lewrockwell--2020-09-17--Injectable Biochip for Sars-CoV-2 Detection Nears FDA Approval

The Silicon Valley company , Profusa,1 in partnership with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) ,2 has created an injectable biosensor capable of detecting the presence of an infection in your body.3 In early August 2019 , months before COVID-19 became a household word , DARPA granted Profusa additional funding “ to develop an early identification system to detect disease outbreaks , biological attacks and pandemics up to three weeks earlier than current methods.
” 4 As discussed in “ Will New COVID Vaccine Make You Transhuman ?
” we appear to stand at the doorway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man is increasingly merged with technology and artificial intelligence , and COVID-19 may well be the key that opens that door , in more ways than one .
For starters , many of the COVID-19 vaccines currently being fast-tracked are not conventional vaccines .
Their design is aimed at manipulating your own biology , essentially creating genetically modified humans .
Combined with hydrogel biosensors — which do not suffer from rejection as foreign bodies like earlier implants , instead becoming one with your own tissue5 — we may also find ourselves permanently connected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or worse .
Hydrogel Chip Will Connect You to the Internet Hydrogel is a DARPA invention that involves nanotechnology and nanobots .
This “ bioelectronic interface ” is part of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines ’ delivery system .
The biochip being developed by Profusa is similar to the proposed COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in that it utilizes hydrogel .
The implant is the size of a grain of rice , and connects to an online database that will keep track of changes in your biochemistry and a wide range of biometrics , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Five Stages of Col ... Orlov , Dmitry Best Price : $ 4.27 Buy New $ 1.99 A September 2019 paper6 describes how the injectable sensor can help improve monitoring for peripheral artery disease .
However , while it might be convenient , this kind of technology will also have immediate ramifications for our privacy .
Who will collect and have access to all this data ?
Who will be responsible for protecting it ?
How will it be used , and when ?
As noted in a SteemKR article discussing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 , article , Defense One explains the basics of how the biosensor works:8 So , to recap , the technology consists of three components:9 the implanted sensor , a reader placed on the surface of the skin , and the software that allows the reader to send the collected data via Bluetooth to your phone or tablet , which in turn can be connected to other online sources such as your doctor ’ s website .
Anti-Inflammation Diet ... Rossiter , Molly Best Price : $ 6.12 Buy New $ 12.98 As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DARPA-backed technology will be able to detect the presence of flu-like infections — including SARS-CoV-2 infections — in the population before they become symptomatic .
As such , the biosensors may well become part and parcel of future pandemic detection systems .
Profusa hopes to gain Food and Drug Administration approval by early 2021.11 March 3 , 2020 , Profusa announced12,13 the launch of a study to investigate the technology ’ s effectiveness for early detection of influenza outbreaks .
Collaborators include Duke University , the Imperial College of London and RTI International @ @ @ @ @ @ @ algorithms for disease detection .
According to the press release:14 The Anti-Inflammatory ... Bruner , Sondi Best Price : $ 3.97 Buy New $ 11.14 Many questions remain , however .
If your cellphone can receive information from your body , what information can your body receive from it , or other sources , and what effects might such transmissions have on your physical functioning and psychological health ?
So far , such crucial questions have not been answered , and they must be , considering the nightmarish possibilities .
Writing for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critic Adam Keiper points out that:15 One of my favorite independent journalists , Whitney Webb , wrote an article16 about this : “ Coronavirus Gives a Dangerous Boost to DARPA ’ s Darkest Agenda.
” In it , she reviews some of the more nefarious possibilities inherent in this technology : Department of Defense Is Deeply Invested in Nanotech It ’ s worth considering the possibility that the transfer of data may be able to go both ways , seeing how the Department of Defense is also working on nanotechnologies aimed at creating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situational awareness and other battlefield survivability capabilities.17,18,19 Elderberry , Vitamin C , ... Buy New $ 24.95 ( $ 0.21 / Count ) Such technologies may also include gene-based weapons designed to undermine the enemy ’ s health and well-being.20 In “ Coronavirus Gives a Dangerous Boost to DARPA ’ s Darkest Agenda , ” Webb reviews several DARPA initiatives that stretch the imagination:21 As noted in the SteemKR article,27 mass surveillance of everyone ’ s biological data would also require “ enormously increased bandwidth in cellphone and Wi-Fi networks , ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of why governments around the world are so hell-bent on implementing 5G networks across the globe without giving potentially adverse effects a second thought .
The U.S. Department of Defense is also looking at using nanotech-based adjuvants in vaccines in lieu of conventional adjuvants known to cause health problems .
As described on the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies ’ website under strategic research areas No .
1:28 Immunity Boost Supplem ... Buy New $ 24.99 ( $ 0.28 / Count ) The project page 1.6 expounds on the research further , stating:29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too far-fetched to be true to the average person , we ’ re at a point now where we need to face the transhumanist agenda head-on , because it ’ s being implemented whether we are aware of it and agree with its prospects or not .
And mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 appear to be one way to get a large portion of the global population caught in the “ net.
” One of the ways you can arm yourself is to sign up for the Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 21st Century , ” which will be held online October 16 to 18 , 2020 .
There will be 40 speakers , including me , who will address these issues , including solutions .
The cost is only $ 80 and will also include Andy Wakefield and Robert F. Kennedy Jr .
The Best of Joseph Mercola

