US Army’s Failure-Prone Pier Connected To Gaza Beach Again After Breaking Apart
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced its temporary pier for Gaza, which has been out of commission for a couple of weeks after it was broken apart by choppy Mediterranean seas, has been fully reestablished and is operational.
“At approximately 2:15 pm (local Gaza time) on June 7, US Central Command (CENTCOM) successfully reestablished the temporary pier in Gaza, enabling the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted to X. Watch the pier make landing on the beach again:
U.S. Army’s floating pier returns to the shores of Gaza after breaking up. pic.twitter.com/c6ZjjkpbQi
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 7, 2024
“In coming days, CENTCOM will facilitate the movement of vital food and other emergency supplies, in support of the US Agency for International Development,” the statement continued.
The Washington Post on Thursday revealed that the cost of repairs for the pier after sections of it broke off and washed ashore in southern Israel stands at $22 million.
Initially the total cost of Biden’s controversial humanitarian pier project stood at $320 million. From the start it has received bad press both in the US and internationally, a trend which has only continued given the project’s persistent problems. The controversy chiefly lies in that Israel is simultaneously blocking easier to use land routes for aid into Gaza.
But American taxpayers have also questioned the need for the pier, at a time it continues to prove ineffective in the high winds and waves of the eastern Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Pentagon has still sought to provide ‘assurances’:
The Pentagon said this week that the project’s overall cost has been downgraded, from an initial estimate of $320 million to about $230 million now. Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman, told reporters Wednesday that the savings were realized through lower-than-expected expenses for contracted vehicles and drivers, and Britain’s contribution of a military vessel to house the U.S. troops involved in the operation.
This price downgrade is unlikely to be of much comfort to the American taxpayer. Below is a brief review of all the setbacks of late:
Despite only being operational for a short time, the pier has already faced a number of setbacks. Last week, deliveries had to be stopped for two days after crowds rushed to aid trucks coming off the pier, leading to one Palestinian man being shot dead.
Following the incident, the US military said it was charting a safer route to deliver aid. US Central Command also said last week that four army vessels had broken free from the pier, with two arriving in Gaza and the other two washing up on the coast.
According to a UN World Food Programme spokesperson, since the pier was set up, the UN has transported 137 trucks of aid, the equivalent of 900 metric tonnes.
There also remains the obvious dark irony and contradiction of the US supplying the very bombs still being used on Gaza amid a massive military campaign that’s driving the humanitarian crisis, while simultaneously trying to ‘solve’ or alleviate the catastrophe through an ambitious project already plagued by failure.
How Will Mexico’s New President Claudia Sheinbaum Be on Immigration?
The Mexican presidential election was held June 2.
The winner was Claudia Sheinbaum. She defeated her nearest opponent (also a woman) by 30 points.
¡Felicidades, Claudia Sheinbaum!
She is set to take office on October 1 as Mexico’s first female president and first Jewish president.
Sheinbaum was the choice of the Mexican electorate and we respect that.
But how will Presidenta Sheinbaum be on immigration and related issues?
In her victory speech, she said the following about Mexican relations with the United States [my translations throughout article]:
“With the United States there will be a relationship of friendship, mutual respect and equality as it has been until now…”
I’m all for good relations with Mexico on issues of common interest. But notice what she said next:
“…and we will always defend the female and male Mexicans who are found on the other side of the border.”
What does the Mexican president-elect mean by “defending Mexicans” in the U.S.?
What she means is the government of Mexico will protect Mexican illegal aliens, meddle in U.S. immigration policy and attempt to win the loyalty of Mexican-Americans, including those born in the U.S.
How do I know? Because the Mexican government is already doing this. Every Mexican president, left, right or center, does this.
American politicians, after all, seem to have no problem with it.
For example, Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt recently appointed a Mexican diplomat to a state labor task force. I kid you not. (You can contact Stitt here).
As I reported here at Border Hawk in October, Claudia Sheinbaum did some campaigning among Mexicans in Los Angeles, California.
There, on U.S. soil, she declared, “No border can divide the Mexican people.”
Actually, a border, by definition, should divide lands and peoples.
On May 19, in the third Mexican presidential debate, Sheinbaum greeted Mexicans living outside of Mexico: “particularly the fellow Mexicans who are in the United States, more than 30 million Mexicans….”
That figure would include Mexican-Americans born in the U.S who are considered Mexicans in Mexico.
Isn’t this a threat to American sovereignty, citizenship and nationality?
Moreover, Sheinbaum subscribes to the “root cause” argument. According to that concept, the U.S. can end mass migration by dumping lots of money on Latin America. That’s an idea she promoted in the first debate.
Yeah, sure, like that’s gonna work.
Este es el triunfo del pueblo de México, de la revolución pacífica de las conciencias y el reconocimiento de nuestro pueblo a que es claro el mandato de continuar y avanzar con la Cuarta Transformación de la Vida Pública de México. pic.twitter.com/S7kt0LdnW3
— Dra. Claudia Sheinbaum (@Claudiashein) June 3, 2024
Lest you think I’m picking on Mexico’s new president-elect, I’m not.
