veteranstoday--2020-12-25--Christmas with Hunger and Bombs! Christians Persecuted by EU, Trump and Israel. Syrian Bishops’ Aler

Christmas with Hunger and Bombs! Christians Persecuted by EU, Trump and Israel. Syrian Bishops’ Alert

The COVID-19 emergency took away our thoughts and feelings .
If we believe the famous and expert lawyer Robert F. Kennedy , who survived the assassination of his uncle President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his father Robert , US Attorney General , and therefore an expert on the crimes of the so-called Deep State , we must consider the current pandemic “ planned by decades by Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci ” and therefore triggered by a SARS-Cov-2 virus built in the laboratory as a bio-weapon .
Just as claimed by dozens of scientists and various intelligence experts ignored by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aimed at a health dictatorship that precedes the cyber and military one .
The COVID-19 alarm that forced us to be socially afraid much more than lethality would justify at least in Italy , given that the dead are 0.3 % of the infected and among them 96 % are very elderly but above all suffering from other serious ones pathologies , has led us to worry more and more about our daily affairs , devastated in the case of traders and tourism operators not so much by the actual consequences of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constructed with the suffocating lockdowns imposed by the very sinister government formed by Democratic Party and 5Stelle .
This has sometimes even happened by hiding health information as in the case of the scandal of the dossier on the emergency plan that would have been withdrawn by Dr. Raniero Guerra , number two of the WHO and member of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Italian government , the subject of a criminal investigation by the Bergamo Public Prosecutor ’ s Office which investigates for culpable and false epidemic .
In the face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but above all of pandemic plots , because the evolved West that cleans its heart by giving alms to Third World countries , today called “ developing ” for hypocritical genuflection to “ politically correct ” , should he worry about those nations he helped wreak havoc for a specific geopolitical-military attack plan ?
In fact , the Western “ pig ” , even during the pandemic triggered by a laboratory virus on the nature of which the WHO refuses to investigate , does not discount those countries that it considers enemies only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a project of social coexistence that it allows Christians and Muslims to coexist peacefully .
All this does not appeal to the countries of the Arabian peninsula which want to impose Sharia law with the complicity of the Anglo-Saxon nations ( and of Italy ) incited only by the hefty earnings of the Arms Lobby so loved by the Muslim Brotherhood .
This is why in Syria Catholic and Maronite Christians can suffer senseless persecution only because when there was a revolution against the government of Damascus , called a regime only by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay on the side of the state .
The reason is soon to be said .
President Bashar Al Assad , being an exponent of the Ba ’ th party of Shiite-Alawite confession , is disliked by the Sunni-Salafis of countries such as Saudi Arabia , a historical ally of Israel in the contrast of Christianity , and even more so by Qatar and Turkey which they are ruled by the despotic political movement of the Muslim Brotherhood .
One of the main reasons why Assad is hated concerns religion : the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and therefore over the years Christianity has spread and rooted in Syria .
But now it is threatened by something even more terrible than the Islamic State which beheaded hundreds of Christians thanks to US military support from President Barack Obama … Syria ( like Lebanon ) is now threatened by the West which , in order to wage war on Assad , is starving millions of Syrian Christians through economic sanctions that any human being with mind , heart and soul would deem unfair and criminal .
But this is not for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are carrying out the murderous plan designed by the US Central Intelligence Agency back in 1983 with the aim of a regime-change against Hafiz Al Assad , father of the current president .
of the Syrian Arab Republic .
I admit , with infinite shame , that I am among those journalists who , too concentrated in the search for evidence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus built in the laboratory , forgot about distant countries and above all that Middle East that , looking out over the Mediterranean Sea , closely affects the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of EU politicians and self-styled Christian Donald Trump , president of the United States of America , took place last spring between May and June when the European Parliament renewed its sanctions against Syria and the POTUS of the White House issued the nefarious “ Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act ” , a few days after the European Union Parliament confirmed the sanctions against Syria .
« We were better off living under bombs because they fell from time to time .
Instead misery never leaves you .
It will be a terrible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hell to come after the war .
The sanctions imposed by the US are a crime .
They affect ordinary people and especially us Christians .
If the situation does not change , we risk not surviving .
Of course we have hope in faith and that still sustains us , but the conditions of life are terrible .
My faithful can ’ t take it anymore … » On the phone , the voice of Monsignor Abu Khazen , Latin bishop of Aleppo , sounds sad and disconsolate .
Much sadder than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rebels and Christians risked their lives .
This is what the well-known Italian war reporter Gian Micalessin writes on Sputnik Italia .
« They don ’ t just affect us Christians , they affect all normal people .
But we are a minority and in these conditions we risk being canceled .
Those who went abroad do not even think about returning and therefore the Christian presence continues to be very small .
Not to mention the situation in the areas of Idlib , the province still occupied by Al Qaeda rebels .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison for ten years now .
The province of Idlib is contiguous to the Turkish border and was one of the first to be occupied by rebels since the summer of 2012 .
Today , the northern part is one of the last controlled by Al Qaeda rebels .
There in the Kneie area around the Orontes River are two parishes where thousands of Christians once lived .
They were early Christians and some of their ancestors had lived there for nearly two thousand years since the time of St. Paul ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 260 left because those who could have escaped » .
« Syria doesn ’ t need much help .
We have wheat and we have oil , but in fact the Americans are taking them away .
No one works in the wheat fields anymore because in the east of the country , where there are Americans , peace has never arrived .
As if that weren ’ t enough , they occupy our oil wells and sell it to Iraq and Turkey while our people starve .
The churches and many communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If it weren ’ t for them , many of us wouldn ’ t survive .
But only peace and the end of sanctions can guarantee the return of all Christians in Syria » .
Added to this is the enormous military support given by the CIA and the Pentagon who sent the deadly TOW anti-cash missiles to the jihadist formations as revealed by a Turkish dossier published by Gospa News .
In the midst of this tragic context , the Ceasr Act has arrived .
« Promoted by the US administration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new sanctions against both the Syrian government , first of all President Bashar al Assad , for war crimes against the population , and against individuals and companies who have supported him financially .
Parts of the provision have already been incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020 .
This is an expected provision but which comes at a particularly delicate moment for the Syrian regime » wrote Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in June 2020 when the measure became executive .
« In recent weeks , there has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in view of the entry into force of the law .
In fact , starting from April , the Damascus currency has lost more than 70 percent of its value , in a process of depreciation against the dollar that has worsened further over the past week – reads on the article – The dizzying devaluation of the national currency contributed to the triggering of an inflationary dynamics that led the prices of the most popular goods to increase by more than 50 percent within a month .
The spike in prices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the United Nations lives for 80 per cent in poverty , with 9.3 million Syrians subject to food insecurity according to data from the World Food Program ( there were 7 , 9 million at the end of 2019 ) » .
But Trump ’ s measure , interested in not upset the Deep State which is enriching itself thanks to the theft of oil in the province of Deir Ezzor with the help of jihadist terrorists , was not the only one to devastate Syria .
« The ministers of foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday 28 May , to extend for another year , until 1 June 2021 , the sanctions imposed against the government in Syria of Bashar Al-Assad and his supporters » it wrote the International Security website of the Luiss University of Rome .
According to what was reconstructed by the Turkish news agency , Anadolu , the sanctions have been in force since 2011 , when they were first adopted in response to the violence suffered by Syrian civilians .
In this regard , the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the sanctions imposed by Brussels target those responsible for the violence suffered by citizens , together with members of the Syrian government , its supporters and lenders .
« Under the sanctions , in particular , members of Assad ’ s government can no longer travel and their assets have been frozen .
Similarly , the same measures are in place for companies and entrepreneurs who benefit from their ties with the government – reads the article Luiss – In addition , the EU has suspended the European assets of the Syrian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the exports of equipment and technologies capable of being used in internal repression operations , for example in monitoring and intercepting communications that take place over the cellular network or the internet .
Currently , there are 273 persons and 70 legal entities subject to the EU sanctioning regime .
Before the meeting on May 28th there were 2 more citizens , who in the meantime lost their lives , and a company , which according to the EU has stopped the activities considered to be sanctioned » .
This is why Syrian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ pig ” West who wants to export a fake democracy , the daughter of the compromises of the Deep State and the new world order , only to rob a country rich in underground resources and strategic in geopolitics military than he needs to live .
I am increasingly ashamed of being Italian , European and Western .
Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio © COPYRIGHT GOSPA NEWS no reproduction without authorization – Versione originale in Italiano

by Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio For VT Mediterranean
(VT tends to never believe RFK Jr. Our look at him shows him to be a disinformation agent and utterly unreliable)
Versione originale in Italiano
The COVID-19 emergency took away our thoughts and feelings. If we believe the famous and expert lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, who survived the assassination of his uncle President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his father Robert, US Attorney General, and therefore an expert on the crimes of the so-called Deep State, we must consider the current pandemic “planned by decades by Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci ” and therefore triggered by a SARS-Cov-2 virus built in the laboratory as a bio-weapon. Just as claimed by dozens of scientists and various intelligence experts ignored by the mainstream media complicit in the disaster aimed at a health dictatorship that precedes the cyber and military one.
The COVID-19 alarm that forced us to be socially afraid much more than lethality would justify at least in Italy, given that the dead are 0.3% of the infected and among them 96% are very elderly but above all suffering from other serious ones pathologies, has led us to worry more and more about our daily affairs, devastated in the case of traders and tourism operators not so much by the actual consequences of the epidemic as by the pandemist panterrorism artfully constructed with the suffocating lockdowns imposed by the very sinister government formed by Democratic Party and 5Stelle.
This has sometimes even happened by hiding health information as in the case of the scandal of the dossier on the emergency plan that would have been withdrawn by Dr. Raniero Guerra, number two of the WHO and member of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Italian government, the subject of a criminal investigation by the Bergamo Public Prosecutor’s Office which investigates for culpable and false epidemic.
In the face of such and such seriousness of alarms but above all of pandemic plots, because the evolved West that cleans its heart by giving alms to Third World countries, today called “developing” for hypocritical genuflection to “politically correct” , should he worry about those nations he helped wreak havoc for a specific geopolitical-military attack plan?
In fact, the Western “pig”, even during the pandemic triggered by a laboratory virus on the nature of which the WHO refuses to investigate, does not discount those countries that it considers enemies only because they have built over the years a project of social coexistence that it allows Christians and Muslims to coexist peacefully. All this does not appeal to the countries of the Arabian peninsula which want to impose Sharia law with the complicity of the Anglo-Saxon nations (and of Italy) incited only by the hefty earnings of the Arms Lobby so loved by the Muslim Brotherhood.
This is why in Syria Catholic and Maronite Christians can suffer senseless persecution only because when there was a revolution against the government of Damascus, called a regime only by filthy fellow journalists hired, they decided to stay on the side of the state.
Furthermore, exactly as in 2019 and 2018, the missiles of the Israel Defense Forces, the Tel Avi army, hit Syria in an attempt to trigger a military reaction that could justify the annexation of the territories of the Golan plateau, recognized from the USA but not from the UN which has repeatedly asked for its return to the Syrian republic. Syria’s air defense intercepted missiles launched by Israel into the western province of Hama at dawn on December 25, according to the official Sana news agency. Syrian state television broadcast footage showing, he said, the Syrian air force responding to the Israeli attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported attacks on Masyaf, stating that Israel is “probably responsible”. The UK-based NGO said the attack targeted “positions of loyalist forces and Iranian-backed militias.”
The reason is soon to be said. President Bashar Al Assad, being an exponent of the Ba’th party of Shiite-Alawite confession, is disliked by the Sunni-Salafis of countries such as Saudi Arabia, a historical ally of Israel in the contrast of Christianity, and even more so by Qatar and Turkey which they are ruled by the despotic political movement of the Muslim Brotherhood. One of the main reasons why Assad is hated concerns religion: the Syrian Shiites in fact allow free worship and therefore over the years Christianity has spread and rooted in Syria. But now it is threatened by something even more terrible than the Islamic State which beheaded hundreds of Christians thanks to US military support from President Barack Obama …
Syria (like Lebanon) is now threatened by the West which, in order to wage war on Assad, is starving millions of Syrian Christians through economic sanctions that any human being with mind, heart and soul would deem unfair and criminal. But this is not for the countries of the NATO area as they are carrying out the murderous plan designed by the US Central Intelligence Agency back in 1983 with the aim of a regime-change against Hafiz Al Assad, father of the current president. of the Syrian Arab Republic. I admit, with infinite shame, that I am among those journalists who, too concentrated in the search for evidence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus built in the laboratory, forgot about distant countries and above all that Middle East that, looking out over the Mediterranean Sea, closely affects the Italy and Europe.
The infamous crime of EU politicians and self-styled Christian Donald Trump, president of the United States of America, took place last spring between May and June when the European Parliament renewed its sanctions against Syria and the POTUS of the White House issued the nefarious “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act”, a few days after the European Union Parliament confirmed the sanctions against Syria.
«We were better off living under bombs because they fell from time to time. Instead misery never leaves you. It will be a terrible Christmas. We Christians never expected such hell to come after the war. The sanctions imposed by the US are a crime. They affect ordinary people and especially us Christians. If the situation does not change, we risk not surviving. Of course we have hope in faith and that still sustains us, but the conditions of life are terrible. My faithful can’t take it anymore …»
On the phone, the voice of Monsignor Abu Khazen, Latin bishop of Aleppo, sounds sad and disconsolate. Much sadder than when his city was besieged by jihadist rebels and Christians risked their lives. This is what the well-known Italian war reporter Gian Micalessin writes on Sputnik Italia.
«They don’t just affect us Christians, they affect all normal people. But we are a minority and in these conditions we risk being canceled. Those who went abroad do not even think about returning and therefore the Christian presence continues to be very small. Not to mention the situation in the areas of Idlib, the province still occupied by Al Qaeda rebels. There, Christians have been living in prison for ten years now. The province of Idlib is contiguous to the Turkish border and was one of the first to be occupied by rebels since the summer of 2012. Today, the northern part is one of the last controlled by Al Qaeda rebels. There in the Kneie area around the Orontes River are two parishes where thousands of Christians once lived. They were early Christians and some of their ancestors had lived there for nearly two thousand years since the time of St. Paul’s preaching. But today there are only 260 left because those who could have escaped».
«Syria doesn’t need much help. We have wheat and we have oil, but in fact the Americans are taking them away. No one works in the wheat fields anymore because in the east of the country, where there are Americans, peace has never arrived. As if that weren’t enough, they occupy our oil wells and sell it to Iraq and Turkey while our people starve. The churches and many communities of European faithful are helping us. If it weren’t for them, many of us wouldn’t survive. But only peace and the end of sanctions can guarantee the return of all Christians in Syria».
Added to this is the enormous military support given by the CIA and the Pentagon who sent the deadly TOW anti-cash missiles to the jihadist formations as revealed by a Turkish dossier published by Gospa News. In the midst of this tragic context, the Ceasr Act has arrived.
«Promoted by the US administration of Donald Trump, the Caesar Act includes new sanctions against both the Syrian government, first of all President Bashar al Assad, for war crimes against the population, and against individuals and companies who have supported him financially. Parts of the provision have already been incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020. This is an expected provision but which comes at a particularly delicate moment for the Syrian regime» wrote Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in June 2020 when the measure became executive.
«In recent weeks, there has been a collapse of the Syrian pound, in view of the entry into force of the law. In fact, starting from April, the Damascus currency has lost more than 70 percent of its value, in a process of depreciation against the dollar that has worsened further over the past week – reads on the article – The dizzying devaluation of the national currency contributed to the triggering of an inflationary dynamics that led the prices of the most popular goods to increase by more than 50 percent within a month. The spike in prices has further affected the population which according to the United Nations lives for 80 per cent in poverty, with 9.3 million Syrians subject to food insecurity according to data from the World Food Program (there were 7, 9 million at the end of 2019)».
But Trump’s measure, interested in not upset the Deep State which is enriching itself thanks to the theft of oil in the province of Deir Ezzor with the help of jihadist terrorists, was not the only one to devastate Syria.
«The ministers of foreign affairs of the European Union decided, on Thursday 28 May, to extend for another year, until 1 June 2021, the sanctions imposed against the government in Syria of Bashar Al-Assad and his supporters» it wrote the International Security website of the Luiss University of Rome.
According to what was reconstructed by the Turkish news agency, Anadolu, the sanctions have been in force since 2011, when they were first adopted in response to the violence suffered by Syrian civilians. In this regard, the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, stated that the sanctions imposed by Brussels target those responsible for the violence suffered by citizens, together with members of the Syrian government, its supporters and lenders.
«Under the sanctions, in particular, members of Assad’s government can no longer travel and their assets have been frozen. Similarly, the same measures are in place for companies and entrepreneurs who benefit from their ties with the government – reads the article Luiss – In addition, the EU has suspended the European assets of the Syrian Central Bank and oil imports and limited the exports of equipment and technologies capable of being used in internal repression operations, for example in monitoring and intercepting communications that take place over the cellular network or the internet. Currently, there are 273 persons and 70 legal entities subject to the EU sanctioning regime. Before the meeting on May 28th there were 2 more citizens, who in the meantime lost their lives, and a company, which according to the EU has stopped the activities considered to be sanctioned».
This is why Syrian Christians are experiencing hunger: caused by that “pig” West who wants to export a fake democracy, the daughter of the compromises of the Deep State and the new world order, only to rob a country rich in underground resources and strategic in geopolitics military than he needs to live. I am increasingly ashamed of being Italian, European and Western.
Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio
© COPYRIGHT GOSPA NEWS
no reproduction without authorization – Versione originale in Italiano
MAIN SOURCES
GOSPA NEWS – WARZONE
GOSPA NEWS – WUHAN.GATES REPORTS
GOSPA NEWS – CORONA VIRUS DOSSIER
GOSPA NEWS – OSINT INVESTIGATIONS