The Silicon Valley company, Profusa,1 in partnership with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),2 has created an injectable biosensor capable of detecting the presence of an infection in your body.3
In early August 2019, months before COVID-19 became a household word, DARPA granted Profusa additional funding “to develop an early identification system to detect disease outbreaks, biological attacks and pandemics up to three weeks earlier than current methods.”4
As discussed in “Will New COVID Vaccine Make You Transhuman?” we appear to stand at the doorway of a brave new world in which man is increasingly merged with technology and artificial intelligence, and COVID-19 may well be the key that opens that door, in more ways than one.
For starters, many of the COVID-19 vaccines currently being fast-tracked are not conventional vaccines. Their design is aimed at manipulating your own biology, essentially creating genetically modified humans.
Combined with hydrogel biosensors — which do not suffer from rejection as foreign bodies like earlier implants, instead becoming one with your own tissue5 — we may also find ourselves permanently connected to the internet-based cloud, for better or worse.
Hydrogel Chip Will Connect You to the Internet
Hydrogel is a DARPA invention that involves nanotechnology and nanobots. This “bioelectronic interface” is part of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines’ delivery system.
The biochip being developed by Profusa is similar to the proposed COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in that it utilizes hydrogel. The implant is the size of a grain of rice, and connects to an online database that will keep track of changes in your biochemistry and a wide range of biometrics, such as heart and respiratory rate and much more. The Five Stages of Col... Orlov, Dmitry Best Price: $4.27 Buy New $1.99 (as of 03:30 UTC - Details)
Nanotechnology could theoretically be used to make mind-control systems, invisible and mobile eavesdropping devices, or unimaginably horrific tools of torture. ~ Adam Keiper
A September 2019 paper6 describes how the injectable sensor can help improve monitoring for peripheral artery disease. However, while it might be convenient, this kind of technology will also have immediate ramifications for our privacy. Who will collect and have access to all this data? Who will be responsible for protecting it? How will it be used, and when? As noted in a SteemKR article discussing the implants:7
“Along with the advent of in-body nanotechnology, and sensors which tie the human body to an artificial intelligence platform, the possibilities for misuse by totalitarian governments has not been lost on technology watchdogs. With advanced biosensors, artificial intelligence may be able to read the subject’s every mood and activity, heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, even sexual activity.”
How the Biosensor Works
In a March 3, 2020, article, Defense One explains the basics of how the biosensor works:8
“The sensor has two parts. One is a 3mm string of hydrogel, a material whose network of polymer chains is used in some contact lenses and other implants. Inserted under the skin with a syringe, the string includes a specially engineered molecule that sends a fluorescent signal outside of the body when the body begins to fight an infection.
The other part is an electronic component attached to the skin. It sends light through the skin, detects the fluorescent signal and generates another signal that the wearer can send to a doctor, website, etc. It’s like a blood lab on the skin that can pick up the body’s response to illness before the presence of other symptoms, like coughing.”
So, to recap, the technology consists of three components:9 the implanted sensor, a reader placed on the surface of the skin, and the software that allows the reader to send the collected data via Bluetooth to your phone or tablet, which in turn can be connected to other online sources such as your doctor’s website. Anti-Inflammation Diet... Rossiter, Molly Best Price: $6.12 Buy New $12.98 (as of 03:49 UTC - Details)
Detecting Outbreaks Before They Spread
As reported by Defense One,10 Profusa’s DARPA-backed technology will be able to detect the presence of flu-like infections — including SARS-CoV-2 infections — in the population before they become symptomatic. As such, the biosensors may well become part and parcel of future pandemic detection systems. Profusa hopes to gain Food and Drug Administration approval by early 2021.11
March 3, 2020, Profusa announced12,13 the launch of a study to investigate the technology’s effectiveness for early detection of influenza outbreaks. Collaborators include Duke University, the Imperial College of London and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute that develops algorithms for disease detection. According to the press release:14
“The study, conducted at Imperial College London, will examine how sensors monitoring physiological status, including the Lumee Oxygen Platform which measures tissue oxygen levels, provide potential indicators of human response to infection or exposure to disease in healthy volunteers.
The goal of the study is to develop an early identification system to detect not only disease outbreaks, but biological attacks and pandemics up to three weeks earlier than current methods. The results of the study are anticipated to be available in 2021.
‘This research marks an exciting step forward in the development of game-changing preventive care,’ said Ben Hwang, chairman and CEO of Profusa.
‘The Lumee Oxygen Platform can potentially function as a sort of canary in a coal mine for infectious disease, since subtle changes in oxygen at the tissue level may signal trouble and can help clinicians course correct quickly to avoid outbreaks.’”
Privacy Questions Remain Unanswered
The Anti-Inflammatory ... Bruner, Sondi Best Price: $3.97 Buy New $11.14 (as of 03:49 UTC - Details) Many questions remain, however. If your cellphone can receive information from your body, what information can your body receive from it, or other sources, and what effects might such transmissions have on your physical functioning and psychological health?
So far, such crucial questions have not been answered, and they must be, considering the nightmarish possibilities. Writing for the technology journal The New Atlantis, technology critic Adam Keiper points out that:15
“Aside from nanotech’s potential as a weapon of mass destruction, it could also make possible totally novel forms of violence and oppression. Nanotechnology could theoretically be used to make mind-control systems, invisible and mobile eavesdropping devices, or unimaginably horrific tools of torture.”
One of my favorite independent journalists, Whitney Webb, wrote an article16 about this: “Coronavirus Gives a Dangerous Boost to DARPA’s Darkest Agenda.” In it, she reviews some of the more nefarious possibilities inherent in this technology:
“Technology developed by the Pentagon’s controversial research branch is getting a huge boost amid the current coronavirus crisis, with little attention going to the agency’s ulterior motives for developing said technologies, their potential for weaponization or their unintended consequences …
Profusa, which has received millions upon millions from DARPA in recent years, asserts that the information generated by their injectable biosensor would be ‘securely shared’ and accessible to ‘individuals, physicians and public health practitioners.’
However, the current push for a national ‘contact tracing’ system based on citizens’ private health data is likely to expand that data sharing, conveniently fitting with DARPA’s years-old goal of creating a national, web-based database of preemptive diagnoses. Profusa is also backed by Google, which is intimately involved in these new mass surveillance ‘contact tracing’ initiatives …”
Department of Defense Is Deeply Invested in Nanotech
It’s worth considering the possibility that the transfer of data may be able to go both ways, seeing how the Department of Defense is also working on nanotechnologies aimed at creating veritable “super-soldiers” equipped with augmented situational awareness and other battlefield survivability capabilities.17,18,19
Elderberry, Vitamin C,... Buy New $24.95 ($0.21 / Count) (as of 03:49 UTC - Details) Such technologies may also include gene-based weapons designed to undermine the enemy’s health and well-being.20 In “Coronavirus Gives a Dangerous Boost to DARPA’s Darkest Agenda,” Webb reviews several DARPA initiatives that stretch the imagination:21
“Another long-standing DARPA program … is known as ‘Living Foundries’22 … Living Foundries ‘aims to enable adaptable, scalable, and on-demand production of [synthetic] molecules by programming the fundamental metabolic processes of biological systems to generate a vast number of complex molecules that are not otherwise accessible’ …
The types of research23 this ‘Living Foundries’ program supports involves the creation of ‘artificial life’ including the creation of artificial genetic material … artificial chromosomes, the creation of ‘entirely new organisms,’ and using artificial genetic material to ‘add new capacities’ to human beings (i.e. genetically modifying humans through the insertion of synthetically-created genetic material) …
DARPA also has a project called ‘Advanced Tools for Mammalian Genome Engineering,’24 which … is focused specifically on improving ‘the utility of Human Artificial Chromosomes (HACs)’
Though research papers often focus on HACs as a revolutionary medical advancement, they are also frequently promoted25 as a means of ‘enhancing’ humans by imbuing them with non-natural characteristics …
Reports on these programs also discuss the other, very disconcerting use of these same technologies, ‘genetic weapons’ that would ‘subvert DNA’ and ‘undermine people’s minds and bodies.’26”
As noted in the SteemKR article,27 mass surveillance of everyone’s biological data would also require “enormously increased bandwidth in cellphone and Wi-Fi networks,” and it’s possible that this is part of why governments around the world are so hell-bent on implementing 5G networks across the globe without giving potentially adverse effects a second thought.
Nanotech Adjuvants in Vaccines
The U.S. Department of Defense is also looking at using nanotech-based adjuvants in vaccines in lieu of conventional adjuvants known to cause health problems. As described on the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies’ website under strategic research areas No. 1:28
“Another project focuses on novel means to protect the Soldier against infections. The approach is to safely intervene in the human immune system through the design of novel lymphoid- and leukocyte-targeting nanomaterials that concentrate adjuvant compounds and immunomodulators in immune cell populations to respectively enhance prophylactic vaccines and anti-microbial therapies.”
Immunity Boost Supplem... Buy New $24.99 ($0.28 / Count) (as of 03:49 UTC - Details) The project page 1.6 expounds on the research further, stating:29
“Protein vaccines do not typically elicit an immune response on their own, and must combined with adjuvants, compounds that provide inflammatory cues or promote the immune response to a co-administered antigen. Adjuvant design is made challenging by the need to strongly drive specific aspects of the immune response while maintaining a rigorous safety profile for administration to healthy recipients.
Nanotechnology-based approaches that target vaccine adjuvants or immunomodulators to lymph nodes have the capacity to enhance both the potency and safety of vaccines, by focusing adjuvant activity in tissues where immune responses are initiated and avoiding systemic exposure …
Project 1.6 proposes to develop two platform technologies that safely and efficiently promote immune responses in the vaccination and therapeutic settings: lymph node targeting amphiphile-adjuvants and immune-targeting amphiphilic ligand-coated metal nanoparticles.
These two approaches are ideally suited to targeting adjuvant compounds to lymphoid tissues and immunomodulators to immune cells during infection, respectively.
In preliminary studies performed with colleagues at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), promising results have been obtained in mouse models of Ebola virus infection using lymph node targeting adjuvants.
Nanotechnology-based adjuvants/immunomodulators focusing particularly on enhancing affinity maturation and cytotoxic T-cell induction will be developed, and the research team will partner with USAMRIID to apply these technologies to Ebola and other vaccines.”
While much of this may still seem too far-fetched to be true to the average person, we’re at a point now where we need to face the transhumanist agenda head-on, because it’s being implemented whether we are aware of it and agree with its prospects or not. And mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 appear to be one way to get a large portion of the global population caught in the “net.”
One of the ways you can arm yourself is to sign up for the Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination: “Protecting Health & Autonomy in the 21st Century,” which will be held online October 16 to 18, 2020. There will be 40 speakers, including me, who will address these issues, including solutions. The cost is only $80 and will also include Andy Wakefield and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Sources and References
The Best of Dr. Joseph Mercola


lewrockwell--2020-09-17--As Things Devolve, Here’s Why Understanding the Brutal Reality of the SHTF Could Save Your Life

