GM soybean oil damages liver and kidneys
GM Watch | October 12, 2024
New rat feeding study is further proof that GM soy isn’t substantially equivalent to non-GM soy. Report: Claire Robinson
A diet containing GM soybean oil damaged the liver and kidney of rats in a new 90-day feeding study conducted by Iranian scientists. The study provides further proof that GM soy is not substantially equivalent to non-GM soy, meaning that regulatory authorisations given on the assumption of equivalence are invalid.
The study, by Horyie Taheri of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and colleagues, was conducted on 18 male rats in three different groups (6 rats per group). One group was fed a diet containing 10% GM soybean oil for 90 days, while the other two groups served as control groups, receiving either non-GM soybean oil or a standard lab diet, respectively.
The scientists carried out biochemical analysis of the blood and at the end of the experiment, microscopic tissue analysis (histopathology) of the liver and kidneys.
The scientists found that GM soybean oil caused several histological abnormalities in the liver, including congestion, necrosis, and bile duct hyperplasia (increased cell production, which may indicate a pre-cancerous state).
Similarly, congestion, haemorrhage, and glomerulosclerosis (scarring of small blood vessels) were found in the kidney analysis. Moreover, GM soybean oil significantly increased gamma-glutamyl transferase (a possible sign of liver disease or damage) and insulin (often associated with type 2 diabetes) levels compared to a standard diet.
Furthermore, urea and triglycerides were significantly higher in GM-fed rats compared to rats fed with standard or non-GM diet. These are respectively indications of kidney failure and a failure to break down fats, which can lead to hardening of the arteries and other diseases.
The scientists conclude: “A 90-day treatment with transgenic soy-based oil caused significant organ changes in the liver and kidneys of rats. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effects to better elucidate these impacts.”
Limitations of the study
The study has certain limitations, as follows:
1. As Taheri and colleagues state, 90 days is not long enough to reveal long-term effects – for which a 2-year or longer study would be required. However, the fact that they saw adverse effects of GM soybean oil even over this medium-term period (roughly equivalent to 7-8 years in human terms) is concerning and suggests that over time, more serious disease could develop. They also suggest that measuring inflammatory markers would have been a useful addition to the study, to explain insulin resistance and other findings.
2. The error bars, in this case based on what’s known as the standard error of the mean, on some of the biochemical findings are wide. In simple terms, this indicates uncertainty in how those findings can be interpreted. This is likely due to the relatively small sample size (6 rats per group), which has caused the study to be statistically underpowered. To be fair to the authors, however, studies with as small, or smaller, sample sizes that conclude that there was no adverse effect from feeding the GM diet are promoted as showing GMO safety.
3. The authors didn’t analyse the oils for contaminants, which could have affected the results. However, feeding studies with GMOs reporting that the GM diet tested was safe also typically fail to do this.
Regarding points 2 and 3 above, there is no reason to hold a study finding harm from the GMO to different standards than a study finding safety. Moreover, we’re not aware of any other studies testing the safety of extracted GM soy oil. So currently, Taheri et al’s research seems to represent the best information we have.
4. The authors state that “having direct access to transgenic plants and their oil would be better”. Indeed, they don’t say where they obtained the GM and non-GM soybean oil or where the soybeans were grown. It’s likely that they simply bought it on the open market, as it’s generally easy to access GM and non-GM soy oil, with GM oil having to be labelled as such in Iran. If this assumption is correct, the study shows that GM soy oil bought on the open market caused adverse effects that non-GM soy oil did not. That’s a serious enough take-home message.
There are also some drafting errors in the paper which are addressed in an appendix below.
Regulatory authorisations based on a lie
GM soybean oil is routinely used by restaurants and other eateries in the UK and the EU (as an investigation of their dustbin areas often reveals), and it’s likely that the same is true of Iran. A considerable body of evidence shows that GM soy has adverse effects on animals that eat it – though we don’t know if that’s a result of the herbicide residues present in GM glyphosate-tolerant soy, or of compositional changes caused by the GM process, or a combination of both. What is clear is that GM soy isn’t substantially equivalent, in terms of biological effects, to non-GM soy. That means its regulatory authorisations worldwide, which are based on the assumption of an equivalent safety profile with that of non-GM soy, are based on a lie and should be revoked.
