Links - 31st December 2025 (2 [including Louvre Heist])

Bailey’s Comet on X - "The fact that the Louvre heist didn't take place at dawn, but at the very reasonable hour of 9:30 a.m. shows that even French jewel thieves have a better work-life balance than us."

Meme - Hernan Cortes @CyberPunkCortes: "The theft of Napoleonic treasures in the Louvre followed a change in the display cases in 2019. Before then, the Rococo display cases had armored glass and if disturbed the treasures would drop into a safe. They were later replaced by "modern" displays with normal glass."
GARNICHTS FUR DEUTSCHLAND! Satirisches Allerleit @fanteziderya: "They wanted to make the treasures more accessible!"
"To counter its elitist image, the museum will strive for "cultural democratisation" to make its treasures more accessible with improved presentation, labelling and curating. Martinez, who comes from a working-class background, said he wanted to build on the outreach success of the Louvre's outpost museum in Lens, a poor former mining town in northern France. He said sometimes the former royal palace in the heart of Paris can "intimidate" certain demographics and the museum needs to reassure people that its collections are also for them. Traffic on the museum's website has jumped tenfold, Martinez said, adding that the site "will be completely overhauled next year... with all collections going online". There will be more storytelling and scene-setting in both French and English, Martinez added."

Inside the world’s clumsiest heist - "The glamour vanished as fast as the thieves, who, as the investigation advances, increasingly resemble bungling amateurs.  In their haste, they left behind a glove, the dropped crown of Empress Eugénie, and even their truck, which they tried, unsuccessfully, to set on fire before escaping.  Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the suspects were “clearly small-town people” and “small-time criminals” whose profiles did not match those “generally associated with the upper echelons of organised crime”. They all lived in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris... In their haste to escape, the burglars dropped the most precious piece of all: a diamond and emerald-studded crown once belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.  They still made off with eight other items, including an emerald and diamond necklace Napoleon I gave to Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem set with nearly 2,000 diamonds. None of the jewels have been recovered... “crime pays at the present moment” in France. “It used to be that crime doesn’t pay, but what are they going to get? A couple of years in prison? There’s not enough jail space, they’ll be let out early and then spend the money they stole. There’s no deterrent factor.”  He pointed to a troubling pattern across Europe: “Many of the criminals have been arrested before – 10 to 15 times in some cases. Unless Europe starts to get serious about prosecuting criminals and putting them in jail for long sentences, this is just going to happen again and again.” If the thieves looked amateurish, so too did the museum’s defences. Louvre director Laurence des Cars admitted security cameras did not adequately cover the thieves’ entry point but said a multimillion-euro modernisation plan was already underway... 278 French museums had no CCTV at all... For many Parisians, the episode recalls another “amateurish but audacious” crime that humiliated French authorities – the 2016 armed robbery of Kim Kardashian West.  That gang of middle-aged petty criminals tied up the reality star in her hotel suite and escaped with £7m in jewels, leaving DNA and CCTV evidence at the scene. Like the Louvre suspects, they were small-time offenders from the Paris suburbs rather than professional thieves – and their success owed more to weak security than criminal genius."
Even though they were so cock, they still succeeded in stealing the stuff

5 more arrests as Louvre jewel heist probe deepens and key details emerge - "Paris police chief Patrice Faure told senators the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s security systems but from a cyclist outside who dialed the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift. He acknowledged that aging, partly analog cameras and slow fixes left seams; $93 million of CCTV cabling work won’t finish before 2029–30, and the Louvre’s camera authorization even lapsed in July. Officers arrived fast, he said, but the delay came earlier in the chain. Speaking to AP, former bank robber David Desclos characterized the heist as textbook and said he had warned the Louvre of glaring vulnerabilities in the layout of the Apollo Gallery. The Louvre has not responded to the claim."
Weird. We keep being told that the head of security wasn't responsible. Of course, Trump was responsible for everything that happened when he was President, even if he had no control over it

Louvre’s focus was on glitzy purchases over security, report alleges (aka "You’ll never guess the Louvre’s onetime CCTV password. (You absolutely will)") - "  A French court released a report Thursday slamming the leadership of the Louvre for its focus on headline-grabbing purchases and renovation projects over maintaining the security of on of the world’s largest museums... the museum leadership had prioritized “visible and attractive” projects, like art purchases and revamping the museum layout at the detriment, notably, of the Louvre’s security .  Since the heist, information has resurfaced showing that gaps in security appear to have been known for years – including a 2014 warning that alleged one of the museum’s key passwords was simply “LOUVRE.”...   For the Louvre’s 465 museum galleries, security staff had only 432 CCTV cameras to monitor the interior in 2024, according to the report. While that’s a nearly 50% increase on the number available in 2019, it still left 61% of the galleries without any CCTV coverage...   A 2014 report from the French information security agency (ANSSI) seen by French daily Liberation claimed that the password for the server managing the museums’ sprawling CCTV network was simply “LOUVRE.” Access to software managed by the security technology company Thales was protected by a similarly foolproof password: “THALES” – according to Liberation.  In the security audit, ANSSI reportedly recommended the Louvre boost its cyber security as well as move away from outdated software that could jeopardize its protective stance."

Louvre heist reveals museum used ‘LOUVRE’ as password for its video surveillance, still has workstations with Windows 2000 - glaring security weaknesses revealed in previous report

Canada announces C$60 million funding for Haiti
Andy Lee on X - "Things you are paying for that you didn’t know you were paying for: almost $300,000 for a book on the disappearing queer history of the Columbia Basin."
Damn Poilievre money for his by election that could've be used for healthcare!

KLEIN: Canadian media obsessed with drama, not country’s decline - "When Pierre Poilievre spoke about accountability and corruption, the media swarmed like bees to sugar. Headlines screamed that he wanted Justin Trudeau jailed. Panels of pundits analyzed every word, every tone, as though Canada’s democracy were hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, outside the Ottawa bubble, the economy continues to crumble. Jobs are vanishing, factories are closing, and investors are packing up for the United States. Yet somehow, Poilievre’s phrasing gets more ink than the thousands of Canadians losing work. That imbalance tells you everything about modern journalism in this country. As Don Henley sang, “We love dirty laundry.” Today’s media live for it, addicted to drama, allergic to accountability. Poilievre clarified his comments. He never called for jail time. He said corruption must be punished and those who abuse power should face consequences. That’s not extreme; it’s reasonable. But reason doesn’t drive ratings. Scandal does. While the press obsesses over Poilievre’s tone, Prime Minister Mark Carney makes comments that barely register. You’d think it was Poilievre who said he was the only Canadian who could negotiate with Donald Trump — sorry, that was Carney. You’d think it was Poilievre who claimed “Muslim values are Canadian values” — again, Carney. You’d think Poilievre led the country into recession — wrong again. That’s happening under Prime Minister Carney’s watch, while he is busy touring the world. And when Carney suggested Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to Canada, the outrage was nowhere to be found. The problem isn’t just bias; it’s blindness. While the media chases clickbait, they ignore the real crisis: a shrinking economy, runaway debt, and Canadians losing faith in their future. Ottawa’s solution? Print more money. Carney’s grand plan to “stimulate” the economy is nothing more than a short road to higher inflation. Printing money doesn’t create wealth; it destroys it. But that story doesn’t lead the newscast. Maybe part of the reason is money, not yours, theirs, well, which is really your money. The CBC takes over a billion dollars a year from taxpayers. Other outlets accept government “journalism subsidies.” When the state signs your paycheque, independence is a fantasy. If I wrote this for the CBC, it would never run. They don’t publish true diversity of thought. They manage the message. When I was in politics, I watched interviews twisted beyond recognition. It wasn’t an accident; it was a tactic. Left-leaning outlets make the news, not report it. There’s nothing wrong with opinion. You’re reading one right now. But journalism and advocacy are not the same. Label commentary as commentary. Stop packaging bias as fact. Canadians deserve the truth, not the filtered version. I believe in debate. Strong democracies rely on disagreement. Competing ideas make us better. But when journalists act like political operatives, they stop informing the public and start controlling it. That’s why the CBC’s funding should be cut, not increased as Carney reportedly plans. If a broadcaster can’t survive without taxpayer money, maybe it shouldn’t. Real journalism earns its readers’ trust, not the government’s approval. Pierre Poilievre isn’t the problem. The real issue is a media culture that treats outrage as oxygen. While reporters chase sound bites, our economy weakens, our cost of living soars, and the people footing the bill are ignored. Canada doesn’t need another week of headlines about what Poilievre said. We need headlines about why our jobs are leaving, our businesses are closing, and our national debt is exploding. Real journalism is supposed to tell those stories. It’s supposed to inform, not instruct. Until that happens, Canadians will keep seeing the same thing: drama over duty, spin over substance, and silence where the truth should be."
Funding only causes a conflict of interest when making that claim pushes the left wing agenda

Australian influencers move to Britain to avoid social media ban - "Known as the Empire Family, mothers Beck and Bec Lea, Prezley, their 17-year-old son, and Charli, their 14-year-old daughter, each post short and long-form content about their daily lives on social media.  Beck wrote online that the family had decided to move from Perth in Western Australia to London while Australia works out the details of a ban on social media for children that will take effect on Dec 10. The new restrictions, the first of their kind, will force Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube to take “reasonable steps” to prevent children under the age of 16 from creating accounts, and to deactivate existing child accounts.  Social media networks will be fined as much as 50 million Australian dollars (£25m) if they fail to enforce the rules. Bec and Beck explained that they did not want Charli, who has some 550,000 YouTube subscribers and 284,000 TikTok followers, to be forced to abandon her burgeoning internet career."

