21stcenturywire--2020-10-06--Telling the Untold: Remembering Andre Vltchek (1963-2020)

On September 22 , 2020 , author , investigative journalist , filmmaker , playwright , philosopher , and a revolutionary , Andre Vltchek , died at the age 57 .
He passed away in his sleep following a long car journey with his wife Rossie from Samsun to Istanbul .
While some initial reports suggested that the Turkish authorities might be investigating ‘ suspicious circumstances , ’ it was later stated by a close colleague that Andre had been suffering from chronic health challenges and that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism .
It was an abrupt end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ St. Petersburg ( then Leningrad ) , Russia , Andre would later become a naturalized U.S. citizen after defecting from the Soviet Union .
His work has spanned three decades and he is best known for his in-depth reportage from numerous conflict zones including Bosnia , Rwanda , Kashmir , Sri Lanka , East Timor , Afghanistan , Iraq , Somalia and Syria , to name only a few .
He has authored over of 20 nonfiction books , novels and plays , as well as worked on a number of documentary films @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in numerous international publications including Der Spiegel , The Guardian , China Daily , New Eastern Outlook and Counterpunch , to name only a few .
He was also an independent global affairs correspondent for networks like France 24 , RT International and Press TV .
In addition to this , for the last 12 months , Andre began working more closely with 21st Century Wire as a special featured contributor .
All in all , we commissioned nine exclusive features from him , conducted nine on-location radio features , and also worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports from Europe , the Middle East and South America .
I can only say how deeply saddened we were to hear the news of his passing , and I can speak for so many others I know in saying that Andre ’ s departure has left a massive void in the world of journalism and political commentary – at a time when experience and integrity are needed more than ever .
He was also a great student of geopolitics and understood well the dynamics of global power more than any academic or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , I learned a lot about Andre Vltchek , and through his eyes , a lot more about this big world we all inhabit .
If you wanted to know what ’ s happening in the world , you followed the news , but if you wanted to really know what ’ s happening on the global street , you followed Andre .
It ’ s no exaggeration to say he risked life and limb to bring people the truth .
It ’ s really hard to believe he ’ s left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year was a typical whirlwind for Andre .
We began working closely together in the fall of 2019 when he was reporting on the political upheaval in Hong Kong , as well as moving around in half a dozen other locations .
As it happens , it was a significant watershed period in history .
By then , the political brush fires of discontent and discord were spreading rapidly through Europe , the Middle East and South America .
What a time to be a journalist , especially an intrepid one , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this explosive epoch pass without giving it a fair crack .
Incredibly , he was able to embed himself in nearly all of these global hot spots , as well to document a number of other tertiary stories , too .
Over the past few years , like so many other international journalists , Andre had been based in Beirut , and when protests broke out there last fall , he was well-placed to report on it .
As ever , Lebanon ’ s street demonstrations were a deeply complex political and sectarian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keen to identify and harp on partisan political fault lines , he wasn ’ t so ensconced in the nuance of Lebanon ’ s local sectarian and confessional rivalries as much as trying to search for the fingerprints of a familiar gang of usual suspects , namely western NGOs and other US State Department-backed front groups , by now infamous grey actors in Washington ’ s ‘ democracy ’ roadshow .
He remarked on the suspicious Otpor !
symbolism of the clenched fist in the air , as well as the marked segregation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Lebanon massive underclass .
Less interested was Andre in the myriad of political parties and signature Lebanese-style in-fighting as he was in the ever widening gap between the haves and the have-nots , between the burgeoning underclass and the jet-setting elites .
Amid the chaos and despair , he was still searching for signs of hope – hope for a more equitable future and the dismantling of the currently neoliberal status quo .
In the end , he couldn ’ t contain his frustration with Lebanon , as evidenced in this bluntly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vadis Lebanon ?
” .
After falling out of love with Lebanon , in the late autumn he said good-bye to Beirut for good , and headed for what was arguably the most exciting and perilous continent on the planet at that time , South America , with no less than five major uprisings taking place at once , in Chile , Colombia , Bolivia , Ecuador , as well as resonant political toggling happening in Brazil , Argentina , Mexico , Nicaragua , and of course Venezuela , a country he cared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have your finger on the pulse of the Latin street , it was the place to be , and so it goes without saying that Andre would slide into the milieu .
Somewhere in between the Andes and The Levant , Andre managed to do another Herculian loop around Asia , filing a series of eye-watering reports from locations like Philippines , Vietnam , Malaysia , and Indonesia .
For me personally , this was an incredible masterclass in 21st century Asian affairs .
From his reporting in Malaysia , I learned about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deforestation and corporate takeover by palm oil plantations which have turned the country into a giant foreign cash crop .
Indeed , Andre had a rare talent for telling the untold .
He would call it as he saw , and would rarely mince words .
In his documentary film Downfall !
he described the US-backed coup in Indonesia in 1965 as an “ intellectual and cultural Hiroshima.
” Whether it was the graphic post-mortems of globalized late-stage capitalism , or NATO ’ s pillaging of Central Asia and the Middle East , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the skin of the prevailing narrative , no doubt causing an awful itch for the superficial western consensus reality .
In Borneo , it was literally eye-watering , after he contracted a near deadly parasite infection in his eye which required medical treatment which he was not able to get locally , but eventually got treated after he left the country .
But it hardly slowed him down .
Off to another jungle , or the next simmering war zone or uprising .
Following his last Asian sweep , he was confronted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Santiago , under the cosh of the harsh national lockdown imposed by Chile ’ s neoliberal government led by Sebastián Piñera .
Our radio interviews from South America in March 2020 , ‘ Panic , Lockdown , Backlash ’ and later in June , ‘ Chile ’ s brutal ‘ Corona Coup ’ were among the best segments we ’ ve ever aired .
Previously , in one of our first full-length radio interviews recorded in October 2019 , Andre deconstructed the gambit of popular uprisings in Hong Kong , Ecuador , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he would witness firsthand in Bolivia the aftermath of the US-sponsored , fascist beer hall putsch and flight of deposed President Evo Morales , and told the important story of a marginalised indigenous population based in Altiplano , as they gathered themselves preparing to restore the country ’ s rightful government .
It was absolutely stunning reporting .
It was Andre ’ s raw emotion anchored by a special documentarian eye for detail which made his segments so captivating .
I regard his piece on the global lockdown as seminal , titled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a Fragmented World , Has Ruined Billions of Lives , where he captured the global zeitgeist and the pungent sombre mood of the moment .
Andre made sure we all remembered that , too .
I was always impressed how Andre was able to quickly embed himself in any area or situation , taking its political pulse .
Andre was able to compare and contrast political movements in different locations .
This brought a level of richness and depth to Andre ’ s work , and it ’ s one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authentic and engaging , as it unearthed another massive side to global politics absent from the corporate media – leftwing and socialist movements , virtually invisible in pro-western mainstream press and punditry .
How can you cover , or pretend to know what ’ s happening on the ground without this perspective ?
The answer is you can not , and for this reason I believed his perspective provided an important balance to our coverage of global affairs .
The fact that we shared similar anti-imperialist and anti-elitist perspectives , and that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right to self-determination , allowed for a level of fluidity along geopolitical editorial lines .
It also helped that we were both well-versed in western soft power and ‘ smart power ‘ subterfuge – enough to be able tell a real revolution from a western-backed colour revolution .
However , we did not always see eye to eye ideologically , and so we had our share of heated political discussions .
His ardor was undeniable though – you could never contain him within the tidy frame of journalist , reporter or filmmaker .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that .
By his own admission , Andre was a committed internationalist , in the Cuban sense .
He strongly believed that if one is to cultivate real political awareness , then it should start with having an international perspective , because imperialism , as a de facto continuation of colonialism , is the fundamental source of pain and suffering in the developing world .
He was strongly committed to international socialism , explained in his own words in an emotional manifesto , published with his quintessential gusto in 2016 , and unabashedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Communist.
” Andre believed strongly that as internationalist state actors , countries like Cuba are front-runners in the spirit of international cooperation and therefore are fundamentally a force for good in the world .
Regardless of one ’ s political preference , it ’ s difficult to deny how many times Cuba ( a country under US embargo for over 60 years and with relatively few resources ) has led the way in providing international aid or medical assistance to locations in crisis – often in places which were routinely eschewed by sanctimonious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to highlight these , along with similar missions undertaken by socialist governments from Venezuela and North Korea , as well as similar effort by China .
Western critics of those efforts will claim these are not real humanitarian efforts , but rather , a state propaganda exercises designed to curry favor with a global audience .
To this point , Andre would point out that you ’ d be hard-pressed to find a state actor on the international stage that is not engaged in some kind of soft power operations overseas .
Actors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not only engaged in such efforts , but do so with bottomless tranches of funding and resources – on the aggregate exceeding all of the other countries combined .