The new study (open access):
Taheri H, Mesgari-Abbasi M, Khordadmehr M, Rahimi Mamaghani A, Abbasalizad-Farhangi M. Effect of genetically modified soybean oil consumption on biochemical and histological changes of liver and kidney in rats. Int J Drug Res Clin. 2024; 2: e11. doi: 10.34172/ijdrc.2024.e11. https://ijdrug.com/Article/ijdrc-3048
New Report Adds to Evidence That Cellphone Radiation May Cause Brain Cancer
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D. |The Defender | October 22, 2024
Peer-reviewed studies showing a link between brain cancer and cellphone radiation are piling up — contradicting a recent World Health Organization (WHO)-led study that claimed there’s no evidence of a link.
South Korean researchers — who analyzed 24 studies and published their report on Oct. 10 in Environmental Health — found significantly higher risks for malignant brain tumors, meningioma and glioma on the side of the head where cellphones were held.
They also found heavy, long-term cellphone use was linked to an increased risk of glioma.
The South Korean study brings the number of meta-analyses published since 2016 linking cellphone radiation to an increased risk of brain cancer to seven, wrote Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., on his website.
Moskowitz — who directs the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of California, Berkeley — has conducted and disseminated research on wireless technology and public health since 2009.
“These seven peer-reviewed meta-analytic studies contradict the conclusion of the recent WHO systematic review,” he said.
“Seven studies is a lot and we anticipate more in the future,” Miriam Eckenfels-Garcia, director of Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) & Wireless program, told The Defender.
Eckenfels-Garcia said:
“We encourage the WHO to revise its stance, unlikely as this may be. It’s more likely that the WHO and other captured agencies will label non-industry friendly science as misinformation, even if this puts the public further in danger.”
Moskowitz said there’s evidence that the WHO picked industry-biased researchers to conduct its review.
Lennart Hardell, M.D., Ph.D., a leading scientist who found a link between cellphone use and gliomas, agreed. He told The Defender it was “striking” that the South Korean researchers reached a conclusion that directly contradicted the findings by the authors of the WHO study.
Hardell — an oncologist and epidemiologist with the Environment and Cancer Research Foundation who has authored more than 350 papers, almost 60 of which address wireless radiation — said:
“The WHO study authors should be responsible for their fraudulent behavior violating human health and the environment. Their lack of ethical principles in science gives a ‘green card’ to roll out this technology — and the misinformed layman is the victim.”
Brain tumor rates on the rise in Denmark
The South Korean study was published on the heels of new health data from Denmark showing that central nervous system tumors — including brain tumors — are on the rise.
Denmark is known for its high-quality tracking of cancer cases. So it’s concerning when their data show a clear increase, Mona Nilsson, co-founder and director of the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation, told The Defender.
The Danish Cancer Registry on Sept. 30 published a report on the number of new cancer cases in Denmark, Nilsson said. It shows that central nervous system tumors have been increasing among both men and women.
Nilsson compared Danish central nervous system cancer diagnosis rates since 1995. “The data show that tumors of the central nervous system, including brain tumors, are increasing and are among the cancers that have increased most rapidly over the past 10 years, between 2014 and 2023.”
Credit: Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation
The Danish statistics contradict the notion that the rate of brain tumors isn’t on the rise, Nilsson said. “That argument has been used to claim that cellphone use is not linked to an increased risk of brain tumors or cancers in general.”
A 2023 study on brain cancer rates worldwide from 1990-2019 found a significant rise in brain cancer among both men and women in nearly all parts of the world. The study authors noted that this increase was largely seen in Western countries.
In the U.S., overall brain and other nervous system cancer rates haven’t increased, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, there are many reasons tumors may go unreported in the U.S. and other countries, according to Moskowitz.
For instance, Hardell in a 2017 peer-reviewed study found indications of underreporting in the Swedish Cancer Register.
Although the incidence of reported glioma diagnoses in U.S. adults has remained steady, Moskowitz noted in a Sept. 25 webinar, there’s been an increase in glioblastoma — “the most common and most serious malignant brain tumor.”
