NATO’s Steadfast Defender Exercises Threaten Europe’s Security
Sputnik – 22.01.2024
Rather than try to de-escalate the already high tensions in Europe, the Western military bloc NATO proudly announced its intent to launch massive military exercises in the region involving around 90,000 troops.
Dubbed Steadfast Defender 2024, the exercises are going to be held as NATO becomes increasingly involved in the Ukrainian conflict, providing the regime in Kiev with weapons, mercenaries and intelligence to attack Russian territories and people.
As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has explained, these military exercises are “another element of the hybrid war unleashed by the West against Russia,” with any event of such magnitude increasing the risk of “military incidents” and further destabilizing security in the region.
There appear to be several goals that NATO seeks to accomplish through Steadfast Defender 2024, explained Mikael Valtersson, a former Swedish Armed Forces officer, defense politician and chief of staff with the Sweden Democrats party.
One of these goals is training NATO soldiers to “fight Russian forces,” Valtersson said, noting that while the exercises’ official narrative is about repelling an invasion, it seems more like preparation “for the eventuality of military missions into Ukraine, Belarus or Moldova.”
“Another purpose is to send a psychological message to assure the eastern NATO countries that NATO takes their security seriously,” he continued. “A third purpose is to tell Russia that NATO is ready and capable to act if they must.”
According to Valtersson, a lot of people in the West actually believe in a “possible Russian attack towards European NATO countries in a couple of years,” with this fear being further reinforced by “alarmist statements from leading Western politicians and military leaders.”
“This creates a Russophobic war mentality that easily might lead to escalation and the conflict they have predicted,” he remarked.
Valtersson also pointed out that, while usually conducting military exercises poses no security risks as such events are a “normal part of military life,” holding large-scale drills “near the borders of countries you perceive as enemies” may result in dangerous mistakes being made.
“When both sides are high-strung and look for potential aggressive behavior from the other side, one mistake could quickly lead to escalation. If you really want to de-escalate tensions, you should avoid large-scale exercises near the borders of your adversaries,” he said. “These kind of exercises do nothing to dampen tension between Russia and NATO. It is, in fact, rather a part of an ongoing escalation process, which is bad for the security of Europe.”
The emerging new Cold War “between the West and mainly China and Russia” and the West alienating many countries of the Global South by trying to force them to oppose Russia over the Ukrainian crisis may ultimately divide the world into two competing blocs, “the West and the rest,” Valtersson warned.
“The difference with the first Cold War will be that the non-Western bloc will be incredibly stronger in size, economy, population and even diversity than during the first Cold War,” Valtersson added. “This conflict could be easily avoided if the West had accepted that they can’t dominate the entire globe and that other major powers have their own spheres of interest.”
India’s Modi inaugurates Hindu temple on site of razed mosque ahead of elections
Press TV – January 22, 2024
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a controversial temple that was built on the site of a historic mosque, demolished by Hindu extremists, heralding a “new era” for India.
“January 22, 2024, is not merely a date in the calendar but heralds the advent of a new era,” Modi said, speaking outside the temple to the Hindu deity Ram on Monday.
Modi has been accused of orchestrating the event for political gain ahead of the upcoming elections in the spring.
The opening ceremony was seen as an unofficial start to his re-election campaign this year, where he will seek a third term in power. The general election is expected to be held between April and May.
The inauguration of the temple, which came amid rising anti-Muslim hate crimes in India, has evoked blood-soaked memories of the violence that was sparked after the mosque that stood for centuries in Ayodhya was torn down in 1992 by Hindu far-right mobs incited by members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Some 2,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the violence.
Speaking to media, Mohammed Shahid, 52, recounted how his father was burned alive by a mob.
“For me, the temple symbolizes nothing but death and destruction,” he told AFP last month.
Ever since it came to power in 2014, the BJP has been synonymous with its anti-Muslim stance as there have been recurring incidences, including mob lynching and hurting the sentiments of minority groups, especially of the Muslims of India.
Modi has been setting his sights on winning a third straight term by pleasing the Hindu majority in India.
Sunita Viswanath, executive director of the US-based nonprofit group Hindus for Human Rights, said the inauguration of the temple is an “electoral stunt” that “should not be happening in the name of my faith.”
The U.S. Steals Syrian Oil, and the Kurds Sell It to Israel at a Discount in Erbil
By Steven Sahiounie | Strategic Culture Foundation | January 22, 2024
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRG) claimed responsibility for missile attacks on an Israeli “spy headquarters.” Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and four of his family members were killed in the attack on their home on January 16 near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR).
Dizayee was the owner of the Falcon Group, which is a business involved in oil and gas, agriculture and security. The IRG claimed its missiles targeted a “Mossad headquarters”.
“No U.S. facilities were impacted. We’re not tracking damage to infrastructure or injuries at this time,” a U.S. official said in response to the recent attack.
Prime Minister of the IKR, Masrour Barzani, condemned the IRG attacks on Erbil.
The Oil business in Erbil
The oil business is thriving in IKR, and the Falcon Group was part of it. Kurdish oil has been exported to Israel, Italy, France and Greece through a secretive trade depending on pre-pay deals.