All of which makes the relatively small but hugely symbolic efforts of countries like Cuba all the more impressive in comparison – winning hearts and minds the old fashioned way , through hard work , human-to-human organisation , and above all a dedication to their mission of service .
Andre had the same mission : running towards trouble and strife , offering nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and camera lens , with a deep conviction that by doing so he could make the world a better place .
But he was no naive revolutionary .
He knew the flaws and shortcomings of conventional politics , and offered some of the most brutal critiques of western leftism and the ascendancy of the neoliberal radical centrists .
In that sense , he was a realist on the Left .
I admit , we had some brutal arguments over editorial issues .
I had to wear my editor ’ s hat , something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ truth , I ’ d so often prefer to be in Andre ’ s boots ; swashbuckling and intrepid , fighting for my convictions , and making my case to the editor to publish ‘ all of it , ’ and be damned .
Of course , Andre knew the score , certainly no stranger to the nature of relations between writer and editor were always bound to be inherently attenuate .
Even so , his hard-headed nature meant that he would never readily accept the uncanny bureaucratic alchemy of the editorial room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made him such an exceptional reporter , raconteur and witness extraordinaire .
It ’ s hard to conceive just how prolific he was , and how much we can still learn from his work .
Andre was on the ground in Hong Kong throughout most of the umbrella protests , exposing time and time again how the violent ‘ pro-democracy ’ mobs lauded by the BBC and CNN were being marshaled by Joshua Wong and actually had the full backing of the US State Department and all of its soft power assets .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Hooligans : Western Shock Troops ‘ contains some unforgettable imagery .
Similarly , in the Middle East he revealed how , since 2012 the US and its allies have been using the radical jihadi fighters from China ’ s Uyghur community in Xinjiang as proxy fighters to fight their dirty war in Syria .
He was also on the ground in the Philippines in 2017 , and knew that ISIS fighters , arms and money were being injected into Marawi with an aim to destabilise the Duterte government for not obeying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ covert nation-building by the West is rarely if ever covered by mainstream media , but it was Andre ’ s stock and trade .
As a denizen of the world , Andre was always monitoring the trajectory of political movements on the ground , but he also took the time to take the cultural temperature too .
He was always keenly aware of his environment ; the art scene , local music , underground cafe culture , poetry and literature , and the independent cinema , and the quality and potency of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of political vibrancy , and potential for change .
To less observant journalists , such particulars would dissolve in passing – taken for granted as mere background noise , but Andre always paid attention to them .
Perhaps that ’ s what drew me to Andre ’ s style of reporting to begin with , as I tend to follow the same interpretivist methodology when I travel or report on location .
It ’ s why I really appreciated Andre ’ s razor-edged , gonzo-style of journalism .
Read any of his articles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difference in texture between his work and everyone else ’ s .
His accompanying photography is also unique , always giving the reader a real feel for the place and its people , but always , always against a vivid political backdrop .
Still hope : “ Afghanistan can still fly ” ( Image Credit : Andre Vltchek © 2017 ) In a world dominated by desktop journalists and plastic pundits , he was the genuine article , our man in the field – shades of Hemmingway and Steinbeck , with some Harper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andre wasn ’ t afraid to insert himself and situations , and sometime push a situation and people to the limit in a way that so many great writers and artists so often do , feeling ( and knowing ) they have the power to reform the discourse and thus , change the way people see the world .
I recall during our conversations how often Andre would so lament the noticeable disappearance of the dissident intellectuals on the scene – the poets , the composers , the artists… the dreamers , those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flame of revolution through the ages .
Those who are ready will stand up for liberty , justice and equality , and demand the restoration of dignity for a people abused by an unforgiving Hobbesian system .
Politically speaking , in our increasingly homogenized and globalised 21st century political economy , they are an endangered species .
No doubt , Andre was ( and still is ) a keeper of that flame .
In all of my years working in media and journalism , I have never known anyone who was as passionate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He certainly wasn ’ t a careerist in search of mainstream acceptance and accolades from the liberal establishment .
No desire for the champagne socialist circuit ; the ingratiating Guardian and Frontline Club panel discussions , the TED talks , and the usual human rights NGO junkets .
He wasn ’ t even remotely interested in that world , which was why he was shut-out by the ‘ great and the good ’ manning the gates of corporate mainstream media .
And yet , he stands head and shoulders above them all , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some 18 books , including a collaborative work with Noam Chomsky entitled , On Western Terrorism , produced and directed documentaries films , wrote stage plays , as well as penned several hundred feature articles for a variety of publications worldwide .
He exuded the youthful exuberance and spirit of adventure which you ’ d be hard-pressed to find in any journalist half his age .
Beyond his sheer talent as a reporter , he was a witness to events and people , intimately involved in his research subjects , and absolutely believed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on location , could somehow help to steer events towards a more positive outcome – by virtue of his telling the story which wasn ’ t being told , by lending his voice to the voiceless .
He wrote from the heart , and was never ashamed about it .
In that sense , you could say he was journalism ’ s one true revolutionary .
Andre always struck me as akin to that rare breed of warrior known in lore , who preferred to die with honour on the battlefield , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and parades post factum .
If you asked Andre , he would tell you he was just doing his duty as a human being .
Virtues aside , who ever wants to see a colleague , friend , or comrade , fall in battle .
It surely reminds us of what a relatively ephemeral ball of fire our lives really are , along with the mourning knowing that they won ’ t be around for the next conflagration , or to see victory in their lifetime .
Perhaps Andre never expected to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he believed that at the end of day , all there is , is the fight .
And more often than not , it ’ s that spirit which defines us .
Not whether we won or lost , but how hard we fought , who we fought for , and why .
Such is the way of a warrior .
*** Author Andre Vltchek has worked for over 25 years as an international reporter , photojournalist and documentary filmmaker , and has authored 18 books including the best-selling title , Exposing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a vast array of subjects covering culture , wars , political science , and world history .
Four of his latest book titles include China and Ecological Civilization with award-winning academic John B. Cobb Jr. , Revolutionary Optimism , Western Nihilism the revolutionary novel , “ Aurora ” , and his film & dialogue with renowned US academic Noam Chomsky , entitled , “ On Western Terrorism.
” Andre ’ s work has taken him to every corner of the globe , including ground-breaking journalistic work in locations in Southeast Asia , Middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Andre Vltchek ’ s work at his own independent publishing company here.. Also , see a list of available book titles on Amazon here .
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By
Andre Vltchek in Santiago, Chile (2019)
Patrick Henningsen
21st Century Wire
On September 22, 2020, author, investigative journalist, filmmaker, playwright, philosopher, and a revolutionary, Andre Vltchek, died at the age 57.
He passed away in his sleep following a long car journey with his wife Rossie from Samsun to Istanbul. While some initial reports suggested that the Turkish authorities might be investigating ‘suspicious circumstances,’ it was later stated by a close colleague that Andre had been suffering from chronic health challenges and that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. It was an abrupt end to an incredible life.
Born in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia, Andre would later become a naturalized U.S. citizen after defecting from the Soviet Union. His work has spanned three decades and he is best known for his in-depth reportage from numerous conflict zones including Bosnia, Rwanda, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Syria, to name only a few. He has authored over of 20 nonfiction books, novels and plays, as well as worked on a number of documentary films. His writings and commentary have appeared in numerous international publications including Der Spiegel, The Guardian, China Daily, New Eastern Outlook and Counterpunch, to name only a few. He was also an independent global affairs correspondent for networks like France 24, RT International and Press TV.
In addition to this, for the last 12 months, Andre began working more closely with 21st Century Wire as a special featured contributor. All in all, we commissioned nine exclusive feature articles from him, conducted nine on-location radio interviews, and also worked together on a series of short video reports from Europe, the Middle East and South America. I can only say how deeply saddened we were to hear the news of his passing, and I can speak for so many others I know in saying that Andre’s departure has left a massive void in the world of journalism and political commentary – at a time when experience and integrity are needed more than ever. He was also a great student of geopolitics and understood well the dynamics of global power more than any academic or think-tanker I know. Over the past year, I learned a lot about Andre Vltchek, and through his eyes, a lot more about this big world we all inhabit. If you wanted to know what’s happening in the world, you followed the news, but if you wanted to really know what’s happening on the global street, you followed Andre. It’s no exaggeration to say he risked life and limb to bring people the truth. It’s really hard to believe he’s left the stage so soon.