Fine Gael councillor calls for denial of benefits for anyone who spoiled their vote - "A Fine Gael councillor who called for anyone who spoiled their vote in last week’s Presidential election to have their ‘benefits’ withdrawn is receiving a massive online backlash from furious voters. Laois councillor John King, accused voters of ‘voting against the State’, because they chose to spoil their vote, and he goes on to demand that anyone who voted in this manner should be subject to sanctions, including having their state benefits denied. Cllr King’s remarks are trending on X, with hundreds of users accusing the Fine Gael councillor of presupposing that the 213,738 people who opted to spoil their vote, rather than vote for Fine Gael or Independent candidate Catherine Connolly, were unemployed. Cllr King’s inflammatory remarks are trending on X with many users accusing him of him of being ‘classist’ and called on Tanaiste Simon Harris to intervene. ‘He just called everyone who spoiled their vote dole heads. How low IQ are these people’ one poster said. The term ‘voting against the state’ also raised hackles with many comparing his remarks to Stalinist Russia and ‘totalitarianism. ‘ Another said Fine Gael ‘want to turn this into a class war -it’s pretty despicable. They cannot handle that people in all walks of life did.’ Many users also queried how Fine Gael would know who spoiled their votes and said Cll King’s remarks raised questions of the privacy of the ballot box... Ireland now holds the European record for the number of spoiled election votes, superseding France who held the record for the highest spoiled votes in 2017. With Jim Gavin’s vote of 103,568, which is being interpreted as a protest vote as he had withdrawn from the race, it brings the total of spoiled/ protest votes to a staggering 317,675, leaving the two government parties reeling."

It’s better to be rich than right - "Wall Street, writ large, has put business fundamentals in a corner and has settled into a kind of cynical vibe-trading in which the goal is always “number go up.” Consider Tesla, a stock so detached from the company’s actual business some analysts call it the “OG meme stock.” Its core product, electric cars, is quickly growing stale and losing market share to rivals. But don’t worry, it’s not a car company anymore, Elon Musk has said (despite cars being the only commercially viable, revenue-generating product Tesla offers). No, Tesla is an AI and robotics company now, its future staked to robotaxis (still in development, buggy, years behind Alphabet’s Waymo) and $20,000 humanoid robots (also still in development, and still require a human operator to do the household chores it’s billed to one day do autonomously.) This week, Bank of America analysts said Tesla’s core automotive business represents just 12% of the company’s total value. Robotaxi is 45% and “full self Driving” — Tesla’s autonomous driving software that doesn’t reliably work and customers don’t reliably want to pay for — is 17%. In short: Well over half of the stock’s value lies in products that either don’t yet exist or don’t exist at scale. Tesla’s reward for snoozing on its core product and gambling on a nascent technology with no proof of concept? Its stock is up 75% over the past 12 months, near its record high, and it remains by far the world’s most valuable car company, with a $1.5 trillion market cap. Musk, whose partisan outbursts reportedly cost Tesla one million sales, remains the world’s wealthiest person, and could become the first-ever trillionaire. Sensible investors might say “hey, there’s clearly value here but a stock that trades at 200 times earnings is overhyped and I’m going to sit this one out.” And they’d be right, in the Warren Buffett sense of right. But they’re not Warren Buffett. They would also be a lot less rich than if they’d just said YOLO and put their faith in Musk. That’s a familiar feeling for crypto skeptics. Sure, the product trades on hype, is highly volatile and has limited real-world applications. Who cares! Bitcoin’s price has gone up 700% over the past five years — with plenty of stomach-turning drops along the way — while the S&P 500 is up 110%. Being a naysayer in this market doesn’t pay the bills. Buying the dip does. All those crypto trolls who taunted skeptics to “have fun staying poor” were not, sadly, incorrect (though we can all agree they were jerks). Crypto has not only stayed alive, it’s practically gone mainstream. Even Jamie Dimon, the JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon, a longtime critic, has sort of come around, saying earlier this month that blockchain – crypto’s underlying technology — “is real.” There is almost no “bad” news that can rattle Wall Street anymore, as investors have learned that buying the dip almost always pays off. That is, of course, until it doesn’t. And no one knows when, or even whether, we’ll hear the record scratch. “It stands to reason that over time, if investors bought every significant decline, then it would have worked out for them,” Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, wrote earlier this month. “Unfortunately, not everyone has unlimited funds to keep investing, and no one is blessed with an unlimited time horizon.”"

In Spain, what once seemed impossible is now widespread: the young are turning to the far right - "According to recent polls, almost 40% of Spanish men aged between 18 and 34 say that they plan to vote for Vox, the far-right party. Vox won its first seat in the Spanish parliament in 2019 and now it is surging again. Its recent success is no longer a story of just male voters, either: 20% of young women say they would vote for Vox, with the biggest increase among the youngest voters in that group. It seems that the younger you are in Spain at the moment, the more likely you are to vote for a party that advocates, among other things, the mass expulsion of immigrants in order to preserve “Spanish identity”, the restriction of abortion, end-of-life and trans rights, the dismantling of the European Union’s institutions and the rejection of policies to tackle the climate crisis. Older generations continue to back the two largest parties, the centre-left Socialist party (PSOE) and the centre-right Popular party (PP). Women aged 60 and over make up the largest group rejecting the far right. Catalonia is the exception: support for the nationalist far right is spread across older generations, too... The last Spanish general election was in 2023 and the biggest concerns identified by Vox voters at the time were migration and “government and political parties”. Data on the new young voters is limited, but polling shows that housing is the top concern for the population in general and even more so for anyone under 35. Wages, employment and the cost of living are mentioned too. Migration barely registers as an issue for younger voters. But the perception of politicians themselves as a problem, which was the other big issue for Vox voters in 2023, is widespread across generations. Marta Romero, a political scientist, says Vox has become fashionable among young people drawn to the “anti-establishment” image that the party is managing to project – just as parties on the left and the centre did in the previous decade... In the past two decades, pensioners have become wealthier than young adults, particularly those with children"
Proof that Spain needs to ban the "far right" to "protect 'Democracy'"

Fury as tiny Welsh town with 5,970 inhabitants gets its FOURTEENTH barber shop and salon (one for every 400 people) - "A Welsh town with only 5,970 inhabitants has just got another barber shop - meaning it now has 14 hair salons, or one for every 400 people.  Plans by a Kurdish businessman to open a new barber in a vacant amusement arcade sparked anger among residents in Porth, South Wales, who said their town was already 'saturated'.  But thirty-four separate letters of objection failed to convince members of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT)'s planning committee to refuse the application, meaning it can now go ahead and open.  Opponents told the council that there were already 13 hair salons in Porth, many of them Turkish-style barbers, and that the dearth of other retail options was putting off visitors. Adding a fourteenth means there will now be one for every 426 residents, based on figures from the 2021 census.  There are a further six barber shops in neighbouring towns of Blackwood and Newbridge - barely ten miles from Porth - where cut-throat competition led to mob violence earlier this year. While some are Turkish themed, they are all run by Kurds.   The concerns come after police have warned of criminals infiltrating the industry by setting up shops as front companies to launder the proceeds of crimes like drug dealing. More than 750 barbers opened in the UK last year despite a broader High Street downturn - raising suspicions that some are being used by gangs. Just last months, enforcement teams across the West Midlands raided a string of Turkish barber shops and seized more than £500,000 in illegal cash during a crackdown on money laundering.  Meanwhile unhappy customers have taken to TikTok to share videos of their wonky haircuts and patchy skin fades – possible signs of illicit businesses cynically co-opting the proud, centuries-old tradition of Turkish barbering."

Britain should think twice about funding governments like Ghana's - "Take Ghana. Most of the public think Britain’s global reconnect amounts to little more than the high-profile trade deals with the US and India – where Labour merely put the finishing touches on Conservative negotiations. But in the most sophisticated of West Africa’s nations, the UK is providing levels of economic assistance that would make the Chancellor’s forever repeated “guardrails” fall straight off any project back home.  Barely publicised beyond government websites, the UK has agreed to extend by 15 years the repayment period of $256 million Ghana owes Britain – and therefore ultimately the UK taxpayer. The deal also commits Britain to lending more on top to Ghana via UK export credits, underwriting British businesses to build a series of road and infrastructure projects across the country.  Ghana is not Somalia. It has long enjoyed a reputation for democratic governance. Still, in addition to owing $256 million to the British Exchequer, Ghana is also $261 million in debt to American independent power producers – liabilities ultimately underwritten by the US taxpayer. It is part of a whopping $2.5 billion the country holds in unpaid debts to energy suppliers alone. One must question the common sense, let alone the economic case, of lending the country more. That becomes even more questionable when Ghana’s current government has begun demolishing the pillars of law and democracy on which the country’s good standing was built."

Meme - "> At the gym, doing my routine.
> 7/10 qt is on the Low Row, the first machine on my list
> No big, I'll do the next one.
> Bitch is stil on Low Row.
> No big, do the next one.
> Bitch is physically sitting on the machine, but texting
>No big, I'll do the next one.
> Go through entire fucking workout.
> Bitch is still on the fucking Low Row, i's been over half an hour. Hasn't spent more than 5 minutes actually using it
> I sit on the machine next to her and fuck around, waiting for her to get off hers.
>Notice a weird rash on her upper arm.
>I'm a huge House junkie so fuck it, bitch needs to get off the Low Row.
>"Hey, no doctor, but my cousin had a rash just like that and it turned out to be MRSA. He didn't make it. I'm probably wrong, but if I were you I'd get to a hospital right away just to be sure."
> She gets wide-eyed, stammers out something, gets her shit, and leaves.
>I finish my workout and go home.
TWO WEEKS LATER
>At the gym, on the treadmill.
> Bitch is there.
> She sees me and approaches
>"Hey, I don't know if you remember me, I had a rash you told me to get checked out a while back?"
> ohshit jpg
> Act natural
>"... Oh yeah! How'd that go?"
> "You were right! I spent a few days in the hospital, but the doctor said if you didn't catch it, it wouldve gotten way worse."
How the fuck...
> "Uh... wow! Glad to hear it"
> awkward pause
> "So I feel like I should buy you dinner or something, yknow, to say thanks."
> "Um, okay. Sounds great."
> We exchange numbers.
> Go out that weekend.
?We really hit it off
> Takes me back to her place.
> Fucks my brains out
>We spend the entire next day together, too.
> Things keep going from there.
And that's how I met my girlfriend."

