<p style="margin-left:0px;">Violent protests have broken out in China's Urumqi region against the inhumane lockdowns imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which in some areas have spanned months.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">The Xinjing Province, including Urumqi’s four million residents, has been under lockdown for <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/11/18/asia-pacific/xinjiang-covid-zero-lockdown/"><span style="color:rgb(5,99,193);"><u>over 100 days</u></span></a> due to China’s COVID-Zero policy. The policy was first implemented in late 2019 when the first COVID cases were discovered and for three years has failed to eradicate COVID.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">On November 23 a fire broke out in an apartment building in Urumqi's Jixiang Yuan district, but residents were unable to escape after lockdown authorities had locked their doors from the outside. Fire trucks were similarly prevented from getting close enough to douse the fire.&nbsp;44 people were reportedly burned alive, including a three-year-old child.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Video footage of the fire also captured the last screams of the residents as they burned.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang, the last screams of the residents who were burned to death, other residents could only stand by the window to watch, because everyone was locked at home.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheGreatTranslationMovement?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheGreatTranslationMovement</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fr1gyrpPsa">pic.twitter.com/Fr1gyrpPsa</a></p>— The Great Translation Movement (@TGTM_Official) <a href="https://twitter.com/TGTM_Official/status/1596170716835373057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">The fire tragedy sparked protests and riots across Urumqi. Reporter Jennifer Zeng reports that some protesters surrounded a government building and shouted “If we must die, you die together with us!” and “End the lockdown!”&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Other demonstrators were seen attacking police with poles and fences from the barricades.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChinaProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChinaProtests</a> against <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCP</a> COVID restrictions <a href="https://t.co/uARGUXM41L">pic.twitter.com/uARGUXM41L</a></p>— America's Frontline News (@USFrontlineNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/USFrontlineNews/status/1596877975777058818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">More Chinese citizens rising up against CCP authorities <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChinaProtests?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChinaProtests</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCP</a> <a href="https://t.co/K7CH6m7Lbq">pic.twitter.com/K7CH6m7Lbq</a></p>— America's Frontline News (@USFrontlineNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/USFrontlineNews/status/1596878254077534210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">At Urumqi Road in Shanghai, residents who had gathered to mourn the victims of the fire clashed with police while shouting, “CCP step down! [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, step down!” Others chanted, “We want democracy! No dictatorship!” Local authorities reportedly arrested two busloads of people.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Public clashes with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCP</a> police as the gather at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Urumqi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Urumqi</a> road in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shanghai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shanghai</a> city <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCPChina?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCPChina</a> to mourn the victims who died in the fire because of inhumane <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/covid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#covid</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lockdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lockdown</a>. The crowd shouted “CCP, step down! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/XiJinping?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#XiJinping</a>, step down!” <a href="https://t.co/m5SVPacfeK">pic.twitter.com/m5SVPacfeK</a></p>— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferzeng97) <a href="https://twitter.com/jenniferzeng97/status/1596629251653914624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">Residents of the Xihangangang Gezhouba community in the city of Chengdu removed the iron fence erected by authorities and marched out of the lockdown themselves. Residents of Beijing’s Tongzhou District did the same while shouting, “End the lockdown!”&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Residents at Tongzhou District in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Beijing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Beijing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCPChina?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCPChina</a> pushed down the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lockdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lockdown</a> wall and shouted “End the lockdown!” November 26, 2022. <a href="https://t.co/iFBlU2HBiu">pic.twitter.com/iFBlU2HBiu</a></p>— Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferzeng97) <a href="https://twitter.com/jenniferzeng97/status/1596671023801602049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">Citizens in Guangzhou and North Beijing tore down the barriers of their quarantine camps. On Han Zheng Road in Wuhan, the origin of the virus, masses filled the streets and destroyed barricades.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The China anti-lockdown protests...<br><br>Do you think this is just propaganda or are the Chinese people finally realizing their power and standing up against the CCP? <a href="https://t.co/WQpbG4JRse">pic.twitter.com/WQpbG4JRse</a></p>— Samantha Marika (@samanthamarika1) <a href="https://twitter.com/samanthamarika1/status/1596855851041443840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CHINA - WUHAN, where it all started, more protests rising up now.<br><br>Facial recognition and social credit scores. mean these people are putting themselves at huge risk to try and end lockdowns.<br><br>Will the people be allowed to decide? 1.4 billion of them? <a href="https://t.co/c78qO3kLzb">pic.twitter.com/c78qO3kLzb</a></p>— Bernie's Tweets (@BernieSpofforth) <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSpofforth/status/1596825649293193216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">In the City of Lanzhou in the Gansou Province, residents overturned a COVID-19 testing site to protest against restrictions.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lanzhou?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lanzhou</a> city, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gansu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gansu</a> province <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCPChina?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCPChina</a> residents topple a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Covid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Covid</a> test facility to protest against the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CCP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CCP</a>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ZeroCovid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ZeroCovid</a> policy. <a href="https://t.co/8L2HXcfqKr">pic.twitter.com/8L2HXcfqKr</a></p>— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferzeng97) <a href="https://twitter.com/jenniferzeng97/status/1596642465301368834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p style="margin-left:0px;">In the city of Tianjin, residents brought bicycles to use as barriers while they blocked a major road.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">At the Beijing Film Academy, students staged a silent protest by tying what appear to be bloodied masks to the railings.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">A blank sheet of white paper has become the symbol for the protests against the CCP’s COVID restrictions and is being posted on social media to avoid the CCP’s strict censors.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In the wake of Covid protests, this post is spreading on Chinese social media (where censors are in overdrive). Text reads “I love you, China. I love you, young people.” <a href="https://t.co/qQR50MBZjs">pic.twitter.com/qQR50MBZjs</a></p>— Josh Chin (@joshchin) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshchin/status/1596684287721758720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

iStock-1410950322.jpg

Pushback_Resistance

China

'CCP step down! [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, step down!'