There ’ s something incredibly important for your survival that a lot of folks aren ’ t doing .
I ’ ve written before about overriding your body ’ s natural urge to freeze in panic when something terrible happens , but there ’ s an additional step you must take .
You need to know the horrible truth about the SHTF .
The ugly , brutal truth .
Because as much as we stockpile , go to the shooting range and shoot stationary objects , can vegetables from our gardens , and raise chickens in our backyards , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many interviews with guys like Selco and Jose , I know for a fact that an all-out collapse is a dirty , terrifying , and brutal matter of life and death every single day .
As much as we wish it was , the SHTF is not about you being in a bubble , peacefully working in your vegetable garden while the world goes to hell around you outside the bubble .
The darkness can reach you wherever you are .
The Dark Secrets of SH ... Begovic , Selco Buy New $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities around the country right now .
Read this first-hand story of a National Guard member in Seattle and this eye-witness account of the riots in Kenosha .
Look at the violent plans of wealthy young people arrested for rioting in New York City .
Think about this hotly contested election .
We ’ re beginning to see armed conflict right here in the United States of America .
Think about these things and recognize that many parts of our nation are right on the brink of all-out disaster .
Ask yourself whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for that .
Why is it so important to know about the bad stuff ?
Many of us try to insulate ourselves from the dark things going on in the world .
I know that I stay away from social media beyond what is required for work because I ’ m sick of the arguing and the hatred .
There are certain articles in the news I hesitate to read because I know they will haunt me .
This is human nature – we avoid things that scare us , sicken us , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are some exceptions to this rule that you should make .
It ’ s incredibly important to know about the horrible things that could occur when the SHTF well before it happens .
I asked Selco about this in a conversation we were having when he wrote his first paperback , The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival I asked him why people needed to know about the horrors he faced .
He replied , And that makes sense .
I write a lot about the importance of adaptation .
I constantly remind people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Accept , Plan , and Act .
But trust me when I tell you , if something truly horrifying happens right before your eyes , it ’ s going to be a heck of a lot harder to “ accept ” that if you never even dreamed that such an awful thing could happen in real life .
But if you ’ ve contemplated it , if you ’ re aware of the possibility , it will still be horrible but you ’ ll be able to keep moving .
You won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SHTF Survival Stories : ... Begovic , Selco Buy New $ 9.99 You need to train yourself not to freeze .
Many people freeze in a disaster situation .
It ’ s human nature , but the ability to break this paralysis is paramount to your survival .
You can train yourself not to freeze by exposing yourself to the things you may experience while in a safe environment .
“ Freezing ” is called “ tonic immobility ” in behavioral science and it is a biological impulse .
A study exploring the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ describes the reaction : Part of Barlow ’ s ( 2002 ) description of an adaptive alarm model suggests that a freeze response may occur in some threatening situations .
Specifically , freezing — or tonic immobility — may overwhelm other competing action tendencies .
For example , when fleeing or aggressive responses are likely to be ineffective , a freeze response may take place .
Similar to the flight/fight response , a freeze response is believed to have adaptive value .
In the context of predatory attack , some animals will freeze @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , often referred to as tonic immobility ( Gallup , 1977 ) , includes motor and vocal inhibition with an abrupt initiation and cessation… Freezing in the context of an attack seems counterintuitive .
However , tonic immobility may be the best option when the animal perceives little immediate chance of escaping or winning a fight ( Arduino & Gould , 1984 ; Korte , Koolhaas , Wingfield , & McEwen , 2005 ) .
For example , tonic immobility may be useful when additional attacks are provoked by movement or when immobility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as when a predator believes its prey to be dead and releases it .
Some of our data suggested that reports of freeze were more highly associated with certain cognitive symptoms of anxiety ( e.g.
, confusion , unreality , detached , concentration , inner shakiness ) .
This leads to some very interesting speculation regarding whether freeze responses are also manifested cognitively ( i.e.
, the cognitive system , together with the behavioral system , being shut down ) .
There has been some speculation that a form of cognitive paralysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occur in the context of life-threatening situations or stressors ( Leach , 2005 ) .
So , in the context of this particular study , the freeze response could be related to an overload of stimuli because of the demands of creating your plan .
By having thought through various situations and getting into the habit of quickly developing plans , you can override your body ’ s natural desire to “ freeze ” and you can take definitive , potentially life-saving , action .
The Coming Civil War Kawczynski , Tom Buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the darkness , you don ’ t inoculate yourself against the horror – that ’ s impossible to do through simply reading a book .
But you do take away a little bit of the shock that can cause you to be paralyzed .
What made Selco realize that the SHTF was actually there ?
We ’ ve all read and learned a great deal from Selco and he shares his stories with such calmness that sometimes you don ’ t fully grasp the horror of what he lived through .
I asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his eyes to the fact that he was stuck in Hell on Earth , and his answer was chilling .
That ’ s when he knew that everything had changed and that there were new rules to living .
It was simply not the same world he ’ d woken up it a few days before .
A while back , I asked Selco to send me a copy of everything he ’ d ever written so that I could pull together a reality check for the rest of us .
Over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a quarter of a million words of memories , articles , and advice .
Together , we selected the things that provided a glimpse into the day-to-day events of the SHTF .
You can learn more about the result of that here in his books , The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival and SHTF Survival Stories .
Do you have a potential predator living next door ?
Do you know people in real life who you think would turn into predators if they knew that there was no risk of punishment ?
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to prison because the prisons were gone ?
If they knew there was no 911 or law enforcement to help their victims ?
I do .
I ’ ve known people in the past that I ’ m quite certain would be the kind of animals who kill men and cage their women and daughters for their own sick amusement if they thought they could get away with it .
I ’ ve had people write to me about their plans to take other people ’ s preps or to “ take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them wrong in the past when it all hits the fan .
They ’ re out there .
They are our neighbors .
Our coworkers .
The random guy who is in town on business .
The person with such strong political beliefs that he sees people who think differently as the enemy .
They may not even realize that they ’ re waiting for this chance but when the opportunity presents itself and there ’ s no real risk to them , you can be sure they ’ ll jump at it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It : ... Kawczynski , Tom Buy New $ 9.99 And you want to be ready for them .
A lot of us were unpleasantly surprised by what we learned about those near us during the lockdown .
And we still had a functioning system at that time .
Now , the system is crumbling rapidly , and the last deterrents are disappearing in some areas .
There are different levels for which we prepare .
Are people going to be running around brutally slaughtering their neighbors the next time we have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not .
Because we still have the veneer of civilization – and it isn ’ t going to shatter over a weather event when help is just a few days away .
There are many different types of events for which we prepare .
We as preppers want to be ready for everything from • being stranded in our car due to a winter run-in with a deer • to a job loss that causes great personal financial distress • to a full-on SHTF event in which all hell breaks loose .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that show Doomsday Preppers who are presented as only preparing for a giant meteor or a deadly pandemic that will wipe out 98 % of the earth ’ s population .
We are the people who want to be ready for everything .
Up to and including SHTF .
Sometimes I think we ’ re on the brink of darkness .
We ’ re at a dark point in American history right now .
I ’ m not gazing into a crystal ball and predicting that we are about to face a civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But I ’ m also not saying that we are free of any risk of such a thing .
Tensions ( as I write frequently ) are at a real high right now .
Our socio-political scene is a true nightmare studded with extremists who sincerely see the “ others ” as the enemy .
They surround the homes of spokespeople and threaten their families .
They rally , united in hatred against one another .
They battle it out for and against the admission of immigrants and things are increasingly heated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verdict , we ’ re on the brink .
Every time there is an appointment to offices in Washington , DC , we ’ re on the brink .
Every time there is an election , we ’ re on the brink .
Civil debates are a thing of the past .
People are enraged when others disagree with them and they react with hatred , not discussion .
Our nation seems to be headed to a very dark place .
And if this is the case , you ’ re going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to need – to be prepared for the ugliness and brutality that comes with that .
Knowing just how bad things can get will prepare you to take the steps that you must to survive .
Knowing how twisted and evil people can be will help you to take the necessary steps to protect your family .
Knowing what to expect when you defend yourself with necessary force can help you to carry through if it is something that you must do .
Check out Selco ’ s books , The Dark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stories .
And keep reading , because this is the stuff you need to know if you want to survive the increasing violence .
The Best of Daisy Luther

