offguardian--2020-11-18--Crisis, What Crisis? Hypocrisy and Public Health in the UK

On 12 March 2020 , British PM Boris Johnson , referring to COVID-19 , informed the public : Since that time , we have seen lockdowns , an ongoing government-backed fear campaign , fundamental rights being stripped away , dissent censored , inflated COVID-19 death numbers and the use of a flawed PCR test to label perfectly healthy individuals as COVID-19 ‘ cases ’ in order to fit the narrative of a ‘ second wave ’ .
But , just for a moment , consider an alternative scenario… The government is extremely worried about a substance that could be contributing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been decades in the making .
It has been detected in food and in urine .
The government has therefore decided to carry out mass urine testing .
It has found millions of ‘ cases ’ .
The more it tests , the more ‘ cases ’ it finds .
The government and the media promote the message we are all at risk and should get tested .
Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent to allow for the testing of the entire population .
All cafes , pubs , restaurants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aside from those designated to sell only food that is regarded as ‘ safe ’ by the government .
All weddings , parties and get-togethers are banned because contaminated food might be passed around .
Severe restrictions are put in place because this ‘ stuff ’ is in the air , water , plants , animals , grains , vegetables and meats .
And it is in beer and wine , children ’ s breakfast cereal and snack bars and even in our vaccines .
Everyone is under virtual house arrest until this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government briefings are held on TV with the PM and health officials in attendance .
The PM tells everyone that this thing is linked to various conditions , including obesity , depression , Alzheimer ’ s , ADHD , autism , multiple sclerosis , Parkinson ’ s , kidney disease , inflammatory bowel disease , brain , breast and prostate cancer , miscarriage , birth defects and declining sperm counts .
Imagine that scenario .
But the substance being referred to is very real .
It is heavily associated with all the conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and food .
But the government does nothing .
It does not just do nothing but actively facilitates the marketing of this substance and collude with its manufacturers .
And the name of this ‘ stuff ’ ?
Glyphosate , the world ’ s most widely used herbicide .
The main culprit – Monsanto ’ s Roundup .
But it is not just glyphosate .
It is the cocktail of agricultural chemicals that have been in use for decades .
Earlier this year , in a 29-page open letter to Fiona Godlee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason spent 11 pages documenting the spiralling rates of disease that she says ( supported by numerous research studies cited ) are largely the result of exposure to health-damaging agrochemicals , including glyphosate-based herbicides .
The amount of glyphosate-based herbicide sprayed by UK farmers on crops has gone from 226,762 kg in 1990 to 2,240,408 kg in 2016 , a 10-fold increase .
In her letter , Mason discussed links between multiple pesticide residues ( including glyphosate ) in food and steady increases in the number of cancers both in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , chronic kidney disease , Alzheimer ’ s , Parkinson ’ s , obesity and many other conditions .
Agrochemicals are a major contributory factor for the spikes in these diseases and conditions .
This is the real public health crisis affecting the UK .
Each year , there are steady increases in the numbers of new cancers in the UK and increases in deaths from the same cancers , with treatments not making any difference to the numbers .
While there is much talk of the coronavirus placing immense strain on an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already creaking .
And people ’ s immune systems are already strongly compromised due to what Mason outlines .
But do we see a ‘ lockdown ’ on the activities of the global agrochemical conglomerates ?
Not at all .
We see governments and public health bodies working hand in glove with the agrochemicals manufacturers to ensure ‘ business as usual ’ .
It might seem strange to many that the UK government is seemingly going out of its way ( by stripping people of their freedoms ) under the guise of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to oversee a massive , ongoing one caused by the chemical pollution of our bodies .
Unlike COVID-19 , this is a ‘ silent ’ crisis that actually does affect all sections of the population and causes immense widespread suffering .
It is silent because the mainstream media and various official reports in the UK have consistently ignored or downplayed the role of pesticides in fuelling this situation .
Hundreds of lawsuits are pending against Bayer in the US , filed by people alleging that exposure to Monsanto ’ s Roundup herbicide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that Monsanto covered up the risks ( Roundup is linked to cancers of the bone , colon , kidney , liver , melanoma , pancreas and thyroid ) .
The WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer ( IARC ) has declared glyphosate as a 2A carcinogen .
In 2017 , in a public hearing in Brussels , Dr Christopher Portier and Dr Kate Guyton defended IARC ’ s position .
Portier drew attention to the significance of statistically significant tumour findings that had not been discussed in any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Portier concluded that as the regulatory bodies , the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency ’ s analyses were scientifically flawed .
These organisations had also used industry studies that were not in the public domain for ‘ reasons of commercial confidentiality ’ to support their case that glyphosate was not carcinogenic .
Mason has written numerous open letters to officials citing reams of statistical data to support the contention that agrochemicals , especially Monsanto ’ s glyphosate-based Roundup , have devastated the natural environment and have also led to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not least among children .
Regulators around the world have falsely assumed that it is safe to use pesticides at industrial scales across landscapes and the effects of dosing whole regions with chemicals have been largely ignored .
A report delivered to the UN Human Rights Council , says that pesticides have catastrophic impacts on the environment , human health and society as a whole .
Authored by Hilal Elver , UN special rapporteur on the right to food , and Baskut Tuncak , UN special rapporteur on toxics , the report states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows that even at “ low ” doses of childhood exposure , irreversible health impacts can result .
But most victims can not prove the cause of their disability or disease , limiting our ability to hold those responsible to account .
The authors were severely critical of the global corporations that manufacture pesticides , accusing them of the “ systematic denial of harms ” , “ aggressive , unethical marketing tactics ” and heavy lobbying of governments which has “ obstructed reforms and paralysed global pesticide restrictions ” .
Way back in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Silent Spring raised the red flag about the use of harmful synthetic pesticides ; yet , despite the warnings , the agrochemical giants have ever since been poisoning humans and the planet , raking in enormous profits .
Michael McCarthy , writer and naturalist , says that three generations of industrialised farming with a vast tide of poisons pouring over the land year after year after year since the end of the Second World War is the true price of pesticide-based agriculture , which society has for so long blithely accepted .
Power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a handful of transnational agribusiness corporations which put profit and market control ahead of food security , health and nutrition and biodiversity .
Due to their political influence and financial clout , these companies are waging a chemical warfare on nature and people , while seeking to convince us that their model of agriculture – based on proprietary seeds and chemicals – is essential for feeding a burgeoning global population .
Consider that none of the more than 400 pesticides that have been authorised in the UK have been tested for long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foetus , in children or in adults .
Theo Colborn ’ s crucial research in the early 1990s showed that endocrine disrupters ( EDCs ) were changing humans and the environment , but this research was ignored by officials .
Glyphosate is an EDC and a nervous system disrupting chemical .
In the book published in 1996 ‘ Our Stolen Future : How Man-made Chemicals are Threatening our Fertility , Intelligence and Survival ’ Colborn and colleagues revealed the full horror of what was happening to the world as a result of contamination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research about how a wide range of these chemicals can disrupt delicate hormone systems in humans .
These systems play a critical role in processes ranging from human sexual development to behaviour , intelligence and the functioning of the immune system .
In addition to glyphosate , EDCs include polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCBs ) .
DDT , chlordane , lindane , aldrin , dieldrin , endrin , toxaphene , heptachlor , dioxin , atrazine and dacthal .
In 2007 , 25 experts in environmental health from 11 countries ( including from the UK @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this statement : The Department of Health ’ s School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme ( SFVS ) has residues of 123 different pesticides that impact the gut microbiome .
Obesity is associated with low diversity of bacteria in the microbiome and glyphosate adversely affects or destroys much of the beneficial bacteria .
Roundup ( and other biocides ) is linked to gross obesity , neuropsychiatric disorders and other chronic diseases , which are all on the rise and adversely impact brain development in children and adolescents .
Moreover , type 2 diabetes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to NHS data , almost four in five of 715 children suffering from it were also obese .
Graham MacGregor , a professor of cardiovascular health at Queen Mary University of London who is also the chair of the campaign group Action on Sugar , says : He went on to explain that we are in a crisis and that the government does not seem to be taking action .
UK obesity levels now exceed those of the US .
The human microbiome is of vital importance to human health yet it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shikimate pathway within these gut bacteria and is a strong chelator of essential minerals .
Many key neurotransmitters are located in the gut .