veteranstoday--2020-12-25--NYT: People are Dying. Whom do we save first with the Vaccine?

NY Times : In mid-December , before a key vote by an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , a public debate flared up over what might well be the most momentous policy decision of 2021 : how to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine .
This particular fight centered on how to balance the vaccination of seniors ( who die from the coronavirus at much higher rates than younger people ) against that of essential workers ( who , because they come into contact with many people over the course of any given day , risk getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That debate was just the first of what will be many contentious ones in the months to come , when supplies of Covid vaccine will surely be among the world ’ s most precious , scarce resources .
The calculation of how to prioritize various groups inevitably touches on all the fault lines that divide American society — race , class , age , geography , occupation and more — and ultimately bleeds into the question of our ethical obligations to the poorer nations of the world , which risk being forced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealthy save themselves first .
More starkly than most policy choices , these decisions will essentially determine who dies and who lives .
We brought together five experts to talk about the collective ethical judgments that the world faces — and a logistical challenge that ’ s as epic in scale as the pandemic itself .
read more…

With limited doses available, and a pandemic claiming more lives every day, a complex moral calculus has begun. Five thinkers weigh the choices ahead.
NY Times: In mid-December, before a key vote by an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a public debate flared up over what might well be the most momentous policy decision of 2021: how to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine.
This particular fight centered on how to balance the vaccination of seniors (who die from the coronavirus at much higher rates than younger people) against that of essential workers (who, because they come into contact with many people over the course of any given day, risk getting sick themselves and becoming superspreaders).
That debate was just the first of what will be many contentious ones in the months to come, when supplies of Covid vaccine will surely be among the world’s most precious, scarce resources.
The calculation of how to prioritize various groups inevitably touches on all the fault lines that divide American society — race, class, age, geography, occupation and more — and ultimately bleeds into the question of our ethical obligations to the poorer nations of the world, which risk being forced to wait for lifesaving vaccine supplies while the wealthy save themselves first.
More starkly than most policy choices, these decisions will essentially determine who dies and who lives. We brought together five experts to talk about the collective ethical judgments that the world faces — and a logistical challenge that’s as epic in scale as the pandemic itself. read more… ttt