“We have seen increases in brain tumor incidents among children and young adults,” he added. “Clearly, more research is needed to understand these increases in tumor incidents.”
Ellie Marks told The Defender she and her son founded the California Brain Tumor Association after discovering that her husband’s brain tumor was likely caused by long-term heavy cellphone use.
After the tumor diagnosis in 2008, Marks sent her husband’s medical and phone records to wireless radiation experts, including Hardell. “They got back to me and said, ‘Yes, he is the poster boy for the cellphone brain tumor correlation,’” she recalled.
Her husband survived, but it’s not easy living with a brain tumor — and her husband is far from alone, she said. “I know many others who have experienced brain cancer attributed to their cellphone use.”
FDA turned blind eye to research linking wireless radiation and cancer
The uptick in brain cancer cases isn’t surprising, Eckenfels-Garcia said, and U.S. health agencies saw it coming.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims there’s not enough scientific evidence to link cellphone use to health problems, including brain cancer — but it rejected the findings of a $30 million study it commissioned on the topic.
At the FDA’s request, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) did a multi-year study, concluding there was “clear evidence” that male rats exposed to high levels of wireless radiation like that used in 2G and 3G cellphones developed cancerous heart tumors, and “some evidence” of tumors in the brain and adrenal gland of exposed male rats.
When the NTP in 2018 released its findings, the FDA rejected the study and in February 2020, released an unsigned literature review that criticized the study.
Commenting on the increased incidence of brain tumors, Eckenfels-Garcia said, “So essentially this is an ‘I told you so’ moment. This is exactly what happens when our captured government agencies ignore science, as the FDA did with the NTP study.”
Moskowitz said the FDA should have followed up on the NTP study by conducting a formal risk assessment of wireless radiation, but that never happened. Instead, the U.S. government shut down NTP’s follow-up work on its 2018 study.
In April, CHD filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for documents and communications related to why the U.S. government stopped the work. The NIH has not responded to the request.
This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.
Regarding the WHO ‘Pandemic Agreement’
Negotiating with bullies, liars and thieves is unlikely to be a winning strategy
By Tess Lawrie, MBBCh, PhD | November 1, 2024
There is a lot on the go at the moment, so you may have missed that the World Health Organization’s ‘Pandemic Agreement’ is in the process of being finalised. Scheduled to be finalised by November 11, 2024, the aim is to ‘adopt’ it at a special session of the World Health Assembly in December.
Given that the WHO continues to violate its key objective, which is the highest attainable standard of health for every human being, the WHO can no longer be considered an authority on health, except in the matter of ensuring that it and key individuals within it are held liable for the deteriorating health of the world’s people due to its failed Covid policies.
With regard to the WHO Pandemic Agreement to be finalised by November 11, 2024, I encourage you to consider whether this boy’s club agreement pertains to us at all.
Imagine there is a gang in a school. The gang with their own gang rules set themselves up at the school gate and say, We are in charge of this school. You cannot say this or that anymore, you must follow our gang rules, and you have to buy your lunch from us. Be quiet and don’t ask questions. If you don’t do our bidding, the teachers, whom we control, will force you to and/or detain you.
Would you negotiate with this gang of bullies?
Among our choices when confronted by this WHO gang are the following:
- we can comply and hope they will show mercy;
- we can ask nicely or beg them to reconsider some of their rules;
- we can jump over the school fence to avoid them, and live in daily fear of their vindictiveness;
or…
- we can say to them “This school is a prison, if you like it so much you can keep it!”
Negotiating with bullies, liars and thieves is unlikely to be a winning strategy.
It is time for us to let the WHO and its controllers know that they can make as many agreements as they like, but they are all fake and irrelevant, and have no bearing on us, the people of this beautiful earth.
You can read the document that the WHO aims to ‘adopt’ illegitimately this December here, and read James Roguski’s insights here.
Flash Floods In Spain
Valencia’s ‘Great Flood of 57’
By Paul Homewood | Not A Lot Of People Know That | October 30, 2024
Yes, the flash floods in Spain have been devastating. And, yes they have happened before.
But the BBC weatherman also claims that extreme rainfall events like these are becoming more common:
As usual the BBC do not provide any evidence for such irresponsible claims.
