Aletho News

1. US & UK Reduced Naval Presence in Red Sea – Houthi Leader

Sputnik – 26.04.2024

The United States and the United Kingdom have scaled down their naval presence in the Red Sea despite lack of abatement in the intensity of attacks carried out by Yemen's Houthis rebels on Israeli-linked ships, the rebel movement's leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said on Thursday.

"Our operations have not decreased, as the Americans claim, presenting this as their achievement, but rather the movement of their warships has decreased. There has been an 80% reduction in the movement of US Navy ships, not our operations," al-Houthi was quoted by Iranian broadcaster Almasirah as saying on the occasion of 200 days of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, al-Houthi said that since the beginning of hostilities in Gaza, they have attacked 102 Israeli-affiliated ships, an equivalent of one ship every two days.

"The American and British enemies have failed to ensure the movement of Israel-bound ships despite constant and intensive monitoring. As long as the blockade and aggression against the Gaza Strip continues, operations in the southern Red Sea will continue," al-Houthi said.

Moreover, the leader of the movement also known as Ansar Allah said that there was an ongoing effort to expand and strengthen operations in the Indian Ocean in ways that "the Americans, the British, the Israelis, and perhaps the rest of the world cannot envision."

His statements came a day after the movement announced attacks on a US ship and a destroyer in the Gulf of Aden and an Israeli ship MSC Veracruz in the Indian Ocean after a week-long standoff.

Houthis have been launching attacks on commercial and military vessels in the region for months, in response to Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. The attacks prompted the US to form a multinational coalition to protect shipping in the area, as well as to strike Houthi targets on the ground.

2. Daughter of martyr Al-Areer martyred along with husband, newborn baby in Israeli airstrike

Palestinian Information Center – April 26, 2024

GAZA – The daughter of martyr Refaat Al-Areer, Shaima, was martyred on Friday along with her husband, engineer Muhammad Siam, and their newborn baby in an Israeli airstrike that targeted their apartment near Al-Rimal Clinic in Gaza City.

Media sources said Israeli aircraft launched several attacks this morning targeting the headquarters of the International Red Cross, which houses displaced people, and a residential apartment near Al-Rimal Clinic, resulting in a number of martyrs and wounded.

The sources revealed that among the martyrs was Shaima, the eldest daughter of martyr Dr. Refaat Al-Areer, who was previously assassinated last December in a deliberate Israeli airstrike targeting his sister's home in Gaza City.

Dr. Refaat Al-Areer was one of the pillars of the English Section at the PIC, and the supervisor of its Social Media Department. He was martyred along with his brother, sister, and her four children.

The martyr Al-Areer also worked as Professor of English Language at the Islamic University which was destroyed in the Israeli aggression. A number of its staff along with its President were martyred as well.

Al-Areer was one of the courageous voices who spoke and wrote in English about the Palestinian cause and refuted the Israeli narrative. He is the author of the book "Gaza Writes Back".

He was also hosted in distinguished interviews with various Western media outlets.

3. UK APPROVED ARMS FOR ISRAEL DAYS AFTER IT KILLED BRITISH AID WORKERS

BY JOHN MCEVOY | DECLASSIFIED UK | APRIL 23, 2024

On 1 April, Israeli forces launched a series of airstrikes on a convoy of aid workers in Gaza, killing three Britons, a Polish national, a Palestinian, an American-Canadian dual citizen, and an Australian.

The Israeli Air Force carried out the bombing with a Hermes 450 drone. According to Campaign Against the Arms Trade, this drone may be powered by a R902(W) Wankel engine produced in Britain by UAV Engines Limited (UEL).

New court documents show that the UK government decided to continue arms exports to Israel on 8 April, one week after the strike on the aid workers who were employed by the charity World Central Kitchen (WCK).

The revelation will put additional pressure on the Foreign Office to justify its decision not to suspend arms sales to Israel.

'Killed with British weapons'

Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq challenged the UK government today in court over arms sales to Israel.

Documents provided to the court show that the UK government has conducted five legal assessments of the situation in Gaza since 18 December.

One of those assessments, which covered the period 18 December to 29 February, was delivered to UK foreign secretary David Cameron on 28 March.