Israel buys much of its oil from Erbil, and Israel depends on the heavily discounted crude, making it a key customer. The oil is discounted to Israel because it is free, as the source is the stolen Syrian oil. 40% of Israel’s oil supplies were from IKR in the first three months of 2023, which doubled the amount in 2022.
Israel received its first substantial seaborne crude oil shipment from the IKR in 2014, which is the same time the U.S. occupation forces arrived in Syria. Israel was reportedly importing as much as three-quarters of its crude oil needs from the IKR by mid-2015.
Israeli refineries and oil companies imported almost $1 billion worth of Kurdish oil between May and August of 2023, according to shipping data, trading sources and satellite tanker tracking, which represents about 77 % of average Israeli demand, which runs at roughly 240,000 barrels per day. More than a third of all of the northern Iraqi exports, which are shipped from Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, went to Israel over the period.
According to anonymous sources, it was a Mossad agent who first traveled to Erbil to negotiate the deal to buy oil from IKR, which was facilitated by U.S. officials.
The U.S. Consulate in Erbil
The new U.S. Consulate General building in Erbil, near the attack carried out by Iran, is the biggest consulate complex built by the U.S. Embassies and Consulates are under the U.S. State Department, but the consulate in Erbil has a connection to the U.S. Department of Defense, demonstrating the strategic importance of the region for Washington, with a U.S. military base also in IKR.
Irvin Hicks, Jr., the U.S. Consul General in Erbil, stated in January 2023, that the new 800-million-dollar consulate building is a clear statement that the “United States of America is not going anywhere.”
The U.S. first opened a diplomatic office in Erbil in February 2007, and later upgraded to a consulate general in 2011, the same year the U.S.-NATO attack on Syria began for regime change, under the Obama-Biden administration.
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was built in 2009 and is its biggest mission compound in the world at a cost of $750 million. Iraqi Kurdistan and the Iraqi central government in Baghdad operate separately, as the Kurds are a semi-autonomous region.
Erbil has 30 consulates, six honorary consulates, and six foreign trade offices, with the Japanese consulate the latest to open on Jan. 11.
“Opening more than 30 consulates is not normal,” Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Rajabi criticized. Most of these consulates are used for espionage activities.”
Iran views the foreign offices as having the potential to carry out plans aimed at destabilizing the security of Iran, by hosting Iranian separatist groups and bases aligned with Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
The Iraqi response to the Genocide in Gaza
“On October 20, 2023, the Department ordered the departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil due to increased security threats against U.S. government personnel and interests,” according to the State Department’s Iraq travel advisory.
Iraqis have taken to the streets to protest the U.S. complicity in the genocide being committed in Gaza by Israel. U.S. President Joe Biden has defied the American values of human rights and international law by continuing to send weapons to Israel to promote the wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian civilians of Gaza, even in the face of international criticism which has lowered the image of America as a beacon of freedom to a joke.
Protests have taken place outside of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and military groups which are under the central government of Iraq have fired rockets and armed drones at U.S. troops based in Anbar and near Erbil multiple times. Baghdad does not recognize Israel; however, the IKR are aligned with the U.S., and sell the stolen oil from Syria to the prime U.S. ally, Israel.
The U.S. invaded and destroyed Iraq in 2003, and occupied the country for years until a withdrawal. When ISIS reared its ugly head, the Baghdad government requested U.S. troops to come to help in the fight against ISIS, which saw its defeat at the hands of Iraq, Syria, Russia, and the U.S. The Iraqi parliament ordered the U.S. troops to leave after the defeat of ISIS in 2017, but the Department of Defense refused. The Prime Minister of Iraq has recently ordered the U.S. troops to leave immediately following the U.S. assassination of Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari in Baghdad on January 4, an Iraqi military commander who was instrumental in the defeat of ISIS.
The PKK in Syria and Erbil
The PKK aligned SDF in north east Syria is U.S. supported. The U.S. military in Syria are occupying the largest oil field in Syria, which prevents the Damascus government from using the oil to provide electricity to the Syrian people, who suffer with just 3 hours of electricity per day.
In December 2023, 44-tanker convoy carrying oil stolen from Syria traveled clandestinely to U.S. bases near Erbil. Just days before, U.S. forces took 95 tankers of oil and a truckload of stolen Syrian wheat to IKR. The Syrian wheat fields are also in the area the U.S. troops occupy and the area is controlled by Kurds who are aligned with the IKR.
Farhan Jamil Abdullah, head of the Syrian Oil Company, said in July that as a result of the U.S. sanctions and military occupation in Syria, oil production has decreased to 15,000 barrels per day from 385,000 barrels before 2011.
Firas Hassan Kaddour, the Syrian Oil Minister, said in July that the losses of the energy sector in Syria are close to 100 billion U.S. dollars.
The main oil field of Al Omar and Conoco in Syria are producing oil which is shipped in tankers by the U.S. Army and refined at Kar Oil Refinery in Erbil.
