The pretext is to jointly contain Russian and Iranian influence in the broader region amidst their recent setbacks in the Levant…
Bloomberg published a detailed piece on Wednesday about how “Russian Guns, Iranian Drones Are Fueling Sudan’s Brutal Civil War”. The content is self-explanatory and presents the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) change of fortune in the nearly two-year-long civil war as the result of those two’s backing. Russia provides fuel, arms, and jet components while Iran supplies arms and drones in exchange for privileged access to Sudan’s mineral wealth (particularly gold) and the promise of Red Sea naval bases.
The Russian modus operandi builds upon the model explained here in early 2023 whereby Moscow provides military support to its Global South partners to defend them from externally connected threats to their national models of democracy in exchange for resource and other rights.
Iran’s approach is similar but more ideologically driven given the SAF’s closeness with political Islam since former leader Omar al-Bashir’s rise to power in 1989. Both want to make up for recent setbacks in the Levant.
Egypt and Turkiye are also allegedly backing the SAF while the UAE and its Libyan ally Haftar are accused of supporting their Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rivals. Even so, Emirati mineral companies are still active in the SAF-controlled Port Sudan that serves as the country’s temporary capital, thus highlighting the complexity of this conflict.
Such a threat still remains though as suggested by Bloomberg’s latest piece, which is clearly aimed at manufacturing consent for more Western meddling there on the basis of jointly containing Russia and Iran.
Trump 2.0 is expected to be tough on Iran, and while he himself wants to improve ties with Russia, he might be pressured by the hawkish forces around him into ramping up the US’ involvement in Sudan so as to kill two birds with one stone by weakening their influence in the broader region. Both are on the backfoot as was earlier explained so the temptation to do so might be too enticing. This could take the form of more sanctions, clandestine arms shipments to the RSF, and intelligence support to that group.
Anything more significant isn’t expected since the continued Houthi threat makes a naval blockade unfeasible for now while a no-fly zone would require a sustained air campaign that none of the US’ regional partners, first and foremost among them Egypt, supports. Cairo could also complicate whatever Washington wants to do since it has a land border with Sudan and considers the SAF “too big to fail” due to their shared interests vis-à-vis Ethiopia with whom both are feuding over its Grand Renaissance Dam.
In any case, Bloomberg’s article is meant to facilitate whatever more robust policy Trump 2.0 might promulgate towards Sudan, though it’s of course also possible that he won’t allow the US to get dragged deeper in what could turn into the next “forever war”.
From the perspective of the US’ grand strategic interests as his MAGA worldview interprets them, it’s best for the US to stay out of this imbroglio and focus instead on brokering peace in Ukraine in order to then “Pivot (back) to Asia” for containing China.
Significant progress has been made in the fight against malaria over the last two decades.
According to a new report by the World Health Organization, there were 83 countries in which the disease was still endemic in 2023, down from a total of 108 endemic countries in the year 2000. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of malaria endemic countries decreased from 85 to 83 as a result of Timor-Leste and Saudi Arabia maintaining zero indigenous cases for three consecutive years.
The number of deaths have fallen too since the turn of the century, with the WHO estimating the toll at 597,000 last year compared to 897,000 in 2000.
Of these, the highest numbers occurred in Nigeria (68,136,000) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,141,000).
According to the report, the WHO African Region continues to carry the heaviest burden of mortality, accounting for 95 percent of estimated global malaria deaths.
The WHO South-East Asia Region had eight malaria endemic countries in 2023.
India reported more than two million cases last year, accounting for half of all cases in the region. It was followed by Indonesia, which had nearly 1.1 million cases.
Malaria deaths fell from about 35,000 in 2000 to 6,000 in the South-East Region in 2023 – a drop of 82.9 percent.
US Fighter Jet Shot Down Over Red Sea In Disastrous ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident
In the early morning hours of Sunday (local), two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent friendly fire incident. This comes after more than a year of war against Yemeni Houthi rebels, who have targeted international transit in regional waters.
The incident is highly unusual given that US and Western allied coalition ships have come under repeat drone and missile from from the Houthis, but have thus far suffered no disclosed losses. The Western coalition has reported no damage or casualties from this long-running battle, and yet it appears the first shootdown of an American fighter jet in the conflict has come by way of US aircraft carrier fire.
The two pilots ejected after their F/A-18 fighter was hit and have been safely rescued in Red Sea waters, with one of the pilots suffering injuries.
The Associated Press and ABC News are reporting the following details after official CENTCOM confirmation:
Two U.S. Navy pilots ejected safely over the Red Sea after their F/A-18 fighter aircraft was mistakenly shot down early Sunday in what military officials are calling “an apparent case of friendly fire.”
One of the pilots has minor injuries, according to a news release from U.S. Central Command.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the aircraft, that was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman, according to the news release.
CENTCOM says it is investigating the incident. Again, it is clearly bizarre given the aircraft had just taken off from the same carrier strike group of which the USS Gettysburg is part.
“The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier,” Central Command indicated.
The US military was conducting an assault against militants in Yemen at the time of the incident. AP details further, “The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.”
There appears to have been some ‘fog of war’ confusion given that just prior to the friendly fire shootdown the Houthis had launched drones and a cruise missile at the US battle group. The F-18 may have been mistakenly identified by the Gettysburg warship as an inbound Houthi UAV.
“However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past,” the AP notes.