Tom Harwood on X - "Schoolchildren were bussed in to the Labour Party Conference by their teachers at six schools to hand out trade union leaflets, campaigning for higher spending. This appears to be in flagrant breach of schools’ statutory duty to be apolitical and impartial."

Language Matters | Japanese mochi’s Chinese origins, and how similar names of rice cake snacks in Hong Kong and Taiwan suggest a shared history | South China Morning Post - "Samurai took mochi to the battlefield as it was nutritious and convenient – the sound of samurai pounding mochi was a sign of imminent battles... Asians are constantly delighted to find similar foods across East and Southeast Asia – and it is interesting to note the similarity in some of the names. There are the coconut-dusted, peanut-filled loh máih chìh ubiquitous in Hong Kong. The Fujianese communities in Southeast Asia enjoy the roadside snack muah chee – glutinous rice dough roughly chopped into bite-sized pellets and coated with finely chopped peanuts and sugar – believed to have been brought over from southern China. Another beloved counterpart is the classic Taiwanese snack of pounded glutinous rice rolled in toppings such as toasted peanuts or black sesame. It is instructive that Taiwanese Hokkien moâ chî actually comes from the Japanese mochi, with two non-standard characters invented to represent the word’s pronunciation (since the kanji would be misleading in Chinese): 麻薯 with a rice radical 米 added to the left of each character.

Introvert at office, is it a good plan or bad plan? : r/work - "A guy joined my office six months ago, and within a week, he texted me asking for some money. I found it very weird and later learned from some colleagues that he had texted them as well. Because of this, we started avoiding him in the office and stopped inviting him to office parties. Today, I met him at a bike club, and he had a Harley-Davidson. We talked for a while, and I jokingly asked him, "Bro, why do you need udhar when you can afford a Harley?" He replied that he didn’t really need the money. He’s an introvert and doesn’t like talking to people. Asking for money from colleagues makes them avoid him in the office.  Dude's a legend."

Chennai’s Assana Clinic’s witty billboard goes viral to raise gut health awareness: ‘Let Elon explore Mars, our mission is Uranus’

Doctor who removed women’s ovaries without consent can still practise - "A doctor who removed the ovaries of two women without their consent is still practising as a consultant gynaecologist at an NHS trust.  Dr Ali Shokouh-Amiri faced more than 100 claims of inappropriate behaviour at a Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing earlier this year, of which 24 instances were proven.  As well as removing both ovaries from two patients, he admitted to hugging patients and performing intimate examinations without a chaperone."

The British WWI prisoner of war who returned to captivity - "A British officer captured during World War I was granted leave to visit his dying mother on one condition - that he return, a historian has discovered.  And Capt Robert Campbell kept his promise to Kaiser Wilhelm II and returned from Kent to Germany, where he stayed until the war ended in 1918.  Historian Richard van Emden told the BBC that Capt Campbell would have felt a duty to honour his word.  It also emerged that Capt Campbell tried to escape as soon as he returned."
He promised to return, not to not escape

Sweeping people out of Africa and Europe / Indigenous Prehistoric Violence before White People Showed Up

Black @LilithBlack25: "It's time *African sweeping white people out of Africa with a broom* "Go away go away""
Stone tossers @Stone_tossers: "*White person sweeping brown and black people, including 2 Muslims, out of Europe with a broom* "Go away go away""

Of course, one is good and one is bad.

i/o @eyeslasho: "Share of deaths from violence deaths (prehistoric archeological sites)

Crow Creek (South Dakota); 1325 CE - 60%
Nubia (site 117); 12000 - 10000 BCE - 46%
N. British Columbia; 1500 BCE - 500 CE - 32.4%
Sarai Nahar Rai (N. India); 1140 - 854 BCE - 30%
British Columbia; 500 - 1774 CE - 27.6%
British Columbia (30 sites); 3500 BCE - 1674 CE - 23%
Volos'ke, (Ukraine), 'Epipalaeolithic'; ca. 7500 BCE - 22%
Nubia: Qadan burials; 10000 BCE - 21.4%
Vasiliv'ka III (Ukraine); 9000 BCE - 21%
Illinois; 1300 CE - 16.3%
Northeast Plains; 1325 - 1650 CE - 15%
Vedbaek (Denmark); 4100 BCE - 13.6%
lle Teviec (France); 4600 BCE - 12%
Bogebakken (Denmark); 4300 - 3800 BCE - 12%
CA-Ven-110 (S. California); 100 - 1100 CE - 10%
Brittany; 6000 BCE - 8%
Central California; 415 BCE - 227 CE - 8%
Skateholm 1 (Sweden); 4100 BCE - 7%
S. California (28 sites); 3500 - 1380 CE - 6%
Kentucky; 2500 - 3000 BCE - 5.6%
Central California; 1500 BCE - 500 CE - 5%
Calumnata (Algeria); 6300 - 5300 BCE - 4%
Central California (2 sites); 2240 BCE - 1770 CE - 4%
Nubia (near site 117), 12.000 - 10.000 BCE - 3%
Columnata (Algeria); ca. 6000 BCE - 1.7%
Gobero (Niger); 14000 - 6000 BCE - 0%:
Derenic Byrd @DerenicByrd: "Every place was peaceful before white people showed up."

Links - 31st December 2025 (1 - Pro Crime Policies)

Ontario man charged with alleged assault on home intruder (aka "Doug Ford says ‘something is broken’ after Ontario man charged with assaulting armed home intruder") - "This is not the first time a homeowner has been charged while allegedly defending themselves or their property. In June, a 35-year-old Ontario man who fired a gun at five individuals attempting to steal his White Lamborghini was charged with discharging a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, careless storage of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm. None of the apprehended suspects — three adults and one youth — were injured."

Ontario father of 3 shot dead in front of kids during home invasion - "The incident took place at a home in a new subdivision in the city’s Kleinburg area just before 1 a.m., according to York Regional Police, who identified the victim as Abdul Aleem Farooqi...  “These weak-kneed judges let these people out on bail, not once, not twice, not three times, four and five times, just to go repeat the crime,” Ford said. “There’s no consequences at all for these people.  “Watch, when they catch these guys, I almost guarantee you they’ve been out on bail for another heinous crime.”"
Luckily he didn't hurt any of them, or he might be in jail
Time to blame the provincial government for federal bail laws and other federal soft on crime policies

‘These scumbags shot him right in front of his kids’: Ford rails against justice system after man killed in Vaughan home invasion : r/ontario - "Doesn’t matter if you have balls if the jails won’t take the guy you want to send there because they are over capacity. It’s layers of issues. You can’t blame judges alone. "
"The jails don't turn people away who have been sentenced to imprisonment or detained after a bail hearing. They just double and triple bunk people to compensate for a lack of space, which results often in people receiving lesser sentences than they normally would if found guilty because of the unduly harsh conditions in pre-trial custody.  I'm a Crown attorney - I have never heard of a jail "not taking" someone. Overcrowding is certainly a major issue that Ford is doing nothing to rectify but what you are describing is not really the form it takes, in my experience. Where are you getting this from?"
Naturally, left wingers keep talking rubbish to pretend federal policy is not the issue, because they want to blame conservatives

Top cop wants public to 'comply' with thugs during home invasions | Toronto Sun - "Just “hide and comply” and maybe the armed intruders invading your house will not hurt you or your family.   That’s York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween’s recommendation to the public following the gutless murder of 46-year-old dad, Abdul Aleem Farooqi... “In the unlikely event that you find yourself a victim of a home invasion, we are urging citizens not take matters into their own hands,” the chief said at a news conference Wednesday. “While we don’t want homeowners to feel powerless, we urge you to call 911 and do everything you can to keep yourself and loved ones safe until police arrive and be the best witness possible.”   But when will police arrive?... The chief seemed tone deaf while addressing a disgusted community, shaken that a wonderful father of four, respected businessman and much-loved member of  Vaughan’s Muslim community could be gunned down at 1 a.m. inside his own home by bandits looking for valuables. No matter how it’s spun, this was not this dad’s fault.  It’s all on the bad guys and a system that does not punish them. Suggesting that we bow to the criminal element reminds me of the time a cop suggested that people  leave keys at the front door for the carjackers... When the courts routinely let offenders out of custody and there aren’t enough cops to quickly respond to all the crimes, few want to listen to any more advice from the system telling them to lay down and let the criminals have their way with you, your car or home or your family... What he’s really saying is the gangsters are in charge and if you don’t upset them, do what they ask — if you are lucky — they will spare you from their violence."

Fentanyl, stolen Canadian cars funding terror groups: report - "This is Canadian comedian Fady Ghali in a widely circulated recent web video mocking a string of recent law enforcement statements discouraging Canadians from confronting home invaders. The 80-second video had Ghali welcoming a burglar with drinks before politely giving them a cursory tour of all the items they can steal. The most recent iteration of Canadian police urging homeowners to leave criminals alone came after a Vaughan, Ont., father of four was murdered in his home after confronting four home invaders. York Region Police Chief Jim MacSween urged anyone in a similar situation to “try locking yourself in a room away from the perpetrators, hiding, fleeing the home.”"