The U.S. sponsors the SDF militia in Syria which is dominated by the YPG. The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK, a group recognized by Turkey, as well as the U.S. and the EU, as a terrorist organization, who have killed more than 40,000 persons over decades.
Turkey has condemned the U.S. alliance with the SDF and YPG, and considers the U.S. is financing terrorism.
The commander of the SDF is General Mazloum Kobani, who is also a member of the PKK. His real name is Ferhat Abdi Sahin, is one of Turkey’s most wanted terrorists. Kobani was chosen by the U.S. as their military ally and it is at Kobani’s command that the stolen Syrian oil is loaded into tankers.
Erdogan has demanded for years that the U.S. must stop supporting the SDF, YPG, and to stop encouraging the Kurds to establish an independent homeland in north east Syria on the border with Turkey, which is a NATO member, and ally of the U.S., housing an American military base there.
Faced with looming defeat in Ukraine, NATO wants WW3 to prevent it
By Drago Bosnic | January 22, 2024
Lasting nearly half a century, the (First) Cold War brought the world to the edge of a new abyss, one that would’ve made WW2 look like a bloodless skirmish in comparison. Despite not starting it, in order to prevent the total destruction of the world, Russia initiated its end. It willingly dismantled the Warsaw Pact and the USSR, renouncing immense power, a historically unprecedented move no other superpower in history ever made. And how did the political West see it? Merely as a sign of supposed “weakness”. Not only did the US-led belligerent power pole proclaim victory in the ideological struggle (Moscow renounced communism), but it also wanted a total defeat for Russia and its people. In the 30+ years, everything the United States and its vassals and satellite states did was in line with this goal. The world’s most aggressive military alliance expanded approximately 1000 km to the east.
It should be noted that this was done despite clear promises “not to move an inch” toward Russian borders. Even many Western politicians, experts and pundits expressed concern and protested NATO’s eastward expansion, warning that this would inevitably force Moscow to respond. However, leaked information suggests this is precisely what the political West wanted, as evidenced by revelations published by WikiLeaks. How do we know this is true? Well, its founder is suffering a horrible fate for publishing the secret data. And yet, despite the world knowing all this, NATO is determined not only to continue its aggression, but is also openly escalating it. Namely, on January 18, Dutch 4-star Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, publicly stated that the belligerent thalassocractic alliance is preparing for war with Russia and that people in Europe should do so as well.
Bauer is one of the highest-ranking NATO officials and his announcement should be taken extremely seriously. Although he assessed that the coming conflict would happen in the next 20 years, the moves that the belligerent alliance is making indicate that such a conflict could come at any point. Following a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Bauer told reporters that Western governments should start preparing for war with Russia, including by training civilians how to act when it starts.
“We have to realize it’s not a given that we are in peace. And that’s why we are preparing for a conflict with Russia. […] But the discussion is much wider. It is also the industrial base and also the people that have to understand they play a role,” he said, adding: “It starts there. The realization that not everything is plannable and not everything is going to be hunky dory in the next 20 years.”
Apart from demanding everyone in Europe to get ready for war with a nuclear-armed superpower, Bauer pointed out the example of Sweden, a de facto NATO member for decades at this point. Namely, he praised Stockholm for enforcing ludicrous and pompously announced measures for a mythical Russian invasion, an eventuality that’s effectively beyond any real possibility. However, the Scandinavian country needs to justify its unpopular NATO membership somehow, so it’s putting up this laughable “show of force”.
“We need to be readier across the whole spectrum. You have to have a system in place to find more people if it comes to war, whether it does or not. Then you talk mobilization, reservists or conscription,” he said, adding: “You need to be able to fall back on an industrial base that is able to produce weapons and ammunition fast enough to be able to continue a conflict if you are in it.”
In line with Bauer’s announcement, NATO is to launch a massive military exercise, dubbed Steadfast Defender 2024. Scheduled to begin on January 31, it will include at least 90,000 troops, making it NATO’s largest military exercise since the end of the (First) Cold War. It should be noted that the belligerent alliance officially restarted the conflict in 2022, after decades of its crawling aggression pushed Russia to respond in Ukraine. This was done after numerous US-orchestrated destabilization projects in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere, all of which were aimed against Moscow. NATO itself is merely an extension of America’s strategy of the so-called “full spectrum dominance” and the same goes for the European Union which has repeatedly proven its subservience to US interests. To accomplish its strategic goals, Washington DC is ready to support all sorts of extremist ideologies and individuals.
Worse yet, in an attempt to defeat Russia, it has shown willingness to use banned weapons such as biological (including deadly pathogens) and AI-powered. The latter are particularly important as Americans are increasingly uninterested to serve in the US military, especially as the belligerent thalassocracy is adopting an extremist ultra-liberal ideology that’s simply repulsive to anyone remotely sane. America’s decline is unstoppable at this point, so its political elites are pushing the entire world into yet another abyss, one that it would likely never get out of. Washington DC’s virtually simultaneous aggression against several global and regional powers is making it nearly impossible to prevent such a horrible scenario. This includes pushing the world into a commodities crisis, which can also be interpreted as “preparing everyone” for war, as Bauer already stated. This is an important segment of America’s global strategy.