It’s not just her – most Mexican politicians say these sorts of things.
What do you expect?
Mexican leaders see the whole immigration scam as a great benefit to Mexico, or at least to its political class.
Allow me to explain how it works.
Poor – and some not-so-poor – folks leave Mexico and go to the United States.
That gets them out of Mexico, where they’re not spending resources or getting into trouble.
Simultaneously, they are sending money from the U.S.A. to Mexico.
If they get into trouble in the U.S., as they often do, then the Mexican government can make a great show of defending their poor, persecuted citizens in the racist U.S.A.
It also increases the Mexican and Mexican-descended population of the United States, hopefully giving Mexico more influence and power north of the border.
This is not some clandestine conspiracy. It’s all totally public and open.
The Mexican government doesn’t even hide what it’s doing because U.S. leaders don’t care. Or even worse, they facilitate Mexican meddling.
What a negative situation! Is there any solution?
The good news is, there is a solution.
The solution lies not in Mexico and its leaders, but in our government.
We need a government that will put America First.
An America First government would secure the border, shut down immigration, close the anchor baby loophole, protect American citizenship and not allow Mexican diplomats to meddle in our politics.
There’s nothing about an America First policy that is anti-Mexican. It just takes care of our country.
Meanwhile, Claudia Sheinbaum can take care of her country.
Isn’t that the best solution?
Macron Building ‘Coalition’ to Send Troops Into Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron has gone beyond merely talking about the possibility of deploying NATO troops to Ukraine, taking steps to form a coalition of military trainers who would work inside the former Soviet republic preparing Kiev’s soldiers to fight Russian forces.
“We want to have a coalition for reasons of efficiency, and several of our partners have already given their agreement,” Macron told reporters on Friday in Paris. “We will use the coming days to finalize the largest possible coalition capable of responding to Ukraine’s request.”
Macron did not identify the countries, other than France, that have committed to sending trainers to Ukraine. He argued that dispatching specialists to do training work inside Ukraine should not provoke a Russian response.
“We are not at war with Russia,” Macron said. “We do not want an escalation, but we want to do everything in our power to help Ukraine resist. Is it an escalation if Ukraine asks us to train mobilized soldiers on its soil? No, that does not mean deploying people – European or allied soldiers – on the front line.”
Macron made the comments after hosting a visit by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. He announced on Thursday that France will send Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Kiev and train Ukrainian pilots. It will reportedly take until around the end of this year to have pilots ready to fly the warplanes.
French forces have already trained around 10,000 Ukrainian troops in France and other NATO countries. Lithuania and Estonia have also publicly suggested that they would be willing to deploy instructors inside Ukraine. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said last month that NATO trainers were already operating in the battle-torn country.
Russian officials have warned that any foreign military personnel in Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets for attack, regardless of their duties and locations. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Macron’s “belligerent rhetoric” and provocative statements had escalated the Ukraine crisis.
Macron began making public comments about the possibility of troop deployments to Ukraine in February, triggering pushback from some NATO allies and a Kremlin warning that this step would inevitably lead to a direct conflict with Russia. US President Joe Biden reportedly rejected Macron’s proposal to send instructors to Kiev, citing concerns that they could be in the line of fire and spark an escalation.
Low-calorie Sweetener Linked To Significant Increase in Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
Xylitol, a popular low-calorie sweetener used in everything from toothpastes to chewing gum, is linked to a near-double risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to a new study.
The researchers analysed nearly 1,200 blood samples taken from people undergoing assessment for heart disease between 2004 and 2011. They also analysed samples taken from 2,100 people who had high risk for heart disease.
People with the highest levels of xylitol in their blood had nearly twice the risk of heart attack, stroke and death as those with the lowest amounts.
The effects appear to be caused by alterations to blood platelet behaviour that cause them to aggregate and form clots.
COMMON SWEETENER IS “GENOTOXIC”.
The ubiquitous sweetener sucralose produces a number of fat-soluble compounds in the gut that are “genotoxic”, meaning they damage the structure of DNA, according to a new study. ? pic.twitter.com/skQpKrz1Gc— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) June 7, 2023
Xylitol is a kind of sugar alcohol, a type of carbohydrate found in foods like cauliflower, spinach, plums, raspberries and strawberries. The quantities found in fruits and vegetables are tiny, however, compared to the amounts found in popular sugar-free products.
“If you actually do the calculation, it literally takes a tonnage of fruit to be equivalent to one diabetic cookie that can have like nine grams of xylitol, which is a typical label amount,” said senior study author Dr Stanley Hazen.
“It would be like eating salt at the level of a salt lick.”
Consumption of sugar alcohols has increased massively over the last two decades. Sugar alcohols are classified as GRAS or “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA.
“Xylitol is cheaper to make than cane sugar and so more and more keeps getting incorporated as a sugar substitute into food. Some 12-ounce drinks that use xylitol as a major artificial sweetener can contain 30 grams or more,” he said. “You can even buy it in bulk at the grocery store where you’re told to use as a one-to-one substitute for sugar in home cooking.”
