Toxic Forever Chemicals Are Absorbed through the Skin
Toxic “forever chemicals” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can be readily absorbed through the skin, according to a new study.
The research, published in Environment International, is the first to show that these chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and from there pass into the bloodstream. It had previously been thought that this couldn’t happen; although studies have shown, for example, a clear link between the user of personal-care products and PFAS concentrations in human blood and breast milk.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they are chemically stable and highly resistant to decay in the environment. They accumulate in the environment and in living creatures, increasing in concentration at higher levels of the food chain. They are used in everything from plastics, carpets and cookware to greaseproof papers and fire retardants.
PFAS have been linked to a wide variety of conditions and diseases, from obesity and high blood pressure, to fertility problems and cancers, especially of the thyroid. PFAS chemicals were a central focus of the Tucker Carlson documentary The End of Men, about the massive decline in male testosterone levels and fertility, and are also a focus of Professor Shanna Swan’s recent book Count Down. Professor Swan predicts that men could be unable to reproduce by natural means within 20 years if current trends in sperm-count decline continue.
CONTACT LENSES AND PFAS.
— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) May 10, 2023
If you wear contact lenses, you might want to think about wearing glasses instead. A new study reveals that most contact lenses contain extremely high levels of PFAS, a harmful “forever chemical” linked to reduced testosterone, obesity & eye diseases. ? pic.twitter.com/8Ku9D9bbxZ
In their experiments, the researchers investigated 17 different kinds of PFAS, selecting compounds that were among the most commonly used and the most widely studied.
The researchers used 3D human skin models—layered laboratory grown tissues that mimic the properties of human skin—to test absorption. They applied samples of PFAS chemicals to the surface of the models and then measured the proportions that were absorbed, unabsorbed or retained within the models.
Of the 17 substances tested, 15 showed substantial dermal absorption (above 5% of the dose applied). The most highly absorbed PFAS was PFOA, of which 13.5% of the dose passed through right through the skin and 38% was retained within the tissues.
Molecules with shorter carbon-chain lengths showed much higher levels of absorption, which is important because manufacturers of these chemicals are adopting molecules with shorter carbon chains because they are believed to be less toxic. Instead of being beneficial for consumers and the broader environment, this move may actually increase direct bodily exposure to these chemicals, with as-yet unknown effects.
Automatic US Draft Registration: Sinister Measure that Wouldn’t Work – DC Think Tank
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – which has already passed through the House – envisages automatically registering US men on the Selective Service’s database of potential military conscripts. According to the DC-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (QI), the measure is ill-timed and ill-thought-out.
A DC-based think tank has lamented the fact that an automatic system of registering US men aged 18 to 26 for Selective Service was introduced recently in Congress without any hearings or debate.
The Selective Service System (SSS) is a US government agency that maintains a database of draft-aged US citizens. Even though the military is presently an all-volunteer force, the SSS provides the Department of Defense with personnel in the event of a national emergency.
Previously, US men were supposed to complete their paperwork for Selective Service on their own when they turned 18. Since failure to register at the proper time has been considered a felony, the proponents of automatic registering insisted that it would help American youths avoid potential legal consequences.
However, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s contributors argue that, first, the measure looks sinister against the backdrop of Washington’s involvement in the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts; and, second, it won’t work.
“Nearly 50 years after America’s last war of conscription in Vietnam, lawmakers are supporting legislation that sounds like they’re preparing for another full draft,” wrote Jack Hunter, a US political commentator and author, for Responsible Statecraft – the QI’s online magazine.
“Maybe congressional members will vote next to send these boys to Ukraine or Gaza?… Are you comfortable with President Joe Biden or possibly Donald Trump making those life-and-death decisions about your son or male relative?” he asked.
Hunter drew attention to the fact that while independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has pledged to immediately veto any legislation re-instituting draft, Biden and Trump have remained silent on the matter.
Edward Hasbrouck, a member of the War Resisters League and the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, shared Hunter’s concerns, adding that, “Congress should stop making futile attempts to salvage, much less expand, the current failed registration system.”
In his op-ed for the think tank’s magazine, Hasbrouck explained that the only purpose of the Selective Service database is to enable “prompt and provable delivery” of induction notices to US men when Congress activates a draft. The “provable delivery” is important to hold a draft dodger responsible; therefore American men are obligated not only to register when they turn 18, but also to inform the Selective Service System within ten days about changing their address until they turn 26.
