Did Gal Gadot just return to Israel to join the fight against Hamas?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-11-11 : Added video, and some additional details. Originally posted @ 2023-11-10
Claim : Gal Gadot Returned To Israel To Fight Hamas!
People are sharing a photo on WhatsApp, Telegram and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, which claims / suggests that Gal Gadot just returned to Israel to join the fight against Hamas!
James J. Marlow : Israeli actress Gal Gadot who played Wonder Woman in the Hollywood movie turns up at for army service.
The Geopolitical Index : BREAKING: Israeli actress Gal Gadot who played Wonder Woman in the Hollywood movie turns up at for army service.
Boiled Anda : Famous Israeli heroine & supper model Gal Gadot, back home to do military service 🤘💪🇮🇱this is called PATRIOTISM ❤️🇮🇱
Raziel conta oficial… : Gal Gadot a mulher maravilha apresentando se ao serviço militar em Israel
Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman, reporting for military service in Israel
Truth : Gal Gadot Did Not Return To Israel To Fight Hamas!
This is yet another of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, Telegram, and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Gal Gadot Just Hosted Hamas Attack Screening
First, I should point out that Gal Gadot has not returned to Israel. She is still in the United States. In fact, she just hosted a controversial short film screening in Los Angeles, on Wednesday night, 8 November 2023.
The short film, which is titled “Bearing Witness to the October 7 Massacre”, was a 43-minute compilation of “extremely graphic and violent” videos that documented “the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th, 2023”.
The private screening was held at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, with some 200 people attending, including an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, and Hollywood executives.
Despite a heavy police presence, two opposing groups of people ended up clashing outside the event. But Gal Gadot was reportedly not in attendance at that time.
To be clear – Gal Gadot has not returned to Israel for military duty, and is currently still in the United States.
Fact #2 : Gal Gadot Photos Are 18 Years Old!
I should also point out that these photos are very old. They were definitely not taken recently.
Some fact checkers have stated that the photos were taken when Gal Gadot was called up for military service at 18 years old. That’s actually incorrect. The photos of Gal Gadot serving in the Israeli military are about 18 years old.
According to her publicist, Melissa Raubvogel, those photos were taken when Gal Gadot was 20 years old. That would mean they were taken sometime in 2005, not 2023.
Gal was 20 years old.
According to The Washington Post, Gal Gadot participated in the 2006 Lebanon War, which took place between Israel and Hezbollah from 12 July to 14 August 2006. That would confirm that the viral Gal Gadot military service photos were taken in 2005-2006, not in 2003 or 2023.
Fun fact : The viral photo of was taken by photographer Shaul Golan, as confirmed by Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot in 2017.
Like other Israeli citizens, Gal Gadot (born Gal Gadot-Varsano on 30 April 1985) was required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Military service is compulsory in Israel, with women required to serve for at least 24 months (men serve at least 32 months).
As part of her military service, Gal Gadot would have to learn basic military skills like how to use a gun, which would explain the photo of her posing with an Uzi submachine gun.
But she primarily served as a combat fitness instructor during her mandatory IDF service between 2005 and 2007, attaining the rank of Samal (Sergeant).
After her compulsory military service, she began studying at IDC Herzliya (now Reichman University), while working as a model and actress.
Fact #4 : IDF + Publicist Confirmed She Did Not Rejoin IDF
Just in case you still need convincing, her publicist, Melissa Raubvogel, confirmed that Gal Gadot really, truly did not rejoin the IDF.
She has not joined the Army in 2023.
A spokesperson for the IDF also said that Gal Gadot has not rejoined the Israeli army, and that the photo is “outdated”.
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Did the US government steal $50 trillion worth of gold and oil from Iraq?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-09-19 : Refreshed with updated info Originally published @ 2022-04-12
Claim : US Gov Stole $50 Trillion Of Gold + Oil From Iraq!
People are sharing photos of US soldiers posing with gold bars, as evidence that the United States sold gold and oil from Iraq worth tens of trillions of dollars!
These photos was revived on the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and then on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, as part of the information warfare surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is also being shared and promoted on pro-CCP and pro-Russia groups on social media, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.
Here the US thieves in Iraq. Bringing democracy aka stealing a country’s gold. Same thing they want to do in Russia. But Russia is no Iraq or Libya.
The #US ransacked and plundered the whole of #Iraq. Banks, museums, all of their gold reserves. The US is the biggest gang of thiefs in the whole history. They have raped most of the planet in the last 50 years. #Ukraine #UkraineRussianWar #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia #Putin #NATO
🇺🇸 “liberates” gold & oil while 🇷🇺 liberates humans.
#Denaƶification & #Demilitarization of #UkroNaƶiLand
Truth : US Gov Did Not Steal Gold + Oil From Iraq At All!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or propagated to deflect criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : US Did Not Steal $30 Trillion Of Iraqi Oil
Claims that the US stole $30 trillion worth of oil from Iraq are false. The United States did lose track of 8.7 billion dollars worth of Iraqi funds though.
After the invasion of Iraq concluded, Iraqi oil was sold to help fund the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI). Other sources of funds include surplus funds (about USD 10 billion) from the UN Oil-For-Food Program, and the sale of seized Iraqi assets.
The United States did not truck away Iraqi oil, as claimed. In July 2010, the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) discovered that the US Department of Defense could not account properly for USD 8.7 billion of DFI funds.
This led the Iraqi Parliament to request the United Nation’s help in demanding that the US return $17 billion of “oil money” that it said was stolen from the Iraqi people :
All the indications are that the institutions of the United States of America committed financial corruption by stealing the money of the Iraqi people, which was allocated to develop Iraq, (and) that it was about $17 billion.
… Our committee decided to send this issue to you … to look into it and restore the stolen money.
Stealing $30 trillion worth of oil would require 1.7 billion oil trucks, or 46,000 of these trucks every day for 100 years!
Fact #2 : US Spent $60 Billion To Reconstruct Iraq
There is no evidence that the unaccounted money was repatriated to the United States, or officially taken by the United States.
Even assuming that it was not poor accounting and all of the $8.7 billion was truly stolen, that is a far cry (0.029%) from the $30 trillion that was “allegedly” stolen.
It is also rendered ludicrous by the fact that the United States spent US$60 billion in the reconstruction of Iraq – almost 7X of what it allegedly stole.
Also consider the fact that Iraqi oil production only reached 4.4 million barrels per day in 2016. Assuming an average sale price of USD 60 per barrel, it would take them 311 years to sell enough oil to make $30 trillion.
Fact #3 : US Did Not Steal $20 Trillion Of Iraqi Gold
The United States also did not steal gold from Iraq, certainly not $20 trillion worth of gold!
All those photos of US soldiers with Iraqi gold bars are genuine, but they only show them taking photos with the gold they seized in Iraq.
The Iraqi gold bars (as well as currency and other valuables) that US soldiers seized were transported to the US Army’s headquarters in Kuwait.
There, they were examined by the Secret Service and/or the US Department of Treasury to determine their authenticity and value, before being returned to the Central Iraqi Treasury or the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI).
This is a picture of Lt. Col. Scott Schmidt, who was in charge of the 230th Finance Battalion. The battalion’s job was to seize Iraqi assets like currency, gold bars and other valuables.
Fact #4 : The Entire World Does Not Have So Much Gold!
In 2003, Iraq had under 6 tonnes of gold reserves, worth less than $70 million. So how can the United States possibly steal 20 trillion dollars worth of gold from Iraq? $20 trillion worth of gold would weigh at least 1,714,285 tonnes in 2003.
Guess how much gold mankind has ever mined in history? Only 208,874 tonnes as of February 2023 – which is just 12% of what people are claiming that the United States stole from Iraq.
As of January 2023, the value of all the gold in the world is only USD 13 trillion – less than 2/3 of what the conspiracy theory claims the United States stole from Iraq… and that’s only because gold prices have gone up tremendously since 2003.
Even with the much higher gold price, it would take an additional 90 years of mining gold before the entire world has $20 trillion worth of gold for the US government to steal.
Now that you know the truth, please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check out!
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Soldiers Lost Forever (1914-1918) is a World War 1 top down 2D shooter where armies battle it out in the trenches and fight for control of the battlefield.
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Soldiers Lost Forever : How To Get It FREE!
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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did leaked DOD data show a massive spike in diseases in US military personnel after they received the COVID-19 vaccine?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : DOD Data Show Massive Disease Spike After Vaccine!
People are sharing a post and/or video which claim that leaked data from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) show a massive increase in diseases in US military personnel after they received the COVID-19 vaccine!
Here is an excerpt from the really long article, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Leaked Database Shows U.S. Military Disease Rocketing After Covid-19 inoculations
Attorney Thomas Renz reveals what multiple DoD whistleblowers have provided on the safety signals they are seeing. These numbers are mind blowing!
Attorney Thomas Renz reveals what multiple DoD whistleblowers have provided on the safety signals they are seeing. These numbers are mind blowing!
Data leaked from the Defense Health Agencies Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) shows skyrocketing levels of disease among military personnel.
Percentage Increase Over the Average of the Last Five Years Heart Attacks 269% Cancer 300% Pericarditis 175% Myocarditis 285% Pulmonary Embolisms 467% Cerebral Infarction 393% Bell’s Palsy 319% Guillain-Barre 250% Immunodeficiencies 275% Menstrual Irregularity 476% Multiple Sclerosis 487% Miscarriage 306% HIV 590% Chest Pain 1,529% Labored Breathing 905% Neurological Issues 1052%
Truth : DOD Data Do Not Show Massive Disease Spike After Vaccine!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS being created to scare people about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : DMED Data Is Available To Many People
First, let me just point out that the Defense Health Agencies Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) is an online DOD (Department of Defense) platform which allows users to look up a subset of data from the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS).
The DMED platform is not public, but it is available to a wide number of people, specifically “U.S. military personnel, medical providers, epidemiologists, medical researchers, safety officers, medical operations and clinical staff, and federal partners and civilian collaborators in military medical research and operations“.
Anyone with the right credentials, including civilian researchers, can access the database.
Fact #2 : DMED Data For 2016-2020 Was Inaccurate
US DOD (Department of Defense) spokesperson Lisa Lawrence explained that the massive increase in diseases afflicting US military personnel in 2021 was due to inaccurate DMED data for 2016-2020:
Comparing the DMED database to the source data contained in DMSS, the Defense Health Agency’s Armed Forces Surveillance Division (AFHSD) discovered that the total number of medical diagnoses from 2016-2020 that were accessible in DMED represented only a small fraction of actual medical diagnoses for those years. In contrast, the 2021 total number of medical diagnoses were up to date in DMED.
The comparison between the data available in the platform from 2021 and 2016-2020 “resulted in the appearance of significant increased occurrence of all medical diagnoses in 2021 because of the underreported data for 2016-2020. AFHSD has taken DMED offline to identify and correct the root-cause of the data corruption.
Peter Graves, the spokesperson for the Defense Health Agency’s Armed Forces Surveillance Division, explained that the incorrect data for the years 2016-2020 led to a large underreporting of diseases for those years. But the 2021 data was correct, thus giving the “appearance of significant increased ccurrence of all medical diagnoses in 2021 because of the underreported data for 2016-2020“.
In other words, the incorrect DMED data for 2016-2022 made it appear as if there was a sudden spike in illnesses affecting US military personnel, when there was none.
If there was really a spike in diseases after COVID-19 vaccination, the US DOD would have reacted quickly, as this would have gravely impacted troop readiness. They didn’t do anything because there was no actual spike in diseases after vaccination.
Fact #3 : No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Cancer
There is zero evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, or increase the risk of cancer. In fact, there is no sign of any surge of cancers developing after COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide.
Claims that COVID-19 vaccines cause “turbo cancer” is also nonsensical – there is no such thing as “turbo cancer”. Cancers generally take many years to develop following exposure to carcinogens.
It is biologically implausible for COVID-19 vaccines to cause a spike in cancer diagnoses, even if the DMED data was correct (which isn’t the case).
Fact #4 : No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Birth Defects / Fertility Problems
There is also zero evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause birth defects and fertility problems like miscarriages, ovarian dysfunction, infertility in men or women, etc.
Post-marketing surveillance have not detected any data that would suggest that the COVID-19 vaccines would negatively impact pregnancy or fertility in any way. Later studies involving thousands of pregnancies also showed that there was no increased risk of miscarriages, preterm births, or other safety concerns for mothers and their babies after COVID-19 vaccination.
