Health & Society
ASTRAZENECA confirms in England that its vaccine can produce thrombi
The company AstraZeneca confirms in official documents that its vaccine against COVID-19 can cause side effects such as thrombosis. And it has done so due to the publication in The Telegraph newspaper of a series of data on a class action lawsuit filed in the English High Court for 51 cases of people who have died or suffered serious injuries.
La empresa se expone a una indemnización cercana a los 100 millones de libras. Al parecer, su vacuna “Vaxzevria, desarrollada con la Universidad de Oxford, causó la muerte y lesiones graves en decenas de casos. Los abogados argumentan que la vacuna produjo un efecto secundario que ha tenido efectos devastadores en un pequeño número de familias, informa el diario británico.” (1)
As early as 2021, the European Medicines Agency detected some cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, also linked to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. However, considering them so insignificant at that time, it decided not to investigate. Such cases did not generate concern then, nor do they do so now. They are considered collateral damage. Deaths or people with visible damage due to vaccines are diluted in the figures of those vaccinated and are insignificant for the organizations that have to monitor these companies.
How much money did the pharmaceutical companies make from the COVID-19 vaccine?
In an article from August 2021, almost three years ago, official figures were given on how much profit the COVID-19 business had brought in for pharmaceutical companies: “The international pharmaceutical majors involved in the production of the covid-19 vaccine collectively earned more than €24.5 billion in the first half of 2021, driven by growing demand for the drug. Pharmaceuticals Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson made a net profit of €24.522 billion in this period, an increase of 66% over 2020.” (2)
From January to June 2021 Pfizer posted a profit of $10.44 billion, up 56% from the previous year (2020). AstraZeneca reported a net profit in the first six months of 2021 of $2.696 billion, up 51.7% from the previous year. Moderna, in the same time period reported earnings of $4,001 million, achieving the first net profit in its history. Finally, Johnson and Johnson reported a net profit of 12,475 million dollars, 32.4% more than in the first half of the previous year.
If we add to all the above millions that we are only referring to one period of the pandemic, imagine the amount of money they have moved since then, and especially if we take into account that the vaccine against Covid-19 has practically become chronic, just like the flu vaccine.
The fact that now the international criminal courts are forcing them to pay some small amounts does not mean any reduction in their treasury coffers. The big pharmaceutical companies, with the help of the media and above all of the states, have forced us to buy, through FEAR, a vital necessity: to be vaccinated so as not to be pointed out as a danger to society, as it happened in those years, where even the security forces of the states were put to the task of arresting and fining those who, exercising their rights, refused to be vaccinated.
Today it is AstraZeneca who is paying, hopefully others will follow in other countries and then class action lawsuits will follow against governments and politicians. Who will pay us citizens back for the time stolen?
1.- AstraZeneca admite que su vacuna contra el Covid-19 puede provocar efectos secundarios como la trombosis (msn.com)
2.- ¿Cuánto dinero ganan las farmacéuticas gracias a las vacunas del covid? (atlantico.net)
Health & Society
Female circumcision in Russia – exists and is not punished
Every year, millions of women and girls in the world are subjected to the procedure “female circumcision.” In the process of this dangerous practice, women have part or all of their external genitalia removed. Among the victims are also residents of the North Caucasian republics of Russia, and the Russian authorities do not punish the execution of the violent procedure.
How this violent religious-ritual tradition exists in modern Russia, do the authorities and the clergy try to fight it – reveals the Russian publication of Verstka.
What is “female circumcision”
Female circumcision is a procedure that is accompanied by either trauma or partial or complete amputation of the external genitalia. As a result of the procedure, sensitivity is reduced and the woman may lose the ability to have an orgasm.
Not for medical reasons
The procedure is not performed for medical reasons, but for ritual or religious reasons to suppress female sexuality. That is why in the international medical community this term is not used, but is called “female genital mutilation operations”. International law considers them an attack on the health of women and girls, a form of violence and discrimination.
Victims
Victims of female circumcision are girls up to the age of 15. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2024, more than 230 million women in the world suffered from such operations. They are mostly carried out in African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries. But there are also victims of female circumcision in Russia among the residents of the North Caucasian republics – Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya.
Injuries
The procedure has serious negative consequences for women’s health – from serious injuries to death due to blood loss. In addition to physical trauma and the shock of pain, female circumcision disrupts the natural functioning of the body. Women and girls may suffer from infections, their genitourinary system may be damaged, they may experience pain during sexual intercourse, menstrual disorders may occur, and the risk of complications during childbirth and death of the mother and the newborn increases by 50%.
Why do they do it?
The “necessity” of such operations is justified by honoring traditions or religious motives. In some cultures, it is part of the rite of female initiation or entry into adult life. Female circumcision is often associated with Islam, including in the Russian Federation.
Prevents lust
In the words of Dagestan journalist Zakir Magomedov, “in the local religious press, which is issued by the official clergy, articles are published in which it is written that female circumcision has a beneficial effect on a woman and protects her from lustful thoughts and desires, and is even beneficial for a woman.”
Female circumcision is performed by people without medical training, and old pocket knives or cattle shears are used as tools.