On 3 April, two days after the Israeli airstrike on the aid workers, Cameron used this assessment to recommend that the UK continue arms sales to Israel.

Five days later, UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch authorised the continuation of extant licences and new licences to Israel, according to GLAN's press statement.

The court documents further show that the UK government is capable of making "out of cycle assessments… where circumstances require" on Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.

However, such an assessment was apparently not conducted following Israel's attack on the WCK staff.

Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer at GLAN, said: "The world has watched as 34,000 people have been killed, and more are being killed every day… Has the Government no regard for the immense loss of human life thus far, some of whom will have been killed with British weapons?"

Hermes 450 drone

The UK government is also refusing to rule out whether British machinery was used in the killing of the aid workers.

On 12 April, Kenny MacAskill MP asked in parliament whether the government had made an assessment of whether UEL engines or engine parts had been used in the strike. Trade minister Alan Mak said his department could not comment "on specific licences".

On 17 April, Andy McDonald MP also asked whether the three British aid workers "were killed by weapons manufactured in Britain". Foreign Office minister David Rutley responded simply that "we have strong export controls".

UEL designs and manufactures engines for drones, specialising in Wankel technology which delivers an "outstanding power-to-size and weight ratio… ideal for tactical unmanned aircrafts".

The company was established in Staffordshire in 1992, before being acquired by Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems.

Over recent decades, concerns have been raised that UEL produces engines and engine parts for Israel's drone fleet, which is frequently used to support bombing campaigns over Gaza.

Made in Britain

In 2009, it was reported that the engines for Israel's Hermes 450 drone had been manufactured by UEL. These claims were supported by information on Elbit's own website.

British arms control officials subsequently admitted that they had licensed engines to Israel for onward export, but could not confirm that the engines had not instead been fitted to the Hermes 450 drone.

Since then, the UK government has continued to issue licences to UEL for exports to Israel. The most recent licence was seemingly granted in 2021, allowing UEL to export parts for military engines to Israel.

Campaign Against the Arms Trade's Sam Perlo Freeman told Middle East Eye: "The evidence seems to stack up that it is a UK engine and, if it's not, then Elbit need to clarify that… Definitely it seems to be based on a UK design at the very least".

An Elbit Systems spokesperson told Declassified: "Elbit Systems UK, its subsidiaries and joint ventures, including UAV Engines Limited and U-Tacs, are not involved in the Hermes 450 programme".

The company's spokesperson, however, would not respond to a further question on whether Israel's Hermes 450 drones use engines or engine parts produced by UEL in the UK. They said: "We have nothing further to add to the [previous] statement".

A UK-based subsidiary of Elbit Systems and Thales also produces the Watchkeeper drone, which is modelled on Elbit's Hermes 450 and used by the British army.

"The British government is, in effect, buying technology that has been 'field tested' on Palestinians", noted campaign group War on Want.

'A full, transparent explanation'

The day after the Israeli airstrikes on the aid convoy, UK foreign secretary David Cameron announced that he had "called on Israel to immediately investigate and provide a full, transparent explanation of what happened".

On 5 April, the IDF published the conclusions of its investigation, claiming that Israeli forces had identified gunmen near the trucks and "mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists".

The report continued: "Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees". The IDF chief of the general staff subsequently dismissed the Israeli brigade's commander and chief of staff.

Israel's self-exonerating investigation was led by Yoav Har-Even, the former head of the IDF operations directorate, and now the president and CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

Rafael is one of Israel's biggest arms firms. It is owned and controlled by the Israeli state, and its largest client is the IDF. The investigation into the killing of the aid workers was therefore led by the CEO of a company which supplies many of the bombs that Israel is using to destroy Gaza.

The UK government has not commented on whether this satisfies its demand for a "full, transparent explanation", and the extent to which the Foreign Office is pressing Israel on the matter remains unclear.

Mak recently told parliament: "We are carefully reviewing initial findings of Israel's investigations into the killing". He continued: "The findings of the inquiry must be published in full and followed up with a wholly independent review to ensure the utmost transparency and accountability".

Prior to the attack on the WCK staff, at least 357 humanitarian-run sites in Gaza had reportedly been attacked.