Needless to say this is highly embarrassing for the Pentagon, and will be celebrated as a major ‘win’ by the Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthis have clearly been able to put the US warships on the defensive, given the confusion of the battle zone and trigger-happy premature response evident in this fresh incident.
The new geopolitics after the first Cold War undermines peace, sustainability, and human development. Hegemonic priorities continue to threaten humanity’s well-being and prospects for progress.
End of first Cold War
The end of the first Cold War has been interpreted in various ways, most commonly as a US triumph. Francis Fukuyama famously proclaimed the ‘end of history’ with the victory of capitalism and liberal democracy.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and allied regimes, the US seemed unchallenged and unchallengeable in the new ‘unipolar’ world. The influential US journal Foreign Affairs termed ensuing US foreign policy ‘sovereigntist’.
But the new order also triggered fresh discontent. Caricaturing cultural differences, Samuel Huntington blamed a ‘clash of civilisations’. His contrived cultural categories serve a new ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy.
Today’s geopolitics often associates geographic and cultural differences with supposed ideological, systemic and other political divides. Such purported fault lines have also fed ‘identity politics’.
The new Cold War is hot and bloody in parts of the world, sometimes spreading quickly. As bellicosity is increasingly normalised, hostilities have grown dangerously.
Economic liberalisation, including globalisation, has been unevenly reversed since the turn of the century. Meanwhile, financialization has undermined the real economy, especially industry.
The G20 finance ministers, representing the world’s twenty largest economies, including several from the Global South, began meeting after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The G20 began meeting at the heads of government level following the 2008 global financial crisis, which was seen as a G7 failure. However, the G20’s relevance has declined again as the North reasserted G7 centrality with the new Cold War.
NATO rules
The ostensible raison d’être of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has gone with the end of the first Cold War and the Soviet Union.
The faces of Western powers have also changed. For example, the G5 grew to become the G7 in 1976. US infatuation with the post-Soviet Russia of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin even brought it into the G8 for some years!
Following the illegal US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the sovereigntist Wolfowitz doctrine of 2007 redefined its foreign policy priorities to strengthen NATO and start a new Cold War. NATO mobilisation of Europe – behind the US against Russia – now supports Israel targeting China, Iran and others.
Violating the UN Charter, the 2022 Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine united and strengthened NATO and Europe behind the US. Despite earlier tensions across the north Atlantic, Europe rallied behind Biden against Russia despite its high costs.
International law has also not stopped NATO expansion east to the Russian border. The US unilaterally defines new international norms, often ignoring others, even allies. But Trump’s re-election has raised ‘centrist’ European apprehensions.
Developing countries were often forced to take sides in the first Cold War, ostensibly waged on political and ideological grounds. With mixed economies now ubiquitous, the new Cold War is certainly not over capitalism.
Instead, rivalrous capitalist variants shape the new geoeconomics as state variations underlie geopolitics. Authoritarianism, communist parties and other liberal dirty words are often invoked for effect.
New Europe
Despite her controversial track record during her first term as the European Commission (EC) president, Ursula von der Leyen is now more powerful and belligerent in her second term.
She quickly replaced Joseph Borrell, her previous EC Vice President and High Representative in charge of international relations. Borrell described Europe as a garden that the Global South, the surrounding jungle, wants to invade.
For Borrell, Europe cannot wait for the jungle to invade. Instead, it must pre-emptively attack the jungle to contain the threat. Since the first Cold War, NATO has made more, mainly illegal military interventions, increasingly outside Europe!
The US, UK, German, French and Australian navies are now in the South China Sea despite the 1973 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) commitment to a ZOPFAN (zone of peace, freedom and neutrality) and no request from any government in the region.
Cold War nostalgia
The first Cold War also saw bloody wars involving alleged ‘proxies’ in southwestern Africa, Central America, and elsewhere. Yet, despite often severe Cold War hostilities, there were also rare instances of cooperation.
In 1979, the Soviet Union challenged the US to eradicate smallpox within a decade. US President Jimmy Carter accepted the challenge. In less than ten years, smallpox was eradicated worldwide, underscoring the benefits of cooperation.
Official development assistance (ODA) currently amounts to around 0.3% of rich countries’ national incomes. This is less than half the 0.7% promised by wealthy nations at the UN in 1970.
The end of the first Cold War led to ODA cuts. Levels now are below those after Thatcher and Reagan were in power in the 1980s. Trump’s views and famed ‘transactional approach’ to international relations are expected to cut aid further.
The economic case against the second Cold War is clear. Instead of devoting more to sustainable development, scarce resources go to military spending and related ‘strategic’ priorities.
The FBI on Dec. 19 arrested a close associate of a local California politician, accusing him of scheming together with a recently sentenced Chinese spy to amplify China’s influence in the U.S. political circle.
Sun Yaoning, also known as Mike Sun, was the campaign manager and close personal confidante to a Southern California city council member that the Chinese authorities supported, according to a newly unsealed complaint.
The 64-year-old has worked closely with Chen Jun, or John Chen, who a New York judge sentenced to 20 months in November for bribing the IRS against Falun Gong, a faith group that the Chinese regime has spent 25 years trying to suppress in China and globally, the document shows.
In conversations with Chinese officials following the politician’s election in November 2022, Chen referred to Sun and the California politician as part of a “basic team dedicated for us,” according to the filing.
“Mr. Sun has been my helping hand in the Chinese community since 1997,” Chen was quoted as telling one Chinese official in January 2023.