Control over female sexuality
In almost all cases, the purpose of the procedure is defined as control over female sexuality: “not to be hoika”, “not to freak out”. The official clergy of Dagestan include female circumcision in religious duties, although it is not mentioned in the Koran. Some Muslims, in addition to the Koran, are also guided by the Sunnah – traditions from the life of the Prophet Muhammad and statements of authoritative religious figures. Therefore, in some cases, female circumcision among Muslims can be interpreted as permissible, desirable and even mandatory.
Officially, the Russian authorities are against it
“All women should be circumcised so that there is no debauchery on Earth, to reduce sexuality”, this is how the head of the Coordination Council of Muslims of the North Caucasus, Ismail Berdiev, reacted to the revelations of the “Legal Initiative” organization in 2016, which confirmed the existence of practice. Later, Berdiev clarified that “he did not call for female circumcision”, but only spoke about the “problem of debauchery”, with which “something must be done”.
The Russian Ministry of Health condemns the procedure, and the prosecutor’s office of Dagestan conducts an investigation and finds no confirmation of the facts presented in the report of “Legal Initiative.”
The deputy of the State Duma from “United Russia” Maria Maksakova-Igenbergs proposes to introduce the concept of “women’s discrimination on religious grounds” into the Penal Code, and that the punishment for “female circumcision” be 10 years in prison. The Ministry of Justice of Russia does not support Maksakova’s initiative, clarifying that the procedure falls under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and more precisely under the paragraphs on “deliberately causing severe, medium and light harm to health, as well as causing harm to carelessness.”
North Caucasus
According to the “Legal Initiative” organization, in the middle of the last decade in Dagestan, at least 1,240 girls were subjected to the procedure annually. The majority of the men surveyed were categorically against the ban on female circumcision, explaining their motive not only with Islam, but also with local traditions and the desire to control the morality of women. Part of the respondents expressed an opinion against the procedure, arguing that the lack of sensitivity in women lowers the quality of sex in men as well.
And in Moscow
In 2018 one of the Moscow medical clinics announces the service of “female circumcision” for ritual and religious reasons for girls from 5 to 12 years old. On the clinic’s website, it was noted that “the operation should be performed not at home, but in a medical clinic.” After a wide public response, the clinic removed the information from its website, but an investigation was carried out, which found the existence of the procedure and other violations. A warning has been issued and the clinic is still open!
First conviction without penalty
Despite the fact that in its second report the organization “Legal Initiative” notes the disappearance of the practice in Chechnya and Ingushetia, the inhabitants of these regions remain in danger. In the spring of 2020, the father of a 9-year-old girl invited him to Magas (the capital of Ingushetia) for a visit and took him to a vaccine clinic. There, female circumcision was forcibly performed on the child. The value of the “service” is 2000 rubles. The little girl, in her bloodstained dress, was then put on a bus back to Chechnya, where she was hospitalized for severe blood loss. The father explains his motive as follows: “So that he doesn’t get excited.”
A criminal case has been opened against the gynecologist who performed the circumcision for intentionally causing minor harm to health. The case has been going on for a year and a half. The judge called on the parties to reconcile, adding that “the girl cannot be helped anyway”. In the end, the doctor was found guilty and fined 30,000 rubles, but was released from serving the sentence due to the statute of limitations. No criminal proceedings have been initiated against the clinic.
In the same year, the mufti of Dagestan issued a fatwa and recognized the removal of the external genitalia as forbidden in Islam, but clarified that “female circumcision” meant only hudectomy — the removal of the foreskin of the clitoris. This is also a crippling procedure, human rights defenders insist.
Health & Society
Four executed for producing illegal alcohol in Iran
Iranian authorities have executed end of October four people convicted of selling illegal alcohol, which poisoned and killed 17 people last year. More than 190 people who consumed the dangerous drink were hospitalized.
The death sentence against the accused in the case was carried out in the Karaj Central Jail.
According to human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Iran carries out the highest number of executions per year after China.
After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Tehran banned the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Since then, the sale of illegal alcohol on the black market has flourished, leading to mass poisonings. The latest case, reported by Iranian media, has killed around 40 people in northern Iran in recent months.
Only Iran’s recognized Christian minorities, such as the country’s Armenian community, are allowed to produce and consume alcohol, but discreetly and only at home.
Illustrative Photo by Amanda Brady: https://www.pexels.com/photo/elegant-champagne-coupes-in-sunlit-setting-29157921/
Health & Society
What is food neophobia – the fear of trying new dishes
Everyone has heard of anorexia and bulimia. But these eating disorders are far from the only ones.
There are people around the world who can only eat certain colored foods. Still others are addicted to water. About 5% of women between the ages of 15 and 35 are affected by some type of eating disorder. Among them are those with neophobia – the inability to try a new type of food. This problem sometimes also affects young children. For them, experts advise parents not to force them, but to explain to them the benefits of a given product. It is also an option to put them on the table in the company of other children who will set a good example.
Neophobia usually disappears around the age of 6. For some people, however, it remains a problem for much longer.
A possible explanation for this condition could be something happening in the person’s life – like choking on food, for example. As a result, a person may begin to avoid a certain type of food and thus give his phobia a “field of expression”.
The reasons for neophobia may lie not only in the psyche, but also in physical features. This disorder is genetically transmitted.
Illustrative Photo by Chan Walrus: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-brown-cooked-dish-on-white-ceramic-bowls-958545/
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