A City Built Before Its Time | Unexplained Architecture of Tartaria

Sir U-Turn Strikes Again: Starmer Relaxes Inheritance Tax Raid on Farmers Amid Rural Fury

 Sir U-Turn has struck again as Keir Starmer says many more farmers will not pay death duties after Labour increased the tax-free threshold for farms from £1 million to £2.5 million. The Times has more.

In the latest Budget about-turn, after a year-long campaign by farmers, the threshold at which agricultural properties will pay inheritance tax will be increased from £1 million to £2.5 million from April.

It will mean farmers with a spouse or civil partner will be able to pass on a farm worth up to £5 million without paying inheritance tax.

A government source said the changes would mean that 85% of farms would not be liable for the tax, up from 75% previously.

Above this threshold farmers will pay an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the 40% paid by other estates. Beneficiaries will have 10 years to pay the bill before interest is incurred.

The average net value of a farm was £2.4 million in the 2023-24 tax year, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) welcomed the change, which came after a campaign by farmers.

And even more families are set to be caught in the net from April 2027, when pensions are to become subject to IHT. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects the change to result in the proportion of estates paying IHT to double to 10% by 2030.

Changes to how farms and family businesses pay IHT will also push up the tax take for the Treasury, which is expected to collect more than £14 billion a year in IHT by the end of the decade....<<<Read More>>>...

DEEP PURPLE "Throw My Bones"

The Strange Death of Knowing Stuff

 You know who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, don’t you? Tell me you do. And up to this year the majority of my Sixth Form students taking part in my Christmas quiz would have done so, also. It was always a nailed on gimme in a test of general knowledge with which – alongside munching our way through a tin of Celebrations – I’ve traditionally finished the year. Let me be clear here: this is no head scratcher of a King William College Christmas Quiz, that beast of a challenge that the Guardian publishes each year; there is no “Where was the Lionheart incarcerated by der Tugendhafte, whom he had earlier insulted?” in my quiz. No, “What is the capital of India?” is more my level of interrogation in a hastily composed ragbag of questions on geography, history, literature, film and sport. And let me also be clear that I know teenagers have been daft since they first began to pustulate. I still wince with embarrassment when I recall the time I told my English teacher that in Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Convergence of the Twain’ – his poem about the sinking of the Titanic – he had got it completely wrong: “How could it be an ‘august night,’” I told him, “when the ship sank in April?” Like I say, daft. But something has changed in the general knowledge of our youth, or certainly what they consider to be important or not.

Take To Kill A Mockingbird, for example. Over the years many GCSE students have studied Harper Lee’s coming-of-age novel about Scout, the child narrator, who gradually awakens to the horrors of racial injustice in early 20th century Alabama. Even those who didn’t study it have absorbed its themes and characters through the cosmic resonance of the half of the country that were reading it in their lessons. Over the years, hundreds of students’ faces have lit up when this staple of a quiz question appears, reminding them of the profundity of their first reading. This year, however, only a handful of students across my five groups could name the author. Okay, the syllabus moves on – I get it – but when I read that some educationalists have decreed the novel is now considered ‘problematic’ with its ‘white saviour’ narrative and use of racial slurs, then I can’t but help but despair at how quickly something so culturally significant can be memory holed in the pursuit of progressive ideals.

The History and Geography rounds are equally dispiriting. “Who was the Prime Minister at the beginning of World War Two?” fares better than the Mockingbird question, but there are enough blank stares in the room to suggest that what I would consider to be essential historical knowledge is missing. I suspect that if I asked them to name a black nurse from history, they’d all shout, “Mary Seacole!” in unison. The same goes for Geography: while my students are no doubt familiar with the looming (for the past 30 years) threat of ice cap collapse and the ‘settled science’ of rising sea levels, few could tell me that the Indian Ocean is located to the east of Africa and west of Australia. There’s an irony here: Ofsted frameworks over recent years have laudably emphasised the primacy of knowledge and ‘retrieval practice’ in the classroom; the problem is, to an ageing educator such as myself, the knowledge our children are being asked to retrieve is banal at best, useless at worst....<<<Read More>>>...

Quote for the Day

 

Japan to restart world’s largest nuclear plant 15 years after Fukushima disaster

Japan's largest nuclear plant clears final political hurdle for restart.

Local assembly approves despite significant resident opposition and protests.

The plant is operated by TEPCO, the utility responsible for Fukushima.

Restart is driven by economic pressures and goals for energy security.

The move highlights a deep national divide over nuclear power's future.

Nearly 15 years after the Fukushima disaster reshaped Japan’s energy landscape and shattered public trust, the country is poised to restart the world's largest nuclear power station. On December 22, the regional assembly in Niigata prefecture delivered a crucial vote of confidence in Governor Hideyo Hanazumi, effectively removing the final political barrier for the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. This pivotal decision allows plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the same utility that ran Fukushima, to immediately begin the process of bringing the long-dormant facility back online, marking a profound shift in national policy driven by economic and energy security demands.