In contrast, the data shows that pregnant women are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19, particularly in their second and third trimesters. This increases the risk of preterm birth and miscarriage / still birth.
Furthermore, two US studies found that COVID-19 vaccination did not affect sperm quality, or embryo implantation. But COVID-19 infections has been shown to temporarily reduce male fertility.
Fact #5 : Heart Problems Are More Common With COVID-19 Infections
mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are associated with the rare risk of developing heart inflammation – myocarditis and pericarditis, but they mostly occur in males under the age of 40, and are generally milder in nature.
On the other hand, heart inflammation is not only more common with COVID-19 infections, it is often more severe.
The large SAFECOVAC trial involving over 400,000 hospital admissions showed that it is hundred of times easier to get myocarditis from a COVID-19 infection, than it is from three doses of any COVID-19 vaccine!
Myocarditis
Risk
Per Million
People
vs
Sinovac
vs
AstraZeneca
vs
Pfizer
COVID-19
450
+300x
+214x
+167x
3x Pfizer
2.7
+1.8x
+1.3x
Baseline
3x AstraZeneca
2.1
+1.4x
Baseline
-0.2x
3x Sinovac
1.5
Baseline
-0.3x
-0.4x
Look at the results! If you are worried about myocarditis, you should definitely want to AVOID getting infected with COVID-19.
Fact #6 : COVID-19 Vaccines Have Been Proven Safe + Effective
Anti-vaccination proponents are not interested in your health, which is why they keep spreading misinformation about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
The truth is – COVID-19 vaccines were only approved AFTER they have undergone large safety and efficacy tests, involving tens of thousands of volunteers.
The reason why doctors and health authorities STRONGLY advocate vaccination is because the vaccines have been PROVEN to protect the vast majority of people from getting COVID-19 in the first place.
And even if you do get infected after vaccination, the vaccine will protect you against hospitalisation and death from COVID-19.
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Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was the US military caught stealing Indomie instant noodles that Indonesia donated to earthquake victims?!
Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : US Stole Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims!
People are sharing a photo of US soldiers carrying Indomie boxes, claiming that it is evidence the US military stole instant noodles that Indonesia donated to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria!
ElysiusThor : Hot on the heels of the US military stealing tents donated by China to the Syrian earthquake victims, it’s now been revealed that they’re also stealing Indonesian-donated instant noodles as well. What the hell is the Pentagon feeding them then?
Bevin Chu 朱炳文 : The Unite [sic] States. An equal opportunity looter.
It loots the Syrian people’s oil, the Chinese people’s humanitarian relief tents, and the Indonesian people’s humanitarian relief foodstuffs with equal alacrity.
After the U.S. military stole the tents donated by China to the victims of the earthquake in Syria, it was revealed that it stole instant noodles donated by Indonesia.What the hell is the Pentagon feeding them?
Truth : US Did Not Steal Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) or pro-CCP netizens and groups, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Viral Photo Was Taken In Turkey
I traced the origin of viral photo to the DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) website.
I confirmed that the original photo was taken by Captain William Stroud, of the 1st Armoured Division Combat Aviation Brigade, in Dulkadiroğlu, Türkiye on 22 February 2023.
Fact #2 : US Soldiers Were Delivering Aid In Turkey
The claim that the US military stole the Indomie instant noodles from Indonesia is nonsense.
The soldiers were carrying relief supplies to people affected by the earthquake in Turkey. This was clearly explained in the caption of the photo:
U.S. Army soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB), V Corps, delivers relief supplies to Turkish authorities in Dulkadiroğlu, Türkiye, Feb. 22, 2023. The 12th CAB supports the dynamic lift capability of the 1AD CAB in direct support of USAID and Turkish relief efforts, to those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye. 12th CAB is one of several U.S. military units supporting Task Force 61/2 (TF 61/2), operating under U.S. Sixth Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR), and U.S. European Command as part of the International Turkish disaster relief efforts.
Here is another photo of the same Indomie instant noodles, this time being delivered by US Marines on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
Earthquake relief. @USMC Marines assist the Turkish military loading humanitarian aid onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye, as part of an international effort supporting earthquake relief operations. pic.twitter.com/Is8hn13WwP
Fact #3 : Indomie Instant Noodles Were Produced In Turkey
It is unknown if the Indomie instant noodles were donated by Indonesia, or merely provided by the Turkish relief agency, AFAD.
However, the Indomie instant noodles in the viral photo appear to be produced in Turkey. If you look closely at the boxes, you can see that these Turkish words.
Hazir Noodle : Instant Noodles
Yerli Üretim : Domestic Production
Bardak : Cup [Noodles]
Sebzeli Hazir Noodle : Vegetarian Instant Noodles
In 2014, Indofood set up a factory to produce Indomie instant noodles in the Tekirdağ industrial district, in Turkey.
While many countries sent tons of food and other supplies to Turkey, most did not have any base or ability to transport the humanitarian aid to the affected areas. That was left to AFAD – the Turkish relief agency.
That was where the United States military came in – they used their helicopters at the Incirlik Air Base to deliver donated aid to the affected areas that are hard to reach by trucks.
That’s why you see US soldiers taking things on or off helicopters, which may have been donated by other countries. They were not stealing anything, just helping to deliver them.
Fact #5 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda
This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.
Here is just the latest dozen the other wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did the Chinese catch the US military stealing humanitarian tents China donated to Syria?!
Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : US Military Was Caught Stealing Tents From China!
People are sharing a photo of a US soldier carrying a white humanitarian tent, claiming that it is evidence the US military stole it from China, just like how it stole oil from Syria!
A few days ago, the Chinese discovered that the US military was using tents from China. Only now it turned out these tents are from a humanitarian convoy that China sent to Syria. The Americans are not only stealing oil from Syria, but also humanitarian aid.
Even Iranian state media, Press TV, posted the same photo, and claim:
It’s not only oil that the US steals from Syria!
A photo of an American soldier carrying a Chinese tent has been circulating on social media!
It is now reported that the tents were from a humanitarian convoy that China had sent to Syria.
Truth : US Military Was NOT Caught Stealing Tents From China!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and spread by pro-CCP netizens and groups.
Fact #1 : Viral Photo Was Taken In Turkey
First, let me just point out that the viral photo was actually posted by the US Army’s official Instagram account on March 8, 2023. It was also taken in Turkey, not Syria, as alleged.
Fact #2 : US Soldier Was Delivering Aid In Turkey
The claim that the US military was using tents from China is nonsense.
The soldier was carrying the humanitarian tent to aid people affected by the earthquake in Turkey. This was clearly explained in the caption of the photo:
See how @101stabndivaa (101st Airborne Division) is #MakingADifference
First Strike Soldiers continue to work in support of USAID – US Agency for International Development and Turkish relief efforts to those affected by the earthquake in Türkiye. The First Strike Way! 🖤
Despite counter-claims that the tent was donated by Taiwan, the tent carried by the US soldier appears to be donated by China to help with the humanitarian efforts in Turkey and Syria, following the massive 2023 earthquake.
The tent cover has the printed description in Simplified Chinese (which is used in China, Singapore and Malaysia), instead of Traditional Chinese used in Taiwan:
While the China sent tons of tents and other supplies to Turkey, it did not have any base or ability to transport those aid to the affected areas. That was left to AFAD – the Turkish relief agency.
That was where the United States military came in – they used their helicopters at the Incirlik Air Base to deliver donated aid to the affected areas that are hard to reach by trucks.
That’s why you see US soldiers taking things on or off helicopters, which may have been donated by other countries. They were not stealing anything, just helping to deliver them.
Fact #5 : US Has Almost Triple Military Budget Of China
Only the most ignorant Chinese or pro-CCP netizen will believe that the US military needs to steal tents donated by China. And of all things – white humanitarian tents…
Anyone who even does a 5 second check would have discovered that the United States has almost triple the military budget of China.
In 2021, the US military budget was $767.8 billion, while China only spent $270 billion on its military. The US military can definitely afford to pay for more tents than the Chinese.
Fact #6 : No Evidence Chinese Convoy Got Hijacked By US Military
There is no evidence that the tent being carried by the soldier was stolen from a Chinese humanitarian convoy in Syria.
There is also no evidence that any Chinese humanitarian convoy was hijacked by the US military. If that actually happened, China would have protested the hijacking publicly, and the news would have been broadcasted by the many press and propaganda outlets controlled by the CCP government.
Naturally, there was nothing of the sorts. But since when have the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens, ever cared about facts?
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Are Nazis from Japan fighting for Ukraine against Russia?!
Take a look at the viral photos, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Nazis From Japan Are Fighting For Ukraine Against Russia!
The Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens are sharing photos of what they suggest are Nazis from Japan in Ukraine, helping to fight against Russia!
Japanese Nazis are fighting in Ukraine
Team Japanese in Ukraine
Anarchy is alive and in Ukraine
Note : I placed the misleading overlay to prevent the photos from being further abused.
Truth : Nazis From Japan Are Not Fighting For Ukraine Against Russia!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Photos Are Unrelated
After investigating the viral screenshot, I was able to confirm that they consist of two sets of photos that are unrelated.
The first set of photos, which show four soldiers in Ukraine, was posted by @rattionyade on February 10, 2023.
The second photo is completely unrelated to the first set of photos, and was posted by @xenovampiro (as well as other people) on February 12, 2023.
Fact #2 : Rising Sun Flag Is Not Japanese Nazi Flag
The Rising Sun flag is not the Japanese version of Germany’s Nazi flag. This is actually the Imperial Japanese Navy ensign called Jyūrokujō-Kyokujitsu-ki (十六条旭日旗) that was adopted on May 15, 1870 – over 150 years ago!
The Imperial Japanese Navy used it until the end of World War 2 in 1945. However, it was readopted and has been used by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force on all its ships since June 30, 1954.
Fact #3 : Japanese Nazi Flag Photo Was From 2014
The photo showing men carrying Japanese Rising Sun and Nazi Germany flags was not taken recently, or even in Ukraine.
It is unknown who took this photo, but it was possibly a photographer from the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, as the photo was posted by Asahi Shimbun editorial board member Itaru Tominaga (@tanutinn) on Twitter on August 2, 2015, with the description:
東京での日本の国家主義者のデモンストレーション。
彼らは安倍首相と彼の保守的な政治を支持している。
Japanese nationalist demonstration in Tokyo. They are supporting PM Abe and his conservative administration.
On further investigation, I found out that Tominaga deleted the tweet because it was misleading when he posted it – it was taken almost a year ago, on April 20, 2014 – the 125th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler.
On that day, about 40 Japanese protestors marched through the busy entertainment area of the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, bellowing racist chants about South Korea and China. While the Asahi Shimbun article is no longer available online, you can download a copy here.
In short – this viral photo was taken in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 April 2014, and had nothing to do with Ukraine or the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Fact #4 : Ukraine Has Foreign Volunteer Battalions Since 2014
Informal volunteer military groups were formed in spring 2014, from local militias and paramilitary groups, in response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
The Ukraine Ministry of Defence later formed 32 volunteer battalions called “Territorial Defence Battalions”, and the Ukrainian parliament voted on 6 October 2014 to allow foreign fighters to join the military. In December 2014, President Petro Poroshenko promising Ukrainian citizenship to foreign fighters who signed up to fight.
Ironically, volunteers from Russia formed the largest group of foreign fighters in Ukraine! Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, about 3,000 Russian citizens signed up to fight for Ukraine.
Fact #5 : Volunteers From 60 Countries Now Fighting For Ukraine
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian government established the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine.
By 6 March 2022, more than 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries signed up to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invasion. So it would not be surprising to find volunteers from Japan fighting for Ukraine.
@rattionyade, who posted the viral photo on the left, appears to be one of the Japanese volunteers fighting for Ukraine, as he often posts about his life in Ukraine.
Back in November 2022, it was revealed that volunteers from 60 countries are now fighting for Ukraine. Here are some of the units that were formed from those volunteers:
Canadian Brigade : Ukrainian-Canadian volunteers, including former servicemen from Canada
Norman Brigade : veterans from Canada, the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, France, South Africa, and Poland.
Freedom of Russia Legion : former servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as other Russian and Belarusian volunteers.
Russian Volunteer Corps : formed from Russian volunteers who have been fighting for Ukraine since 2014.
Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion : Mostly Chechen volunteers who fought in the First Chechen War and Second Chechen War against Russia.
Pahonia Regiment : Belarusian volunteers
Fact #6 : Russia Also Has Foreign Volunteer Forces
Foreigners have also signed up to fight on the Russian side, either as members of the Russian diaspora, for ideological reasons, or as mercenaries hired by the Russian government.