Protests reported in China after lockdown fire scorches 44, including child

<h1>Correct, now go to the principal's office</h1><p>North Carolina high school student Christian McGhee was suspended for asking his teacher which of two possible meanings was intended by the word “alien” included on a vocabulary list the class was instructed to learn. Law Enforcement Today <a href="https://lawenforcementtoday.com/debate-ignites-free-speech-vs-cultural-sensitivity-at-central-davidson-high" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recorded</a> the teen's question, as relayed by his mother:</p><blockquote><p>Christian McGhee’s teacher assigned vocabulary words during class last Tuesday, including the word "alien." According to his mother, Leah McGhee, Christian responded to his teacher, asking,<strong> “Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?” </strong>[Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NEW: North Carolina high school student Christian McGhee was suspended from school for saying "illegal alien" in the classroom.<br><br>Calling an illegal alien and illegal alien is not offensive, it's just a fact.<br><br>McGhee was suspended for three days after doing an assignment in… <a href="https://t.co/TUPX0sRmtg">pic.twitter.com/TUPX0sRmtg</a></p>— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1780341543439602050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Threaten fellow student - get <i>him </i>suspended</h2><p>The teacher might have been expected to be impressed with the 16-year-old student, as he demonstrated a familiarity with both possibilities for the word's definition. Perhaps the teacher would have been, had it not been for another student who “took offense to the question and threatened physical violence against Christian.”</p><p>At that point, the teacher might have been expected to refer the student who threatened Christian for administrative action. But it was Christian who, after being sent to the assistant principal, received a three-day suspension, prompting concern from his mother that he may lose out on college scholarship opportunities with an infraction for racist language now on his record.</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>It's OK when the government does it</h3><p>Christian argued that he could not have expected his question to be objectionable since, “‘illegal alien’ is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary.” X users bolstered his argument, noting that the federal government refers to migrants from foreign nations as "aliens,” and suggested that he file a lawsuit that would get him at least as much as a scholarship would offer.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey Christian McGhee’s Mama…<br>Stop worrying. Sue them. It’s a term used in our DHS handbooks. Your boy may have just gotten his tuition covered  <br><br>This is one screen shot with alien throughout — head to the website, and it’s like a treasure trove of the word “ALIEN” … <a href="https://t.co/X5NNz9Qpv6">pic.twitter.com/X5NNz9Qpv6</a></p>— Heatherheather007 (@LibertyValkyrie) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibertyValkyrie/status/1780344554949951962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Let's get political</h3><p>Education is a hot issue with voters and Christian's punishment for using vocabulary accurately could make easy points for politicians to score in an election year. One presidential candidate appears to have weighed in already on the controversy:&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Donald Trump invited Christian McGhee and his family to join him yesterday at his rally!<br><br>Hate it had to happen this way but glad to see the support for this family.<br><br>This was the student suspended for using the term "illegal alien". <a href="https://t.co/tki3WXUyJO">pic.twitter.com/tki3WXUyJO</a></p>— Haley Kennington (@ladykennington) <a href="https://twitter.com/ladykennington/status/1782056146548695419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Been there</h2><p>Christian is not the first to suffer censorship and punishment for perfectly appropriate use of language. In 1999, David Howard, an aide to the then mayor of Washington, D.C., was pressured to resign when other city employees were <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_14" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">offended</a> that he “used the word ‘<strong>niggardly</strong>’ in describing <strong>how he would have to manage a fund's tight budget</strong>.” &nbsp;[Emphasis added].</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bill Maher: Remember David Howard fired for using the word "niggardly", which means stingy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeathByPC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DeathByPC</a> <a href="https://t.co/tw146Zs4fh">pic.twitter.com/tw146Zs4fh</a></p>— Butch Mailhot (@ButchMailhot) <a href="https://twitter.com/ButchMailhot/status/871024582140076032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>The word has caused a problems for others as well, despite both its meaning and its use having nothing to do with race. The word is thought to have developed in northern Europe in a <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/niggardly" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">homogeneous</a> racial environment with reference <a href="https://twitter.com/mikacooper/status/1105964911618912259" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">only</a> to the use of money.