Solution to fighting crime is to get tough on criminals, not comply with them : r/canada - "It is much easier to deal with dead homeowners than gangs ."
WARMINGTON: Top cop wants public to 'comply' with thugs during home invasions : r/canada - "Criminals LOVE this messaging. Makes their job a lot less dangerous."
"Mark my words, we’ll have an audio clip soon of a criminal yelling at home owners to comply like the police said they should"
WARMINGTON: Top cop wants public to 'comply' with thugs during home invasions : r/canada - "Does he recommend the same in the cases of sexual assault ......"

LILLEY: Solution to fighting crime is to get tough on criminals - "Believe it or not, MacSween actually used the word comply when telling the public how to deal with a home invasion.  Let’s put this in context... Premier Doug Ford and others have defended the right to defend your own home, but police and prosecutors never like that idea, thus the man in Lindsay being charged and MacSween’s comments.  That we are even having these discussions shows how out of control crime is. Across the country, crime is up when you look at the trends over several years, but MacSween, like many Liberal politicians, want you to think crime is under control or even down. It’s not, and the stats from the York Regional Police Service prove that.  Between 2019 and 2024, carjackings increased by 523%, shoplifting by 296%, auto-thefts are up 133%, arson is up 112%, and assault by 59%.  Let’s put some hard numbers on this: In 2019 there were 13 carjackings and last year there were 81. In 2019 there were 1,409 instances of shoplifting and last year there were 5,578.  Sexual assaults are up dramatically as are weapons calls and the crime rate overall.  Violent crimes rose from 8,837 in 2019 to 13,882 in 2024, an increase of 57%. Property crimes increased 21% from 25,423 in 2019 to 30,886 in 2024, and total Criminal Code offences from went up by approximately 34%. York Region is a fast-growing area but to show that this is about more than that, the total crime rate per 100,000 rose from 3,297 in 2019 to 4,156 last year... the reason people are considering taking matters into their own hands is that our entire justice system is failing us with increasing crime, lighter sentences, and revolving door bail for repeat violent offenders."

Man charged in Canadian Tire parking lot stabbing previously convicted of manslaughter : r/canada - "Let's not forget that a lot of our news media is owned by Conservatives, often outside of Canada. They love to pump the fear."
"So are saying the conservative-owned news outlets are making up these stories of repeat offenders continuing to repeatedly commit offences while not being locked up? Because there are stories like this literally every day now."
"  All the political parties and media outlets do it.  The whole stupid "buy back" is the result of t fear mongering and capitalizing on target for political gain.  For months leading up to the election, trump was the greatest threat we have ever faced, to the point that people were concerned about invasion. The media ran stories non stop and what if scenarios, and Freeland even made a suggestion Canada aquire nuclear weapons to protect us from trump."
"I worked corrections for 11 years. I assure you, this isn't bull shit propaganda. This happens all the time."
"Didn't say it was bullshit. Do people not have reading comprehension skills anymore?  The constant reporting isn't to inform, it's to instill fear and gain voters."
"Given that I was informed everyday while I worked corrections, I think the public should be as well."
"We should stop reporting on homicides because people might react to it?"
Attacking the media is only fascism when they push the left wing agenda

Man charged in Canadian Tire parking lot stabbing previously convicted of manslaughter : r/canada - "Man, I was a correctional officer for years. Recently left because there were so many things I couldn't accept and also couldn't change. We had days where we released inmates that we knew would victimize more people and there was legally nothing we could do about it. Half of the news articles in my city regarding murders and violent crimes, I recognize the names of the accused because at one time they were in custody, and releasing them gave me that sinking feeling in my gut. You can never really forget the names of inmates who gave you the chills and could unprovoked just turn and spit on you or hit you and they would get zero consequence. I have asked that same question many times about why a max security federal inmate with multiple violent priors isn't getting a DO designation. It's very difficult because the threshold of proof required in court is apparently in space. Reform needs to happen on so many levels. The incentive for inmates to participate in programs and work on their reintegration is hardly there because the benefit is minimal (a somewhat earlier release maybe). Where is the incentive to have good behaviour in a max security prison if you can get released directly back into the community on your statutory release date regardless? I think it is insane that a maximum security inmate can be released straight back into the public. They should have to work their way down to medium and then minimum to get released. Prove you can have fewer restrictions and can work on yourself. But nope. Max security is a revolving door of releases and then parole revocations and new charges. I could write a whole article on woke policy changes that made jails more dangerous and the public less safe. It's maddening. I don't want our justice system to look anything like the state's mind you but ours is a mess too. It's just a different kind of mess."
"It's crazy that a violent offender can kill potentially two people and then get released to potentially kill a third. It's clear at that point the system cares more about offenders than victims."

Man charged in Canadian Tire parking lot stabbing previously convicted of manslaughter : r/canada - "Its the fad lately, it'll die down in a few weeks. Crime is significantly lower than it was ~15 years ago, that is a fact."
That’s true crime is significantly lower than 15-20 years ago, but it’s been on an upward trajectory for the past few years. I don’t think we should wait and do nothing until it matches previous all time highs but that’s just me 🤷‍♂️"
Left wing logic: if rights that have never existed before in human history get pushed back, that's fascism and evidence "minorities" will be put in concentration camps and genocide-d. But crime needs to be worse than its historic high to be an issue

Man who killed sister in Manitoba mass stabbing was ordered to stay away from her while out on bail - "The man police say killed his sister and attacked several others with a knife on Hollow Water First Nation in Manitoba was recently ordered to stay away from his sibling while he was out on bail, court records show.  Tyrone Simard, 26, was charged with assault with a weapon and mischief for alleged offences that happened June 8, according to court records. He also faced charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching from alleged incidents in 2017.  The records say a Winnipeg court granted his release June 12 on both matters, with various conditions, including a curfew and an order not to use drugs or alcohol or to possess weapons.  He was also ordered not to contact four people — the victims of the alleged crimes — which included his 18-year-old sister, Marina Simard, who died in Thursday's attacks. Simard was asked whether he understood the conditions.  "Yes," he told the court... Mounties said Simard fled in a stolen vehicle and died in a highway crash with an RCMP cruiser. The officer, who had been on her way to the attack scene, was also in hospital and is expected to recover.  The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba — which investigates all serious matters involving police — said Friday that it's looking into Simard's death.  Messages of condolences and support have poured in for the First Nation, including from James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, where there was a mass stabbing exactly three years earlier. Eleven people were killed and 17 injured."
Time to let him out on bail again
Clearly, this is due to colonisation, and he needs a Gladue report written so he won't go to jail but can heal from white supremacy
The police officer needs to be investigated for murder. It is disgusting that cops think they are judge, jury and executioner

Couple forced to steal back their own car after police 'too stretched' to investigate - despite Airtag showing location - "Theives stole the vehicle from outside the home of Mia Forbes Pirie, 48, and Mark Simpson, 62, in Brook Green, west London, during the early hours of Wednesday morning.  But unbeknownst to the thieves, the Jaguar E-Pace was fitted with a 'ghost immobiliser' - a type of immobiliser which required certain buttons to be pressed on the car's control in order to activate the vehicle.  Not only that, but Airtags inside the vehicle pinged shortly after 3.20am, showing the couple the vehicle's exact location - just a few miles away in Chiswick.  Upon dialling 999 - and despite knowing the car's whereabouts, the couple were told by the Metropolitan Police that they couldn't confirm when they would be able to investigate."
Time to charge them with theft. Luckily the police were keeping people safe by arresting people for tweets

Will "high risk" sex offender be released again? (aka "MANDEL: Another poster boy for catch and release justice") - "Medhani Yohans is a poster boy for the scourge of catch and release justice... Within just 24 hours of Yohan’s release, he was charged with four counts of breach of probation, disobeying a court order and criminal harassment... Guelph Police had arrested him three times in one weekend for allegedly breaking into vehicles, trying to dine and dash and exposing himself. He’d be released on bail only to be rearrested hours later... Guelph Police said they don’t usually issue public warnings but their concern about Yohans warranted three. The first bulletin, accompanied by his photo, was issued in August 2024 warning women in particular that he’d been released from custody in Toronto after serving his sentence for the sexual assaults but hadn’t reported in as required.  Later that month, Yohans was arrested for two counts of not complying with release conditions.  In February 2025, Guelph Police issued another warning to the community that Yohans was about to be released March 1 after completing his sentence. He was rearrested March 8 for allegedly breaching his probation order by not reporting to authorities following his release. He was was freed on bail, of course, on March 9.  On March 10, the University of Guelph issued a safety bulletin warning students that Yohans had been found sleeping on a bench and had been kicked out by campus safety officers. Later that same day, Guelph Police charged him with allegedly breaching a no-contact order.  Last week, Yohans was released from custody after completing his latest sentence — and just a day later, he’s back in the slammer.  The revolving door of this criminal’s life is dizzying. Four arrests in the last year alone. Will he now be freed once more by our ever-optimistic justice system?"