The problem is that some 100,000 men per year don’t register under the SSS despite risking penalties. Furthermore, “absolutely nobody” reports to the agency when they move, as House lawmakers at the Armed Services Committee admitted in 2021.
Meanwhile, the database doesn’t include many young men from states such as California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. In these states, unlike the rest of the country, men are not required to register with SSS in order to get their driver’s license. On the other hand, states that obligate drivers to register with the SSS have foreigners who enter the US on a temporary basis and are non-eligible for draft on their lists.
But that is not all, continued Hasbrouck: while only those who were assigned the gender “male” at birth are required to register with the SSS, “no current Federal database reliably indicates sex as assigned at birth,” the scholar emphasized.
“Individuals can self-select their preferred gender marker – ‘M’ [male], ‘F’ [female], or ‘X’ – to be used on US passports and Social Security records, without regard for sex as assigned at birth,” Hasbrouck pointed out.
Even though states have birth information only about those who were born in the US, neither federal nor state agencies have copies of birth certificates for those born abroad, the scholar explained, adding that determining who is who could turn into “a gender-judging quagmire.”
While “automatic” registration sounds “seductively simple” in practice, trying to base Selective Service registration on existing state and federal databases is doomed, according to the analyst.
“The perceived availability of a draft enables planning for unlimited wars, without having to worry about whether people will be willing to fight them. But… draft registration has failed [in the US],” Hasbrouck concluded.
Hungary’s Orbán Announces New ‘Patriots for Europe’ Alliance with Austrian & Czech Nationalists
Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ), Czechia’s ANO, and Hungary’s Fidesz have formed a new right-wing coalition, the parties’ respective leaders announced at a joint press conference in Vienna on Sunday.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, and Austrian opposition leader Herbert Kickl said the new alliance would hopefully entice others to join and become the largest nationalist political group in the European Parliament.
“Today we are creating a political formation that will ‘forge ahead’ and very quickly become the strongest grouping and largest faction of the European right,” Orbán said.
The Hungarian prime minister expects this to happen within days, and then the “sky will be the limit.”
Orbán pointed out that the situation in Europe is clear, that European politics must change and change is needed in Europe.
He underlined that in 20 of the 27 EU member states, parties that promised change to the citizens won the European Parliament elections.
The Hungarian leader revealed the parties had adopted the Patriots’ manifesto, which summarizes the ideals and goals around which they are organizing their work.
According to Orbán, the European economy is in crisis, its weight is diminishing and the threat of terrorism and migration is constant. He warned of the ongoing war in Europe’s backyard that the European liberal elite had not been able to prevent from breaking out or from stopping.
“Today is a historic day, as we will present the group of three parties and their representatives, which aims to bring about a political change in Europe at the inaugural session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on July 16. It will be an era of freedom, sovereignty, peace, prosperity, and values,” said Herbert Kickl.
“We will not stand idly by and watch the emergence of a European superstate in which the parliaments of the member states degenerate into a kind of folklore, where sovereignty and the self-determination of individual states are empty phrases. We want a Europe that once again shows itself and develops with pride, values, traditions, and diversity,” said the FPÖ President. He added that “Europe does not want to be left to Macron, Von der Leyen or some left-wing experiment.”
At the press conference, Andrej Babiš stressed that EU environmental policy should take more account of economic development in order not to jeopardize the competitiveness of the Community. Technically sound, economically viable, and socially just solutions must be found.
Le Pen’s ID Group Potentially Rebranding by Merging with Orbán’s Patriots
It looks like Hungary’s conservative prime minister was not bluffing when he said the new political alliance that he launched over the weekend with the Austrian and Czech populists will become the largest political force to the right of the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament (EP).
Confidential sources from within Matteo Salvini’s Lega party—a member of the sovereigntist Identity and Democracy (ID) group—claim that the creation of Orbán’s new group, ‘Patriots for Europe,’ was the pre-agreed plan between him and Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French election winning National Rally and de facto head of ID.
Instead of just simply admitting the Hungarian Fidesz and others to the ID, the group is aiming to regroup under Orbán’s new banner, making it ideologically more flexible to expand its alliance and chart a new path toward political domination on the European Right.