Serbian foreign fighters : International Brigade, Seventh Brigade, Serbian-Hussar Regiment, Ural Unit, First Slavic Unit, Batman Unit, Rezanj Unit, Jovan Šević Detachment
Spanish foreign fighters : Carlos Palomino International Brigade, DKO (Volunteer Communist Unit), Interunit
White nationalists, neo-Nazis, fascists and Christian extremists from Europe and North America : Continental Unity, Orthodox Dawn Battalion, Legion of Saint Istvan.
Syrian Arab Army : 25th Special Mission Forces Division
Fact #7 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda
This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.
Here is just the latest dozen the other wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far:
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did SPR use waxed paper ballots to skew early votes by soldiers in GE15?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Waxed GE15 Ballots Used To Skew Early Votes!
This warning has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media, claiming that the Malaysia Election Commission (SPR) used waxed paper ballots to skew early votes by soldiers in GE15!
Sharing from Support Invoke group:
Just recently in Sabah, soldiers who have voted early, revealed that, next to the Pakatan Harapan (eye logo) where they draw the “X” was slippery, as if the area was printed with a layer of wax, making the “X” difficult to stick/draw on the ballot paper. So when you do find your ballot paper is like the above mentioned…. request Kerani 3 to replace with a new ballot paper. Everyone be alert & careful!! Remind others too to watch out. Do the necessary to make your vote valid!!
In October 2022, Anwar Ibrahim stated that Pakatan Harapan member parties will use the red PH logo in Peninsular Malaysia, but leave it to Sabah and Sarawak party leaders to decide whether to use the same logo, or their individual party logos.
However, PKR Sabah chose to use the Pakatan Harapan logo for their candidates. That means the ballot papers for Sabah will show the Pakatan Harapan logo for PKR candidates, as the candidate and logo list for P.167 (Kudat) below shows.
Therefore, it is impossible for any Sabah ballot paper to feature the “eye logo” which is only used by PKR, and not Pakatan Harapan.
In short – the claim that soldiers in Sabah found it hard to vote for Pakatan Harapan / PKR candidates there is false.
Fact #3 : Early Voters Vote Based On Their Own Constituency
Like postal voters, early voters do not vote according to their current location, but according to their constituencies.
That means soldiers in Sabah will vote for their hometown constituencies, unless they opt to change to a different constituency.
Again, this confirms the viral message is lying – the Pakatan Harapan candidates would be using the red PH logo, and not the PKR eye logo.
Fact #4 : Ballpoint Pen + Pencils Have Hard Nibs
The Malaysia Election Commission (SPR) will provide either a ballpoint pen or a pencil in voting booths for your use. You can also bring your own ballpoint pen or pencil.
But unless you intentionally bring your own soft felt tip pen to mark your vote, you will have no problem marking your vote even if the ballot paper was waxed.
That’s because ballpoint pens and pencils have hard nibs, that will scratch through any waxy surface to make a mark on the paper below.
Early voting in Malaysia was conducted on Tuesday, 15 November 2022. Yet, there has been no report of waxed ballot papers being used in any early voting.
Even if the government was covering up any official reports, police officers and military personnel who encountered such ballot papers would have complained about it on social media, if not to the media.
Fact #6 : Improper Paper Ballots Can Be Exchanged
In the event you encounter any issue with your ballot paper – whether you believe it was tampered with, or was marked in advance, you can complain to the SPR officer in charge of the polling station.
If the SPR officer confirms that there is a problem with the paper ballots, you will receive replacement ballots
Please WATCH OUT about such FAKE NEWS on WhatsApp and social media.
Remember – democracy does not guarantee us a good government. Democracy only guarantees us the right to vote out a bad government!
Happy voting on 19 November 2022!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Ukrainian Army claimed to have killed 70,000 Russian soldiers, together with over 2,600 tanks, as it prepares to liberate Kherson!
The retreat of the Russian army in multiple areas of Ukraine has even made it difficult for the Kremlin to decide on the exact borders of the regions it annexed!
On Saturday, October 29 2022, the Ukrainian Army (UA) announced that its forces destroyed 19 Russian tanks and 23 armoured vehicles, and killed another 550 Russian soldiers in a single day.
This brings the total of Russian dead to over 70,000, with over 2,650 tanks and over 5,400 armoured combat vehicles destroyed in just 8 months of the Ukraine War.
Ukraine’s lightning counteroffensives to the east and south have slowed in the autumn rain and mud that have stymied Napoleon in 1812, and Hitler in 1941.
But the Ukrainians continue to make progress against Russian forces, as they try to recover the city of Kreiminna in Luhansk, and Kherson in the south.
The only place where Russian forces appear to still be attacking is the city of Bakhmut. Even so, they failed to gain significant ground despite repeated attacks and heavy bombardment.
More Trouble For Russian Soldiers : US + Canada Approves More Aid!
Russia has mobilised 300,000 reservists, and deployed at least 41,000 of them to Ukraine so far, but they will likely end up as nothing more than cannon fodder.
That’s because the US and Canadian governments just announced additional aid for Ukraine.
On October 28, the Biden Administration announced it will be sending up to $275 million worth of military hardware to Ukraine, consisting of:
Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
2,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems;
More than 1,300 anti-armor systems;
125 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
Small arms and more than 2,750,000 rounds of small arms ammunition; and
Four satellite communications antennas.
With this latest allocation, the United States will have committed to supply Ukraine with more than $18.5 billion worth of military assistance.
The additional allocation of HIMARS rockets will be most welcomed by the Ukrainians, as they have been instrumental in surgically targeting and destroying Russian command centres and supply dumps far from the frontlines.
While this MItsubishin L200 with a rocket launcher (cannibalised from a Russian BM-21 MLRS) looks impressive, it is nothing compared to HIMARS.
On the same day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new and additional measures to help Ukraine fight against the Russian invasion.
Canada will offer government-backed Ukraine Sovereignty Bonds, which Canadians can purchase at major banks to support the Ukrainian government and people.
Canada will impose sanctions on 35 senior officials of energy entities, and six energy sector entities; as well as members of the Russian justice and security sectors.
$55 million to help Ukrainians prepare for the winter, including shelter, blankets, clothing and heating appliances.
$15 million for equipment and help to de-mine Ukrainian territory.
In total, Canada will have committed $2 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine, most of which have already been disbursed.
He also shared that the 39 armed combat support vehicles (ACSVs) that Canada promised Ukraine in June has arrived, and Ukrainian forces are being trained on them.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Ukrainian Army claimed over 60,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, together with over 2,400 tanks, as it liberates even more territory in Kherson!
The retreat of the Russian army in multiple areas of Ukraine has even made it difficult for the Kremlin to decide on the exact borders of the regions it annexed!
On Tuesday, October 4 2022, the Ukrainian Army (UA) announced that its forces destroyed forty four Russian tanks and 27 armoured vehicles, and killed another 370 Russian soldiers in a single day.
This brings the total of Russian dead to almost 61,000, with over 2,400 tanks and over 5,000 armoured combat vehicles destroyed in just 7 months of the war.
More importantly, Ukraine was making slow but noticeable headway on the southern front, taking the villages of Zolota Balka and Myrolyubivka in the Kherson region on the same day.
While these successes may not seem as significant as their lightning advance in Donetsk, the pressure they put in the south are preventing Russia from diverting significant forces to reinforce its retreating forces in eastern Ukraine.
Our warriors from @ng_ukraine reported that the village of Zolota Balka, Kherson region, has been liberated. russians control less territories in Ukraine each day. pic.twitter.com/zPTOsafHmv
The Ukrainian flag has been raised in the village of Myrolyubivka, Kherson region. The Ukrainian offensive in the South is ongoing. 🎥 128th Mountain Assault Brigade 🎶 @Vopli & Taras Kompanichenko pic.twitter.com/baMb9jU4Na
Moscow In Trouble Over Losing Territory It Annexed In Ukraine
Due to the continuous retreat of the Russian army, it has become difficult for the Kremlin to define the borders of the regions it officially annexed on Friday, September 30.
On Monday, October 3, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow will “continue consulting” with the local populations before establishing the borders of its annexed territories.
That’s because the annexed territories be considered part of Russia, and it would be disastrous psychologically to lose any Russian territory to the Ukrainian Army.
This announcement came after Russia was forced to pull back its forces from Lyman – its critical eastern logistics hub.
Ukrainian soldier throwing away the Donetsk Republic flag in Lyman.
Just one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed documents claiming to annex Lyman, thousands of Russian soldiers trapped there fled the city, forcing the Russian Ministry of Defence to admit that its forces had “withdrawn to more advantageous lines“.
The next day, on Sunday, October 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Lyman was fully cleared of Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces pushed into the Luhansk region a day later, heading towards Lysychansk – the last Ukrainian city to holdout in that oblast (province) before the its capture in July.
As long as Ukrainian forces continue to keep Russian forces in retreat, the Kremlin will find itself between the rock and a hard place in annexing the four oblasts it claims.
Any annexed territory that is captured will not only be seen as a liberation of stolen lands by the Ukrainians, it will be seen as a loss of Russian territory and face by supporters of Vladimir Putin and his disastrous invasion of Ukraine.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced this gift on Twitter, cheekily asking its crew to surrender:
Announcement The newest russian tank T-90M was found in Kharkiv region in perfect condition. We ask its owner(s) to contact the #UAarmy . Please identify yourself by a sign: a white flag.
It is unknown if the Ukrainians intend to use it against the Russians, or ship it to the West to thank them for their aid / trade for more aid.
It would certainly be of great interest to military intelligence agencies who would love to inspect the T-90M and even take it apart. It’s not every day you get your hands on a pristine example of the enemy’s latest in-service main battle tank!
The T-90M Proryv (M for Modernised, Proryv is Russian for Breakthrough) is the latest version of the T-90 tank series, debuting in 2016 with upgrades like :
an upgraded 2A46M-5 tank gun
a remote-controlled UDP T05BV-1 anti-aircraft gun
a new Kalina advanced fire control system, with integrated combat information and control systems.
new turret with improved armour on its ammunition carousel
Russia only has about 20 of these new modernised tanks, with another 600 or so older T-90 and T-90A variants. So the loss of even one T-90M is big news.
Despite its much-vaunted capabilities, the few T-90M tanks that the Ukrainians encountered so far have failed to live up to expectations.
Just days after they first appeared in early May 2022, one T-90M was completely destroyed near Kharkhiv by soldiers of the 127th Territorial Defence Brigade, together with a MBP infantry fighting vehicle and an MT-LB armoured personnel carrier.
Then just a week later, another T-90M was destroyed in Kharkiv as well, by a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle that its improved Relikt explosive reactive armour (ERA) should have had no problem handling.
The Relikt bricks was designed to be twice as effective as the Kontact-5 bricks used in older T-90/T-90A tanks against shaped charge munitions like the Carl Gustaf HEAT round, even the latest tandem-warhead version.
That suggests that poor tactics and/or lack of infantry support allowed the Ukrainians to hit the T-90M on its sides or back, where armour is much thinner and not protected by the Relikt blocks.
As of 20 September 2022, the open-source intelligence site, Oryx, has visually confirmed the loss of 24 Russian T-90 tanks, comprising of:
T-90A : 11 destroyed, 2 abandoned, 8 captured
T-90M : 1 destroyed, 1 abandoned, 1 captured
On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine declared that its soldiers have destroyed 2,216 Russian tanks, and 4,724 armoured personnel carriers.
The T-90M tank in happier (and less dangerous) times
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Guard collapse during her funeral because of the COVID-19 vaccine?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Queen’s Royal Guard Collapsed From COVID-19 Vaccine!
On 14 September 2022, a Royal Guard collapsed on live TV during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. That video clip went viral the next day, with people sharing it with such comments:
The Queen’s Royal Guard suddenly fell to the ground, How many shots of #Vaccine has he taken? #Vaccinedisater
Royal guard at the Queen’s coffin has collapsed. That just means the vaccine is working!
Even royal guard joins sudden death world’s event #vaccine
Truth : Queen’s Royal Guard Did NOT Collapse From COVID-19 Vaccine!
It’s becoming a tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all public deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why… and the current facts that we know so far.
Fact #1 : The Royal Guard Did Not Die
The Royal Guard who fainted while keeping guard around Queen Elizabeth II’s casket did not die. So the claim that he was another case of “sudden death” is false.