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Niggardly<br>As in the manner many people are paid. <a href="https://t.co/t03L7AvF9x">pic.twitter.com/t03L7AvF9x</a></p>— Джим Робинсон (@528i) <a href="https://twitter.com/528i/status/1780737096334119359?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>And in 2002, an elementary school teacher from the same state as Christian wound up with a <a href="https://www.johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/Culture/niggardly.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reprimand </a>and mandatory retraining after a parent complained about her use of the word to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120117090222/https://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article/?ArtNo=209040302&amp;Category=NEWS&amp;Date=20020904&amp;Profile=1004&amp;Ref=AR&amp;Site=WM&amp;template=printart" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">describe </a>a literary character:</p><blockquote><p>Stephanie Bell, a fourth-grade teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, has been <strong>reprimanded </strong>for using that word in a classroom discussion about literary characters. A parent, one Akwana Walker, declared herself offended by the usage. Ms. Bell has been hustled off to <strong>“sensitivity training”</strong>… [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Pushback</h2><p>Not all such “infractions” have ended in punishment, however. A University of Wisconsin professor guilty of using the same word in 1999 escaped punitive action and even inspired <a href="https://www.badgerinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Still8.1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">resistance</a> to the attempt to censor him:</p><blockquote><p>A junior enrolled in Professor Standish Henning’s class on English literature, [Amelia] Rideau came to the Faculty Senate to complain of his use of the word “niggardly” — which means stingy or miserly — in a classroom discussion about Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval classic, “The Canterbury Tales…</p><p>Rather than chalk it up as a lesson in<strong> mistaken homophony (also not an offensive term, by the way)</strong>, Rideau took the classroom incident to another level. She brought three black friends to her next class with Henning for “support,” and then cited her experience to the Faculty Senate … [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><p>A backlash ensued that included editorials in local papers supporting the professor:</p><blockquote><p>“So, what other words are to be purged from our vocabulary because the sound like words that may offend?” wrote history professor John Sharpless in a Wisconsin State Journal “guest column” a few days later. “Thespian? Philatelist? Tips? Peanuts? Homogenous?”</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>You knew, and you're still offended?</h4><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It didn't help Rideau's case that she informed the Faculty Senate that she knew what the word meant.</p><blockquote><p>But wait, it got better: <strong>Rideau said she knew what niggardly means but was upset </strong>that too many people associate that word with the slur. She did not claim ignorance as a defense. Rather, she was upset that some classmates spelled the word as “niggerly” in their notes. In the real world outside the Madison<br>campus, this produced a curious reaction.&nbsp;</p><p>Shouldn’t taxpayers be upset that students in a fairly sophisticated UW-Madison class on English literature have never heard the word “niggardly” or, at least, cannot spell it? &nbsp;… [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Victory</h4><p>Rideau had hoped to use the incident to make the university's existing faculty speech code more stringent so that it would cover even unintentional offenses. Instead, the university cancelled the speech code altogether:</p><blockquote><p>In a matter of days, <strong>protectors of the code were in a retreat that would lead to its virtual repeal</strong> within a month. The same university that had been the first in the nation to adopt a faculty speech code in 1981 would soon become the first to abandon it — <strong>a remarkable step away from the “politics of identity” that threatens to ruin some of America’s finest colleges </strong>and universities.</p><p><br>Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that <strong>the great state University of Wisconsin should encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.</strong> [Emphasis added].</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><h4>Related Article:</h4><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/homeschoolers-top-government-schooled-children-in-everything"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Homeschoolers top government-schooled children in … everything</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/reagan-and-trumps-vows-to-defund-government-education"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Reagan's and Trump’s vows to defund government education . . .</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/pay-twice-to-escape-government-education"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Pay twice to escape government education?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/fox-censoring-tucker"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#1155cc;"><u>Who's behind Fox censoring Tucker? Third rail issues blocked</u></span></a></li></ol>