Aside from affecting the functioning of major organs , these transmitters affect our moods and thinking .
There is strong evidence that gut bacteria can have a direct physical impact on the brain .
Dr Michael Antoniou of King ’ s College London has found that Roundup herbicide and its active ingredient glyphosate cause a dramatic increase in the levels of two substances , shikimic acid and 3-dehydroshikimic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are a direct indication that the EPSPS enzyme of the shikimic acid pathway has been severely inhibited .
Roundup and glyphosate affected the microbiome at all dose levels tested , causing shifts in bacterial populations .
A quarter of all food and over a third of fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK contain pesticide cocktails , with some items containing traces of up to 14 different pesticides .
The industry ( for it is the industry that does the testing , on behalf of regulators ) only tests one pesticide at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of pesticides .
Ian Boyd , the former Chief Scientific Adviser to Defra , says pesticides , once they have been authorised , are never reviewed .
Glyphosate is distributed to every organ of the body and has multiple actions : it is an herbicide , an antibiotic , a fungicide , an antiprotozoal , an organic phosphonate , a growth regulator , a toxicant , a virulence enhancer and is persistent in the soil .
It chelates ( captures ) and washes out the following minerals : boron , calcium , cobalt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ magnesium , manganese , nickel and zinc .
In a paper published in King ’ s Law Journal – ‘ The Chemical Anthropocene : Glyphosate as a Case Study of Pesticide Exposures ’ – the authors Alessandra Arcuri and Yogi Hale Hendlin state : They add that the entrenched asymmetries between public and ecological health and fast-to-market new chemicals is exacerbated by the seeming lack of institutionalised precautionary policies .
Britain and the US are in the midst of a barely reported public health crisis .
These countries are experiencing not merely a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many other rich countries is continuing to lengthen , but the start of an alarming increase in death rates across all our populations , men and women alike .
People are needlessly dying early .
Research by US-based EWG found glyphosate residues on popular oat cereals , oatmeal , granola and snack bars .
Almost 75 % of the 45 samples tested had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children ’ s health with an adequate margin of safety .
Disturbing levels of such residues have been detected in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high levels of weed killer in UK breakfast cereals .
After testing these cereals at the Health Research Institute in Iowa , Dr Fagan , director of the centre , said : Glyphosate also causes epigenetic changes in humans and animals : diseases skip a generation .
Washington State University researchers have found a variety of diseases and other health problems in the second- and third-generation offspring of rats exposed to glyphosate .
In the first study of its kind , the researchers saw descendants of exposed rats developing prostate , kidney and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports , the researchers say they saw “ dramatic increases ” in several pathologies affecting the second and third generations .
The second generation had “ significant increases ” in testis , ovary and mammary gland diseases as well as obesity .
In third-generation males , the researchers saw a 30 % incidence of prostate disease — three times the rate of a control population .
The third generation of females had a 40 % incidence of kidney disease , or four times the rate of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second-generation mothers had unsuccessful pregnancies , with most of those affected dying .
Two out of five males and females in the third generation were obese .
Researchers call this phenomenon “ generational toxicology ” and they have seen it over the years in fungicides , pesticides , jet fuel , the plastics compound bisphenol A , the insect repellent DEET and the herbicide atrazine .
At work are epigenetic changes that turn genes on and off , often because of environmental influences .
A study published in February 2019 found glyphosate increased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much as 41 % .
A Washington State University study published in December 2019 found state residents living close to areas subject to treatments with the herbicide are one-third more likely to die an early death from Parkinson ’ s disease .
Robert F Kennedy Jr , one of the attorney ’ s fighting Bayer ( which has bought Monsanto ) in the US courts , has explained that for four decades Monsanto manoeuvred to conceal Roundup ’ s carcinogenicity by capturing regulatory agencies , corrupting public officials , bribing scientists and engaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of reckoning .
He says that Monsanto also faces cascading scientific evidence linking glyphosate to a constellation of other injuries that have become prevalent since its introduction , including obesity , depression , Alzheimer ’ s , ADHD , autism , multiple sclerosis , Parkinson ’ s , kidney disease , inflammatory bowel disease , brain , breast and prostate cancer , miscarriage , birth defects and declining sperm counts .
Moreover , strong science suggests glyphosate is the culprit in the exploding epidemics of celiac disease , colitis , gluten sensitivities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the first time , is attacking children as young as 10 .
And yet , as Mason has described in her work , the UK government had colluded with Monsanto for many years .
Boris Johnson , in his first speech to parliament as PM , said : This could mean the irresponsible introduction of genetically modified Roundup Ready food crops to the UK , which would see the amount of glyphosate in British food reaching new levels ( levels which are already disturbing ) .
So much for protecting public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ founder of Syngenta and former Chairman of CropLife International , to the board of Cancer Research UK ( CRUK ) in 2010 .
He became Chairman in 2011 .
At one time or another , CropLife International´s member list has included BASF , Bayer CropScience , Dow AgroSciences , DuPont , FMC Corp , Monsanto , Sumitomo and Syngenta .
Many of these make their own formulated glyphosate .
Syngenta is a member of the European Glyphosate Task Force , which sought to renew ( and succeeded in renewing ) European glyphosate registration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denies that there is any link between pesticides and cancer .
In February 2019 , at a Brexit meeting on the UK chemicals sector , UK regulators and senior officials from government departments listened to the priorities of the Bayer Crop Science Division .
During the meeting ( Westminster Energy , Environment & Transport Forum Keynote Seminar : Priorities for UK chemicals sector – challenges , opportunities and the future for regulation post-Brexit ) , Janet Williams , head of regulatory science at Bayer Crop Science Division , made her priorities for agricultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also a speaker .
Bench is a senior scientist at the UK Chemicals , Health and Safety Executive and director of the agency ’ s EU exit plan and has previously stated that the regulatory system for pesticides is robust and balances the risks of pesticides against the benefits to society .
That statement was merely for public consumption and the benefit of the agrochemical industry .
The industry ( for it is the industry that does the testing , on behalf of regulators ) only tests one pesticide at a time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But such is the British government ’ s willingness to protect pesticide companies that it is handing agrochemical giants BASF and Bayer enormous pay-outs of Covid-19 support cash .
The announcement came just weeks after Bayer shareholders voted to pay £2.75 billion in dividends .
The fact that Bayer then went on to receive £600 million from the government speaks volumes of where the government ’ s priorities lie .
In Mason ’ s report , ‘ Why Does Bayer Crop Science Control Chemicals in Brexit Britain ’ , she states that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ British government to determine which agrochemicals are to be used after Brexit once Britain is ‘ free ’ of EU restrictions and becomes as deregulated as the US .
Such collusion comes as little surprise as the government ’ s ‘ strategy for UK life sciences ’ is already dependent on funding from pharmaceutical corporations and the pesticides industry .
Syngenta ’ s parent company was in 2010 AstraZeneca .
At that time , Syngenta and AstraZeneca were represented on the UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Environment .
The founder of Syngenta , Michael Pragnell , was the Chairman of Cancer Research UK ( CRUK ) from 2011-2017 .
CRUK started by giving money ( £450 million a year ) to the Government ’ s Strategy for UK Life Sciences and AstraZeneca provided 22 compounds to academic research to develop medicines .
AstraZeneca manufactured six different anti-cancer drugs mainly aimed at breast and prostate cancer .
It seems like a highly profitable and cosy relationship between the agrochemical and pharmaceuticals sectors and the government at the expense of public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take a brief look at the Washington-based International Life Sciences Institute ( ILSI ) .
Its members have occupied key positions on EU and UN regulatory panels .
It is , however , an industry lobby group that masquerades as a scientific health charity .
The ILSI describes its mission as “ pursuing objectivity , clarity and reproducibility ” to “ benefit the public good ” .
But researchers from the University of Cambridge , Bocconi University in Milan and the US Right to Know campaign assessed over 17,000 pages of documents under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence of influence peddling .
ILSI Vice-President , Prof Alan Boobis , is currently the Chairman of the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food , Consumer Products and the Environment ( CoT ) .
He was directly responsible for authorising chemicals such as glyphosate , chlorothalonil , clothianidin and chlorpyrifos that are impacting human health and creating a crisis in biodiversity .
His group and others have authorised glyphosate repeatedly .