The move is a watershed moment in Japan's fraught return to nuclear energy. Following the 2011 catastrophe, all 54 of the nation's reactors were gradually taken offline. Japan has since restarted 14 of the 33 reactors deemed operable, but Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the first to resume under TEPCO's management. The facility, located about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, boasts a total capacity of 8.2 gigawatts, enough to power several million homes. Its revival is central to government plans to reduce a costly dependence on imported fossil fuels....<<<Read More>>>....

Food for Thought #891

 

Big Pharma captured vaccine regulation in the US more than a century ago

The pharmaceutical industry has significant power and influence over governments, media and universities, shaping vaccine regulation and policy.

The history of vaccine regulation dates back to the 19th century, with the Biologics Control Act of 1902 being a key turning point. This Act was actually pushed by the pharmaceutical industry itself to eliminate competition and boost public confidence in biologics.

The industry’s hold on the US government was cemented with the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which granted a liability shield to vaccine manufacturers, and the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allowed for the privatisation of patents.

Among the many incredible revelations over the past five years is the extent of the power of the pharmaceutical companies. Through advertising, they have been able to shape media content. That in turn has affected digital content companies, which responded from 2020 onward by taking down posts that questioned the safety and efficacy of covid vaccines.

They have captured universities and medical journals with donations and other forms of financial control. Finally, they are far more decisive in driving the agenda of governments than we ever knew. Just for example, we found out in 2023 that the US National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) shared thousands of patents with pharma, with a market value approaching US$1-2 billion. This was all made possible by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which was pushed as a form of privatisation but only ended up entrenching the worst corporatist corruptions.

The hold over governments was cemented with the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which granted a liability shield to the makers of products that appear on the childhood schedule. The injured are simply not permitted to fight it out in civilian courts. No other industry enjoys such sweeping indemnification under the law. ...<<<Read More>>>...

Ring Out Solstice Bells - Jethro Tull

How AI news bots are quietly reshaping public opinion

 AI is becoming the primary gatekeeper of information, with large language models now routinely generating and framing news summaries and content, subtly shaping public perception through their selection and emphasis of facts.

A new form of bias, termed "communication bias," is emerging, where AI models systematically present certain perspectives more favorably based on user interaction, creating factually correct but starkly different narratives for different people.

The root cause is concentrated corporate power and foundational design choices, as a small oligopoly of tech giants builds models trained on biased internet data, scaling their inherent perspectives and commercial incentives into a homogenized public information stream.

Current government regulations are ill-equipped to address this nuanced problem, as they focus on overt harms and pre-launch audits, not the interaction-driven nature of communication bias, and risk merely substituting one approved bias for another.

The solution requires antitrust action, radical transparency and public participation to prevent AI monopolies, expose how models are tuned and involve citizens in system design, as these technologies now fundamentally shape democratic discourse and collective decision-making.

In an era where information is increasingly mediated by algorithms, a profound shift is occurring in how citizens form their views of the world. The recent decision by Meta to dismantle its professional fact-checking program ignited a fierce debate about trust and accountability on digital platforms. However, this controversy has largely missed a more insidious and widespread development: artificial intelligence systems are now routinely generating the news summaries, headlines and content that millions consume daily. The critical issue is no longer just the presence of outright falsehoods, but how these AI models, built by a handful of powerful corporations, select, frame and emphasize ostensibly accurate information in ways that can subtly and powerfully shape public perception.

Large language models, the complex AI systems behind chatbots and virtual assistants, have moved from novelty to necessity. They are now embedded directly into news websites, social media feeds and search engines, acting as the primary gateway through which people access information. Studies indicate these models do far more than passively relay data. Their responses can systematically highlight certain viewpoints while downplaying others, a process that occurs so seamlessly users often remain completely unaware their perspective is being gently guided....<<<Read More>>>...

Quote for the Day

 

Many more pyramids are hiding in the sand – Why are they not excavated?

 The location of the new pyramid is indicated by the archaeologist, there is every reason to conduct excavations, the discovery of a new pyramid could become a sensation, but the excavations do not begin. Why?

Dr. Vasco Dobrev, while exploring the desert in the Memphis region, found signs of the pyramids being under the sand. He claims that the desert can hide about 120 pyramids.

Dobrev, back in 2019, pointed out a plateau, which, he believes, is not of natural origin, but is an unfinished pyramid....<<<Read More>>>... 

Food for Thought #890

 

Starmer to Push Britain into Stricter Net Zero Targets Under EU Deal

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to tie Britain to the EU’s Net Zero plans in a move that would impose radically stricter ‘green’ energy targets on homes and businesses, leading to further deindustrialisation and impoverishment. The Telegraph has the story.