There’s something incredibly important for your survival that a lot of folks aren’t doing. I’ve written before about overriding your body’s natural urge to freeze in panic when something terrible happens, but there’s an additional step you must take. You need to know the horrible truth about the SHTF. The ugly, brutal truth.
Because as much as we stockpile, go to the shooting range and shoot stationary objects, can vegetables from our gardens, and raise chickens in our backyards, it only prepares us partially.
From my many interviews with guys like Selco and Jose, I know for a fact that an all-out collapse is a dirty, terrifying, and brutal matter of life and death every single day.
As much as we wish it was, the SHTF is not about you being in a bubble, peacefully working in your vegetable garden while the world goes to hell around you outside the bubble. The darkness can reach you wherever you are. The Dark Secrets of SH... Begovic, Selco Buy New $9.95 (as of 03:50 UTC - Details)
We’re seeing this in cities around the country right now. Read this first-hand story of a National Guard member in Seattle and this eye-witness account of the riots in Kenosha. Look at the violent plans of wealthy young people arrested for rioting in New York City. Think about this hotly contested election. We’re beginning to see armed conflict right here in the United States of America.
Think about these things and recognize that many parts of our nation are right on the brink of all-out disaster.
Ask yourself whether you’re really, truly prepared for that.
Why is it so important to know about the bad stuff?
Many of us try to insulate ourselves from the dark things going on in the world. I know that I stay away from social media beyond what is required for work because I’m sick of the arguing and the hatred. There are certain articles in the news I hesitate to read because I know they will haunt me. This is human nature – we avoid things that scare us, sicken us, and make us unhappy.
But there are some exceptions to this rule that you should make.
It’s incredibly important to know about the horrible things that could occur when the SHTF well before it happens. I asked Selco about this in a conversation we were having when he wrote his first paperback, The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival I asked him why people needed to know about the horrors he faced. He replied,
So you won’t be shocked and so you can shorten adapting period while you are shocked. Generally speaking, there are lot of sick and bad and dangerous people. We just do not see them because the layer of civilization and the system covers it. And of course, if I had known, I would prep more but in the way that I would invest more in skills. Much more than in equipment. Everything is much more mobile and fluid then people expect, but if you understand this, you will be able to move with it faster and sooner.
And that makes sense. I write a lot about the importance of adaptation. I constantly remind people that the three steps of survival are to Accept, Plan, and Act. But trust me when I tell you, if something truly horrifying happens right before your eyes, it’s going to be a heck of a lot harder to “accept” that if you never even dreamed that such an awful thing could happen in real life. But if you’ve contemplated it, if you’re aware of the possibility, it will still be horrible but you’ll be able to keep moving. You won’t be frozen in shock. SHTF Survival Stories:... Begovic, Selco Buy New $9.99 (as of 03:50 UTC - Details)
You need to train yourself not to freeze.
Many people freeze in a disaster situation. It’s human nature, but the ability to break this paralysis is paramount to your survival. You can train yourself not to freeze by exposing yourself to the things you may experience while in a safe environment.
“Freezing” is called “tonic immobility” in behavioral science and it is a biological impulse. A study exploring the “freeze response” to stressors, describes the reaction:
Part of Barlow’s (2002) description of an adaptive alarm model suggests that a freeze response may occur in some threatening situations. Specifically, freezing — or tonic immobility — may overwhelm other competing action tendencies. For example, when fleeing or aggressive responses are likely to be ineffective, a freeze response may take place. Similar to the flight/fight response, a freeze response is believed to have adaptive value. In the context of predatory attack, some animals will freeze or “play dead.” This response, often referred to as tonic immobility (Gallup, 1977), includes motor and vocal inhibition with an abrupt initiation and cessation… Freezing in the context of an attack seems counterintuitive. However, tonic immobility may be the best option when the animal perceives little immediate chance of escaping or winning a fight (Arduino & Gould, 1984; Korte, Koolhaas, Wingfield, & McEwen, 2005). For example, tonic immobility may be useful when additional attacks are provoked by movement or when immobility may increase the chance of escaping, such as when a predator believes its prey to be dead and releases it. Some of our data suggested that reports of freeze were more highly associated with certain cognitive symptoms of anxiety (e.g., confusion, unreality, detached, concentration, inner shakiness). This leads to some very interesting speculation regarding whether freeze responses are also manifested cognitively (i.e., the cognitive system, together with the behavioral system, being shut down). There has been some speculation that a form of cognitive paralysis occurs due to immense cognitive demands that occur in the context of life-threatening situations or stressors (Leach, 2005).
So, in the context of this particular study, the freeze response could be related to an overload of stimuli because of the demands of creating your plan. By having thought through various situations and getting into the habit of quickly developing plans, you can override your body’s natural desire to “freeze” and you can take definitive, potentially life-saving, action.
The Coming Civil War Kawczynski, Tom Buy New $9.99 (as of 03:50 UTC - Details) By exposing yourself to the darkness, you don’t inoculate yourself against the horror – that’s impossible to do through simply reading a book. But you do take away a little bit of the shock that can cause you to be paralyzed.
What made Selco realize that the SHTF was actually there?
We’ve all read and learned a great deal from Selco and he shares his stories with such calmness that sometimes you don’t fully grasp the horror of what he lived through. I asked him what the event was that opened his eyes to the fact that he was stuck in Hell on Earth, and his answer was chilling.
When I saw people killing for fun. Killing without reason. Killing with no concerns about punishment or the law. Throwing others from 10 story buildings out of curiosity, to see if they’d live – while taking bets on it. Of course they were sure they were gonna die, but they said” I bet you’ll survive and if you do we’ll let you go.” It was a “joke” to them.
That’s when he knew that everything had changed and that there were new rules to living. It was simply not the same world he’d woken up it a few days before.
A while back, I asked Selco to send me a copy of everything he’d ever written so that I could pull together a reality check for the rest of us. Over the years, he’s written nearly a quarter of a million words of memories, articles, and advice. Together, we selected the things that provided a glimpse into the day-to-day events of the SHTF. You can learn more about the result of that here in his books, The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival and SHTF Survival Stories.
Back on topic.
Do you have a potential predator living next door?
Do you know people in real life who you think would turn into predators if they knew that there was no risk of punishment? If they knew that they wouldn’t go to prison because the prisons were gone? If they knew there was no 911 or law enforcement to help their victims?
I do. I’ve known people in the past that I’m quite certain would be the kind of animals who kill men and cage their women and daughters for their own sick amusement if they thought they could get away with it. I’ve had people write to me about their plans to take other people’s preps or to “take care of someone” who had done them wrong in the past when it all hits the fan.
They’re out there. They are our neighbors. Our coworkers. The random guy who is in town on business. The person with such strong political beliefs that he sees people who think differently as the enemy.
They may not even realize that they’re waiting for this chance but when the opportunity presents itself and there’s no real risk to them, you can be sure they’ll jump at it with glee. Someone Has to Say It:... Kawczynski, Tom Buy New $9.99 (as of 03:50 UTC - Details)
And you want to be ready for them.
A lot of us were unpleasantly surprised by what we learned about those near us during the lockdown. And we still had a functioning system at that time. Now, the system is crumbling rapidly, and the last deterrents are disappearing in some areas.
There are different levels for which we prepare.
Are people going to be running around brutally slaughtering their neighbors the next time we have a snowstorm or a hurricane? Of course not. Because we still have the veneer of civilization – and it isn’t going to shatter over a weather event when help is just a few days away.
There are many different types of events for which we prepare. We as preppers want to be ready for everything from
being stranded in our car due to a winter run-in with a deer
to a multi-day power outage at home
to a job loss that causes great personal financial distress
to a full-on SHTF event in which all hell breaks loose.
We aren’t like the folks on that show Doomsday Preppers who are presented as only preparing for a giant meteor or a deadly pandemic that will wipe out 98% of the earth’s population. We are the people who want to be ready for everything.
Up to and including SHTF.
Sometimes I think we’re on the brink of darkness.
We’re at a dark point in American history right now. I’m not gazing into a crystal ball and predicting that we are about to face a civil war like the one that Selco endured. But I’m also not saying that we are free of any risk of such a thing.
Tensions (as I write frequently) are at a real high right now. Our socio-political scene is a true nightmare studded with extremists who sincerely see the “others” as the enemy. They surround the homes of spokespeople and threaten their families. They rally, united in hatred against one another. They battle it out for and against the admission of immigrants and things are increasingly heated.
Every time there is a questionable verdict, we’re on the brink.
Every time there is an appointment to offices in Washington, DC, we’re on the brink.
Every time there is an election, we’re on the brink.
Civil debates are a thing of the past. People are enraged when others disagree with them and they react with hatred, not discussion.
Our nation seems to be headed to a very dark place. And if this is the case, you’re going to want – no, you’re going to need – to be prepared for the ugliness and brutality that comes with that.
Knowing just how bad things can get will prepare you to take the steps that you must to survive. Knowing how twisted and evil people can be will help you to take the necessary steps to protect your family. Knowing what to expect when you defend yourself with necessary force can help you to carry through if it is something that you must do.
Check out Selco’s books, The Dark Secrets of SHTF Survival and SHTF Survival Stories.
And keep reading, because this is the stuff you need to know if you want to survive the increasing violence.
The Best of Daisy Luther