And the rainfall data for Valencia, which was worst hit, provides no such evidence either.
KNMI daily rainfall data shows categorically that extreme rainfall is neither more common or extreme.
According to the Spanish weather agency, rainfall peaked at about 200mm in the area, certainly not unprecedented.
The BBC say more fell up in the hills at Chiva, but that does not have a long term record, and inevitably rainfall will be much higher as the moist air rises rapidly over the hills. In other words, chalk and cheese.
Not for the first time, the BBC are using human tragedy to push their increasingly hysterical climate agenda.
Ireland’s Online “Hate Crime” Law Passes, Sparks Major Future Free Speech Concerns
By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | November 1, 2024
In Ireland, the controversial Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offenses) Act 2024 has become law.
President Michael Higgins on Tuesday signed the bill – as Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman welcomed the development, and vowed that if still in power after the November election, this party would “certainly” work to get even more “hate speech legislation” adopted.
This remark has to do with a temporary removal of some of the current bill’s controversial provisions, the implication being that those might make a comeback in some “new hate speech” bill.
The parts removed concern some incitement to violence and hatred and hate speech provisions; however, those on hate crime have been left in the text.
Prior to being signed into law, the amended Criminal Justice Act 2024 – known as the “Hate Crime Bill” – cleared the country’s parliament in a 78-50 vote earlier in the month, despite strong criticism both from politicians and free speech groups.
The general argument used by the law’s opponents is that it is criminalizing free speech in a number of ways, with the most ardent critics seeing the legislation as moving Ireland closer to oppression and the rule of tyranny.
One of the controversial parts of the law revolves around the definition of gender, which is both extensive and expansive: “(…) the gender of a person or the gender which a person expresses as the person’s preferred gender or with which the person identifies and includes transgender and a gender other than those of male and female.”
And if the chosen gender – such as it is defined here, is found to be the reason for “hatred” expressed against someone – then from now on, this is to be treated as an aggravating factor, bringing with it a greater sentence than would have been the case had the “protected characteristics” not played a role in the consideration of an offense.
Speaking of protected characteristics, the act defines them as religion – including “absence of religious belief” – race, ethnicity, gender (as defined), sexual orientation, disability, and also, “references to sex characteristics shall be construed as references to the physical and biological features of a person relating to sex.”
During the debate in parliament, the bill’s sponsors made sure to note that this legislation – in the way it criminalizes certain behaviors – is the first of its kind in Europe.
Israeli reservist killed in Lebanon ‘happily’ slaughtered women and children in Gaza
Shuva’el Ben Natan, an Israeli reservist, who was killed in southern Lebanon last week.
By Alireza Akbari | Press TV | November 2, 2024
Shuva’el Ben Natan, an Israeli reservist involved in the killings of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank for years, was neutralized during combat in southern Lebanon last week.
He had been dispatched to southern Lebanon from Gaza after the Israeli regime announced the “ground invasion” of southern Lebanon recently, which has proved a complete disaster for the regime.
After failing to achieve its key military objectives in the Gaza Strip after one year of genocidal war that has claimed nearly 43,300 lives so far, the Israeli regime ordered a “ground invasion” of southern Lebanon early last month despite warnings from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.
Despite its attempts, the Tel Aviv regime has not succeeded in breaching the Lebanese border, facing strong resilience from the Lebanese-based resistance Hezbollah.
According to Israeli media, including Yedioth Ahronoth, around 50,000 Israeli troops as part of five military divisions and reserve brigades have failed to occupy even one Lebanese village or town in more than a month while losing hundreds of soldiers to Lebanese resistance operations in the process.
One of them is Ben Natan, who had the blood of many Palestinian children on his hands.
Just after the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October last year, a hate-spewing military reservist killed 40-year-old Bilal Salah, a Palestinian olive harvester in the village of Sawiya, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
He also participated in the burning of several Palestinian villages, destroying homes and vehicles in the occupied region, according to eyewitness reports.
After that, he was deployed to the besieged coastal Palestinian territory at a time when hospitals and schools were being indiscriminately bombarded and civilians killed in cold blood in broad daylight.