Alien.jpg

US News

Latest institution to punish accurate use of language

Student suspended for asking whether 'alien' on vocabulary list means 'space aliens' or 'illegal aliens'

<p>Joe Biden called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately after Iran <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-shows-remains-of-iranian-ballistic-missile-that-fell-in-dead-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fired</a> "500 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as attack drones” at Israel to “<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-called-off-retaliatory-strike-on-iran-after-call-with-biden-new-york-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dissuade</a>" him from ”greenlighting an immediate retaliatory strike.”</p><h1>Let the Ayatollah be</h1><p>Axios provided more <a href=" https://www.axios.com/2024/04/14/biden-netanyahu-iran-israel-us-wont-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">details</a> on the White House pressure on Israel to drop pre-approved plans for retaliation:</p><blockquote><p>"You got a win. Take the win," Biden told Netanyahu, according to the official.&nbsp;</p><p>The official said that when Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations, Netanyahu said he understood.</p></blockquote><p>The <i>Times of Israel </i><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-shelved-pre-approved-plans-for-immediate-iran-reprisal-after-biden-call-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that plans for retaliation were pre-approved before the Biden call:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Netanyahu shelved plans that had been prepared for retaliation against Iran’s weekend barrage after speaking with US President Joe Biden</strong> immediately following the attack…</p><p>… the cabinet had already approved a series of possible responses depending on the scope of the Iranian attack, which were slated to be carried out immediately following the Iranian fusillade early Sunday.</p><p>“The response won’t be what was planned any longer; diplomatic sensitivities won out,” a senior source was quoted as telling the broadcaster…</p><p>The report noted the comments likely pointed to a<strong> weaker response</strong> than what had been approved. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><p>That “weaker response” turned out to be, thus far, just <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas-war/no-damage-to-irans-nuclear-sites-after-israeli-strike-iaea-109413374?id=108860743" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">three missiles</a> aimed at an air defense system in Iran <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/israel-strike-iran-limited-attack-143042469.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">after</a> “the Pentagon urged what amounted to what one senior U.S. official called a <strong>‘signal, not a strike</strong>,’ with minimal chance of casualties.” [Emphasis added.]</p><h1>Good news for Khamenei; not for Iranians</h1><p>Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran since 1989, certainly welcomed the news, as Iranian dissidents had been hoping to capitalize on a major retaliatory strike by Israel to precipitate mass protests against the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East. This after already being disappointed by a lack of support from Biden during protests in 2022 that “raged across Iran despite the brutality of the government’s response,” according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/29/iran-protests-us-media-coverage-mahsa-amini" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><i>The Guardian</i></a>, which detailed that brutality:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Over 400 people have been killed</strong>; an unknown number of <strong>journalists and demonstrators have been imprisoned or disappeared</strong>. <strong>Hundreds have been blinded</strong> by rubber bullets and metal pellets fired into crowds of protesters. [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h4>Media in lockstep</h4><p>Biden's lack of support for the protestors against their despotic leaders led <i>The Guardian</i> to title their article, "Why are Americans ignoring the protests in Iran?" The article noted that, in addition to Biden's muted response, comprising but a short, ambiguous mention within his September 2022 UN speech mostly devoted to Ukrainians, mainstream media left Americans in the dark about the protests.</p><blockquote><p>Coverage of the uprising has been notably sporadic; we search our screens and front pages, mostly in vain.</p></blockquote><p>Even in the absence of mass protests, executions in the totalitarian terror state have continued, with Amnesty International <a href="https://amnesty.ca/human-rights-news/iran-executes-853-people-in-eight-year-high/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reporting</a>&nbsp;<s> </s>in 2023 that, “Iran executes 853 people in eight-year high amid relentless repression and renewed ‘war on drugs.’” &nbsp;</p><h2>Iranian hope</h2><p>Despite prior letdowns, many Iranians hoped that foreign powers would finally intervene to provide protests a chance at success this time around, even taking the risk of publicizing their hopes:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Graffiti on a wall in Iran reads: <br>Hit them, Israel<br>Iranians are behind you <a href="https://t.co/JcW7ZPqSas">pic.twitter.com/JcW7ZPqSas</a></p>— 南洋辉叔 Uncle Hui (@alexcmhwee) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexcmhwee/status/1779845454655897802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>One Iranian even pleaded with Israel to directly attack Khamenei:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="et" dir="ltr">Graffiti in Tehran: “Israel, strike the supreme leader's [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] house!” <a href="https://t.co/uQ7D7nN8vP">pic.twitter.com/uQ7D7nN8vP</a></p>— Adam Albilya - אדם אלביליה (@AdamAlbilya) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamAlbilya/status/1781342418689835072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>Support for Israeli attacks on Iran's dictators by America, the leader of the free world, would have particularly provided wind to the sails of Iranian dissidents.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Carter</strong></p><p>The State Department's failure to fully back dissidents in Iran is particularly noteworthy in light of the role of previous administrations in each of the revolutions that brought totalitarian leaders to power.</p><p>Prior to the Iranian revolution of 1979, the nation was led by the popular Shah (King) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.&nbsp;</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife Shahbanu Farah Diba She wears a green dress, a crown, and a diamond necklace set with emeralds. <a href="https://t.co/CKsJ6uZ5L3">pic.twitter.com/CKsJ6uZ5L3</a></p>— Il lupo Viaggiatore (@E_TaherAlbaghli) <a href="https://twitter.com/E_TaherAlbaghli/status/1599855051761385472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p><i>The New American </i><a href="https://thenewamerican.com/us/culture/history/iran-and-the-shah-what-really-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">detailed</a> the lengths to which the Carter administration went to bring down the Shah:</p><blockquote><p>The <strong>Carter </strong>administration’s<strong> continuous demand upon the Shah</strong>: liberalize. On October 26, 1978, he freed 1,500 prisoners, but increased rioting followed. The Shah commented that “the more I liberalized, the worse the situation in Iran became. Every initiative I took was seen as proof of my own weakness and that of my government.” Revolutionaries equated liberalization with appeasement. <strong>“My greatest mistake,” the Shah recalled, “was in listening to the Americans on matters concerning the internal affairs of my kingdom.”</strong></p><p>Iran’s last hope: its well-trained military could still restore order. The Carter administration realized this. Du Berrier noted: “Air Force General Robert Huyser, deputy commander of U.S. forces in Europe, was sent to <strong>pressure Iran’s generals into giving in without a fight</strong>.” “Huyser directly <strong>threatened the military with a break in diplomatic relations and a cutoff of arms </strong>if they moved to support their monarch.”