US actions in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America also indicate other countries will be targeted, including China, Iran and Venezuela. However, with its unrivaled strategic arsenal, new hypersonic weapons, as well as resurgent conventional military power, precisely Russia is NATO’s top rival. Unable to fight Moscow directly, the US-led belligerent alliance is using proxies and creating new ones to enforce its so-called “containment” strategy against the Kremlin. This includes the reactivation of the old members of its WWII-era geopolitical (and increasingly ideological) predecessor. Fully aware it can’t take the Eurasian giant head-on, to this end, the political West is stoking Russophobia everywhere it can, as it needs to create enemies on Russian borders. It’s important to note that the warmongers in Washington DC don’t care about the destructive consequences for Europe.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.
The Unvaccinated Child
On Treatments
Lies are Unbekoming | January 20, 2024
I’ve written a lot about the sins of childhood vaccination and the reasons to avoid their unnecessary, unsafe, and ineffective dangers.
What I haven’t written about is what to do when that unvaccinated child falls ill. Yes, they do still fall ill, but far less than poisoned children.
This stack aims to address that gap.
If you have decided to raise an unvaccinated child, you need to do a few things.
You should find a trusted alternative doctor, that is comfortable with high dose Vitamin C. As Larry Cook outlines in Section 9 of his free online course.
Find An Alternative Doctor Now
If you do not yet have an alternative doctor on your team, especially one who can give vitamin C IVs, I would like to encourage you to actively search one out before the need arises. High dose vitamin C IVs are extremely effective for all infectious diseases and other ailments as well. Plus, alternative doctors are going to have more treatment methods than just antibiotics.
You need to work at increasing your knowledge.
Parents of unvaccinated children need to work harder to obtain and maintain the knowledge that will allow them to be self-sufficient and independent (as much as possible) of establishment Cartel Medicine.
To that end, you should increase your Vitamin C knowledge.
I would also recommend that both parents do Larry Cook’s free online course.
FREE 12-PART COURSE: How To Raise Healthy Vaccine Free Children
Made up of the following parts:
1. Natural Immunity Versus Vaccination
2. What Really Saved Us From Disease?
3. Vaccine Efficacy Failure
4. Vaccine Safety Fraud
5. Vaccine “Science,” Cover-Up and Manipulation
6. Vaccine Injury Is Everywhere
7. A Healthy Family Is Your Child’s Best Defense
8. Don’t Panic When Your Child Gets Sick
9. The “Vaccine Preventable Illnesses” Explained
10. Staying Vaccine Free In A Hostile World
11. Vaccine Injury Treatment and Recovery
12. Join The Fight To End Medical Tyranny
An unvaccinated child is unlikely to end up with many ear infections but in case they do, here is a free eBook from Larry Cook.
You should also buy and read:
The Unvaccinated Child: A Treatment Guide for Parents and Caregivers
The Unvaccinated Child is an unparalleled naturopathic treatment guide for common childhood illnesses. Its style is reader friendly for parents without a medical background or for practitioners looking for treatment options to offer their patients. As children can contract many of the childhood illnesses regardless of vaccination status, this is a practical must-have book for any parent whether their child has or has not been vaccinated.
The Unvaccinated Child reviews the history of germs and how a child’s terrain is a better indicator of health or disease. The naturopathic foundations of health familiarize parents with the necessary steps to create long term health. The authors go through each childhood illness children are commonly vaccinated for and offer naturopathic treatments such as herbs, supplements, essential oils, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, nutrition, and physical medicine as tools to work through each illness. The book includes a compendium of naturopathic protocols with a complete how-to section, resources and references to arm readers with the means to effectively nurture children back to health.
Contact: vitalhealthpub@gmail.com
5.0 out of 5 stars Holy grail of knowledge!
This book is a must! If you don’t vaccinate, partially vaccinate or fully vaccinate this book can and will benefit you. There are treatments for diseases, when to seek help and what to look out for. There is a lot of great info in this book that I have added to my arsenal of homeopathic remedies! I feel more prepared and confident in treating something if it arises. – DHowell
They dedicate a chapter to each of the following childhood illnesses.
Chapter 8: Chickenpox (Varicella)
Chapter 9: Diphtheria
Chapter 10: Flu (Influenza)
Chapter 11: Hepatitis A
Chapter 12: Hepatitis B
Chapter 13: HiB (Haemophilus Influenzae type B)
Chapter 14: HPV (Human Papillomavirus)
Chapter 15: Measles
Chapter 16: Meningitis
Chapter 17: Mumps
Chapter 18: Pertussis
Chapter 19: Pneumonia (Pneumococcal)
Chapter 20: Polio
Chapter 21: Rota
Chapter 22: Rubella
Chapter 23: Tetanus
Finally, here is a summary of a range of the treatment modalities described in the book and some excerpts.