The man blacked out and fell forwards, sprawling onto the floor off the podium, as police officers rushed to his aid. He recovered shortly afterwards.
This was confirmed by a Beefeater who was also holding vigil at the Queen’s casket – RAF veteran Tam Reilly, who said, “As far as I know, he recovered shortly afterwards“.
Fact #2 : He Had To Stand Completely Still For 6 Hours
The ceremonial guards surrounding the Queen’s casket have to stand completely still for 6 hours at a time.
The only opportunity for them to break that monotony is the position rotation that occurs every 20 minutes. But otherwise, they have to stay completely still.
The human body is not meant to stand straight for long periods of time. Hence, it is not surprising for any one of these ceremonial guards to faint after standing still for so long.
Fact #3 : Not Uncommon For Ceremonial Guards To Faint
It is not uncommon for ceremonial troops like the Queen’s Royal Guard to faint or collapse at any event that requires standing for long periods of time, like Trooping the Colour.
In fact, it is so common that the soldiers are taught how to “faint to attention”. They should avoid toppling sideways, or try to lean onto nearby support.
But if they must faint, the soldiers are expected to faint forward, while still holding their rifle at attention, or with their arms at their side.
In the 2017 Trooping the Colour parade, five soldiers toppled over on that extremely hot day. You will note that it was many years before COVID-19 vaccines were invented.
In other words – COVID-19 vaccines are not the reason for British soldiers collapsing during such ceremonies.
Fact #4 : Unknown If He Was Vaccinated
The Royal Guard soldier who collapsed was not named. His vaccination status was certainly not revealed.
So there is really no way for anyone to know if he was vaccinated against COVID-19. For all we know – he could be completely unvaccinated!
The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in the United Kingdom, despite what anti-vaccination activists may claim.
Fact #5 : Vaccine Side Effects Appear Within Hours / Days
Even if the Royal Guard was fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, he would have received all of his doses many months ago.
He cannot possibly have collapsed from a vaccine side effect, because they appear within hours or days, not months later.
Mild side effects like injection site pain, fever, muscle ache, headache, lethargy develop within minutes to hours of the vaccination.
Anaphylaxis develops within minutes, while other severe adverse reactions like myocarditis and VITT develop within days.
The spike proteins produced by the COVID-19 vaccines also do not stick around for months. If these spike proteins are permanent (as antivaxxers claim), we would have lifelong immunity.
Your own immune system will identify the spike proteins as foreign, and destroy them within a matter of days, although some may last for up to a few weeks. This is part of how vaccines teach your immune system to identify the enemy and destroy it.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Tannenberg brings the massive battles of the Eastern Front in WW1 to life with 64 players fighting for control of key sectors of the battlefield, each one offering a distinct strategic advantage.
Warfare between the Russian Empire, Germany, and their allies offers a fresh experience for first person shooter players and history enthusiasts alike.
There are seven squads, 50+ weapons, eight large maps that give players tactical freedom, and a 64 player game mode with full AI bot support so you can experience epic battles at any time!
Authentic WWI FPS
This historical game takes place across the lakes, forests, mountains and snowy plains of the Eastern Front – it was inspired by the Battle of Tannenberg in 1914, one of the most iconic encirclement battles in history.
Players will be able to master a range of authentically modelled equipment brought to the field by Russian Frontovik and Cossack squads, the renowned Latvian Riflemen, or the Roumanian infantry squad.
Alternatively they can join the Central Powers to serve in an Austro-Hungarian K.u.K. unit, with the German Infanterie, or in the Bulgarian rifle section.
Manoeuvre Game Mode
The exciting Maneuver game mode reflecting the nature of war on the Eastern Front, as 64 players battle across large maps where the objectives and battle lines are always shifting. Survive the deadly battles by working together with your four man squad and utilizing your distinctive skills.
There is a wealth of historical detail including realistic WW1 weaponry, authentic uniforms, horrendous gore, and maps based on real battlefields.
Authentic WW1 atmosphere; accuracy in everything from maps and weaponry to uniforms
Tactical squad-based FPS; play as Russian, Roumanian, Latvian, Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian troops
Wide-ranging landscapes; large maps each with weather variants from snow to summer sun
64 player Maneuver game mode; capture strategic sectors in grand battles of movement
Never fight alone; squad gameplay and AI bots for Maneuver so you can join epic battles at any time
Tannenberg : How To Get It FREE!
Make sure you follow these steps to get this game for FREE by 28 July 2022 at 11 PM (GMT+8).
That’s it! It is now added to your Epic Games account, and you can download and install it anytime after this.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Canadian general Trevor Cadieu, who was allegedly captured by Russia, is on the way back to face sexual assault charges in Canada!
Find out what the heck is going on!
Claim : Russia Captured Canadian General Cadieu In Azovstal!
Pro-Russian websites, Chinese netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) have claimed since May 2022 that Russia captured Canadian Lieutenant General Trevor John Cadieu when he tried to escape from the Azovstal metalworks in Mariupol, Ukraine.
General Trevor Cadieu (Trevor John Cadieu), captured by Russian troops while trying to escape from the cellars of Azovstal, was the commander of the Canadian Ground Forces, APA reports citing Mailbd.
Seated in the catacombs under the Mariupol steel plant “Azovstal” nationalists staged a provocation, trying to hide the Canadian general’s attempt to escape. After the capture of a high-ranking foreign soldier by units of the RF Armed Forces, it became clear why so many efforts were made to save him.
A high-ranking mercenary tried to break out of the encirclement at Azovstal several times. It was for this that the West insisted on humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians: among them, foreign specialists had to leave the catacombs.
This Chinese example even claimed that NATO lost 5-6 helicopters and a ship trying to get General Cadieu out of Azovstal.
A lot of rumors that Russia has captured a Canadian general trying to escape thru sewer tunnels. Could be a few more NATO military advisers still in the plant
They have spent losing 5 or 6 helicopters and 1 ship trying to get the VVIP out.
Canadian General Cadieu “Captured” By Russia Is OTW Back!
Despite debunking it several times, both Russian and Chinese supporters continue to push the claims, even after Azovstal fell on 16 May 2022, and General Cadieu was nowhere to be found.
Russian and Chinese propaganda shifted course, claiming that General Cadieu was likely being held by Moscow as a bargaining chip, or being interrogated for his knowledge of Ukrainian and NATO plans to invade Russia.
There are a couple of problems with those claims :
In mid October 2021, Lieutenant General Trevor Cadieu was accused of sexual assault that he allegedly committed as a cadet in 1994.
He resigned and left the Canadian armed forces on 5 April 2022, after his appointment to head the Canadian army was derailed by those sexual assault charges.
He only left for Ukraine in April 2022 – weeks after Azovstal was surrounded by Russian forces. So it would have been impossible for him to be captured in Azovstal.
The months-long investigation into those sexual assault charges was completed, and he was formally charged with sexual assault on 15 June 2022.
According to the Ottawa Citizen, General Cadieu was informed of the charges, and he indicated in an email from Ukraine that he was “making arrangements to return to Canada from Ukraine“.
Yet again – Russian and Chinese propaganda have proven to be false.
Not only is former General Trevor Cadieu still not captured by Russian forces, he is arranging to return to Canada to face two sexual assault charges.
No NATO soldiers or generals were caught fighting in Ukraine, because there are no NATO soldiers or officers in Ukraine.
All NATO forces that were helping to train Ukrainian soldiers were pulled out before the Russian invasion began.
Russia is having trouble defeating Ukraine because it has a shitty army, not because thousands of NATO soldiers and officers are fighting with the Ukrainians.
No amount of fake news will change the fact that over 30 thousand Russian soldiers have been killed by the Ukrainians – twice as many Russia lost in their invasion of Afghanistan.
No amount of fake news will also change the fact that Russia lost over 1,500 tanks, and over 3,700 armoured fighting vehicles, as of 3 July 2022.
The Russian “special operation” is bogged down by tenacious Ukrainian defences, with nary a NATO soldier or officer in sight. Just a lot of NATO supplied weapons.
If NATO was truly involved, they would have rolled the piss-poor Russian army back into Russia. Instead, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has now stagnated into a slow artillery siege of the Donbas region.
Variants of this FAKE NEWS are now being shared in pro-Russia and pro-CCP websites and groups.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Many people claim that Ukraine is hiding NATO’s biological warfare lab and headquarters in the bunkers under Azovstal.
Take a look at the real photos of Azovstal, and find out what’s really inside its bunkers!
Claim : Azovstal Has NATO Bio Warfare Lab + Officers!
Pro-Russian and pro-CCP websites and groups keep claiming that Azovstal conceals a NATO biological warfare lab, which is why the Ukrainians fought so hard to defend Azovstal – they simply cannot let Russia find out that NATO had been developing illegal biological weapons in the bunkers!
They even shared schematics of what they claimed was the NATO biological laboratory hidden under the massive Azovstal metallurgical plant.
If a biological weapons lab is not enough, they also claim that NATO also has a secret headquarters under Azovstal, hosting soldiers who would have attacked Russia…
Azovstal Photos Show What’s Really Inside Its Bunkers!
When Russia invaded Ukraine, one of the first cities they attacked was Mariupol, which they quickly surrounded in just 3 weeks.
Due to heavy attacks and bombardment, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians retreated to the massive Azovstal metallurgical plant, which had over 30 Soviet-era bunkers.
After almost 3 months of constant bombardment and attacks, civilians were evacuated and the Ukrainian defenders were ordered to surrender.
One Ukrainian soldier, Orest (Орест), had been documenting life at the Azovstal metallurgical plant throughout their ordeal.
On the day he left the massive complex (20 May 2022), he left his photos on a public Google Drive, with this message (and its English translation) :
Ну от і все. Дякую з прихисток Азовсталь – місце моєї смерті і мого життя.
Well, that’s all. Thank you from the shelters of Azovstal – the place of my death and my life.
Доречі, поки я буду в полоні, залишу вам фото в найкращій якості, відправляйте їх на всі журналістські премії і фотоконкурси, якщо щось виграю, після виходу буде дуже приємно. Дякую всім за підтримку. До зустрічі ❤️
By the way, while I am in captivity, I will leave you photos in the best quality, send them to all journalistic awards and photo contests, if I win something, it will be very nice after the release. Thank you all for your support. See ❤️
These 24 photos will show you what it was really like inside the tunnels and bunkers, and prove once and for all just how absurd and false those claims of NATO facilities under Azovstal really are.
The extent of the devastation is clear in this photo of a Ukrainian soldier standing inside one of the many Azovstal factory buildings.
The Soviet-era bunkers may have been hardened against a nuclear attack, but Russian forces cut electricity and water supply to the complex. So most of the bunkers were dark or lit only by lamps powered by car batteries.
Most of the bunkers were not only dark and damp, they were cold and heated by wood fire. Hardly what you would expect from a “NATO biological warfare lab”, right?
Will people stop creating and spreading fake news about the Azovstal tunnels and bunkers? I seriously doubt it.
They will just jump to the next fake news… and the next Azovstal…
Despite their injuries, the Ukrainian soldiers seem to be in remarkably high spirits, for people who have had to endure daily bombardments and attempts by Russian soldiers to root them out from the Azovstal bunkers.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please support our work!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was Canadian General Trevor Kadier just arrested while trying to escape the Azovstal factory in Ukraine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Canadian General Trevor Kadier Was Arrested At Azovstal!
People are claiming that Canadian General Trevor Kadier was just arrested trying to escape the Azovstal factory in Ukraine!
Here are two examples, with a photo used to prove that he was arrested by Russian forces at Azovstal :
A Canadian high-ranking officer tried to escape from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol.
General Trevor Kadier was arrested by Russian military personnel, media reported. According to information, the general led the First Biolab, where 18 people worked on the creation of a deadly virus.
The general has already been taken to Moscow, media reports.
In social networks, they suggest testing new medications on the Canadian general as punishment.
Everything happened after the messages that on metallurgical plant was foreign general in contact with Zelensky.
Earlier, information appeared in the Western media that General Trevor Kadier was accused of sexual harassment and harassment in Canada, and is now on the territory of Ukraine.
Canadian General Trevor Kadier was arrested as he tried to leave the AzovStal factory.
Canadian General Trevor Kadier, who was in the territory of Mariupol, was arrested while trying to leave the territory of the surrounded AzovStal metallurgical plant. Earlier, the civilians who left the enterprise confirmed the information that a certain general of the mercenaries was on the territory of the plant, however, evidence of the capture of the general appeared only now.
According to the 360 TV channel, the general, while in Ukraine, could manage one of the biological laboratories.
