Friday, September 30, 2022

Ukraine Pushes for Fast-Tracked NATO Membership????

This does not make any sense at this time! I am very surprised that the President of the Ukraine is pursuing this stupidity! It is extremely unlikely that the Ukraine will become a member of NATO as the war goes on.

We are living in very dangerous times with significant economic difficulties, a global pandemic that is just behind us, and the ongoing Russian war of aggression in the Ukraine that has the potential to escalate into World War III.

Ukraine Pushes for Fast-Tracked NATO Membership; US Pushes Back



Laura Ingraham: This is just a fraction of the massive COVID theft

Very recommendable! I watch Laura's show very often, but rarely recommend it. The guests on her show made three good political recommendations:
  1. Term limits for all members of the U.S. Congress
  2. Term limits for all federal employees (including the 82 year old Anthony Fauci, who has been a federal employee for several decades)
  3. Any new law should be on hold and open to the public for at least 48 hours before the legislators vote on it.

India sells indigenous rockets to Armenia

The once proud non-aligned India is fast becoming a global arms exporter!

High school female athletes object to transgender teammate using their locker room

Bravo! Female athletes may also want to consider to boycott sports events if a transgender athlete is competing! If I was a female athlete that is what I would do!

Perhaps, we need transgender locker rooms?

Brave high school girls' volleyball players who object to trans teammate using their locker room now reportedly under investigation by school: 'My mom wants me to do this interview to try to make a change' - TheBlaze

Gut Microbe Byproduct Drives pancreatic cancer Immunity

Good news! Cancer is history (soon)!

"... that a metabolite derived from a gut microbe called trimethylamine N-oxide (abbreviated TMAO) boosts immunity against tumors by triggering immune activation in pancreatic cancer. ...
Pancreatic cancer is a particularly deadly disease with a tumor microenvironment that aggressively suppresses immune response. ... In the study, the researchers administered TMAO and observed effects on tumor growth and immune response in the tumor microenvironment. They found evidence that TMAO stimulated action from immune cells such as macrophages and T cells as well as increased pancreatic cancer’s responsiveness to ICB therapy, ultimately boosting the body’s ability to identify and attack cancer cells. ..."

"Metabolite boosts immune checkpoint blockade
Despite its success, immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has largely failed in patients with pancreatic cancer; how the microbiome contributes to this failure is unclear. Here, Mirji et al. used mouse pancreatic tumor modeling to establish that a metabolite produced from the gut microbiome, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), delayed tumor growth. Treating mice with TMAO slowed tumor growth in a type I IFN–mediated manner, correlating to more immunostimulatory macrophages and CD8+ T cells in tumors. TMAO administration boosted the efficacy of ICB in mouse models and gut bacteria that produce a key enzyme for TMAO production positively correlated to survival in patients with cancer. Thus, targeting TMAO production in the gut microbiome might be a way to improve the efficacy of ICB in patients with pancreatic cancer."

From the abstract:
"The composition of the gut microbiome can control innate and adaptive immunity and has emerged as a key regulator of tumor growth, especially in the context of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. However, the underlying mechanisms for how the microbiome affects tumor growth remain unclear. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tends to be refractory to therapy, including ICB. Using a nontargeted, liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry–based metabolomic screen, we identified the gut microbe–derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which enhanced antitumor immunity to PDAC. Delivery of TMAO intraperitoneally or via a dietary choline supplement to orthotopic PDAC-bearing mice reduced tumor growth, associated with an immunostimulatory tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) phenotype, and activated effector T cell response in the tumor microenvironment. Mechanistically, TMAO potentiated the type I interferon (IFN) pathway and conferred antitumor effects in a type I IFN–dependent manner. Delivering TMAO-primed macrophages intravenously produced similar antitumor effects. Combining TMAO with ICB (anti-PD1 and/or anti-Tim3) in a mouse model of PDAC significantly reduced tumor burden and improved survival beyond TMAO or ICB alone. Last, the levels of bacteria containing CutC (an enzyme that generates trimethylamine, the TMAO precursor) correlated with long-term survival in patients with PDAC and improved response to anti-PD1 in patients with melanoma. Together, our study identifies the gut microbial metabolite TMAO as a driver of antitumor immunity and lays the groundwork for potential therapeutic strategies targeting TMAO."

Wistar Scientists Find Gut Microbe Byproduct Drives Antitumor Immunity

English for trippers: Hair on fire

Seems to be an obscure idiom according to Google search results.

Perhaps it refers to a German politician (sure that gets some attention):



Promising Trial for a Drug to Ease Uterine Fibroids

Good news! I know someone who suffered from a large fibroid and e.g. embolization did not help much.

Of course, here the question is whether women have to take this pill every day to suppress the symptomatic fibroid as this treatment does not seem to cure or eliminate the fibroid?

"About three quarters of women will experience uterine fibroids before they reach the age of 50. With a range of often debilitating symptoms including excessive menstrual bleeding, they are the most common reason women undergo hysterectomies. And there is a lack of effective treatments—most therapies either only mask symptoms or are difficult for patients to tolerate. ...
an oral drug that hinders estrogen production, is an effective and customizable treatment for fibroids. The treatment not only addresses the symptoms, but also tackles the underlying problem through shrinking the fibroids themselves. ...
“This is an extremely well tolerated class of drugs that can control fibroid growth. We’ve never had anything like that before.” ..."