</p><p>“It was therefore necessary,” the Shah wrote, “to neutralize the Iranian army. It was clearly for this reason that General Huyser had come to Teheran.”</p></blockquote><p>The White House did not even try to hide the purpose of sending a top general to Iran during the protests:</p><blockquote><p>Huyser only paid the Shah a cursory visit, but had three meetings with Iran’s revolutionary leaders — one lasting 10 hours. Huyser, of course, had no authority to interfere with a foreign nation’s sovereign affairs.</p><p>Prior to execution later by Khomeini, General Amir Hossein Rabbi, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Air Force, stated: <strong>“General Huyser threw the Shah out of the country like a dead mouse.”</strong></p></blockquote><p>The Shah finishes the story in his own words:</p><blockquote><p>U.S. officials pressed the Shah to leave Iran. He reflected:</p><p style="margin-left:36px;"><strong>You cannot imagine the pressure the Americans were putting on me, and <u>in the end it became an order</u> </strong>…. How could I stay when<strong> the Americans had sent a general, Huyser, to force me out? How could I stand alone against </strong>Henry Precht [the State Department Director for Iran] and <strong>the entire State Department?</strong> [Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h2>Keep Khamenei for stability?</h2><p>The White House has justified its calls for almost no retaliation against Iran with claims that strong strikes could widen Israel's war and destabilize the region with the conflict “<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/biden-endeavors-to-prevent-spread-of-conflict-after-iran-attack/ar-BB1lFk8Z" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">escalating</a>."</p><p>In fact, Iran has already destabilized the region, using Hamas terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria, and Houthi terrorists in South Yemen to attack Israel on five fronts. The <i>NY Post</i> <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/world-news/iranian-american-lawyer-blasts-supporters-of-islamic-regime-calling-for-war-with-israel-we-want-peace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">covered</a> Elica Le Bon, a British-born, American-educated lawyer and popular TikToker of Iranian descent, making this very point:</p><blockquote><p>Le Bon further argued that far from being the victim, Iran was the aggressor responsible for creating Hamas and Hezbollah, as well&nbsp;as the Houthis in Yemen, <strong>for the sole purpose of destabilizing the region. </strong>[Emphasis added.]</p></blockquote><p>Le Bon emphasized this point to her 300,000 followers:</p><blockquote><p>How about the terror proxies that the Islamic Republic has created to foster regional instability … What did you think Hezbollah was there for … , Hamas, Houthis. Their miliita groups in Iraq and Syria.&nbsp;</p><p>Did you think they were there to instigate a system of public schooling, education, to feed the poor, house the unhoused? … Are the rockets that Hamas fires into Israel on a near daily basis an act of war?</p></blockquote><p>She also clarified the difference between the regime and the population they rule:&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>First of all, you're not talking about Iran, you're talking about the Islamic Republic…</p><p>Iranians don't want war with Israel. We want peace with Israel. Iranian people inside of Iran have come out and said this over and over and over again. It's you [the regime] that wants war with Israel.</p></blockquote><p>The <i>NY Post </i>also notes Le Bon's complaint that the regime's oppression of Iranians is ignored by Hamas supporters:</p><blockquote><p>“When we were screaming that they were killing Iranian women for not wearing a hijab, where were you?” Le Bon demands to know in the video, which has gone viral with more than 1 million views.</p><p>“When they were lynching Iranian men from cranes for protesting, where were you? When we were explaining that it’s a terrorist occupying force, where were you?” &nbsp;</p></blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH<br><br>An Iranian in the UK responds with "BS" to those who claim that "Iran has the right to defend itself."<br><br>Via <a href="https://twitter.com/elicalebon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elicalebon</a> <a href="https://t.co/o90RoF4taw">pic.twitter.com/o90RoF4taw</a></p>— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) <a href="https://twitter.com/Osint613/status/1779767681471721564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h4>Gazans too</h4><p>Hamas supporters not only fail to show concern for Iranians oppressed by dictators — they also fail to show concern for those <a href="https://frontline.news/post/globalists-cremate-care-for-gaza-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">suffering</a> under tyrannical Hamas terrorists. While <a href="https://cis.org/Bensman/Government-Admission-Biden-Parole-Flights-Create-Security-Vulnerabilities-US-Airports" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flying </a>thousands of illegal adult, male migrants into the U.S. from nations at peace, Secretary of State Antony Blinken labeled the relocation of even women and children in Gazan war zones a “<a href="https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/1714301727782871512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1714301727782871512%7Ctwgr%5E76189453f9bc921d7260794b364a8ab4877de088%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffrontline.news%2Fpost%2Fglobalists-cremate-care-for-gaza-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">non-starter</a>.”</p><h2>Future Shah?</h2><p>Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the oldest son of the last Shah of Iran and the last heir-apparent to the throne of the Imperial State of Iran, currently in exile in the United States, advocates for Middle East stability through the removal of Iran's leaders and a restored peace with Israel, as he writes on X:</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For years I have said the fates of Iranians and Israelis are uniquely intertwined. We have common hopes for peace, but are denied it by a common enemy: the Islamic Republic. This regime poses an existential threat to both Iran and Israel that will continue as long as this regime…</p>— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) <a href="https://twitter.com/PahlaviReza/status/1779310516273332273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><p>An Iran ruled by Pahlavi would be expected to immediately defund Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis and bring stability to the region.</p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);"><i><strong>S</strong></i></span><i><strong>ee our additional coverage of the Middle East:</strong></i></p><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/hamas-long-term-strategy-revealed"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>Hamas' long term strategy revealed</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/what-was-hamas-thinking"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>What was Hamas thinking?</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/how-to-spot-a-fake-uprising-and-keep-america-out-analysis"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>How to spot a fake uprising - and keep America out - analysis</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/pallywood-palestinian-hollywood-generating-fake-anti-israel-videos"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>'Pallywood': Palestinian Hollywood generating fake anti-Israel videos</u></span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/5-gazans-crushed-by-airdropped-food-packages-as-helicopters-try-to-avoid-hamas-rockets"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(17,85,204);"><u>5 Gazans crushed by airdropped food packages as helicopters try to avoid Hamas rocket</u></span></a></li></ol>