How some Canadian cities are becoming more lawless than the U.S. - "Despite Canada’s reputation as a safer version of the U.S., newly compiled data is showing that crime has worsened to the point where, on some metrics, Canadian cities are becoming more lawless than the U.S.  Americans are still getting shot and murdered at higher rates than Canadians, but when it comes to theft, carjackings and break-ins, figures show that some Canadian cities are doing worse than their American counterparts. In fact, two Canadian jurisdictions — Kelowna, B.C., and Lethbridge, Alta. — now rank worse than any other urban area south of the border.  In 2022, Lethbridge recorded 5,521 property crimes per 100,000 people, an average of one crime each year for every 18 residents. The worst-ranked U.S. city for property crime, Pueblo, Colo., saw property crimes hit 4,911 per 100,000...  the average Torontonian is now more likely to be a victim of property crime than the average New Yorker...  for most of the 2004-2022 period, the average Canadian city did indeed post lower rates of property crime than the average American city. These averages then became tied in 2020 and 2021, with Canada pulling ahead in 2022. The year 2022 happens to be when Canada was seized by a number of unprecedented crime waves, including a wave of arsons against churches, and a massive spike in car thefts that would eventually cause Canada to be dubbed by the BBC as an “auto theft capital of the world.”
The US haters need to look for a new cope. Maybe it'll be a pivot to look at overall crime rates, or a myopic focus on violent crime only. Or maybe it'll be the usual "if the Fraser Institute says the earth is round, that means it's flat"

Unlimited L's on X - "🚨BREAKING: Colorado Sheriff admits he was forced to release a ‘very dangerous’ inmate from jail because of state law that requires criminals found incompetent to stand trial to be released  'He is a very dangerous person, and his actions, from what we can tell, were unprovoked.'  Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams warned the public about a potentially dangerous inmate released on Monday   'Quite honestly, without some legislative actions, I don't know how you address this concern.'  Debisa Ephraim, 21, was released after being found incompetent to stand trial in two of his cases  Ephraim had been facing charges including attempted second-degree murder, assault, engaging in a riot, menacing, and burglary  Officials described him as a “potential danger to the community.”"
Gary on X - "“You’re too insane and dangerous to even stand trial so we have to release you back on the street” is actual policy in many jurisdictions"

Chinese couple's assault in Sydney's Eastgardens sparks 27,000-strong petition for youth justice reform - "More than 27,000 people have signed a petition calling for tougher youth crime laws, after a Chinese couple was violently assaulted in Sydney's east last week.  The petition, which gained traction on Chinese social media platforms RedNote and WeChat, was launched after the woman and her husband were allegedly attacked by a group of teenagers outside their Eastgardens apartment complex... The petition — signed by mostly people from the Chinese Australian community — urges the NSW government to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 for serious offences and to deny bail to repeat youth offenders.  "This was not an isolated incident. In the days before the assault, several other Asian individuals were reportedly harassed by the same or similar teens in nearby Green Square — including acts of spitting, mocking and intimidation," the petition reads."

Video: Jasmine Crockett says ‘crime doesn’t make you a criminal’; social media isn’t convinced - "Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett faced intense backlash after stating, "Just because someone has committed a crime, it doesn’t make them a criminal."... This is not the first time Crockett has triggered uproar over her views on law enforcement. Just last week, a clip of her on the Grounded podcast went viral after she claimed that “law enforcement isn’t to prevent crime. Law enforcement solves crime.”"

Montreal man who attacked Jewish father in park not criminally responsible - "A Quebec judge has declared that a man charged with attacking a Jewish father in a Montreal park last month is not criminally responsible. Sergio Yanes Preciado was charged with assault causing bodily harm after he attacked a 32-year-old man on Aug. 8 who was with his young children at a Montreal park"
The mentally ill are not responsible for their crimes, but involuntarily confining and treating them is still a violation of their human rights
Weird how the "far right" who commit "hate crimes" are invariably mentally healthy. This shows that being "far right" is good for your mental health

Thread by @lyndseyfifield on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App - "When I was a few weeks postpartum with my second child, I bundled us both up and waddled into the Fairfax County Circuit Court to testify against a man who had accosted my then-toddler daughter and I in a public bathroom while I was heavily pregnant.  When I arrived I was brought into a room with his other victims and found out he had assaulted a woman in the same bathroom. I suddenly felt I had been lucky.  The arresting officer who had also interviewed me weeks prior was clearly eager to do everything right to keep this guy off the street—he found additional witnesses, pulled surveillance footage, followed every step to the letter.  It was physically painful and difficult for me to even be there—trying to discreetly feed and soothe my two week-old for 6 hours on hard benches when we should both be home in bed. It was also terrifying discreetly breastfeeding in the same room as this monster. When I finally took the stand, the attorney for the Commonwealth asked me if the man who was in the bathroom that day was in the room.  I paused, confused—because I knew what was going to happen next.  The courtroom had been packed all day but as case after case was handled, ours was the last one—now it was just the judge, court reporter, bailiff, the defendant, his lawyer, the Commonwealth attorney, and I.  The arresting officer wasn't in the room. The other victim and her husband had been given a new court date and sent home.  I adjusted my baby against my chest and looked at her as she repeated the question: Do you see the man you reported to police in this room today? Why was she doing this? What was she doing?  I was sweating in my oversized cashmere nursing sweater and I felt prickles down my back. Everyone was staring at me. I'm not a lawyer. She asked me a question... and she was “on my side” so I should answer it, right?  I adjusted my baby again to give myself a free hand—and I pointed to him.  And just as I expected, his lawyer immediately pointed out there was nobody else present in the courtroom who it could be and therefore we had violated his constitutional right to due process. The judge agreed. Hell, *I* agreed—but then I asked WHY hadn't the Commonwealth given me a photo array to choose from? Why did she ASK that?  Too late. It didn't matter that he was on surveillance footage entering the bathroom before us and pushing past us as we fled.  He was set free.  As I walked out of the court room the arresting officer spotted me from down the hall and ran over to me “Is it back in this courtroom? Is it starting?” No, I told him, it's already over. He had been sent to another courtroom “by mistake.” He didn't even get a chance to testify. He looked horrified.  The Commonwealth attorney and “victims advocate” that morning assured us they were going to fight for us. They were SO SORRY this had happened to us. They were SO GRATEFUL that I had come to testify in my condition.  Instead they seemingly intentionally let the monster walk free. It's been two years.  Yesterday he was released on bail for yet another crime—one of at least THIRTEEN he's committed since that day in court—including sexual abuse of a child under 15.  His arrest record from just the last 5 years spans four pages on the Virginia court website.  Look at how many women—and CHILDREN—he's victimized since that day.  Look how many times his victims have gone to court just as I did only to see him set free again and again and again.  This is NOT happening by accident.  This is deliberate.
This violent repeat sexual abuser has been repeatedly let out on bail, then when he commits MORE violent crimes while out on bail, he's STILL given suspended sentences... over and over and over."

End Wokeness on X - "Alex Dickey had 39 arrests. 25 felonies. Yet he was walking free until he brutaIIy kiIIed Logan Federico inside her home."
Rachel, Maker of Wild Sparrow Naturals on X - "I remember sitting at a little house gathering in around 2017. The book “The New Jim Crow” had just come out a few years prior and so many people in my academic social groups were reading it and becoming “woke” to how black men were disproportionately incarcerated in the U.S. After talking about it for a bit, I asked someone “well what if they commit more crime? Then shouldn’t you expect higher rates of incarceration?” And the people at the table stared at me like I had 3 heads. Then someone said something like “you don’t understand. We need to do something about the racial bias in our prisons.”"
Astro Age Redux 🔮🏴‍☠️ on X - "Yeah back when that book came out everyone thought like 85% of all black incarceration was basically “caught with a little baggie of weed” Amazing work of propaganda"

Unlimited L's on X - "BREAKING: Father says he ‘WILL K*LL’ the man who broke into his Kentucky home and st*bbed his six-year-old boy to death after he was released from prison having served just half his sentence  The boy’s father says, “I’ve had my talks with God… I told the court if I ever cross paths with him, I will k*ll the man — I will k*ll him where he stands.”  Ronald Exantus, 42, was released early from prison for good behavior  He m*rdered Logan Tipton and severely injured his father and two young sisters  Exantus entered the home through an unlocked door on the night of December 6, 2015  Logan was st*bbed repeatedly in the head so forcefully that the knife blade bent  Exantus was sentenced to 20 years in 2018 after being found not guilty by reason of insanity for the m*rder and guilty but mentally ill on the assault charges"
Mason on X - "If you make a successful insanity plea on a murder charge you should spend the rest of your life in a locked hospital ward I don't know what we're playing at deciding to only let murderers free if they prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they are literally homicidal maniacs"

Meme - Soyjak: "Your honor, my client is too dumb to understand shooting someone is bad"
Judge: "Good point, put him back into public"

End Wokeness on X - "Biden on urban crime (1993): "We have to remove from the streets" the folks "born out-of-wedlock, without any developed conscience""
FischerKing on X - "Everyone talked like this in 1993. Then there were laws like 3 strikes and you’re out, the prison population soared - and crime went down. Places like NYC became livable. Then people forgot the connection between jailing people and reducing crime - and here we are in 2025."

Matt Van Swol on X - "🚨#BREAKING: It has been revealed that one of the suspects arrested for beating an 18-year-old employee of a Food Lion in Charlotte NC has been arrested a STUNNING 11 previous times. Yes, you read that right. His previous arrests including violently assaulting a woman."

Links - 30th December 2025 (2 [including Ultra Processed Foods])

I study the effects of ultra-processed foods... here's why I still eat 'the bad ones' - "he opened up about his daily diet and admitted that he indulges in UPFs as they taste good and can save time. He said: 'Just because something is ultra-processed doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad for you.' 'I use, for example, a marinara sauce that’s low in sugar and sodium, but when I’m making a nice pasta dish, it cuts down the preparation time. I’m not going to make a marinara sauce from scratch.' A 2019 analysis by Hall and his colleagues found that ultra-processed foods led participants to eat about 500 calories a day more than when they ate a matched diet of unprocessed foods, suggesting they are addictive. Despite the findings, Hall says he hasn't been put off UPFs and he 'treats them as recreational substances.' Opening up about his typical daily diet, he made another surprising revelation: that he doesn't eat breakfast. Some nutritionists say skipping breakfast has consequences, as it may lead to low energy, poor concentration, overeating later in the day, or blood sugar imbalances... At a scientific conference in November 2024, he reported that the first 18 trial participants ate about 1,000 calories a day more of an ultra-processed diet that was particularly hyperpalatable and energy dense than those who ate minimally processed foods, leading to weight gain. When those qualities were modified, consumption went down, even if the foods were considered ultra-processed, Hall said."