The claim seems to be supported by the fact that Salvini was among the first to welcome the new alliance between Orbán’s Hungarian Fidesz, Andrej Babiš’ Czech ANO, and the Austrian FPÖ—even though the latter is a founding member of ID. Salvini would hardly congratulate if Patriots meant the departure of his ally right before it’s set to win the Austrian parliamentary elections.
Italy’s Deputy PM was careful enough not to reveal all his cards, but he still implied that something bigger was afoot and Lega would be part of it. “In front of the arrogance of Brussels, which behaves as if nothing had happened after the vote of the citizens, and which does not wait for the outcome of the French elections, it is very necessary to join the forces of those who want to change Europe and offer one alternative to the unfortunate left,” Salvini addressed the three Patriots.
The timing of the announcement and Orbán’s cryptic message might also point to a pre-agreed collaboration. The Patriots were officially launched in the Austrian capital on the day of the first round of the French election, while the Hungarian PM told his supporters online to “cast [their] watchful eyes on Paris and Vienna.”
A ‘division of roles’
According to the confidential sources of the Italian daily Domani, the Patriots’ launch is just the first step of a greater scheme aiming to “rebrand” the ID and make it the third-largest group in the European Parliament and the primary conservative force in Brussels. The master plan was allegedly formulated during a closed-door meeting of ID members last Thursday, where representatives of Fidesz and ANO were also present.
The paper claims the deal reached during that meeting foresees a “division of roles” within the new formation: Orbán, the oldest poster boy of European national conservatism, would take the “front stage” as the face of the brand, but—as head of the largest faction within the group—it would be Marine Le Pen calling the shots behind the scenes. Salvini’s Lega, meanwhile, aims to put some of its own people in certain “apex roles” within the group.
Whatever the truth of it, we should know a lot more in the coming days as the official deadline for parliamentary reshuffles (July 4th) is approaching fast. However, given the snap elections in France that won’t conclude until the 7th, the ID has already requested the deadline to be extended—which might be more evidence to support the overarching plan to create a group big enough to take the bronze medal, because that might need a lot more talks to settle the numbers.
A numbers game
Le Pen’s ID group currently has 58 seats in the European Parliament and is the fifth largest. This plan, to merge under the banner of the Patriots, might land it in third place by overtaking both Macron’s liberal Renew (75 seats) and Giorgia Meloni’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
As they stand now, the Patriots have 24 seats between them—Fidesz 11, ANO seven, and FPÖ six—enough MEPs but four delegations short of creating a parliamentary group alone.
A merger between the two, however, would put the new bloc at 76 seats (not counting FPÖ twice), just seven behind the ECR. Still, the leaders seem confident that they would come out on top, which means that negotiations are ongoing with other delegations as well.
For one, the Polish Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by ex-PM Mateusz Morawiecki—who found himself increasingly at odds with Meloni over the centrist direction she’s taking their ECR group in—is reportedly considering jumping ship and joining the Patriots. Morawiecki said last week that there was a 50% chance of it happening, but he might only try to leverage the possibility to increase its influence within the ECR.
While PiS’s 20 MEPs switching sides would immediately reverse the standing of the two groups, the former Polish governing party is not necessarily needed for that to happen. Instead of them, the Patriots might open its doors for Konfederacja from Poland, which won six seats and had not been previously included in any groups.
Rumor has it that talks are also taking place with Slovak PM Robert Fico’s SMER (five seats) and maybe the EPP member Slovenian SDS (four seats), although last week both parties denied having any intention of joining. Spain’s SALF (‘The Party is Over’) might also get a place, although it would bring only one seat to the table.
The AfD question
The biggest question, however, is whether this new, rebranded ID group would have a place for the German AfD and its 15 homeless MEPs.
The Germans were kicked out of ID before the European elections. Its large delegation would undoubtedly make reaching the Patriots’ goal of becoming the third largest bloc much easier, but it’s unclear whether that’s enough to put the animosity of the past few months between them and RN behind them.
Still, the Germans are hopeful. Speaking to journalists during the AfD party conference on Sunday, co-president Alice Weidel said that the formation of the Patriots “opens up new opportunities for AfD to cooperate with other parties, as the party landscape of the ECR and ID as a whole is on the move.”
The head of the party’s EP delegation, René Aust, was also optimistic, saying that “everything is [now] in flux,” and that “it’s going to be an exciting two weeks” until the new European Parliament forms on July 16th.