veteranstoday--2020-12-26--The Rise of a Technological New World Order

In 2013 , Gordon Duff rightly argued that the NSA doesn ’ t protect the United States and is a waste of money .
As a case study , Duff pointed out that the NSA couldn ’ t even be used to propagate the war in Iraq .
It was people like Paul Wolfowitz , said Duff , “ who made up crazy lies about Iraq.
” The scholarly literature was on Duff ’ s side .
[ 1 ] The NSA played no part in the war in Iraq .
But it did and still does play a major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American and country around the world , despite the fact that there was no evidence showing that NSA bulk surveillance stopped terrorist activities , [ 2 ] and despite the fact that we spent billions upon billions of dollars on the program .
[ 3 ] In short , the NSA was and still is a form of control .
But we do have another form of control that seems to be more powerful than the NSA now , and it ’ s what John W. Whitehead calls the “ Technological ( New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t saying that technology is evil or even dangerous .
What he is essentially saying is that powerful people are using the technology to essentially suck people into the “ Technological New World Order.
” For example , say something that Facebook masters do not like , and you will immediately be deplatformed .
No questions asked .
That ’ s how they ended up deplatforming VT. YouTube is essentially doing the same thing .
Gordon Duff had a YouTube channel a few years back , and that again was immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t like what he was doing .
But the information age is so vast now that we don ’ t need platforms like Facebook to expose the powers that be .
And people are waking up .
In short , use technology responsibly , and do not let it control you .
In fact , if you let platforms like Facebook control you , you ’ re more likely going to get depressed .
[ 4 ] As the articulate writer Grace Dent of the Independent put it back in 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Bloody Obvious , or in this case the University of Pittsburgh , has warned that social media is making us feel lonely .
Well , what a breakthrough .
Who knew that perusing 10 , 20 or even 30 riotous Facebook pictures of a colleague ’ s Saturday night house party – to which you definitely weren ’ t invited – causes Sunday-long existential angst ?
Or that Instagram updates of neatly cropped , flatteringly filtered friendship squads leave most onlookers feeling relatively chumless ?
“ Researchers at Pittsburgh studied 1,787 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use of 11 social media sites : Facebook , YouTube , Twitter , Instagram , Pinterest , Google Plus , Snapchat , Reddit , Tumblr , Vine and LinkedIn… “ I ’ ll suspend disbelief for a moment that anyone on LinkedIn is ever allowed to be lonely .
Its entire modus operandi is haranguing you to re-connect with distant acquaintances who dry-humped you after a regional sales prize-giving in 2003 .
Or that Pinterest users crave actual breathing social contact when we all know they prefer to sit alone , waiting for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of guinea pig bedding , pinning endless photos of Audrey Hepburn to a virtual scrapbook… “ But regardless of these quibbles , researchers found that people who visited all of these 11 sites more than 58 times per week were three times more likely to experience loneliness than those who went online less than nine times per week.
” One lead scientist , Professor Brian Primack of the same university , declared : “ We are inherently social creatures , but modern life tends to compartmentalise us instead of bringing us together .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ presents opportunities to fill that social void , I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for.
” [ 5 ] “ You had to live—did live , from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard , and , except in darkness , every movement scrutinized.
” —George Orwell , 1984 It had the potential for disaster .
Early in the morning of Monday , December 15 , 2020 , Google suffered a major worldwide outage in which all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Google Calendar , Gmail , Docs , Hangouts , Maps , Meet and YouTube .
The outage only lasted an hour , but it was a chilling reminder of how reliant the world has become on internet-connected technologies to do everything from unlocking doors and turning up the heat to accessing work files , sending emails and making phone calls .
A year earlier , a Google outage resulted in Nest users being unable to access their Nest thermostats , Nest smart locks , and Nest cameras .
As Fast Company reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a cloud storage outage , people were prevented from getting inside their homes , using their AC , and monitoring their babies.
” Welcome to the Matrix .
Twenty-some years after the Wachowskis ’ iconic film , The Matrix , introduced us to a futuristic world in which humans exist in a computer-simulated non-reality powered by authoritarian machines—a world where the choice between existing in a denial-ridden virtual dream-state or facing up to the harsh , difficult realities of life comes down to a blue pill or a red pill—we stand at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our own making .
We are living the prequel to The Matrix with each passing day , falling further under the spell of technologically-driven virtual communities , virtual realities and virtual conveniences managed by artificially intelligent machines that are on a fast track to replacing human beings and eventually dominating every aspect of our lives .
In The Matrix , computer programmer Thomas Anderson a.k.a .
hacker Neo is wakened from a virtual slumber by Morpheus , a freedom fighter seeking to liberate humanity from a lifelong hibernation state imposed by hyper-advanced artificial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an organic power source .
With their minds plugged into a perfectly crafted virtual reality , few humans ever realize they are living in an artificial dream world .
Neo is given a choice : to take the red pill , wake up and join the resistance , or take the blue pill , remain asleep and serve as fodder for the powers-that-be .
Most people opt for the blue pill .
In our case , the blue pill—a one-way ticket to a life sentence in an electronic concentration camp—has been honey-coated to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us in the name of expediency and delivered by way of blazingly fast Internet , cell phone signals that never drop a call , thermostats that keep us at the perfect temperature without our having to raise a finger , and entertainment that can be simultaneously streamed to our TVs , tablets and cell phones .
Yet we are not merely in thrall with these technologies that were intended to make our lives easier .
We have become enslaved by them .
Look around you .
Everywhere you turn , people are so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , tablets , computers , televisions—that they can go for hours at a time submerged in a virtual world where human interaction is filtered through the medium of technology .
This is not freedom .
This is not even progress .
This is technological tyranny and iron-fisted control delivered by way of the surveillance state , corporate giants such as Google and Facebook , and government spy agencies such as the National Security Agency .
So consumed are we with availing ourselves of all the latest technologies that we have spared barely a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , headlong stumble towards a world in which our abject reliance on internet-connected gadgets and gizmos is grooming us for a future in which freedom is an illusion .
Yet it ’ s not just freedom that hangs in the balance .
Humanity itself is on the line .
If ever Americans find themselves in bondage to technological tyrants , we will have only ourselves to blame for having forged the chains through our own lassitude , laziness and abject reliance on internet-connected gadgets and gizmos that render us wholly irrelevant .
Indeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ K. Dick ’ s vision of the future as depicted in the film Minority Report .
There , police agencies apprehend criminals before they can commit a crime , driverless cars populate the highways , and a person ’ s biometrics are constantly scanned and used to track their movements , target them for advertising , and keep them under perpetual surveillance .
Cue the dawning of the Age of the Internet of Things ( IoT ) , in which internet-connected “ things ” monitor your home , your health and your habits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , your utilities regulated and your life under control and relatively worry-free .
The key word here , however , is control .
In the not-too-distant future , “ just about every device you have — and even products like chairs , that you don ’ t normally expect to see technology in — will be connected and talking to each other.
” By the end of 2018 , “ there were an estimated 22 billion internet of things connected devices in use around the world… Forecasts suggest that by 2030 around 50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in use around the world , creating a massive web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.
” As the technologies powering these devices have become increasingly sophisticated , they have also become increasingly widespread , encompassing everything from toothbrushes and lightbulbs to cars , smart meters and medical equipment .
It is estimated that 127 new IoT devices are connected to the web every second .
This “ connected ” industry has become the next big societal transformation , right up there with the Industrial Revolution , a watershed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driverless cars that completely lacking a steering wheel , accelerator , or brake pedal , and smart pills embedded with computer chips , sensors , cameras and robots , we are poised to outpace the imaginations of science fiction writers such as Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov .
( By the way , there is no such thing as a driverless car .
Someone or something will be driving , but it won ’ t be you . )
These Internet-connected techno gadgets include smart light bulbs that discourage burglars by making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that regulate the temperature of your home based on your activities , and smart doorbells that let you see who is at your front door without leaving the comfort of your couch .
Nest , Google ’ s suite of smart home products , has been at the forefront of the “ connected ” industry , with such technologically savvy conveniences as a smart lock that tells your thermostat who is home , what temperatures they like , and when your home is unoccupied ; a home phone service system that interacts with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you come and go ” and alert you if your kids don ’ t come home ; and a sleep system that will monitor when you fall asleep , when you wake up , and keep the house noises and temperature in a sleep-conducive state .
The aim of these internet-connected devices , as Nest proclaims , is to make “ your house a more thoughtful and conscious home.
” For example , your car can signal ahead that you ’ re on your way home , while Hue lights can flash on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nest Protect senses something ’ s wrong .
Your coffeemaker , relying on data from fitness and sleep sensors , will brew a stronger pot of coffee for you if you ’ ve had a restless night .
Yet given the speed and trajectory at which these technologies are developing , it won ’ t be long before these devices are operating entirely independent of their human creators , which poses a whole new set of worries .
As technology expert Nicholas Carr notes , “ As soon as you allow robots , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the world , they ’ re going to run up against ethically fraught situations and face hard choices that can ’ t be resolved through statistical models .
That will be true of self-driving cars , self-flying drones , and battlefield robots , just as it ’ s already true , on a lesser scale , with automated vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers.
” For instance , just as the robotic vacuum , Roomba , “ makes no distinction between a dust bunny and an insect , ” weaponized drones—poised to take to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incapable of distinguishing between a fleeing criminal and someone merely jogging down a street .
For that matter , how do you defend yourself against a robotic cop—such as the Atlas android being developed by the Pentagon—that has been programmed to respond to any perceived threat with violence ?
Moreover , it ’ s not just our homes and personal devices that are being reordered and reimagined in this connected age : it ’ s our workplaces , our health systems , our government , our bodies and our innermost thoughts that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have no real control .
Indeed , it is expected that by 2030 , we will all experience The Internet of Senses ( IoS ) , enabled by Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) , Virtual Reality ( VR ) , Augmented Reality ( AR ) , 5G , and automation .
The Internet of Senses relies on connected technology interacting with our senses of sight , sound , taste , smell , and touch by way of the brain as the user interface .
As journalist Susan Fourtane explains : Many predict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinking and doing will blur .
Fifty-nine percent of consumers believe that we will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination… By 2030 , technology is set to respond to our thoughts , and even share them with others… Using the brain as an interface could mean the end of keyboards , mice , game controllers , and ultimately user interfaces for any digital device .
The user needs to only think about the commands , and they will just happen .
Smartphones could even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ words , the IoS will rely on technology being able to access and act on your thoughts .
Fourtane outlines several trends related to the IoS that are expected to become a reality by 2030 : 1 : Thoughts become action : using the brain as the interface , for example , users will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination .
2 : Sounds will become an extension of the devised virtual reality : users could mimic anyone ’ s voice realistically enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Real food will become secondary to imagined tastes .
A sensory device for your mouth could digitally enhance anything you eat , so that any food can taste like your favorite treat .
4 : Smells will become a projection of this virtual reality so that virtual visits , to forests or the countryside for instance , would include experiencing all the natural smells of those places .
5 : Total touch : Smartphones with screens will convey the shape and texture of the digital icons and buttons they are pressing .
6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will become indistinguishable from physical reality by 2030 .
Unfortunately , in our race to the future , we have failed to consider what such dependence on technology might mean for our humanity , not to mention our freedoms .
Ingestible or implantable chips are a good example of how unprepared we are , morally and otherwise , to navigate this uncharted terrain .
Hailed as revolutionary for their ability to access , analyze and manipulate your body from the inside , these smart pills can remind you to take your medication , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an alert to your doctor warning of an impending heart attack .
Sure , the technology could save lives , but is that all we need to know ?
Have we done our due diligence in asking all the questions that need to be asked before unleashing such awesome technology on an unsuspecting populace ?
What kind of warnings should users receive about the risks of implanting chip technology inside a body , for instance ?
How will patients be assured that the technology won ’ t be used to compel them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to take ?
Could law enforcement obtain data that would reveal which individuals abuse drugs or sell them on the black market ?
Could what started as a voluntary experiment be turned into a compulsory government identification program that could erode civil liberties ?
About John W. Whitehead : John is an attorney and author who has written , debated and practiced widely in the area of constitutional law and human rights .
Whitehead ’ s concern for the persecuted and oppressed led him , in 1982 , to establish The Rutherford @ @ @ @ @ @ @ human rights organization whose international headquarters are located in Charlottesville , Virginia .
Deeply committed to protecting the constitutional freedoms of every American and the integral human rights of all people , The Rutherford Institute has emerged as a prominent leader in the national dialogue on civil liberties and human rights and a formidable champion of the Constitution .
Whitehead serves as the Institute ’ s president and spokesperson .
Widely recognized as one of the nation ’ s most vocal and involved civil liberties attorneys , Whitehead ’ s approach to civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and accomplishments , including the Hungarian Medal of Freedom and the 2010 Milner S. Ball Lifetime Achievement Award for “ [ his ] decades of difficult and important work , as well as [ his ] impeccable integrity in defending civil liberties for all.
” Whitehead earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arkansas in 1969 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1974 .
He served as an officer in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 .
[ 1 ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Neoconservative Revolution : Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy ( Cambridge : Cambridge University Press , 2005 ) ; Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke , America Alone : The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order ( Cambridge : Cambridge University Press , 2004 ) ; John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt , The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy ( New York : Farrar , Straus & Giroux , 2007 ) ; Paul R. Pillar , Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy : Iraq , 9/11 , and Misguided Reform ( New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
[ 2 ] Christ Strohm , “ NSA Data Have No Impact on Terrorism : Report , ” Bloomberg , January 14 , 2014 ; Justin Elliott and Theodoric Meyer , “ The NSA ’ s Big Terrorism Claim Doesn ’ t Hold Up , ” Huffington Post , October 24 , 2013 ; Nicolas Tufnell , “ NSA bulk surveillance has ‘ no discernible impact ’ on the prevention of terrorism , ” Wired , January 14 , 2014 ; Michael Isikoff , “ NSA program stopped no terror attacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” NBC News , December 20 , 2013 ; Justin Scuiletti , “ NSA surveillance doesn ’ t stop terrorism , report claims , ” PBS , January 14 , 2014 .
[ 3 ] “ How Much Money Do We Pay the NSA to Spy on Us ?
, ” Wired , January 7 , 2013 ; Jeanne Sahadi , “ What the NSA costs taxpayers , ” CNN , January 7 , 2013 .
[ 4 ] See for example Kate Raynes-Goldie , “ The secret history of Facebook depression , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; Brett Arends , “ More research says Facebook can cause depression , this time among millennials , ” Marketwatch.com , January 12 , 2019 ; https : //www.huffpost.com/entry/study-finds-that-facebook-makes-you-sad_n_5b4f7183e4b07de723e94927 ; Lorne Jaffe , “ 5 Reasons Why Facebook Can Be Dangerous for People With Depression , ” Huffington Post , May 15 , 2016 ; Grace Dent , “ Social media is full of sad , lonely people pretending they ’ re OK and perfectly fine attention-seekers pretending to be sad , ” Independent , March 6 , 2017 .
[ 5 ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full of sad , lonely people pretending they ’ re OK and perfectly fine attention-seekers pretending to be sad , ” Independent , March 6 , 2017 .