John McEvoy is an independent journalist who has written for International History Review, The Canary, Tribune Magazine, Jacobin and Brasil Wire.

4. French Servicemen Promised Big Money for Fighting in Ukraine – Ex-Intel Officer

Sputnik – 26.04.2024

PARIS – French servicemen are being promised a golden parachute for participating in fictitious "resignations" to fight in Ukraine said Nicolas Cinquini, a veteran of France's counter-terrorism intelligence service, to Sputnik.

Cinquini is currently searching for information about French nationals who fight in the conflict on the side of Kiev. According to his findings, French state agents may have been in Ukraine since the start of the special military operation in February 2022 along with ordinary French civilians who went to fight for the Kiev regime on their own.

"These are agents who remain very secretive and are difficult to identify," the former intelligence officer noted.

"Sources told us that in the ranks of the French army, specialists were given attractive offers: a false resignation, a guarantee of reinstatement upon completion, and an income significantly higher than their usual earnings," he said.

In February, French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would do everything to prevent Russia "from winning this war." At a conference on assistance to Ukraine, he raised the issue of transferring troops to the combat zone, but neither European leaders nor the opposition in his own country supported him. At the beginning of March, Macron also emphasized that France "has no limits or red lines" in matters of supporting Ukraine.

Later, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin, said France had already begun training a contingent to be sent to the conflict zone; at the first stage it would amount to about 2,000 military personnel. Later, the SVR, citing Naryshkin, said a French military unit, should it be in Ukraine, would become a priority legitimate target for the Russian military. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu by phone that sending French troops to Ukraine would create problems for France itself.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said in an interview with Dmitry Kiselev, the Director General of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media company, that the deployment of European troops to Ukraine will not change the situation on the battlefield but will lead to dire consequences for Kiev. In response to Macron's words about the absence of red lines, the Russian leader said Moscow will not have restrictions in relation to states with such an approach either.

5. US created Ukraine conflict – Shoigu

RT | April 26, 2024

The Ukraine conflict is Washington's doing and the US is deliberately trying to prolong the fighting, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Friday during a meeting with his counterparts from Asian nations.

Shoigu is taking part in a gathering of military chiefs from members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a nine-strong mutual defense organization. The Russian minister used the forum hosted by Kazakhstan to reiterate Moscow's position on the origins of its conflict with Ukraine.

He identified Washington as a major source of global instability, citing its record of military interventions abroad, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. The US also uses less direct financial and diplomatic tools to damage its opponents, including by fueling chaos in different parts of the world, Shoigu alleged.

"The US had first created, and now is deliberately prolonging the Ukraine conflict," the minister stated. "As it signals purported intention to de-escalate, the West keeps pumping Kiev with weapons."

Ukraine cannot properly control the donations, meaning there is the risk that they could end up with terrorist groups, Shoigu warned.

"They provide real-time intelligence, train Ukrainian troops, deploy Western military specialists and mercenaries on the battlefield," he added, describing the involvement by various NATO members.

The US and its allies claim that Russia launched an "unprovoked" attack on Ukraine in February 2022, and they have since sent tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Kiev.

Shoigu accused the US of double standards regarding a nation's right to self-defense. He cited Washington's blocking of a UN Security Council resolution which would have condemned Israel for attacking an Iranian consulate in Damascus in early April. Tehran's eventual retaliatory attack was the result of this obstruction, the Russian minister said.

Iran joined the SCO last year and was also taking part in the meeting in Kazakhstan.

6. Russia Never Threatened NATO, Has No Interests in Attacking Member States – Shoigu

Sputnik – 26.04.2024

ASTANA – Russia has never threatened NATO and has neither geopolitical nor military interests to attack the states of the alliance, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

"Russia has never threatened NATO. We have neither geopolitical nor military interests to attack the states of the bloc. We are simply protecting our people in our historical territories," Shoigu said during a meeting of defense ministers of the SCO member countries in Astana.

Russia has always made maximum efforts to maintain strategic stability and balance of power in the world, the minister added.

The SCO was founded in 2001. India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan are its full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia are observer states; Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Cambodia, Nepal, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar, Bahrain, and Kuwait are dialogue partners.