He and David Coggon , the previous Chairman of CoT ( 2008-2015 ) , were appointed as experts on Science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SAPEA ) , a group allied with the agrochemical industry and is fighting for higher pesticide exposure .
The reality of the agrochemical industry is masked by well-funded public relations machinery .
The industry subverts official agencies and regulatory bodies and supports prolific lobby organisations and ( ‘ public scientists ’ ) which masquerade as neutral institutions .
And for the record , it is possible to farm productively and profitably without the use of synthetic agrochemicals – and to achieve food security .
For instance , see the article ‘ A Skeptical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ based on one US farmers journey from chemical-dependent farming to organic on his 8,000-acre farm ( discussed on the AgWeb site ) or ‘ The Untold Success Story of Agroecology in Africa ’ in the journal Development ( 2015 ) .
From the Tigray region of Ethiopia to various high-level ( UN ) reports that have recommended agroecology there are many examples , too many to discuss here .
The UK government says it cares so much about the nation ’ s health ( the infection mortality rate for COVID-19 appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seasonal flu ) but has presided over and facilitated a genuine public health crisis for years .
And it is now pumping billions of pounds of public money into a track , trace and test regime when it could have used it to boost overall NHS capacity ; remember when the government stated that the initial lockdown was implemented to protect the NHS ?
In fact , the government is spending the equivalent of 77 % of the NHS annual revenue budget on an “ unevaluated , underdesigned national programme leading to an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the wrong people ” says a recent editorial in the BMJ .
In the meantime , it is investing heavily in a ( possibly mandatory ) vaccine that based on the design of the trials – according to a recent article in the same journal – may have no discernible impact on saving lives or preventing serious outcomes or the transmission spread of infection .
Readers can access all Rosemary Mason ’ s reports on the academia.edu site

Rosemary Mason & Colin Todhunter
On 12 March 2020, British PM Boris Johnson, referring to COVID-19, informed the public:
We’ve all got to be clear; this is the worst public health crisis for a generation.
Since that time, we have seen lockdowns, an ongoing government-backed fear campaign, fundamental rights being stripped away, dissent censored, inflated COVID-19 death numbers and the use of a flawed PCR test to label perfectly healthy individuals as COVID-19 ‘cases’ in order to fit the narrative of a ‘second wave’.
But, just for a moment, consider an alternative scenario…
The government is extremely worried about a substance that could be contributing to a spiralling public health crisis that has been decades in the making. It has been detected in food and in urine. The government has therefore decided to carry out mass urine testing. It has found millions of ‘cases’.
The more it tests, the more ‘cases’ it finds. The government and the media promote the message we are all at risk and should get tested. Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent to allow for the testing of the entire population.
All cafes, pubs, restaurants and food stores are locked down, aside from those designated to sell only food that is regarded as ‘safe’ by the government. All weddings, parties and get-togethers are banned because contaminated food might be passed around.
Severe restrictions are put in place because this ‘stuff’ is in the air, water, plants, animals, grains, vegetables and meats. And it is in beer and wine, children’s breakfast cereal and snack bars and even in our vaccines. Everyone is under virtual house arrest until this public health crisis is addressed.
Daily government briefings are held on TV with the PM and health officials in attendance. The PM tells everyone that this thing is linked to various conditions, including obesity, depression, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, brain, breast and prostate cancer, miscarriage, birth defects and declining sperm counts.
Imagine that scenario. But the substance being referred to is very real. It is heavily associated with all the conditions mentioned and is present in our urine and food. But the government does nothing. It does not just do nothing but actively facilitates the marketing of this substance and collude with its manufacturers.
And the name of this ‘stuff’? Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide. The main culprit – Monsanto’s Roundup. But it is not just glyphosate. It is the cocktail of agricultural chemicals that have been in use for decades.
The real public health crisis
Earlier this year, in a 29-page open letter to Fiona Godlee, editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal, environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason spent 11 pages documenting the spiralling rates of disease that she says (supported by numerous research studies cited) are largely the result of exposure to health-damaging agrochemicals, including glyphosate-based herbicides.
The amount of glyphosate-based herbicide sprayed by UK farmers on crops has gone from 226,762 kg in 1990 to 2,240,408 kg in 2016, a 10-fold increase. In her letter, Mason discussed links between multiple pesticide residues (including glyphosate) in food and steady increases in the number of cancers both in the UK as well as allergic diseases, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, obesity and many other conditions.
Agrochemicals are a major contributory factor for the spikes in these diseases and conditions. This is the real public health crisis affecting the UK. Each year, there are steady increases in the numbers of new cancers in the UK and increases in deaths from the same cancers, with treatments not making any difference to the numbers.
While there is much talk of the coronavirus placing immense strain on an underfunded NHS, the health service is already creaking. And people’s immune systems are already strongly compromised due to what Mason outlines. But do we see a ‘lockdown’ on the activities of the global agrochemical conglomerates? Not at all.
We see governments and public health bodies working hand in glove with the agrochemicals manufacturers to ensure ‘business as usual’.
It might seem strange to many that the UK government is seemingly going out of its way (by stripping people of their freedoms) under the guise of a public health crisis but is all too willing to oversee a massive, ongoing one caused by the chemical pollution of our bodies.
Unlike COVID-19, this is a ‘silent’ crisis that actually does affect all sections of the population and causes immense widespread suffering. It is silent because the mainstream media and various official reports in the UK have consistently ignored or downplayed the role of pesticides in fuelling this situation.
Hundreds of lawsuits are pending against Bayer in the US, filed by people alleging that exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide caused them or their loved ones to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that Monsanto covered up the risks (Roundup is linked to cancers of the bone, colon, kidney, liver, melanoma, pancreas and thyroid).
The WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has declared glyphosate as a 2A carcinogen. In 2017, in a public hearing in Brussels, Dr Christopher Portier and Dr Kate Guyton defended IARC’s position. Portier drew attention to the significance of statistically significant tumour findings that had not been discussed in any of the existing reviews on glyphosate.
Portier concluded that as the regulatory bodies, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency’s analyses were scientifically flawed. These organisations had also used industry studies that were not in the public domain for ‘reasons of commercial confidentiality’ to support their case that glyphosate was not carcinogenic.
Mason has written numerous open letters to officials citing reams of statistical data to support the contention that agrochemicals, especially Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup, have devastated the natural environment and have also led to spiralling rates of illness and disease, not least among children.
Regulators around the world have falsely assumed that it is safe to use pesticides at industrial scales across landscapes and the effects of dosing whole regions with chemicals have been largely ignored.
A report delivered to the UN Human Rights Council, says that pesticides have catastrophic impacts on the environment, human health and society as a whole.
Authored by Hilal Elver, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, and Baskut Tuncak, UN special rapporteur on toxics, the report states:
Chronic exposure to pesticides has been linked to cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, hormone disruption, developmental disorders and sterility.
The authors argue:
While scientific research confirms the adverse effects of pesticides, proving a definitive link between exposure and human diseases or conditions or harm to the ecosystem presents a considerable challenge. This challenge has been exacerbated by a systematic denial, fuelled by the pesticide and agro-industry, of the magnitude of the damage inflicted by these chemicals and aggressive, unethical marketing tactics.
Elver says:
The power of the corporations over governments and over the scientific community is extremely important. If you want to deal with pesticides, you have to deal with the companies.
Tuncak states:
Paediatricians have referred to childhood exposure to pesticides as creating a “silent pandemic” of disease and disability. Exposure in pregnancy and childhood is linked to birth defects, diabetes and cancer. Because a child’s developing body is more sensitive to exposure than adults and takes in more of everything – relative to their size, children eat, breathe and drink much more than adults – they are particularly vulnerable to these toxic chemicals.
According to Tuncak, increasing evidence shows that even at “low” doses of childhood exposure, irreversible health impacts can result. But most victims cannot prove the cause of their disability or disease, limiting our ability to hold those responsible to account.
He concludes:
The overwhelming reliance of regulators on industry-funded studies, the exclusion of independent science from assessments and the confidentiality of studies relied upon by authorities must change.
The authors were severely critical of the global corporations that manufacture pesticides, accusing them of the “systematic denial of harms”, “aggressive, unethical marketing tactics” and heavy lobbying of governments which has “obstructed reforms and paralysed global pesticide restrictions”.
Way back in 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring raised the red flag about the use of harmful synthetic pesticides; yet, despite the warnings, the agrochemical giants have ever since been poisoning humans and the planet, raking in enormous profits.