iran protest.jpg

World News

Carter pressed Shah to leave Iran; Biden pressed Israel to leave Khameini regime intact

White House chooses Khamenei over Iranian people, again

<p><strong>Safe and effective strikes again</strong></p><p>According to many studies and surveys, over 15 percent of people in modern America suffer periods of depression at least once a year, and many, if not most, take prescription drugs of some form to deal with their emotions. Since mental health services are often <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health-care.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">difficult to access</a>, as well as expensive, unhealthy use of illicit drugs or alcohol is also common among the depressed.</p><p>Another approach has been <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/08/time-is-right-for-over-the-counter-antidepressants/?utm_campaign=pharmalot&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Xs0nnL7hvSJsSA_go0VKTrwg5g1WD-3UaMxPPiHqSzUA4UiDBBMJIHToSFTM7DOIKFJqZ_ZJFA_fEjnCdtfbQ20iS4UFN7OOhieSR9pgHphbjJII&amp;_hsmi=301755960&amp;utm_content=301755960&amp;utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proposed </a>by Roy Perlis, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and associate chief for research in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Noting that oral contraceptives are now available over-the-counter without a prescription, he suggests that the same should apply for the class of anti-depressant drugs known as SSRIs. After all, he claims, they are “safe and effective”:</p><blockquote><p>These medications, which have been used in the U.S. for three decades, have repeatedly been shown to be safe and effective for treating major depression and anxiety disorders.</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Downplaying suicide risk, homicide risk unmentioned</strong></p><p>After making that categorical statement on safety and effectiveness, Perlis admits that “depression is associated with increased risk for suicide and medication overdose is among the most common methods of suicide.” He claims, however, that the increased suicide risk associated with SSRIs only applies to those under the age of 25 and then only “modestly,” and that for those above this age, there is no increased risk.</p><p>Based on a wealth of data, Professor Peter Gotzsche, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration, concludes that <a href="https://www.madinamerica.com/2024/04/prescription-drugs-are-the-leading-cause-of-death/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SSRIs are far more dangerous</a> than Prof. Perlis asserts. Aside from their links to suicide (and also <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3697/rr-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">homicide</a>) which apply to those over the age of 25 as well, SSRIs are also linked to events that few people would consider as being associated, such as falls in the elderly (which often contribute to death), as anti-depressants cause orthostatic hypertension, confusion, and dizziness. Given that the link is indirect, studies that investigate the dangers of SSRIs will usually miss such risks.</p><p>SSRIs are also linked to <a href="https://frontline.news/post/study-depression-in-an-expectant-mother-doesn-t-harm-her-baby-anti-depressants-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dangers</a> for unborn babies, and while this also applies to many OTC drugs making SSRIs so readily available may contribute to a perception that they are safe for pregnant women.</p><p><strong>Anti-depressants linked to antibiotic resistance</strong></p><p>An interesting <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36689653/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study</a> published in 2023 has also linked use of anti-depressants to antibiotic resistance, a growing and under-publicized problem across the world, providing another reason to restrict access to these drugs. The study's authors note that,</p><blockquote><p>Antidepressants are consumed in large quantities, with a similar pharmaceutical market share (4.8%) to antibiotics (5%). While antibiotics are acknowledged as the major driver of increasing antibiotic resistance, little attention is paid to the contribution of antidepressants in this process.</p></blockquote><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Meanwhile, the idea of freely available ketamine sparks alarm</strong></p><p>Not too long ago, Elon Musk sparked controversy when he spoke about his use of ketamine to treat depression.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Depression is overdiagnosed in the US, but for some people it really is a brain chemistry issue.<br><br>But zombifying people with SSRIs for sure happens way too much. From what I’ve seen with friends, ketamine taken occasionally is a better option.</p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1673567124768317440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>Interestingly, many doctors were quick to condemn ketamine and claim that SSRIs are safer. According to <a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-comments-by-elon-musk-about-use-of-ketamine-for-depression/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr. R. McShane</a>, associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford,&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>Using ketamine as the first alternative instead of an SSRI is not something I would recommend … The risks of long term ketamine include tolerance, which depends on the dose and how frequently it is taken. The risks of long term SSRIs are better understood.</p></blockquote><p>Dr. McShane added that,&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>People who try to treat themselves without medical help tend to take more ketamine (ie higher doses and more frequently) than if they were being prescribed it medically.</p></blockquote><p>Presumably, this argument could be extended to any OTC medication, including SSRIs if they become OTC.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Just waiting for a brave Pharma company to step up</strong></p><p>Prof. Perlis concludes his article with the hope that,&nbsp;</p><blockquote><p>… an SSRI manufacturer [will emerge] with the courage to engage with the FDA and invest the necessary resources for a prescription-to-OTC switch, a well-trod path…</p></blockquote><p>Clearly, he is convinced that SSRIs fulfill the FDA's <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-application-process-nonprescription-drugs/prescription-nonprescription-rx-otc-switches" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">criteria </a>for OTC drugs: they can be used for self-diagnosed conditions; there is no need for a doctor's involvement to ensure safe usage; and there is only a “low” potential that the drugs will be misused or abused.</p><p>For other <a href="https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/105092/depression/should-ssris-be-sold-over-counter" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">psychiatrists</a> (and many laypeople), the idea remains “unthinkable.”</p><blockquote><p>These medications, after all, carry a black box warning…</p></blockquote>

depressed.jpg

Psychiatric Drug

Why not? After all, they are 'proven' safe and effective...