The Prime Minister and Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, are negotiating for Britain to rejoin the EU’s internal electricity market, which treats the 27 countries of the EU and Norway as a single borderless power grid.

The EU will only let Britain back into the system if Sir Keir agrees to the bloc’s ambitious targets for renewable energy, which would require the UK to decarbonise not just electricity but also heating and transport rapidly.

In practice, it would mean Net Zero targets would need to be doubled.

Claire Coutinho, the Shadow Energy Secretary, accused the Prime Minister of “surrendering control of our energy system to bureaucrats in Brussels”.

She said: “UK ministers will be forced to reduce emissions regardless of what it will do to people’s energy bills or the competitiveness of our businesses.”

It comes as Labour seeks to forge closer ties with the EU, with MPs debating in recent weeks whether Britain should return to the customs union.

The plans would also aid Mr Miliband’s ambitions to decarbonise the power grid, allowing the UK to import foreign electricity when low wind or sunshine cuts output from wind and solar farms.

The EU’s demands emerged in a document placed without fanfare on the Cabinet Office website. The plan is both technically challenging and politically sensitive because it would make UK energy policy subject to EU jurisdiction.

It stated: “The Electricity Agreement should… set an indicative global target for the share of renewable energy in the gross final consumption of energy in the United Kingdom. To ensure a level playing field, the global target should be comparable to that of the European Union.”

The EU’s target is that 42.5% of all its energy should come from renewables by 2030, with an aspiration to reach 45%.

This is roughly double the UK’s current level of 22%.

Mr Miliband has set a target to decarbonise Britain’s power generation by 95% by 2030, but electricity accounts for only 20% of UK total energy consumption, so this will never be enough to meet EU demands. Transport, heating and industrial energy account for 75% of the UK’s total energy consumption.

At the moment, the UK gets about 75% of its total energy from oil and gas, a level that has hardly changed in decades....<<<Read More>>>....

What corporate media refuses to say about how the world is run

 Corporate media dogma perpetuates a false narrative that the West consists of democracies where the popular will is expressed, when in reality, there is a merged intelligence community and an Anglo-American Establishment that exerts significant control.

The Bank for International Settlements, the City of London and other subsidiary policy makers, such as the World Economic Forum, wield significant power and influence global policies, often circumventing sovereignty and democratic processes.

Additionally, the intelligence community, including the CIA, MI6 and Mossad, has been involved in various regime change activities and covert operations, and has formed a merged criminal entity that acts against the interests of their supposed sponsor countries....<<<Read More>>>...

ARCHONS Waiting at Death’s Door — The Secret Passwords to Bypass Them

You Have All the Answers Within

 Many of us seek the answers to life’s questions by looking outside of ourselves and trying to glean advice from the people around us. But as each of us is unique, with our own personal histories, our own sense of right and wrong, and our own way of experiencing the world that defines our realities, looking to others for our answers is only partially helpful. The answers to our personal questions can be most often found by looking within. When you realize that you always have access to the part of you that knows what you need and is meant to act as your inner compass, you can stop searching outside of yourself. If you can learn to hear, trust, and embrace the wisdom that lives within you, you will be able to confidently navigate your life.

Trusting your inner wisdom may be awkward at first, particularly if you grew up around people who taught you to look to others for answers. We each have exclusive access to our inner knowing. All we have to do is remember how to listen and be patient as you relearn how to hear, receive, and follow your own guidance. If you are unsure about whether following your inner wisdom will prove reliable, think of a time when you did trust yourself and everything worked out. Recall how the answers came to you, how they felt in your body as you considered them, and what happened when you acted upon this guidance. Now, recall a time when you didn’t trust yourself and the results didn’t work out as you had hoped. Trusting your own guidance can help you avoid going against what you instinctively know is right for you.

When you second guess yourself and go against what you know to be your truth, you can easily go off course because you are no longer following your inner compass. By looking inside yourself for the answers, you are consulting your best guide. Only you can know the hows and whys of your life. The answers that you seek can be found when you start answering your own questions. (Daily Mail)

Food for Thought #889

 

Quote for the Day

 

Boys Are Not Defective Girls

 The Government has announced a new initiative in which teachers will be trained to spot misogyny and boys exhibiting signs of it will be sent on behavioural courses to mend their ways. 

The vast majority of men have never raised a hand to a woman, yet I doubt many of us were ever expressly warned against it by parents or teachers. 

Which begs the question: who exactly is the audience for these sermons of the bleeding obvious? Violence against women is wrong. Racism is bad. Gay people should be free to live with dignity. Sexual assault is unacceptable. Everyone knows these things. It’s preaching to a massive choir, split unevenly between the converted, who never needed to be told in the first place, and the recalcitrant, who don’t give a shit.  