From the abstract:
"Summary
Background
Uterine fibroids are common non-cancerous neoplasm that cause heavy menstrual bleeding and other signs. Linzagolix is an oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist taken once per day that dose-dependently suppresses gonadal steroids and might reduce uterine-fibroid-associated signs. Two phase 3 trials were conducted to confirm the efficacy and safety of linzagolix at full-suppression (200 mg) and partial-suppression (100 mg) doses with or without hormonal add-back therapy (1 mg oestradiol and 0·5 mg norethisterone acetate) compared with placebo for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids.
Methods
PRIMROSE 1 and PRIMROSE 2 were identical 52-week, randomised, parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials conducted at clinics in the USA (PRIMROSE 1) and Europe and the USA (PRIMROSE 2). Eligible women with uterine fibroid-associated heavy menstrual bleeding (menstrual blood loss >80 mL per cycle) were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1:1 ratio to one of five masked treatments: (1) placebo, (2) 100 mg linzagolix per day alone, (3) 100 mg linzagolix per day with once-per-day hormonal add-back therapy (1 mg oestradiol and 0·5 mg norethisterone acetate), (4) 200 mg linzagolix per day alone, or (5) 200 mg linzagolix per day with once-per-day hormonal add-back therapy (1 mg oestradiol and 0·5 mg norethisterone acetate). The primary endpoint was a response (menstrual blood loss ≤80 mL and ≥50% reduction from baseline) at 24 weeks in women who received at least one dose of treatment and did not meet any exclusion criteria based on predosing assessments. ...
Findings
Between May, 2017, and October, 2020, in PRIMROSE 1, 574 women were enrolled, of which 48 discontinued and 15 were excluded; therefore, 511 women were included in the full analysis set; and in PRIMROSE 2, 535 women were enrolled, of which 24 did not receive the study drug and ten women were excluded from the study, resulting in 501 women being included in the full analysis set. In both trials, a significantly higher proportion of women had a reduction in heavy menstrual bleeding in all linzagolix (with or without add-back therapy) treatment groups compared with the placebo group (p≤0·003). ...
Interpretation
Linzagolix (100 mg or 200 mg) with or without add-back therapy significantly reduced heavy menstrual bleeding. Partial suppression with once-per-day linzagolix (100 mg) without add-back therapy potentially provides a unique option for the chronic treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids in women who cannot or do not want to take concomitant hormonal add-back therapy."

Promising Trial for a Drug to Ease Uterine Fibroids < Yale School of Medicine

Flying Robots Pick Fruit 24/7, And Know Exactly When It's Ripe

Sounds pretty juicy to me! 😊 Combine this with indoor vertical farming. It looks like these all round robots don't do pollination yet.

"They hover next to the tree, pluck an apple, peach or nectarine with a gentle twist of their suction arms and carefully deposit them in a collection bin. ...
They’re tethered to a platform so they never run out of power, they work tirelessly day and night without a break ...
They are fitted with cameras that assess the exact size and color of each piece of fruit and only pick what’s perfectly ripe. They also provide the farmer with invaluable data – real-time updates on harvesting progress, time to completion, quantity picked and cost. ..."

Flying Robots Pick Fruit 24/7, And Know Exactly When It's Ripe AI devices ease the labor crisis that’s forcing framers to let crops rot on the tree



Nature journal: How Nature contributed to science’s discriminatory legacy. Really!

To link Eugenics, Fancis Galton and George Floyd is pretty preposterous! This is almost pure demagoguery!

This is not science, but fanaticism!

"... We have been examining Nature’s history in the lead up to a forthcoming special issue on racism in research, to be published next month. We promised to do this in 2020, after the killing [???] of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, triggered a wave of protests over the harms caused by systemic racism. [???] ..."

How Nature contributed to science’s discriminatory legacy We want to acknowledge — and learn from — our history.

Kohlekraftwerke ans Netz - Jens Spahn fordert den verkehrten "Dreifachwumms"

Fast hätte Jens Spahn richtig gelegen! Er vergaß neue Kernkraftwerke zu fordern und sog. erneuerbare Energien (ein Märchen) hätte er gar nicht mehr erwähnen sollen! Vielleicht braucht D. auch mehr und neue fossile Energie Kraftwerke. Hat der Politiker nichts dazu gelernt! Vielfalt in der Energieversorgung ist notwendig und macht unabhängig!

An der verlässlichen Kernkraft führt wohl kein weg vorbei so lange keine anderen Energiequellen erschlossen sind. Aber in der Bananenrepublik D. ist diese klare Erkenntnis lange abhanden gekommen.

Kohlekraftwerke ans Netz - Jens Spahn fordert den "Dreifachwumms" Jens Spahn hat im Bundestag den "Dreifachwumms" gefordert: Kohlekraftwerke müssten wieder ans Netz, die erneuerbaren Energien ausgebaut und die Laufzeit der Atomkraftwerke verlängert werden.




The global greening of our planet and larger crop yields thanks to carbon dioxide

Contra the relentless demonization of carbon dioxide by the many fanatics and pseudoscientists of the Global Warming Hoax and Climate Change religion!

There is mounting evidence of the significant beneficial effects of an increase of CO2 in the atmosphere for humanity!

One the common sense recommendations would be plant more trees not animal killer wind energy farms! 😊

"... Global greening and global agricultural production
Productivity of natural ecosystems is a relevant indicator of response to changes in meteorological variables (temperature, precipitation, global solar radiation, etc.). From this point of view, it can be said that global plant biomass has changed significantly in recent decades with a phenomenon known as global greening which indicates the significant increase in productivity of ecosystems (agricultural and natural) that in recent decades was mainly highlighted by satellite monitoring [63]. The review of Walker et al. [64] stated that at the roots of this global phenomenon is the increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration that is increasing leaf-scale photosynthesis and intrinsic water-use efficiency. The direct response to these phenomena is the increase in plant growth, vegetation biomass and soil organic matter. The final effect is a transfer of carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial ecosystems carbon sink, which can slow the rate of atmospheric CO2 growth.
Satellite data show “greening” trends over much of the planet [65, 66] that are pushing back deserts around the world (both hot deserts of tropical latitudes and cold deserts of more northern latitudes). The relevance of the greening is confirmed by Campbell [67] which using carbonyl sulphide records as a proxy of photosynthetic activity, showed a 31% increase in gross primary production during the twentieth century. ...
It should also be noted that Zeng et al. [69], using a terrestrial carbon cycle model, showed that agriculture is responsible of about the 50% of the increased absorption of CO2, which shows its essential eco-systemic role. In fact, agriculture emits only a small fraction of what it previously absorbed with photosynthesis. Agriculture each year absorbs 7.5 GT of carbon which rises to 12 GT if we also consider pastures [70] while the overall emissions of the agricultural sector amount to 1.69 ± 0.38 GT [71]. ..."

A critical assessment of extreme events trends in times of global warming | SpringerLink (open access)

Proposed Virginia offshore Wind Facility Threatens Endangered Whales

 Not only are these near coastline wind energy farms very ugly and mass bird and insect killers!