Comprehensive Summary:
Introduction
This book provides guidance on using natural remedies and treatments to support children’s health during times of illness. The remedies cover rest, diet, supplements, physical treatments, and environmental adjustments.
Basic Measures Rest
-
- Bed rest is important to allow the body to direct resources to fighting infection. Activities should be limited to low-energy pastimes like reading or music. Even if a child seems recovered, extra rest helps prevent relapse.
Fever
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- Fevers indicate the immune system is working properly and do not need reducing unless very high (104+) or in infants. Methods like fluids, rest, and damp towels can support fevers rather than suppress them with medicine. Call a doctor with fevers over 104, less than 3 month old infants, or if concerning symptoms emerge like seizures.
Diet
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- Appetite declines when sick, so don’t force eating. Gentle foods like oats and broths give energy without taxing digestion. Eliminate dairy, juices, fried, processed, sugary foods which hinder healing. Fruit should be minimal due to natural sugars.
Edible Treatments Broths
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- Broths provide nutrients without taxing digestion, allowing the body’s resources to go towards healing. Bone broths were historically made by long boiling animal bones, skin, tendons to extract compounds like collagen. Commercial broths lack these benefits. Bieler’s broth is a vegetable preparation.
Herbal Teas
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- Herbal teas hydrate ill children who may resist water. Soothing, gentle herbs like chamomile or lemon balm also provide some medicinal value. Most herbal teas are naturally caffeine free. Rose hips, elderberry and hibiscus add tasty color. Sweeten with honey or stevia if needed.
Mushrooms
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- Many types of mushrooms, especially chaga, cordyceps, reishi and shiitake, contain compounds that support immune function. For children, mushroom glycerites (herbal extracts mixed with glycerin) are the easiest way to consume them.
Oxymels
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- Oxymels are preparations combining healing herbs with honey and vinegar used for millennia to aid recovery. Common versions use anti-inflammatory, soothing herbs like ginger, chamomile, lavender. They likely stimulate immunity and soothe inflammation.
Probiotics
-
- Probiotics boost digestion and immunity via gut health. Research continues to demonstrate far ranging benefits throughout the body. Safe from birth, higher amounts can stimulate immunity but may cause intestinal distress. Give infants probiotics by placing on mother’s breast or in bottle.
Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements
Vitamin A
-
- Critical for immune cells, vitamin A benefits conditions like measles and pneumonia. Use short term high doses only, as excess over time can cause toxicity.
Vitamin C
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- Important for immune cells and deficiency causes illness susceptibility. Use whole food sources where possible as supplements lose potency. Dose in smaller amounts through the day.
Vitamin D
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- Activates components of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Likely benefits a variety of infectious conditions.
Zinc
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- Limits viral replication, protects gut lining integrity, and starves bacteria. Enhances immune cell components like T cells, neutrophils, and phagocytes. Plays many metabolic roles.
Iodine
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- Has antimicrobial effects against diverse pathogens. Safest method is mixing with oil and applying to lymph nodes rather than internal consumption.
NAC
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- Precursor of antioxidant glutathione. Shown highly effective against flu and resulting complications. Use whenever mucous production accompanies illness.
Physical and Environmental Remedies
Hydrotherapy
Constitutional Hydrotherapy
-
- Enhances blood flow using hot/cold cloths and electrical stimulation. Brings oxygen and immune cells to internal organs. Deeply relaxing.
Contrast Hydrotherapy
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- Alternating hot and cold towels over chest and abdomen pumps blood between skin and organs, enhancing circulation and thymus gland for increased immune response. Also relaxing.
Other Hydrotherapy
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- Medicinal baths with herbs/oils soothe skin, calm nerves. Cool (not cold) baths relieve fever safely. Alternating warm and cool washcloths mimics contrast therapy.
Steam Inhalation
-
- Breathe medicinal steam containing essential oils or just water vapor to soothe congestion and stimulate immunity mildly.
Massage and Brushing
Dry Brushing
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- Light skin brushing towards the lymph nodes helps circulation of lymphatic system which lacks a pump. Helps transport fluid and dead cells.
Lymphatic Massage
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- Relaxing, gentle massage brings comfort while supporting lymphatic drainage of cellular waste. The lightest of touch is needed due to superficial lymph vessels.
Garlic Socks
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- Applying garlic via socks avoids consumption while benefiting from antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immune boosting properties. Can be worn overnight.
Magic Socks
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- Hydrotherapy for feet and legs improves circulation, drains congestion, increases detoxification. See apothecary for details.
Excerpts:
- “By lying in bed and resting, we allow those resources to be used for fighting infection and re-establishing normal health.”
- “As scary as it can seem, it’s important to note that while a fever is a sign of infection, that doesn’t mean it needs to be stopped.”
- “Normally, children don’t need to be treated for a high fever unless they’re less than three months old.”
- “If a child does not want to eat, forcing a child to do so could hinder their healing capacity.”
- “Rich in nutrients, easy on digestion and healing to the gut, broths have been used for centuries by healers.”
- “For children, the easiest way to consume medicinal mushrooms is as a glycerite.”