The politician, whose name authorities redacted from the complaint, was one of the local U.S. politicians Chen assessed Beijing could influence on issues such as Taiwan, according to the prosecutors.
Sun and the council member co-run a media outlet called U.S. News Center, the complaint noted. In a report Sun allegedly drafted with Chen, they described the politician as a “new political star.”
Campaign finance records suggest that in 2022, Sun was the campaign treasurer for Eileen Wang, a councilwoman for the Los Angeles-area city of Arcadia. The two also held leadership positions in the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit headquartered in Los Angeles. Wang founded the nonprofit in 2018, according to Chinese language reports. A Chinese consulate official said at its founding ceremony that he hoped Wang could lead the group to promote U.S.–China communications and cross-strait reunification—a reference to Beijing’s ambition to annex democratically-ruled Taiwan.
Wang didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
Sun had previously served in the Chinese military, the FBI agent said in the complaint. Public records show that he is the vice director of the American Chinese Culture Association, one of several U.S.-based pro-Beijing groups where he holds titles. Sun is also the CEO of a U.S.-based media group called N&N Media Group, and has for years organized large-scale events to promote Beijing’s narratives and celebrate key Party anniversaries, according to Chinese media reports.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said Sun’s alleged conduct was “deeply concerning.”
“We cannot permit hostile foreign powers to meddle in the governance of our country,” he said.
Akil Davis, assistant director for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said the case highlights the breadth of the Chinese regime’s “relentless intelligence and malign influence activities targeting the United States.” He said that the FBI will “continue to use all the tools at its disposal” to identify the Chinese intelligence operations, disrupt Chinese information laundering networks, and “bring to justice those who seek to engage in criminal conspiracies to undermine the integrity of our elected officials.”
Sun appeared at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse for a hearing on Friday. He faces up to 15 years in prison for the charges.
Sun’s attorney declined to answer questions from The Epoch Times upon walking out of the courtroom.
The pro-Beijing California politician Sun helped to reelect maintains a close relationship with Chen, conversations cited in the court suggest.
On Nov. 9, 2022, the election day in California, the individual contacted Chen, writing: “Old Sun is contacting you. Please call him back. He is with me.”
“Got it, congratulations,” Chen replied from China, adding that they would talk in person in six days.
The two had held two phone calls for around half an hour and one hour each during the weeks following. In January 2023, the politician wrote a thank you letter to Chen, thanking him for attending her Chinese New Year event.
“You are doing a good job, I hope you can continue the good work, make Chinese people proud,” Chen said in reply.
Chen also tasked Sun to brief Chinese officials regarding the politician’s election outcome in late November 2022, saying “the related department is paying a lot of attention to it,” according to the court filing.
A biography Sun allegedly wrote describing the politician stated she was born in the late 1970s in China’s Chengdu City, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Three Chinese officials reacted positively to her election victory when separately alerted by Chen, sending a salute emoji, smiley faces, and thumbs up in response.
Days after that, on Dec. 8, 2022, they formed the “U.S.-China Friendship Promotion Association,” with Sun as the vice president and the politician, who they described as a “Chinese elected official,” as a member, the filing shows.
A Chinese official who heads a municipal government office in Tianjin, a northeastern Chinese megacity and Chen’s hometown, congratulated Chen for the work.
“This is the basic team dedicated for us,” Chen wrote, to which the official wrote: “Understood, can’t wait.”
‘Struggles’ Against the Regime’s Targets
In pre-trial detention, Chen, a U.S. citizen, reportedly told his cellmate that he was a Chinese spy working for the 610 Office, the Chinese extralegal agency established expressly to persecute Falun Gong, according to the complaint. The document said Chen described the agency as “a ‘spy agency’ that was 100 times better than the FBI.” Chen seemed astonished that he was caught, the FBI agent said, professing disbelief that the 610 Office “didn’t do a better job watching him.” He also allegedly said the 610 Office paid him $250,000 to move to the United States decades ago and has since paid him $52,000 per month.
A major topic among Sun and Chen’s conversations cited in the court file was about how to promote Beijing’s agenda in the United States and then report their work to their handlers in China.
Ahead of a planned trip to China in January 2023, Chen hurried Sun to write a report about the politician’s election win, saying he would present it to the “United Front,” the overseas Chinese influence network.
Chen allegedly instructed Sun to highlight the “current strategy” with Falun Gong, their “past experience with struggles” against the regime’s targets, and of “you and me cultivating and assisting [the politician]’s success.”
In a draft that Sun shared with Chen on Feb. 1, 2023, Sun took credit for leading U.S. dignitaries and cultural workers to China “on many occasions” to further promote U.S.–China ties, prosecutors alleged. Sun, according to the court filing, further cast himself as one who “persist[s] in resisting any hostile forces that undermine the friendship of U.S.-China relations, and Chinese secessionist forces.”
Sun wrote “most proudly of all” of how he orchestrated a team to “win the election for city council member candidate,” the court document stated.
Prosecutors alleged Chen asked Sun to add context about their “past struggle fighting Taiwanese independence forces” and Falun Gong in a California city. They also allegedly discussed how to protest a Congress member’s proposed visit to Taiwan.
The two in February 2023 took issue with the presence of Taiwan flags and Falun Gong practitioners in major U.S. parades, according to the complaint. To counter it, they allegedly proposed to Chinese officials a project: they would mobilize the “Los Angeles organization’s professional core team” to organize a float with a 100-person drum band. The budget was $80,000, the complaint said.