“Canadian General Trevor Kadier was arrested while trying to escape from Azovstal territory to Mariupol. Messages about it appeared in the media and social networks. According to numerous reports, the general was in charge of biolaboratory No. 1, where 18 people worked with deadly viruses. Kadia was taken to Moscow, where he will be tried,” reports the 360 television channel.
No Evidence Canadian General Trevor Kadier Was Arrested At Azovstal!
Bearing in mind that it is impossible to prove that something does not exist (Russell’s teapot), I can safely say that there is NO EVIDENCE that Canadian general Trevor Kadier was arrested at Azovstal.
In fact, here are the reasons why it is virtually impossible for Russia to have captured General Trevor Kadier at all…
Fact #1 : There Is No General Trevor Kadier
There is no Canadian general called Trevor Kadier.
There is, however, a Lieutenant General Trevor Cadieu, who retired from the Canadian Armed Forces on 5 April 2022.
Fact #2 : That Is Photo Of Ukrainian Soldier
The photo that has gone viral does not show General Trevor Cadieu, but a Ukrainian soldier who appears to be much younger.
The photo is actually a screenshot of a video that shows Ukrainian soldiers who were arrested by Donetsk People’s Republic forces.
Fact #3 : Photo Was Taken In Donetsk Months Ago
The video was recorded on 24 February 2022, at a village in the Donetsk Oblast called Petrovsky, not at Azovstal.
That was almost two months before Russian forces took control of most of the city on 21 April 2022, and almost 3 months before Ukrainian forces at Azovstal started surrendering on 16 May 2022.
Fact #4 : Cadieu Volunteered In Ukraine As A Private Citizen
After his retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), several defence sources say that Cadieu travelled to Ukraine to volunteer against the Russian invasion.
This was in his personal capacity, as he had already retired from the CAF, and was now a private citizen, as Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier explained in a statement :
There has been no CAF support, material or otherwise, given to Cadieu since his departure as it pertains to his personal endeavours.
As he is now a private citizen, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on his personal plans.
Fact #5 : Russia Surrounded Mariupol Since 2 March 2022
While no one really knows where Cadieu is right now, it would be quite impossible for him to enter Mariupol, after his retirement on 5 April 2022.
That’s because Mariupol was amongst the first Ukrainian cities to be attacked by Russian forces that completely surrounded it three weeks into the war.
There was no way for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers to leave Mariupol, and no way for anyone to get into the city after it was completely surrounded on 2 March 2022.
By the time Cadieu resigned, the Russians had already captured most of Mariupol, except the massive Azovstal steel plant. It would literally take a miracle for Cadieu to get into the Azovstal plant.
Even if it was possible to smuggle him into Mariupol in early April, it would also be illogical to insert Cadieu into a besieged city where he can do little good.
Cadieu is a retired general whose days of firing guns from the trenches are long past. In fact, he would be more of an impediment in the defence of the Azovstal steel plant.
He would be far more useful strategising Ukraine’s defence, or acting as a military liaison with the Canadian government.
Fact #7 : There Are No NATO Forces In Ukraine
NATO Allied Land Command also confirmed that “there are no NATO forces or leaders in Ukraine in any capacity“.
While NATO nations are sending financial and military aid to Ukraine, no NATO soldiers or leaders are deployed to the country.
So the claim that NATO officers were also captured is false. If any NATO officer was captured, again – you can be sure that the Russians would have paraded them on TV.
Fact #8 : Russians Would Have Paraded Captured Cadieu
If Russian forces did indeed capture Cadieu, they would have paraded him on Russian TV, just like they did with two British volunteers they captured – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin.
Yet the Russians did no such thing. In fact, the only “sources” of these claims are no-name blogs in Russia and China, as well as WhatsApp and Telegram groups, and random people on Twitter and Facebook.
There is simply no evidence of Cadieu being captured by Russian forces. Not even a picture.
Official Russian news agency, TASS, reported on 28 April 2022 that Cadieu “may be holed up” in the Azovstal steel plant.
Their source was Eduard Basurin, the spokesman for the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), who gave no evidence for his claim.
In fact, Basurin appeared to be making up that claim based on the Canadian Defense Ministry announcing that Cadieu had resigned.
Information appeared now and then that one of former Canadian army generals may be holed up there [in the Azovstal steel complex].
He first seemed to get out of sight and then the Canadian Defense Ministry issued a statement that this general gave a notice that he was resigning from the army and moving to Ukraine. Perhaps, it [the UN] is trying to rescue him.
As I pointed out earlier, it would be impossible for Cadieu to be present in Azovstal, unless he went AWOL from the Canadian Armed Forces and entered Mariupol before 17 March 2022.
Also, there were several ceasefires during which civilians managed to escape. Cadieu was not amongst them.
More importantly, Basurin confirmed that Russian forces did not capture Cadieu.
Fact #10 : All Captured NATO Officer Claims Proven False
This fake story is part of the false NATO forces narrative that have proven to be false at every instance :
IMHO, Russia is pushing this narrative to shift the blame for losing thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles, and almost 30,000 soldiers to the much smaller Ukrainian army.
It could not have been the Ukrainian army that did this to the much vaunted Russian army. It must have been NATO!
Variants of this FAKE NEWS are now being shared in pro-Russia and pro-CCP websites and groups.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Russian forces just capture several NATO officers after the fall of Azovstal in Ukraine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Russia Captured NATO Officers After Fall Of Azovstal!
People are sharing a photo allegedly of high-ranking NATO officers that Russian forces captured after the fall of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine.
Here is a sample of claims that are circulating with the viral photo :
BREAKING NEWS AZOVSTAL :
SURRENDERED: in Azovstal:
US General Eric Olson, British Lieutenant Colonel John Bailey and 4 NATO military instructors.
4 fish big fishes caught and identified in #Azovstal – US General Lieutenant Roger Cloutier
– The Canadian General Trevor Cadieu
– The American Admiral Eric Olson
– British Lieutenant ColonelJohn Bailey
Boris Johnson’s lad, British Lieutenant Colonel, John Bailey — and four NATO military instructors — #also_surrendered to the Russian troops Sunday past from the depths of the Neo-Nazi tunnels beneath Azov Steel ( #Azovstal).
No Evidence Russia Captured Any NATO Officers In Azovstal!
Bearing in mind that it is impossible to prove that something does not exist (Russell’s teapot), I can safely say that there is NO EVIDENCE that Russian forces actually captured any NATO officers in Azovstal.
In fact, here are the reasons why it is virtually impossible for Russia to have captured any NATO officer in the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Ukraine.
Fact #1 : Photo Does Not Show NATO Officers
The photo that has gone viral is not a photo of NATO officers captured by Russian soldiers amongst Ukrainian soldiers who started surrendering on Monday, 16 May 2022.
They are actually Ukrainian prisoners of war captured more than a month earlier in Luhansk – about 300 km away from the Azovstal steel plant.
Alexey Maishev who took the photo on 14 April 2022 identified them as Ukrainian prisoners of war who were forced to attend a memorial event for people who were killed in Luhansk in 2014.
Fact #2 : British Lt. Col. John Bailey Does Not Seem To Exist
There does not appear to be any Lieutenant Colonel John Bailey in the British Army.
There is a Lieutenant Colonel John Bailey, but he is a Division Head of Security Operations for the US Navy, based in Virginia.
Fact #3 : Russia Never Claim To Capture Any NATO Officer
I should point out that Russian authorities themselves have never claimed to have captured any NATO officer in Ukraine.
Such extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and so far, there is ZERO evidence any NATO officer is present in Ukraine, never mind captured by Russian forces.
Fact #4 : Russians Would Have Paraded NATO Officers
If Russian forces did indeed capture NATO officers, they would have paraded them on Russian TV, just like they did with two British volunteers they captured – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin.
Heck, Russia has been releasing photos and videos of the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at Azovstal. So why not release photos and videos of captured NATO officers?
Yet the Russians did no such thing. In fact, the only “sources” of these claims are conspiracy theory websites, and random people on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and WhatsApp.
There is simply no evidence of any NATO officer being captured by Russian forces. Don’t bother asking for a video, they don’t even have an actual photo!
Fact #5 : NATO Withdrew Military Trainers Before Russian Invasion
To avoid being embroiled in any potential war with Russia, NATO forces evacuated all of their military trainers before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The United States, for example, evacuated about 150 members of the Florida National Guard who were training Ukrainian soldiers on 12 February 2022.
The United Kingdom also pulled out about 130 troops who were training Ukrainian soldiers on the same day.
Even if these NATO officers were somehow present in Ukraine when Russia invaded on 24 February 2022, they would have been immediately evacuated.
This was not just to avoid their capture by Russia. It was critical for NATO to avoid any direct confrontation with Russia.
Fact #6 : There Are No NATO Forces In Ukraine
NATO Allied Land Command also confirmed that “there are no NATO forces or leaders in Ukraine in any capacity“.
While NATO nations are sending financial and military aid to Ukraine, no NATO soldiers or leaders are deployed to the country.
So the claim that NATO officers were also captured is false. If any NATO officer was captured, again – you can be sure that the Russians would have paraded them on TV.
IMHO, Russia is pushing this narrative to shift the blame for losing thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles, and almost 30,000 soldiers to the much smaller Ukrainian army.
It could not have been the Ukrainian army that did this to the much vaunted Russian army. It must have been NATO!
Variants of this FAKE NEWS are now being shared in pro-Russia and pro-CCP websites.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did Russian forces just capture former US special ops commander, Admiral Eric Olson in Azovstal, Ukraine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Russia Captured US Admiral Eric Olson In Azovstal!
People are sharing pictures of US Admiral Eric Olson, purportedly showing him being captured by Russian soldiers in the Azovstal steelworks in Ukraine.
Here is a sample of claims that are circulating with these pictures :
US Admiral Eric Olson (Highly decorated special ops commander) born in #Tacoma , Wa USA captured in #Azovstal #Mariupol #BREAKING
Over the past 24 hours, more than 250 militant soldiers barricaded in the Azovstal factory in Mariupol have laid down their arms and surrendered. This was announced by Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenko .
US Admiral, Eric Olson, highly decorated and Commander of Special Operations, was captured in Azovstal, Mariupol. Is this the reason why Austin insisted heavily with Shoigu by phoning him at length this Friday? Certainly yes.
NATO mercenaries were arrested during these operations according to various sources, including US General Eric Olson, British Lieutenant Colonel John Bailey and four NATO instructors . Previously other high-ranking NATO personnel had been captured on the Ukrainian front by Russian troops.
According to RT, the first stage of the surrender was completed on Monday. 264 soldiers left Azovstal. 53 wounded soldiers were received in a hospital in Novoazovsk and 211 soldiers in Yelenovka, localities of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
About 2,200 people were trapped in the basements of the huge Azovstal complex. The site covers eleven square kilometers and its underground sections are designed to withstand nuclear attack.
No Evidence Russia Captured US Admiral Eric Olson In Azovstal!
Bearing in mind that it is impossible to prove that something does not exist (Russell’s teapot), I can safely say that there is NO EVIDENCE that Russian forces actually captured US Admiral Eric Olson in Azovstal.
In fact, here are the reasons why it is virtually impossible for Russia to have captured him in the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Ukraine.
Fact #1 : Admiral Olson Retired More Than A Decade Ago
Admiral Eric Thor Olson retired as the eight commander of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) on August 22, 2011.
He has an impressive military record, graduating as a Navy SEAL in 1974 before working his way up to becoming the first SEAL to ever be appointed Admiral, and the first naval officer to head USSOCOM.
However, his days of picking up a gun to fight in the tunnels beneath the Azovstal steelworks is long past. It would be absurd to claim that he took up arms to defend Azovstal.
Born on 24 January 1952, he is just over 70 years old, and had already retired from active duty for more than a decade. He is currently the President and Managing Member of ETO Group, LLC.
Fact #2 : Photo Does Not Show Admiral Olson
The photo that has gone viral does not show Admiral Eric Olson amongst 264 Ukrainian soldiers who were evacuated on Monday, 16 May 2022.
Fact #3 : Photo Was Taken In Luhansk One Month Earlier
The photo was taken in Luhansk, not Azovstal. Luhansk is about 300 km away from the Azovstal steel plant.
Even if this is a photo of captured NATO officers (it’s not), they would have been held in Donetsk, which is much closer at 113 km.
Maishev also took the photo on 14 April 2022 – more than a month before the first batch of Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from Azovstal.