Impose tax on baked beans, MPs told - "Baked beans should be taxed as part of the war on Britain’s ultra-processed diets, MPs have been told.  Prof Chris van Tulleken, the NHS medic and author of Ultra-Processed People, said it was time to “appropriately” tax supermarket foods such as the breakfast staple and bread.  The healthy food campaigner’s proposals threaten to hike the prices of British favourites like beans on toast, as well as fish fingers and even yoghurts."

Dietitian shares new details about what happened after eating ultra-processed foods for month - "a dietician who ate nothing but ultra-processed foods (UPFs) for a month has revealed why she believes they have been unnecessarily demonized by the health and scientific community. Jessica Wilson, 42, from California, made headlines last year for her experiment which saw her consume almost exclusively foods with more than five ingredients, including pre-packaged and frozen meals and takeaway food. Now, in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com she reveals that 'UPFs can be part of a healthy diet and policymakers need to change the conversation'. One of Ms Wilson's biggest frustrations of the lack of a clear universal definition for UPFs, which she says just confuses consumers. From her research, she says she has been given 'multiple definitions of UPFs from different researchers and doctors' and she was once told that a fresh croissant from a bakery in Paris would be considered a UPF because milling flour from wheat is considered a form of processing. 'People are grasping for straws and trying to insert themselves into a trending topic and it’s not a good look,' the diet expert says. After taking on the UPF diet challenge, Ms Wilson says she has adopted a more relaxed approach to food which has helped reduce her stress levels. Meanwhile, society has become more obsessed than ever with reading food labels and plagued by what she calls 'analysis paralysis'. While burgers, chips and chicken nuggets are some of the best-loved examples of products that fall under the umbrella UPF term, Ms Wilson found from her experiment that there lots of UPFs that aren't bad and actually nutritious. Research shows that more than half of the calories consumed in the US come from ultra-processed food sources, a statistic that has been held up as a bad thing. But Ms Wilson believes this simply shows they are 'essential to many people in our current society' due to their affordability and being processed doesn't necessarily mean bad... Two weeks into her diet, Ms Wilson was surprised to report a range of benefits. She found she was less hungry, she moved around more unintentionally, she experienced less fatigue, needed less caffeine and she wasn't as 'grumpy' after work. Even her wife, Elisha, commented that she was 'complaining less and doing more'. By the third and fourth weeks, Ms Wilson said the positives continued but she struggled slightly with keeping track of the things she ate and she got 'bored' of the UPFs she had in rotation. However, once she had finished the challenge, the dietician she actually felt than she had before. To her surprise, she also toned up and noticed a difference to her physique. The diet expert told this website: 'I don't use a belt daily but I do use a waist leash to walk my dog and that leash got looser and I needed to tighten it. 'So my weight did not change but I had an improvement in body composition.'"

Rise of ultra-processed food PHOBIA: Experts warn fears about UPF means people are eating less healthily - "They also warned that a number of UPFs – such as baked beans, vegetable-based pasta sauces and some soups – are actually very nutritious and can contribute to a healthy diet. The scientists, from the universities of Aberdeen and Liverpool, said the focus of public health guidance should remain on eating a diet full of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains while limiting foods high in fat, sugar and salt. In the new article, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, they argued that less well-off people could be most affected by any blanket health warnings about UPFs without more scientific evidence... The article states there is a potential 'social cost for many people with more limited resources' of removing convenient options. Meanwhile there could be negative mental health impacts on 'those who worry about their health or live with eating disorders, particularly if social circumstances make avoiding UPFs difficult'."

New study challenges what we know about ultra-processed foods - "What we found challenges the simplistic UPF narrative and offers a more nuanced way forward. Two ideas often get blurred in nutrition discourse: liking a food and hedonic overeating (eating for pleasure rather than hunger). Liking is about taste. Hedonic overeating is about continuing to eat because the food feels good. They’re related, but not identical. Many people like porridge but rarely binge on it. Chocolate, biscuits and ice cream, on the other hand, top both lists... Nutrient content mattered – people rated high-fat, high-carb foods as more enjoyable, and low-fibre, high-calorie foods as more “bingeable”. But what people believed about the food also mattered a lot. Perceiving a food as sweet, fatty or highly processed increased the likelihood of overeating, regardless of its actual nutritional content. Foods believed to be bitter or high in fibre had the opposite effect. In one survey, we could predict 78% of the variation in people’s likelihood of overeating by combining nutrient data (41%) with beliefs about the food and its sensory qualities (another 38%). In short, how we think about food affects how we eat it, just as much as what’s actually in it. This brings us to ultra-processed foods. Despite the intense scrutiny, classifying a food as “ultra-processed” added very little to our predictive models. Once we accounted for nutrient content and food perceptions, the Nova classification explained less than 2% of the variation in liking and just 4% in overeating. That’s not to say all UPFs are harmless. Many are high in calories, low in fibre and easy to overconsume. But the UPF label is a blunt instrument. It lumps together sugary soft drinks with fortified cereals, protein bars with vegan meat alternatives. Some of these products may be less healthy, but others can be helpful – especially for older adults with low appetites, people on restricted diets or those seeking convenient nutrition. The message that all UPFs are bad oversimplifies the issue. People don’t eat based on food labels alone. They eat based on how a food tastes, how it makes them feel and how it fits with their health, social or emotional goals. Relying on UPF labels to shape policy could backfire. Warning labels might steer people away from foods that are actually beneficial, like wholegrain cereals, or create confusion about what’s genuinely unhealthy."

Starmer has outed himself as a cultural elitist... and it’s about time - "The truth is, in the days when a politician could proudly enjoy the odd concerto for the enormous boon it is, the likes of Beethoven weren’t considered the preserve of the few. It’s noteworthy that Starmer chose both the Pastoral Symphony and Emperor Piano Concerto as “passions” because, he explained, they gave his father solace at the end of a 60-hour factory week. The rich history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Working Men’s clubs and institutes, which gave the labouring classes access to liberal education, speaks to a similar, lost time."

Cigarette butts fuelling growth in ‘superbugs’, study finds - "A study conducted across 35 Chinese cities suggests cigarette stubs help to spread antibiotic resistant genes – segments of DNA which give bacteria the ability to survive treatment with antibiotics, and give rise to ‘superbugs’.  Scientists took samples from more than 100 public parks, and found “opportunistic” bacteria from a smokers’ mouth combined with hazardous chemicals found in cigarettes, before proliferating and mutating. Then, when the butts are dropped, the bacteria can leach into the surrounding environment."

German nurse killed 10 patients ‘to reduce workload’ at hospital in Wuerselen - "A German palliative care nurse has been jailed for life after being accused of killing patients to reduce his workload.  A court in Aachen, western Germany, found that the 44-year-old male nurse murdered 10 patients using lethal injections and attempted to murder 27 others at a hospital in Würselen... The case echoes that of nurse Niels Hoegel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients. He is believed to be modern Germany’s most prolific serial killer... In July, a 40-year-old palliative care specialist, named in the media as “Johannes M”, went on trial in Berlin accused of killing 15 patients with lethal injections between 2021 and 2024.  In at least five cases, he was suspected of setting fire to his victims’ homes in an attempt to cover up his crimes."

Winning Second World War was not worth it, says D-Day veteran - "Alec Penstone, who played a vital role sweeping for mines during the D-Day landings, questioned the state of the country for which his fellow servicemen gave their lives during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Friday.  Asked what Remembrance Sunday meant to him, he said: “My message is, I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white stones and all the hundreds of my friends who gave their lives, for what? The country of today?  “No, I’m sorry, but the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result of what it is now.”... Asked by host Adil Ray what he meant by his comment, the veteran, who described himself as “just one of the lucky ones” for surviving the war, said: “What we fought for was our freedom, but now it’s a darn sight worse than when I fought for it.”"
Left wingers will hear the words of this original "Antifa" member and push for more freedom: for "anti-Zionists" to assault Jews, migrants to live off the public purse and transwomen to use women's toilets

Common Sense Extremists on X - "“At least you’re not speaking German!” Probably doesn’t land as hard when now there are entire neighborhoods in your country speaking Arabic and Hindi…"

Plumber sues auctioneer after truck shown with terrorists - "All Mark Oberholtzer wanted to do was upgrade his ride. What he got instead was a world of trouble from half a world away.  The Texas City, Texas, plumbing company owner is suing a Ford dealership for more than $1 million in financial losses and damages to his company’s reputation after a pickup truck he once owned ended up with Islamic militants fighting in Syria’s civil war.  A photo of the truck, with his Mark-1 Plumbing decals still attached, went viral, leading to thousands of harassing phone calls.   “By the end of the day, Mark-1’s office, Mark-1’s business phone, and Mark’s personal cell had received over 1,000 phone calls from around the nation,” Oberholzer’s lawyer wrote in the lawsuit, filed December 9 in Harris County, Texas. “These phone calls were in large part harassing and contained countless threats of violence, property harm, injury and even death.”  Oberholtzer said this wouldn’t have happened if the dealership had just removed the decals before the truck was resold...   In October 2013, Oberholtzer took the truck to AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway in Houston for a trade-in, according to the lawsuit.  He got a 2012 Ford F-250 and said goodbye to his old truck.  He started to peel off the company’s decals from the truck’s doors but a salesman stopped him, according to the lawsuit. The man told Oberholtzer that peeling off the decal would damage the paint on the truck, according to the lawsuit.  Oberholtzer said the salesman told him that AutoNation would remove the decals before the truck was resold...   Oberholtzer had to temporarily shut down his business and leave town, according to the lawsuit, resulting in financial losses. He’s also had visits from Homeland Security and the FBI.  And he still has to deal with phone calls, which continue to come in a year after the photo first appeared.  He now carries a gun for protection, according to the lawsuit."