The Austrian FPÖ being a member of both the ID and the Patriots might also help AfD’s case for readmittance. The Austrians have always been close to AfD and lobbied against the party’s suspension from ID, so they are probably on the side of bringing back the party under the new brand, which would help Le Pen save face as well.
If they don’t succeed, for whatever reason, AfD is left with no other option than to create its own fringe right-wing bloc from the ‘leftovers’ of the European Parliament under the name ‘Sovereignists,’ but nicknamed ‘Hooligans’. That’s not a path it would be happy to take, though, and it may not even happen. The Germans have set a clear “no antisemites” criterion for any prospective partners and some may not pass that bar.
Sources within the AfD have confirmed to The European Conservative that the talks are ongoing, but said it was too early to know whether they will succeed. Nonetheless, adding just AfD to this rebranded ID or enlarged Patriot platform would put it at 91 seats, a bloc that might truly bring about what Orbán described on Sunday as the “new era” in European politics.
Russian Economist Unveils Putin’s Masterplan as US Dominance Ends
Russian President Vladimir Putin started long ago to steer Russia away from the global liberal order. One way he did this is by establishing the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in 2014, which aims to create a new power center to rival the U.S. and Europe. Putin already concluded then that he needed to separate the Eurasian economic zone under the chairmanship of Russia. The embodiment of this idea was the creation of the EAEU.
This was recently revealed by Russian economist Sergei Glazyev during a Moscow FM radio show. He warned also that even back then, Putin already foresaw a looming economic catastrophe for the West due to unsustainable financial practices, predicting global repercussions akin to the Great Depression. This is why, he said, Russia has been preparing to ditch the dollar and international treaties.
“The need to leave the American-centric system and create our own is dictated not only by the fact that the United States cannot and does not want to deal with Russia on equal terms, but also by the fact that the main financial instrument of the West in the form of the dollar is collapsing and very soon its owners will formalize its collapse,” Glazyev said in the interview.
According to the economic expert, the U.S. financial elites delayed this collapse for many years as a massive collapse of financial markets in America should have happened back in 2008 when the well-known economic crisis broke out. The administration then printed more fiat money to “save” the economy. So when the American establishment decided to repeat the experience of the financial crisis in 2020 and 2021, once again the government stimulated its already hopeless economy with new gigantic injections of liquidity. Now, statistics show that what they did was just effective for a very short period and led the United States to a dead end.
“The first alarming bell was the start of a sharp drop in the most important economic indicators at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021,” the economist disclosed. “Since then, the U.S. economic situation has only continued to deteriorate. The most likely way out of the current crisis may be a rapid collapse of financial markets.”
He pointed out that the global liberal system is based on the principle of constant expansion and when there is nowhere to expand anymore, this system falls into a crisis that would bring about destruction and write off all previously accumulated obligations. “In any case, the approaching crisis threatens to develop into a full-scale social and economic catastrophe, the scale of which will not be inferior to the Great Depression of the 30s of the last century,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russia today is the only country on the planet that is ready to offer the whole world an alternative development model. Putin has repeatedly warned that a global catastrophe will soon occur, which will begin with a financial collapse in the United States and Moscow began preparing Russia for it a long time ago. In 2021, he started the de-dollarization campaign in the Russian Federation. In 2022, Putin also began to “withdraw Russia from a huge number of various international treaties concluded with the West, the action of which did not bring any benefit to our country, but at the same time constrained our development and gave significant advantages to our former partners.”
“Now it is becoming clear to everyone that it is no longer possible to avoid the outbreak of a catastrophe in the United States, which will subsequently spread throughout the world and become global. The only thing you can do is prepare well for it. This is exactly what Putin has been doing for several years now. Russia has already completely gotten rid of the dollar in the structure of its state reserves and transferred all foreign payments with all our key foreign partners to national currencies,” the expert said.
Putin and Kim join forces to challenge Western hegemony
To further boost the Eurasian country, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un unveiled a groundbreaking military and economic alliance following their historic summit in Pyongyang. Putin highlighted a new treaty providing mutual defense against aggression, amid escalating tensions with Western nations over arms supplies to neighboring regions. Their united front challenges Western hegemony, promising a new era of independence and stability in Northeast Asia.