Fact #4 : Russia Surrounded Mariupol Since 2 March 2022
While no one really knows where Admiral Eric Olson is right now, it would be quite impossible for him to enter Mariupol as it was one of the first Ukrainian cities to be attacked by Russian forces.
Even if he was “consulting” the Ukrainians, he would have been evacuated in the first few days of the Russian invasion, if not earlier.
Mariupol was completely surrounded by 2 March 2022 – 7 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, making it impossible for anyone to leave, or get into the city.
Fact #5 : Russians Would Have Paraded Olson
If Russian forces did indeed capture Admiral Olson, they would have paraded him on Russian TV, just like they did with two British volunteers they captured – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin.
Yet the Russians did no such thing. In fact, the only “sources” of these claims are a French blog, and random people on Twitter, Telegram and WhatsApp.
There is simply no evidence of Admiral Olson being captured by Russian forces. Never mind a video clip, they don’t even have an actual photo.
NATO Allied Land Command told BBC reporter Alistair Coleman that “there are no NATO forces or leaders in Ukraine in any capacity“.
While NATO nations are sending financial and military aid to Ukraine, no NATO soldiers or leaders are deployed to the country.
So the claim that NATO officers were also captured is false. If any NATO officer was captured, again – you can be sure that the Russians would have paraded them on TV.
Fact #7 : Russia Never Captured Any NATO Officer
I should also point out that Russian authorities did not claim to have captured any NATO officer in Ukraine.
Such extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and so far, there is ZERO evidence any NATO officer is present in Ukraine, never mind captured by Russian forces.
In fact, this fake story is part of the false NATO forces narrative that have proven to be false at every instance :
IMHO, Russia is pushing this narrative to shift the blame for losing thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles, and almost 30,000 soldiers to the much smaller Ukrainian army.
It could not have been the Ukrainian army that did this to the much vaunted Russian army. It must have been NATO!
Variants of this FAKE NEWS are now being shared in pro-Russia and pro-CCP websites.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was captured Canadian general Trevor Cadieu helping NATO run their Biolab No. 1 in Azovstal, Ukraine?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Captured Canadian General Cadieu Was In Charge In NATO Biolab!
The Expose and pro-Russian websites are claiming that captured Canadian general Trevor Cadieu was in charge of a NATO biological warfare lab under the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine.
The article is very long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Russian armed forces arrested disgraced Canadian General Trevor Cadieu in Mariupol. Russian sources often refer to Trevor Cadieu as Trevor Kadier or Trevor Cadier. At the beginning of this month, Russians said they captured Cadieu at the Azovstal iron and steel factory during the Siege of Mariupol. He is currently in Moscow awaiting trial.
Cadieu was apparently not on a mission for his government but was in charge of a bio laboratory, Biolab No.1, with 18 staff working under his command.
Biolab No.1 is reportedly managed by US company Metabiota. The company Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, and Christopher Heinz, John Kerry’s son-in-law, had organised subcontracting arrangements for Ukrainian research laboratories through their firm Rosemont Capital, on behalf of the Pentagon’s Defence Threat Reduction Agency (“DTRA”).
Who Is Trevor Cadieu?
Trevor John Cadieu is a Canadian military officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general but retired after allegations of sexual misconduct. He then travelled to Ukraine, to join the fight against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Cadieu left the Canadian military on 5 April and travelled to Ukraine shortly after with the intention to volunteer for that country’s military against Russian forces, multiple defence sources confirmed to Global News.
On 21 April, the Canadian Department of National Defence confirmed that lieutenant-general Trevor Cadieu retired on April 5 after more than 30 years in uniform, even as military police continued their investigation into his conduct.
Cadieu, in a statement to CBC, portrayed his decision to retire from the Canadian military as being for the best. “I have opted to release [from the Canadian military] and am exploring other opportunities to contribute to the greater good,” he noted.
Senior Canadian military leaders were briefed about Cadieu’s decision to travel to Ukraine, according to Ottawa Citizen’s sources.
Defence Department spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Cadieu’s release from the military followed proper procedures, “as he is now a private citizen, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on his personal plans.”
“There has been no CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] support, material or otherwise, given to Cadieu since his departure as it pertains to his personal endeavours,” Le Bouthillier said.
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service released a statement noting that the “member’s release has no bearing on investigative work, nor does their personal travel. As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”
Cadieu’s LinkedIn page is still showing he is employed by CAF.
The Arrest of Trevor Cadieu
Russian online newspaper Vzglyad reported that Russian troops arrested Cadieu on 1 May while he was trying to escape from Azovstal. It was first reported on Russian TV channel 360° however we were unable to find the original report and John Goss confirms the same on his blog: “[this] report appears now to have disappeared.”
It is alleged that the West and Kiev authorities came up with the idea of civilian humanitarian corridors from Azovstal to enable the “evacuation” of Cadieu, New Eastern Outlook (“NEO”) wrote. Confirmation of this can be found in a report by the Azerbaijan Press Agency which stated: “[Cadieu] tried to break out of the encirclement at Azovstal several times. It was for this that the West insisted on humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians: among them, foreign specialists had to leave the catacombs.”
NEO continued:
“[This plan] involved French President Macron and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan, as well as the UN Secretary-General. The idea was that under the guise of ‘refugees’, Cadieu, [along] with a number of other senior NATO officials, could leave the Russian-controlled war zone in Donbass and avoid not only shameful captivity but also a show trial by Moscow. It is noticeable that, according to reports circulating, Cadieu was in charge of Azovstal’s underground bunkers, including Biolab No.1, where 18 people worked with deadly viruses.”
Reports of Cadieu’s arrest seem to be based on the initial 360° channel report and internet leaks, John Goss wrote, Svetlana Nikolaevna gave the most thorough account but was unable to reveal her source, only saying that it was from somebody on the front line and that no official statement had been made.
No Evidence Canadian General Cadieu Was In Charge Of Any Biolab!
This is yet more FAKE NEWS from the notorious fake news website, The Expose, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : A Person’s Name Does Not Change With Travel
A noteworthy element of most fake news is that they are based on “secret” sources that are often fake, or made-up (non-existent).
One of the hallmark of such fake sources is they often get the name of the persons wrong. The Expose tries to pass it off as a translation thing, but that’s just plain stupid.
Trevor Cadieu’s name remains Trevor Cadieu no matter where he is in the world. Just like how Vladimir Putin is called Vladimir Putin all around the world.
Claiming that the Russians call the general “Trevor Kadier” or “Trevor Cadier” is as asinine as claiming that Americans call the Russian President “Vlad Pootin“.
Fact #2 : Trevor Cadieu Did Not Update His LinkedIn Profile
The Expose presented Cadieu’s LinkedIn profile as evidence that he is still employed by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), even though Cadieu and CAF has publicly and separately announced his retirement.
What The Expose (intentionally?) left out is that Trevor Cadieu last used his LinkedIn account more than 3 years ago, when he Liked someone’s comment.
For the benefit of the writer, Rhoda Wilson, the LinkedIn user must manually update his/her employment record before the change is reflected.
It does NOT magically get updated by itself. And before you ask, Rhoda, no – the CAF cannot do it for him.
Fact #3 : No Evidence Cadieu Was Arrested In Azovstal
Cadieu left for Ukraine sometime after retiring from the CAF, to volunteer against the Russian invasion.
To date, there has been no evidence he was arrested by Russian forces while trying to escape from Azovstal on 1 May 2022.
The source for The Expose’s sensational claim does not exist. The writer, Rhoda Wilson, claimed that the 360° report had “disappeared”, even though there was no evidence it even existed in the first place!
The Expose based their sensational claim on two sentences in a Russian propaganda website called Vzglyad. Now, I don’t call Vzglyad a propaganda website out of bias.
Its own former editor-in-chief, Alexander Shmelev admitted it, “it was through us that the toughest propaganda materials passed, as a result of which the word “Vzglyad” itself became negative in blogs and social networks“.
He also shared that articles posted on the Vzglyad website were supervised by Alexei Chesnakov, the deputy head of the internal policy department of the Russian President.
Finally, Vzglyad was placed under the control of the Russian presidency, first through the Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (ISEPI) and then the Expert Institute for Social Research.
Fact #5 : Cadieu Was Promoted To Head Canadian Army
Trevor Cadieu is a Lieutenant-General who was originally slated to take command of the Canadian army in September 2021.
His appointment was suspended amidst “historical allegations” of sexual misconduct, but Cadieu was the top-ranking officer in the Canadian army until his retirement.
It is absurd to claim that he actually heads a small NATO biological lab under the Azovstal steel plant. Think about how stupid it sounds.
Why on Earth would Cadieu go from running the Canadian army of over 100,000 soldiers to managing just 18 scientists in an underground bunker??
Fact #6 : Russia Surrounded Mariupol Since 2 March 2022
While no one really knows where Cadieu is right now, it would be quite impossible for him to enter Mariupol after his retirement on 5 April 2022.
That’s because Mariupol was amongst the first Ukrainian cities to be attacked by Russian forces that completely surrounded it three weeks into the war.
There was no way for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers to leave Mariupol, and no way for anyone to get into the city after it was completely surrounded on 2 March 2022.
By the time Cadieu resigned, the Russians had already captured most of Mariupol, except the massive Azovstal steel plant. It would literally take a miracle for Cadieu to get into the Azovstal plant.
How Russian forces besieged Mariupol. Credit : BBC
Fact #7 : Cadieu Would Be Useless In Azovstal
Even if it was possible to smuggle him into the Azovstal steel plant in early April, it would be illogical to do so.
What can he do? Pick up a gun and shoot at Russian soldiers like Rambo in the movies?
Take over a biological lab under a steel plant that was being bombarded on a daily basis?
Oh wait – maybe his job was to run into Azovstal, so he can try to escape and get caught by the Russians??
Fact #8 : Civilian Were Evacuated During Several Ceasefires
There were several ceasefires during which small numbers of civilians managed to escape. Cadieu was not amongst them.
It would have been easy for the Russians to pick Cadieu out from the Ukrainian civilians they allowed to leave.
After all, every one of those civilians who were evacuated from the Azovstal bunkers were thoroughly vetted by Russian forces.
Fact #9 : Russians Would Have Paraded Captured Cadieu
If Russian forces did indeed capture Cadieu, they would have paraded him on Russian TV, just like they did with two British volunteers they captured – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin.
Yet the Russians did no such thing. In fact, the only “sources” of these claims are no-name blogs in Russia, China and Azerbaijan, as well as WhatsApp and Telegram groups.
There is simply no evidence of Cadieu being captured by Russian forces, not even a picture.
Heck, Putin didn’t even mention any captured NATO officer during his May 9 speech, even though it would have greatly helped him prove his narrative that Russia was really fighting against NATO.
Fact #10 : DPR Rep Confirmed Cadieu Not Arrested
Official Russian news agency, TASS, reported on 28 April 2022 that Cadieu “may be holed up” in the Azovstal steel plant.
Their source was Eduard Basurin, the spokesman for the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), who gave no evidence for his claim.
In fact, Basurin appeared to be making up that claim based on the Canadian Defense Ministry announcing that Cadieu had resigned.
Information appeared now and then that one of former Canadian army generals may be holed up there [in the Azovstal steel complex].
He first seemed to get out of sight and then the Canadian Defense Ministry issued a statement that this general gave a notice that he was resigning from the army and moving to Ukraine. Perhaps, it [the UN] is trying to rescue him.
As I pointed out earlier, it would be impossible for Cadieu to be present in Azovstal, unless he went AWOL from the Canadian Armed Forces and entered Mariupol before 17 March 2022.
More importantly, Basurin confirmed that Russian forces did not capture Cadieu.
Fact #11 : No Evidence Of NATO Facility Under Azovstal
There is no evidence that any NATO facility called PIT-404, pit_40 or Biolab 1 exists, or ever existed.
These claims were created out of thin air by Russian conspiracy theorists… and a board game called Blackout: Journey into Darkness.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!
And please STOP sharing anything from The Expose! It’s all fake news!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Was the Ukrainian Azov Battalion caught executing civilians and dumping them in mass graves?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Azov Battalion Caught Executing Civilians In Viral Video!
People are sharing a video showing a few soldiers executing blindfolded civilians with their hands tied behind their backs, and dumping their bodies into a mass grave.