US Plans on Military Infrastructure in Central Asia Threatens SCO Space Stability

The US intention to deploy military infrastructure in the Central and South Asia is direct a threat to stability in the SCO space, the minister noted.

"I believe that all those present share the opinion that the deployment of military infrastructure in the region by the United States and its allies is unacceptable. Such intentions must be regarded as a direct threat to stability in the SCO space," Shoigu said.

Commenting on the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, Shoigu said that US-oriented military and political structures are trying to remake security system in the region to dominate this part of the planet.

Additionally, the minister added that the return of radical Islamists from the Middle East and North Africa to Southeast Asia creates prerequisites for new hot spots.

The United States uses the tactics of inciting hotbeds of instability in the world, generating security threats, while it simultaneously offers military assistance, Shoigu pointed out.

On Tuesday, the US Senate passed the $95 billion legislation with approximately $61 billion in Ukraine-related funding, $26 billion in Israel-related funding and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific security initiatives in a vote of 79-18. The Biden administration is reportedly readying a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine sourced from the legislation.

"[The US] uses a technique that has been proven many times — inciting and maintaining hotbeds of instability in various regions of the world, generating security threats while simultaneously offering military assistance to neutralize them," he said.

Continued Strikes by Ukraine on Zaporozhye NPP Can Lead to Catastrophic Consequences

Shoigu also touched upon potential catastrophic consequences caused by the ongoing Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

"The ongoing strikes of the Ukrainian armed forces on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which could lead to catastrophic consequences, are of particular concern," Shoigu emphasized.

The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is located on the left bank of the Dnepr River and is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It came under the control of Russian forces in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled by Ukrainian forces, raising international fears of a possible nuclear accident.

7. Blinken’s Failed Diplomacy: Feeble and Hostile Threats against China by Top-ranking US Officials Visiting Beijing

By Drago Bosnic | Global Research | April 25, 2024

On April 24, US State Secretary Antony Blinken landed in China and officially started his (hopefully) diplomatic visit. The relationship between the two countries has worsened significantly. Beijing's peaceful overtures have been met with nothing but hostility in Washington DC. The United States is simply terrified of the prospect that China will overtake it. However, this has already happened in many ways.

When not murdering millions around the world, America is still trying to figure out whether public toilets should be "mixed-gender", while China is busy building not just itself, but the world, too.

Most of the planet is perfectly aware of this disparity and is making it clear that cooperation with Beijing is a matter of choice, while having anything to do with Washington DC mostly boils down to coercion, as the political elites there are simply incapable of conducting "diplomacy" without resorting to arm-twisting.

Blinken is going to China precisely with such bearing, pompously announcing that he "arrives with a warning that the US and its European allies are no longer prepared to tolerate China's sale of weapon components and dual-use products to Russia". The political West insists that this is "helping Vladimir Putin rebuild and modernize his arms factories, enabling him to intensify his onslaught on Ukraine". Caught in the web of its own endless stream of lies, the belligerent power pole is trying to blame anyone but itself. However, this is all futile, particularly when it comes to superpowers such as China. Beijing will certainly decide whether or not to do business with someone and the political West has no say in it whatsoever. Blinken will have three days to relay the US position and if that time will be used to make toothless threats and attempt blackmail, he should've certainly picked another country.

The mainstream propaganda machine thinks that the relations between the US and China are improving, citing Blinken's planned attendance at a basketball game as the indicator of this.

However, the simple fact that none of the top-ranking officials greeted him when he flew in indicates something completely different. Blinken is supposed to meet Beijing's veteran Foreign Minister Wang Yi tomorrow. The encounter is expected to last at least six hours and might even include President Xi Jinping. This will certainly depend on Blinken's command of actual diplomacy, as the aforementioned threats he pompously announced are only for domestic consumption and are entirely void in China. The US might threaten with sanctions, but this is a two-way street and any reciprocal measures would certainly hurt America's economic and maybe even national security interests. It's entirely up to the US whether things will take such an unpleasant turn.