OTC anti-depressants? Harvard Medical School professor says yes

<h2><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Understanding synthetic biology (synbio)</span></h2><h3><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">What it is</span></h3><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">We've been hearing a lot about synthetic biology in terms of synthetic foods, yet synbio is more than just an attempt to recreate food, which <i>Frontline News</i> has </span><a href="https://frontline.news/post/got-milk-it-may-not-be-real" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">written</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> about in relationship to synthetic “milk.” Synbio genetic engineers are also interested in reproducing biological organisms and creating new biological products not found in nature. Following are a few definitions of synbio to show what it encompasses:</span></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_biology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);">Wikipedia</span></a><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);"> - making new biological products or redesigning existing ones:</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);">Synthetic biology is a multidisciplinary field of science that focuses on living systems and organisms, and it applies engineering principles to develop new biological parts, devices, and systems or to redesign existing systems found in nature. -&nbsp;</span></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.newhope.com/industry-insights/synthetic-biology-test-could-force-the-natural-products-industry-to-define-its-position" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">New Hope Network</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> - using fermentation as mini-factories to recreate natural products:</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Ultimately, synbio is an attempt to re-create something that occurs in nature by using microorganisms to act as mini-factories,” explains Dana Perls, food and technology program manager at Friends of the Earth.&nbsp;</span></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/Synthetic-Biology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Genome.gov</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> - redesigning organisms for new purposes and recreating substances in nature through artificial means:</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Synthetic biology is a field of science that involves redesigning organisms for useful purposes by engineering them to have new abilities. Synthetic biology researchers and companies around the world are harnessing the power of nature to solve problems in medicine, manufacturing and agriculture.</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Redesigning organisms so that they produce a substance, such as a medicine or fuel, or gain a new ability, such as sensing something in the environment, are common goals of synthetic biology projects.&nbsp;</span></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/culture-of-disruption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Jim Thomas, in an interview with Eco Farming Daily</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> - treating biology as a computer program (Jim Thomas is a technology historian and long-time critic of the biotech industry):</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">The core assumptions of synthetic biology are that life is a sort of computer program, that DNA is like a code and that a cell or living organism is like a computer or a machine. As long as you can “reprogram” the DNA — the instructions — then you can engineer the machine to do whatever you want it to do.&nbsp;</span></p></blockquote><h3><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Products created using synthetic biology</span></h3><p><a href="https://www.newhope.com/industry-insights/synthetic-biology-test-could-force-the-natural-products-industry-to-define-its-position" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">New Hope Network</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> author Melaina Juntti said that many synbio products are already in many foods and are finding their way into dietary supplement supply chains, also. She referred to the Non-GMO Project's director of marketing and communications, Hans Eisenbeis, who said that some synbio products have already been commercialized or are in development such as “<strong>vanillin and other flavorings, several colorants, CBD, collagen, plant-based proteins, dairy proteins, vitamins, omegas, probiotics and dairy milk proteins</strong>.”&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">In addition to Eisenbeis's list, Health Research Institute–HRI Labs chairman and chief scientist, John Fagan, Ph.D., added “astaxanthin, resveratrol, and squalene to the growing list.”</span></p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20122-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Nature</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> provides this list of synbio&nbsp;generated products:</span></p><ul><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>Hemme</strong> used to make the “blood” for the <strong>Impossible Burger</strong>: “</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);">The yeast </span><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><i>Pichia pastoris</i></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);"> was engineered to produce soy leghemoglobin, which improves meaty flavors and aromas when added to a plant-based burger.”</span></li><li><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);">Other synbio products created by fermenting yeast include<strong> Vitamin E, stevia</strong>, and <strong>milk whey</strong>. Plant pathways to pharmaceuticals include <strong>taxadiene </strong>(Taxol precursor), <strong>steroids, THC, and opiates</strong>. “An early landmark achievement to make the anti-malarial Artimisin was taken into production by Sanofi, but was discontinued because the cost was higher than sourcing it from the plant.”</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>Januvia (sitgaliptin)</strong> is a <strong>diabetes medication</strong> manufactured by Merck. “It is the 95th most-prescribed drug with ~107 prescriptions and $1.35 billion in annual sales.”</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>Hyaline transparent and flexible film</strong> for electronics.&nbsp;</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>ProveN fertilizer</strong> being applied to corn. “Pivot Bio has created the first biological fertilizer for corn based on a γ-proteobacterium (KV137) that associates with corn roots and has the necessary genes to fix nitrogen. However, the genes are off when most needed, so synthetic biology was used to turn the genes on, which guided the remodeling of the KV137 genome.”</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>Kymriah</strong>, a <strong>treatment for </strong>B-cell acute lymphoblastic <strong>leukemia </strong>by Novartis, is produced by genetically modifying a patient’s T cells and is deemed an “effective living therapy.” Using</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(34,34,34);"> engineered living cells for therapeutic purposes has been considered to be the “3rd pillar of medicine.” &nbsp;Kymriah (Tisagenlecleucel) is the first of its type to receive FDA approval.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>Calyno</strong> high-oleic <strong>oil from soy</strong> “is the first product from a genome-edited plant to enter the United States food supply.” Calyno manufacturer Calyxt edited the soy genome to reduce the amount of unstable linoleic acid to create an oil containing 80% oleic acid rather than 20% in unmodified oil. To do this, Calyxt inactivated two fatty acid desaturase genes that reduce the production of the unstable linoleic acid.