In 2013, Gordon Duff rightly argued that the NSA doesn’t protect the United States and is a waste of money. As a case study, Duff pointed out that the NSA couldn’t even be used to propagate the war in Iraq. It was people like Paul Wolfowitz, said Duff, “who made up crazy lies about Iraq.” The scholarly literature was on Duff’s side.[1]
The NSA played no part in the war in Iraq. But it did and still does play a major part in snooping on virtually every single American and country around the world, despite the fact that there was no evidence showing that NSA bulk surveillance stopped terrorist activities,[2] and despite the fact that we spent billions upon billions of dollars on the program.[3]
In short, the NSA was and still is a form of control. But we do have another form of control that seems to be more powerful than the NSA now, and it’s what John W. Whitehead calls the “Technological (New) World Order.”
No, Whitehead isn’t saying that technology is evil or even dangerous. What he is essentially saying is that powerful people are using the technology to essentially suck people into the “Technological New World Order.” For example, say something that Facebook masters do not like, and you will immediately be deplatformed. No questions asked. That’s how they ended up deplatforming VT.
YouTube is essentially doing the same thing. Gordon Duff’s YouTube VT channel a few years back with five million views was completely flushed, including vacation, gunsmithing, and cooking and cat videos with the usual vague justification of ‘violation of terms and conditions’. No human being interacted with VT during the process. Welcome to the Neo-techno flush.
The powers that be obviously didn’t like what he was doing. But the information age is so vast now that we don’t need platforms like Facebook to expose the powers that be. And people are waking up.
In short, use technology responsibly, and do not let it control you. In fact, if you let platforms like Facebook control you, you’re more likely going to get depressed.[4] As the articulate writer Grace Dent of the Independent put it back in 2017:
“Recent research from the University of the Bloody Obvious, or in this case the University of Pittsburgh, has warned that social media is making us feel lonely. Well, what a breakthrough. Who knew that perusing 10, 20 or even 30 riotous Facebook pictures of a colleague’s Saturday night house party – to which you definitely weren’t invited – causes Sunday-long existential angst? Or that Instagram updates of neatly cropped, flatteringly filtered friendship squads leave most onlookers feeling relatively chumless?
“Researchers at Pittsburgh studied 1,787 adults aged 19 to 32 over the use of 11 social media sites: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Plus, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Vine and LinkedIn…
“I’ll suspend disbelief for a moment that anyone on LinkedIn is ever allowed to be lonely. Its entire modus operandi is haranguing you to re-connect with distant acquaintances who dry-humped you after a regional sales prize-giving in 2003. Or that Pinterest users crave actual breathing social contact when we all know they prefer to sit alone, waiting for death, in a room that smells of guinea pig bedding, pinning endless photos of Audrey Hepburn to a virtual scrapbook…
“But regardless of these quibbles, researchers found that people who visited all of these 11 sites more than 58 times per week were three times more likely to experience loneliness than those who went online less than nine times per week.”
One lead scientist, Professor Brian Primack of the same university, declared: “We are inherently social creatures, but modern life tends to compartmentalise us instead of bringing us together. While it may seem that social media presents opportunities to fill that social void, I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for.”[5]
John W. Whitehead
“You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”—George Orwell, 1984
It had the potential for disaster.
Early in the morning of Monday, December 15, 2020, Google suffered a major worldwide outage in which all of its internet-connected services crashed, including Nest, Google Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Hangouts, Maps, Meet and YouTube.
The outage only lasted an hour, but it was a chilling reminder of how reliant the world has become on internet-connected technologies to do everything from unlocking doors and turning up the heat to accessing work files, sending emails and making phone calls.
A year earlier, a Google outage resulted in Nest users being unable to access their Nest thermostats, Nest smart locks, and Nest cameras. As Fast Company reports, “This essentially meant that because of a cloud storage outage, people were prevented from getting inside their homes, using their AC, and monitoring their babies.”
Welcome to the Matrix.
Twenty-some years after the Wachowskis’ iconic film, The Matrix, introduced us to a futuristic world in which humans exist in a computer-simulated non-reality powered by authoritarian machines—a world where the choice between existing in a denial-ridden virtual dream-state or facing up to the harsh, difficult realities of life comes down to a blue pill or a red pill—we stand at the precipice of a technologically-dominated matrix of our own making.
We are living the prequel to The Matrix with each passing day, falling further under the spell of technologically-driven virtual communities, virtual realities and virtual conveniences managed by artificially intelligent machines that are on a fast track to replacing human beings and eventually dominating every aspect of our lives.
Science fiction has become fact.
In The Matrix, computer programmer Thomas Anderson a.k.a. hacker Neo is wakened from a virtual slumber by Morpheus, a freedom fighter seeking to liberate humanity from a lifelong hibernation state imposed by hyper-advanced artificial intelligence machines that rely on humans as an organic power source. With their minds plugged into a perfectly crafted virtual reality, few humans ever realize they are living in an artificial dream world.
Neo is given a choice: to take the red pill, wake up and join the resistance, or take the blue pill, remain asleep and serve as fodder for the powers-that-be.
Most people opt for the blue pill.
In our case, the blue pill—a one-way ticket to a life sentence in an electronic concentration camp—has been honey-coated to hide the bitter aftertaste, sold to us in the name of expediency and delivered by way of blazingly fast Internet, cell phone signals that never drop a call, thermostats that keep us at the perfect temperature without our having to raise a finger, and entertainment that can be simultaneously streamed to our TVs, tablets and cell phones.
Yet we are not merely in thrall with these technologies that were intended to make our lives easier. We have become enslaved by them.
Look around you. Everywhere you turn, people are so addicted to their internet-connected screen devices—smart phones, tablets, computers, televisions—that they can go for hours at a time submerged in a virtual world where human interaction is filtered through the medium of technology.
This is not freedom.
This is not even progress.
This is technological tyranny and iron-fisted control delivered by way of the surveillance state, corporate giants such as Google and Facebook, and government spy agencies such as the National Security Agency.
So consumed are we with availing ourselves of all the latest technologies that we have spared barely a thought for the ramifications of our heedless, headlong stumble towards a world in which our abject reliance on internet-connected gadgets and gizmos is grooming us for a future in which freedom is an illusion.
Yet it’s not just freedom that hangs in the balance. Humanity itself is on the line.
If ever Americans find themselves in bondage to technological tyrants, we will have only ourselves to blame for having forged the chains through our own lassitude, laziness and abject reliance on internet-connected gadgets and gizmos that render us wholly irrelevant.
Indeed, we’re fast approaching Philip K. Dick’s vision of the future as depicted in the film Minority Report. There, police agencies apprehend criminals before they can commit a crime, driverless cars populate the highways, and a person’s biometrics are constantly scanned and used to track their movements, target them for advertising, and keep them under perpetual surveillance.
Cue the dawning of the Age of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which internet-connected “things” monitor your home, your health and your habits in order to keep your pantry stocked, your utilities regulated and your life under control and relatively worry-free.
The key word here, however, is control.
In the not-too-distant future, “just about every device you have — and even products like chairs, that you don’t normally expect to see technology in — will be connected and talking to each other.”
By the end of 2018, “there were an estimated 22 billion internet of things connected devices in use around the world… Forecasts suggest that by 2030 around 50 billion of these IoT devices will be in use around the world, creating a massive web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.”
As the technologies powering these devices have become increasingly sophisticated, they have also become increasingly widespread, encompassing everything from toothbrushes and lightbulbs to cars, smart meters and medical equipment.
It is estimated that 127 new IoT devices are connected to the web every second.
This “connected” industry has become the next big societal transformation, right up there with the Industrial Revolution, a watershed moment in technology and culture.
Between driverless cars that completely lacking a steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal, and smart pills embedded with computer chips, sensors, cameras and robots, we are poised to outpace the imaginations of science fiction writers such as Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov. (By the way, there is no such thing as a driverless car. Someone or something will be driving, but it won’t be you.)
These Internet-connected techno gadgets include smart light bulbs that discourage burglars by making your house look occupied, smart thermostats that regulate the temperature of your home based on your activities, and smart doorbells that let you see who is at your front door without leaving the comfort of your couch.
Nest, Google’s suite of smart home products, has been at the forefront of the “connected” industry, with such technologically savvy conveniences as a smart lock that tells your thermostat who is home, what temperatures they like, and when your home is unoccupied; a home phone service system that interacts with your connected devices to “learn when you come and go” and alert you if your kids don’t come home; and a sleep system that will monitor when you fall asleep, when you wake up, and keep the house noises and temperature in a sleep-conducive state.
The aim of these internet-connected devices, as Nest proclaims, is to make “your house a more thoughtful and conscious home.” For example, your car can signal ahead that you’re on your way home, while Hue lights can flash on and off to get your attention if Nest Protect senses something’s wrong. Your coffeemaker, relying on data from fitness and sleep sensors, will brew a stronger pot of coffee for you if you’ve had a restless night.
Yet given the speed and trajectory at which these technologies are developing, it won’t be long before these devices are operating entirely independent of their human creators, which poses a whole new set of worries. As technology expert Nicholas Carr notes, “As soon as you allow robots, or software programs, to act freely in the world, they’re going to run up against ethically fraught situations and face hard choices that can’t be resolved through statistical models. That will be true of self-driving cars, self-flying drones, and battlefield robots, just as it’s already true, on a lesser scale, with automated vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers.”
For instance, just as the robotic vacuum, Roomba, “makes no distinction between a dust bunny and an insect,” weaponized drones—poised to take to the skies en masse this year—will be incapable of distinguishing between a fleeing criminal and someone merely jogging down a street. For that matter, how do you defend yourself against a robotic cop—such as the Atlas android being developed by the Pentagon—that has been programmed to respond to any perceived threat with violence?
Moreover, it’s not just our homes and personal devices that are being reordered and reimagined in this connected age: it’s our workplaces, our health systems, our government, our bodies and our innermost thoughts that are being plugged into a matrix over which we have no real control.
Indeed, it is expected that by 2030, we will all experience The Internet of Senses (IoS), enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, and automation. The Internet of Senses relies on connected technology interacting with our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch by way of the brain as the user interface. As journalist Susan Fourtane explains:
Many predict that by 2030, the lines between thinking and doing will blur. Fifty-nine percent of consumers believe that we will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination… By 2030, technology is set to respond to our thoughts, and even share them with others… Using the brain as an interface could mean the end of keyboards, mice, game controllers, and ultimately user interfaces for any digital device. The user needs to only think about the commands, and they will just happen. Smartphones could even function without touch screens.
In other words, the IoS will rely on technology being able to access and act on your thoughts.
Fourtane outlines several trends related to the IoS that are expected to become a reality by 2030:
1: Thoughts become action: using the brain as the interface, for example, users will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination.
2: Sounds will become an extension of the devised virtual reality: users could mimic anyone’s voice realistically enough to fool even family members.
3: Real food will become secondary to imagined tastes. A sensory device for your mouth could digitally enhance anything you eat, so that any food can taste like your favorite treat.
4: Smells will become a projection of this virtual reality so that virtual visits, to forests or the countryside for instance, would include experiencing all the natural smells of those places.
5: Total touch: Smartphones with screens will convey the shape and texture of the digital icons and buttons they are pressing.
6: Merged reality: VR game worlds will become indistinguishable from physical reality by 2030.
Unfortunately, in our race to the future, we have failed to consider what such dependence on technology might mean for our humanity, not to mention our freedoms.
Ingestible or implantable chips are a good example of how unprepared we are, morally and otherwise, to navigate this uncharted terrain. Hailed as revolutionary for their ability to access, analyze and manipulate your body from the inside, these smart pills can remind you to take your medication, search for cancer, and even send an alert to your doctor warning of an impending heart attack.
Sure, the technology could save lives, but is that all we need to know?
Have we done our due diligence in asking all the questions that need to be asked before unleashing such awesome technology on an unsuspecting populace?
For example, asks Washington Post reporter Ariana Eunjung Cha:
What kind of warnings should users receive about the risks of implanting chip technology inside a body, for instance? How will patients be assured that the technology won’t be used to compel them to take medications they don’t really want to take? Could law enforcement obtain data that would reveal which individuals abuse drugs or sell them on the black market? Could what started as a voluntary experiment be turned into a compulsory government identification program that could erode civil liberties?
About John W. Whitehead: John is an attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the area of constitutional law and human rights. Whitehead’s concern for the persecuted and oppressed led him, in 1982, to establish The Rutherford Institute, nonprofit civil liberties, and human rights organization whose international headquarters are located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Deeply committed to protecting the constitutional freedoms of every American and the integral human rights of all people, The Rutherford Institute has emerged as a prominent leader in the national dialogue on civil liberties and human rights and a formidable champion of the Constitution. Whitehead serves as the Institute’s president and spokesperson. Widely recognized as one of the nation’s most vocal and involved civil liberties attorneys, Whitehead’s approach to civil liberties issues has earned him numerous accolades and accomplishments, including the Hungarian Medal of Freedom and the 2010 Milner S. Ball Lifetime Achievement Award for “[his] decades of difficult and important work, as well as [his] impeccable integrity in defending civil liberties for all.”
Whitehead earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arkansas in 1969 and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1974. He served as an officer in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971.
[1] See for example Murray Friedman, The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005); Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke, America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004); John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007); Paul R. Pillar, Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011).
[2] Christ Strohm, “NSA Data Have No Impact on Terrorism: Report,” Bloomberg, January 14, 2014; Justin Elliott and Theodoric Meyer, “The NSA’s Big Terrorism Claim Doesn’t Hold Up,” Huffington Post, October 24, 2013; Nicolas Tufnell, “NSA bulk surveillance has ‘no discernible impact’ on the prevention of terrorism,” Wired, January 14, 2014; Michael Isikoff, “NSA program stopped no terror attacks, says White House panel member,” NBC News, December 20, 2013; Justin Scuiletti, “NSA surveillance doesn’t stop terrorism, report claims,” PBS, January 14, 2014.
[3] “How Much Money Do We Pay the NSA to Spy on Us?,” Wired, January 7, 2013; Jeanne Sahadi, “What the NSA costs taxpayers,” CNN, January 7, 2013.
[4] See for example Kate Raynes-Goldie, “The secret history of Facebook depression,” Phys.org, January 22, 2018; Brett Arends, “More research says Facebook can cause depression, this time among millennials,” Marketwatch.com, January 12, 2019; https://www.huffpost.com/entry/study-finds-that-facebook-makes-you-sad_n_5b4f7183e4b07de723e94927; Lorne Jaffe, “5 Reasons Why Facebook Can Be Dangerous for People With Depression,” Huffington Post, May 15, 2016; Grace Dent, “Social media is full of sad, lonely people pretending they’re OK and perfectly fine attention-seekers pretending to be sad,” Independent, March 6, 2017.
[5] Grace Dent, “Social media is full of sad, lonely people pretending they’re OK and perfectly fine attention-seekers pretending to be sad,” Independent, March 6, 2017.


