Earlier this month, the biotech division of the German firm Wacker inaugurated a spanking new mRNA production facility in Halle, where, per the company, it will be able to manufacture up to 200 million doses of mRNA vaccines per year. The facility reportedly cost some €100 million to build.
But 200 million doses of mRNA vaccines for what?
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Some nuance. Trish Wood’s latest:
https://trishwood.substack.com/p/remember-how-you-felt-on-911
Her latest podcast (linked in there) is well worth a listen, too; it includes an interview with a Palestinian peace activist who gives an insight into the minds of Gazans, and who is critical of Western protesters.
I don’t know if her previous stack was shared here before:
https://trishwood.substack.com/p/heroes-villains-the-end-of-the-world
On both these stacks, there are some interesting comments.
Again, nuance.
Thanks for the links. Printing off the articles now to read over coffee
8 downticks*. Uh? What’s wrong with people?
*and as usual, no reply to explain. Cowardly.
Seems that any comments that suggest we need to take a step back and consider the context are too much for some readers but they don’t know how to explain their unwillingness.
So, Humza Yousaf is wanting to take in refugees plus he’s sending 500,000 pounds to Gaza. But what guarantee is there Hamas won’t get hold of any money intended to aid the citizens of Gaza?
”Studies have found that “in certain regimes, foreign aid can actually increase terrorist activity, as governments that benefit from counterterrorism assistance have an incentive to maintain a perpetual threat of terrorism to ensure funds continue to flow… Terrorist groups capitalize on the local population’s feelings of disenfranchisement, promising to empower those who join their organizations.” This puts me in mind of the “open-air prison” narrative of Gaza that the media feeds us daily. “Occupiers.” “Oppressors.” “Settlers.” “Colonisers.” “Ethnic cleansers.” All pejoratives for Jewish people. I’d also say that Hamas/Gaza/Palestine ensures that foreign aid funds continue to flow to them, not because they need counterterrorism assistance, but because they portray themselves as being perpetual victims, even while they are the stubborn aggressors. Almost 70% of Palestinians are opposed to coexisting peacefully, according to a survey conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research.
Just last year, Mohammed Halabi, head of the World Vision charity in Gaza, was found guilty of diverting $50 million in aid money to Hamas. He was found to have used “a sophisticated and systematic apparatus” to transfer 60% of the charity’s annual budget for Gaza to the militant group. He was alleged to have set up projects ostensibly for farmers, fishermen, the sick and people with disabilities as a cover to siphon off funds for Hamas…In addition, he was said to have imported materials, including thousands of tonnes of iron ore, under the guise of aid work – which were then passed to Hamas to build tunnels.” The last thing Hamas needs is money for which it is unaccountable.”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/10/scotlands-first-minister-humza-yousaf-is-funding-hamas-yet-again
The leader of Hamas is fabulously wealthy…
https://www.timesofisrael.com/far-from-gaza-hardships-hamas-chief-and-family-enjoy-easy-life-in-qatar/
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-the-phenomenal-wealth-of-hamas-leaders-1000957953
Funding and interference on both sides is both unhelpful and a distraction from the real problems of how to understand and find solutions to the conflict. Clearly those in charge don’t have the interests of the ordinary people at heart and simply treat them as dispensible pawns in a bigger game. And I don’t trust any of the surveys they quote.
More evidence that the IDF appear to be more concerned about the Gazan citizens’ safety than Hamas and the PA PM;
”As Israel is bombing Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’ massacre against Israeli civilians last Saturday, Hamas and the PA as one are telling Gazan civilians to ignore Israel’s warnings and not seek shelter further south in the Strip. Hamas and the PA both expect the Gazan civilians to stay and serve as human shields.
Palestinian Media Watch reported earlier that Hamas’ Ministry of Interior called on Gazans “not to cooperate” and “not to leave their homes,” despite Israel’s warnings.
Now PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh has joined Hamas and “warned” Gazan civilians against the Israeli notifications, telling Gazans “not to leave the land” no matter “how great the sacrifices may be.” In other words, even if it means the civilians will die in their homes acting as human shields for Hamas, they should stay.”
https://palwatch.org/page/34663
I don’t know what I think about this entirely…I’m wondering how I would feel if some much stronger country invaded mine, and told me I had to leave my home, leave everything I own…?
I understand that it might be portrayed as being for my safety..then again, what right do they have to do it? Why does their right overwhelm mine?
….am I ever going to be able to come back?
Are these people, who have all the fire-power just taking my land, home and all my stuff?