On April 4, 2023, weeks before Chen’s arrest over the IRS bribery scheme against Falun Gong, Chen asked Sun whether Falun Gong practitioners “have locations” in a California city and activities there, according to the file.
“Can you create some obstacles for them? If you can eliminate one or several locations, or create some obstacles, there will be rewards.”
He allegedly asked Sun about three weeks later to arrange a meeting with the Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, telling him “there is a major project to report.”
“National level,” Chen added, sharing an article titled “How the U.S. Neighbors of Falungong See Them” that disparages the belief.
“Actual operation is strictly classified,” he said, according to the court document. “You will get credit for it.”
It’s unclear whether Chen was referring to the IRS bribery plot. According to the complaint, Chen intended to report to Chinese authorities by May 20. That would be six days after his meeting with a purported IRS official in order to open a probe against Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York classical Chinese dance and music company founded by Falun Gong practitioners that showcases “China before communism,” as well as segments showing the abuses happening to the faith group in China. Authorities said the complaint he submitted was facially deficient; Chen had promised the IRS official to pay $50,000 in total for the IRS to open the case.
Sun and the city council member later joined on a China trip and returned together in September 2023 from Shanghai to Los Angeles, the FBI agent said. According to the complaint, Chen took part in the trip planning, which initially involved six Chinese cities and a meeting with a Chinese leader likely part of the Chinese intelligence apparatus.
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, denied knowledge of the matter when asked about Sun’s arrest during a regular press conference on Dec. 20. He said that Beijing “never meddles in other countries’ internal affairs.”
Alice Sun, a local Falun Gong group coordinator, commended the Justice Department for its diligence in countering the Chinese regime’s transnational repression against Falun Gong.
“We are aware that the CCP is intensifying its efforts to target Falun Gong through its spies in the U.S., as well as through YouTubers and even U.S. media outlets. Our government must take stronger measures to curb the CCP’s reach and influence,” she told The Epoch Times.
The Epoch Times recently reported on a 2022 secret meeting where Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping tasked officials to attack Falun Gong via disinformation on social media and media outlets, as well as by subverting legal systems in democratic societies.
Leaked notes from several recent Chinese officials’ meetings indicate they have been following through, including by providing materials to social media influencers to frame Falun Gong—and Shen Yun—in a negative light. The last of the meetings took place after the election.
U.S. authorities’ actions, Sun said, “send a powerful message to the CCP’s agents operating within the United States.” She urged elected officials in the United States to “take a firm stand and publicly condemn the CCP’s efforts to infiltrate and undermine our society.”
Elderberry has been revered for centuries as a go-to remedy for respiratory infections, fever, and inflammation—both acute and chronic.
The herb was detected in the charred remains of ancient settlements, leading some researchers to speculate that elder trees may have intentionally been cultivated thousands of years ago.
In traditional medicine, elderberry is used to treat diabetes, dry skin, diarrhea, headaches, constipation, conjunctivitis, rheumatism, and other ailments. Hippocrates, the “father of medicine,” called elderberry his “medicine chest” because of its wide range of healing properties.
Ancient Egyptians used elderberry to treat burns and improve complexion. Native Americans used it to treat fever and cough, among other things. Elderberry was even featured in “The Family Physitian” (1696) as a remedy for scurvy, and it was a favorite plant among young boys for making popguns.
Elderberry gained modern recognition during the 1995 Panama flu epidemic, where it was reportedly used to combat the illness. A clinical trial conducted during the epidemic reported that nearly 90 percent of patients treated with elderberry extract fully recovered within two to three days, compared to six days or more for the placebo group.
Native Americans used elderberry for a variety of purposes, including making flutes, which is why the elder tree is sometimes called the “tree of music.”
The elder tree is often considered sacred in folklore, believed to protect homes from evil spirits.
Elderberries are used in jam, jelly, ice cream, wine, yogurt, pies, and herbal tea.
Elderflower cordial and elderberry wine were popular in medieval Europe and remain well-loved beverages today.
Some speculate that J.K. Rowling’s “Elder Wand” in the “Harry Potter” series may have been inspired by the sacred and mystical associations of the elder tree in folklore.
Special Talents
Elderberry belongs to the Sambucus genus, which includes 20 species, but the most popular and extensively studied for immune support is black elderberry (Sambucus nigra), native to Europe, northern Africa, the Americas, and western Asia.
Due to its diverse blend of nutrients, elderberry can help combat acute illnesses like the common cold and possibly chronic diseases.
Its medicinal properties are largely attributed to its anthocyanins, the compounds responsible for elderberry’s deep purple color. These antioxidants shield against inflammation and oxidative damage—two factors that can weaken the immune system.
In many countries, anthocyanins are prescribed as medicine because of their potential to protect against chronic conditions such as atherosclerosis.
Elderberries also contain vitamins A, B-complex, C, and E, essential minerals like zinc and magnesium, and antioxidants such as flavonols, carotenoids, phytosterols, and polyphenols, earning elderberry a reputation as a “superfruit.”
1. Fights Colds and Flu
Research suggests that elderberry may help reduce the duration and severity of flu symptoms across several strains of influenza. Elderberry reduced the flu’s duration by an average of four days in a clinical trial. When taken within 48 hours of symptom onset, elderberry significantly alleviated fever, headache, nasal congestion, and mucous discharge associated with the flu, according to a 2020 review. Symptoms in most adults improved by an average of 50 percent within two to four days. This effect may be due to elderberry’s ability to block viral proteins, preventing viruses from infecting cells.