Michael McCarthy, writer and naturalist, says that three generations of industrialised farming with a vast tide of poisons pouring over the land year after year after year since the end of the Second World War is the true price of pesticide-based agriculture, which society has for so long blithely accepted.
Power is now increasingly concentrated in the hands of a handful of transnational agribusiness corporations which put profit and market control ahead of food security, health and nutrition and biodiversity. Due to their political influence and financial clout, these companies are waging a chemical warfare on nature and people, while seeking to convince us that their model of agriculture – based on proprietary seeds and chemicals – is essential for feeding a burgeoning global population.
Consider that none of the more than 400 pesticides that have been authorised in the UK have been tested for long-term actions on the brain: in the foetus, in children or in adults.
Theo Colborn’s crucial research in the early 1990s showed that endocrine disrupters (EDCs) were changing humans and the environment, but this research was ignored by officials. Glyphosate is an EDC and a nervous system disrupting chemical.
In the book published in 1996 ‘Our Stolen Future: How Man-made Chemicals are Threatening our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival’ Colborn and colleagues revealed the full horror of what was happening to the world as a result of contamination with EDCs. There was emerging scientific research about how a wide range of these chemicals can disrupt delicate hormone systems in humans. These systems play a critical role in processes ranging from human sexual development to behaviour, intelligence and the functioning of the immune system.
In addition to glyphosate, EDCs include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). DDT, chlordane, lindane, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, toxaphene, heptachlor, dioxin, atrazine and dacthal.
In 2007, 25 experts in environmental health from 11 countries (including from the UK) met on the Faroes and contributed to this statement:
The periods of embryonic, foetal and infant development are remarkably susceptible to environmental hazards. Toxic exposures to chemical pollutants during these windows of increased susceptibility can cause disease and disability in infants, children and across the entire span of human life.
The Department of Health’s School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) has residues of 123 different pesticides that impact the gut microbiome. Obesity is associated with low diversity of bacteria in the microbiome and glyphosate adversely affects or destroys much of the beneficial bacteria. Roundup (and other biocides) is linked to gross obesity, neuropsychiatric disorders and other chronic diseases, which are all on the rise and adversely impact brain development in children and adolescents.
Moreover, type 2 diabetes is associated with being very overweight. According to NHS data, almost four in five of 715 children suffering from it were also obese.
Graham MacGregor, a professor of cardiovascular health at Queen Mary University of London who is also the chair of the campaign group Action on Sugar, says:
Type 2 diabetes is a disaster for the child and their family and for the NHS. If a child gets type 2 diabetes, it’s condemning them to a lot of complications of that condition, such as blindness, amputations and kidney disease.
He went on to explain that we are in a crisis and that the government does not seem to be taking action. UK obesity levels now exceed those of the US.
The human microbiome is of vital importance to human health yet it is under chemical attack. Glyphosate disrupts the shikimate pathway within these gut bacteria and is a strong chelator of essential minerals.
Many key neurotransmitters are located in the gut. Aside from affecting the functioning of major organs, these transmitters affect our moods and thinking. There is strong evidence that gut bacteria can have a direct physical impact on the brain.
Dr Michael Antoniou of King’s College London has found that Roundup herbicide and its active ingredient glyphosate cause a dramatic increase in the levels of two substances, shikimic acid and 3-dehydroshikimic acid, in the gut, which are a direct indication that the EPSPS enzyme of the shikimic acid pathway has been severely inhibited. Roundup and glyphosate affected the microbiome at all dose levels tested, causing shifts in bacterial populations.
A quarter of all food and over a third of fruit and vegetables consumed in the UK contain pesticide cocktails, with some items containing traces of up to 14 different pesticides. The industry (for it is the industry that does the testing, on behalf of regulators) only tests one pesticide at a time, whereas farmers spray a cocktail of pesticides.
Ian Boyd, the former Chief Scientific Adviser to Defra, says pesticides, once they have been authorised, are never reviewed.
Glyphosate is distributed to every organ of the body and has multiple actions: it is an herbicide, an antibiotic, a fungicide, an antiprotozoal, an organic phosphonate, a growth regulator, a toxicant, a virulence enhancer and is persistent in the soil. It chelates (captures) and washes out the following minerals: boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, nickel and zinc.
In a paper published in King’s Law Journal – ‘The Chemical Anthropocene: Glyphosate as a Case Study of Pesticide Exposures’ – the authors Alessandra Arcuri and Yogi Hale Hendlin state:
As the science against glyphosate safety mounts and lawsuits threaten its chemical manufacture’s profits, the next generation of GMO crops are being keyed to the pesticide dicamba, sold commercially as XtendiMax® – and poised to be the next glyphosate. Regulatory agencies have historically been quick to approve products but slow to reconsider regulations after the decades of accumulated harms become apparent.
They add that the entrenched asymmetries between public and ecological health and fast-to-market new chemicals is exacerbated by the seeming lack of institutionalised precautionary policies.
Britain and the US are in the midst of a barely reported public health crisis. These countries are experiencing not merely a slowdown in life expectancy, which in many other rich countries is continuing to lengthen, but the start of an alarming increase in death rates across all our populations, men and women alike. People are needlessly dying early.
Research by US-based EWG found glyphosate residues on popular oat cereals, oatmeal, granola and snack bars. Almost 75% of the 45 samples tested had glyphosate levels higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health with an adequate margin of safety. Disturbing levels of such residues have been detected in the UK too.
There are shockingly high levels of weed killer in UK breakfast cereals. After testing these cereals at the Health Research Institute in Iowa, Dr Fagan, director of the centre, said:
These results are consistently concerning. The levels consumed in a single daily helping of any one of these cereals, even the one with the lowest level of contamination, is sufficient to put the person’s glyphosate levels above the levels that cause fatty liver disease in rats (and likely in people).
Glyphosate also causes epigenetic changes in humans and animals: diseases skip a generation. Washington State University researchers have found a variety of diseases and other health problems in the second- and third-generation offspring of rats exposed to glyphosate. In the first study of its kind, the researchers saw descendants of exposed rats developing prostate, kidney and ovarian diseases, obesity and birth abnormalities.
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers say they saw “dramatic increases” in several pathologies affecting the second and third generations. The second generation had “significant increases” in testis, ovary and mammary gland diseases as well as obesity. In third-generation males, the researchers saw a 30% incidence of prostate disease — three times the rate of a control population. The third generation of females had a 40% incidence of kidney disease, or four times the rate of the controls.
More than one-third of the second-generation mothers had unsuccessful pregnancies, with most of those affected dying. Two out of five males and females in the third generation were obese.
Researchers call this phenomenon “generational toxicology” and they have seen it over the years in fungicides, pesticides, jet fuel, the plastics compound bisphenol A, the insect repellent DEET and the herbicide atrazine. At work are epigenetic changes that turn genes on and off, often because of environmental influences.
A study published in February 2019 found glyphosate increased the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by as much as 41%. A Washington State University study published in December 2019 found state residents living close to areas subject to treatments with the herbicide are one-third more likely to die an early death from Parkinson’s disease.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, one of the attorney’s fighting Bayer (which has bought Monsanto) in the US courts, has explained that for four decades Monsanto manoeuvred to conceal Roundup’s carcinogenicity by capturing regulatory agencies, corrupting public officials, bribing scientists and engaging in scientific fraud to delay its day of reckoning. He says that Monsanto also faces cascading scientific evidence linking glyphosate to a constellation of other injuries that have become prevalent since its introduction, including obesity, depression, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, brain, breast and prostate cancer, miscarriage, birth defects and declining sperm counts.
Moreover, strong science suggests glyphosate is the culprit in the exploding epidemics of celiac disease, colitis, gluten sensitivities, diabetes and non-alcoholic liver cancer which, for the first time, is attacking children as young as 10.
And yet, as Mason has described in her work, the UK government had colluded with Monsanto for many years.
Boris Johnson, in his first speech to parliament as PM, said:
Let’s start now to liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience sector from anti-genetic modification rules…
This could mean the irresponsible introduction of genetically modified Roundup Ready food crops to the UK, which would see the amount of glyphosate in British food reaching new levels (levels which are already disturbing).
So much for protecting public health.