He engaged in horrendous war crimes in Gaza, where he was involved in setting fire to homes and killing Palestinians, including women and children, without regard for human life.
The extent of his brutality became alarmingly evident during his funeral, where his brother Uriyah and friends openly recounted his war crimes and expressed a desire for “revenge.”
Their speeches were subsequently interpreted as explicit admissions of the slain reservist’s heinous atrocities committed against Palestinian civilians, emphasizing his direct involvement in war crimes.
This disturbing portrayal garnered widespread attention as the video of the funeral circulated online, igniting outrage and condemnation among netizens.
During Ben Natan’s funeral, his brother Uriyah delivered a eulogy that shocked many in attendance.
“You entered Gaza to revenge as much as possible, women, children, everyone you saw, as many people as possible, that’s what you wanted,” he exclaimed, referring to his brother’s main motive.
“And on this day, a year after Simchat Torah, when we thought we would massacre the enemy, massacre them all, drive them out of the land, we are here at your funeral… the entire nation of Israel will have the opportunity to avenge your revenge, blood revenge, not the revenge of burning houses, not the revenge of burning trees, not the revenge of burning cars, but the revenge of blood you spilt.”
https://twitter.com/GozukaraFurkan/status/1850487651242999952
Uriyah’s words laid bare the chilling extent to which the concept of “massacre” has taken root in the mindset of Israeli settlers, reflecting a deeply ingrained ideology that glorifies violence and vengeance.
Ben Natan’s father also mourned his son by reminiscing about their shared experiences, recalling how they would patrol together while shooting at Palestinians who threw stones, describing their aim to “control and blow them up from a distance.”
During the eulogy that further exposed Ben Natan’s war crimes, an Israeli soldier referenced Ben Natan, saying, “You were the happiest and most optimistic and frivolous person in the platoon. We saw it for the first time in Gaza when you unauthorizedly burnt a house just to lift the atmosphere.”
The statement not only highlighted Ben Natan’s barbaric behavior but also underscored the normalization of violence within Israeli military circles as well as the settler population.
Ben Natan’s barbaric mindset, exposed during his funeral, sheds light on his affiliations with the Hilltop Youth which is a far-right Jewish settler movement in the occupied West Bank led by Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
This group is recognized as one of the most radical factions associated with Israeli settler extremism.
Emerging in the early 2000s, the Hilltop Youth is a loosely organized collective primarily composed of young, extremist Israeli settlers who are driven by the belief that establishing illegal outposts on the forcibly seized Palestinian land is a religious obligation.
The group’s ideology revolves around expanding Jewish presence in the occupied West Bank, an initiative aimed at fulfilling their aspiration for a “Greater Israel.”
Their activities are marked by violent attacks against Palestinian civilians, destruction of property, and instances of verbal harassment, contributing to the ongoing cycle of tension and conflict in the region.
In a poignant reflection on Ben Natan’s funeral, Lebanese Islamic scholar Sayyid Hussain Makke took to X (formerly Twitter) to express a powerful sentiment.
He emphasized that, despite the immense suffering endured by him and many others in Lebanon amid the ongoing massacres, there is no desire for “revenge” against Israeli women and children.
“Despite having lost so many loved ones, and despite my father being abducted by Israel as a teenager, and despite all the suffering inflicted upon us personally since I was born, and despite being displaced with my family right now and after having our whole village destroyed – neither I nor anyone I know has ever wished ‘revenge’ on Israeli women and children,” he wrote.
His remarks highlighted a stark contrast to the narratives perpetuated by settlers’ extremist ideology.
Ynet: With 50,000 troops, Israel unable to ‘capture a single village’ in Lebanon
Press TV – November 2, 2024
The Israeli military has so far failed to “capture even a single village” in southern Lebanon despite deploying over 50,000 soldiers for the ground invasion of Lebanon, an Israeli paper has lamented.
“After a month of ground operations involving five divisions and reserve brigades—exceeding 50,000 troops, three times the force used in the July 2006 war—Israel has been unable to establish a presence in southern Lebanon,” Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
“Despite support from firepower and air support, the Israeli military still hasn’t managed to capture a single village in southern Lebanon.”