This last year was a typical whirlwind for Andre. We began working closely together in the fall of 2019 when he was reporting on the political upheaval in Hong Kong, as well as moving around in half a dozen other locations. As it happens, it was a significant watershed period in history. By then, the political brush fires of discontent and discord were spreading rapidly through Europe, the Middle East and South America. What a time to be a journalist, especially an intrepid one, and Andre wasn’t about to let this explosive epoch pass without giving it a fair crack. Incredibly, he was able to embed himself in nearly all of these global hot spots, as well to document a number of other tertiary stories, too. Over the past few years, like so many other international journalists, Andre had been based in Beirut, and when protests broke out there last fall, he was well-placed to report on it. As ever, Lebanon’s street demonstrations were a deeply complex political and sectarian affair, but unlike most western journalists keen to identify and harp on partisan political fault lines, he wasn’t so ensconced in the nuance of Lebanon’s local sectarian and confessional rivalries as much as trying to search for the fingerprints of a familiar gang of usual suspects, namely western NGOs and other US State Department-backed front groups, by now infamous grey actors in Washington’s ‘democracy’ roadshow. He remarked on the suspicious Otpor! symbolism of the clenched fist in the air, as well as the marked segregation among demonstrators between the NGO-friendly pro-American class and Lebanon massive underclass. Less interested was Andre in the myriad of political parties and signature Lebanese-style in-fighting as he was in the ever widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, between the burgeoning underclass and the jet-setting elites. Amid the chaos and despair, he was still searching for signs of hope – hope for a more equitable future and the dismantling of the currently neoliberal status quo. In the end, he couldn’t contain his frustration with Lebanon, as evidenced in this bluntly honest and moving piece, “Quo Vadis Lebanon?”.
After falling out of love with Lebanon, in the late autumn he said good-bye to Beirut for good, and headed for what was arguably the most exciting and perilous continent on the planet at that time, South America, with no less than five major uprisings taking place at once, in Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, as well as resonant political toggling happening in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, and of course Venezuela, a country he cared about deeply. If you wanted to have your finger on the pulse of the Latin street, it was the place to be, and so it goes without saying that Andre would slide into the milieu.
Somewhere in between the Andes and The Levant, Andre managed to do another Herculian loop around Asia, filing a series of eye-watering reports from locations like Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. For me personally, this was an incredible masterclass in 21st century Asian affairs. From his reporting in Malaysia, I learned about the devastation brought on by the rapacious deforestation and corporate takeover by palm oil plantations which have turned the country into a giant foreign cash crop. Indeed, Andre had a rare talent for telling the untold. He would call it as he saw, and would rarely mince words. In his documentary film Downfall! he described the US-backed coup in Indonesia in 1965 as an “intellectual and cultural Hiroshima.” Whether it was the graphic post-mortems of globalized late-stage capitalism, or NATO’s pillaging of Central Asia and the Middle East, he always found a way to get under the skin of the prevailing narrative, no doubt causing an awful itch for the superficial western consensus reality.
In Borneo, it was literally eye-watering, after he contracted a near deadly parasite infection in his eye which required medical treatment which he was not able to get locally, but eventually got treated after he left the country. But it hardly slowed him down. Off to another jungle, or the next simmering war zone or uprising.
IMAGE: Andre Vltchek documenting the Goma war zone fallout, Democratic Republic of Congo (2009)
Following his last Asian sweep, he was confronted by a thoroughly depressing and dark environment in Santiago, under the cosh of the harsh national lockdown imposed by Chile’s neoliberal government led by Sebastián Piñera. Our radio interviews from South America in March 2020, ‘Panic, Lockdown, Backlash’ and later in June, ‘Chile’s brutal ‘Corona Coup’ were among the best segments we’ve ever aired. Previously, in one of our first full-length radio interviews recorded in October 2019, Andre deconstructed the gambit of popular uprisings in Hong Kong, Ecuador, Lebanon, Catalonia and others. Later, he would witness firsthand in Bolivia the aftermath of the US-sponsored, fascist beer hall putsch and flight of deposed President Evo Morales, and told the important story of a marginalised indigenous population based in Altiplano, as they gathered themselves preparing to restore the country’s rightful government. It was absolutely stunning reporting. It was Andre’s raw emotion anchored by a special documentarian eye for detail which made his segments so captivating.
I regard his piece on the global lockdown as seminal, titled, The ‘Battle’ Against COVID-19 in a Fragmented World, Has Ruined Billions of Lives, where he captured the global zeitgeist and the pungent sombre mood of the moment. Andre made sure we all remembered that, too.
I was always impressed how Andre was able to quickly embed himself in any area or situation, taking its political pulse. Andre was able to compare and contrast political movements in different locations. This brought a level of richness and depth to Andre’s work, and it’s one of the things which I found to be extremely authentic and engaging, as it unearthed another massive side to global politics absent from the corporate media – leftwing and socialist movements, virtually invisible in pro-western mainstream press and punditry. How can you cover, or pretend to know what’s happening on the ground without this perspective? The answer is you cannot, and for this reason I believed his perspective provided an important balance to our coverage of global affairs.
The fact that we shared similar anti-imperialist and anti-elitist perspectives, and that we both believed in a nation’s right to self-determination, allowed for a level of fluidity along geopolitical editorial lines. It also helped that we were both well-versed in western soft power and ‘smart power‘ subterfuge – enough to be able tell a real revolution from a western-backed colour revolution. However, we did not always see eye to eye ideologically, and so we had our share of heated political discussions. His ardor was undeniable though – you could never contain him within the tidy frame of journalist, reporter or filmmaker. His landscape was far more expansive than that. By his own admission, Andre was a committed internationalist, in the Cuban sense. He strongly believed that if one is to cultivate real political awareness, then it should start with having an international perspective, because imperialism, as a de facto continuation of colonialism, is the fundamental source of pain and suffering in the developing world. He was strongly committed to international socialism, explained in his own words in an emotional manifesto, published with his quintessential gusto in 2016, and unabashedly titled, “Why I am a Communist.” Andre believed strongly that as internationalist state actors, countries like Cuba are front-runners in the spirit of international cooperation and therefore are fundamentally a force for good in the world. Regardless of one’s political preference, it’s difficult to deny how many times Cuba (a country under US embargo for over 60 years and with relatively few resources) has led the way in providing international aid or medical assistance to locations in crisis – often in places which were routinely eschewed by sanctimonious western governments. Andre made a point to highlight these, along with similar missions undertaken by socialist governments from Venezuela and North Korea, as well as similar effort by China. Western critics of those efforts will claim these are not real humanitarian efforts, but rather, a state propaganda exercises designed to curry favor with a global audience. To this point, Andre would point out that you’d be hard-pressed to find a state actor on the international stage that is not engaged in some kind of soft power operations overseas. Actors like the US, UK and France are not only engaged in such efforts, but do so with bottomless tranches of funding and resources – on the aggregate exceeding all of the other countries combined. All of which makes the relatively small but hugely symbolic efforts of countries like Cuba all the more impressive in comparison – winning hearts and minds the old fashioned way, through hard work, human-to-human organisation, and above all a dedication to their mission of service. Andre had the same mission: running towards trouble and strife, offering nothing but himself, along with his pen and camera lens, with a deep conviction that by doing so he could make the world a better place. But he was no naive revolutionary. He knew the flaws and shortcomings of conventional politics, and offered some of the most brutal critiques of western leftism and the ascendancy of the neoliberal radical centrists. In that sense, he was a realist on the Left.
I admit, we had some brutal arguments over editorial issues. I had to wear my editor’s hat, something I so loath to do. In truth, I’d so often prefer to be in Andre’s boots; swashbuckling and intrepid, fighting for my convictions, and making my case to the editor to publish ‘all of it,’ and be damned. Of course, Andre knew the score, certainly no stranger to the nature of relations between writer and editor were always bound to be inherently attenuate. Even so, his hard-headed nature meant that he would never readily accept the uncanny bureaucratic alchemy of the editorial room. But it was that stubbornness which made him such an exceptional reporter, raconteur and witness extraordinaire.
It’s hard to conceive just how prolific he was, and how much we can still learn from his work. Andre was on the ground in Hong Kong throughout most of the umbrella protests, exposing time and time again how the violent ‘pro-democracy’ mobs lauded by the BBC and CNN were being marshaled by Joshua Wong and actually had the full backing of the US State Department and all of its soft power assets. His report, ‘Hong Kong’s Hooligans: Western Shock Troops‘ contains some unforgettable imagery. Similarly, in the Middle East he revealed how, since 2012 the US and its allies have been using the radical jihadi fighters from China’s Uyghur community in Xinjiang as proxy militants to wage their dirty war in Syria. He was also on the ground in the Philippines in 2017, and knew that ISIS fighters, arms and money were being injected into Marawi with an aim to destabilise the Duterte government for not obeying the diktats of Washington. This level of covert nation-building by the West is rarely if ever covered by mainstream media, but it was Andre’s stock and trade.
As a denizen of the world, Andre was always monitoring the trajectory of political movements on the ground, but he also took the time to take the cultural temperature too. He was always keenly aware of his environment; the art scene, local music, underground cafe culture, poetry and literature, and the independent cinema, and the quality and potency of the local graffiti too – all important barometers of political vibrancy, and potential for change. To less observant journalists, such particulars would dissolve in passing – taken for granted as mere background noise, but Andre always paid attention to them. Perhaps that’s what drew me to Andre’s style of reporting to begin with, as I tend to follow the same interpretivist methodology when I travel or report on location. It’s why I really appreciated Andre’s razor-edged, gonzo-style of journalism. Read any of his articles and you’ll quickly feel the difference in texture between his work and everyone else’s. His accompanying photography is also unique, always giving the reader a real feel for the place and its people, but always, always against a vivid political backdrop.