Elderberry also reduced cold symptoms in air travelers, according to a 2016 study.
2. Slows Cognitive Decline
A 2024 randomized controlled trial reported that patients with mild cognitive impairment who took elderberry for six months trended toward faster visuospatial problem-solving performance than controls. Several markers of inflammation were also reduced, which is significant because chronic inflammation is associated with cognitive decline. Elderberry juice shows promise in slowing Alzheimer’s-related cognitive decline, the researchers concluded.
Similarly, a 2023 cell culture study highlighted elderberry’s potential neuroprotective effects by demonstrating its ability to prevent oxidative stress-induced death of neuron-like cells, a major predictor of age-related cognitive decline. The findings suggest elderberry may address oxidative damage in neurological conditions, such as cognitive decline.
3. Combats Chronic Disease
Emerging research, primarily in animal and cell culture studies, suggests elderberry’s potential in managing inflammatory and chronic conditions, although more studies are needed to confirm these effects in humans. Some of the most encouraging research is detailed below.
Heart Disease
In a placebo-controlled study, 34 healthy people consumed elderberry juice for two weeks. On average, participant cholesterol dropped from 199 to 190 milligrams per deciliter compared to the control group. The decrease was not statistically significant but did show a trend, leading the researchers to conclude that a higher dose may lead to a significant decrease. A second study reported that elderberry extract reduced aortic cholesterol levels in a widely used mouse model of atherosclerosis, indicating decreased progression of the condition.
A 2024 cell culture study found that elderberry inhibited foam cell formation, a critical step in atherosclerosis and heart disease, without triggering liver fat production. This suggests elderberry may help prevent heart disease by targeting the early stages of arterial plaque development, though further research is needed to confirm these effects in humans.
Diabetes
Elderberry has a history of being used as a traditional remedy for diabetes. In a 2016 study, four weeks of elderberry extract supplementation decreased insulin resistance and fasting blood sugar in Type 2 diabetic rats. Another study found that 16 weeks of black elderberry supplementation reduced insulin resistance, triglycerides, and inflammation in obese mice.
Huntington’s Disease
Scientists are exploring the potential of elderberry as a therapy for Huntington’s disease. In a 2021 study, compared with controls, rats with an experimental model of Huntington’s disease demonstrated significant improvement in motor function and muscle coordination after treatment with elderberry.
Depression
Elderberry was also reported to be a natural antidepressant in a mouse model, according to a 2014 study. The researchers concluded that elderberry extracts “were safe and showed remarkable antidepressant activity.”
Cancer
Black elderberry is rich in bioactive compounds, including antioxidants, that may contribute to cancer prevention and support cancer treatment. One notable compound, kaempferol—a flavonoid present in black elderberries—triggered the death of pancreatic cancer cells in both tumor-bearing mice and cell cultures, according to a 2021 study. Additionally, anthocyanins from elderberries caused melanoma cells to halt their proliferation and die in a 2017 cell culture study.
Syria’s Central Bank Gold Miraculously Still In The Vault, Reuters Claims
In an astonishing turn of events, amid the recent turmoil and shifts in power that have engulfed Syria over the past 3 weeks, one key component of the country’s wealth which has remained unscathed in the fog of war, at least according to Reuters reporter Timour Azhari, is the Syrian central bank’s gold reserves in Damascus – all 25.8 tonnes of gold worth over US $2.2 billion at current market prices.
According to the Reuters report, while the bank’s FX balances have fallen to just “US$ 200 million in cash”, the “vault of Syria’s central bank holds nearly 26 tons of gold, the same amount it had at the start of its bloody civil war in 2011.”
This is despite the fall of Damascus, the escape of former leader Bashar al-Assad to Moscow, and the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as commander-in-chief of the new administration, with Mohammed al-Bashir as leader of a caretaker government.
Reuters news agency, part of Thomson Reuters group (which is majority controlled by The Woodbridge Company Limited, a holding company of the Canadian Thomson family) first admits that…
“Reuters could not access the central bank vaults.”
So none of the 600 photo journalists employed by Reuters could get even one photo of some gold bars in the Damascus vault. What a pity.
Reuters then also admits that “media representatives for Syria’s new ruling administration and for the Central Bank of Syria did not respond to Reuters requests.” This left Reuters to talk to the proverbial “four people familiar with the situation”.
One of these four unidentified sources told Reuters that “The vault is bomb-proof and requires three keys, each held by a different person, and a combination code to be opened”.
Two other sources told Reuters that “the vault was inspected by members of Syria’s new administration last week, days after the rebels took control of the Syrian capital Damascus.”
One week ago on December 10, Reuters’ Timour Azhari also reported that looters had entered Syria’s central bank in recent days and “stolen some money from the central bank building but that the main vault had remained untouched”,
Strangely however, that Reuters report from last week didn’t mention any gold, and was only based on comments from the “head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce” who was relaying information from the “authorities”. A more direct source was not available because neither the Syrian central bank governor, Issam Hazima, nor his deputy, Maysaa Sabreen, has responded to Reuters requests for comment.
Other recent coverage from Damascus did however report that “National Bank of Syria is looted by US backed rebels with dollars, euros and gold stolen.”
Update: National Bank of Syria is looted by US backed rebels with dollars, euros and gold stolen by those terrorist that took Damascus! Sadly the People of Syria will suffer! pic.twitter.com/h5wBSZpBVD
Back to the Reuters, which continues that “the sources familiar with the situation” said that “the gold was never liquidated in order to keep sufficient collateral for the Syrian pounds circulating in the market.”