"North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) are majestic giants of the seas. ...
There are only approximately 300 NARWs alive today. Various federal laws are supposed to protect the whales. The Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, for example, forbid activities that take, seriously harm, or harass the whales or force them out of their critical habitat. If the state of Virginia, Dominion Energy, and the Biden administration have their way, however, NARWs could soon be no more.
The proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project is directly in the NARWs’ annual migration path. Dominion Energy has applied to erect 176 wind turbines, covering an area of approximately 10 miles by 15 miles ... located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Each turbine will sit atop a monopole extending a minimum of 80 feet into the water and about 120 feet into the ocean floor, and its height above the water will top 620 feet.  ...
Whales are highly sensitive to sound, which they use to navigate. The subsea infrasound and vibrations generated by the turbines are virtually guaranteed to force the few remaining NARWs out of their critical migration routes and into one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world. This will make a bad situation worse ..." (Source: Heartland Institute Climate Change Weekly)


Putin officially annexes four occupied Ukraine regions, hints again at use of nuclear weapons

Another huge miscalculation by Putin the Terrible! Most likely the days of Putin the Terrible are calculated! 

His renewed threat with nuclear weapons should make others in the Russian government and military very nervous, so nervous as attempt to topple this megalomaniac!

Will the Russian population finally get rid of him! Hope so! Maybe it is time for another Russian revolution!

Langjähriger Schweizer Bundesrat Maurer: «Ich will wieder der normale Ueli sein»

Bravo! Davon sollten sich die vielen lebenslangen Berufspolitiker in westlichen Demokratien ein Beispiel nehmen.

"Der SVP-Bundesrat Ueli Maurer wird per Ende Jahr von seinem Amt zurücktreten. Er habe den Entschluss bereits im Sommer 2021 gefasst und sich jüngst mit seiner Entourage darauf verständigt, dass der Entscheid immer noch richtig sei, sagte Maurer am Freitag. «Biologisch» habe er nicht mehr allzu viel Zeit, nochmals etwas anderes zu machen, ergänzte er, dabei habe er noch viel Energie und Lust. Nach so vielen Jahren als öffentliche Person wolle er zudem einen Teil seiner Identität zurückgewinnen. «Ich will wieder der normale Ueli sein», sagte Maurer. Zum Bericht
Das ist die Person: Mit seinen 71 Jahren ist Maurer das derzeit amtsälteste Mitglied im Bundesrat. Mitglied der Landesregierung ist er seit 2009, zuerst als Vorsteher des Departements für Verteidigung, seit 2016 als Finanzminister. ..."

Bundesrat Maurer: «Ich will wieder der normale Ueli sein»

Pieces of a Puzzle: T-Cell Activation

Recommendable! First hand report by a leading scientist!

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Health systems: value Black lives by helping close the racial wealth gap. Really!

What a stupid opinion piece! Who are these authors? Wannabe dictators! How deranged and obsessed are they!

How do you close a so called "wealth gap"? By force? By government expropriation and redistribution? Two wrongs do not make right!

By the way, this so called "wealth gap" has been closing progressively at least for the past several decades. E.g. what kind of home does the Obama family have on Martha's Vineyard?
The wealth among Americans of similar socioeconomic status is probably comparable irrespective of skin color and so forth.

"Institutional declarations of support for Black lives were ubiquitous in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. The radical, transformative change demanded by hundreds of thousands of protestors across the country, however, has not been realized.
Health systems can and must help move the country in that direction. Addressing immediate social needs, such as food insecurity, housing, or access to health care, as some health systems are now doing, is important. But to truly value Black lives, they must also be willing to tackle one of the most upstream drivers of racial health disparities: the racial wealth gap."

Health systems: value Black lives by helping close the racial wealth gap

Her mother’s abortion was required under China’s one-child policy. Her own would be illegal under Tennessee’s post-Roe ban

Nice example of pure demagoguery! To fabricate a link between communist China and Tennessee is as preposterous as it gets for any journalist!

If the health of the pregnant woman or child is in danger, who would deny an abortion?

"... There was a high risk for trisomy 18 [10 weeks into her pregnancy], her obstetrician said. ..."

A family shaped by China's one-child rule confronts post-Roe abortion ban

India's supreme court legalises abortion regardless of marital status

Good news! Welcome to modern India! However, 24 weeks or two trimesters???? Human rights do not yet extend to babies in India.

"...India’s Supreme Court ruled yesterday that all women—regardless of marital status—are entitled to safe and legal abortion, dismantling a 51-year-old law that blocked single women from accessing the procedure ..." (Source)

"India's top court on Thursday upheld the right of a woman to an abortion up to 24 weeks into pregnancy regardless of marital status, a decision widely hailed by women's rights activists."

India's top court legalises abortion regardless of marital status | Reuters

Israeli male Navy officer convicted of raping fellow female officer multiple times during same night

How is that possible? 

Both were not really soldiers:
  1. Soldiers don't rape! Worse even members of the same military service!
  2. A soldier does not allow another soldier of the same military service to be raped (even multiple times)!
P.S. Unfortunately, the article does not mention whether these two soldiers had any romantic affair etc.

"An Israeli Navy officer has been convicted of three rape offenses carried out against a female officer who served alongside him, the IDF said in a statement on Thursday evening.

The officer, Maj. Aviv Natan Songo, belonged to an elite naval unit said N12 in a report on the conviction, and has been convicted on three counts of rape and one count of inappropriate behavior, all of which occurred in 2019 during a military event at a Tel Aviv hotel.

According to the account of the female officer, Songo entered her hotel room while she was asleep and attempted to rape her for the first time that night. Following his first attempt, he then cornered the officer several more times throughout the night and proceeded to rape her. ..."

Israeli Navy officer convicted of raping fellow officer multiple times - Israel News - The Jerusalem Post: Maj. Aviv Natan Songo raped his fellow officer during a military event at a Tel Aviv hotel in 2019.

OpenAI removes DALL-E waitlist, allowing anyone to sign up, and tests API

Good news! Intellectual property rights seem to remain a thorny issue.