Still hope: “Afghanistan can still fly” (Image Credit: Andre Vltchek © 2017)
In a world dominated by desktop journalists and plastic pundits, he was the genuine article, our man in the field – shades of Hemmingway and Steinbeck, with some Harper Lee thrown in for good measure. Andre wasn’t afraid to insert himself and situations, and sometime push a situation and people to the limit in a way that so many great writers and artists often do, feeling (and knowing) they have the power to reform the discourse and thus, change the way people see the world. I recall during our conversations how often Andre would so lament the noticeable disappearance of the dissident intellectuals on the scene – the poets, the composers, the artists… the dreamers, those unsettled iconoclasts whose grist has fueled the flame of revolution through the ages. Those who are ready to stand up for liberty, justice and equality, and demand the restoration of dignity for a people abused by an unforgiving Hobbesian system. Politically speaking, in our increasingly homogenized and globalised 21st century political economy, they are an endangered species . No doubt, Andre was (and still is) a keeper of that flame.
To our friend Andre Vltcheck who died for unknown reasons today in Istanbul.
He was the best war journalist, he has done a great contribution on exposing injustice around the World and cruel American hegemony
RIP @AndreVltchek
you are my hero pic.twitter.com/JzDVJgl4sG — Angelo Giuliano (@Angelo4justice3) September 22, 2020
In all of my years working in media and journalism, I have never known anyone who was as passionate and as driven as Andre Vltchek. He certainly wasn’t a careerist in search of mainstream acceptance and accolades from the liberal establishment. No desire for the champagne socialist circuit; the ingratiating Guardian and Frontline Club panel discussions, the TED talks, and the usual human rights NGO junkets. He wasn’t even remotely interested in that world, which was why he was shut-out by the ‘great and the good’ manning the gates of corporate mainstream media. And yet, he stands head and shoulders above them all, having visited some 140 countries, authored some 18 books, including a collaborative work with Noam Chomsky entitled, On Western Terrorism, produced and directed documentaries films, wrote stage plays, as well as penned several hundred feature articles for a variety of publications worldwide. He exuded the youthful exuberance and spirit of adventure which you’d be hard-pressed to find in any journalist half his age. Beyond his sheer talent as a reporter, he was a witness to events and people, intimately involved in his research subjects, and absolutely believed that by being there, on site, on location, he could somehow help to steer events towards a more positive outcome – by virtue of his telling the story which wasn’t being told, by lending his voice to the voiceless. He wrote from the heart, and was never ashamed about it. In that sense, you could say he was journalism’s one true revolutionary.
Andre always struck me as akin to that rare breed of warrior known in lore, who preferred to die with honour on the battlefield, rather than to be showered with medals and parades post factum. If you asked Andre, he would tell you he was just doing his duty as a human being. Virtues aside, who ever wants to see a colleague, friend, or comrade, fall in battle. It surely reminds us of what a relatively ephemeral ball of fire our lives really are, along with the mourning knowing that they won’t be around for the next conflagration, or to see victory in their lifetime.
Perhaps Andre never expected to see victory in his lifetime, or maybe he believed that at the end of day, all there is, is the fight. And more often than not, it’s that spirit which defines us. Not whether we won or lost, but how hard we fought, who we fought for, and why.
Such is the way of a warrior.
RIP Andre Vltcheck (1963-2020)
***
Author Andre Vltchek has worked for over 25 years as an international reporter, photojournalist and documentary filmmaker, and has authored 18 books including the best-selling title, Exposing the Lies of Empire. His portfolio covers a vast array of subjects covering culture, wars, political science, and world history. Four of his latest book titles include China and Ecological Civilization with award-winning academic John B. Cobb Jr., Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism , the revolutionary novel, “Aurora”, and his film & dialogue with renowned US academic Noam Chomsky, entitled, “On Western Terrorism.” Andre’s work has taken him to every corner of the globe, including ground-breaking journalistic work in locations in Southeast Asia, Middle East and South America.
See more of Andre Vltchek’s work at his own independent publishing company here..
Also, see a list of available book titles on Amazon here.
SEE ANDRE VLTCHEK’S 21WIRE ARCHIVE HERE
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-07--Leading Scientists Issue Call for COVID Herd Immunity, End to Lockdowns

By Sunetra Gupta , Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff for UnHerd As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical , and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection .
Coming from both the left and right , and around the world , we have devoted our careers to protecting people .
Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health .
The results ( to name a few ) include lower childhood vaccination rates , worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health – leading to greater excess mortality in years to come , with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden .
Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice .
Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage , with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed .
Fortunately , our understanding of the virus is growing .
We know that vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young .
Indeed , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many other harms , including influenza .
As immunity builds in the population , the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls .
We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e .
the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by ( but is not dependent upon ) a vaccine .
Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity .
The most compassionate approach that balances the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection , while better protecting those who are at highest risk .
We call this Focused Protection .
Adopting measures to protect the vulnerable should be the central aim of public health responses to COVID-19 .
By way of example , nursing homes should use staff with acquired immunity and perform frequent PCR testing of other staff and all visitors .
Staff rotation should be minimized .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ groceries and other essentials delivered to their home .
When possible , they should meet family members outside rather than inside .
A comprehensive and detailed list of measures , including approaches to multi-generational households , can be implemented , and is well within the scope and capability of public health professionals .
Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal .
Simple hygiene measures , such as hand washing and staying home when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in-person teaching .
Extracurricular activities , such as sports , should be resumed .
Young low-risk adults should work normally , rather than from home .
Restaurants and other businesses should open .
Arts , music , sport and other cultural activities should resume .
People who are more at risk may participate if they wish , while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon the vulnerable by those who have built up herd immunity .
DOCUMENT : Great Barrington , Massachusetts , 4th October 2020 .
To sign the declaration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ host Freddie Sayers speaks with eminent epidemiologists Dr Sunetra Gupta , Dr Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Martin Kulldorff , who met in Massachusetts to sign a declaration calling for a different global response to the pandemic .
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By Sunetra Gupta, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff for UnHerd
As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical, and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.
Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health. The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health – leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.
Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.
Fortunately, our understanding of the virus is growing. We know that vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young. Indeed, for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza.
As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.
The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. We call this Focused Protection.
Adopting measures to protect the vulnerable should be the central aim of public health responses to COVID-19. By way of example, nursing homes should use staff with acquired immunity and perform frequent PCR testing of other staff and all visitors. Staff rotation should be minimized. Retired people living at home should have groceries and other essentials delivered to their home. When possible, they should meet family members outside rather than inside. A comprehensive and detailed list of measures, including approaches to multi-generational households, can be implemented, and is well within the scope and capability of public health professionals.
Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold. Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching. Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants and other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if they wish, while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon the vulnerable by those who have built up herd immunity.
DOCUMENT: Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 4th October 2020. To sign the declaration, follow this link: www.GBdeclaration.org
UnHerd host Freddie Sayers speaks with eminent epidemiologists Dr Sunetra Gupta, Dr Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Martin Kulldorff, who met in Massachusetts to sign a declaration calling for a different global response to the pandemic. Watch:
READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire COVID Files
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-08--JP Sears: Your Guide to What It’s Like Living in California Now

“ What it ’ s like living in California now is a little bit significantly different than seven months ago @ @ @ @ @ the world ’ s largest prison has the industries of homelessness and lockdowns to bolster @ @ @ @ @ the highest tax rate in the nation , businesses being shutdown is another fantastic strategy @ @ @ @ @ improve the economy .
Gavin Newsom , Mayor Garcetti , and Nancy Pelosi are spear @ @ @ @ @ make California the zombie apocalypse capital of the world.
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JP Sears says…
“What it’s like living in California now is a little bit significantly different than seven months ago. California, now officially the world’s largest prison has the industries of homelessness and lockdowns to bolster its economy. Along with the highest tax rate in the nation, businesses being shutdown is another fantastic strategy that’s sure to improve the economy. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Garcetti, and Nancy Pelosi are spear heading the charge to help make California the zombie apocalypse capital of the world.”
Watch:
WATCH MORE JP SEARS HERE
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-08--Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus & Ukraine – The Slow Motion Collapse of Soviet Union

The sudden collapse of the USSR in 1991 created many weak countries without a unifying national identity and a strong central state .
Yet conflicts will continue until the world is willing to recognize the realities on the ground .
War between Armenia and Azerbaijan .
Violent protests in Kyrgyzstan .
Mass demonstrations in Belarus .
This month , the countries of the former Soviet Union ( FSU ) have once again been making headlines .
When added to the low-level war in Eastern Ukraine , and the unresolved conflicts in Moldova and Georgia , this recent unrest highlights the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ near abroad ’ .