This is all the more surprising however, since the very same Reuters news agency was reporting 12 years ago that…
“Syria is trying to sell gold reserves to raise revenue as Western and Arab sanctions targeting its central bank and oil exports begin to bite, diplomats and traders said.”
“Syria is selling its gold at rock bottom prices,” said a Western diplomatic source, declining to say where it was being sold.
A second diplomatic source confirmed the information, adding that Damascus was looking to offload everything it could to raise cash, including currency reserves.
Two gold traders in the United Arab Emirates said the Syrian government had been offering gold at a discount, with one saying it was making offers at about 15 percent below the market price.
The trader said Damascus was selling small volumes of around 20-30 kilos which were easier to offload, with offers being made through private accounts set up with free email providers.
Notably, the World Gold Council says that the last time Syria’s central bank reported gold reserves levels to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was in 2011, when it reported total gold holdings of 25.8 tonnes, just before the Syrian central bank’s rumored gold sales of 2012. So how could the Syrian central bank still have 25.8 tonnes of gold given the gold sales in 2012 when it was “selling its gold at rock bottom prices” in “volumes of around 20-30 kilos”?
But according to Reuters, the Syrian central bank gold reserves are the luckiest gold reserves in the world. They have miraculously defied the odds and survived 12 years of sanctions as FX reserves dwindled, survived multiple attempts to sell the gold being all over the Middle East, survived 3 weeks of recent fighting and chaos, the flight of Assad to Moscow, the arrival of a previously designated terrorist organization (HTS) into power, and an assault by looters into the central bank building last week. It must be because the vault is “bomb proof” and “needs 3 keys to open it”.
The claim by Reuters now that the Syrian central bank still holds 25.8 tonnes of gold is not credible, even based on its own reporting from 2012. This therefore undermines the entire Reuters story about the gold still being in the Syrian central bank vault.
Maybe Reuters Fact Check, which claims to “address online misinformation with coverage that maintains accuracy, integrity and impartiality”, should check its own stories before publishing them.
But why would Reuters report such a story, that’s merely based on four unidentified people that are “familiar with the situation”?
Could it be because Reuters has received over $ 1.5 billion dollars in US Government contracts for its newswire, network intelligence, and data services over the last 17 years, from the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and many other US Gov departments?
Reuters – between its newswire services, its network intelligence services & its data services – has received over $1.56 billion dollars in US government contracts.
Does Reuters’ customer relationship with government agencies taint its news coverage of government actions? pic.twitter.com/sSgvdjGOPF
”Deportation Now!”: Germans Outraged After Deadly Christmas Market Attack
Update (2000ET):
Germans took to the streets on Saturday night in Magdeburg to protest a deadly Christmas Market attack carried out by a 50-year-old immigrant from Saudi Arabia. The car-ramming attack on Friday night claimed five lives and left 200 people injured.
“Huge protests in Germany, calling for mass deportations following the terrorist attack at a Christmas market,” one X user said.
Huge protests in Germany, calling for mass deportations following the terrorist attack at a Christmas market.
BREAKING: Thousands of Germans are currently protesting in Magdeburg against Mass Immigration after the Christmas market attack by a Saudi Arabian immigrant yesterday.
The people of Germany are NOT going to play nice anymore. They’ve had enough. pic.twitter.com/i6Baj8QNgW
It’s hard to get an overview of how many German cities saw street protests tonight,
calling for a stop of mass-immigration and deportations of criminal & unassimilated migrants.
Have the German people finally had enough of disastrous open-border policies?
* * *
It’s a twist that is incredibly convenient for the current failing progressive government in Germany as they face a severe political backlash for their open-border immigration policies and a rising tide of populism. The primary suspect in the Christmas Market terror attacks in Magdeburg, a doctor and refugee from Saudi Arabia, is allegedly also a supporter of the right-wing AfD party, Tommy Robinson, Elon Musk and Alex Jones according to authorities.
50-year-old Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy from the Saudi Arabian city of Hofuf, moved to Germany in 2006 and lives in Bernburg. He has been recognized as a refugee since 2016. Taleb is a critic of Islamist governments and a pro-asylum activist for people seeking to escape oppressive Sharia law. Reports claim the Saudi Government may have tried to extradite him multiple times, which Germany refused.
German authorities cite posts by the suspect on X showing support for the AfD and popular anti-mass immigration figures.
In June, he retweeted AfD party leader Alice Weidel: ‘The left are crazy. We need the AfD to protect the police from them.’
He also retweeted AfD activist Naomi Seibt with the following quote: ‘Tyranny is based on the docility of cowards. I choose to be brave.’
Posts cited as “pro-Tommy Robinson and pro-Elon Musk” are better represented as anti-censorship and an observation on the speech restrictions enforced by the German government.
Daisley (@brucedaisley) said that Elon Musk (@elonmusk) should be arrested and Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra) censored, citing Germany as a shining example of media censorship!
My experience in Germany leaves no doubt—they actually censor victims.
At the same time, Taleb argued that Germany wasn’t doing enough to support asylum seekers from Saudi Arabia and that they were engaged in “crimes” against refugees:
سأنشر الآن الأدلة على قيام السلطات الألمانية بارتكاب سلسلة جرائم متعمدة ضد اللاجئين السعوديين.
