing increase in U.S. ASD prevalence and start taking their own data seriously,” Cynthia Nevison, Ph.D., has written about these claims.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/rfk-jr-hhs-launch-research-autism-epidemic/

The Modern Search for Atlantis

The Atlantis Puzzle

National Geographic (2024)

Film Review

The Greek philosopher Plato first mentions Atlantis in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias 2400 years ago. According to Plato, it was ruled by 10 kings descended from Poseidon (the Greek sea god) and enjoyed immense wealth and large decadent cities. After its massive army and navy swept across North Africa and Egypt, it invaded Italy. Following their defeat by Athens, who also liberated Egypt and other North Africans subjugated by Atlanteans, a horrific earthquake and floods caused Atlantis to disappear under the ocean.

Plato claimed this history originated with information Solon* received from an Egyptian priest name Sais in 1600 BC. According to Sais, Athens built a number of civilizations  between 10,000 BC and 1600 BC, which were all destroyed by wildfires, floods and natural disasters. Owing to the loss of their original written language, these events were lost to historical memory.

Historians have debated for centuries whether Atlantis was real and where it was located. Based on a re-translation of the ancient Greek, modern Greek linguist Serantitis believes Plato was describing an area in the Western Sahara between  around 10,000 and 30,000 BC. During this period the Sahara was lush green savanna with12,000 lakes, five river systems and wetlands.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, at the time of “Adalantis” northern Africa was divided into East and West Ethiopia. This is reflected in Africa’s linguistic divisions, with the East Ethiopians speaking Nilo Saharan and the West Ethiopians speaking a Niger Congo language**

According to archeological evidence, around 10,000 BC the inhabitants of West Ethiopia were hunter gatherers who engaged in trade and warfare and consumed wheat from the Middle East. Other evidence shows the first humans arrived on the island of Crete 130,000 years ago and Greeks engaged in sea trade 14,000 years ago.

Serantitis believes the fate of Atlantis in Plato’s dialogues was wrongly translated as “submerged.” He feels it more likely it “sank” or “settled,” owing to earthquakes, volcanoes and/or landslides, and a combination of liquefaction and massive influx of water from the inland seas.

*Solon was an Athenian lawmaker credited with founding Athens’ democracy.

**Some anthropologists believe modern Mauritanians are descendants of Atlanteans.

 

Despite Zuckerberg’s Promises, Facebook ‘Fact Checkers’ Continue Censoring Information About COVID-19 Vaccines

By Paul Anthony Taylor

In early January 2025 Meta announced that it would be scrapping the use of its so-called ‘independent fact checkers’ on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with a ‘community notes’ system similar to that now used on Elon Musk’s X platform. Commenting on the move, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the ‘fact checkers’ used by the firm had been “too politically biased” and that it was “time to get back to our roots around free expression.” Three months later, however, it appears not much has changed. Facebook posts made by users outside the United States remain subject to draconian censorship by anonymous ‘fact checkers.’

Having previously fallen foul of the Facebook censorship regime, we launched our new Dr. Rath Health Foundation page on the social media platform last month. Everything appeared to be fine until we posted a link to an article on our website describing how a June 2024 study authored by researchers from the Netherlands had analyzed data from 47 countries and found that over three million excess deaths have occurred in the Western World since 2020. Published in the prestigious BMJ Public Health journal, the study described this as “unprecedented” and, expressing serious concerns, urged governments to thoroughly investigate the underlying causes – including potential COVID-19 vaccine harms.

Facebook’s response was not what we were expecting. Our post was quickly slapped with a ‘False information’ ‘Reviewed by third-party fact-checkers’ label. This was accompanied by a link to a webpage claiming that COVID-19 vaccines had supposedly actually lowered excess deaths. Reading further we learned that Facebook pages and websites “that repeatedly share false information will see their distribution reduced and their ability to advertise removed.” So much for Zuckerberg’s promises, then.

Supporting the ‘Ministry of Truth’?

Unusually, the study concerned had been widely reported in the legacy media. The UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper even went so far as to openly state that COVID-19 vaccines may have helped fuel the rise in excess deaths, and that experts were calling for more research into side effects and possible links to mortality rates. Other legacy media covering the story included the New York Post, the Times of India, Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News, and the UK’s Daily Mail.

Nevertheless, despite the BMJ Public Health journal having peer-reviewed the study prior to publication, it responded to the media coverage by saying that its ‘integrity team’ and editors were now “investigating issues raised regarding the quality and messaging” of the research. It isn’t difficult to guess what this means. Behind the scenes, in activities resembling those of the infamous ‘Ministry of Truth’ in George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four,’ the paper is likely being watered down or considered for retraction. By labeling posts about the study as ‘false information,’ Facebook is essentially supporting such moves.

Prohibitions on Freedom of Speech Are a Threat to Our Health

Speaking in January 2025, acknowledging that there had been “too much censorship,” Zuckerberg committed himself to “restoring free expression” on Meta’s platforms. Getting rid of the ‘fact checkers’ and replacing them with a ‘community notes’ approach would start in the United States, he said. After that, the claimed plan – as described on the Facebook website – is to improve it over the course of the year before expanding to other countries.

While we would like to believe that Zuckerberg is genuine, there are no published dates as to when the ‘community notes’ system will be expanded to countries outside of the United States. Nor are there even any guarantees that it will be expanded. Prohibitions on freedom of speech are not simply a matter of human rights. They are also a direct threat to our health. The coming months will show us where Zuckerberg really stands.

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Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/facebook-continue-censoring-information-covid-19-vaccines/5884230