"OpenAI announced today that the research laboratory is removing the waitlist for its DALL-E beta, allowing anyone to sign up — citing improved safety systems and lessons learned from real-world use. In addition, it is testing a DALL-E API with several customers and says it plans to soon offer it more broadly so that developers and customers can use it to build apps on DALL-E.

The announcement comes in the context of a growing number of startup players offering more accessible text-to-image AI generators, including Midjourney, which was released in open beta in mid-July, as well as Stability AI’s open-sourced Stable Diffusion, which was released in August (its new CIO, Daniel Jeffries, wrote a new blog post today saying that the company is “putting the open back in AI”). ..."

OpenAI removes DALL-E waitlist, allowing anyone to sign up, and tests API | VentureBeat

Six states sue Biden to block student loan forgiveness as illegal and lacking legal authority

Good news! This student loan forgiveness is an evident attempt of vote buying by the failing demented and senile 46th President! 

It is also very disturbing that university and colleges with their multi billion dollar endowments are not asked or required to participate in such loan forgiveness!

Six states sue Biden to block student loan forgiveness as illegal, hurtful to working class | Just The News Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina argue Congress did not authorize such debt cancellation, meaning Biden lacked legal authority to take the action he announced last month.

Anthony Fauci’s Net Worth Soared To $12.6+ Million During Pandemic – Up $5 Million (2019-2021)

Apparently, this clown and charlatan made good money off Covid-19! A pandemic profiteer?

Just for the fact that he was trying to cover up the U.S. sponsored gain of function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology should have gotten him fired!

One of the biggest mistakes of former President Trump was not to retire or fire this 81 year old man!

BREAKING: Fauci’s Net Worth Soared To $12.6+ Million During Pandemic – Up $5 Million (2019-2021)

Russian hackers' lack of success against Ukraine shows that strong cyber defences work, says UK cybersecurity chief

Putin the Terrible terribly miscalculated with his war of aggression against the Ukraine. Plus, his air force can not deliver robust air superiority. His cyber warfare is anemic! The Russian people are protesting against or dodging the draft and they are mourning their mounting casualties etc.

The days of Putin the Terrible are counted! Hallelujah! The world will be so much better! The world does not need such megalomaniacs!

"... "Try as they might, Russian cyberattacks simply have not had the intended impact," said Lindy Cameron, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – the cyber arm of GCHQ – speaking at Chatham House in London. ...
In the run-up to and since the invasion of Ukraine, the country has been hit by a series of cyberattacks that have been attributed to Russia. These include distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against the Ukranian government and financial sector, as well as wiper malware campaigns designed to destroy systems by rendering them unusable. ..."

Russian hackers' lack of success against Ukraine shows that strong cyber defences work, says cybersecurity chief | ZDNET In the face of the 'most sustained and intensive cyber campaign on record', Ukraine shows that a sound cybersecurity strategy can protect assets in even the most trying circumstances, says NCSC boss.

Ein Bild aus der Bananenrepublik Deutschland

Leider macht sich dieser Trend auch in den USA, angefeuert von dem unter Demenz und Senilität leidenden 46. Präsidenten, deutlich bemerkbar! 

Und die italienische Wahlsiegerin wurde häufig als Mussolini mit Rock bezeichnet!

Der elende Zeitgeist!



'Alice' the all-electric aircraft takes off from U.S.

Of course, this is not carbon emission free as this video claims! It was only an 8 minutes flight, but much longer than the brother Wright's first flight of 12 seconds. 

Psychedelics and consciousness: Could drugs help quantify our waking state?

Have you heard of or tried the psychedelic drug N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)  before?

Treasury Secretary Yellen may depart after 2022 midterms: report

Good news! Good riddance of this mediocre and unaccomplished leftist economist! Go play with your grand children! Living in a gerontocracy is tough!

Fritz Vahrenholt bei Tichys Einblick Talk: "Das Märchen von den Erneuerbaren Energien!"

Empfehlenswert! Wie D. eine Bananenrepublik wurde!

The Economist: Who Is Xi Jinping?

Very recommendable! Xi Jinping is an usurper of power by becoming a dictator for life in defiance of Deng Xiaoping's reforms.

Saudi Crown Prince strengthens his grip on power as the new Prime Minister

The rise of MBS continues! Why the Indian WION news media claims Saudia Arabia was in West Asia is a mystery!

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Why Is 1/137 the Fine Structure Constant One of the Greatest Unsolved Problems In Physics?

Very recommendable!

Tucker Carlson: When the FBI becomes a terror organisation against U.S. citizens

Tucker describes two cases of severe FBI overreaction!

NVIDIA Launches Large Language Model Cloud Services to Advance AI and Digital Biology

Good news! Nvidia is making natural language processing, machine learning etc. more accessible to many!

"NVIDIA today announced two new large language model cloud AI services ... that enable developers to easily adapt LLMs and deploy customized AI applications for content generation, text summarization, chatbots, code development, as well as protein structure and biomolecular property predictions, and more.
The NeMo LLM Service allows developers to rapidly tailor a number of pretrained foundation models using a training method called prompt learning on NVIDIA-managed infrastructure. The NVIDIA BioNeMo Service is a cloud application programming interface (API) that expands LLM use cases beyond language and into scientific applications to accelerate drug discovery for pharma and biotech companies. ..."

NVIDIA Launches Large Language Model Cloud Services to Advance AI and Digital Biology | NVIDIA Newsroom NVIDIA NeMo LLM Service Helps Developers Customize Massive Language Models; NVIDIA BioNeMo Service Helps Researchers Generate and Predict Molecules, Proteins, DNA

Project Icebreaker: Bank of Israel teams with central banks of Norway, Sweden on central bank digital currency trials

Good news! Let's break the ice on digital currencies! 😊🥂

"The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden are launching Project Icebreaker, a joint exploration of how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can be used for international retail and remittance payments.
Cross-border payments are an Achilles heel of the international banking system, which are plagued by high costs, low speed, limited access and insufficient transparency. ..."

Bank of Israel teams with Norway, Sweden on digital currency trials - Globes Project Icebreaker is a joint exploration of how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can be used for international retail and remittance payments.

Flu vaccination linked to 40% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s confirmed by larger, follow up study

Good news! This study actually confirms an earlier, more narrow study by the researchers two years earlier

The coming flu season is upon us. I got my flu shot just a few days ago to keep my immune system well trained. 