الأشخاص الذين تراهم في الصور هم اللاعبون الرئيسيون:
Another tweet from 2006 after Taleb arrived in Germany suggests hostile intent against his new home:
He was arrested following the market crash which took place at 7:04pm in the city of Magdeburg, according to unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt who spoke to the dpa news agency.
It goes without saying, but the ideological standards are completely contradictory, bordering on the suspicious.
Why would an Arab refugee who wants to secure asylum for people trying to escape oppressive regimes in countries like Saudi Arabia also support a party like the AfD which is seeking to shut German borders and end the flood of migrants from Muslim countries?
And, if he is truly anti-Muslim, why would he drive a car through a Christmas Market where he is most likely to kill native Germans and non-Muslims? Trying to determine a motive is a mind boggling prospect.
Reports suggest that Taleb was critical of the German government’s antagonism towards anti-Islam activists, but this still does not explain his alleged actions. His recent social media resume reads like a schizophrenic cartoon character; but the media descriptions of him are a perfect amalgam of all the political positions that the progressive German establishment would like to demonize.
Currently, the German government is debating a move to ban the AfD from participating in upcoming elections. The AfD is currently the second most popular party in Germany and leftists are fearful that the movement could defeat them and disrupt their mass immigration agenda. Leftist governments across Europe and the UK have been engaging in a subversive campaign to thwart democratic elections and prevent the public from voting for right wing candidates.
It would not be surprising to see more attacks like the Christmas Market in Germany, blamed on populist and right wing supporters. After all, it makes perfect sense that conservatives who are winning would suddenly engage in a terror campaign that might ruin their political chances for years to come and hand victory over to the progressive establishment.
A third blood pressure medication was recalled across the United States in the past several weeks, according to a notice updated on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website on Dec. 16.
The notice said that New Jersey-based Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. is recalling Nebivolol tablets in 2.5 milligram doses in 30-count bottles, which are only available by prescription. Nebivolol, a type of beta blocker, is used to treat high blood pressure.
The reason for the recall is because of the “presence of nitrosamine drug substance related impurity,” adding that discovered N-nitroso nebivolol levels are above the “acceptable intake limit,” it said. N-nitroso nebivolol is a nitrosamine and is considered mutagenic.
It was first initiated by Aurobindo earlier this month. The FDA classified the recall as Class II on Dec. 16, which occurs when there is a low chance of injury or death, and a possibility of “adverse events” that may have irreversible effects. They are issued if the product can cause medically reversible or temporary health problems—or if there is a small chance of serious health consequences.
The lot numbers being recalled are: NB0224001A and NB0224001B. It has an expiration date of April 2027 and a National Drug Code, or NDC, of 59651-137-30, according to the FDA.
Nitrosamines are compounds that can increase the risk of cancer in individuals if exposed to them above levels established by the FDA, or for long periods of time, the agency says on its website.
“A person taking a drug that contains nitrosamines at-or-below the acceptable daily intake limits every day for 70 years is not expected to have an increased risk of cancer,” the FDA adds.
People who are taking medications with possible “nitrosamine impurities should not stop taking their medications” and should instead speak with a health care professional.
Nitrosamines can be found in small levels in the environment and foods, including “meat, vegetables, and dairy products,” the FDA says.
Some scientists have issued warnings about what they described as widespread nitrosamine contamination in pharmaceutical drugs, noting they are classified as class 1 known mutagenic impurities under the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, a worldwide health body.
In 2023, a Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis-published research paper found that the presence of the compounds “has raised global safety concerns due to their significant genotoxic and mutagenic effects” and that such “impurities, even in trace amounts, are highly toxic and mutagenic, capable of damaging DNA, and subsequently increase the risk of cancer incidence.”
Other Recent Recalls
In the past two months, two other drugs used to treat high blood pressure were recalled across the United States, according to FDA recall notices.
New York-based Evaric Pharmaceuticals Inc. in November recalled about 200,600 bottles of its Lisinopril tablets in 10-milligram doses after a “pharmacist discovered a metal fragment embedded in a lisinopril 10 mg tablet.” The recall impacts Lisinopril tablets in 10-milligram strength in 90-count bottles.
Weeks before that, Maryland-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals recalled another blood pressure medication, Ramipril, in October because the “active pharmaceutical ingredient was sourced from an unapproved vendor,” the FDA said.
The recall impacts Ramipril capsules in 2.5-milligram strength in 90-count, 100-count, and 500-count bottles, the notice said. The drug, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor used to treat high blood pressure, is only available via a prescription.
Wrapping your head around Bitcoin’s inexorable rise.
In every issue of The Bitcoin Capitalist there is a section called “This Month’s FUD”, where I look at the “Death of Bitcoin” narratives that emerged over the last few weeks and mercilessly debunked them. It’s not hard, because most, if not all Bitcoin FUD vectors are belaboured retreads of three or four themes – all of which have already been litigated. It’s rare to see anything new.
We all like to think we’re the first to identify a particular flaw, risk, or threat to #Bitcoin .
In reality, someone meticulously dissected the viewpoint in a bitcointalk post 10+ years ago. pic.twitter.com/oXY2CIdO2b
After the 2022 crypto-winter, Bitcoin has been rising steadily for two years. But for a few months recently, the “FUD” vectors had died down to a whimper. If it wasn’t for Peter Schiff and his incessant twitter meltdowns over Bitcoin, there would have been no FUD at all for awhile.
Then, November 5th hits.