Government collusion
David Cameron appointed Michael Pragnell, founder of Syngenta and former Chairman of CropLife International, to the board of Cancer Research UK (CRUK) in 2010. He became Chairman in 2011. At one time or another, CropLife International´s member list has included BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, FMC Corp, Monsanto, Sumitomo and Syngenta. Many of these make their own formulated glyphosate.
Syngenta is a member of the European Glyphosate Task Force, which sought to renew (and succeeded in renewing) European glyphosate registration. Not surprisingly, the CRUK website denies that there is any link between pesticides and cancer.
In February 2019, at a Brexit meeting on the UK chemicals sector, UK regulators and senior officials from government departments listened to the priorities of the Bayer Crop Science Division. During the meeting (Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum Keynote Seminar: Priorities for UK chemicals sector – challenges, opportunities and the future for regulation post-Brexit), Janet Williams, head of regulatory science at Bayer Crop Science Division, made her priorities for agricultural chemical manufacturers known.
Dave Bench was also a speaker. Bench is a senior scientist at the UK Chemicals, Health and Safety Executive and director of the agency’s EU exit plan and has previously stated that the regulatory system for pesticides is robust and balances the risks of pesticides against the benefits to society.
That statement was merely for public consumption and the benefit of the agrochemical industry. The industry (for it is the industry that does the testing, on behalf of regulators) only tests one pesticide at a time, whereas farmers spray a cocktail of pesticides.
But such is the British government’s willingness to protect pesticide companies that it is handing agrochemical giants BASF and Bayer enormous pay-outs of Covid-19 support cash. The announcement came just weeks after Bayer shareholders voted to pay £2.75 billion in dividends. The fact that Bayer then went on to receive £600 million from the government speaks volumes of where the government’s priorities lie.
In Mason’s report, ‘Why Does Bayer Crop Science Control Chemicals in Brexit Britain’, she states that Bayer is having secret meetings with the British government to determine which agrochemicals are to be used after Brexit once Britain is ‘free’ of EU restrictions and becomes as deregulated as the US.
Such collusion comes as little surprise as the government’s ‘strategy for UK life sciences’ is already dependent on funding from pharmaceutical corporations and the pesticides industry.
Syngenta’s parent company was in 2010 AstraZeneca. At that time, Syngenta and AstraZeneca were represented on the UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides and the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Foods, Consumer Products and the Environment. The founder of Syngenta, Michael Pragnell, was the Chairman of Cancer Research UK (CRUK) from 2011-2017. CRUK started by giving money (£450 million a year) to the Government’s Strategy for UK Life Sciences and AstraZeneca provided 22 compounds to academic research to develop medicines. AstraZeneca manufactured six different anti-cancer drugs mainly aimed at breast and prostate cancer.
It seems like a highly profitable and cosy relationship between the agrochemical and pharmaceuticals sectors and the government at the expense of public health.
***
In finishing, let us take a brief look at the Washington-based International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI). Its members have occupied key positions on EU and UN regulatory panels. It is, however, an industry lobby group that masquerades as a scientific health charity.
The ILSI describes its mission as “pursuing objectivity, clarity and reproducibility” to “benefit the public good”. But researchers from the University of Cambridge, Bocconi University in Milan and the US Right to Know campaign assessed over 17,000 pages of documents under US freedom of information laws to present evidence of influence peddling.
ILSI Vice-President, Prof Alan Boobis, is currently the Chairman of the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (CoT).
He was directly responsible for authorising chemicals such as glyphosate, chlorothalonil, clothianidin and chlorpyrifos that are impacting human health and creating a crisis in biodiversity. His group and others have authorised glyphosate repeatedly. He and David Coggon, the previous Chairman of CoT (2008-2015), were appointed as experts on Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA), a group allied with the agrochemical industry and is fighting for higher pesticide exposure.
The reality of the agrochemical industry is masked by well-funded public relations machinery. The industry subverts official agencies and regulatory bodies and supports prolific lobby organisations and (‘public scientists’) which masquerade as neutral institutions.
And for the record, it is possible to farm productively and profitably without the use of synthetic agrochemicals – and to achieve food security. For instance, see the article ‘A Skeptical Farmer’s Monster Message on Profitability’ based on one US farmers journey from chemical-dependent farming to organic on his 8,000-acre farm (discussed on the AgWeb site) or ‘The Untold Success Story of Agroecology in Africa’ in the journal Development (2015). From the Tigray region of Ethiopia to various high-level (UN) reports that have recommended agroecology there are many examples, too many to discuss here.
***
The UK government says it cares so much about the nation’s health (the infection mortality rate for COVID-19 appears to be similar to those of a bad seasonal flu) but has presided over and facilitated a genuine public health crisis for years. And it is now pumping billions of pounds of public money into a track, trace and test regime when it could have used it to boost overall NHS capacity; remember when the government stated that the initial lockdown was implemented to protect the NHS?
In fact, the government is spending the equivalent of 77% of the NHS annual revenue budget on an “unevaluated, underdesigned national programme leading to an insufficiently supported intervention – in many cases for the wrong people” says a recent editorial in the BMJ.
In the meantime, it is investing heavily in a (possibly mandatory) vaccine that based on the design of the trials – according to a recent article in the same journal – may have no discernible impact on saving lives or preventing serious outcomes or the transmission spread of infection.
Readers can access all Rosemary Mason’s reports on the academia.edu site


offguardian--2020-11-19--Anti-Lockdown Protests All Across Europe

As the alleged “ second wave ” of the Coronavirus “ pandemic ” is reported to be sweeping across Europe in recent weeks , many governments have enthusiastically embraced their totalitarian side and granted themselves sweeping new “ emergency powers ” alongside new lockdown measures .
The public has been markedly less co-operative this time around .
Rebelling against the seemingly arbitrary limitations which are not supported by either science or common sense .
Protests have taken place all across the continent .
Thousands of people gathered in Berlin over the last few days , protesting the Merkel government passing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water cannons on the crowds , and nearly 200 people were arrested .
The mainstream reported “ hundreds ” of protesters , but as pictures plainly show it was more like tens of thousands : After the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez declared a sixth-month state of emergency in late October , there were days of protests across the country .
Barcelona , already a hot-bed of anti-government feeling due to the brutal repression of the Catalan Independence referendum , saw violent confrontations between riot police and protestors Emmanuel Macron ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , known by protesters as the “ gag law ” , would further militarise French police whilst making it a crime to capture or distribute the image of police officer .
It has met fervent resistance in the shape of angry marches through cities across the country .
Macron ’ s government has a history of attacking civil liberties , and in response to his “ reforms ” the country has seen large-scale protests by the Gilets Jaunes for over a year .
The anti-lockdown protests in Italy reached a fever pitch in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most extensive on the continent .
Marches occurred in dozens of cities across the country , including Rome , Naples , Genoa and Bologna .
The mainstream media went out fo their way to undercut and smear the protests .
CNN and Reuters reported only “ hundreds ” of protesters .
Does this photo have “ hundreds ” of people in it ?
Politico went so far as to actually blame the protests on the Mafia .
Bratislava was home to a huge march of protesters on November 17th , marking the national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
These marches were illegal under the Slovakian emergency law , notionally designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus .
The Danish parliament was subject to 9 days of protests right outside its doors , in opposition to the proposed “ vaccination law ” , which would allow the police to “ physically coerce vaccination through detainment ” .
After nine days of protests , it was reported on social media that the Danish gov ’ t had dropped the law .
However , I could find no official confirmation of that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact , the media have barely covered the proposed law , and literally not mentioned the protests in Copenhagen at all .
A search for “ Covid protests Denmark ” on google , turns up almost no results relating to that topic .
The reason to cover the Danish protest less than the others is that they apparently worked .
and the last thing the establishment wants people to see is that civil disobedience can change anything .
It ’ s good to see the general public ’ s fraying sense of patience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made any sense , and a “ pandemic response ” which is likely to do far more damage than it ever could prevent .
Though civil unrest is undeniably a good and powerful thing , this is also a time to be wary .
If the establishment feel they are losing control of the situation or the narrative , they are likely to double down or try something desperate .
If you ’ re aware of other countries experiencing civil unrest due to “ anti-covid ” measures , please let us know and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

As the alleged “second wave” of the Coronavirus “pandemic” is reported to be sweeping across Europe in recent weeks, many governments have enthusiastically embraced their totalitarian side and granted themselves sweeping new “emergency powers” alongside new lockdown measures.