Meme - "Why do balls hurt when hit, but not when fucking? How
can guys fuck so hard it sounds like a white man running in flip flops but when they get tapped on the balls, it's painful and nauseating?
Edit: I'm female and just genuinely confused about ball pain"

Meme - "KOMI'S INVITING TADANO OVER
Man: DO You REALLY HAVE A CAT? CAN I GO TO YOUR HOUSE TO SEE THE CAT?
Man in room: ? Where's the cat?
*Woman closes door*
Woman whispers into ear: MEOW."

The world's largest bacteria are visible to the naked eye - "The world's largest bacterium has been discovered amongst the mangroves of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.  Measuring over a centimetre long, Thiomargarita magnifica is over 5000 times bigger than the average microbe.   An eyelash-sized bacterium is breaking records and boundaries as it redefines what single-celled life can be.  Thiomargarita magnifica is a titan of bacterial life. It is over 10 times bigger than the previous largest bacterium opens in a new window and is large enough that it can be picked up with a pair of tweezers."

Tony The Tiger Helps Sex Worker In Grrreatly Offensive Prank Video - "Tony the Tiger typically helps young kids seize the day in his Frosted Flakes cereal ads. But a new prank video shows the cartoon mascot helping a distressed sex worker hook new customers.  In the video, which surfaced online Wednesday, two men argue about which one of them will patronize a 43-year-old sex worker named Candy.  "You can ride the baloney pony," a man says as he counts a fistful of money in front of Candy.  "You can have her," says the man's unimpressed friend.  "No, I don't want her," replies the man with the money. "You're stuck with her."  The video cuts to a depressed Candy, who is walking down the street alongside her cereal pimp, who apparently has a position on sex work: "It's gr-e-e-a-t!"  "I don't care Tony, it's such a stupid job anyway," Candy tells the sugar-coated-cereal-pushing cartoon tiger."

Instagram - "Super Sentai Yellow Heroes at a baseball game in 2015."
Team Yellow

In a leaked phone call, CBC management was asked why can't the CBC get interviews w/ Conservatives. : r/CanadianConservative - "Remember when Trudeau was having lunch with Rosemarie Barton before the debates - and referred to her affectionately as “Rosie” during the televised debate?  Nothing was done. Their bias has been incredibly blatant year after year. I don’t bother listening to anything from the CBC as I know it will be some left wing hit piece. Yet…they take my tax dollars."

Federal budget 2025: Canada looks to join Eurovision - "The federal budget announced Tuesday proposed a plan that would boost funding for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and its French-language counterpart, Radio-Canada — and included in that plan was the possibility that Canada could participate in Eurovision.  According to the budget, $150 million would go toward the broadcaster “to strengthen its mandate to serve the public and to better reflect the needs of Canadians” in 2025-26"

CBC hired 84 percent racialized, Indigenous, or disabled while having job vacancies for top talent: Internal report - "The CBC far exceeded its “equity representation” target in the last fiscal year, with 84.1 percent of new hires being “Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and racialized people,” according to the public broadcaster’s new corporate report. In the “reflecting contemporary Canada” subsection, the report shows the CBC had aimed for 65 percent of new hires to fall within the three groups, but surpassed it by 19 percentage points.  Some employment lawyers believe the CBC’s fixation on race and disabilities in its hiring process is limiting the broadcaster from accurately reflecting the Canadian population, and could fall into hiring discrimination.  “Moving away from merit-based hiring is a disaster no matter what the makeup of your organization is,” said Toronto-based employment lawyer Puneet Tiwari, partner at Levitt LLP. “If an employer wants a more diverse workplace, it should be an equal opportunity employer, but still hire based on merit. As an Indo-Canadian whose grandparents came here in the 60s, I’ve seen more representation across all media outlets.”  CBC hiring doesn’t appear to reflect the overall ethnic demographics of the country. Canada’s most recent census data from 2021 showed that approximately 4.9 percent of Canadians were Indigenous, 26.5 were visible minorities (with 67.4 percent being white), and 27 percent had disabilities. The country’s demographics and population has dramatically changed in the last four years through immigration, however, increasing from 38.1 million in 2021 to 41.7 million in 2025...   At the same time, the CBC described how they’ve had difficulties hiring top talent due to the precarious state of the journalism industry.  “The shortage of specialized talent, both domestically and internationally, increases recruitment difficulty and costs. This challenge is compounded by a declining interest in media careers, particularly in journalism, which may adversely impact customer experience and revenue.”... the CBC faced backlash when Juno News reported the public broadcaster had hired at least 20 temporary foreign workers through the federal government’s Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) program since 2015, claiming there were no Canadians available to fill the jobs...   Journalist Travis Dhanraj, a visible minority journalist, resigned from his role as a CBC news host in July, calling the public broadcaster’s diversity push a branding exercise.  “With the CBC, everything is completely performative. They don’t actually care about hiring the best journalist, or letting the journalist even do their jobs…I think they’re [focused] on ticking boxes,” said Kathryn Marshall, one of the employment lawyers representing Dhanraj. “I think they tokenized him…they wanted him to fit a mould they thought a racialized on air personality journalist should be like”"
Proof that diversity is the way to recruit top talent

Woman, 23, ducked out of agreed paid sex with man then posed as brother to threaten him into paying S$8,100 - "A woman agreed to meet a man she met online for sex in exchange for S$400 (US$312), but later said she could not go through with it as her period had started.  Despite being paid S$150 for her "time", the 23-year-old woman asked the man for more money.  When the man ignored her, the woman posed as a fictitious, angry older brother and lied that she was only 17, threatening to report him for underage sex unless he paid up.  Fearing exposure, the man transferred money multiple times, totalling S$8,100, before finally lodging a police report.  Chang Wai Chain, now aged 24, was sentenced to 11 months' jail on Monday (Sep 15). She pleaded guilty to one count of cheating, which the prosecutor stressed could have been extortion had the charge not been amended. The court heard that Chang had been on the online Sugarbook platform, which connects "sugar daddies" and "sugar babies", as a 23-year-old female named "Jasmine". The victim, a 51-year-old man, contacted her via Telegram and they agreed to meet at his home for sex.  On Apr 4, 2024, they met as arranged. She had a soft drink, chatted briefly with the man, then said she would not have sex because of her period. The man gave her S$150, instead of the agreed S$400, and no sexual acts took place.  The next night, Chang contacted the victim, saying she had lost the S$150 and wanted more for a party. The victim agreed and sent her S$200 via PayNow.   When she later demanded more money and he refused, she pretended to be her own brother. In messages sent to the victim on Apr 8 and Apr 9 last year, she lied about her age and told him he had committed a crime by offering to have paid sex with a 17-year-old.  Eventually, she threatened to report him to the police and expose him on social media. He initially paid her S$3,000 and she kept pressing for more over several days.  The victim finally lodged a police report on Apr 11, 2024, as he feared the demands for money would not cease. In total, he was cheated into transferring Chang S$8,100.  During police investigations, Chang lied repeatedly, claiming she did not have an agreement with the victim for paid sex and claiming that she had asked him for S$6,000 only because she felt he had taken advantage of her.  She also falsely claimed that a friend had sent the underage messages as a “joke” from her phone, and repeated this lie in six police statements between April and June last year."

UK-supplied ambulances sold off to fund repairs for officials' cars - "Ambulances supplied to Malawi by Britain under a three million pound scheme to help stop women dying in childbirth were quietly sold off by local officials to fund repairs to their own vehicles.  A fully-equipped Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance and six tricycle scooters capable of ferrying women from villages to clinics were sent to Karonga, a remote district near the Tanzanian border, under the UK Aid Match Maternal Health programme.  The scheme, which covered Malawi and Kenya, was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and ran between 2015 and 2018.  But all of the vehicles, along with medical equipment including an ultrasound machine, were quietly auctioned off by the Karonga District Council earlier this year, prompting outrage among locals and civil society groups who say the sale is a betrayal of their communities and risks undermining trust."
Clearly, colonialism is to blame for Africa's problems and the solution is even more money

Man spends up to $1,000 to 'test' escort service he found on Locanto: 'The call girls on the platform are fussy' | STOMP - "A man wonders why escort services are allowed to advertise online after he spent up to $1,000 to "test" one he found on classified advertisement website Locanto.  Stomper Eric said he came across the platform while looking for a "licensed social escort service".  To be clear, while the business may be registered, it cannot be "licenced" as an escort service.  The Stomper said: "Since it was there, whether legal or illegal, I tested the personal service it offers. It offered call girls from A Hotel Joo Chiat and A Hotel Dickson. They call themselves Monroe Club.  "Do the police know about this? They are everywhere at Orchard Road from Hotel Supreme to Mercure Singapore on Stevens at a much higher price compared to those in a budget hotel. And they move from one hotel to another to avoid suspicion and the authorities. "This was obviously operated by a well-organised syndicate."  He said he spent up to $1,000 on the escort service and griped: "It doesn't offer good service as described on the platform. Their service is worse than the licensed Geylang brothel girl.  "The call girls on the platform are fussy with many do's and don'ts. They are mostly from lndonesia, Vietnam, China and some from other countries on social visit pass. They are part of a huge syndicate with an international network."  The Stomper asked: "Why they are allowed to actively engage on a public platform in Singapore? I have doubt that the authorities are not working on this area.  "It's cause for concern that Singapore has become a place where this sex service is easily available and for those paying taxes in Geylang to run a legal brothel, but these syndicates avoid paying taxes while running a movable brothel from a hotel to the public housing estate."  The Stomper also claimed he was scammed on Locanto.  He said: "The most absurd and unbelievable is the platform is offering all kinds of services. This range of services is a cause for concern. Some offered a dating service for sugar mummies, but it was a scam.  "I have been scammed by paying $500 to join as a member to get a sugar mummy.""
STOMP really publishes a lot of things