With Sadiq Khan’s excruciating ‘maaate’ campaign for young men to call out sexist banter, Keir Starmer’s suggestion that the “documentary” Adolescence be shown as a cautionary tale in schools (what kind of Philistine doesn’t know the difference between a drama and a documentary?) and this anti-misogyny gimmick from Jess Phillips, the henpecked male youth can feel the tentacles of American HR culture tighten around his throat.

Most boys and young men cannot articulate why they find the feminised worlds of contemporary education, corporate governance and public discourse so repressive and suffocating, an incoherent frustration that is most likely to express itself in the very same anti-social behaviours these proposed struggle sessions are intended to prevent. But what else would you expect of a tone-deaf establishment so inattentive to second order consequences?...<<<Read More>>>>..

Brazilian plant used in traditional medicine shows powerful anti-arthritis effects in new study

 Traditional plant used for arthritis shows scientific promise in new study.

Research confirms Joseph's Coat plant extract fights inflammation and pain safely.

The study validates generations of folk healing with modern laboratory evidence.

Arthritis is a leading cause of disability, with urgent need for new treatments.

Researchers emphasize more study is needed before it becomes a human therapy.

A breakthrough from the Brazilian coast offers new hope for the millions suffering from the crippling pain and inflammation of arthritis. Researchers from three major universities have published rigorous scientific evidence that a plant long used in traditional healing, Joseph’s Coat (Alternanthera littoralis), is both safe and effective at fighting arthritis in laboratory models. The findings, which confirm generations of folk wisdom with modern pharmacology, point to a promising natural candidate for managing one of the world’s most common and debilitating conditions.

This news matters profoundly today as arthritis rates are soaring. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States, affecting tens of millions and costing billions annually in care and lost wages. With an aging population, the number of sufferers is expected to rise dramatically in coming decades. Current pharmaceutical options often provide only temporary symptom relief and can come with significant side effects, creating an urgent need for new, effective, and safer therapeutic approaches....<<<Read More>>>...

Justin Hayward - Forever Autumn

Google and Microsoft to demand “age verification” from Australians

Starting 27 December 2025, Australians using internet search engines such as Google and Microsoft Bing while logged in will be required to verify their age through digital identity checks, including methods such as photo ID, facial recognition or digital ID linking.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported in July that Google and Microsoft will be required to implement some form of age-assurance technology by 27 December. If the companies fail to comply, they could face fines of up to nearly AUS$50 million per breach.

This requirement is part of new industry codes registered by the Australian eSafety Commissioner and applies only to users who are signed into their accounts.

These industry codes are not formal legislation as they do not go through Parliament. Instead, The Guardian said, they’re developed by the technology industry and registered by the eSafety commissioner in a process called co-regulation. By bypassing the Parliamentary process, these industry codes can give an enormous amount of power to an unelected official, the eSafety commissioner.

In the meantime, writers are leaving Substack in response to similar censorship and “age verification” rules implemented on the platform earlier this month....<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #888

 

250,000 Orphans VANISHED: The 19th-Century Disaster They’re Covering Up — Trains & Mud Flood Theory

Another Point of View: Is there evidence aliens have visited Earth?

 The United States Congress recently held a hearing into US government information pertaining to “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAPs).

The last investigation of this kind happened more than 50 years ago, as part of a US Air Force investigation called Project Blue Book, which examined reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (note the change in name). But why would governments be interested in UAPs? One exciting line of thought is UAPs are alien spacecraft visiting Earth. It’s a concept that gets a lot of attention, by playing on decades of sci-fi movies, views about what goes on in Area 51, and purported sightings by the public.

A much more prosaic line of thought is governments are interested in unexplained aerial phenomena – especially those within their own sovereign airspace – because they may represent technologies developed by an adversary.

Indeed, most discussion at the recent hearing revolved around potential threats from UAPs, on the basis they were such human-made technologies....<<<Read More>>>....

Quote for the Day

 

Ancient rock art along U.S.-Mexico border reveals 4,000-year-old indigenous cosmology

 Elaborate rock murals along the U.S.-Mexico border, dating back over 4,000 years, depict a sophisticated cosmological worldview shared by indigenous cultures. These murals feature human-like and animal-like figures alongside symbolic motifs representing creation myths, cyclical time and multidimensional realities.

Despite spanning 175 generations, the Pecos River Style (PRS) rock art maintained strict iconographic rules—black paint first, followed by red, yellow and white—demonstrating a structured visual language rather than random decoration.

The murals align with pan-indigenous beliefs, such as layered universes and portals between worlds. A Huichol shaman recognized the figures in the 2000s, confirming continuity with modern indigenous spiritual traditions.

The artists were nomadic hunter-gatherers, unknown by tribal name today, but their work reveals advanced cosmological thought predating agriculture and urbanization, challenging conventional narratives about the origins of complex religious ideas.

The murals serve as a "living library" of indigenous knowledge, preserving a cosmology that influenced later Mesoamerican civilizations (e.g., Aztecs) and remains spiritually significant to contemporary indigenous communities.