The public has been markedly less co-operative this time around. Rebelling against the seemingly arbitrary limitations which are not supported by either science or common sense. Protests have taken place all across the continent.
Germany
Thousands of people gathered in Berlin over the last few days, protesting the Merkel government passing a new lockdown law. Police turned water cannons on the crowds, and nearly 200 people were arrested.
According to reliable sources, elements of Antifa rushed to the scene of the Anti-New Normal Totalitarianism protest in Berlin today, hoping to hold the "Corona Deniers" down, so that the cops could hose them real good, but they were just a little too late. pic.twitter.com/RdQ67qYjnN — Consent Factory (@consent_factory) November 18, 2020
The mainstream reported “hundreds” of protesters, but as pictures plainly show it was more like tens of thousands:
“Thanks for the picture Majd Abboud, not hundreds, not thousand, but ten’s of thousands protested in Berlin today and it’s only the beginning of something big…” Sonja Van Ende#Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/hLxNaTEqYv — vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) November 19, 2020
Spain
After the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez declared a sixth-month state of emergency in late October, there were days of protests across the country.
Barcelona, already a hot-bed of anti-government feeling due to the brutal repression of the Catalan Independence referendum, saw violent confrontations between riot police and protestors
France
Emmanuel Macron’s brand new “comprehensive security law”, known by protesters as the “gag law”, would further militarise French police whilst making it a crime to capture or distribute the image of a police officer. It has met fervent resistance in the shape of angry marches through cities across the country.
Protesters across France took to the streets after a law called the Global Security Bill was passed, which outlawed taking photos of police that could be used to expose an officer’s identity.https://t.co/KQjtfWpXhU#StopLoiSecuriteGlobale #StopTheGlobalSecurity pic.twitter.com/WYpy0BCbLU — Protests.media (@ProtestsMedia) November 19, 2020
Macron’s government has a history of attacking civil liberties, and in response to his “reforms” the country has seen large-scale protests by the Gilets Jaunes for over a year.
Italy
The anti-lockdown protests in Italy reached a fever pitch in late October, and were probably the most extensive on the continent. Marches occurred in dozens of cities across the country, including Rome, Naples, Genoa and Bologna.
BOLOGNA, ITALY: The conscience of a country’s population standing against their politicians speaks through this woman who says her life has been destroyed by lockdowns & has nothing to eat or to feed her 3 year old child:pic.twitter.com/84MEBgglkV — Robin Monotti Graziadei (@robinmonotti) October 29, 2020
The mainstream media went out fo their way to undercut and smear the protests. CNN and Reuters reported only “hundreds” of protesters. Does this photo have “hundreds” of people in it?
Politico went so far as to actually blame the protests on the Mafia.
Slovakia
Bratislava was home to a huge march of protesters on November 17th, marking the national holiday known as Fight for Freedom Day. These marches were illegal under the Slovakian emergency law, notionally designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA: Anti-Covid restrictions & anti-government protests despite a ban on public gatherings, on the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution of 1989 & the student demonstration against Nazi occupation of 1939: https://t.co/UzfBlhDoKcpic.twitter.com/oWqhlSTfex — Robin Monotti Graziadei (@robinmonotti) November 18, 2020
DENMARK
The Danish parliament was subject to 9 days of protests right outside its doors, in opposition to the proposed “vaccination law”, which would allow the police to “physically coerce vaccination through detainment”.
DENMARK: 9 days of protests over a new law that “would be able to define groups of people who must be vaccinated. People who refuse the above can be coerced through physical detainment, with police allowed to assist.”pic.twitter.com/LN0SBVKUE8 — Robin Monotti Graziadei (@robinmonotti) November 14, 2020
After nine days of protests, it was reported on social media that the Danish gov’t had dropped the law. However, I could find no official confirmation of that, or reports in the media.
DENMARK: GOOD NEWS! After 9 days of banging pots & pans outside parliament the epidemic law is SCRAPPED. PROTESTING WORKS: DO IT!#WeWillNotComply pic.twitter.com/iFuszio05P — Robin Monotti Graziadei (@robinmonotti) November 15, 2020
In fact, the media have barely covered the proposed law, and literally not mentioned the protests in Copenhagen at all. A search for “Covid protests Denmark” on google, turns up almost no results relating to that topic.
The reason to cover the Danish protest less than the others is that they apparently worked. and the last thing the establishment wants people to see is that civil disobedience can change anything.
*
It’s good to see the general public’s fraying sense of patience with a Covid narrative that has never made any sense, and a “pandemic response” which is likely to do far more damage than it ever could prevent.
Though civil unrest is undeniably a good and powerful thing, this is also a time to be wary. If the establishment feel they are losing control of the situation or the narrative, they are likely to double down or try something desperate.
If you’re aware of other countries experiencing civil unrest due to “anti-covid” measures, please let us know and we will add them to the list.


offguardian--2020-11-20--Portuguese Court Rules PCR Tests “Unreliable” & Quarantines “Unlawful”

An appeals court in Portugal has ruled that the PCR process is not a reliable test for Sars-Cov-2 , and therefore any enforced quarantine based on those test results is unlawful .
Further , the ruling suggested that any forced quarantine applied to healthy people could be a violation of their fundamental right to liberty .
Most importantly , the judges ruled that a single positive PCR test can not be used as an effective diagnosis of infection .
The specifics of the case concern four tourists entering the country from Germany – all of whom are anonymous in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarantined by the regional health authority .
Of the four , only one had tested positive for the virus , whilst the other three were deemed simply of “ high infection risk ” based on proximity to the positive individual .
All four had , in the previous 72 hours , tested negative for the virus before departing from Germany .
In their ruling , judges Margarida Ramos de Almeida and Ana Paramés referred to several scientific studies .
Most notably this study by Jaafar et al.
, which found that – when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more – the accuracy dropped to 3 % , meaning up to 97 % of positive results could be false positives .
The ruling goes on to conclude that , based on the science they read , any PCR test using over 25 cycles is totally unreliable .
Governments and private labs have been very tight-lipped about the exact number of cycles they run when PCR testing , but it is known to sometimes be as high as 45 .
Even fearmonger-in-chief Anthony Fauci has publicly stated anything over 35 is totally unusable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the original Portuguese here , and translated into English here .
There ’ s also a good write up on it on Great Game India , plus a Portuguese professor sent a long email about the case to Lockdown Sceptics .
The media reaction to this case has been entirely predictable – they have not mentioned it .
At all .
Anywhere .
Ever .
The ruling was published on November 11th , and has been referenced by many alt-news sites since…but the mainstream outlets are maintaining a complete blackout on it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the post , because it was “ not a reliable source ” , despite relying on the official court documents : Lookout for a forced and disingenuous “ fact-check ” on this issue from HealthFeedback or some other “ non-partisan ” outlet in the near future .
But until they find some poor shlub to lend their name to it , the media blackout will continue .
Whatever they say , this is a victory for common sense over authoritarianism and hysteria .

An appeals court in Portugal has ruled that the PCR process is not a reliable test for Sars-Cov-2, and therefore any enforced quarantine based on those test results is unlawful.
Further, the ruling suggested that any forced quarantine applied to healthy people could be a violation of their fundamental right to liberty.
Most importantly, the judges ruled that a single positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection.
The specifics of the case concern four tourists entering the country from Germany – all of whom are anonymous in the transcript of the case – who were quarantined by the regional health authority. Of the four, only one had tested positive for the virus, whilst the other three were deemed simply of “high infection risk” based on proximity to the positive individual. All four had, in the previous 72 hours, tested negative for the virus before departing from Germany.
In their ruling, judges Margarida Ramos de Almeida and Ana Paramés referred to several scientific studies. Most notably this study by Jaafar et al., which found that – when running PCR tests with 35 cycles or more – the accuracy dropped to 3%, meaning up to 97% of positive results could be false positives.
The ruling goes on to conclude that, based on the science they read, any PCR test using over 25 cycles is totally unreliable. Governments and private labs have been very tight-lipped about the exact number of cycles they run when PCR testing, but it is known to sometimes be as high as 45. Even fearmonger-in-chief Anthony Fauci has publicly stated anything over 35 is totally unusable.
You can read the complete ruling in the original Portuguese here, and translated into English here. There’s also a good write up on it on Great Game India, plus a Portuguese professor sent a long email about the case to Lockdown Sceptics.