It is very important to take the shot every year, because we still can not predict exactly which virus strains will actually dominate in the next season.

"People who received at least one influenza vaccine were 40% less likely than non-vaccinated people to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the course of the four years examined, according to a new study from UTHealth Houston. ...
The study came after a link between the flu vaccine and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease was discovered by UTHealth Houston researchers two years prior. This research is a significant step up, having analyzed a much larger sample than the previous research, including 935,887 flu-vaccinated patients and 935,887 non-vaccinated patients. ..."

"Concluding remarks
This study found that, through an uncertain mechanism, influenza vaccination was associated with a 40% decrease in the 4-year risk of developing AD in patients 65 years or older. ..."

From the abstract:
"Background:
Prior studies have found a reduced risk of dementia of any etiology following influenza vaccination in selected populations, including veterans and patients with serious chronic health conditions. ...
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates that influenza vaccination is associated with reduced AD risk in a nationwide sample of US adults aged 65 and older."

Flu vaccination linked to 40% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s - study - The Jerusalem Post

Arthashastra - The Indian Il Principe published at least 1,200 years earlier

How much does the West know about India? I am afraid way too little!

Arthashastra - Wikipedia

T Cells Ward Off Aging with Help from Their Friends

Recommendable!

"... an interaction between T cells and antigen presenting cells (APCs) early in the immune response to viruses may determine how fast T cells decline. ...
The new study finds that after infection, APCs, the cells that initially kickstart T cells’ immune response by presenting them with a foreign antigen, chop off and deliver their telomeres to T cells, the white blood cells that fight viruses. ...
The researchers found that when APCSs deliver their telomeres to T cells, the latter shift into stem cell-like configuration, which delays their senescence. The researchers also found that this interaction boosts long-term immunity in mice ..."

From the abstract:
"The common view is that T lymphocytes activate telomerase to delay senescence. Here we show that some T cells (primarily naïve and central memory cells) elongated telomeres by acquiring telomere vesicles from antigen-presenting cells (APCs) independently of telomerase action. Upon contact with these T cells, APCs degraded shelterin to donate telomeres, which were cleaved by the telomere trimming factor TZAP, and then transferred in extracellular vesicles at the immunological synapse. Telomere vesicles retained the Rad51 recombination factor that enabled telomere fusion with T-cell chromosome ends lengthening them by an average of ~3,000 base pairs. Thus, there are antigen-specific populations of T cells whose ageing fate decisions are based on telomere vesicle transfer upon initial contact with APCs. These telomere-acquiring T cells are protected from senescence before clonal division begins, conferring long-lasting immune protection."

T Cells Ward Off Aging with Help from Their Friends | The Scientist Magazine® Immune cells deliver packages of telomeres to T cells, helping them retain their virus-fighting function over time, research suggests.




Disentangling the Facts From the Hype of Quantum Computing

Recommendable! How imminent is practical and the commercialization of quantum computing really?

"... Over the past five years, there has been undeniable hype around quantum computing—hype around approaches, timelines, applications, and more. As far back as 2017, vendors were claiming the commercialization of the technology was just a couple of years away. ...
More recently, companies have shifted their timelines from a few years to a decade, but they continue to release road maps showing commercially viable systems as early as 2029. ...
According to McKinsey & Company, “fault tolerant quantum computing is expected between 2025 and 2030 based on announced hardware roadmaps for gate-based quantum computing players.” I believe this is not entirely realistic, as we still have a long journey to achieve quantum practicality—the point at which quantum computers can do something unique to change our lives. ...
In my opinion, quantum practicality is likely still 10 to 15 years away. However, progress toward that goal is not just steady; it’s accelerating. ..."

Disentangling the Facts From the Hype of Quantum Computing - IEEE Spectrum

Staple Singers - If Your Ready Come Go With Me (1973 on Soul Train)

Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Tucker Carlson: On the presumed sabotage acts against the Nord Stream gas pipelines

If this is indeed confirmed that possibly two deliberate and man-made detonations occurred to blow up these pipelines in the Baltic Sea, then this would be a very serious international incident!

Tucker describes how the demented and senile 46th President a few months ago had threatened to do something about these pipelines. So has a hawkish senior official of the U.S. Department of State.

We are living in very dangerous times when even an escalation to a world war III can not be ruled out!  


British Medical Journal: Menstrual health for all requires ... Joke of the day!

What a baloney! In particular the population of the 60 years and older need menstrual health!

When will men get free shavers or laser treatment for facial hair removal?

"Access to affordable period products is not nearly enough
In August 2022, the Scottish government declared that local authorities must provide access to free period products such as menstrual pads and tampons through their facilities. Globally, the menstrual health movement has achieved considerable milestones over the past two years, including the first panel discussion on menstrual health at the 50th session of the Human Rights Council and the publication of the consensus definition of menstrual health in 2021. These achievements are a result of over 20 years of activism and political action, beginning in 2004 when the government of Kenya committed to removing the sales tax on period pads. ...
Period poverty often affects the most vulnerable groups ...
Finally, we need recognition from global leaders that accessibility to menstrual health is not just about the affordability of products, it is about creating enabling environments that address psychosocial and physical constructs so that everyone who menstruates has the information, education, hygiene facilities, and body autonomy to manage it. ..."

Menstrual health for all requires wider high level commitment | The BMJ

On the biblical flooding in Pakistan and the case for climate reparations. Really!

More really bad ideas coming out of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health!

Oh yes, the West can pay for everything! What a nonsense! 

"Rich nations can and should pay for what they help to destroy ..." Daniel A. Gross "senior editor of investigations at Insider. He has reported for the website of The New Yorker since 2016 and was an editor at Atlas Obscura and the Asian American Writers' Workshop"

Global Health NOW: ‘Housing Is Health’; UK Turns to Nepal Nurses; and Malaysian Kids’ Vaping Risk



English for trippers: Two for too

Or was it tea for two? Two is much is too much?



What if doctors could prescribe housing? Really!

Really bad ideas coming out of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health!

What if doctors could prescribe vacation on Martha's Vineyard? 😊

It is already bad enough that medical doctors have the exclusive right to prescribe medications etc.! One of many reasons why health care is so expensive!