The report attributed the failure of the Israeli forces to Hezbollah’s “effective tactical strategies,” which include multiple defensive lines equipped with munitions capable of accurately targeting Israeli armored vehicles, tanks, and soldiers.
Additionally, it noted the Israeli army’s difficulties in mapping Hezbollah’s positions and countering the threat posed by small, hard-to-detect drones.
Hezbollah issued a statement on Friday, saying that in the past 45 days, it had destroyed a large number of Israel’s military vehicles, including 42 Merkava tanks, 4 military bulldozers, 2 Hummer vehicles, 1 armored vehicle, and 1 troop carrier.
More than 95 Israeli officers and soldiers have been killed and 900 others wounded since the regime started its ground invasion against Lebanon, the statement added.
Resistance fighters also downed three Hermes-450 and two Hermes-900 drones.
In an interview, Colonel Jack Neriya, a former advisor to Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, explained that Hezbollah fighters are deliberately allowing Israeli forces to advance, only to trap them in ambushes. This tactic has created a dire situation for Israeli troops, including elite units like Golani and other commandos, he said.
Neriya also warned that the human cost of any advance for Israeli forces could be severe, potentially surpassing “Israel’s” total casualties since the late 1940s.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed over 2,700 people in Lebanon. Most of them have lost their lives in the past month amid the intensified airstrikes and a ground offensive.
Euro-Med: International community showed disgraceful failure to stop genocide in Gaza
Palestinian Information Center – November 2, 2024
GENEVA – The Euro-Med Monitor said the foot-dragging by the international community regarding taking decisive decisions towards the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip, especially in northern Gaza, indicates its complicity in those heinous crimes, gives the Israeli army a green light to escalating its genocidal war, and shows its shocking disregard of Palestinians’ lives and dignity.
The Euro-Med indicated in a statement on Saturday that the international community, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the European Union, and the various UN organizations, showed a 13-month disgraceful failure to protect civilians and stop the crime of genocide committed by the Israeli occupation army against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Euro-Med emphasized that the international community did not deal seriously with the Israeli occupation crimes and ignored its atrocities, which encouraged the Israeli army to expand such crimes with the support and armament from the US and a number of European countries.
The Euro-Med voiced concerns that Israel, despite officially denying it, is implementing a displacement plan in northern Gaza, known as the “General’s Plan” by evacuating shelters in Jabalia and Beit Hanoun by committing massacres, killing, displacing, and starving civilians through blocking the entry of aid or goods into northern Gaza for a whole month.
It called on the International Criminal Court to shoulder its responsibilities to issue arrest warrants and hold accountable the perpetrators of the Israeli crimes.
The human rights group also urged the United Nations and the international community to intervene immediately to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents in northern Gaza, stop the crime of genocide, impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, and to take all decisive measures to protect Palestinian civilians.
Israeli commandos carry out kidnapping operation in north Lebanon
The Cradle | November 2, 2024
Israeli naval commandos conducted a raid in northern Lebanon on 1 November, abducting one Lebanese man, prominent journalist Hasan Illaik reported for Al-Mahatta.
Some 25 soldiers landed Friday on the Lebanese coast in Batroun, a Christian town south of Tripoli. They raided a chalet near the beach and abducted a Lebanese man before escaping in speedboats, the report says.
Illaik provided surveillance camera footage from the incident showing a group of soldiers taking the abducted person with them.
The abducted man has been identified as Imad Amhaz, who had been attending a month-long captain’s training course at a maritime institute located in the area.
Illaik reported further that Lebanese security forces are investigating the incident and suspect the Israeli commandos collaborated with German naval forces deployed to the Lebanese coast as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
By collaborating with German naval forces, the Israeli commandos could ensure that the Lebanese Navy, which is active in the region to combat smuggling to Europe, would not be able to disrupt the operation.
Illaik suggested that the Israeli commandos were likely from the Shayetet 13 or Sayeret Matkal divisions of the Israeli military.
Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, sabotage, maritime intelligence gathering, maritime hostage rescue, and boarding.
Sayeret Matkal is a special reconnaissance unit (sayeret) of Israel’s General Staff (matkal).
On Saturday afternoon, Lebanon’s Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Ali Hamieh, told the media that “The kidnapped person is a sea captain of civilian and commercial ships and is receiving his education at a civilian institute.”