Why would I want to do what they say? Why would I believe a word they say, when they’ve killed most of my friends and family? How do I leave with my infirm invalid father, and my child in the hospital?
I’m not sure that the person attacking me, for whatever reason, is the one to have the right to expel me from my own home….and then be ‘praised’ for being kind to me?
Just some thoughts…..
Of course they are. The people of Gaza are Hamas’ perfect human shield.
That they place their rocket launchers by hospitals, schools and residential apartments shows that clearly. Hamas don’t give a flying for the people who elected them. Mind, time the people of Gaza woke up to that.
I Need This explaining to me?
If I agree that they are used as a human shield by Hamas, and I’m supposed to think this is dreadful..which it is.….why then does that give Israel the right to kill the same civilians, using that as an excuse..? They are dead either way….
…and who decides what ‘ratio’ is acceptable?
Is it one civilian per one Hamas terrorist, or, what actually seems to be unfolding, any amount of civilian casualties for one terrorist?
The Douglas Murray article in the round-up, speaks to this….and in my opinion is yet another load of gobbledygook-gook..in so much as he’s talking about what everyone else is saying and doing wrong, but doesn’t pin his colours to the mast by saying what he actually means..and reading between the lines it is this…
Israel can kill as many innocent Palestinian women and children in their thirst for revenge…and can use anything as an excuse….?
Methinks you are getting into the weeds and need to step back and look at the context. Of course there is no acceptable response other than what could be argued as self-defence. And, if you believe there is no hope of reconciliation – as many commentators seem to – then the only answer is for one side to completely suppress the other. And that seems to be the current position adopted by leaders and influencers on either side. As human beings we should never give up on finding a solution and accepting that unequivocable funding and support for either side is not the answer.
I very much want there to be a peaceful solution….I have said so all week …I would like a short cease fire so that all sides could take a breath…but I don’t think either side wants to.
Hamas is, absolutely, a gang of terrorists, but Yoav Gallant, the Israeli
Defence Minister has said that Israel has a three part plan….part three he says is “that after the country destroys the Hamas militant group, the military does not plan to control “life in the Gaza Strip”.
This has been widely reported.
I don’t know what you make of that..but it doesn’t sound good to me..
I hope I am wrong, I want to be…
Interesting article looking at the hatred of Muslims for Jews from a theological perspective;
”When Israel warns the civilians in Gaza to abandon the city in order to pursue the terrorist leaders of Hamas, Hamas strenuously urges them to stay. This whole strategy depends on the Israelis killing Palestinian civilians in revenge as they level Gaza. The intention is to enrage the Islamic world and galvanise a pan-Islamic response to wipe out Israel.
While the politics have a stark simplicity to them, neither the ethics nor the religious background shared the same simplicity. The ethics of Islam and Judaism, particularly relating to forgiveness and revenge, differ considerably. The religions also understand the nature of God very differently, with Yahweh being knowable and Allah unknowable. The religions appear not only complex, but inaccessible to the different/other sides in this war of attrition, information and religion.
Listening to pundits from the left like Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart set out to describe in succinct compressed narratives the historical claims of the conflict, there is no sense at all of the claim, let alone the legitimacy of the claim of the Jews to have been given the land of Israel by divine covenant. Only that they were temporary occupiers two and a half thousand years ago.
To the left, Jews are simply and only a recent illegitimate colonial force guilty for dispossessing Arabs of Palestine.
At the heart of the political impasse is the refusal of Arab Palestinians to accept any political compromises that allowed for the existence of Israel. They are determined on its extermination. Little mention is made of this in political punditry, but the failure to acknowledge this and its theological rationale makes both conversation and ethical analysis impossible. Some minimum grasp of the theological history is essential.”
https://catholicherald.co.uk/islams-problem-with-jews-goes-back-millennia/
“let alone the legitimacy of the claim of the Jews to have been given the land of Israel by divine covenant.” Ermm …
It was more by agreement with the United Nations and everyone except the Arab nations, but if the Israeli’s want to take that as some act of God, we’ll who are we to say.
This is not the Israelis saying it, though; it is the Catholic Herald.
I’m not remoltely on the left, but I know that Israeli Jews overwhelmingly consist of or are descended from people who arrived within the last 100 years.
And the idea that I should accept the Jewish claim that “it’s our because the God our ancestors invented says it is” is just laughable.
Re: religion. Education will fix it, but it will take a generation or two. Luckily fecundity is high in the region.
Check elsewhere, but I think about thirty per cent of Brits say they are Christian – down from nearly all, say, a hundred years ago, but only about six per cent go to church.