- “Evidence dating from 460 BC shows us this wonderful medicine has been used by doctors for a very long time to help stimulate healing in the human body.”
- “Safe from birth, higher amounts can stimulate immunity but may cause intestinal distress.”
- “Vitamin D is especially important for young children because of its immune enhancing effects.”
- “When treating colds, it binds to the receptors that viruses would attach to inhibiting their ability to continue to reproduce in the body.”
- “One of the safest, simplest and most effective ways to use it is when addressing an acute illness to mix it with a carrier oil, such as coconut oil, and massage it into lymph nodes.”
- “Many children fall asleep or feel deeply relaxed after this treatment is completed.”
- “Since babies have smaller torsos, a cool washcloth can be placed over the chest and abdomen to keep them comfortable if they have a fever.”
- “For this treatment, smashed garlic is applied through a cheesecloth onto a child’s foot and socks are placed over them”
- “The gentle, soft touch of a lymphatic massage can help an ill child remove metabolic waste products and dead cells from the lymphatic system.”
- “This therapy works through the placement of hot and cold towels over the chest and abdomen.”
- “Considered to be a type of hydrotherapy, magic socks can stimulate the immune system, drain congestion from the head and chest, relax away aches, increase circulation and aid in detoxification.”
- “Steam inhalations are generally used by people that have upper respiratory conditions like stuffy noses or congested sinuses.”
- “Since lymphatic vessels are superficial, light brushing strokes moving towards the heart are the easiest way to move lymphatic fluid.”
- “The increased circulation brings more nutrients, oxygen and white blood cells to internal organs.”
Lawmakers Push Funding to Replace Weapons Used in Yemen
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | January 21, 2024
As the White House has started an open-ended and unauthorized war in Yemen, some members of Congress are pushing for legislation that would provide funding to replace the munitions dropped on the Middle East’s poorest nation.
Politico reports, “As American warships burn through expensive missiles against Houthi targets in the Red Sea and Yemen, lawmakers, lobbyists, and the Navy are angling to use a multibillion-dollar national security supplemental to replenish the military’s inventory of munitions.”
In November, the Houthis announced that Yemeni forces would target Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea until Tel Aviv ends its military campaign in Gaza. Two weeks ago, President Joe Biden, without consulting Congress, authorized strikes on the Houthis.
In response, the Houthis began targeting American-linked shipping transiting the region. The White House is ordering attacks on Yemen nearly every day. However, the White House claims it is not at war with Yemen, and it does not need Congressional authorization for the operations.
Biden’s war in Yemen could drag on for some time. US officials told the Washington Post the administration has “no end date” and “little exit strategy” for its military operations in Yemen. President Biden has admitted that the strikes are not deterring the Houthi attacks.
Additionally, the US operations against Yemen are expensive. Washington has combated drone and missile attacks from Yemen on ships in the Red Sea by using expensive interceptors to down the inexpensive Houthi munitions. The White House has largely relied on ship-fired Tomahawks to hit targets in Yemen. Some lawmakers worry the operations against the Houthis will impact Wasington’s ability to dominate the globe.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said fighting in Yemen means Congress needs to add further spending for munitions to a supplemental military funding package. “As I’ve warned for weeks, using million-dollar missiles to defend against thousand-dollar drones strains an already insufficient inventory of long-range capabilities,” he added. “The supplemental is our chance to expand our capacity to meet the national security challenges we face.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) argued that additional missiles are needed to confront China. “We’re looking — one of the parts of the supplemental is to make sure we have the rounds we need, whether it’s [the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile] or possibly things like [the] Tomahawk that we have for the Western Pacific.” He continues, “And that is a capability we would need if we ever got in a conflict with China.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said “a big plus up” in munitions funding is imperative for Tomahawks, Naval Strike Missiles, and Harpoons. He also explained that the weapons are needed for global dominance. “And those kinds of weapons systems are critical everywhere, Taiwan in particular,” the Senator said.
Politico notes that Pentagon officials and lobbyists for arms makers are also pushing for increased funding for munitions production in a supplemental defense spending bill.
New Evidence of Mass Execution of Gazans by Israeli Forces
IMEMC | JANUARY 20, 2024
A new report has revealed details about one of the numerous incidents of Israeli soldiers carrying out a mass execution of Palestinian civilians – this one in the ‘Anan’ residential building in Gaza City on December 19, 2023.
Photos and eyewitness testimonies documented this incident, in which 15 men were forced to lay down on their stomachs, then shot and killed. A three-year old girl, Nada, was killed in the Israeli shelling that followed the executions.
According to eyewitness testimony from a woman, Heba, her daughter Rula and son, Uday, the Israeli soldiers separated the men from the women before shooting them, and their father, Ayman (44 years old), was among the victims.
Heba told Al Jazeera reporters, “They separated us from the men first, then they pushed the women and kids from one room to another, brutally beating us as they moved us.”
She continues in her narration, “There were about 15 men in the building. They stripped them of their clothes and tortured them in front of us. They broke my husband’s jaw with rifle butts, and broke his arms severely, while he was groaning in severe pain. Then they shot all the men mercilessly while they were lying on their stomachs.”