I moved to Italy for a better life. Six months on, here’s why I’m giving up - "Every local I’ve encountered has been charming, spirited and welcoming. The local nursery is an eight-minute amble down the hill and costs nothing. The food is fresh and reliably divine.  The weather has been perfect – hot but never humid in the summer, mild in the spring and autumn.  The country’s leader, Giorgia Meloni, has injected Italy with a shot of optimism and national pride. Most of the locals appear to approve of her – I’ve only heard hysterical American expats wail about her being a “fascist”. In short, Italy feels like the polar opposite of the UK, which was recently ranked – in the Global Mind Project’s annual Mental State of the World report – as the most “stressed” country in the world and the second most “miserable” (ahead of only Uzbekistan). I say this with sadness, because I’m proud to be British and I miss what it used to be. The property market in the UK is just as depressing. I own a studio in London, on which my mortgage repayments doubled earlier this year.  It’s taken me eight months of enormous strain to evict my tenant whose contract had expired and had stopped paying their rent in full, but until recently refused to move out regardless (on the advice of the council, no less, owing to rules that are only getting worse for landlords under Starmer).  I’m now having to sell it for significantly less than I bought it for five years ago.  In Italy, while the “buy a cottage for €1” scheme is largely a farce, it is possible to purchase a fixer-upper with an acre of land for less than €80,000.  As I’ve already mentioned, childcare is free, and people are generally cheerful. So why are we packing up and leaving?  The bureaucracy, for a start, would test the patience of a saint. One day, when it’s a distant memory, I will laugh about how complicated it is in Italy to post a letter or book a doctor’s appointment, but the rage we wrangle with on a daily basis is currently still too hot. I could also do without the devout Catholicism (our son was subject to two hours of religious indoctrination every Wednesday at nursery, which felt a bit overzealous for a toddler).  And, as child-friendly as this nation is, there are not many opportunities for young people coming out of secondary school.  The last reason is my fault, not Italy’s: the language barrier has done for me. I’ve done an intensive Italian course, which certainly helped me get by, but the truth is, I am simply bad at foreign languages. I am shy and awkward enough around strangers in English... This has led me to conclude that no matter how beautiful the scenery or welcoming the society, I will never flourish anywhere in Europe, and is why we’re headed next (and hopefully, for good) to the US."

People are just realizing why there is a bulge on your beer glass - "The nonic pint glass was invented by Hugo Pick back in 1913 to 'provide an improved drinking glass'... The distinctive bulge serves not one but three smart functions. Firstly, it gives drinkers a much better grip, even when the glass is slippery with condensation - preventing embarrassing (and wasteful) drops. Secondly, it makes the glasses incredibly easy to stack and un-stack - very handy for harried bartenders during a busy shift. Unlike standard pint glasses that often stick together when stacked, nonic pints also rest perfectly on each glass's bulge, allowing them to be separated quickly without frustrating delays. But the biggest benefit - and the reason behind the unusual 'nonic' name - is that the bump cleverly protects the delicate rim if the glass gets knocked over."

Voices: We’ve never been healthier or more mindful. No wonder we’re all so miserable - "The rise of sobriety has coincided almost perfectly with the rise of loneliness. They – we – sit in a sober, sugary haze, absorbing humanity and connection through a screen. The digital detox generation might be physically healthier, but emotionally, they’re running on empty... There’s a happy medium that most people naturally find – one or two drinks a night, enough to soften the edges but not enough to erase the plot. The problem isn’t alcohol itself; it’s our relationship with it. We have come to treat booze as either poison or crutch – a moral binary that leaves no space for the ordinary joy of having a drink. Look to France or Italy. There, wine is a companion to life rather than its purpose. The idea of drinking to oblivion is considered strange. Alcohol is folded gently into the rhythm of the day – a glass with lunch, another with dinner – never with the goal of drunkenness in mind. Compare that with Britain’s boom-and-bust relationship with drink: we abstain religiously, then binge like Vikings at the weekend. It’s not a coincidence that countries where alcohol is demonised, or outright banned, tend to be more repressive and miserable. Prohibition doesn’t purify people; it represses them."

Lead in Afghanistan

Thread by @JeffRigsby2 on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App

Afghanistan has one of the world's highest rates of childhood lead exposure, which causes permanent brain damage.

Nearly all children here have significant lead poisoning.

Researchers in the US have found the source of the lead. But nobody has told the Afghan public.

Thread. 

A worldwide survey in 2020 found that one in three children had blood lead above 5 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL). That's considered the threshold for lead poisoning.

Children in Afghanistan have an 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 blood lead level of 14.2 μg/dL, nearly three times the cutoff. 

(Wikipedia: "Lead poisoning")

And the vast majority of Afghan kids have blood lead above the 5 μg/dL level.

Compare that to the worst recent case of lead poisoning in the United States, which happened a few years ago in the city of Flint, Michigan.

Roughly 100,000 people in Flint were exposed to elevated lead levels from the municipal water supply.

The affected families won hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, and public officials were prosecuted.

There are different estimates of exactly how much harm was done.

 

But according to some studies the share of young children in Flint with blood lead levels above 5 μg/dL may have been around 5 percent.

That was still considered a public health emergency—and for good reason.

Lead exposure in children causes irreversible losses in intelligence.

 

It also predicts violent behavior in adulthood.

Some people think the fall in US crime rates in the 1990s was partly caused by the ban on lead paint and the phaseout of leaded gasoline, which both began two decades earlier.

Lead has damaging effects on other organ systems too.

 

According to the WHO, some of its hazards include "increased risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and kidney damage":

So if Afghanistan has one of the world's worst lead exposure problems, people should know where the lead is coming from.

There are a few possible suspects.

South Asia as a whole has the world's highest burden of lead poisoning.

And in Bangladesh the problem turned out to be turmeric (زردچوبه).

The spice was being adulterated with lead chromate, a pigment that makes it a brighter shade of yellow.

What happened in Bangladesh was ultimately a success story:

It showed that when a major source of lead contamination can be located, the problem is sometimes easy to fix.

I think that may be true in Afghanistan too, but the evidence has been overlooked.

The cosmetic use of kohl (سرمه) is another risk factor for lead exposure in this part of the world.

Kohl is supposed to be powdered stibnite (antimony sulfide).

But stibnite looks very similar to galena (lead sulfide), and the two minerals are often found in the same locations. 

So kohl sold in India tends to have very high levels of lead. Kohl is banned in the United States for just that reason:

Nobody knows whether turmeric, kohl, or any of the other spices and cosmetics sold in Afghanistan contain dangerous amounts of lead.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosm…

 

That's because they've never been tested. But it would be a good idea if someone tried.

In Bangladesh, the adulteration of turmeric with lead pigment mostly stopped after government inspectors began spot checks at the country's spice markets, using handheld XRF spectrometers.

 

But that isn't the most urgent priority for Afghanistan, where the major source of lead exposure is probably already known.

It just isn't known here.

Since 2019, health officials in Seattle have been finding elevated blood lead levels in Afghan immigrant and refugee children.

 

 And in 2022, four local researchers published a paper in the 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 & 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 which solved the mystery.

The lead is coming from cooking pots the families brought with them from Afghanistan. 

(full text at )

The most hazardous pots tested were a type of aluminum pressure cooker called a 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯 (کازان).

These are a standard item in many Afghan kitchens, and it's been hard to convince some immigrant families in Seattle to stop using them.doi.org/10.1038/s41370…

 

But the authors' "simulated cooking and storage" tests released very high levels of dissolved lead.

(Amusingly, they didn't pressurize the 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘴 for the tests because they were afraid they might explode. So the lead levels produced by actual cooking might be even higher.)

 

Chris Ingalls, of Seattle's KING 5 television channel, has been following this story since the article appeared.

It was newsworthy for non-Afghans because at the time, some online retailers were selling imported 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘴.

Eventually the press coverage forced them to stop. 

 

The US Food and Drug Administration has now issued an "import alert" against Rashko Baba, the dominant manufacturer of 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘴.

And the state of Washington has passed legislation to tighten controls on lead in cookware.

Ingalls deserves a great deal of credit for all this.  

 

So does Afghan Health Initiative (), a Seattle-area nonprofit supporting the immigrant community.

And so do the researchers who originally identified the 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯𝘴 as the source of lead poisoning in local Afghan children.

But why does no one else know?

 

I don't think Afghans in California or Virginia have heard about this threat.

Much more importantly: Afghans in Afghanistan weren't told anything either.

Children here are less intelligent than children in most countries, because of something their mothers cook with every day.

 

And the most incredible aspect of the story is that it could have been told years ago, before the Seattle researchers even completed their study.

In January 2020 Radio Azadi, the Pashto service of RFE/RL, filmed a short video inside Rashko Baba's 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯 factory in Nangarhar.

 

 Tens of thousands of people have seen workmen melting down car engines and radiators to cast into Afghanistan's leading brand of pressure cooker:

But nobody seems to have pointed out that anything cooked in those pots will be unfit for human consumption.

 

The IEA should close the Rashko Baba plant tomorrow. Arresting the company's owners wouldn't be a bad idea either.

But any aluminum 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘯 made in Afghanistan or Pakistan is probably recycled scrap metal.

According to the Seattle researchers, this is how it works in Africa:

 

 "Investigations in Cameroon and other West African countries found that the smelting process often used drinking cans, car and motorbike engine parts, vehicle radiators, transmissions, airplane fuselages, lead batteries, computer and electronic components, and other materials."

 

So if you own one of these things, destroy it.

You can buy pressure cookers made from stainless steel, and they won't poison your children's brains.