Even though Trump had endorsed Bitcoin earlier in the year – giving a landmark keynote at Bitcoin2024 in Nashville, the FUD was relatively lacklustre and muted until the election put Bitcoin straight into the middle of the new zeitgeist.
Many have likened the stunning election upset (in the sense that it was such an incontrovertible blowout), to a “shift in timelines”, as if our entire reality quantum-jumped into a parallel universe.
Now the former incumbents are scrambling and in full blown panic. The old zeitgeist and it’s total domination by the far-left neo-Marxists is crumbling in real time. And while Bitcoin is decidedly apolitical beyond the antiquated “left-vs-right” paradigm, the fact is that Bitcoin continues to win, and Trump backed Bitcoin.
(The real battle, as I have long said, is between the forces of centralization – control freaks, basically – and decentralization but because leftism and socialism requires authoritarianism, if not full blown dictatorships, the Venn diagrams for leftism / centralization largely overlap).
So now the FUD-o-meter is on 11, all the time: Trump winning again, $100K Bitcoin and Microstrategy eating the stock market is triggering for many – it’s just all so crazy.
(And while quantum computing may sound like a novel, new Bitcoin killer, it isn’t, and I recently wrote why quantum computing can’t kill Bitcoin)
Why would this magic internet money become the basis of national strategic reserves? And why should Microstrategy be able to simply issue debt to buy up more of this stuff and be rewarded by the markets for doing so?
Because, it’s the denominator, stupid.
If you can’t wrap your brain around Bitcoin, it’s because you’re probably hardwired to look at finance and economic through the lens of everything is an asset (numerator) measured in some “fixed” currency, like a USD – the denominator.
REAL ESTATE
———–
$$$$$$$$$$$
or maybe
MSFT / GOOG / NVDA / META
————————–
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
or anything else you want over the $$$$$$$. But your problem, is you think it’s also
Bitcoin
——-
$$$$$$$
That denominator? Those $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$?
That’s supposed to be fixed. In order to provide a semblance of rationality to the numerator / denominator equation, at least when it comes to measuring value – the denominator isn’t supposed to be moving or if it is, it has to at least be constrained by some kind of economic trade-off. In the old-timey days, on a gold standard, there was a 2% natural inflation rate that was mostly limited by the ability to discover new gold deposits and actually mine the stuff.
It was a pretty good system and the world moved to it under its own incentives, not by the decree of a committee of experts.
By 1900, approximately fifty countries were on a gold standard. including all industrialized nations. The interesting fact is that the modern gold standard was not planned at an international conference, nor was it invented by some genius. It came by itself, naturally and based on experience.The United Kingdom went on a gold standard against the intention of its government. Only much later did laws turn an operative gold standard into an officially sanctioned gold standard.
The last vestiges of the gold standard were dispensed with in 1971, with the Nixon Shock – and since then, the dollar standard, the denominator for the global monetary system, has been on a slow roll into hyperinflation:
Everybody has seen this chart. It makes your eyes glaze over. Nobody cares even though this is showing you the disintegration of the denominator we use to measure every economic transaction on earth.
Should be a big deal.
The only time it seems to matter, is during a hyperinflation, when you can see it clearly in the X-axis of a chart being viewed in logarithmic mode:
I’ll give you one guess which monetary challenger is flashing the signal today…
But people are looking at the linear chart, and calling Bitcoin a bubble because they still think that Bitcoin is the numerator in an equation denominated by fiat dollars (a.k.a “cuck bucks”).
I can guarantee you this: none of the billionaires who are allocating to Bitcoin think like that. Nobody building gigantic mining farms is thinking like that. Nor are the nation states and sovereign states who are about to launch strategic Bitcoin reserves. And Michael Saylor certainly isn’t thinking like that.
All you have to do is press the “log” button on the chart and it all becomes clear…
There is a secret cheat-code that will jailbreak your brain out of “Bitcoin is a bubble” mode and help you understand what is really happening.
One click can literally change your perspective.
People are trying to tell you that this is unsustainable 👇
— Mark Jeftovic, The ₿itcoin Capitalist (@StuntPope) November 16, 2024
So while we’re all stuck (for the moment) in this clown car economy where the numerators are denominated by infinite quantities of fiat literally backed by nothing, and the solution to everything is to print more of it…
Anybody who truly understands Bitcoin (everybody with the laser eyes), looks at it like this:
…and is opting out of the clown ride by moving their wealth – as much as they can into THE NEW DENOMINATOR.
And the new denominator, is Bitcoin.
It’s still pretty early.
When you realize that the current monetary base is scaffolded together on about $80 trillion USD in M2 money supply (all currencies) and about $300 trillion in bonds (debt, denominated in a rapidly devaluing currency, which is backed by …nothing) and compare it to Bitcoin’s $2 trillion market cap, you realize how early we are in this story.
In technological adoption curves, Bitcoin is still somewhere around 1998 to 2002 internet, we haven’t even hit 10% penetration yet, which is that famed “tipping point” for when a new innovation (in this case, decentralized, digital non-state money) takes hold and goes into rapid proliferation.
While Bitcoin uptake is estimated to be somewhere around 4%-5% of the global population, my guess is with the events of 2024, we just have, or are in the process of “crossing the chasm” – another aspect of the technology adoption curve where it blows through the final wave of doubt, fear, skepticism and mal-investment before permanently breaking through to becoming the new paradigm.
This happens all the time – just not very often with the monetary base layer – but it does happen there too.