Christian morality yes, mumbo jumbo no.
“Only that they were temporary occupiers two and a half thousand years ago.”
Exodus dates to c3000BC. That’s 5000 years…
So many generalisations and attributing positions to groups who are much more heterogeneous than suggested. For instance not all jewish people support Israel and not all arabs or muslims hate jews. The middle east is a very volatile area and it’s difficult to imagine it ever being peaceful. More could be done to reduce the plight of the Palestinian people and improve the security of Israel but no one in power has the guts to make it happen. Meanwhile ordinary people suffer on all sides.
Tools of a One World Government – leaflet to print or share
Meanwhile nobody seems to be stopping the WHO power grab, as the doument is dull. The whole Israel/Palenstine is a handy distraction. One day is they will take everything from us in the name of DEI. And climate change is being labelled as a possible health emergency as well. Go figure.
https://rumble.com/v3pr3ao-bret-and-heather-197th-darkhorse-podcast-livestream.html
Dr John’s still on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lyeO9IqJzc
I’m not optimistic.
Neither am I, although it might take a long time.
As long as we never comply, we can fight this. Everything is up for grabs. I refuse to roll over and let them – these lesser human beings if they are even human beings – take us down their path and, since I’ve had a good life, I’m willing to die for our cause. That might be an extreme approach but I guess what I’m saying is I would not want to live in their dystopian world.
You could well be correct. They have already had an attempt to redo covid with more covid scariants and the monkey pox things, but nobody was having it. The problem could be if they play a slowly game, so that we do not notice. Or just keep on trying.
With you Aethelred
That’s not entirely correct. James Roguski has been doing sterling work in raising awareness about the powergrab; Meryl Nass’ new US organisation Door to Freedom was set up entirely for this purpose, and our very own World Council for Health has been well on the case and is a great resource with its #StopTheWho campaign (there is also a #StopTheTreaty campaign). The EU Parliament’s Citizen’s Initiative in July called out the WHO in no uncertain terms. There is a petition in Canada to quit the WHO & UN; I think there’s still a US bill pending for withdrawal. Just about every visible non-establishment voice has spoken out against it – Robert Malone, Nick Hudson, Peter McCullough, James Corbett, etc, and of course Dr David Bell, who has written about it on DS. Numerous other medical and health organisations are raising awareness about the powergrab too. It’s all out there, you just have to cut through the censorship and the cr*p. DO NOT COMPLY.
https://worldcouncilforhealth.org/?s=WHO
Problem is, the PITB don’t give a flying about us, or what we might demand.
I think “the whole Israeli/Palestine thing” is not only a distraction, it’s also the way to sow more discord and fear so that people beg for more control measures, measures that will not be transitory…..?
Why wouldn’t it? Islam is the predominant religion in the. region.
In a happier time not so long ago a very reasonable, moderate and mostly very kind form of Christianity commanded our region.
I think we should allow those in the Middle East to decide on their own politics and religion and perhaps we could try to get back to ours here.
I am not sure the comparison between Islam in the Middle East and Christianity in Europe, say, really works. My understanding is that the Bible (or at least the New Testament) is not regarded by leading Christian thinkers as a command from God about how to live one’s life; whereas that is precisely how the Koran is regarded by Muslims.
Therefore, to embed Islam into the law, politics, rights and responsibilities of citizens, social relationships etc, as the notion of Political Islam would require (establishing a caliphate based on Sharia Law, say), is very different from simply having a society in which Islam is the predominant religion.
I agree with you that the huge reduction in Christianity in Europe is a sad development with many negative consequences for society.
I wouldn’t dare to make broad sweeping statements about how people view their religion and how they view their scriptures. I’m pretty sure it varies a lot within every religion. There are certain groups of Christians that take the scriptures quite literally. And plenty of Muslims who don’t take the Koran as.precise instructions on how to live their lives.
But that’s kind of irrelevant. What business do we have telling people in the Middle East what kind of religion or politics they should follow? That’s entirely their business and the extent to which they want to live by their scriptures is also for them to sort out, isn’t it?
Not only have we no business doing so, but attempts to do so will not only fail but piss people off and cause more trouble.
I am generally sceptical about the reliability of Wikipedia, particularly regarding politically controversial subjects like climate change, Trump, RFK Jr, etc – but this is what it says about the Koran and the Bible:
“The Quran is believed by Muslims to be not simply divinely inspired, but the literal words of God, and provides a complete code of conduct that offers guidance in every walk of their life.”
“Believers in the Bible generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies.”