One common explanation for this volatility is to blame it on the Russian Federation and its inability to accept its loss of empire .
Russia , it is claimed , is inciting trouble in its immediate neighborhood in order to prevent the states of the FSU from transiting towards democracy and integration with Western institutions .
There is perhaps an element of truth in this – Russia ’ s support for the rebels of Donbass is a case in point – but only a small one .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Belarus owe nothing to Russian interference .
Nor is Russia the only outside power involved in its near abroad .
Western states have also played an active role in the region , most notably in Ukraine , while Turkey is receiving much of the blame for the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan .
Given the involvement of so many outsiders , one could , therefore , see the root of the region ’ s problems as lying in the fact that it has become a geopolitical battleground .
Again , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can exacerbate and prolong internal conflicts , but they don ’ t create them .
The roots of instability lie within the countries of the FSU themselves .
This conclusion leads to another popular explanation , namely that the primary cause of conflict in the developing world is a lack of democracy .
This is said to lead to corruption , stagnation , and the dissatisfaction of the masses , which , in due course , leads to political violence .
On the surface , it sounds convincing .
Deeper analysis , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flawed .
Kyrgyzstan is the most democratic of the states of Central Asia , while also being the poorest and by far the most politically unstable , having suffered three revolutions in 15 years .
Ukraine , meanwhile , has long had far more competitive elections than its neighbors Russia and Belarus , and yet has suffered two revolutions and a civil war .
There is no obvious correlation between democracy and stability .
Another lens through which to look at the problem is postcolonialism .
The FSU could be seen as suffering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ French colonies once they gained independence .
All too often , the democratic systems left by the colonizers rapidly collapsed in a succession of military coups , revolutions , and insurgencies .
Various factors explain this : for instance , artificial borders that did not coincide with ethnic boundaries ; weak state institutions ; and endemic poverty .
One can see a similar dynamic in the post-Soviet space .
The republics that gained independence in 1991/92 in many cases lacked clearly defined and well-established national identities , or contained large ethnic minorities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ statehood and strong institutions – the primary institution that had previously held them together was the Communist Party , which no longer existed .
All this mattered , and continues to matter , as government legitimacy derives from more than competitive elections .
It rests also on a sense that a country ’ s rulers represent the people , their culture , and their values , as well as on a recognition that they are able to deliver competent government .
In the absence of a unifying national identity and a strong central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and society fractures .
The problem that former Soviet states face is that it takes a very long time to overcome these limitations , and attempts to do so can often backfire , particularly when efforts are made to force a certain national identity on an unwilling population ( or at least on a population part of which is unwilling ) .
In such cases , discontented groups take matters into their own hands through secession , revolution , or other political action .
As if this were not bad enough , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cope with the resulting conflicts .
This is particularly true when it comes to separatism and the redrawing of borders .
Until at least 1945 , wars often ended in the transfer of territory , enshrined in a treaty between the winner and the loser .
In the modern era , however , the territorial integrity of states has become a sacrosanct element of the international order .
Defeated nations simply refuse to recognize the loss of territory , while other states back them in this refusal .
The result is one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ era , the so-called frozen conflict , which involves breakaway territories achieving de facto independence , but being unable to gain recognition of this .
Consequently , they exist in a long-term limbo in which they can often survive only by means of illicit economic activities .
Neither they nor the international community as a whole benefit from the failure to recognize the realities on the ground .
But time after time , adherence to the principle of territorial integrity trumps the making of peace .
Of course , no single one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problems faced by post-Soviet states .
It is rather the different combinations of various of them in different cases that provides for the variety of conflicts we see today .
Unfortunately , this means that easy answers are not to be found .
Author Paul Robinson is a professor at the University of Ottawa .
He writes about Russian and Soviet history , military history , and military ethics .
This article was originally published at RT International .
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By Paul Robinson
The sudden collapse of the USSR in 1991 created many weak countries without a unifying national identity and a strong central state. Yet conflicts will continue until the world is willing to recognize the realities on the ground.
War between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Violent protests in Kyrgyzstan. Mass demonstrations in Belarus. This month, the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) have once again been making headlines. When added to the low-level war in Eastern Ukraine, and the unresolved conflicts in Moldova and Georgia, this recent unrest highlights the ongoing instability of what Russia terms its ‘near abroad’.
One common explanation for this volatility is to blame it on the Russian Federation and its inability to accept its loss of empire. Russia, it is claimed, is inciting trouble in its immediate neighborhood in order to prevent the states of the FSU from transiting towards democracy and integration with Western institutions.
There is perhaps an element of truth in this – Russia’s support for the rebels of Donbass is a case in point – but only a small one. The troubles in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus owe nothing to Russian interference. Nor is Russia the only outside power involved in its near abroad. Western states have also played an active role in the region, most notably in Ukraine, while Turkey is receiving much of the blame for the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Given the involvement of so many outsiders, one could, therefore, see the root of the region’s problems as lying in the fact that it has become a geopolitical battleground. Again, this is only partially true. External actors can exacerbate and prolong internal conflicts, but they don’t create them. The roots of instability lie within the countries of the FSU themselves.
This conclusion leads to another popular explanation, namely that the primary cause of conflict in the developing world is a lack of democracy. This is said to lead to corruption, stagnation, and the dissatisfaction of the masses, which, in due course, leads to political violence.
On the surface, it sounds convincing. Deeper analysis, however, shows that this theory is rather flawed. Kyrgyzstan is the most democratic of the states of Central Asia, while also being the poorest and by far the most politically unstable, having suffered three revolutions in 15 years. Ukraine, meanwhile, has long had far more competitive elections than its neighbors Russia and Belarus, and yet has suffered two revolutions and a civil war. There is no obvious correlation between democracy and stability.
Another lens through which to look at the problem is postcolonialism. The FSU could be seen as suffering from similar problems to former British and French colonies once they gained independence. All too often, the democratic systems left by the colonizers rapidly collapsed in a succession of military coups, revolutions, and insurgencies. Various factors explain this: for instance, artificial borders that did not coincide with ethnic boundaries; weak state institutions; and endemic poverty.
One can see a similar dynamic in the post-Soviet space. The republics that gained independence in 1991/92 in many cases lacked clearly defined and well-established national identities, or contained large ethnic minorities. They also lacked both a tradition of statehood and strong institutions – the primary institution that had previously held them together was the Communist Party, which no longer existed.
All this mattered, and continues to matter, as government legitimacy derives from more than competitive elections. It rests also on a sense that a country’s rulers represent the people, their culture, and their values, as well as on a recognition that they are able to deliver competent government. In the absence of a unifying national identity and a strong central state, legitimacy passes to sub-state entities, and society fractures.
The problem that former Soviet states face is that it takes a very long time to overcome these limitations, and attempts to do so can often backfire, particularly when efforts are made to force a certain national identity on an unwilling population (or at least on a population part of which is unwilling). In such cases, discontented groups take matters into their own hands through secession, revolution, or other political action.
As if this were not bad enough, the international system is simply not designed to cope with the resulting conflicts. This is particularly true when it comes to separatism and the redrawing of borders. Until at least 1945, wars often ended in the transfer of territory, enshrined in a treaty between the winner and the loser. In the modern era, however, the territorial integrity of states has become a sacrosanct element of the international order. Defeated nations simply refuse to recognize the loss of territory, while other states back them in this refusal.
The result is one of the peculiar characteristics of the post-Soviet era, the so-called frozen conflict, which involves breakaway territories achieving de facto independence, but being unable to gain recognition of this. Consequently, they exist in a long-term limbo in which they can often survive only by means of illicit economic activities. Neither they nor the international community as a whole benefit from the failure to recognize the realities on the ground. But time after time, adherence to the principle of territorial integrity trumps the making of peace.
Of course, no single one of these factors by itself explains the continuing problems faced by post-Soviet states. It is rather the different combinations of various of them in different cases that provides for the variety of conflicts we see today. Unfortunately, this means that easy answers are not to be found.
Author Paul Robinson is a professor at the University of Ottawa. He writes about Russian and Soviet history, military history, and military ethics. This article was originally published at RT International.
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-09--Democrats ‘Planning a Coup’ if Trump Wins in November

It ’ s now an open secret that if Donald Trump is declared winner on November 3rd , then the Democrats will be automatically contesting the result .
Party luminaries have stated that if Trump wins , they will refuse to accept the results until all of the alleged postal votes are counted ( and recounted , and then recounted again ) , potentially delaying a result to the 2020 Presidential Election for weeks or months .
During this void of uncertainty , chaos could easily engulf the country .
At that point , anything could happen .
The whole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was initiated by Democrats and allied mainstream media who put out the idea this summer that in-person polls were no longer “ safe ” due to COVID-19 .
Therefore , Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders have been pressing hard for universal postal voting – all under the guise of the Coronavirus ‘ pandemic.