"... Given housing’s immense impact on human health, a startling Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article asks that simple question. ...
Housing is a blind spot for the expensive US health system. “Housing really is the foundation for health and well-being,” said Craig Pollack, a physician and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health professor. ... Advocates argue that “housing is health.” ..."

Global Health NOW: ‘Housing Is Health’; UK Turns to Nepal Nurses; and Malaysian Kids’ Vaping Risk

Habeck will zwei Atomkraftwerke bis April 2023 weiterlaufen lassen. Wirklich!

Die Abschaltung der deutschen Atomkraftwerke unter der schrecklichen SED Kanzlerin Merkel war wohl das Dümmste was sich die Bananenrepublik D. vornehmen konnte! Selbst die Schildbürger sind Genies dagegen!

Wie abhängig ist eigentlich die Bananenrepublik D. vom französischen Atomstrom?

Bis April 2023! Der Doppelminister und Vizekanzler ist untragbar!
 
Habeck will zwei Atomkraftwerke bis April 2023 weiterlaufen lassen Wirtschaftsminister Robert Habeck zieht nach jetzigem Stand die Reserveoption der Kernkraftwerke Isar 2 und Neckarwestheim. Diese sollen bis April 2023 am Netz bleiben. Grund sei der Mangel an französischem Atomstrom.

Florida Attorney General and 19 other state attorneys generals in a bipartisan effort Calling on President Biden to Declare Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Caution, the language of war is double edged! We understand that these state attorneys use this legal determination to trigger a strong response! The desperation regarding this subject is fully understandable.

However, what will be the implications? We have been fighting a war on drugs for several decades with very limited success!

There is no question that e.g. the very high numbers of opioid overdose death in the U.S. are unacceptable. So is the almost free flow of these drugs across the southern border.

The demented and senile 46th President should have been already impeached for this clearly unlawful and irresponsible open southern border policy! Why is this not happening!

How do the U.S. and Mexico cooperate to stop the flow of drugs into the U.S.?

"Attorney General Ashley Moody and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong are leading a multistate, bipartisan effort of 18 attorneys general urging President Biden to classify illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. The drug is claiming a record number of lives across the country and continues to flow freely through the southwest border. In July alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 2,100 pounds of the substance, enough to kill nearly half a billion Americans. ... 
Fentanyl is a highly-deadly synthetic opioid. Just two milligrams can be lethal. More than 75,000 Americans died from overdose of synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, in the 12-month period ending in February 2022. The substance is so toxic that it poses serious exposure risks. ..."

News Release - Attorney General Moody Leads Bipartisan Effort Calling on President Biden to Declare Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Western societies soft on crime and soft on mental disorders

For decades it was promoted as progress to be soft on criminals, because we are told they are victims of social injustices or whatever. Police officers have been treated as presumptive criminals. What did we get? Recidivism at an unprecedented scale. On a daily basis citizens have to suffer crimes from known repeat offenders that could have been easily prevented.

Decades ago it was considered progress to close as many mental institutions as possible. We were told that most mentally ill are harmless and can care for themselves. What did we get? More homelessness among people, who need treatment, but were left untreated for years, and who need help with reintegration into society. 

The prompt demand for Windfall profit taxes

Like the proverbial Pavlovian reflex, whenever some businesses are perceived to make too much profits (whatever that is), too many Western politicians demand the immediate imposition of an ad hoc windfall profit tax!

What kind of greed is that by these politicians!

First of all, business profits, whether small or large, whether incremental or sudden, will eventually be taxed!

Arbitrary and sudden interventions into business taxation are extremely bad and counterproductive policies! Taxation needs to be predictable and steady!


Merkel und Merz

Ein Grund warum der CDU Vorsitzende Friedrich Merz wenig geeignet ist! Er war der schrecklichen SED Kanzlerin Merkel viel zu lange viel zu nahe!

Die Mauer war gefallen! Die deutsche Einheit wurde wieder gewonnen! Doch der Sozialismus hat sich in ganz Deutschland ausgebreitet. Die SED Kanzlerin Merkel hat es möglich gemacht! Hier ist meine Abrechnung mit der SED Kanzlerin!


Gedenken an Helmut Kohl versöhnt Merkel und Merz Einst rebellierten Angela Merkel und Friedrich Merz gemeinsam gegen Helmut Kohl. Jetzt führt sie das Gedenken an den Kanzler der Einheit wieder zusammen. Auch weil sie sich programmatisch an ihn angenähert haben – vor allem in der Sozialpolitik.



Um die Energiewende voranzubringen, will die Bundesregierung Solaranlagen stärker fördern als bisher

Deppen, wie lebenslange Berufspolitiker, lernen selten dazu! Die Bananenrepublik D. hält weiterhin fest and der unzuverlässigen Sonnenenergie!

Mehr Steuergeldverschwendung im großen Maßstab!

Solaranlagen: EU-Kommission billigt zusätzliche deutsche Förderung Um die Energiewende voranzubringen, will die Bundesregierung Solaranlagen stärker fördern als bisher. Die EU hat die Pläne nun genehmigt.

Deutschland schaltet die Tiefkühltruhen ab?

 So weit wird es ja vielleicht noch kommen in der Bananenrepublik D.!

Electric air taxis ready for takeoff in India

Get ready for a new kind of commute!

Monday, September 26, 2022

Hadis Najafi killed in Iran protests, becomes new symbol of defiance

This is not inshallah! The Ayatollahs have been violating Islam and the Quran for years! They are acting like infidels!

"Hadis Najafi, a 23-year-old Iranian woman who went viral in a video as she prepared to join anti-governmental protests, was shot dead by Iranian security forces, according to multiple reports on Sunday.
Najafi was shot six times and killed in the city of Karaj by Iranian security forces on Wednesday, Iranian Journalist and women’s rights advocate Masih Alinejad, along with others, reported throughout social media. ..."

Hadis Najafi killed in Iran protests, becomes new symbol of defiance - The Jerusalem Post Najafi was shot six times and killed in the city of Karaj by Iranian security forces on Wednesday, sustaining injuries in the abdomen, neck, heart and hand.