ARTIFICAL SWEETENERS: WORSE THAN THE REAL THING?
— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) March 13, 2023
There’s no such thing as free pleasure: artificial sweeteners have all sorts of costs you might not be aware of. In fact, they may even be worse than the sugars they replace. ? pic.twitter.com/dcrWGKmQOd
It’s clear that a number of alcohol sugars have these effects. The new study builds on previous research which showed similar results for erythritol, another popular sweetener.
“There’s a receptor on our platelets, which we as yet don’t understand, that is recognizing this molecule and signaling to the platelet to be more prone to clot,” he said.
“Our tastebuds can’t tell the difference in the structures between sugar and these other sweeteners, but clearly our platelets can.”
A new report from the American Heart Association predicts that 60% of American adults will be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, of which heart disease and stroke are types, by 2050.
EXCLUSIVE: Canadian Gov. Attempts To Euthanize Woman Paralyzed By COVID Shots
Over 60% of American Adults Will Have Heart Disease by 2050, Demographic Change and “Systemic Racism” among Causes
The majority of adults in America will have some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 2050, according to a new report from the American Heart Association (AHA). The cost of CVD will triple, to around $1.8 trillion a year.
The report states that the increase will be driven by an aging and more diverse population, and by significant increases in risk factors, especially high blood pressure and obesity.
Cardiovascular disease refers to a number of different conditions, which include coronary heart disease (which causes heart attacks), heart failure, arrythmias (irregular heartbeat), heart defects, strokes, diseases of the blood vessels and high blood pressure. Although high blood pressure is considered a form of heart disease, the new report analysed it as a separate risk factor from CVD, since it is a leading cause of heart disease and strokes.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US. One person dies every 33 seconds from heart disease in the US. That’s around 700,000 deaths a year, or one in every five deaths.
On the basis of current trends, the report predicts shocking increases in ill health associated with CVD. 61% of adults will have a diagnosis of CVD by 2050, or 184 million compared to 124 million in 2020. Increases in diagnoses of high-blood pressure will be responsible for this increase.
Stroke prevalence will double, from 10 million to 20 million adults.
Obesity will increase from 43.1% of adults to 60.6%, and diabetes will increase from 16.3% to 26.8%.
Although the study focuses on adults, it also considers trends among children. Childhood obesity is predicted to increase from 20.6% to 33%, with the highest increases being among children aged two to five and teenagers aged 12 to 19.
Another focus of the study was on demographic trends. Hispanic and Asian populations will see a disproportionate increase in CVD diagnoses and risk factors like obesity and diabetes. The authors of the study believe this is a clear sign of “systemic racism” in US society and healthcare.
“We found larger increases in the prevalence of CVD and risk factors, and in the number of people with these conditions, among people from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds,” says Joynt Maddox, an associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“Some of this is due to demographic shifts in the U.S., with projections suggesting that Asian and Hispanic populations will nearly double by 2060. However, much of the inequity we see in CVD and risk factors remains attributed to systemic racism, as well as socioeconomic factors and access to care.”
Manmade Global Warming at Highest Rate Ever, According to New Report
Manmade global warming is proceeding at the fastest rate ever, according to the “Global Climate Change Report.” The Report claims the figure has risen to 1.19°C over the last decade (2014-2023), from 1.14°C (2013-2022).
The analysis claims that only five years’ worth of carbon emissions at current levels—200 billion tonnes—remain until the planet is pushed beyond 1.5°C of warming, which is widely considered to represent a “tipping point” with disastrous consequences.
Manmade warming has been increasing at a rate of 0.26°C per decade over the period 2014-2023. This is caused, the Report claims, by consistent levels of greenhouse-gas emissions and by attempts to improve air quality, which have reduced the quantities of “cooling” gases like sulfur dioxide that reflect sunlight.
This is just the beginning of deliberate weather modification, or geoengineering, on a massive scale. I’ve written about this quite extensively.
— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) April 17, 2024
At least three serious geoengineering experiments are taking place around the world, with a mixture of government and private funding… https://t.co/mWUNBi1Te8
“Our analysis shows that the level of global warming caused by human action has continued to increase over the past year, even though climate action has slowed the rise in greenhouse gas emissions. Global temperatures are still heading in the wrong direction and faster than ever before.
“Our analysis is designed to track the long-term trends caused by human activities. Observed temperatures are a product of this long-term trend modulated by shorter-term natural variations. Last year, when observed temperature records were broken, these natural factors were temporarily adding around 10% to the long-term warming.”
Climate “experts” are currently meeting in Bonn in preparation for the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
It’s expected that the conference will focus on emission-reduction and also on establishing new financing frameworks to help poorer countries reduce their reliance on oil, coal and gas. Geoengineering—deliberate interventions to alter the climate, such as releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere and encouraging massive plankton blooms in the oceans—is also likely to be on the agenda.
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