The troubled Biden administration reportedly raised the issue of the supposed "support" for Russia directly with President Xi Jinping, while US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen did the same during her recent visit to China. However, Beijing seems completely unconcerned, as it has repeatedly stated that Washington DC's threats regarding its close ties with Moscow mean nothing, particularly as the US and its vassals and satellite states keep escalating their aggression in the Asia-Pacific. It seems that simply maintaining normal economic and financial relations with Russia now boils down to "helping" its efforts to push back against NATO aggression in Europe. After all, even if countries like China, Iran and North Korea are building closer ties with their northern neighbor, it can only be expected that everyone the political West keeps threatening will find ways to unite their forces and push back together.

"Let me stress again that China's right to conduct normal trade and economic exchanges with Russia and other countries in the world on the basis of equality and mutual benefit should not be interfered with or disrupted," Wang Wenbin, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, stated just before Blinken's arrival, adding: "China's legitimate and lawful rights and interests should not be infringed on."

US officials insist that Beijing supposedly "gave up on the idea of sending weapons directly to Moscow thanks to their threats". However, the entire claim is essentially a multilayered lie, as there's no evidence whatsoever that China ever planned on arming Russia, let alone that it stopped doing so because of the political West's pressure. On top of that, Washington DC is trying to disrupt the rapidly growing trade between the two (Eur)Asian giants, particularly through claims that Beijing is supplying so-called "dual-use" industrial goods. This is where the endless hypocrisy and mental gymnastics of the political West become most evident. While the US just decided to send dozens of billions worth of weapons to directly undermine Russia's and China's basic national security interests, it's accusing the latter of "helping" the former by simply trading with it, as the so-called "dual-use" industrial goods can be pretty much anything.

Worse yet, the US and its vassals and satellite states are surrounding both Beijing and Moscow with long-range missiles and deploying troops not only in their vicinity, but directly on their borders. Still, according to their own admission, "the Blinken team is worried that China's response to pressure over Russia could be to slow down progress in other areas of the bilateral relationship". This also includes the (Eur)Asian giant's close ties with North Korea, as the US wants it to put pressure on Pyongyang. Washington DC is particularly terrified of the prospect that Russia, China and North Korea are forming a more monolithic alliance that the political West will be simply hopeless to match. However, they have nobody else to blame but themselves. Constant threats and attempts to undermine all three of these countries left them with no other choice but to work together. After all, that's one of the reasons why BRICS itself exists.

8. Blinken threatens China over Russia ties

RT | April 26, 2024

Washington is ready to introduce more sanctions against China over its alleged transfer of dual-use goods and components, which can supposedly be used by the Russian military industrial complex, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the US official recalled that Washington has already imposed sanctions against more than 100 Chinese entities and is "fully prepared to act" and "take additional measures."

Blinken claimed that China's alleged support for the Russian defense industry raises concerns not only about the situation in Ukraine, but also about a "medium to long-term threat that many Europeans feel viscerally that Russia poses to them."

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal had also reported that the US was drafting sanctions that could cut off some Chinese banks from the global financial system unless Beijing severs its economic ties with Russia.

The outlet claimed that US officials believe trade with China has allowed Russia to rebuild its military industrial capacity and could help it defeat Ukraine in a war of attrition.

Beijing, in turn, has accused the US of hypocrisy for providing billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine while "unreasonably criticizing the normal trade and economic relations between Russia and China."

"This is a very hypocritical and irresponsible approach," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbing told reporters on Friday in response to Blinken's concerns about Beijing's support of Moscow.

China has also vehemently rejected accusations leveled by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of "fueling" the Ukraine conflict. Beijing has instead blamed NATO for instigating the crisis by continuing its expansion in Europe and refusing to respect Russian national security concerns.

Following his meeting with Blinken, President Xi suggested that the US and China "should be partners, not rivals" and should strive towards achieving "mutual success and not harm each other."

"I proposed three major principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. They are not only a summary of past experience, but also a guide to the future," the Chinese leader was quoted as saying.

Beijing has maintained a policy of neutrality on the Ukraine conflict, with Chinese officials repeatedly stating that the country is not selling weapons to either Russia or Ukraine. Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning insisted that China "regulates the export of dual-use articles in accordance with laws and regulations," urging "relevant countries" not to "smear or attack the normal relations between China and Russia."