For more than 4,000 years – spanning an astonishing 175 generations – Indigenous Americans painted elaborate rock murals along what is now the U.S.-Mexico border, conveying a sophisticated cosmological worldview that persists in modern indigenous cultures.

A groundbreaking study published in Science Advances reveals that the Pecos River style (PRS) rock art, found in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of southwestern Texas and northern Mexico, remained remarkably consistent in technique and symbolism for millennia, despite major environmental and technological changes....<<<Read More>>>....

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms

The ‘Superflu’ Story Shows the Mainstream Media Are Utterly Untrustworthy

 We have been chuntering on since early October that the Government-media conglomerate was preparing to declare another emergency. The signs, which we have come to recognise, were all there.

Large stocks of vaccines and antivirals were purchased and renewed and are awaiting use. The avian influenza terror did not fly (no pun intended, as this is a serious post).

As early as November 6th, the recently appointed Sir Jim Mackey, head of NHS England, warned the UK was facing a long, tough flu season. Delivered through the BBC, of course.

Then we had the ‘carnage’ and ‘superflu’ with an ambulance and bed crisis, which did not fit with the Government’s own data.

Throughout, the British Bias Corporation was busy spreading misleading news.

It’s not that other MSM outlets covered themselves in glory, all repeating variations of the same story.

Still, the difference is that the BBC is publicly funded and should be looking after the public interest instead of repeating the usual tripe, interviewing cats and asking them if they would look after the creamy cheese. Over in Canada, CBC (or “Pravda” as one commentator called it) was at it too.

But all is not lost, using the retrospectoscope, the most powerful instrument known to mankind, the BBC is beginning to have doubts, although it is still talking to the cats....<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #887

 

Despite spending trillions of dollars, the “green transition” is failing

 According to Irina Slav, the global energy transition cost $4 trillion through 2023 and reduced fossil fuels by just 1%. As she put it, “we’ve paid trillions to still depend on hydrocarbons for most of our energy supply.” According to the Statistical Review of World Energy, in 2024, fossil fuels supplied 86.6% of world energy. Thirteen years prior, in 2011, the Statistical Review found that fossil fuels supplied 89.6% of the world’s energy. The difference is three percentage points. While that is slightly better than the 1% that Ms. Slav calculated using two different sources, the picture is still the same – the world is still relying on fossil fuels for almost 87% of its energy.

So, in 13 years, between 2012 and 2023, the global economy spent $4 trillion on moving away from fossil fuels, but still gets almost 87% of its energy from them. Slav also points out that spending on renewable and “clean” energy continued in 2024 to the tune of $2.4 trillion, covering investment in renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency and power grids. At the same time, coal supplied a record amount of energy in 2024. The world is learning very little from its exploits into mostly intermittent renewable energy (wind and solar power) that require expensive backup when the wind does not blow, and the sun does not shine, as politicians continue to force them upon consumers despite skyrocketing energy costs...<<<Read More>>>...

Empty Cities Everywhere. What Happened in the 19th Century?

The World’s First Artificial Womb Facility Introduced

 Cabbage Patch Babies and World Fair incubators ... this happened before the last reset and during the last reset. And here, on cue are the incubators again. Not new technology. Old technology resurfacing by the parasites .... 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

The future has arrived. Last Friday, a German molecular biologist by trade unveiled a new concept for the world’s first artificial womb facility, EctoLife, which could incubate up to 30,000 babies a year.

“My new concept will be unveiled early December, something that I have been working on for a while,” said Hashem Al-Ghaili in November. “The new concept relies on over 50 years of groundbreaking scientific research.”

Hashem Al-Ghaili is a molecular biologist, producer, filmmaker, and science communicator based in Berlin, Germany.

EctoLife, which operates solely on renewable energy, enables infertile couples to conceive and become the biological parents of their own offspring.

“It’s a perfect solution for women who had their uterus surgically removed due to cancer or other complications. With EctoLife, premature births and C-sections will be a thing of the past. EctoLife is designed to help countries that are suffering from severe population decline, including Japan, Bulgaria, South Korea, and many others,” according to its press release....<<<Read More>>>...

Where Did All That IRON Come From? How the 19th Century Built the IMPOSSIBLE

How potassium powers the body and the perils of its deficit

 Potassium is a vital electrolyte that conducts electrical impulses, enabling critical functions like nerve signal transmission, muscle contraction (including the heart) and fluid balance regulation in partnership with sodium.

A potassium deficiency disrupts electrical stability, leading to symptoms ranging from fatigue and muscle weakness to severe complications like dangerous heart arrhythmias and impaired kidney function.

Optimal potassium levels are best maintained through a whole-foods diet rich in sources like leafy greens, starchy vegetables (e.g., potatoes, squash), legumes, avocados, tomatoes and fruits like bananas and oranges.