Kazakhstan says it won't recognize referendums in eastern Ukraine

Bravo! Having the courage to stand up and risking to become the next target for Putin the Terrible!

"Kazakhstan, one of Russia's close ex-Soviet partners [???], will not recognize the possible annexation of Ukraine's eastern regions by Russia through referendums held there, the Central Asian nation's foreign ministry said on Monday. ..."

Kazakhstan says it won't recognize referendums in eastern Ukraine - The Jerusalem Post Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has repeatedly called for the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict in line with the United Nations charter.

Award Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky the Nobel Peace Prize

Perhaps not such a bad idea! It would certainly send a strong signal!

What an extraordinary career for a former comedian and actor! He sure has one of the most unenviable jobs in the world! A standing ovation please!

"... Over the past year, however, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has done more to demonstrate the inutility of aggression and defend the post-World War II liberal order than perhaps any other living official. Russian President Vladimir Putin believed he could eliminate not only a country but also a nation by force. What happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine. Dictators across the globe, from Erdogan to China’s Xi Jinping watched Putin to see if his gambit would work. Had he been successful, it would be a green light for aggression. By rallying Ukrainians and, seemingly against all odds, delivering a searing rebuke to Putin, Zelensky has done more to enable peace than most Nobel Peace Prize laureates have done in their careers. ..."

Give Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky the Nobel Peace Prize | American Enterprise Institute - AEI



34 year old Spanish Minister of Equality reportedly claims 'children ... can love or have sexual relations with whoever they want'

Witness the ongoing self destruction of Western civilization! She is a psychologist [???] and spokeswomen of the left-wing Podemos party.

"The age of sexual consent in Spain is 16" (Source) But in e.g. Germany it is even 14 (Source)

"... Irene Montero, the 34-year-old minister of equality in Spain, recently said in Spanish at a recent legislative meeting: "All girls, boys, children in this country have the right to know their own body, to know that no adult can touch their body if they don't want to and that is a form of violence, they have the right to know that they can love or have sexual relations with whoever they want, based on consent." ..."

Spanish government official reportedly claims 'children ... can love or have sexual relations with whomever they want' - TheBlaze



How a Specific Gut Bacterium May Cause Type 1 Diabetes

Good news!

"Indeed, two primary forms of [diabetes] are already known: types 1 and 2. Type 1 diabetes, which tends to have a more sudden onset, has proven particularly enigmatic, as people can develop the condition at different ages, and unlike type 2, it seems to be more closely linked to genetic and other predispositions than to diet and lifestyle.
Now, research ... may have revealed ... The presence of the bacterium Parabacteroides distasonis in the gut microbiome causes type 1 diabetes in a mouse model and seems to predict the onset of the disease in humans. This is likely because the microbe produces a peptide similar enough to part of an insulin molecule that it can lead to the production of insulin-targeted antibodies, priming the immune system to launch an attack against insulin and the cells that produce it."

From the abstract:
"Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of pancreatic β-cells. One of the earliest aspects of this process is the development of autoantibodies and T cells directed at an epitope in the B-chain of insulin (insB:9–23). Analysis of microbial protein sequences with homology to the insB:9–23 sequence revealed 17 peptides showing >50% identity to insB:9–23. Of these 17 peptides, the hprt4–18 peptide, found in the normal human gut commensal Parabacteroides distasonis, activated both human T cell clones from T1D patients and T cell hybridomas from nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice specific to insB:9–23. Immunization of NOD mice with P. distasonis insB:9–23 peptide mimic or insB:9–23 peptide verified immune cross-reactivity. Colonization of female NOD mice with P. distasonis accelerated the development of T1D, increasing macrophages, dendritic cells, and destructive CD8+ T cells, while decreasing FoxP3+ regulatory T cells. Western blot analysis identified P. distasonis–reacting antibodies in sera of NOD mice colonized with P. distasonis and human T1D patients. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of splenocytes from P. distasonis–treated mice to NOD/SCID mice enhanced disease phenotype in the recipients. Finally, analysis of human children gut microbiome data from a longitudinal DIABIMMUNE study revealed that seroconversion rates (i.e., the proportion of individuals developing two or more autoantibodies) were consistently higher in children whose microbiome harbored sequences capable of producing the hprt4–18 peptide compared to individuals who did not harbor it. Taken together, these data demonstrate the potential role of a gut microbiota-derived insB:9–23-mimic peptide as a molecular trigger of T1D pathogenesis."

How a Specific Gut Bacterium May Cause Type 1 Diabetes | The Scientist Magazine® A bacterium that produces an insulin-like peptide can give mice type 1 diabetes, and infection with the microbe seems to predict the onset of the disease in humans, a study finds.

Cuban Abdala vaccine: Effectiveness in preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19 in Havana, Cuba; A cohort study. Really!

The prestigious Lancet journal just published a fishy smelling study! I did not have the time to read all the details.

Leftists in Western countries have for decades spread a propaganda claiming that the government run health care system in communist Cuba is on par or even superior to Western health care systems.

The study is funded by "Cuban Ministry of Public Health". Health care data coming out of a communist country have to be treated with great care. I am afraid, The Lancet failed to apply due diligence in this case!

Cuban Abdala vaccine: Effectiveness in preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19 in Havana, Cuba; A cohort study - The Lancet Regional Health – Americas

The Biden administration pledged $1.5 billion to fight the US opioid crisis???

What a bad joke by this demented and senile 46th President! Why don't you secure the southern border and address the sources and distributors of fentanyl etc. you fool!

"... the money will be distributed in grants to help states, territories, and tribal lands expand treatment services, overdose education, and access to naloxone products."

Global Health NOW: War Crimes in Ukraine; Texas Tweaks Sex Ed Curriculum; and Insulin Injustice in Tigray

Children in the U.S. with COVID-19 have a substantially higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Really!

Nice example of blatant distorted news and misinformation! This time spread by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health!

First of all diabetes types 1 and 2 were not separated. With respect to diabetes type 2 there is a good chance that it was not yet diagnosed in those children, but it may have been already manifest. The triggers for diabetes type 1 are yet unknown despite intensive research.

Second, the numbers are extremely small!!!! Patients with non Covid infections also were diagnosed with T1D in almost similar very small numbers.