*
The media reaction to this case has been entirely predictable – they have not mentioned it. At all. Anywhere. Ever.
The ruling was published on November 11th, and has been referenced by many alt-news sites since…but the mainstream outlets are maintaining a complete blackout on it.
The reddit Covid19 board actually removed the post, because it was “not a reliable source”, despite relying on the official court documents:
Lookout for a forced and disingenuous “fact-check” on this issue from HealthFeedback or some other “non-partisan” outlet in the near future. But until they find some poor shlub to lend their name to it, the media blackout will continue.
Whatever they say, this is a victory for common sense over authoritarianism and hysteria.


OffG Is Moving…Again

Last year , in response to increased traffic , OffG had to move to a new host server .
This year , the coronavirus happened .
And as such our traffic has increased even more .
So we need to move to a new server…again .
The new server will be faster , bigger and – most importantly – more secure .
So we can ( hopefully ) look forward to less disruption from DDOS attacks in the future .
This process should not take more than a few days , and – if all goes as planned – will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , there are a few things everyone should know : • We will be closing all comment sections for the 24 hours prior to the move .
• We will not be posting any new articles for the 24 hours prior to the move .
Both of these decisions are designed to make sure no data is lost in the transfer .
There might be some downtime while the new IP is propagating .
The specific date is yet to be decided , but it will definitely be before the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is known , and will be pinning posts on all our social media with the relevant details .
A final word of thanks to all our supporters , without whom this move would not be possible .

Last year, in response to increased traffic, OffG had to move to a new host server.
This year, the coronavirus happened. And as such our traffic has increased even more. So we need to move to a new server…again.
The new server will be faster, bigger and – most importantly – more secure. So we can (hopefully) look forward to less disruption from DDOS attacks in the future.
This process should not take more than a few days, and – if all goes as planned – will result in little to no downtime. However, there are a few things everyone should know:
We will be closing all comment sections for the 24 hours prior to the move .
. We will not be posting any new articles for the 24 hours prior to the move.
Both of these decisions are designed to make sure no data is lost in the transfer.
There might be some downtime while the new IP is propagating.
The specific date is yet to be decided, but it will definitely be before the end of November. We will announce it when it is known, and will be pinning posts on all our social media with the relevant details.
A final word of thanks to all our supporters, without whom this move would not be possible.


offguardian--2020-11-21--Trump vs Biden: Will the Future Belong to the Patriots or the Globalists?

Trump vs Biden : Will the Future Belong to the Patriots or the Globalists ?
It is an undeniable fact that the republic has entered one of the most dangerous crises of its short existence .
This is not only due to the disputed election results of November 3rd , but also to a multitude of other factors beyond American borders , including the global financial crisis which a certain pandemic has unleashed upon the world , and slide towards a major world war between great powers that has accelerated chaotically in recent years .
As unpopular as it might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as of this writing it is still impossible to state with 100 % certainty that Joe Biden will in fact be inaugurated on January 20 , 2021 .
The simple reason for this is that verifiable evidence of vast partisan vote fraud tied to the highest echelons of British Intelligence have mounted with every passing day with Dominion voting systems most recently accused of erasing 2.7 million Trump votes across the nation , and giving 220 000 pro-Trump votes to Biden in Pennsylvania ( along with hundreds of other vote counting anomalies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
These and other major signs of mass vote fraud have giving rise to reasonable questions of the validity of the official results which will be taken to the courts as Gen. Michael Flynn ’ s Attorney Sidney Powell eloquently laid out recently .
By now most people reading this are aware ( or should be aware ) that the trans Atlantic financial system has been set to melt down under a $ 1.5 quadrillion derivatives time bomb being held together by a mix of wishful thinking , hyperinflationary money printing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It should also come as no surprise that the Great Reset Agenda designed to coordinate the “ post-COVID world order ” has nothing to do with any actual pandemic , and everything to do with imposing a new bankers ’ dictatorship onto the nations of the earth .
If you are uncertain about these claims , I invite you to read my recent study “ What the Great Reset Architects Don ’ t Want you to Know About Economics ” .
Both Trump and Biden profess to support American leadership to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both men operate on very much opposing paradigms of what this means , and what foreign policy tradition should be activated .
Where Biden has championed the idea that “ America should lead the world ” in opposition to the dangerous rise in “ authoritarianism , nationalism and illiberalism ” giving the reigns of foreign policy over to a team packed with hawkish representatives of the Military Industrial Complex , Trump has done something different .
On November 9 the incumbent president fired Mark Esper ( possibly to subvert a planned coup ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ position of Defense Secretary who has called for a total end to the 19 year Afghan war stating : Having vocalized his desires to return the USA to its traditional protectionist , non-interventionist agenda repeatedly over four years , Trump famously characterized the battle at hand as one of “ patriots against the globalists.
” And yet , despite these facts , many apparently intelligent people have celebrated that the “ bad orange man ” has finally been ousted and normality may once again occur .
In an April 2020 Foreign Policy article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of American leadership of the world order stating that “ for over 70 years , the United States under democratic and republican presidents , played a leading role in writing the rules ” of the world order .
Predicting the two possible scenarios that will befall the world should the USA continue to “ abdicate our leadership ” as Trump has done , Biden says that either : 1 ) Someone else takes America ’ s place as global hegemon that doesn ’ t “ advance our interests and values or 2 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ensue ” .
Shouldn ’ t there be a third option in Biden ’ s crystal ball ?
What about the option of a world defined by sovereign nations working in win-win cooperation and mutual self interest ?
Sadly , from a zero-sum mind that can only think in “ balance of power ” terms , this third scenario can not exist .
The paradox for such little minds , however , is that the very essence of America ’ s emerging from WWII in a leading position that Biden praises is entirely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is more than a zero-sum system .
The Forgotten Multi-Polar Traditions of the USA From the drafting of the UN Charter in 1941 , the formulation of the Bretton Woods system in 1944 , to the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 , there is no doubt that there is very little that America has not directly influenced .
While this leadership is undeniable and often objectively destructive as sin , it is too easily forgotten that the UN Charter , as outlined by Franklin Roosevelt was premised on the belief that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ merely help those in need by providing the means of industrial development .
This was essentially understood as the internationalization of the New Deal which included social safety nets , bank regulation , productive work guarantees and infrastructure projects to all other nations aspiring independence across Africa , Asia and the Americas or struggling the heal from the destructive effects of the war .
FDR ’ s vision for the IMF/World Bank mandates were never to reconquer poor nations under a new system of debt slavery and conditionalities , but to extend productive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the common aims of mankind and which angered Churchill immensely .
Most importantly , this vision was premised on the need for a trust-based U.S.-Russia-China alliance that never would have permitted the emergence of a bipolar Cold War .
Working alongside such anti-imperial co-thinkers as Republican leader Wendell Willkie , Vice President Henry Wallace , economist Harry Dexter White , confidante Harry Hopkins , Asst .
Secretary of State Sumner Welles and Attorney General Robert Jackson ( to name a few ) , this small but powerful group of patriots representing both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only that the Wall Street/City of London Frankenstein Monster of Nazism would be put down but that Churchill ’ s vision of a restored British Imperial system would not succeed .
The True Spirit of the United Nations Unlike the earlier “ League of Nations ” which intended to destroy all national sovereignty in the wake of WWI , the United Nations was always meant to become a platform for dialogue , and economic multilateral trust-building much more in harmony with the multipolar alliance now sweeping the world ( and scaring the hell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ) .
If this is hard to believe , let me cite article one : To maintain international peace and security , and to that end : to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace , and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace , and to bring about by peaceful means , and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law , adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples , and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace ; To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic , social , cultural , or humanitarian character , and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race , sex , language , or religion ; and To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10 , 1948 which re-iterated the founding principles of America ’ s Declaration of Independence- extending those unalienable rights to all mankind as FDR envisioned stating in its preamble : Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom , justice and peace in the world , Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people , Whereas it is essential , if man is not to be compelled to have recourse , as a last resort , to rebellion against tyranny and oppression , that human rights should be protected by the rule of law , Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations , Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom , Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve , in co-operation with the United Nations , the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms , Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge , Now , Therefore THE GENERAL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations , to the end that every individual and every organ of society , keeping this Declaration constantly in mind , shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures , national and international , to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance , both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction .
These were the ideas that were meant to give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first enunciated by President Roosvelt in 1941 and re-asserted by his anti-imperial Vice President Henry Wallace in 1942 .
Now admittedly this positive American foreign policy outlook which launched the post-war age is a far cry from anything the world has come to recognize in the USA since the emergence of the Cold War… and especially since the murder of John F Kennedy who had done much to resist America ’ s full takeover by this newly revised British Empire ( which some have chosen in recent years to label “ the deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US Constitution itself , these principles largely remained ink on parchment as a new age of Cold Warriors , Rhodes Scholars and Fabians directed from British Intelligence created NATO , divided the world among the lighter skinned haves and darker skinned have nots while unleashing a system of endless wars onto the earth under a new Pax Americana .
These are the forces like Lord Mark Malloch Brown and George Soros who together have poured billions of dollars into promoting the post-nation state order using anti-UN Charter doctrines like Responsibility to Protect ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revolutions and running a current coup against President Trump .
Today a small window is still open for a renewal of the forgotten traditions of the American republican traditions that were upheld by such leaders as John Quincy Adams , Lincoln , Grant , Garfield , McKinley , Harding , FDR and JFK .
President Trump has clearly taken a stand in opposition to the reconquest of the republic by the deep state and it remains to be seen if the American people have the fortitude to do everything in their power to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and civilization more generally .

Matthew Ehret
It is an undeniable fact that the republic has entered one of the most dangerous crises of its short existence. This is not only due to the disputed election results of November 3rd, but also to a multitude of other factors beyond American borders, including the global financial crisis which a certain pandemic has unleashed upon the world, and slide towards a major world war between great powers that has accelerated chaotically in recent years.
As unpopular as it might be to state in polite society, as of this writing it is still impossible to state with 100% certainty that Joe Biden will in fact be inaugurated on January 20, 2021. The simple reason for this is that verifiable evidence of vast partisan vote fraud tied to the highest echelons of British Intelligence have mounted with every passing day with Dominion voting systems most recently accused of erasing 2.7 million Trump votes across the nation, and giving 220 000 pro-Trump votes to Biden in Pennsylvania (along with hundreds of other vote counting anomalies and technology glitches across all major swing states).
These and other major signs of mass vote fraud have giving rise to reasonable questions of the validity of the official results which will be taken to the courts as Gen. Michael Flynn’s Attorney Sidney Powell eloquently laid out recently.
Trump, Biden and the Oncoming Meltdown
By now most people reading this are aware (or should be aware) that the trans Atlantic financial system has been set to melt down under a $1.5 quadrillion derivatives time bomb being held together by a mix of wishful thinking, hyperinflationary money printing and vast unpayable securitized debts waiting to default. It should also come as no surprise that the Great Reset Agenda designed to coordinate the “post-COVID world order” has nothing to do with any actual pandemic, and everything to do with imposing a new bankers’ dictatorship onto the nations of the earth.
If you are uncertain about these claims, I invite you to read my recent study “What the Great Reset Architects Don’t Want you to Know About Economics”.
Both Trump and Biden profess to support American leadership to the world going into this storm, but both men operate on very much opposing paradigms of what this means, and what foreign policy tradition should be activated.
Where Biden has championed the idea that “America should lead the world” in opposition to the dangerous rise in “authoritarianism, nationalism and illiberalism” giving the reigns of foreign policy over to a team packed with hawkish representatives of the Military Industrial Complex, Trump has done something different.
On November 9 the incumbent president fired Mark Esper (possibly to subvert a planned coup) and instated General Christopher Miller to the position of Defense Secretary who has called for a total end to the 19 year Afghan war stating:
we are not a people of perpetual war. It is the antithesis of everything for which we stand and for which our ancestors fought. All wars must end.”
Having vocalized his desires to return the USA to its traditional protectionist, non-interventionist agenda repeatedly over four years, Trump famously characterized the battle at hand as one of “patriots against the globalists.”
And yet, despite these facts, many apparently intelligent people have celebrated that the “bad orange man” has finally been ousted and normality may once again occur.
Hogwash.
In an April 2020 Foreign Policy article, Joe Biden called for the re-assertion of American leadership of the world order stating that “for over 70 years, the United States under democratic and republican presidents, played a leading role in writing the rules” of the world order. Predicting the two possible scenarios that will befall the world should the USA continue to “abdicate our leadership” as Trump has done, Biden says that either: 1) Someone else takes America’s place as global hegemon that doesn’t “advance our interests and values or 2) “No one will and chaos will ensue”.
But wait a minute!
Shouldn’t there be a third option in Biden’s crystal ball? What about the option of a world defined by sovereign nations working in win-win cooperation and mutual self interest? Sadly, from a zero-sum mind that can only think in “balance of power” terms, this third scenario cannot exist.
The paradox for such little minds, however, is that the very essence of America’s emerging from WWII in a leading position that Biden praises is entirely premised on the understanding that the world is more than a zero-sum system.
The Forgotten Multi-Polar Traditions of the USA
From the drafting of the UN Charter in 1941, the formulation of the Bretton Woods system in 1944, to the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, there is no doubt that there is very little that America has not directly influenced.
While this leadership is undeniable and often objectively destructive as sin, it is too easily forgotten that the UN Charter, as outlined by Franklin Roosevelt was premised on the belief that America must never become an empire but merely help those in need by providing the means of industrial development. This was essentially understood as the internationalization of the New Deal which included social safety nets, bank regulation, productive work guarantees and infrastructure projects to all other nations aspiring independence across Africa, Asia and the Americas or struggling the heal from the destructive effects of the war.
FDR’s vision for the IMF/World Bank mandates were never to reconquer poor nations under a new system of debt slavery and conditionalities, but to extend productive credit for long term megaprojects that were in the common aims of mankind and which angered Churchill immensely.
Most importantly, this vision was premised on the need for a trust-based U.S.-Russia-China alliance that never would have permitted the emergence of a bipolar Cold War.
Working alongside such anti-imperial co-thinkers as Republican leader Wendell Willkie, Vice President Henry Wallace, economist Harry Dexter White, confidante Harry Hopkins, Asst. Secretary of State Sumner Welles and Attorney General Robert Jackson (to name a few), this small but powerful group of patriots representing both parties, worked vigorously to ensure not only that the Wall Street/City of London Frankenstein Monster of Nazism would be put down but that Churchill’s vision of a restored British Imperial system would not succeed.
The True Spirit of the United Nations
Unlike the earlier “League of Nations” which intended to destroy all national sovereignty in the wake of WWI, the United Nations was always meant to become a platform for dialogue, and economic multilateral trust-building much more in harmony with the multipolar alliance now sweeping the world (and scaring the hell out of the thing that controls Joe Biden).
If this is hard to believe, let me cite article one:
To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace; To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
These principles were expanded even further to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948 which re-iterated the founding principles of America’s Declaration of Independence- extending those unalienable rights to all mankind as FDR envisioned stating in its preamble:
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
These were the ideas that were meant to give life to the “Four Freedoms” first enunciated by President Roosvelt in 1941 and re-asserted by his anti-imperial Vice President Henry Wallace in 1942.
Now admittedly this positive American foreign policy outlook which launched the post-war age is a far cry from anything the world has come to recognize in the USA since the emergence of the Cold War… and especially since the murder of John F Kennedy who had done much to resist America’s full takeover by this newly revised British Empire (which some have chosen in recent years to label “the deep state”).
Much like the US Constitution itself, these principles largely remained ink on parchment as a new age of Cold Warriors, Rhodes Scholars and Fabians directed from British Intelligence created NATO, divided the world among the lighter skinned haves and darker skinned have nots while unleashing a system of endless wars onto the earth under a new Pax Americana.
These are the forces like Lord Mark Malloch Brown and George Soros who together have poured billions of dollars into promoting the post-nation state order using anti-UN Charter doctrines like Responsibility to Protect (R2P), overthrowing governments with color revolutions and running a current coup against President Trump.
Today a small window is still open for a renewal of the forgotten traditions of the American republican traditions that were upheld by such leaders as John Quincy Adams, Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, FDR and JFK. President Trump has clearly taken a stand in opposition to the reconquest of the republic by the deep state and it remains to be seen if the American people have the fortitude to do everything in their power to organize themselves in defense of the republic and civilization more generally.
Originally published at Strategic Culture.