’ If this disruptive scenario is allowed to happen , then it ’ s very likely that the 2020 Election ( much like the 2000 Bush v Gore election ) will not be decided by voters , but rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court .
In addition to this , there is a second Democrat plan for a contingent election , where a Democrat-controlled House would seize the reins of control and decide the presidency in a close race .
This is a desperate outlying possibility and has never happened in modern history .
Recently , former Hillary Clinton adviser John Podesta has said that the military ‘ could be used ’ in order to deal with the ‘ national emergency ’ ( a problem they are busy engineering ) .
Also , Pelosi has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military over the subject of succession , stating recently that , “ But that is an ongoing , not with the White House but with the military , quite frankly , in terms of the — some officials in the government.
” This means that there are now at least three Democrat plots afoot to try and remove President Trump from the White House .
Host Tucker Carlson speaks about some of the coup plots on the table in 2020 .
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It’s now an open secret that if Donald Trump is declared winner on November 3rd, then the Democrats will be automatically contesting the result. Party luminaries have stated that if Trump wins, they will refuse to accept the results until all of the alleged postal votes are counted (and recounted, and then recounted again), potentially delaying a result to the 2020 Presidential Election for weeks or months. During this void of uncertainty, chaos could easily engulf the country. At that point, anything could happen.
The whole idea for the partisan postal vote plot was initiated by Democrats and allied mainstream media who put out the idea this summer that in-person polls were no longer “safe” due to COVID-19. Therefore, Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders have been pressing hard for universal postal voting – all under the guise of the Coronavirus ‘pandemic.’ If this disruptive scenario is allowed to happen, then it’s very likely that the 2020 Election (much like the 2000 Bush v Gore election) will not be decided by voters, but rather by lawyers, or possibly the Supreme Court.
In addition to this, there is a second Democrat plan for a contingent election, where a Democrat-controlled House would seize the reins of control and decide the presidency in a close race. This is a desperate outlying possibility and has never happened in modern history.
Recently, former Hillary Clinton adviser John Podesta has said that the military ‘could be used’ in order to deal with the ‘national emergency’ (a problem they are busy engineering). Also, Pelosi has already admitted she has been in contact with military over the subject of succession, stating recently that, “But that is an ongoing, not with the White House but with the military, quite frankly, in terms of the — some officials in the government.”
This means that there are now at least three Democrat plots afoot to try and remove President Trump from the White House.
Host Tucker Carlson speaks about some of the coup plots on the table in 2020. Watch:
READ MORE 2020 ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Election 2020 Files
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-10--Jaron Lanier: ‘Too Much Social  Media Can Ruin Your Life’

Silicon Valley pioneer Jaron Lanier has raised the alarm on the dangerous of using social media .
In short , @ @ @ @ @ risk ruining your life .
In his interview with Britain ’ s C4 , internet @ @ @ @ @ Facebook , Twitter and Google are using algorithms to manipulate and record data on how @ @ @ @ @ – in effect shaping how we see the virtual world , as well the real @ @ @ @ @ SUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

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Silicon Valley pioneer Jaron Lanier has raised the alarm on the dangerous of using social media. In short, too much of it can risk ruining your life.
In his interview with Britain’s C4, internet Lanier explains how firms like Facebook, Twitter and Google are using algorithms to manipulate and record data on how their users think and feel – in effect shaping how we see the virtual world, as well the real world too. Watch:
READ MORE SILICON VALLEY NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Silicon Valley Files
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-10--Michelle Obama’s Message Promotes Racial Division and Victimhood Status

The former first lady doesn ’ t understand that black Americans who no longer see themselves as victims tend to leave the party of black victimhood , the Democrats .
All her video did was give them another reason to vote for Trump .
I have tried to keep quiet about my opinions about Michelle and Barack Obama , even though many in my circle make fun of them or call them out for their hypocrisy and blatantly racist acts .
However , her latest video goes way too far for me to remain silent any longer .
I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michelle is the most admired woman in the world .
That should scare the crap out of everyone with a working brain .
She continues to be passive aggressive when talking about President Trump and associating him with racism .
She won ’ t outright call him racist , but her words are like a dagger , and a thousand cuts usually follow .
When I ask people to name a specific , actual , factual account or occurrence of Trump making a “ racist ” remark , no one can give me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone to call out the MSM and ask them to do the same , but alas , in their tight little cocoon , they all spout the same false rhetoric , so it will never happen .
What is ironic to me is this woman ’ s husband became president of the United States strictly on the basis of his skin color , nothing else .
They know , I know , and most black Americans know it as well .
They both are now millionaires only because of that presidency .
Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obamas , Oprah , and many other black millionaires who got rich off of white people ( because they sure as hell didn ’ t get rich off of black people ) have the audacity to insult my intellect with this rhetoric of racism .
Racism has become a cliche , and that ’ s about it .
Booker T. Washington wrote about this virtual army of self-promoting race-baiters well over 100 years ago : “ There is [ a ] class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Negro race before the public .
Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles , they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs – partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays .
Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances , because they do not want to lose their jobs… There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don ’ t want the patient to get well , because as long as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an easy means of making a living , but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.
” Per her own words , Michelle was never proud of America until her husband was nominated to be the Democratic nominee .
And now her unhinged screed in the video she released does not elevate black Americans with empowerment , but tells them to suppress their abilities , hopes , and dreams , and progress by donning the mentally- and spiritually-constricting burden of victimhood .
Michelle still doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans who no longer see themselves as victims tend to leave the party of black victimhood behind .
Like any good Democrat , she only cares about black votes , not black people .
If you watched her video , you would have noticed her saying something ignorant like “ only a small minority of the protests were violent ” or words to that effect .
This completely ignores the fact that the flame from the match that starts a huge , uncontrollable wildfire is less than “ 10 trillionths ” of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A little bit of truth here .
Before Donald Trump ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 , the leftists courted him .
They went to his parties and invited him to theirs .
They cozied up to him and his money .
He was their friend .
Now they hate him and have branded him as a liar , racist , and misogynist , but he was none of those things before 2016 .
Michelle Obama lied in her video , but that is not surprising .
She is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the “ black and brown ” people of whom Michelle speaks are not going to engage in the downfall of this country ; they will help save America by turning in droves away from the liberal progressive agenda and voting for President Trump and other conservative politicians who reflect and embrace true family values .
I ’ m seeing more and more minorities reject the liberal , socialist agenda having realized that the left DOES NOT reflect their traditional values of religion , the nuclear family , and getting ahead by hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the White House to talk to President Trump on messaging to the black community .
He was named in Newsmax ’ s top 50 Influential African-American Republicans in 2017 , and , in 2016 , served as a board member of the National Diversity Coalition for Donald Trump .
Before entering politics , he served for eight years in the US Air Force .
His website is here : www.waynedupree.com .
Follow him on Twitter @ WayneDupreeShow This article was originally published at RT International .
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By Wayne Dupree
The former first lady doesn’t understand that black Americans who no longer see themselves as victims tend to leave the party of black victimhood, the Democrats. All her video did was give them another reason to vote for Trump.
I have tried to keep quiet about my opinions about Michelle and Barack Obama, even though many in my circle make fun of them or call them out for their hypocrisy and blatantly racist acts. However, her latest video goes way too far for me to remain silent any longer.
I’ve heard time and time again how Michelle is the most admired woman in the world. That should scare the crap out of everyone with a working brain.
She continues to be passive aggressive when talking about President Trump and associating him with racism. She won’t outright call him racist, but her words are like a dagger, and a thousand cuts usually follow.
When I ask people to name a specific, actual, factual account or occurrence of Trump making a “racist” remark, no one can give me an example. I would like for someone to call out the MSM and ask them to do the same, but alas, in their tight little cocoon, they all spout the same false rhetoric, so it will never happen.
What is ironic to me is this woman’s husband became president of the United States strictly on the basis of his skin color, nothing else. They know, I know, and most black Americans know it as well.
They both are now millionaires only because of that presidency. Now they are talking about racism! The Obamas, Oprah, and many other black millionaires who got rich off of white people (because they sure as hell didn’t get rich off of black people) have the audacity to insult my intellect with this rhetoric of racism. Racism has become a cliche, and that’s about it.
Booker T. Washington wrote about this virtual army of self-promoting race-baiters well over 100 years ago:
“There is [a] class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs – partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays.
Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs… There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.”
~ Booker T. Washington, ‘Up From Slavery,’ 1901
Per her own words, Michelle was never proud of America until her husband was nominated to be the Democratic nominee. And now her unhinged screed in the video she released does not elevate black Americans with empowerment, but tells them to suppress their abilities, hopes, and dreams, and progress by donning the mentally- and spiritually-constricting burden of victimhood.
Michelle still doesn’t understand or want to believe that black Americans who no longer see themselves as victims tend to leave the party of black victimhood behind. Like any good Democrat, she only cares about black votes, not black people.