The video is accompanied by this message, which claims that it shows the Ukrainian Azov battalion executing innocent civilians :
🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦UKRAINE.. Bloody, cruel and brutal, the Ukrainian Azov Battalion killed civilians dump them in mass graves. 🤦🏻♂️Russia & the World must destroy the Ukrainian Azov battalion. 👊🏼
Suddenly, US, UK, EU, NATO, international human rights organizations have all keeping quiet and disappeared. 😠 😡 🤬 🤬 🤬
Truth : Azov Battalion Did Not Execute Those Civilians In Viral Video!
This is yet another example of pro-Russia FAKE NEWS, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Video Was Recorded In Syria In 2013
Anyone who watched the video would have immediately realised that neither the soldiers nor the civilians look like Ukrainians.
That’s because the video was not recorded in Ukraine in 2022, but in Tadamon, Syria on 16 April 2013 – 9 years ago!
The video was recently leaked to the Guardian by a Syrian militia recruit, who stole it from a laptop belonging to the Syrian government.
Fact #2 : al-Assad Government Committed That Atrocity
The video actually shows Syrian soldiers kicking civilians who were blindfolded and tied up into a pit filled with tyres, before shooting them.
In the end, at least 41 men lay dead in that mass grave in the Damascus suburb of Tadamon, Syria.
After the Guardian broke the story and released the video on 27 April 2022, the US State Department strongly condemned the Tadamon massacre on 29 April 2022 :
We strongly condemn the atrocities depicted in a recently released video, which appears to show blindfolded, unarmed civilians being shot point-blank by an Assad regime official before falling into a mass grave in Tadamon, Syria, during a 2013 massacre that reportedly killed hundreds of Syrian civilians. The video, which suggests additional evidence of war crimes committed by the Assad regime, is yet another harrowing example of the horrors that the Syrian people have endured for more than a decade.
Credit : The Guardian
Fact #3 : Killer Was Identified As Syrian Major Youssuf
That war crime was eventually traced to Branch 227 of the Syrian military intelligence service under the al-Assad regime, by a Syrian activist who called herself “Anna Sh”.
Amjad (Amgd) Youssuf – a major in Branch 227 – admitted to Anna Sh that he was the man seen in the video executing those civilians.
I killed a lot. I took revenge.
Fact #4 : Russia Actively Supports al-Assad Government
I should point out that the Russian government not only provides the al-Assad government with military support, they actively provide air support to the Syrian military, which includes launching airstrikes on Syrian civilians.
The Russian government has also notably declined to condemn the al-Assad government for their role in executing Syrian civilians in the Tadamon massacre.
It is likely that the creator of this fake news is attempting to cover up Russian complicity in that atrocity, by falsely pinning the recently-leaked video on the Azov battalion.
Fact #5 : Russians Were Caught Executing Civilians
This is not the first time fake news was created to cover up the fact that Russian forces were caught executing Ukrainian civilians, the most notable of which was the Bucha massacre.
After the Ukrainians evicted Russian forces from the town of Bucha, they found bodies of civilians who appeared to have been executed in cold blood and left on the road.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Russian Ministry of Defense immediately claimed that the footage of the bodies was “staged” by Ukrainians who placed them there after Russian forces left Bucha.
Unfortunately for the Russians, satellite photos taken weeks before their withdrawal showed that the Russians executed those civilians while they were in full control of the town.
A satellite image from Maxar showed that the bodies were already there as early as 11 March, with this clearer picture taken on 19 March. The Russians only left Bucha on 30 March.
Russian forces was also caught on satellite creating massive graves at Bucha, which were later found to contain bodies of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians.
So it is likely that they left these bodies on the streets of Bucha as a warning to the town residents, much like how Nazis in World War 2 would sometimes hang bodies in the streets of the towns they conquered.
Pro-Russian netizens are incessantly harping about the right-wing, neo-Nazi Azov battalion, as if they are the Ukrainian version of Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS.
The truth is – the Azov battalion has always been few in numbers, with a disproportionate reputation to its size.
The Azov battalion was formed as a volunteer group in May 2014, by members of the right-wing Patriot of Ukraine and neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA) political parties, to fight against pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk.
With only about 500 members, the Azov battalion helped the Ukrainian armed forces recapture the city of Mariupol from pro-Russian separatists.
After that success, they were integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard, and reorganised as a regiment on 11 November 2014 with about 2,500 members.
Not only does the Azov regiment constitute a very small proportion of the Ukrainian National Guard, only about 10% to 20% of its members identify themselves as Nazis, according to Andriy Diachenko, the Azov Brigade spokesperson.
According to Anton Shekhovtsov, a Vienna-based Ukrainian expert on Russia’s connections to Europe’s far-right :
Azov’s history is rooted in a volunteer battalion formed by the leadership of a neo-Nazi group. But it is certain that Azov has depoliticised itself. Its history linked to the far-right movement is pretty irrelevant today.
Many pro-Russian and pro-CCP netizens are sharing the video and fake message on WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter and Facebook.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
People are wondering how the windows of this Ukrainian building remained intact after a powerful explosion overturned cars!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Ukrainian Windows Remained Intact Because It’s A Fake Picture!
A photo showing a Ukrainian building with intact windows has gone viral, because the overturned cars nearby suggested that a powerful explosion took place.
People are sharing it as an example of Ukrainian propaganda, proof that they faked the picture to make the Russian invasion look more violent than it really is.
The viral photo is often accompanied by this sarcastic message :
I want to buy Ukrainian windows
I would like to place an order for these high quality super tough windows from the Ukraine, that remained intact and unmarked after the explosion of a Russian bomb that turned over all of these cars. Please throw in also some of that same render as on the house, that remained undamaged and clean after the explosion.
Truth : Ukrainian Windows Remained Intact Because There Was No Explosion!
The truth is – this is FAKE NEWS, and yet another example of pro-Russia propaganda, trying to cast the Ukrainians as liars.
Here are the facts behind the viral photo, and the reasons why the Ukrainian windows remained intact…
Fact #1 : Photo Was Taken In Bucha, Ukraine
First, the picture was not produced by the Ukrainians.
This is a genuine and unedited photo taken by Rodrigo Abd, an Associated Press photographer, in Bucha on April 4, 2022, at about 7:26 AM.
Here is the official description of the photo that he filed on April 12, 2022 :
A Ukrainian soldier walks with children passing destroyed cars due to the war against Russia, in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. Local authorities told The Associated Press that at least 16 children were among the hundreds of people killed in Bucha. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
So the claim that it was photoshopped or “rendered” is utter nonsense. This photo was taken by a veteran AP staff photographer, who happens to be Argentinian, not Ukrainian.
Fact #2 : No Sign Of Any Explosion
Despite the viral message claiming that there was a powerful explosion, there is NOTHING in the photo that suggests an explosion actually occurred anywhere nearby.
If you look closely, you will note that there is a distinct lack of scorch marks on the upturned vehicles, as well as the road and buildings.
If a Russian bomb actually detonated nearby, you should not only see shrapnel holes in the vehicles and walls of the buildings nearby, you should expect to see a crater of some sort, or some cratering of the road near the cars.
If the explosion happened off frame, then it’s unlikely to be strong enough to overturn cars like that.
In short, the photo shows a complete lack of evidence that any explosion of any kind overturned those cars.
Fact #3 : Vehicles Were Overturned By Tanks / Trucks
Eyewitnesses at Bucha told reporters that the Russians used tanks and trucks to overturn vehicles throughout Bucha.
A photojournalist, Emanuele Satoli, confirmed this to the Greek fact-checking website, Ellinika Hoaxes :
At the place where I took my photo, in the town of Bucha, I met several citizens and everyone told me that the cars had been overturned by Russians with tanks, but they did not know why the Russians did this.
The vehicles were most likely overturned by the Russians to create makeshift barricades to shield from Ukrainian counterattacks, or to prevent Ukrainian citizens from leaving the town.
When Ukrainian forces gained control of Bucha, they found the streets choked with destroyed tanks and vehicles.
Fact #4 : Russians Caught Lying About Bucha Massacre
This is not the first time fake news was created / propagated by the Russians and pro-Russian activists about the Bucha massacre.
After the Ukrainians evicted Russian forces from the town of Bucha, they found bodies of civilians who appeared to have been executed in cold blood and left on the road.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Russian Ministry of Defense immediately claimed that the footage of the bodies were “staged” by Ukrainians who placed them there after Russian forces left Bucha.
Unfortunately for the Russians, satellite photos taken weeks before their withdrawal showed that the Russians executed those civilians while they were in full control of the town.
A satellite image from Maxar showed that the bodies were already there as early as 11 March, with this clearer picture taken on 19 March. The Russians only left Bucha on 30 March.
Russian forces was also caught on satellite creating massive graves at Bucha, which were later found to contain bodies of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians.
So it is likely that they left these bodies on the streets of Bucha as a warning to the town residents, much like how Nazis in World War 2 would sometimes hang bodies in the streets of the towns they conquered.
This fake news appears to be part of the disinformation campaign conducted by Russia or pro-Russian activists to cover up the massacre of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine.
Please help us fight such malicious fake news – SHARE this fact check far and wide!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Is it true that Malaysian soldiers have been taking ivermectin since the 1970s without any issue?
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the FACTS really are!
Claim : Malaysian Soldiers Have Been Taking Ivermectin Since 1970s!
Ivermectin proponents keep emphasising how safe ivermectin really is, even though there have been reports of liver damage and other health complications.
Recently, people have been sharing a post allegedly made by a veteran, who claimed that Malaysian soldiers have been taking ivermectin since the 1970s without any issue.
He even claimed that it was mandatory for Malaysian soldiers to take ivermectin before any deployment into the jungle, and those who refused would be court-martialled.
Here is the original post in Bahasa Malaysia, and our English translation :
Kami tentera dah gunakan semenjak 1970sn dan belum ada masaalah… Sebelum membuat operasi di hutan, tentera dikehendaki mkn sebiji di dlm perbarisian dan di hadapan pegawai dan klu enggan akan di court marsyall…tujuan mkn adalah untuk mencegah malaria, parasit dan virus… apasa skrg baru nak jadi isu padahal tentera dah gunakan sejak 40 tahun lepas… tak pelik ke msia ini?
Our soldiers have been using [ivermectin] since the 1970s and never had any problems with it.
Before conducting any operation in the jungle, our soldiers have to swallow an [ivermectin] tablet in front of the officers, and those who refused would be court-martialled.
The reason for eating [ivermectin] was to prevent malaria, parasites and viruses.
Why is it now an issue when our troops have been using [ivermectin] for the last 40 years?
Aren’t we trying to be funny?
Truth : Malaysian Soldiers Never Took Ivermectin
The truth is this is yet another lie being propagated by ivermectin supporters, and here are the FACTS!
Fact #1 : Ivermectin Was Only Introduced In 1981
It is temporally impossible for Malaysian soldiers to take ivermectin in the 1970s, because ivermectin was only introduced for the first time in 1981.
Even then, it was only used in animals. Ivermectin was not approved for human use anywhere in the world until 1988.
Fact #3 : Ivermectin Never Given To Malaysian Soldiers
Lt. Colonel Dr. Rusyainie Ramli of the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) explained that Malaysian soldiers have never been treated with ivermectin, as it is not approved for human use in Malaysia.
In the past, soldiers on deployment were given Pyrimethamine or Sulfadoxime (better known as Fansidar) as a prophylaxis against malaria.
Malaysian soldiers now use this Doxycycline protocol instead :
100 mg OD for 2 days prior to deployment to a malaria endemic area
100 mg OD for the length of the deployment
On returning, 100 mg OD for 28 days
She also explained that ivermectin is only used by ATM veterinarians to treat parasite infections in dogs and horses.
Fact #4 : Ivermectin Not Used For Malaria Yet
There is interest in repurposing ivermectin for use against malaria, as it is toxic to the malaria plasmodium and the mosquitoes that carry it.
However, ivermectin’s efficacy against malaria has yet to be definitely established. Therefore, it is currently not being used to treat or prevent malaria.
Fact #5 : Ivermectin Is Not 100% Safe
Ivermectin is generally a safe and well-tolerated drug, but it has not actually been widely used.
Ivermectin proponents like to tell us that 3.7 billion doses of ivermectin have been prescribed over the last 40 years. That’s just 92 million doses a year.
In 2018, 41 billion doses of Atorvastatin were prescribed – 11X more doses in a single year than all ivermectin doses ever sold in the last 40 years.
So no one really knows whether the dosage or treatment regimen they are advocating are safe, or even work against COVID-19!
In fact, when people started self-medicating with ivermectin, doctors started to see cases of liver damage, which even resulted in at least one liver transplant.