lewrockwell--2020-09-18--12 Steps To Create Your Own Pandemic

12 Steps To Create Your Own Pandemic

Imagine that you had the resources and influence sufficient to create a global pandemic , what would you need to do ?
How would you get started ?
And how best to turn it to your advantage and boost your profits ?
We have the answers right here .
A simple 12 step plan .
1 .
Find some vague criteria for what constitutes the symptoms that you want people to look for .
Anything subjective that a lot of people can identify with is ideal .
Let us take memory problems and/or confusion + a few common ones from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pains are common and subjective enough .
( For covid19 the symptoms are : fever , dry cough , tiredness .
Less common symptoms : aches and pains , sore throat , diarrhoea , loss of taste or smell , a rash , or discolouration of fingers or toes ) iTouchless SoftStep Co ... Best Price : $ 95.67 Buy New $ 103.99 It would be a good idea to take something that is very common in old people so that we can use death from old age as proof of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then we would need something biological to test .
Any RNA sequence would do , as long as it is not present in the whole population .
If it were , someone might claim herd immunity very quickly .
Actually it could be an RNA sequence that does not really exist in humans but something that could exist as contamination in labs , e.g .
in dust or water .
That would be enough for a RT qPCR test to pick up as a false positive .
Many RT PCRs have false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be plenty to create a scare .
( When it comes to Covid , the false positive rate is impossible to know for sure , since we don ’ t have a gold standard to check against , but for many other similar tests , the average false positive rate is over 3 % .
And different labs are testing for different sequences .
Zulay 8-Tier Pots and ... Buy New $ 20.99 We can count on over-stressed labs to be more prone to contamination than labs taking part in research knowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ones that gave over 3 % false positives .
Maybe the error rate for the average stressed lab is as high as 8 % .
BMJ counts 5 % as a reasonable estimate .
With 8 % we would have all positive tests in the US explained by false positives ) 3 .
Then we are all set to go .
We just have to claim that we have discovered a new cluster of symptoms and that is related to a new RNA sequence .
It starts with memory loss , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a neurotoxic virus , and it leads to death in all the ways old people can die , by strokes , heart attacks , pneumonia , kidney failure , sepsis , organ failure , dehydration .
It doesnt matter if the patient was close to deaths door anyway , because of existing problems .
We can always claim that without our new virus , they would not have died .
Who could counter that ?
( just like Covid ; People die from all kinds of disorders that they already had before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dispense ... Buy New $ 9.99 4 .
By some miracle we have already discovered exactly the virus that is responsible among the millions of different viruses that exist in any cubic centimeter of air .
So we already have a RT PCR test read to go .
This makes us look like very competent researchers .
Of course we have bought stock in the major testing labs ahead of time .
We ’ ve bought stocks in the biggest vaccine manufacturers also of course .
That will be the biggest money maker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be difficult to get antibodies to something that doesn ’ t really exist .
5 .
So now we just have to spread the news that a new deadly pandemic is spreading all over the world , and every country has to start testing .
We can count on the 5 % hypochondriacs in the general population to come forth to be tested first .
It will always take some time for each country to get started ramping up their testing , so the graphs are guaranteed to look exponential in the @ @

Imagine that you had the resources and influence sufficient to create a global pandemic, what would you need to do? How would you get started? And how best to turn it to your advantage and boost your profits?
We have the answers right here. A simple 12 step plan.
*
1. Find some vague criteria for what constitutes the symptoms that you want people to look for. Anything subjective that a lot of people can identify with is ideal. Let us take memory problems and/or confusion + a few common ones from the Covid list. Tiredness, aches and pains are common and subjective enough. (For covid19 the symptoms are: fever, dry cough, tiredness. Less common symptoms: aches and pains, sore throat, diarrhoea, loss of taste or smell, a rash, or discolouration of fingers or toes) iTouchless SoftStep Co... Best Price: $95.67 Buy New $103.99 (as of 05:41 UTC - Details)
It would be a good idea to take something that is very common in old people so that we can use death from old age as proof of the lethality of the new virus.
*
2. Then we would need something biological to test. Any RNA sequence would do, as long as it is not present in the whole population. If it were, someone might claim herd immunity very quickly. Actually it could be an RNA sequence that does not really exist in humans but something that could exist as contamination in labs, e.g. in dust or water.
That would be enough for a RT qPCR test to pick up as a false positive. Many RT PCRs have false positive rates of 3-5 % and that would be plenty to create a scare. (When it comes to Covid, the false positive rate is impossible to know for sure, since we don’t have a gold standard to check against, but for many other similar tests, the average false positive rate is over 3%. And different labs are testing for different sequences.
Zulay 8-Tier Pots and ... Buy New $20.99 (as of 05:42 UTC - Details) We can count on over-stressed labs to be more prone to contamination than labs taking part in research knowing they will be checked for accuracy, the ones that gave over 3% false positives. Maybe the error rate for the average stressed lab is as high as 8%. BMJ counts 5% as a reasonable estimate. With 8% we would have all positive tests in the US explained by false positives)
*
3. Then we are all set to go. We just have to claim that we have discovered a new cluster of symptoms and that is related to a new RNA sequence. It starts with memory loss, and confusion. In other words this is a neurotoxic virus, and it leads to death in all the ways old people can die, by strokes, heart attacks, pneumonia, kidney failure, sepsis, organ failure, dehydration.
It doesnt matter if the patient was close to deaths door anyway, because of existing problems. We can always claim that without our new virus, they would not have died. Who could counter that?( just like Covid; People die from all kinds of disorders that they already had before the got the Covid test)
*
Albayrak Soap Dispense... Buy New $9.99 (as of 05:41 UTC - Details) 4. By some miracle we have already discovered exactly the virus that is responsible among the millions of different viruses that exist in any cubic centimeter of air. So we already have a RT PCR test read to go. This makes us look like very competent researchers. Of course we have bought stock in the major testing labs ahead of time.
We’ve bought stocks in the biggest vaccine manufacturers also of course. That will be the biggest money maker finally, hopefully for years since it will be difficult to get antibodies to something that doesn’t really exist.
*
5. So now we just have to spread the news that a new deadly pandemic is spreading all over the world, and every country has to start testing. We can count on the 5% hypochondriacs in the general population to come forth to be tested first.
It will always take some time for each country to get started ramping up their testing, so the graphs are guaranteed to look exponential in the beginning.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-09-18--Here’s Why I Wouldn’t Take the Vaccine, Dr. Tam