"Children with COVID-19 have a substantially higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the months following diagnosis, according to a new study analyzing health records of 1 million+ patients 18 and under; but it’s unclear whether COVID-19 itself triggers diabetes onset. SciTechDaily"

"... The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that pediatric patients with COVID-19 were more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes after infection, although types 1 and 2 were not separated. Therefore, whether COVID-19 was associated with new-onset T1D among youths remains unclear. ...
The Table shows population characteristics before and after matching. The study population included 1 091 494 pediatric patients: 314 917 with COVID-19 and 776 577 with non–COVID-19 respiratory infections. The matched cohort included 571 256 pediatric patients: 285 628 with COVID-19 and 285 628 with non–COVID-19 respiratory infections. By 6 months after COVID-19, 123 patients (0.043%) had received a new diagnosis of T1D, but only 72 (0.025%) were diagnosed with T1D within 6 months after non–COVID-19 respiratory infection. At 1, 3, and 6 months after infection, risk of diagnosis of T1D was greater among those infected with SARS-CoV-2 compared with those with non–COVID-19 respiratory infection (1 month: HR, 1.96 [95%CI, 1.26-3.06]; 3 months: HR, 2.10 [95% CI, 1.48-3.00]; 6 months: HR, 1.83 [95% CI, 1.36-2.44]) and in subgroups of patients aged 0 to 9 years, a group unlikely to develop type 2 diabetes, and 10 to 18 years (Figure). Similar increased risks were observed among children infected with SARS-CoV-2 compared with other control cohorts at 6 months (fractures: HR, 2.09 [95% CI, 1.41- 3.10]; well child visits: HR, 2.10 [95% CI, 1.61- 2.73])."

Global Health NOW: War Crimes in Ukraine; Texas Tweaks Sex Ed Curriculum; and Insulin Injustice in Tigray

Russian war crimes in the Ukraine

It becomes more and more apparent that Putin the Terrible is a war criminal in more than one way and should be indicted as such ASAP!

"... The 3-person Commission of Inquiry set up earlier this year interviewed 150 victims and witnesses across 27 towns and settlements.
Disturbing findings:
  1. Sexual and gender-based violence against victims 4 to 82 years old
  2. Children deported from Ukraine and placed in Russian orphanages for adoption
  3. Up to 1.6 million Ukrainians interrogated, detained and/or forcibly deported
  4. Ukrainians in Russian prisons “subjected to beatings, electric shocks and forced nudity”
  5. Executions involving “hands tied behind backs, gunshot wounds to the head, and slit throats”
The commission found 2 instances of Russian forces mistreated by Ukrainian soldiers—but the bulk of the brutality they uncovered was committed by Russian forces. ..."

Global Health NOW: War Crimes in Ukraine; Texas Tweaks Sex Ed Curriculum; and Insulin Injustice in Tigray

Toddler dies after allegedly being pushed off Chicago pier into lake Michigan by his 34 year old aunt

What a bizarre and tragic story! Women can be killers too!

If this aunt indeed has had mental issues and other issues, why did the mother of the boy leave her son in the care of this aunt? "Allegedly, this was not the first time Moreno [the perpetrator] had taken young family members without permission."

Toddler dies after allegedly being pushed off Chicago pier into lake by his aunt - TheBlaze

What Calvin Coolidge’s 'Common Sense' Vetoes of Two Farm Bills Can Teach about Price Controls by Lawrence Reed

Recommendable!

"... Coolidge’s common sense characterized what he stopped or stymied as much as what he signed or supported. “It is much more important to kill a bad bill than to pass a good one,” he once opined, as noted in this short video by Coolidge authority Amity Shlaes. ..."

What Calvin Coolidge’s 'Common Sense' Vetoes of Two Farm Bills Can Teach about Price Controls - Foundation for Economic Education



Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) and the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)

Today is the day that DART will crash into an asteroid in an attempt to change its course! This is one heck of an experiment by humanity to ensure its survival.

While Global Warming is a hoax and Climate Change is a religion, the risk of the earth one day to be hit by an asteroid is real, not negligbile, and potentially very devastating!

Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO)

London based startup Wayve's AI is smart enough to drive different types of vehicles and fleets

Good news!

This company also has published results in leading machine learning and computer vision journals.

"Wayve, a driverless-car startup based in London, has made a machine-learning model that can drive two different types of vehicle: a passenger car and a delivery van. It is the first time the same AI driver has learned to drive multiple vehicles.
The news comes less than a year after Wayve showed that it could take AI trained on the streets of London and use it to drive cars in four other cities across the UK...
The advance suggests that Wayve’s approach to autonomous vehicles (AVs), in which a deep-learning model is trained to drive from scratch, could help it scale up faster than leading [rivals] like Cruise, Waymo, and Tesla. ..."

This startup’s AI is smart enough to drive different types of vehicles | MIT Technology Review Last year, Wayve showed its deep-learning model could drive in multiple cities. Now it can drive vans as well as cars.

Congratulations Giorgia Meloni, the next Prime Minister of Italy

It will be very interesting to watch what a woman can do in this still quite patriarchal society! Let's have a front row seat! 

Hopefully, she will make the government of Italy less chaotic since 1945!

She made it all the way to the top from humble beginnings (Born in Rome; father from Sardinia; mother from Sicily; father left when she was 11)! Very impressive!

Just the fact that the leftists are up in arms about what they call a fascist is a good start! She must be the granddaughter of Mussolini, so it seems. Looks like the Italian voters can no longer be scared with such labels, which is a good thing!

She recently said in public, she is not for gender quotas! Da capo!

She can definitely not be worse than the last Prime Minister and lifetime unaccomplished loser Mario Draghi (also better known as Dracula) 





English for trippers: Are vain and a vein in the same vein?

 In this vein, varicose veins are not for vain people.

The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party in the U.S.

Very recommendable!

Inside the CIA’s top secret museum

A curious museum indeed! It is not open to the public!

Twitter: How many bot accounts are there?

Elon Musk's Twitter deal depends on it! It would be interesting to know how many accounts are bots. Is it only a few percent as Twitter claims or more like 20-30% as Musk claims.
Another question is how many accounts are used by the enemies of the West to spread misinformation etc.