If you watched her video, you would have noticed her saying something ignorant like “only a small minority of the protests were violent” or words to that effect. This completely ignores the fact that the flame from the match that starts a huge, uncontrollable wildfire is less than “10 trillionths” of the flame that results from that one match.
A little bit of truth here. Before Donald Trump ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, the leftists courted him. They went to his parties and invited him to theirs. They cozied up to him and his money. He was their friend. Now they hate him and have branded him as a liar, racist, and misogynist, but he was none of those things before 2016. Michelle Obama lied in her video, but that is not surprising. She is, after all, a Democrat.
Actually, the “black and brown” people of whom Michelle speaks are not going to engage in the downfall of this country; they will help save America by turning in droves away from the liberal progressive agenda and voting for President Trump and other conservative politicians who reflect and embrace true family values.
I’m seeing more and more minorities reject the liberal, socialist agenda having realized that the left DOES NOT reflect their traditional values of religion, the nuclear family, and getting ahead by hard work.
Wayne Dupree was recently invited to the White House to talk to President Trump on messaging to the black community. He was named in Newsmax’s top 50 Influential African-American Republicans in 2017, and, in 2016, served as a board member of the National Diversity Coalition for Donald Trump. Before entering politics, he served for eight years in the US Air Force. His website is here: www.waynedupree.com. Follow him on Twitter @WayneDupreeShow
This article was originally published at RT International.
READ MORE 2020 ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2020 Files
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-10--Boris Johnson’s ‘Green New Deal’ Plan Will Double Your Energy Bill

During this US Election season we ’ re hearing a lot of toggling back and forth over the a policy being touted by Democrats as a “ Green New Deal ” – a radical plan to empty trillions of dollars from pension funds to spend on ‘ investing in green technology.
’ We ’ re told it will stop climate change , and somehow save humanity from mass-extinction .
But is it really that simple ?
And who will pay for it ?
Behind bold promises of being able to deliver ‘ sustainable ’ and ‘ green ’ energy for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : an array of powerful financial , political and ideological motivations – none of which have been able to reliably deliver on their great ‘ green ’ promises .
Instead , we are seeing the emergence of a new technocracy grid forming , designed for the expressed purpose of achieving new levels of economic and social control over populations .
This process is being egged-on by the UN , where radical activist groups motivated by anti-humanist beliefs have since forced the World Bank to stop trying to end poverty and instead make poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on this opportunity , using radical leftist ideology to destroy the remaining aspects of the old economic order , and prepare the way for a new hi-tech Fourth Industrial Revolution ( 4IR ) .
The UK ’ s Tory government are now pushing ahead with their own version of the Green New Deal .
Boris Johnson is now claiming that wind farms can power every home in Britain in ten years , with visions of grandeur of making the UK ‘ the Saudi Arabia of green energy.
’ What ministers aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goal of achieving ‘ 100 per cent renewables ’ would actually require increasing the current land used of 0.5 % up towards 20 % .
Moreover , Boris Johnson is attempting to transition towards a lower power density , when in fact the country will require a higher power density going forward in order to provide the base-load needed in order to power its cities .
This is only the beginning of their problems .
While their plan claims to be a ‘ green jobs creator ’ – in reality it will almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Montford from The Spectator explains why Boris ’ s wind power pledge won ’ t be cheap… Boris Johnson likes a big announcement .
Back in his days as London mayor , he told us he was going to build a new airport on an island in the Thames estuary and a tree-lined ‘ garden bridge ’ further upstream .
Although not as hare-brained as his more recent plan to build a bridge to Ireland , neither of these schemes ever came to anything .
Much of the government ’ s announcement today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the impression of having been conjured up with the same lack of any serious intent , ‘ smart cities ’ being an obvious example .
However , some of it looks positively alarming .
Take home insulation , for example .
It sounds so simple and so easy , but as study after study has shown , the cost of retrofitting the existing housing stock is wildly expensive – the cost would run to trillions – and it might even be cheaper to knock down the whole of the UK ’ s housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frequently touted as the answer to all our problems , but this is mostly a case of pulling the wool over the eyes of the unwary .
Hydrogen is a way of moving energy about ; it is not a source of energy itself .
In other words , to make the stuff , you need a real source of energy , which currently means natural gas .
But if you are going to burn gas to make hydrogen , you are going to get carbon dioxide given off in vast quantities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment .
Unfortunately , carbon capture and storage has only ever worked for coal-fired power stations , and even then it ’ s still commercially unviable .
Getting the technology to work on plant burning natural gas remains a pipe-dream .
But , say the renewables enthusiasts , we can also make hydrogen through electrolysis of water , with all the electricity coming from our rapidly growing fleet of offshore windfarms .
There are two problems with this idea .
Firstly , converting electricity to hydrogen and back to electricity is grossly inefficient @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power inputs , you still will not get cheap electricity out at the end of the process .
But secondly ( and disturbingly ) , we now know for certain that the UK ’ s offshore wind fleet is not going to deliver cheap power any time soon .
Two separate reviews of the accounts of the UK offshore wind fleet have shown that costs have been rising for the last ten years and that there is no sign of any reduction .
And while renewables enthusiasts say that ’ s all going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as the latest generation of windfarms come on stream , this has now been show unequivocally to be wrong .
There are two main strands of evidence .
Firstly , when windfarm developers have put together a consortium of banks to fund the project , they announce how much they are going to borrow .
This figure gives us a lower bound on the capital cost – the typical offshore windfarm overspends by around 17 per cent .
Reviewing these so-called ‘ financial close ’ figures indicates that windfarms coming on stream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as expensive as those built in the last five .
But what about the possibility that they will not spend all of their loans ?
This idea is killed off by the other strand of evidence : the financial accounts of those next-generation windfarms , currently under construction off the east coast .
These contain no indication of any change in the costs .
In other words , we are going to take very expensive electricity from offshore windfarms , use it to make hydrogen , which we will burn to make electricity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place , it is hard to imagine just how expensive electricity is going to become in future .
Prices have doubled since the Renewables Obligation came into force back in 2002 , and this was undoubtedly a significant factor in the loss of much of our manufacturing base .
A further drive for wind turbines , which produce power at two to three times the cost of a gas turbine , would drive costs up hard .
Add in the cost of dealing with their intermittent supply of power and we could easily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this story at The Spectator READ MORE GREEN NEW DEAL NEWS AT : 21st Century Wire Green Files SUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

By
During this US Election season we’re hearing a lot of toggling back and forth over the a policy being touted by Democrats as a “Green New Deal” – a radical plan to empty trillions of dollars from pension funds to spend on ‘investing in green technology.’ We’re told it will stop climate change, and somehow save humanity from mass-extinction. But is it really that simple? And who will pay for it?
Behind bold promises of being able to deliver ‘sustainable’ and ‘green’ energy for all, there exists a darker reality: an array of powerful financial, political and ideological motivations – none of which have been able to reliably deliver on their great ‘green’ promises. Instead, we are seeing the emergence of a new technocracy grid forming, designed for the expressed purpose of achieving new levels of economic and social control over populations. This process is being egged-on by the UN, where radical activist groups motivated by anti-humanist beliefs have since forced the World Bank to stop trying to end poverty and instead make poverty “sustainable.” The elites have seized on this opportunity, using radical leftist ideology to destroy the remaining aspects of the old economic order, and prepare the way for a new hi-tech Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The UK’s Tory government are now pushing ahead with their own version of the Green New Deal. Boris Johnson is now claiming that wind farms can power every home in Britain in ten years, with visions of grandeur of making the UK ‘the Saudi Arabia of green energy.’
What ministers aren’t telling the public is that their lofty goal of achieving ‘100 per cent renewables’ would actually require increasing the current land used of 0.5% up towards 20%. Moreover, Boris Johnson is attempting to transition towards a lower power density, when in fact the country will require a higher power density going forward in order to provide the base-load needed in order to power its cities. This is only the beginning of their problems. While their plan claims to be a ‘green jobs creator’ – in reality it will almost certainly bankrupt the country. Author Andrew Montford from The Spectator explains why Boris’s wind power pledge won’t be cheap…
Boris Johnson likes a big announcement. Back in his days as London mayor, he told us he was going to build a new airport on an island in the Thames estuary and a tree-lined ‘garden bridge’ further upstream. Although not as hare-brained as his more recent plan to build a bridge to Ireland, neither of these schemes ever came to anything.
Much of the government’s announcement today of a major green spending spree gives the impression of having been conjured up with the same lack of any serious intent, ‘smart cities’ being an obvious example. However, some of it looks positively alarming.
Take home insulation, for example. It sounds so simple and so easy, but as study after study has shown, the cost of retrofitting the existing housing stock is wildly expensive – the cost would run to trillions – and it might even be cheaper to knock down the whole of the UK’s housing stock and start again.
Hydrogen is frequently touted as the answer to all our problems, but this is mostly a case of pulling the wool over the eyes of the unwary. Hydrogen is a way of moving energy about; it is not a source of energy itself. In other words, to make the stuff, you need a real source of energy, which currently means natural gas. But if you are going to burn gas to make hydrogen, you are going to get carbon dioxide given off in vast quantities, and so you need operational carbon capture equipment.