First appeared in The Western Standard Statistics Canada recently released a survey designed to gauge the likely response of Canadians to a COVID-19 vaccine when ( or if ) one becomes available .
The results showed that only 57.5 percent of those surveyed said they were “ very likely ” to get the vaccine .
The remaining respondents said they were either somewhat likely , somewhat unlikely , or very unlikely to get the vaccine , while 9.4 percent of individuals responded that they “ didn ’ t know.
” A reasonable headline for an article reporting on this information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as 42.5 percent of Canadians have some doubts about getting COVID-19 vaccine.
” Dissolving Illusions : ... Bystrianyk , Roman Best Price : $ 38.50 Buy New $ 21.60 However , the National Post chose to use the headline : “ One in ten Canadians would refuse COVID vaccine.
” Published on August 26 , the article dealt briefly with the survey , then concluded by saying that Dr. Theresa Tam ( the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada ) says “ authorities need more information about those who are worried about or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the proper information about how vaccines are approved.
” As someone who would have responded “ very unlikely ” , I ’ d be happy to provide that info .
For starters , Dr. Tam , my name is Karen , and I would not only like to speak to the so-called management , I ’ d like to fire you .
In the five years since I retired from my law career , I ’ ve found time to read nine books dealing with vaccines—including two written by Dr. Paul Offit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of vaccines in the U.S .
I gave Dr. Offit a fair chance to persuade me , but his research and arguments didn ’ t hold a candle against the opposition .
I ’ m two years younger than Dr. Offit .
In my youth I believed ( as he still seems to ) that vaccines are safe and effective .
Maybe the difference between our perspectives is that Dr. Offit holds several vaccine patents , while I hold none .
There is no financial incentive tugging at me to continue believing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doubts in the 1990s when reports came out that the flu vaccine was a dismal failure , year after year .
I never got a flu shot myself .
Why bother , since I rarely got the flu ?
The vaccine seemed to be hit-or-miss at best , with effectiveness rates as low as 40 percent in some years .
But then the news emerged that those who did get the flu vaccine seemed to be at greater risk for other respiratory viral infections .
That cemented my decision .
Why get vaccinated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increase your chances of getting others ?
But the study piqued my curiosity : what was it about vaccines that would make people sicker , rather than healthier ?
Jabbed : How the Vaccin ... Wilcox , Brett Best Price : $ 13.02 Buy New $ 13.05 I learned that the flu vaccine contained a preservative called thimerosal .
As a former contact lens wearer , I recalled that many years ago , contact lens storage solution had contained thimerosal .
When the manufacturers eventually took it out , they considered it important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Now thimerosal-free !
” So I wondered : if thimerosal is bad enough that you shouldn ’ t get any in your eyes , is it okay to shoot it into your veins ?
The answer is no .
Thimerosal contains mercury , which is extremely toxic to humans .
The best amount to have in your body is zero .
Vaccine apologists like Dr. Offit argue that opponents are confusing ethyl mercury ( which supposedly leaves the body quickly because it isn ’ t found in blood tests after a short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the body .
But in his book Thimerosal—Let the Science Speak , author Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explains that the reason ethyl mercury becomes undetectable in the blood after a short time is that it accumulates even more quickly than methyl mercury in the organs—especially in important places like the brain .
As of February , 2020 there have been 22 studies that confirm this problem .
Considering the worldwide explosion of brain disorders such as Alzheimer ’ s and autism over the past few decades , you ’ d have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people continue to inject themselves annually with mercury .
Why do you do that , Dr. Tam ?
Next , what about everyone ’ s favourite vaccine legend : how vaccines saved the world from polio ?
Well , I ’ ve read up on that too—in Dissolving Illusions by Dr. Suzanne Humphries , MD , a US board-certified nephrologist ( kidney specialist ) .
She started out , like most Americans , believing in the safety and efficacy of vaccines—until she began observing the some worrisome symptoms among patients who had recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ credible evidence ( data drawn from public records in the UK and the US ) that it was neither the Salk nor the Sabin vaccine that saved the world from polio .
Rather , it was improvements in public sanitation in the first half of the twentieth century .
Global populations began gaining access to clean drinking water .
Newly installed sewage systems meant that residents of densely populated cities no longer lived amidst their own waste .
Knowledge about safe food handling practices and handwashing grew and disseminated .
The Virus and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : $ 16.95 Buy New $ 16.96 These improvements also brought about dramatic declines in diseases such as diphtheria , whooping cough and measles .
Most people don ’ t realize that the mortality rate for all of these diseases had declined almost to zero before any vaccines were developed for them .
Some diseases such as scarlet fever and typhoid fever declined dramatically in lockstep with the rest , despite the fact that there was never a vaccine for them .
In fact , there is good evidence that the paralytic polio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually caused by the extreme toxicity of a combination of commonly used agricultural pesticides , including DDT , lead and arsenic .
Polio had been known since the 1800s but was a mild illness then .
Most victims recovered quickly and never suffered paralysis .
Polio only began paralysing people permanently during the 20th century , reaching its heights as pesticide use soared .
The eventual decline in paralysis cases corresponds closely to the declining use of these toxic pesticides .
Furthermore , the medical conditions necessary for a diagnosis of “ polio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the introduction of the polio vaccine .
Many diseases that had previously been diagnosed as polio suddenly got their own separate label .
And as author Brett Wilcox points out in his book Jabbed : How the Vaccine Industry , Medical Establishment , and Government Stick It to You and Your Family , the classical definition of polio as “ a disease with residual paralysis which resolves within 60 days ” was changed to “ a disease with residual paralysis which persists for more than 60 days.
” Since the vast majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the change of definition was just like waving a magic wand over a huge percentage of polio cases and making them vanish .
Poof !
Nothing had changed except the labelling , but vaccines got the credit .
Dr. Tam , I learned something else in my reading , from a book called The Virus and the Vaccine , by Debbie Bookchin and Jim Schumacher—something that disturbs me very much .
The oral polio vaccine of the 1950s—that innocent-looking pink liquid given to me at my elementary school—was widely contaminated with something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus .
The vaccine was grown on the kidneys of monkeys imported from Africa , and it turned out they had numerous ( at least 40 ) viruses that found their way into the polio vaccine .
According to this scientific study on SV40 published in 1999 , “ there may be an increased incidence of certain cancers among the 98 million persons exposed to contaminated polio vaccine in the U.S. Further investigations are clearly justified.
” Have the further investigations been done , Dr. Tam ?
Are you looking into them now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccines are perfectly safe and we shouldn ’ t worry ?
The Vaccine Court : The ... Rohde , Wayne Buy New $ 17.99 Finally , I learned from a book called The Vaccine Court : The Dark Truth of America ’ s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program by Wayne Rohde that vaccine manufacturers were so heavily besieged by lawsuits for the harm their products caused in the 1980s that they threatened the US government that they ’ d stop making them entirely unless they were granted immunity from liability .
Congress keeled over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Injury Act ( NCVIA ) of 1986 , absolving manufacturers of responsibility for vaccine injuries .
The most recent data available from the US government ( they seem to have stopped publishing the totals after 2018 ) shows that $ 4.4 billion has been paid out to vaccine-injured individuals .
Experts say that barely scratches the surface of the harm done , since most Americans don ’ t even know they can make a claim , and many physicians ( thanks to the influence of Dr. Tam and her ilk ) don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ present with them .
Do you think cars would be safer if injured drivers and passengers were prevented from suing manufacturers for defects ?
Of course not .
No product is safe if all liability for defects or harm is removed .
This 2017 peer-reviewed study published in the Review of Industrial Organization compared the adverse vaccine reactions before and after the NCVIA was passed .
It should be no surprise that the author found “ that vaccines that were licensed after legislation that preempted most product liability lawsuits are associated with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were vaccines that were licensed under a previous regime that permitted consumers to sue.
” Do you understand me sufficiently yet , Dr. Tam ?
I could go on , but you probably get the gist of my objections by now .
Vaccines are not safe , and their efficacy is highly questionable .
Dr. Tam , there are many other things individuals can do to ensure that their immune systems meet and defeat coronaviruses successfully , without vaccines .
I ’ d be delighted to tell you about some of them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you might not want to read it .
The Best of Karen Selick