The prevalence of high-sodium processed foods has inverted the natural potassium-sodium balance, making conscious potassium intake crucial for combating hypertension and supporting cardiovascular health.

While supplements exist for medical deficiencies, they carry risks (like hyperkalemia) and should only be used under medical supervision; for most people, obtaining potassium from food is the safest and most effective strategy.

In the intricate symphony of human physiology, few minerals play as versatile and vital a role as potassium. This essential electrolyte operates as a silent regulator, a fundamental conductor of the electrical impulses that keep the heart beating, muscles moving and nerves firing. While often overshadowed by more frequently discussed nutrients, potassium's function is indispensable, and its imbalance can have profound consequences for health. Understanding its mechanisms, recognizing the signs of its deficiency and knowing how to maintain optimal levels through diet are critical components of modern wellness.

Potassium is a positively charged ion that works primarily inside the body's cells. Its most celebrated role is as an electrolyte, a substance that conducts electricity when dissolved in bodily fluids like blood. This electrical conductivity is the foundation of life-sustaining processes. Potassium is crucial for generating nerve impulses that govern thought, sensation and movement. It facilitates muscle contractions, from the deliberate flexing of a bicep to the relentless, involuntary squeeze of the heart muscle. Furthermore, it works in a delicate dance with sodium to regulate fluid balance and blood pressure, helping to move nutrients into cells and shuttle waste products out....<<<Read More>>>...

Quote for the Day

 

Limiting or eliminating the right to a trial by jury is a goal of tyrants

 Trial by jury is a cornerstone of a free society, yet UK Justice Secretary David Lammy is attempting to restrict the use of juries in England and Wales. He has proposed limiting jury trials to only the most serious offences while scrapping jury trials for crimes carrying sentences of up to three years.

The move against jury trials reflects a growing trend among modern governments and legislators – not only in the United Kingdom, but in many other places – to assert their own authority over the constitutional order in exaggerated and destructive ways, David Thunder writes.

To quote Lord Patrick Devlin: “The first object of any tyrant … would be to make Parliament utterly subservient to his will; and the next to overthrow or diminish trial by jury.”...<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #886

 

‘Offensive’ Christmas Songs Could Fall Victim to Labour’s Banter Ban

 Festive revellers may have to be careful which Christmas songs they sing down the pub, as the newly-passed Employment Right Bill obliges publicans to protect their staff from offensive lyrics. The Telegraph has the story.

Sitting in a pub with a glass of mulled wine, while loudly singing along to a Christmas song, is a much-loved tradition of the festive season.

But its days may be numbered as pub landlords must ban ‘offensive’ lyrics under new laws requiring them to take “all reasonable steps” to protect staff from third-party harassment.

The songs affected could include ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’, which has faced criticism from the #MeToo movement, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, which has been accused of stereotyping the continent of Africa, and ‘Jingle Bells’, which is said to have ‘racist’ origins.

Under Labour’s controversial Employment Rights Bill, which became law last week, employers will have a legal duty to prevent harassment by third parties relating to a ‘protected characteristic’ such as race, religion, sexual orientation or age.

Ministers have been warned that this will result in pub landlords, as well as restaurant owners and hoteliers, being turned into the ‘banter cops’, where they are forced to police what their customers say.

Free-speech campaigners fear it could also lead to pubs banning Christmas music sing-alongs over worries their lyrics may cause offence.

Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said he had previously warned that the ‘banter ban’ would lead to the “policing of harmless fun in pubs, bars and restaurants, giving the scolds and finger-waggers another pretext to stop people enjoying themselves”.

He added: “The Government didn’t listen, insisting we were being alarmist, but a ban on Christmas music and carol singing will be the least of it. Prepare to live in a country in which every hospitality venue is a micro-managed ‘safe space’, overseen by lanyard-wearing banter bouncers. Welcome to Starmer’s Britain.”...<<<Read More>>>...

Queensrÿche - Eyes Of A Stranger

Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology?

Today I co-authored an intriguing new paper with the brilliant collaborators Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies in London, UK. The paper is accessible here.

One of the solutions to Enrico Fermi’s question about extraterrestrials: “where is everybody?” is offered by the dark forest hypothesis, popularized by Cixin Liu’s science fiction novel “The Dark Forest.” This hypothesis proposes that our cosmic neighborhood is dangerous, filled with intelligent civilizations that are hostile and silent to avoid detection by potential predators. In this context, the silence in searches for radio signals by the SETI community is not caused by the lack of extraterrestrial intelligent civilizations, but is instead a consequence of them fearing mutual destruction.

Our paper explores the possibility that the recently discovered interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, may provide evidence in support of the dark forest hypothesis. This new interstellar interloper has displayed a number of anomalous characteristics, some of which were summarized in an essay that I wrote shortly after its discovery. In particular...<<<Read More>>>..