Shortly after the executions, the Palestinian woman added, Israeli tank shells and Israeli quadcopter fire began raining down on women and children.
The Israeli tank shells hit Heba’s daughter, Nada (3 years old), who died in her older sister’s arms.
The older sister, Rula, said that she tried to protect her little sister, but she was not able to, since her injuries were too severe. She said that other women and children were also injured.
Her younger brother, Uday, confirms her account of the incident, and tells how the men were executed in front of him, including his father.
Their mother, Heba Salem, who lost her husband in the summary execution, told Al Jazeera “This was a day we will never, ever forget.”
Exclusive photos and videos obtained by Al Jazeera show the residential building where the mass execution took place, and document the first pictures of Nada’s body shortly after her death.
Other scenes also show the bodies of men lying face down with deep wounds on their bodies and traces of bullets in various parts of them, indicating execution-style killings.
Other internal shots of the building show the effects of continuous tank shelling on it. The camera also monitors the scene of the crime committed by the Israeli occupation soldiers, showing bloodstains on the walls and floors, and many empty bullet casings.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said regarding the incident that “field killings and executions are one of the types of horrific violations practiced by Israeli forces in areas of incursion, which include looting, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, torture, and widespread destruction without any necessity or proportionality.”
The Observatory called for an urgent international investigation to be opened into the horrific crimes committed by the Israeli army in areas of its incursion into the Gaza Strip, including field executions, torture, threats to rape women, stripping of men, women and children, beatings and torture of Palestinian civilians, according to testimonies collected from released civilians. … Video report (disturbing)
UK to Spend $510Mln on Sea Viper Missile System Upgrade Following Houthi Attacks in Red Sea
Sputnik – 21.01.2024
The United Kingdom plans to spend $514 million to modernize the Sea Viper anti-aircraft missile system that UK forces previously used to shoot down drones in the Red Sea amid a deteriorating situation in the Middle East region, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said.
On January 10, Shapps said that a UK destroyer operating in the Red Sea alongside US warships managed to repel “the largest attack” staged in the region by Yemen’s Houthi.
The contract was reportedly signed with the UK division of the MBDA missile maker, the report said. The Sea Viper missile system will receive new missiles and software to counter ballistic missile threats.
The Houthis vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts the invasion of Gaza.
In January, the US and UK began airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen to degrade their fighting capabilities. Russia condemned both the Houthi actions in the Red Sea and the Western aggression against Yemen, dubbing the latter “another example of the Anglo-Saxons’ distortion of UN Security Council resolutions and complete disregard for international law”.
Why Are Almost 40 Percent of US Nuclear Attack Subs Out of Service?
By Oleg Burunov – Sputnik – 21.01.2024
Eighteen fast attack submarines are being temporarily decommissioned for repairs, a move that is fraught with far-reaching consequences for the US, experts told Sputnik.
On January 21, 1954, the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, was launched at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.
SIxty-nine years later, a congressional report has revealed that something has gone wrong with the US Navy’s nuclear-powered fast submarine fleet. Of the 49 multi-purpose attack submarines (SSNs) in the navy, 18 are currently out of service for repairs, per the report.
So how did this happen? Sputnik explores.
What’s in the Report?
As of 2023, at least 37% of the entire fleet of SSNs have been temporarily decommissioned for repairs, according to previously undisclosed navy data published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The report cited 18 SSNs that are either in depot maintenance or awaiting maintenance, known as idle. The number is significantly higher than the navy’s target of having a maximum of 20% of all fast attack subs undergoing maintenance at any one time and zero submarines sitting idle and waiting to begin repairs.
The maintenance backlog has “substantially reduced” the number of the SSNs operational at any given moment, reducing the “force’s capacity for meeting day-to-day mission demands and potentially putting increased operational pressure” on fast attack submarines that are in service, CRS naval analyst Ronald O’Rourke said in the report.
The Naval Sea Systems Command responded by blaming “planning, material availability, and shipyard execution.” The service has launched several initiatives to address these “primary maintenance delay” factors, the command added.
Which Subs Need Maintenance?
The inactive SSNs are not the nuclear ballistic missile Ohio-class submarines, “but fast attack boats, including the Seawolf-class, that can fire torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missile at vessels and land targets, and perform stealth missions such as surveillance,” Bloomberg earlier reported.
As for SSNs, it is the US Navy’s hull classification symbol for a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine.
‘Severe Blow to US Admirals’ Pride’
Taking almost 40 percent of US fast attack submarines out of service is “quite a big blow to the pride of American admirals and sailors,” Vasily Dandykin, a Russian veteran military analyst and retired Russian Navy captain 1st rank, told Sputnik.
The reasons why the 18 SSNs have been temporarily decommissioned should be discussed in light of the US’ self-declared victory in the Cold War, Dandykin insisted.
“After announcing this win, Americans turned a blind eye to maintenance-related issues,” the analyst said, adding that “the delayed repairs shorten the lifespan of a submarine.”