First appeared in The Western Standard
Statistics Canada recently released a survey designed to gauge the likely response of Canadians to a COVID-19 vaccine when (or if) one becomes available.
The results showed that only 57.5 percent of those surveyed said they were “very likely” to get the vaccine. The remaining respondents said they were either somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, or very unlikely to get the vaccine, while 9.4 percent of individuals responded that they “didn’t know.”
A reasonable headline for an article reporting on this information would have been: “As many as 42.5 percent of Canadians have some doubts about getting COVID-19 vaccine.”
Dissolving Illusions: ... Bystrianyk, Roman Best Price: $38.50 Buy New $21.60 (as of 11:00 UTC - Details) However, the National Post chose to use the headline: “One in ten Canadians would refuse COVID vaccine.” Published on August 26, the article dealt briefly with the survey, then concluded by saying that Dr. Theresa Tam (the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada) says “authorities need more information about those who are worried about or opposed to a vaccine to ensure they have the proper information about how vaccines are approved.”
As someone who would have responded “very unlikely”, I’d be happy to provide that info.
For starters, Dr. Tam, my name is Karen, and I would not only like to speak to the so-called management, I’d like to fire you.
In the five years since I retired from my law career, I’ve found time to read nine books dealing with vaccines—including two written by Dr. Paul Offit, one of the most vocal proponents of vaccines in the U.S. I gave Dr. Offit a fair chance to persuade me, but his research and arguments didn’t hold a candle against the opposition.
I’m two years younger than Dr. Offit. In my youth I believed (as he still seems to) that vaccines are safe and effective. Maybe the difference between our perspectives is that Dr. Offit holds several vaccine patents, while I hold none. There is no financial incentive tugging at me to continue believing that everything is hunky-dory.
I began having doubts in the 1990s when reports came out that the flu vaccine was a dismal failure, year after year. I never got a flu shot myself. Why bother, since I rarely got the flu? The vaccine seemed to be hit-or-miss at best, with effectiveness rates as low as 40 percent in some years.
But then the news emerged that those who did get the flu vaccine seemed to be at greater risk for other respiratory viral infections. That cemented my decision. Why get vaccinated for one minor illness if it would increase your chances of getting others? But the study piqued my curiosity: what was it about vaccines that would make people sicker, rather than healthier? Jabbed: How the Vaccin... Wilcox, Brett Best Price: $13.02 Buy New $13.05 (as of 03:50 UTC - Details)
I learned that the flu vaccine contained a preservative called thimerosal. As a former contact lens wearer, I recalled that many years ago, contact lens storage solution had contained thimerosal. When the manufacturers eventually took it out, they considered it important enough to splash across the package, “Now thimerosal-free!”
So I wondered: if thimerosal is bad enough that you shouldn’t get any in your eyes, is it okay to shoot it into your veins? The answer is no.
Thimerosal contains mercury, which is extremely toxic to humans. The best amount to have in your body is zero. Vaccine apologists like Dr. Offit argue that opponents are confusing ethyl mercury (which supposedly leaves the body quickly because it isn’t found in blood tests after a short time) and methyl mercury which accumulates in the body. But in his book Thimerosal—Let the Science Speak, author Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explains that the reason ethyl mercury becomes undetectable in the blood after a short time is that it accumulates even more quickly than methyl mercury in the organs—especially in important places like the brain. As of February, 2020 there have been 22 studies that confirm this problem.
Considering the worldwide explosion of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and autism over the past few decades, you’d have to be a reckless ignoramus to recommend that people continue to inject themselves annually with mercury. Why do you do that, Dr. Tam?
Next, what about everyone’s favourite vaccine legend: how vaccines saved the world from polio? Well, I’ve read up on that too—in Dissolving Illusions by Dr. Suzanne Humphries, MD, a US board-certified nephrologist (kidney specialist). She started out, like most Americans, believing in the safety and efficacy of vaccines—until she began observing the some worrisome symptoms among patients who had recently been vaccinated.
Humphries’ book provides credible evidence (data drawn from public records in the UK and the US) that it was neither the Salk nor the Sabin vaccine that saved the world from polio. Rather, it was improvements in public sanitation in the first half of the twentieth century. Global populations began gaining access to clean drinking water. Newly installed sewage systems meant that residents of densely populated cities no longer lived amidst their own waste. Knowledge about safe food handling practices and handwashing grew and disseminated. The Virus and the Vaccine Bookchin, Debbie Best Price: $16.95 Buy New $16.96 (as of 02:40 UTC - Details)
These improvements also brought about dramatic declines in diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough and measles. Most people don’t realize that the mortality rate for all of these diseases had declined almost to zero before any vaccines were developed for them. Some diseases such as scarlet fever and typhoid fever declined dramatically in lockstep with the rest, despite the fact that there was never a vaccine for them.
In fact, there is good evidence that the paralytic polio epidemic of the 1940s and 1950s was actually caused by the extreme toxicity of a combination of commonly used agricultural pesticides, including DDT, lead and arsenic. Polio had been known since the 1800s but was a mild illness then. Most victims recovered quickly and never suffered paralysis. Polio only began paralysing people permanently during the 20th century, reaching its heights as pesticide use soared. The eventual decline in paralysis cases corresponds closely to the declining use of these toxic pesticides.
Furthermore, the medical conditions necessary for a diagnosis of “polio” changed abruptly in 1958, shortly after the introduction of the polio vaccine. Many diseases that had previously been diagnosed as polio suddenly got their own separate label. And as author Brett Wilcox points out in his book Jabbed: How the Vaccine Industry, Medical Establishment, and Government Stick It to You and Your Family, the classical definition of polio as “a disease with residual paralysis which resolves within 60 days” was changed to “a disease with residual paralysis which persists for more than 60 days.” Since the vast majority of cases did resolve within 60 days, the change of definition was just like waving a magic wand over a huge percentage of polio cases and making them vanish. Poof! Nothing had changed except the labelling, but vaccines got the credit.
Dr. Tam, I learned something else in my reading, from a book called The Virus and the Vaccine, by Debbie Bookchin and Jim Schumacher—something that disturbs me very much. The oral polio vaccine of the 1950s—that innocent-looking pink liquid given to me at my elementary school—was widely contaminated with something called SV40. SV stands for simian virus. The vaccine was grown on the kidneys of monkeys imported from Africa, and it turned out they had numerous (at least 40) viruses that found their way into the polio vaccine.
According to this scientific study on SV40 published in 1999, “there may be an increased incidence of certain cancers among the 98 million persons exposed to contaminated polio vaccine in the U.S. Further investigations are clearly justified.” Have the further investigations been done, Dr. Tam? Are you looking into them now? Or are you still maintaining that vaccines are perfectly safe and we shouldn’t worry? The Vaccine Court: The... Rohde, Wayne Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:05 UTC - Details)
Finally, I learned from a book called The Vaccine Court: The Dark Truth of America’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program by Wayne Rohde that vaccine manufacturers were so heavily besieged by lawsuits for the harm their products caused in the 1980s that they threatened the US government that they’d stop making them entirely unless they were granted immunity from liability. Congress keeled over obediently and passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986, absolving manufacturers of responsibility for vaccine injuries. The most recent data available from the US government (they seem to have stopped publishing the totals after 2018) shows that $4.4 billion has been paid out to vaccine-injured individuals. Experts say that barely scratches the surface of the harm done, since most Americans don’t even know they can make a claim, and many physicians (thanks to the influence of Dr. Tam and her ilk) don’t even recognize vaccine injuries when patients present with them.
Do you think cars would be safer if injured drivers and passengers were prevented from suing manufacturers for defects? Of course not. No product is safe if all liability for defects or harm is removed. This 2017 peer-reviewed study published in the Review of Industrial Organization compared the adverse vaccine reactions before and after the NCVIA was passed. It should be no surprise that the author found “that vaccines that were licensed after legislation that preempted most product liability lawsuits are associated with a significantly higher incidence of adverse events than were vaccines that were licensed under a previous regime that permitted consumers to sue.”
Do you understand me sufficiently yet, Dr. Tam? I could go on, but you probably get the gist of my objections by now. Vaccines are not safe, and their efficacy is highly questionable.
Dr. Tam, there are many other things individuals can do to ensure that their immune systems meet and defeat coronaviruses successfully, without vaccines. I’d be delighted to tell you about some of them in another article—but I have the sneaking suspicion you might not want to read it.
Reprinted with the author’s permission.
The Best of Karen Selick