Patients treated with ivermectin was also shown to require invasive mechanical ventilation EARLIER than those who did not take ivermectin.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Did US Marine Corp general David Berger reject the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for all Armed Forces personnel?
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the FACTS really are!
Claim : US Marine Corp Rejected Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination!
People are sharing a Real Raw News article on social media, claiming that the US Marine Corp just rejected mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of all Armed Forces personnel.
They are usually accompanied by messages like this :
The US Marines rejected US Government’s Mandatory Vaccination for them – Want to pick a fight on that?
General Berger: “Under no circumstances will Marines be compelled to take a potentially hazardous vaccination that the FDA won’t even fully endorse.”
Gen. Berger told Austin. “You are a coward and a traitor, manipulated by people pushing bad policy on the men and women who provide security to our nation. Neither you nor your puppet president has authority to enforce such a policy.”
US Marines who know how to fight to win a battle also know what a true defense for safety is. They don’t appreciate being given something that is hardly proven safe to use.
Shocking? Let’s find out if it’s true…
Truth : US Marine Corp Did Not Reject Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination
The truth is this is yet another piece of fake news by Real Raw News – a known fake news website, and here are the FACTS…
Fact #1 : Real Raw News Is A Fake News Website
Real Raw News is a known fake news website, that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money.
The entire article – including the transcript of the call between General Berger and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin – is FAKE.
To protect himself from legal repercussions, the owner and writer, Michael Baxter, claims that his articles are “humour, parody, and satire“.
This disclaimer lets him keep creating fake news that will go viral, and generate him money.
His articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from his website.
Fact #2 : General Berger Supports COVID-19 Vaccination
General David H. Berger actually supports COVID-19 vaccination. When he got his shot on 23 December 2020, he encouraged “all Marines and their families to get the shot“.
I received my #COVID19 vaccination today. It was great to see many frontline medical workers getting their shot as well. As the vaccine becomes available, I encourage all Marines and their families to get the shot to slow the spread of the virus. pic.twitter.com/nno2FxXDth
Fact #3 : US Marine Corp Ready For COVID-19 Mandated Vaccination
On 4 August 2021, US Marine Corp spokesperson, Captain Andrew R. Wood, said :
The Marine Corps is prepared for the COVID-19 vaccine to be mandated, pending any FDA and DoD level policy change.
Fact #4 : US Armed Forces Have Long Had Mandatory Vaccinations
US Armed Forces personnel have long been subjected to mandatory vaccinations, to ensure they are protected against biological weapons, and preventable diseases in their deployment areas.
Anthrax
Chickenpox
Hepatits A
Hepatitis B
Influenza (Seasonal)
MMR
Meningococcal
Tdap
Typhoid
Yellow Fever
The COVID-19 vaccination would merely be an addition to a list of mandatory vaccinations in the US military.
Fact #5 : COVID-19 Vaccines Have Been Proven Safe + Effective
COVID-19 vaccines have undergone massive trials involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers, proving that they are both SAFE and EFFECTIVE.
That’s why they were all given their Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA), and would shortly receive their full approval.
Here are the requirements for COVID-19 vaccines under EUA to receive a Full FDA approval :
participants from the original studies are followed for at least six months,
manufacturers will provide more detailed manufacturing plans and processes
manufacturers will be subjected to higher level of oversight and inspections
So the lack of a Full FDA approval does not mean that the vaccines are unsafe or not effective. The full approval just requires more time to complete – something we cannot afford to do during an emergency.
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Donald Trump just accused Iran of the rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, threatening retaliation!
Take a look at the picture of three rockets he posted, and find out what the facts really are!
Donald Trump : Iran Responsible For Rocket Attack On US Embassy
Even in the waning days of his Presidency, Donald Trump isn’t quite done with Iran.
In a new threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump posted a picture of three unfired rockets, which he claimed were from Iran.
Our embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets. Three rockets failed to launch. Guess where they were from: IRAN. Now we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq…Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.
As Trump isn’t a very popular president outside of his fanatical base (no kidding), there is much skepticism about his post.
Some have pointed out that the rockets have English markings and could be American-made. Others wonder if these are even rockets – they look more like large versions of a rifle cartridge than rockets.
Rocket Attack On US Embassy : A Quick Primer
Before we look into the veracity of Trump’s claims, here’s a quick primer on the rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
At around 8:30 PM on Sunday, 20 December 2020, approximately 21 rockets were fired on the US embassy in Baghdad.
Only about half of the rockets hit the embassy compound, while the others missed and hit an Iraqi apartment complex and vehicles near the embassy.
Photo Credit : Reuters/Landov
In the end, two buildings and a gym in the embassy, vehicles outside the embassy and a generator at the apartment complex, were damaged.
There was only one injury – an Iraqi soldier – no one else died or were injured by the attack.
Is Iran Responsible For Rocket Attack On US Embassy?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t quite so simple as yes or no, Iran did or did not fire those rockets at the US embassy in Baghdad.
Let’s take a look at the facts…
Fact #1 : Those Are 107 mm Haseb Rockets
The Haseb is an Iranian copy of the Chinese Type 63-2 – a spin-stabilised 107 mm rocket with a high-explosive (HE) warhead.
The entire rocket weighs about 18 kg, with an 8 kg cast TNT warhead and a Chinese MJ-1 (Jiàn-1) impact and graze fuse.
Haseb rockets are manufactured by Iran’s Armaments Industries Group (AIG), and used by Iranian forces as a short-ranged barrage weapon.
In this picture, IRGC commandos are seen loading a Type 63 rocket launcher mounted onto a pickup truck.
Fact #3 : The English Markings Are Genuine
Some sharp-eyed netizens noticed that rockets have English words on them, instead of Farsi or Arabic words :
107mm ROCKET LOT : 573 DATE : 2016 N.W : 18kg R.No. : 2103
This has led to suggestions that the rockets may be fake, or made by Americans themselves, or replicas of the real rockets used in a false flag operation.
Here you can see the actual rockets (on the left) and inert replicas of the Haseb rockets. No doubt they look very similar.
However, there is really no need for the US military to purchase replicas even for a false flag operation. Many Haseb rockets have been captured over the years.
The English markings do not mean they are American-made. The Haseb rocket is also made for export by Iran’s Armaments Industries Group (AIG), and so uses English markings.
The inert replica above has English markings, because the real Haseb rockets have English markings.
Fact #4 : Haseb Rockets Have A Very Short Range
Haseb rockets have a very short range – up to 9 kilometres, and are not very accurate.
That means they would have to be fired very close to the Baghdad Green Zone in order to have a reasonable chance of hitting the US embassy inside.
Any suggestion that Iranian forces fired them inside Baghdad itself would be ludicrous. Even if Iran wanted to strike at the Americans, they would use an allied militant group to make attribution difficult.
Fact #5 : Attribution Is Difficult
The Haseb rockets are not exclusively used by Iranian forces. They are exported to Iranian auxiliary forces and allied militant groups like the Hezbollah.
So it would not be possible for the United States to directly attribute the rocket attack to Iran, unless they capture the people who actually fired the rockets.
It could also be a rogue militant group, or even a false flag action by a rival nation-state. After all, numerous examples of the Haseb rocket have been captured by other militant groups and even countries like Israel.
In fact, Gen. Frank McKenzie, who leads the US Central Command and once warned that American forces imminent threat from Iran specifically told The Wall Street Journal,
“I do not know the degree to which Iran is complicit. We do not seek a war, and I don’t actually believe they seek one either.“
Even Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah described the rocket attack on the US embassy as “undisciplined“.
Fact #6 : We Don’t Know Who Owned Those Rockets
The three Haseb rockets that Donald Trump posted were obviously not fired.
But whether they “failed to launch” as Trump claimed, or were simply captured unfired, is unknown. Trump likely can’t tell the difference.
Unless the rocketeers were captured together with these three rockets, it would be impossible to also attribute the rocket attack to any particular group, never mind Iran.
Even so, the mere possession of these rockets does not mean that they actually launched that particular attack.
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It seems incredulous that Iran could shoot down UIA Flight PS752 by mistake, but the sad fact is that no military can always correctly identify bogies.
We examine how Iran mistook UIA Flight PS752 for a US cruise missile, and shot it down with a Tor M1 missile, killing all 176 people onboard.
The Circumstances Surrounding UIA Flight PS752
On 3 January 2020, US President Donald Trump escalated tensions with Iran by ordering the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani’s assassination by Hellfire missile could be construed as an act of war against Iran, and naturally compelled a military response. That came in the form of 22 ballistic missiles fired on two US bases in Iraq.
The Iranians expected a US cruise missile attack in retaliation, and appeared to have prepared for such an eventuality with the deployment of short range missile defence systems around Tehran.
Five hours after they fired those ballistic missiles, UIA Flight PS752 took off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Unfortunately, a SAM operator mistook it for a US cruise missile, and shot it down with a Tor M1 missile.
So how could Iran’s veteran military forces have made such a colossal mistake?
Tor M1 / SA-15 Gauntlet
First, let’s consider the SAM platform that shot down UIA Flight PS752 – the Russian Tor M1, also known by its NATO designation SA-15 Gauntlet.
The Tor (Russian for Torus) missile system is an armoured tracked vehicle with a pulse-doppler radar, and eight 9K331 Tor M1 missiles.
Introduced in 1991, this mobile SAM system is designed to accompany and protect troops in a battlefield against hostile aircraft and cruise missiles.
It is not usually parked in defence of fixed installations, and have greater autonomy than centralised air defence systems. It is likely that the Iranians brought in these mobile SAM systems as the last line of defence in an impending conflict.
War-Like Situation Before PS752 Flight
Next, we have to consider the war footing that the Iranian military, and specifically, the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) found itself in, after launching ballistic missiles at US bases.
Besides, the United States did earlier just assassinate one of their top military leaders – an action that could be considered an act of war.
Even if the Iranian government does not want a war with the United States, the Iranian military and the IRGC would have been compelled to prepare for the worst.
It is with that mindset in mind, that we consider how Iran could have mistaken UIA Flight PS752 for a cruise missile, shooting it down.
How Did Iran Shoot Down UIA Flight PS752 By Mistake?
Poor Training?
As one of Iran’s older SAM systems and a short range system at that, the Tor M1 is likely to be assigned to less elite units. So it is plausible that inexperience or poor training led to the tragedy.
No Central Command?
Multiple Tor vehicles can be linked to a Ranzhir-M mobile command center, for increased detection range and centralised command.
It is possible that the Tor vehicles were dispersed for localised defence, and not linked to a central command system. That would leave the decision to fire in the hands of a junior officer, possibly even a conscript!
Short Reaction Time?
The Tor M1 missile also has a narrow engagement range of 1.5 km to 12 km. It cannot be used against anything closer than 1.5 km, or further than 12 km.
When Flight PS752 popped up just a few kilometres from this Tor M1 vehicle, it would give the missile operator just a matter of seconds to identify it and decide whether to fire or not.
Heightened Expectations Of A Strike?
The expectation of a retaliatory strike would, no doubt, weigh heavily on the mind of the missile operator. After all, they just fired 22 ballistic missiles on two US bases.
In normal circumstances, the Tor missile system would not be “weapons hot”. But they were expecting a salvo of cruise missiles, so the missile operator would have been light on the trigger.
Failure To Whitelist Flight PS752?
When Flight PS752 popped up on the Tor missile system’s radar, the operator would have to decide if it was a hostile aircraft or a legitimate civilian aircraft.
Unfortunately, its pulse-doppler radar would not be able identify the type of the aircraft, only its speed and direction. But Flight PS752 and a Tomahawk cruise missile would have roughly similar subsonic speeds.
An example of a pulse doppler radar’s display
That’s why civilian airliners use transponders and the IFF system to ensure that everyone knows that they are not a threat. Flight PS752 would definitely have been squawking its transponder code.
Normally, SAM crews would receive the flight plans and transponder codes for airliners scheduled to fly in and out of the area, so they can be eliminated as threats.
It is plausible that this Tor missile operator did not, or could not, clear Flight PS752’s transponder code, and assumed it was a cruise missile attempting to masquerade as an airliner.
Failure To Establish No-Fly Zone
One thing is for sure though – the Iranians should have established a no-fly zone around Tehran, after firing their ballistic missiles. It was a serious and fatal mistake.
The danger of jittery, trigger-happy Air Defence crews in charge of weapons hot SAM systems cannot be understated.
It would also have made it easier to identify hostile aircraft in Iranian airspace. Yet they continued to let civilian aircraft fly in and out of Tehran.
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