He added that the government and security institutions are conducting the necessary investigations.
Saudi news station Al-Hadath claimed that the abducted man was a top Hezbollah operative, citing sources within the Islamic resistance movement.
However, Hezbollah’s media relations department rejected the Al-Hadath claim.
The media relations department issued a statement, saying: “Our policy is very clear; we have previously explained and confirmed in past statements that there are no sources in Hezbollah or sources close to Hezbollah that would provide such alleged information to Al Hadath and its affiliated channels, which are openly engaged in the Zionist propaganda machine against our resistance and the Lebanese people.”
US embassy blocks Iraq-Lebanon humanitarian air bridge: Report
The Cradle | November 2, 2024
The US embassy in Lebanon has blocked the establishment of a humanitarian air bridge between Baghdad and Beirut, insisting instead that any humanitarian aid for those displaced by the Israeli war be delivered via Jordan “for inspection first,” according to a report by Lebanese daily Al Akhbar.
Washington reportedly also threatened Lebanon’s national airliner, Middle East Airlines (MEA), with sanctions if its planes were used to transport those wounded by Israel’s terror attack that caused communication devices to explode across the country.
Furthermore, the US embassy in Lebanon receives a “daily manifesto” of all passengers traveling through Beirut airport from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Since the expansion of the US-Israeli war against Lebanon at the start of October, Iraq became one of the top providers of humanitarian aid via land to Lebanon. Nevertheless, Israel’s destruction of the main road connecting Lebanon to Syria has hampered those efforts.
As Washington continues to meddle in Beirut’s internal politics, Al Akhbar reports that the US embassy is behind “mysterious” road works in the Dbayeh area north of Beirut.
“[Bulldozers] began at the beginning of the aggression to open a passage between the sea road adjacent to the [Lebanese Armed Forces’] Al-Fuhoud barracks in Dbayeh and the sea … After some residents became suspicious of these works and asked the army about their nature, the military institution denied any knowledge of the matter,” the report states.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport has also denied any knowledge about the construction, which the report says is being undertaken at the request of the US embassy under the “implicit approval” of the Lebanese army’s command to allegedly “prepare for the evacuation” of US citizens.
The news comes on the heels of an Israeli commando operation that saw about two dozen soldiers make land in the northern Lebanese city of Batroun to kidnap a civilian sea captain who Beirut says was “receiving his education at a civilian institute.” Under cover of night and reportedly working alongside the German navy, the Israeli forces took the man, identified as Imad Amhaz and escaped back to sea using speedboats.
Last month, local media reported that the US embassy in Lebanon has been in talks with their local allies to ignite an “internal uprising” that would help Israel achieve its war goals.
Biden regime violating US law through MENA troop deployments: House Democrats
Al Mayadeen | November 2, 2024
Five House Democrats warned US President Joe Biden that the deployment of American troops to aid “Israel’s” escalating aggression in the Middle East violates US law, reprimanding the Biden administration amid accusations that it was intentionally dismissing domestic law to support Israeli violence in the region.
In the letter, the Democrats, led by representatives Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush slammed the administration’s unilateral decision to share intelligence with the Israeli military and send troops to “Israel” and the Middle East, saying it constitutes direct engagement in the region’s conflicts.
Consequently, the Constitution and War Powers Resolution of 1973, which lists Congress as the sole power that could declare war and approve the deployment of soldiers, are thereby violated.
The letter stresses that US Congress did not authorize the deployment of troops in the region, adding that the Executive Branch cannot introduce US armed forces into conflicts in the absence of an imminent or actual attack on its sovereignty.
The Israeli expansion of the war throughout the Middle East, particularly in Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, was supported by the deployment of thousands of US soldiers in the region. The most recent batch was dispatched to “Israel” to assist with the installation of a $1 billion high-altitude anti-missile system. Additionally, US troops have supported Israeli forces in identifying alleged targets in Gaza.
The lawmakers further stated that the current and any future deployment of US Armed Forces in support of “Israel’s” expanding regional violence qualifies as “hostilities” under the War Powers Resolution and is not in response to an imminent threat to the US. Therefore, these actions lack authorization and fall under Congress’s constitutional authority.