Unfortunately, carbon capture and storage has only ever worked for coal-fired power stations, and even then it’s still commercially unviable. Getting the technology to work on plant burning natural gas remains a pipe-dream.
But, say the renewables enthusiasts, we can also make hydrogen through electrolysis of water, with all the electricity coming from our rapidly growing fleet of offshore windfarms. There are two problems with this idea. Firstly, converting electricity to hydrogen and back to electricity is grossly inefficient, and so even with rather cheap power inputs, you still will not get cheap electricity out at the end of the process.
But secondly (and disturbingly), we now know for certain that the UK’s offshore wind fleet is not going to deliver cheap power any time soon. Two separate reviews of the accounts of the UK offshore wind fleet have shown that costs have been rising for the last ten years and that there is no sign of any reduction. And while renewables enthusiasts say that’s all going to change in the next few years, as the latest generation of windfarms come on stream, this has now been show unequivocally to be wrong.
There are two main strands of evidence. Firstly, when windfarm developers have put together a consortium of banks to fund the project, they announce how much they are going to borrow. This figure gives us a lower bound on the capital cost – the typical offshore windfarm overspends by around 17 per cent. Reviewing these so-called ‘financial close’ figures indicates that windfarms coming on stream in the next few years are just as expensive as those built in the last five.
But what about the possibility that they will not spend all of their loans? This idea is killed off by the other strand of evidence: the financial accounts of those next-generation windfarms, currently under construction off the east coast. These contain no indication of any change in the costs.
In other words, we are going to take very expensive electricity from offshore windfarms, use it to make hydrogen, which we will burn to make electricity again. With such a plan in place, it is hard to imagine just how expensive electricity is going to become in future. Prices have doubled since the Renewables Obligation came into force back in 2002, and this was undoubtedly a significant factor in the loss of much of our manufacturing base. A further drive for wind turbines, which produce power at two to three times the cost of a gas turbine, would drive costs up hard. Add in the cost of dealing with their intermittent supply of power and we could easily see prices more than double again…
Continue this story at The Spectator
READ MORE GREEN NEW DEAL NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Green Files
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-11--COVID Shocker: WHO Does Policy U-Turn, Condemns Use of Lockdowns

This latest policy u-turn by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) could make life awkward for fanatical lockdown governments in the UK , Australia and Spain , as well as in states like New York .
Yesterday , WHO lead official Dr. David Nabarro appealed to world leaders to stop “ using lockdowns as your primary control method ” of suppressing COVID-19 .
“ Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle , and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer , ” said Dr. Nabarro .
He went on to warn western governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one thing – unnecessary poverty and suffering .
At no point did he state that medieval-style lockdown measures have ‘ saved lives.
’ This goes directly against repeated statements by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , who has advocating for lockdowns all along , saying that , “ [ L ] ockdowns enabled many countries to suppress transmission and take the pressure off their health systems.
” However , increased economic and social devastation from WHO policy recommendations has triggered a wave of dissent across the world as more people begin to realise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with .
During a recent interview with British magazine , The Spectator , Dr Nabarro said , “ We in the World Health Organisation do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus.
” The intention of his statement was clear , as he categorically rebuked the use of lockdowns by authoritarian governments in the UK and elsewhere : “ The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganise , regroup , rebalance your resources , protect your health workers who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ d rather not do it.
” He also blamed reckless lockdown policies and obsessive travel restrictions as being responsible for decimating delicate economies which rely on tourism to survive , as well as strangling small farmers in poorer regions : “ Just look at what ’ s happened to the tourism industry in the Caribbean , for example , or in the Pacific because people aren ’ t taking their holidays.
” “ Look what ’ s happened to smallholder farmers all over the world .
… Look what ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we may well have a doubling of world poverty by next year .
We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition.
” Dr Nabarro is instead advocating for practical and science-based approach to dealing with the risk of Coronavirus : “ And so , we really do appeal to all world leaders : stop using lockdown as your primary control method .
Develop better systems for doing it .
Work together and learn from each other.
” Dr Nabarro ’ s message has come just a week after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a group of the world ’ s top epidemiologists including Dr. Sunetra Gupta of the University of Oxford , Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University , and Dr. Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University – which has declared lockdowns as doing “ irreparable damage ” to economies and societies .
“ As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists , we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies , and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection… .
Current lockdown policies are producing devastating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” reads the declaration now signed by thousands of scientists , health officials and concerned citizens .
It now remains to be seen if lockdown states will heed the advice of the same WHO which helped lead them into this debacle to begin with .
SUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

By
This latest policy u-turn by the World Health Organization (WHO) could make life awkward for fanatical lockdown governments in the UK, Australia and Spain, as well as in states like New York.
Yesterday, WHO lead official Dr. David Nabarro appealed to world leaders to stop “using lockdowns as your primary control method” of suppressing COVID-19.
“Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer,” said Dr. Nabarro.
He went on to warn western governments that draconian lockdown policies are only achieving one thing – unnecessary poverty and suffering.
At no point did he state that medieval-style lockdown measures have ‘saved lives.’
This goes directly against repeated statements by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has advocating for lockdowns all along, saying that, “[L]ockdowns enabled many countries to suppress transmission and take the pressure off their health systems.”
It still remains to be seen whether this change in envoy Dr Nabarro’s own stance will be reflected in the WHO’s overall global policy recommendations on COVID.
Increased economic and social devastation from previous WHO policy recommendations have already triggered a wave of dissent across the world as more people begin to realise that lockdowns never really worked to begin with.
During a recent interview with British magazine, The Spectator, Dr Nabarro said, “We in the World Health Organisation do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus.”
The intention of his statement was clear, as he categorically rebuked the use of lockdowns by authoritarian governments in the UK and elsewhere:
“The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganise, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health workers who are exhausted, but by and large, we’d rather not do it.”
He also blamed reckless lockdown policies and obsessive travel restrictions as being responsible for decimating delicate economies which rely on tourism to survive, as well as strangling small farmers in poorer regions:
“Just look at what’s happened to the tourism industry in the Caribbean, for example, or in the Pacific because people aren’t taking their holidays.”
“Look what’s happened to smallholder farmers all over the world. … Look what’s happening to poverty levels. It seems that we may well have a doubling of world poverty by next year. We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition.”
Dr Nabarro is instead advocating for practical and science-based approach to dealing with the risk of Coronavirus:
“And so, we really do appeal to all world leaders: stop using lockdown as your primary control method. Develop better systems for doing it. Work together and learn from each other.”
Dr Nabarro’s message has come just a week after the release of the Great Barrington Declaration drafted by a group of the world’s top epidemiologists including Dr. Sunetra Gupta of the University of Oxford, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University, and Dr. Martin Kulldorff of Harvard University – which has declared lockdowns as doing “irreparable damage” to economies and societies.
“As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists, we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection…. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” reads the declaration now signed by thousands of scientists, health officials and concerned citizens.
It now remains to be seen if lockdown states will heed the advice of the same WHO which helped lead them into this debacle to begin with.
READ MORE COVID-19 NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire COVID Files
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21stcenturywire--2020-10-11--SUNDAY SCREENING: ‘Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos’ (2019)

Our weekly documentary film curated by the editorial team at 21WIRE .
As COVID regulations drag on , and our @ @ @ @ @ continue to collapse , online platforms like Amazon.com are now rapidly devouring markets and killing @ @ @ @ @ Founder Jeff Bezos is not only the richest man in the world , he ’ @ @ @ @ @ empire that is without precedent – with the power to shape everything from the future @ @ @ @ @ of commerce , the commodification and use of big data , to the future of @ @ @ @ @ regulators were late to consider the global impact of Amazon — or how to rein @ @ @ @ @ .
This film investigates how he executed a plan to build one of the most @ @ @ @ @ in the world , and its shocking impact on people ’ s lives .
Watch @ @ @ @ @ HERE SEE MORE BEZOS NEWS AT : 21st Century Wire Bezos Files SUPPORT OUR WORK @ @ @ @ @ MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

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Our weekly documentary film curated by the editorial team at 21WIRE.
As COVID regulations drag on, and our high streets and main streets continue to collapse, online platforms like Amazon.com are now rapidly devouring markets and killing off the retail sector. Founder Jeff Bezos is not only the richest man in the world, he’s quickly built a business empire that is without precedent – with the power to shape everything from the future of work to the future of commerce, the commodification and use of big data, to the future of technology itself. Politicians and regulators were late to consider the global impact of Amazon — or how to rein in Bezos’ unrivaled power. This film investigates how he executed a plan to build one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world, and its shocking impact on people’s lives. Watch:
Run time: 1 hour 53 min
PBS Frontline Documentaries (2019)
SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENING HERE
SEE MORE BEZOS NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Bezos Files
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