&nbsp;</span></li></ul><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><i>Nature</i> author Chris Voigt provides a futuristic look at what else might be done with synbio such as bee-copters to transport people and trees that grow into houses. Scientists are looking to create biology-derived components. Voigt says that “[t]he next decade will see more products that derive their superior performance and affordability from engineered biology.”&nbsp;</span></p><p><a href="https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/Synthetic-Biology" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Genome.gov</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> provides some examples of what scientists are producing with synthetic biology,:</span></p><blockquote><ul><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Microorganisms harnessed for bioremediation to clean pollutants from our water, soil and air.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Rice modified to produce beta-carotene, a nutrient usually associated with carrots, that prevents vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency causes blindness in 250,000 - 500,000 children every year and greatly increases a child's risk of death from infectious diseases.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Yeast engineered to produce rose oil as an eco-friendly and sustainable substitute for real roses that perfumers use to make luxury scents.</span></li></ul></blockquote><h2><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">What could go wrong?</span></h2><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">According to Thomas, original GMOs which involved moving a single gene from one organism to another consistently produced unexpected results. Synthetic biology which is more complex will certainly lead to a greater degree of unexpected results. One such scenario, he said, would involve an organism engineered to break down cellulose that gets out into the environment:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Let’s say you have an organism engineered to break down cellulose. If it got out into the environment, there is plenty of cellulose in our houses, clothes and fields to survive on. And we don’t know how it would change with evolution or whether it would produce toxins. Those are some of the worrying scenarios.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Thomas wasn't pulling an example out of the air, either. He recounted a previous experience with a GMO bacteria that was designed to break down cellulose, but astute researchers discovered that it would yield unwanted results and were able to halt its release before it could do damage:</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Klebsiella planticola was a bacterium genetically engineered to break down cellulose. Fortunately, a couple of researchers looking at its impacts in the soil found that it would produce an alcohol that would kill plant roots and they were able to halt the release before it happened</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Living systems have a will to live.</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">In fact, a lot of the initial work in synthetic biology sought to engineer organisms to break down cellulose into alcohol for ethanol production. If instead you break down cellulose and turn it into vanilla and that gets into the soil, we don’t know if that’s a problem. And that’s assuming that it’s going to do the thing it’s expected to do. These are living systems that evolve and have a will to live.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">New Hope further quoted Dana Perls saying that we don't understand nature well enough to know that what we are doing is totally safe.&nbsp;</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">&nbsp;The problem is we don’t understand enough about how nature works to do it in a way that we can be sure is safe for human health and the environment and sustainable for small farmers.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Despite biotech and agribusiness’s insistence that synbio is safe and eco-friendly, nobody knows for sure whether that’s true. Unlike first-generation GMOs—primarily plants modified with DNA from another species—this new form of gene editing is totally unregulated. USDA and FDA limit their oversight of genetically engineered products to those containing foreign DNA, which synbio ingredients typically do not have. Thus, the DARK Act of 2018, which mandates labeling of “bioengineered” foods, is of little use.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Claims of “natural” are not accurate.</span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">New biotech companies are trying to pull the wool over FDA and USDA by claiming to be making ‘nature-identical’ products. But these products are not natural and are far from identical—they are genetically engineered.</span></p></blockquote><h2><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Consumers and food manufacturers in the dark</span></h2><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Consumers, New Hope's Junti wrote, are mostly unaware of synbio, even those who want GMOs labeled. And, it's not just the consumers who don't know what they're buying, she says, but the “[m]any food and dietary supplement manufacturers are also unaware of the true identity of ingredients they’re purchasing.”</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><strong>Related articles:</strong></span></p><ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/got-milk-it-may-not-be-real"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Got milk? It might not be real</span></a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">&nbsp;</span></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/equating-lab-grown-meat-with-animal-meat-is-kooky-thinking-alliance-for-natural-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Equating lab-grown meat with animal meat is 'kooky thinking' - Alliance for Natural Health</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/lab-grown-meat-not-slaughter-free-not-climate-friendly-as-claimed-can-it-cause-cancer-too"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Lab-grown meat not slaughter-free, not climate-friendly as claimed. Can it cause cancer too?</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/a-little-bit-of-pfizer-in-your-cheese-fake-rennet-bypassed-additive-approval-process"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">A little bit of Pfizer in your cheese? Fake rennet bypassed additive approval process</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/can-t-digest-cheese-maybe-you-can-tolerate-cheese-made-with-natural-rennet-instead-of-pfizer-s-gmo-version"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Can't digest cheese? Maybe you can tolerate cheese made with natural rennet instead of Pfizer's GMO version</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fake-milk-inferior-to-real-milk-experts-find"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Fake milk inferior to real milk, experts find</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fake-meat-sales-plummet-amid-falling-demand"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Fake meat sales plummet amid falling demand</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fake-meat-industry-continues-to-plunge"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Fake meat industry continues to plunge</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/italy-becomes-first-country-to-ban-fake-food"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Italy becomes first country to ban fake food</span></a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fakefood-another-safe-ingredient-may-pose-health-threat"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">#FakeFood: Another ‘safe’ ingredient may pose health threat</span></a></li></ul>

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