“The treaty that Putin signed with Kim Jong-un was a return to the Cold War, but of course in the Cold War North Korea had no nuclear weapons,” said Dr. Edward Howell, the Korea Foundation fellow with the Asia-Pacific program at Chatham House.
To analysts, Putin’s immediate goal is to develop a partnership that has delivered millions of artillery shells, as well as ballistic missiles, desperately needed for his war in Ukraine. But the roots of the relationship go deeper: the two leaders have aligned in a growing anti-western coalition and seem increasingly unrestrained by Western threats.
“Russia has now put in writing just how willing and committed it is to deepening and expanding its cooperation with North Korea,” said Jamie Kwong, a fellow in the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
U.S. and NATO officials voiced concern over the potential Russian support for North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. A copy of the treaty published by North Korea explicitly listed cooperation in “peaceful nuclear energy.”
DollarDemise.com has more stories related to the end of dollar dominance worldwide.
99.9% Chance: Top Scientist Predicts AI Wipeout of Humanity
In a landmark survey conducted earlier this year, more than half of the 2,778 researchers polled expressed concerns about the existential threat posed by superhuman artificial intelligence (AI). The survey indicated a five percent chance that humanity could face extinction or other “extremely bad outcomes” due to the rise of super-intelligent AI systems.
One of the prominent voices raising the alarm is Roman Yampolskiy, a distinguished computer science lecturer at the University of Louisville and a respected figure in AI research.
On the “Lex Fridman Podcast,” Yampolskiy made a grim prediction, estimating a 99.9 percent probability that AI could obliterate humanity within the next 100 years.
“Creating general superintelligences may not end well for humanity in the long run,” Yampolskiy cautioned. “The best strategy might simply be to avoid starting this potentially perilous game.”
Yampolskiy also highlighted existing issues with current large language models, noting their propensity for errors and susceptibility to manipulation as evidence of potential future risks. “Mistakes have already been made; these systems have been jailbroken and used in ways developers did not foresee,” he observed.
Additionally, Yampolskiy suggested that a super-intelligent AI could devise unforeseeable methods to achieve destructive ends, presenting challenges we may not even recognize as threats until it is too late.
While he conceded that the probability of AI leading to human extinction is not a full 100 percent, he warned that the risk is alarmingly high. “Even with exponentially increasing our resources, the risk never fully disappears,” he said, illustrating the ongoing challenge of managing a system capable of making billions of decisions per second over many years.
Rapid developments in AI have profoundly transformed various aspects of human life, including the world of work. While AI promises increased efficiency and innovation, it also poses threats to numerous professions, potentially leading to widespread unemployment. This concern is not just a distant future scenario; several companies have already started cutting employees due to AI efficiency, with an estimated 44 percent wave of layoffs expected throughout 2024.
Threat or opportunity?
One of the main threats to the workforce is the automation of routine and repetitive jobs. Intelligent AI systems can replace roles that require standardized tasks, such as those in manufacturing and administrative sectors. Machines equipped with AI can perform these tasks more quickly and accurately than humans, leading to potential job reductions in these areas.
AI also threatens creative jobs. Computer programs capable of producing works of art or writing news stories could replace human artists and journalists. AI’s success in mimicking human creativity poses a serious challenge. Companies adopting AI technology may reduce their demand for human workers, opting instead for cheaper and more efficient automation systems, resulting in a decline in traditional employment.
Despite the efficiency brought by AI, the presence of intelligent machines poses challenges to socialization and human interaction. Jobs requiring empathy, sensitivity to social context and communication skills may be less suitable for automation but remain crucial to the success of many professions.
Education and training are essential
Governments, educational institutions and companies need to collaborate on training programs that provide new skills to workers impacted by automation. Focusing on developing human skills, such as creativity, emotional intelligence and problem-solving, can help workers compete in the AI era.
Preserving jobs that are difficult to automate is another strategy to mitigate AI’s negative impact on employment. Professions requiring interpersonal intelligence, creative skills and moral judgment may be more resistant to automation.
Governments need to actively shape policies that support societal adaptation to AI-driven changes, including regulations that ensure worker protection and create a business environment promoting sustainability and fairness.
Integrating AI technology into the workplace in a way that supports human-machine collaboration is a positive approach. Workers can collaborate with AI systems to boost productivity and innovation while maintaining their crucial role in complex decision-making.
Visit Robots.news for more stories like this.