In December last year, US President Joe Biden issued a decree which enabled sanctions on foreign financial institutions that continue to deal with Russia. It targeted lenders outside US and EU jurisdictions that help Russia source sensitive items, which reportedly include semiconductors, machine tools, chemical precursors, ball bearings, and optical systems.

9. A CR!ME OF THE CENTURY 1/2 (2021 DOCUMENTARY)

July 26, 2023

Director Alex Gibney explores how Purdue Pharma worked closely with the FDA to approve OxyContin for widespread use, touting its safety without evidence and campaigning to redefine pain treatment. In the face of insufficient government intervention, Purdue continued to prioritize profit over addiction, creating a market for even deadlier opioids.

10. Why won’t Chris Packham have a real debate on climate?

By Paul Homewood | Not A Lot Of People Know That | April 25, 2024

On Sunday, the BBC did something unusual. It invited Luke Johnson, a climate contrarian, to join a panel with Laura Kuenssberg to discuss net zero. As followers of this debate will know, the BBC's editorial policy unit issued guidance to staff in 2018 saying: 'As climate change is accepted as happening, you do not need a "denier" to balance the debate.' Although it did allow for exceptions to this rule: 'There are occasions where contrarians and sceptics should be included within climate change and sustainability debates.' Presumably this was one such occasion.

The other two people on the panel – Chris Packham and Layla Moran – are members of the climate emergency camp, so there was no pretence of 'balance'. At one point, the exchange between Johnson and Packham became heated and when the latter invoked the recent downpour in Dubai as well as extensive wildfires in the 'global south', as evidence of the effect of anthropogenic global warming, Johnson challenged him to come up with evidence that extreme weather was caused by carbon emissions.

'It doesn't come from Toby Young's Daily Septic [sic], which is basically put together by a bunch of professionals with close affiliations to the fossil fuel industry,' replied Packham. 'It comes from something called science.' This was hailed by Packham's side as a slam-dunk rebuttal of Johnson's argument. The Canary wrote up the exchange under the following headline: 'Chris Packham just humiliated Kuenssberg's preposterous climate-denying guest.' The London Economic, which describes itself as 'a digital newspaper with a metropolitan mindset', summarised it as follows: 'With science on his side, Chris Packham was able to deliver a devastating put-down when challenged on the evidence of climate change.'

I can't help thinking Packham's 'devastating put-down' would have been more effective if it had been true. The people who put together the Daily Sceptic, a news publishing site I've edited since 2020, have no connections to the fossil fuel industry. If Packham and his allies are so convinced of the rightness of their cause, why invent reasons to discredit their opponents? A clip from the show including this claim was posted on Twitter by BBC Politics and retweeted by Laura Kuenssberg, getting, at last count, 845,000 views. And to think the BBC launched a multi-million-pound department last year to 'address the growing threat of disinformation'.

What about Packham's claim that 'something called science' provides all the evidence we need that extreme weather events are caused by burning fossil fuels? There's really no such thing as 'the science', as in a consensus viewpoint among scientists that's so incontrovertible no serious debate is possible. All scientific theories are just hypotheses and, as such, subject to challenge. Indeed, if it were illegitimate to challenge these theories, progress in science wouldn't be possible. To pretend that the science of what causes extreme weather is 'settled' when it's the subject of ongoing dispute suggests that Packham and his pals aren't capable of having a proper grown-up discussion.

Full story here.

Toby Young actually understates his complaint, as there is no evidence that weather is actually becoming more extreme – something the IPCC admit.

It is very easy for these conmen to claim it is, and simply justify it with a statement that "scientists say". But as Toby points out, they are unable to back it up with actual data and evidence.

The idea, fraudulently circulated by grant funded climate scientists, that global warming means extreme weather has always been by definition absurd. After all, does this mean that the Earth's climate was ideal during the Ice Age, which would be the logical conclusion?

The simple fact is that there has always been unpleasant weather, storms, floods, droughts, and glaciation. If Chris Packham can provide evidence that these have all gotten worse in recent times, then let him present it.

If he can't, the BBC should apologise for broadcasting false statements, exclude him from all future debates on climate change, and ban him from making any further such political comments if he wishes to remain as an employee.