Food for Thought #885

 

Omega-3 fatty acids: A natural shield against depression and anxiety

 Higher EPA/DHA levels reduce depression (15% to 33%) and anxiety (19% to 22%) risks, addressing root causes like brain inflammation without dangerous side effects (unlike SSRIs).

Non-patentable omega-3s threaten the antidepressant industry's profits, leading to FDA/medical establishment dismissal despite robust evidence.

Wild-caught salmon, mackerel and sardines (3+ servings/week) or high-quality supplements (1,000+ mg EPA/DHA daily) optimize levels.

75% of people lack sufficient omega-3s due to processed foods (high omega-6 oils), while gut health and proper cooking methods enhance absorption.

Globalists push dependency on toxic pharmaceuticals; omega-3s empower individuals to resist systemic control and reclaim mental health.

Depression and anxiety now affect hundreds of millions worldwide, with Big Pharma pushing psychiatric drugs—many of which carry dangerous side effects—as the primary solution. But emerging research suggests that a simple, natural nutrient may play a far more protective role in mental health than synthetic medications: omega-3 fatty acids.

While mainstream medicine often overlooks nutritional interventions, studies continue to reveal that omega-3s—abundant in fatty fish and high-quality supplements—can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. A groundbreaking study analyzing data from the U.K. Biobank, one of the largest health databases in the world, found that individuals with higher omega-3 levels in their blood had 15% to 33% lower risk of depression and 19% to 22% lower risk of anxiety compared to those with deficiencies....<<<Read More>>>...

Operation Unearthing: The 1840 Tartarian Flood That Rewrote History

Quote for the Day

 

Digital ID, and the digitisation of all things, is the greatest risk humanity faces

 Gary D. Barnett warns that humanity is being taken over through digitisation, digital ID, algorithmic confinement and technocratic incarceration, which will lead to the end of freedom and property.

The transformation of mankind involves the intentional fusing of human and machine through neuroscientific nanoscale brain-computer interfacing, with methods including “vaccines,” geoengineering, mRNA platforms and precision medicine.

The only solution to stop this technological transhuman invasion, he writes, is through education, exposure and mass non-compliance.

I do not know how many more times I will have to bring up the subject of the AI takeover; digitisation, digital ID, algorithmic confinement and technocratic incarceration that are being built and advanced at a pace that is obviously far beyond the scope of the common American plebiscite. This is the most crucial issue of our lives, and it has mostly been relegated as one piece among a plethora of distractive tyrannical events, without any cognitive awareness whatsoever that the digital usurpation of our existence is the end of all freedom and property, and possibly the end of mankind as we know it. Even with survival, the only resulting conclusion is that all those remaining will be slaves of a master class of evil technocrats.

But it gets even worse, because this “new” digital existence also depends upon and includes the total weaponisation of “healthcare,” medicine and the long-planned technological transformation of mankind. This aspect of human domination is dependent on weakening or destroying the human body, mind and soul as it exists, in order to eliminate the human spirit through a eugenic strategy, while rebuilding compliant cybernetic organisms. (Cyborgs) Robotics immediately comes to mind, but it is much bigger than that; it is the intentional fusing of human and machine at multiple levels, including through neuroscientific nanoscale brain-computer interfacing. The preparation for this linking-up of human and computer is already highly developed....<<<Read More>>>...

The Bizarro-World of the Forever Maskers

 The Telegraph has a story about the ‘Zero Covid’ zealots refusing to re-enter society. Not only that, but these forever maskers want everyone else masked up in perpetuity too. It’s a remarkable instance of the emergence of a new form of cult based on a surreal new ritual. And just for good measure, it seems that those leaning Left are most likely to be on board:

The claims of links to Covid circulating online amid the deadly chaos were not always proved beyond doubt, but in this climate of fear and confusion, a determined ‘Zero Covid’ community emerged. Co-opting a phrase that was originally an official public health policy, the ‘Zero Coviders’ believed they were watching a massacre in real time, and the maskless – especially those who were unvaccinated – were to blame. As governments relaxed the restrictions, they felt they needed to step up.

“I was like, ‘Okay, this is not right. This is f—–,'” says [Alyson] Hardwick, a second-year university student who does not have any underlying health conditions. The last time she ate indoors at a restaurant was in October 2022 for her 31st birthday. “I felt sketched out [uneasy],” she recalls. “I was leaving every place I was going inside without a mask, wondering, ‘Did I get it?’”

Hardwick began wearing a respirator mask – specialised, disposable facepieces called N95s or N99s which offer more comprehensive protection than a surgical mask – and spending most of her time alone.

She’s ostracised herself from other people and posts thousands of clips online and argues that it’s everyone else, not her, who is living in fear. “Denial is a fear response,” she insists....<<<Read More>>>...