The point is, sometimes something can be true despite appearing to some people to be “a broad sweeping statement”.
Civilisations that lose God collapse.
We’re done for. Where’s St. Benedict when we most need him?
Political Islam is NOT Islam.
“Ministers went against advice not to frighten public during pandemic” complain SPI-B.
That would be the same SPI-B who complained in their paper on 23 March 2020 that “a substantial number of people still do not feel sufficiently personally threatened” and recommended, in bold:
“The perceived level of personal threat needs to be increased among those who are complacent, using hard-hitting emotional messaging”.
Did m’learned friend draw this anomaly to the enquiry’s attention?
”Chivalry is dead” – Writing in Spectator Life, Laura Dodsworth” Yes Laura, you can thank the feminists. I held a door open for a bloke yesterday. He thanked me. I probably wouldn’t do the same for a woman.
I think that’s the gist of her article tbf. I dont really understand why anyone bristles if someone holds the door open for them – aren’t these the sort of gestures of thoughtfulness that make for a civilised society?
…yes, and that’s why the ‘good’ ones persevere….
If I joined in with the impolite miseries, then things would get worse, wouldnt they?
I act towards everyone, I hope, in the way I want to be treated…
I’m quite happy to say ‘thank you’ quite loudly if someone doesn’t say thanks though!!….. LOL!
I say “You’re welcome” loudly instead!
Completely agree, as a smallish female I’m always very grateful if a big strong man comes to my aid when I am struggling with something heavy, for example. I’m glad there are people stronger than me who can and are willing to help. I and many other women will never be as physically strong as most men, because we’re women. That’s just how it is.
I would hold a door open for anyone though, male or female. I don’t see why it’s become something that men do for women and not vice versa.
We do AirBnB. I’m old school (72) with a father who knew how a gentleman behaves. If we have a female guest with a heavy bag. Older women thank me, younger ones scowl at me, say “No thanks” and struggle up the stairs with said bag.
And yes, I do open doors for women as well…
Banging their luggage on the walls and scuffing the paintwork as they go. I also ran an Airbnb for several years. I used to insist on carrying the luggage (for both sexes) because “I don’t want you to scuff the paintwork”
Thanks. Appreciated. But then I am older – and perhaps wiser.
I don’t understand that attitude at all! I hope they don’t complain later that you were “unhelpful”.
I don’t really ever understand this argument.
I open doors for everybody..nearly everyone says thanks, and if they don‘t…..so what?
It’s not about them, it’s about me isn’t it? I’m kind, I’m polite ..if they chose not to be, then that’s their tough cheddar..but I still remain the good one, able to live with myself…I generally just feel sorry for the miserable gits….
Good point but I must admit to struggling with heavy fire doors eg in hotels, even though I’m a fit 69yy
Well this could put a kink in things…
If one were vaguely sceptical it would look as though this happened just at the right time..I mean it couldn’t have been PLANNED any better…..!!??
A UN Security Council resolution on Iran’s missile program has expired today. (Wednesday)
Which now means that any country is free to deliver weapons to Iran.
Good spot; I wonder if they will manage to get a new one in place earlier than one for a ceasefire.
I can’t see them ‘hanging around’…I would have thought that if weapons were in-coming they’ll be there by the end of the weekend!…
They knew the date, so they have had time to plan?
How is Dr Polly Carmichael able to push puberty-blockers and other transgender interventions when Sunak claims to be stopping this practice?
Just a reminder that Andrew Bridgen will be talking about excess deaths in the HoC at about 14:00 today.
Fantastic speech, Long loud cheering from the gallery. Canary in the coalmine here is 15-44 year-olds. Minister: it’s flu
The cheering echoed around the near-empty Chamber.
I notice that Rishi is following in the footsteps of Blinken, and after visiting Israel, is now doing the rounds of several Arab Countries….
Stuff happening outside of Israel…but connected..
Saudi Arabia has advised their citizens to leave Lebanon..
Israel has advised their citizens to leave Turkey…
ANBAR, Iraq, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Drones and rockets targeted two military bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq on Thursday, sources and officials said, the latest in a series of attacks after Iraqi militants warned Washington against intervening to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.
Rockets and drones were fired at Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. and other international forces in western Iraq, and multiple blasts were heard inside the base, two security sources said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military base in southern Syria where U.S. troops have maintained a presence to train forces as part of a broad campaign against the Islamic State group was attacked by drones on Thursday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press.
The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/12/uk-to-send-navy-ships-and-spy-planes-to-support-israel
Britain will send surveillance aircraft, two Royal Navy support ships and about 100 Royal Marines to the eastern Mediterranean from Friday to support Israel and help prevent any sudden escalation of fighting in the Middle East.