veteranstoday--2020-12-27--UK Breakthrough? The drug that gives ‘instant immunity’ to coronavirus? (what they gave Trump, Carso

UK Breakthrough? The drug that gives ‘instant immunity’ to coronavirus? (what they gave Trump, Carson and Rudy while the rest of us die…)

VT : Despite exclusions , the 3 most miserable assholes on earth were saved while 50,000 died .
This was Trump ’ s fake “ herd immunity…he lied , we died… NHS trials new antibody therapy that may stop people who have been exposed to Covid becoming ill and could save thousands of lives • Drug would offer immediate and long-term protection to patients when it would be too late to offer a vaccine • It could be given as an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients , care home residents and university students to help reduce the spread of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ London Hospitals NHS ( UCLH ) have injected ten people with the drug • England recorded 32,725 coronavirus cases on Christmas Day and 570 deaths – bringing the national tally since March up to 70,195 Daily Mail : A new antibody treatment with the potential to give people instant immunity after being exposed to Covid-19 and prevent illness is being trialled by British scientists in the UK .
The drug would offer immediate and long-term protection to patients when it would be too late to offer a vaccine , potentially saving thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients , care home residents and university students to help reduce the spread of the virus .
People who live with someone has caught Covid or been exposed to them could be injected with the drug to stop them becoming infected , even if they have not had a coronavirus vaccine .
British scientists from the University College London Hospitals NHS ( UCLH ) have already injected ten people with the drug as part of the new trial called Storm Chaser , with an aim to trial the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The participants received two consecutive doses of the drug .
They hope the treatment would provide protection from Covid-19 for between six months to a year .
read more..