They urged the administration to clarify the extent of US military involvement in “Israel’s” actions and to justify recent strikes against the armed forces in Yemen, additionally highlighting that Congress has the power to withdraw unauthorized troops and halt their participation in the region.
“These destructive wars must end, as must any unauthorized U.S. involvement in them. The American public deserves a say on the issue of war. Thus, Congress’ involvement and debate are necessary,” the letter read.
US deploys B-52s and warships to ME
The United States announced, on Friday, that it would be deploying B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft, and Navy destroyers to the Middle East as part of a realignment of military resources while the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group gets ready to depart the region.
The Pentagon stated that these deployments would occur in the coming months and highlighted the “flexibility of the US military movements around the world.”
“Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies choose to target American personnel or interests in the region during this time, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
Over the past year, the United States has deployed as many as two aircraft carriers to the Middle East amid the ongoing Israeli aggression in Lebanon and Gaza.
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Matt Bracken: US Plans Massive MOAB Strike on Iran?
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Confronting the Threat of Ethnic Bioweapons
By Tony Cartalucci – New Eastern Outlook – 29.11.2017
The United States Air Force’s 59th Medical Wing’s molecular biology branch recently was revealed to have been collecting specifically Russian RNA and synovial (connective) tissue samples, prompting fears in Russia of a possible US directed ethnic-specific bioweapons program. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Matt Bracken: US Plans Massive MOAB Strike on Iran?
- Russia accuses France of ‘piracy’ over tanker seizure
- Why Yemen Is Bombing Saudi Arabia’s Airports: The War Behind the Headlines
- Sally Rooney’s books pulled from UK over support for Palestine Action
- Bombs for Tel Aviv, Promises for Riyadh
- Israeli ad agency conducted vast global espionage campaign using online ads: Report
- Oct. 7 Forever Marks The Big Reveal: ‘We See You, Israel, We Revile You, We Reject You!’
- Meet the US generals and admirals advancing Israeli policy
- Israel’s Straw Widow Protocol: The Kill Zones Where Civilians Were Labelled ‘Terrorists’
- Leading Israeli Think Tank Publishes Psychotic Israeli ‘National Security’ Doctrine
- If Americans Knew
- Israeli firm used online ads to run vast spy operation, researchers say
- No, the world zionist movement is not an antisemitic conspiracy theory
- Hundreds of IDF investigations into killings still have no public outcome, BBC Verify finds
- After Ashley Moody Epstein Probe, Donors Linked to Him Poured Money Into her Senate Campaign
- Worried about Russian meddling in UK politics? Wait till you see what Israel is up to
- Israeli settlers attack West Bank center for disabled children, church leader calls for int’l action
- Pulling Out Teeth Just to Live: How Israel Has Devastated Dental Care in Gaza
- Gaza’s “ceasefire” death toll passes 1,500 – Daily Update
- Activists Abused By Israel Return to New Freedom Flotilla Mission
- 60 Minutes won’t tell the full truth about Israeli settler violence
- No Tricks Zone
- New Study Suggests Large Regions Of The Pacific Ocean Have Been Cooling For The Last 80 Years
- Germany’s Green Energy Debacle: High Energy Costs Force Kahla Porzellan to Close After 182 Years!
- New Study: 50 Years Of The Most Aggressive ‘Net Zero’ Policies Can Only Affect The Global Climate By 0.03°C
- US September “Heat” Was No Record…Many Records Set Decades Ago
- Latest European Green Energy Debacle; Portugal’s Largest Flagship Solar Park Insolvent!
- Green Energy Debacle: German Expert Professor Fritz Vahrenholt Warns Of Severe Economic And Social Consequences
- Two More Paleo Reconstructions Affirm Meters-Higher Sea Levels Across Ireland, Brazil 7000-6000 Years Ago
- New Study: Earth And Venus Surface Warmth Largely Explained By Convection And Lapse Rate, Not CO2 Or Radiation
- 2025 Nature Paper Claiming Worsening Global Drought Gets RETRACTED …Heavily Flawed
- New Study: ‘Global Drought Shows No Detectable Recent Acceleration Under Climate Warming’