Patrol flights of Poseidon P-8 aircraft and other planes will begin on Friday, Downing St announced, tasked partly with monitoring any efforts to transfer of weapons from countries such as Iran or Russia to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Existing UK military units and fighter aircraft, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, are also on alert as Israel gears up for an expected ground assault on Gaza after last Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas.
https://kirschsubstack.com/p/va-study-published-in-jama-shows
VA study published in JAMA shows that COVID *and* flu shots don’t reduce your risk of hospitalizationOf course, the study was designed to show a different effect. But it “accidentally” revealed that the COVID and flu shots don’t reduce your risk of hospitalization from the virus they are designed for.
….Clair Craig also notes from the same study …
When the proportion admitted for flu is the exact same as the proportion admitted for covid, then you can conclude that the vaccine provided no protection against hospitalisation for covid.
Chief Nerd
@TheChiefNerd
”Seizures/convulsions ‘met the statistical threshold for a signal’ in children aged 2 to 4 following receipt of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and children aged 2 to 5 following receipt of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, researchers with the FDA and three large healthcare companies said in a new preprint study.
A safety signal is a sign that a health condition may be caused by vaccination, but further research is required to verify a link.
Overall, 72 cases of seizures/convulsions were recorded within seven days of a shot among toddlers and other young children. Most happened within three days of a shot.”
The full story is in the Epoch Times if anyone subscribes…
…they never stop…yet another ‘unelected by the people’ European bureaucrat undermining the legitimacy of the EU?
Christine Lagarde
The euro is key to our European unity. A digital euro, existing alongside cash, would future-proof our currency. It would be safe, easy to use and free of charge.
While the decision whether to issue a digital euro will be taken later, we’re now launching the preparation phase.
The nonentity now in charge of the SNP has offered a home to all fleeing Gaza. But then has history with Hamas…
Say no more…
One of the Jewish protesters arrested at The Capitol yesterday…
Rabbi David Mivasair
@Mivasair
Yes. That’s us. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Jewish. There’s really no contradiction. Call it pro-all-of-God’s-children. I’m one of the 500 or so in the crowd. 3,000 more on the streets. Just got out of jail and am on my way home.
“Maths teacher sacked after pupils ‘made up assault claims’”
This. A paltry payout for a life-altering bunch of lies while there is no recourse for the Head who failed to investigate thoroughly and the lying girls involved. Karma ladies, karma…..
I agree. £45k is perhaps one year’s salary. The person who should be sacked is the Head. I hope the guilty girls are up to date with their jibby jabs.
This is an interesting clip of the veteran Israeli reporter Gideon Levy at the Oxford Union in 2016…
The debate is titled…The Two State Solution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zw3Yz-yas
EXCLUSIVE: Health Canada Confirms Undisclosed Presence of DNA Sequence in Pfizer Shot
“Health Canada has confirmed the presence of a Simian Virus 40 (SV40) DNA sequence in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which the manufacturer had not previously disclosed. There is debate among scientists with regards to the significance of the finding, with some saying it has the potential to cause cancer, and others saying it poses little to no threat.
“Health Canada expects sponsors to identify any biologically functional DNA sequences within a plasmid (such as an SV40 enhancer) at the time of submission,” the agency said in an email to The Epoch Times.
“Although the full DNA sequence of the Pfizer plasmid was provided at the time of initial filing, the sponsor did not specifically identify the SV40 sequence.”
The regulator said that after scientists Kevin McKernan and Dr. Phillip J. Buckhaults publicly raised the presence of SV40 enhancers in the vaccines earlier this year, “it was possible for Health Canada to confirm the presence of the enhancer based on the plasmid DNA sequence submitted by Pfizer against the published SV40 enhancer sequence.”
Dr. Lindsay questioned why Pfizer failed to disclose the SV40 promoter to regulators like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and Health Canada.
“They hid them. So it’s not just the fact that they’re there, it’s the fact that they were purposefully hidden from the regulators,” she said.
Pfizer did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.”
The commitment to freedom of expression and sceptical inquiry is still taking a back seat to ideological conformity with mainstream pro-Israel/anti-Palestinian narratives, with the top nine news stories in Daily Sceptic’s news round-up all toeing the Establishment line. There’s even a link to Douglas Murray’s article in The Spectator explicitly calling for the banning of protests.
I’m sad that the ds team are so blinkered on this topic but they also have the same limits on questioning virology and the fake pandemic.