Food for Thought #884

 

Surge of mystery drone overflights target Europe's military nerve centers

 The French town of Mulhouse, nestled between the country's borders with Switzerland and Germany, was the scene of an unexplained incident on Nov. 11. Around midnight, a local police officer reported an unidentified drone buzzing over the police station's courtyard before drifting toward a nearby rail depot.Moments later, the aircraft positioned itself directly above a military convoy transporting Leclerc main battle tanks and filmed the armored column at close range before vanishing into the night.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the unauthorized overflight of a "restricted defense area" but have so far been unable to recover the drone or identify its operator. The local prosecutor's office said that "at this stage, there is no evidence to suggest whether this was a deliberate flight over these areas or simply an accidental overflight by the aircraft during another journey." ...<<<Read More>>>...

Face Masks Harmed Care Home Residents in Ways No Health and Safety Apparatchik Can Ever Understand

 As a self-employed social care consultant and former care home inspector I visit over 100 care homes each year to conduct mock Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections. During the COVID-19 epoch, when face masks went on in care homes, I witnessed a dramatically negative shift in atmosphere, spirit and human connection. Something profound was lost and, as I told the makers of the documentary Masking Humanity, despite what the guidance may have suggested, it wasn’t safety we gained in return.

In March 2020 there was fear and uncertainty everywhere in social care. The arrival of COVID-19 in care homes was coincident with excess death rates. I recall one 56-bed home in Northwest England that saw 50% of its residents die within in one month. A few weeks later the senior team looked like they were experiencing PTSD symptoms. At this time the use of masks was not mandated, the prevailing view amongst politicians and their advisors being they were ineffective. Nevertheless, when panic strikes any straw will be grasped and it seemed to many masks ‘just might’ be effective and were ‘worth a try’. As a result, and understandable within a context of widespread anxiety, care homes strove to procure masks and other PPE as best they could.

From June 2020, probably partly to create an appearance of action, the guidance issued by infection control teams made a U-turn. Masks became ‘mandated’ and care home staff wore them diligently. The summer months went by with few or no COVID-19 cases, and care staff, perhaps wanting to connect their efforts with the good results, began to believe it was the masks and assorted PPE that were keeping COVID-19 away. We now know that, unsurprisingly, there were very few COVID-19 cases nationally at that time and this apparent success was a mere coincidence.

With the perception that masks were working having taken root, when set against their apparent life-saving qualities, concerns and complaints about the downsides of masks seemed to be of low importance, often being ascribed to stupidity and selfishness on behalf of the sceptics raising them. Then, in the winter, during the second wave of COVID-19, it became clear the supposition that masks were keeping people safe was on very shaky ground indeed....<<<Read More>>>...

Quote for the Day

 

Hard carbon electrodes allow sodium ion batteries to CHARGE FASTER than lithium ion

 New research from Tokyo University of Science provides quantitative proof that sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) using hard carbon anodes can charge at rates exceeding those of commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

The study employed an innovative "diluted electrode" method to bypass traditional testing limitations, finally revealing the true, fast-charging potential of hard carbon.

Scientists identified that while the initial ion intake is rapid for both lithium and sodium, the overall charging speed is limited by a "pore-filling" process inside the electrode material, a process where sodium holds a kinetic advantage.

These findings position SIBs not just as a cheaper, safer, and more ethical alternative to LIBs, but as a technology with distinct performance benefits, particularly for applications requiring rapid power delivery....<<<Read More>>>...

Glenn Hughes - "Chosen"

Protecting children online is a pretext for total digital surveillance

Protecting kids is a weak pretext for total digital surveillance. What’s worse, the EU’s monitoring exempted its own politicians from scrutiny. Their privacy matters, but not yours.

Last month, we lamented California’s Frontier AI Act of 2025. The Act favours compliance over risk management, while shielding bureaucrats and lawmakers from responsibility. Mostly, it imposes top-down regulatory norms, instead of letting civil society and industry experts experiment and develop ethical standards from the bottom up.

Perhaps we could dismiss the Act as just another example of California’s interventionist penchant. But some American politicians and regulators are already calling for the Act to be a “template for harmonising federal and state oversight.” The other source for that template would be the European Union (“EU”), so it’s worth keeping an eye on the regulations spewed out of Brussels.

The EU is already way ahead of California in imposing troubling, top-down regulation. Indeed, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act of 2024 follows the EU’s overall precautionary principle. As the EU Parliament’s internal think tank explains, “the precautionary principle enables decision-makers to adopt precautionary measures when scientific evidence about an environmental or human health hazard is uncertain and the stakes are high.”

The precautionary principle gives immense power to the EU when it comes to regulating in the face of uncertainty – rather than allowing for experimentation with the guardrails of fines and tort law (as in the US). It stifles ethical learning and innovation. Because of the precautionary principle and associated regulation, the EU economy suffers from greater market concentration, higher regulatory compliance costs and diminished innovation – compared to an environment that allows for experimentation and sensible risk management. It is small wonder that only four of the world’s top 50 tech companies are European....<<<Read More>>>...