When asked about the condition of the SSNs in service, the analyst pointed to a spate of problems with the maintenance and qualifications of crews, which he said resulted earlier in various navigational incidents.
Connecticut Sub Crash
One of the major incidents happened to the USS Connecticut in the South China Sea in October 2021.
A subsequent navy investigation into the crash of the Seawolf-class submarine into an underwater ridge in the sea found that the incident was “preventable” and that it followed navigation planning and risk management mistakes, as well as other errors.
The failures “fell far below US Navy standards,” and the incident left the fast attack submarine unable to operate “for an extended period of time” because of the damage, the probe pointed out. The Connecticut reportedly won’t be back in service until early 2026 at the soonest.
Another incident dates back to January 9, 2005, when one crewman died after the US nuclear submarine San Francisco ran aground off Guam in the Pacific Ocean. Twenty-three crewmen were injured in the incident.
In February 2001, the USS Greeneville’s rudder tore through the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru’s lower deck during a fast surface maneuver, sinking the vessel within minutes. Nine people aboard died, including students and instructors in commercial fishing.
Repercussions
Operational pressure on the SSNs that are still in service is almost sure to increase, which means that their life span may be reduced and the construction of more such submarines will be needed, Dandykin meanwhile went on to say. This will, in turn, lead to spending hefty sums from the US’ defense budget, he added.
He was echoed by Earl Rasmussen, a retired lieutenant colonel with over 20 years in the US Army, who told Sputnik that the fact that 18 SSNs are now out of service means that the US Navy will have to limit its operations in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the South China Sea.
“Almost 40% of the SSNs being decommissioned will impact our capability to deploy our reach and to deploy the defensive capability,” Rasmussen pointed out. The US Navy is “below its optimal or even projected readiness capability,” the US expert concluded.
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Iran War: United States Military Versus Israel Firsters
By James Petras | November 27, 2007
Why must Jewish organizations be and be seen as the loudest drum-beaters of all? Why can we not bring ourselves to say that military intervention is not on the table at all? Why not stash it under the table, out of sight and mount instead a diplomatic assault? – Leonard Fein, Forward
Introduction
As the White House and Congress escalate their economic sanctions and military threats against Iran, top military commanders and Pentagon officials have launched a counter-offensive, opposing a new Middle East War. While some commentators and journalists, like Chris Hedges (Truthdig, November 13, 2007), privy to this high stakes inter-elite conflict, attribute this to a White House cabal led by Vice President Cheney, a more stringent and accurate assessment puts the Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) in the center of the Iran war debate.
There is a great deal riding in this conflict – the future of the American empire as well as the balance of power in the Middle East. Equally important is the future of the US military and our already heavily constrained democratic freedoms. The outcome of the continuous and deepening confrontation between top US military officials and the Israel Firsters over US foreign policy in the Middle East has raised fundamental questions over self-determination, colonization, civilian primacy and military political intervention, empire or republic. These and related issues are far from being of academic interest only; they concern the future of the United States. … continue
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- The Three Big Lies about Mammography Screening
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- Palestinian family displaced after settlers violently attack them in Humsa, Jordan Valley
- The EU never learns – except for the wrong lessons
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- Hosting Washington’s war: Bahrain faces the consequences
- If Americans Knew
- ‘Of Course’: IDF Drops Case Against Soldiers Accused of Raping Palestinian Prisoner
- Don’t Fall for the Regime Change Talk. Israel Is ‘Mowing the Lawn’ in Iran
- Will Israel and the US wreck the Gulf States along with Iran?
- US so far burned through ‘years’ of munitions in Iran war: Report
- How the Israeli Tail Wags the American Dog
- Outdated intel likely led to deadly U.S. strike on Iranian elementary school, sources say
- Pentagon insider says high U.S official Douglas Feith reported to Netanyahu
- In fond memory of Walid Khalidi, the historian of Palestine
- 6 more Americans killed, as Israel ‘mows the lawn’ in Iran – Not a ceasefire Day 154
- Are we on the precipice of World War III?
- No Tricks Zone
- Storing Green Energy To Last Germany 10 Days Would Require A 60-Million Tonne Battery
- New Studies: UK Sea Levels Were 4 Meters Higher Than Today During The Mid-Holocene
- Destructive Green New Deal: German Energy And Metal Group Warns Of Drastic Crisis
- New Study Documents A 20-Year Pause In Arctic Sea Ice Decline – Driven By Internal Variability
- Wake-up Call: Survey Shows Majority Of Germans Now Favor Postponing Climate Targets!
- Televised! Leading German Political Candidate Tells Schoolchildren CO2 Makes Sun Hotter!
- New Study: A Century Warming Of 1.1°C Is ‘Commonplace’ And ‘Not Unusual’ During This Interglacial
- New Study: ‘Internal Noise’ And Volcanic Forcing Can Trigger 10-15°C Warming Within Decades
- Glaciers Worldwide Are Suddendly Surging, Experts Blame Warming!
- Surprising Discovery: Sahara Is Greening…Billions Of Trees Where Once Thought To Be Barren
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