Scientists from the University College London Hospitals NHS (UCLH) have injected ten people with the drug
England recorded 32,725 coronavirus cases on Christmas Day and 570 deaths – bringing the national tally since March up to 70,195
Daily Mail: A new antibody treatment with the potential to give people instant immunity after being exposed to Covid-19 and prevent illness is being trialled by British scientists in the UK.
The drug would offer immediate and long-term protection to patients when it would be too late to offer a vaccine, potentially saving thousands of lives.
It could be given as an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients, care home residents and university students to help reduce the spread of the virus.
People who live with someone has caught Covid or been exposed to them could be injected with the drug to stop them becoming infected, even if they have not had a coronavirus vaccine.
British scientists from the University College London Hospitals NHS (UCLH) have already injected ten people with the drug as part of the new trial called Storm Chaser, with an aim to trial the new treatment on 1,125 people globally. The participants received two consecutive doses of the drug.
They hope the treatment would provide protection from Covid-19 for between six months to a year. read more..
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/index.html


veteranstoday--2020-12-26--Russia’s Ambassador blames Israel for Mideast ‘instability’, not Iran

[ Editor ’ s Note : Is this a sign that Russia wants to turn over a new leaf with Israel in terms of not continuing to ignore its destabilizing aggression in the Mideast , which Israel then blames on everyone but itself ?
Color me surprised , if so .
The knives were out , with the Russian ambassador finally complaining about the continued airstrikes on Syria , and then even saying Israel was lying about the Hezbollah tunnels under Lebanon ’ s border , as no proof has ever been provided .
This has me wondering about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building up in southern Idlib , with heavy Russian bombing strikes on jihadi positions , which in the past has preceded a major advance .
There have also been 100 strikes on some days in the Homs desert to pound down the jihadis who were conducting guerrilla warfare ambushes on Syrian patrols .
This all looks like Russia is sending a message to Israel that , if it tries to open a new front on the southern Syrian and Lebanon borders , its relations with Russia might change .
Next we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will consider it huffing and puffing , as the play acting has gone on a long time .
Israel wants constant chaos that it can exploit , so the last thing it wants is peace , as that would focus international demands on its borders being ‘ settled ’ .
Israelis have always preferred a ‘ fluid ’ situation as to its borders , in that they are not done expanding their borders yet… Jim W. Dean ] Jim 's Editor ’ s Notes are solely crowdfunded via PayPal Jim 's work includes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Legacy archiving & more .
Thanks for helping .
Click to donate > > Russia has defended its envoy to Tel Aviv , who was summoned to the Israeli foreign ministry over an interview critical of the occupying entity , saying his remarks are perfectly in line with Moscow ’ s well-known position on Middle East issues .
Speaking to Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post on December 8 , Russia ’ s Ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly Viktorov said the regime ’ s conflict with Palestine and other Arab countries , not Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Middle East .
“ The problem in the region is not Iranian activities , ” he said .
“ It ’ s a lack of understanding between countries and non-compliance with UN resolutions in the Israel-Arab and Israel-Palestinian conflict.
” Viktorov also blamed the Israel for fueling violence in the region through conducting airstrikes on Syria .
“ Israel is attacking Hezbollah , Hezbollah is not attacking Israel , ” he said , adding that Tel Aviv should not attack “ the territories of sovereign UN members.
” The Russian ambassador @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s border with the occupied territories , which Tel Aviv claims to have been dug by the Hezbollah resistance movement , saying there was “ no proof Hezbollah created the tunnels.
” The Israeli foreign ministry summoned Viktorov and said that he was “ seriously reprimanded ” for his interview by Alon Bar , the ministry ’ s political director .
“ Bar rejected out of hand the comments published in the interview and emphasized that they are inconsistent with the reality in the Middle East , ” a foreign ministry statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ relate to reality and the threats Israel faces , and not to outrageous and dangerously false illusions , ” it added .
Moreover , Israeli foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi said , “ I think it was made clear beyond all doubt that Israel does not accept these statements , and thus I hope we will bring an end to such embarrassing and unacceptable statements between us and Russia , and in general.
” On Friday , Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Israel ’ s reaction to the interview as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the overly sensitive reaction to the issues touched upon in the interview of our ambassadors to Israel .
The position presented in it has been repeatedly communicated to Israeli colleagues on various levels .
All statements by the Russian ambassador quoted in the publication are in line with Russia ’ s well-known position on the Middle East , ” she said in a statement .
Russia has always underlined that the issue of Palestine is central for ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East , Zakharova stressed , saying , “ For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide every support possible in attaining this goal.
” She also noted that Russia has never concealed its negative attitude towards Israel ’ s airstrikes on Syria .
“ It is hard to deny that such actions further destabilize the complicated regional situation , ” she said .

Russia defends envoy amid Israel’s ire over criticism of Tel Aviv
…from PressTV, Tehran
[ Editor’s Note: Is this a sign that Russia wants to turn over a new leaf with Israel in terms of not continuing to ignore its destabilizing aggression in the Mideast, which Israel then blames on everyone but itself? Color me surprised, if so.
The knives were out, with the Russian ambassador finally complaining about the continued airstrikes on Syria, and then even saying Israel was lying about the Hezbollah tunnels under Lebanon’s border, as no proof has ever been provided.
This has me wondering about the timing, as the Syrian army is building up in southern Idlib, with heavy Russian bombing strikes on jihadi positions, which in the past has preceded a major advance.
There have also been 100 strikes on some days in the Homs desert to pound down the jihadis who were conducting guerrilla warfare ambushes on Syrian patrols. This all looks like Russia is sending a message to Israel that, if it tries to open a new front on the southern Syrian and Lebanon borders, its relations with Russia might change.
Next we have to see what Putin says, otherwise Netanyahu will consider it huffing and puffing, as the play acting has gone on a long time.
Israel wants constant chaos that it can exploit, so the last thing it wants is peace, as that would focus international demands on its borders being ‘settled’. Israelis have always preferred a ‘fluid’ situation as to its borders, in that they are not done expanding their borders yet… Jim W. Dean ]
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First published … December 26, 2020
Russia has defended its envoy to Tel Aviv, who was summoned to the Israeli foreign ministry over an interview critical of the occupying entity, saying his remarks are perfectly in line with Moscow’s well-known position on Middle East issues.
Speaking to Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post on December 8, Russia’s Ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly Viktorov said the regime’s conflict with Palestine and other Arab countries, not Iran, is the root cause of instability in the Middle East.
“The problem in the region is not Iranian activities,” he said. “It’s a lack of understanding between countries and non-compliance with UN resolutions in the Israel-Arab and Israel-Palestinian conflict.”
Viktorov also blamed the Israel for fueling violence in the region through conducting airstrikes on Syria.
“Israel is attacking Hezbollah, Hezbollah is not attacking Israel,” he said, adding that Tel Aviv should not attack “the territories of sovereign UN members.”
The Russian ambassador further referred to the tunnels under Lebanon’s border with the occupied territories, which Tel Aviv claims to have been dug by the Hezbollah resistance movement, saying there was “no proof Hezbollah created the tunnels.”
The Israeli foreign ministry summoned Viktorov and said that he was “seriously reprimanded” for his interview by Alon Bar, the ministry’s political director.
“Bar rejected out of hand the comments published in the interview and emphasized that they are inconsistent with the reality in the Middle East,” a foreign ministry statement read.
Israel expects dialogue with Russia to “relate to reality and the threats Israel faces, and not to outrageous and dangerously false illusions,” it added.
Moreover, Israeli foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi said, “I think it was made clear beyond all doubt that Israel does not accept these statements, and thus I hope we will bring an end to such embarrassing and unacceptable statements between us and Russia, and in general.”
On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Israel’s reaction to the interview as oversensitive.
“We are confused by the overly sensitive reaction to the issues touched upon in the interview of our ambassadors to Israel. The position presented in it has been repeatedly communicated to Israeli colleagues on various levels. All statements by the Russian ambassador quoted in the publication are in line with Russia’s well-known position on the Middle East,” she said in a statement.
Russia has always underlined that the issue of Palestine is central for ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East, Zakharova stressed, saying, “For our part, we are ready to provide every support possible in attaining this goal.”
She also noted that Russia has never concealed its negative attitude towards Israel’s airstrikes on Syria.
“It is hard to deny that such actions further destabilize the complicated regional situation,” she said.