lewrockwell--2020-09-18--Why US Wildfires Hit California More Than the South

California wildfires continue to blaze in one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory .
While California fires are nothing new , government data show the damage has been substantial .
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that since August 15 , when California ’ s fire activity accelerated , there have been at least 24 fatalities and more than 4,200 structures destroyed .
( Ten people have also died in Oregon , CNN reports . )
So far in 2020 , California wildfires have burned more than 3.2 million acres of land – an area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fires rage , politicians argue over what ( and who ) is to blame .
California Gov .
Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti say climate change is the culprit , while President Donald Trump says the fires are the result of poor land management .
Nupla FHR-48 Heavy Gau ... Best Price : $ 38.95 Buy New $ 42.34 These answers are not mutually exclusive , of course , and evidence suggests that both poor land management and California ’ s high temperatures and arid climate have played a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extreme temperatures is difficult , especially in the short term ( unless you ’ re a member of the X-Men named Storm ) , evidence suggests immediate solutions are available to improve state and federal forestry management .
Citing the fires scorching the West , The New York Times last week ran an article that stated it was time for government agencies to rethink their fire management policies .
“ For over a century , firefighting agencies have focused on extinguishing fires whenever they occur .
That strategy has often proved counterproductive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landscapes evolved to burn periodically , and when fires are suppressed , vegetation builds up thickly in forests .
So when fires do break out , they tend to be far more severe and destructive.
” This was precisely what economist Jairaj Devadiga pointed out in a 2018 FEE article that examined why California ’ s wildfires historically have been much worse than those of Baja California , where fires are allowed to burn naturally at low intensity , regularly clearing out forest floors and limiting the spread of large conflagrations .
Channellock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Though the Times doesn ’ t mention Baja California , the paper does endorse the Mexican state ’ s strategy of allowing fires to burn naturally to eliminate vegetation , pointing out that experts attribute the tactic to the more successful fire prevention approach found in the Southeastern United States .
Scientists who study wildfires agree that allowing forests and grasslands to burn periodically — by , say , intentionally setting smaller fires under controlled conditions — can be a more effective way to clear out vegetation .
In Ponderosa pine forests , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ecosystems and help prevent destructive large-scale fires from breaking out .
This already occurs in the Southeastern United States , where officials use prescribed fires to burn millions of acres each year .
While the region still sees destructive blazes — like Tennessee ’ s drought-fueled Great Smoky Mountains fires in 2016 , which killed at least 14 people — experts credit the use of controlled burns with sparing many Southeastern communities from fire damage .
Contrary to Western states , “ fire is widely accepted as a tool for land management in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kolden told the Times .
This is in stark contrast to California , where just 50,000 acres were intentionally burned in 2017 .
( As a point of reference , academics estimate between 4.4 million and 11.8 million acres of forest burned annually in prehistoric California . )
Snagger Tool ( Red ) Buy New $ 69.95 Fortunately , it appears that political leaders are beginning to recognize the problem .
In August , While this is a step in the right direction , federal regulations could prove an obstacle to the strategy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outs , the Clean Air Act of 1990 treats the smoke from a controlled burn as a pollutant ( in contrast to a wildfire allowed to burn ) and the National Environmental Policy Act requires “ a couple-thousand-page document analyzing every single conceivable impact to the environment that the ( burn ) plan might have .
”

California wildfires continue to blaze in one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory. While California fires are nothing new, government data show the damage has been substantial.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that since August 15, when California’s fire activity accelerated, there have been at least 24 fatalities and more than 4,200 structures destroyed. (Ten people have also died in Oregon, CNN reports.) So far in 2020, California wildfires have burned more than 3.2 million acres of land – an area roughly the size of Connecticut.
As the fires rage, politicians argue over what (and who) is to blame.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti say climate change is the culprit, while President Donald Trump says the fires are the result of poor land management. Nupla FHR-48 Heavy Gau... Best Price: $38.95 Buy New $42.34 (as of 05:45 UTC - Details)
These answers are not mutually exclusive, of course, and evidence suggests that both poor land management and California’s high temperatures and arid climate have played a role.
While addressing California’s extreme temperatures is difficult, especially in the short term (unless you’re a member of the X-Men named Storm), evidence suggests immediate solutions are available to improve state and federal forestry management.
Excessive Extinguishing
Citing the fires scorching the West, The New York Times last week ran an article that stated it was time for government agencies to rethink their fire management policies.
“For over a century, firefighting agencies have focused on extinguishing fires whenever they occur. That strategy has often proved counterproductive,” the Times reports. “Many landscapes evolved to burn periodically, and when fires are suppressed, vegetation builds up thickly in forests. So when fires do break out, they tend to be far more severe and destructive.”
This was precisely what economist Jairaj Devadiga pointed out in a 2018 FEE article that examined why California’s wildfires historically have been much worse than those of Baja California, where fires are allowed to burn naturally at low intensity, regularly clearing out forest floors and limiting the spread of large conflagrations. Channellock 87 9-Inch ... Buy New $39.57 (as of 05:45 UTC - Details)
Though the Times doesn’t mention Baja California, the paper does endorse the Mexican state’s strategy of allowing fires to burn naturally to eliminate vegetation, pointing out that experts attribute the tactic to the more successful fire prevention approach found in the Southeastern United States.
Scientists who study wildfires agree that allowing forests and grasslands to burn periodically — by, say, intentionally setting smaller fires under controlled conditions — can be a more effective way to clear out vegetation. In Ponderosa pine forests, for instance, low-level fire can nurture ecosystems and help prevent destructive large-scale fires from breaking out. This already occurs in the Southeastern United States, where officials use prescribed fires to burn millions of acres each year. While the region still sees destructive blazes — like Tennessee’s drought-fueled Great Smoky Mountains fires in 2016, which killed at least 14 people — experts credit the use of controlled burns with sparing many Southeastern communities from fire damage.
Contrary to Western states, “fire is widely accepted as a tool for land management in the Southeast,” fire scientist Crystal Kolden told the Times. This is in stark contrast to California, where just 50,000 acres were intentionally burned in 2017. (As a point of reference, academics estimate between 4.4 million and 11.8 million acres of forest burned annually in prehistoric California.) Snagger Tool (Red) Buy New $69.95 (as of 05:45 UTC - Details)
Fortunately, it appears that political leaders are beginning to recognize the problem. In August,
Newsom signed a memo acknowledging California needs more preventive fire.
While this is a step in the right direction, federal regulations could prove an obstacle to the strategy.
As Sam Rutzick at Reason point outs, the Clean Air Act of 1990 treats the smoke from a controlled burn as a pollutant (in contrast to a wildfire allowed to burn) and the National Environmental Policy Act requires “a couple-thousand-page document analyzing every single conceivable impact to the environment that the (burn) plan might have.”
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-09-18--From the ER to the High School Football Field, People Want the Response to Covid-19 To Be Evidence-b

From the ER to the High School Football Field, People Want the Response to Covid-19 To Be Evidence-based, Not Political

To date , the FDA has only approved a single therapeutic ( Remdesivir ) specifically for Covid-19—and that drug is , according to many , of questionable benefit .
In situations where approved therapeutic options are lacking , health care providers typically draw on their knowledge of comparable ailments , their problem-solving skills and their prior experience using solidly vetted therapies and approaches from the medical toolkit .
In fact , the FDA encourages them to do so , suggesting that health care providers engage in off-label prescribing ( the prescription of a drug for a non-FDA-approved use ) “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appropriate for their patient.
” In the U.S. , an estimated 12 % to 38 % of doctors ’ prescriptions are for off-label uses .
Although this practice has the potential for abuse , the president of the American College of Physicians says , “ Just because something is an off-label use doesn ’ t mean it doesn ’ t work .
And it doesn ’ t mean it ’ s inappropriate.
” The issue of off-label prescribing has come up repeatedly for Covid-19 and was touched on indirectly in a mid-August interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fauci , who came together on social media in what one news report characterized as a warm and fuzzy “ happy hour celebration of science , certainty and teamwork.
” McConaughey asked for Fauci ’ s opinion about two remedies reported as helpful for some Covid-19 patients : zinc supplements and budesonide , an inhaled steroid that some physicians have prescribed to help distressed Covid-19 patients breathe .
Fauci was instantly negative about both , stating that many things “ work in the test tube but don ’ t work in the body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the two remedies might occasionally be associated with a placebo effect .
Champion Sports High I ... Buy New $ 320.85 Fauci ’ s dismissive comments were somewhat surprising , given that the doctor ’ s agency , the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , currently lists 26 studies involving zinc and 7 studies involving budesonide in its clinical trials database .
Patented in 1973 , budesonide was commercialized for asthma in the early 1980s and has been used uncontroversially and worldwide ever since .
The World Health Organization ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Essential Medicines .
Five countries are dedicating time and resources to the study of budesonide for Covid-19 .
These include France ( with two trials ) , the UK , Spain , Iran and the U.S. itself , including one study in which the NIH is a partner .
As Dr. Fauci likely also knows , over two dozen Covid-19 clinical trials have been completed or are underway focusing on another inexpensive steroid called dexamethasone .
On September 2 , news outlets around the world shared the dramatic results of a meta-analysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a WHO working group and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) , which concluded that systemic corticosteroids such as dexamethasone reduce the risk of death in critically ill Covid-19 patients by 20 % .
A British researcher involved in the meta-analysis noted that the results were remarkably consistent across the seven countries ( one being the U.S. ) , “ showing the drugs were beneficial in the sickest patients regardless of age or sex or how long patients had been ill. ” Another researcher stated , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instantly usable in clinical practice.
” The WHO has updated its treatment guidance accordingly .
Even before the release of these results , a number of nations—whether hit hard by Covid-19 or not—had already approved dexamethasone specifically as a Covid-19 treatment , including Taiwan ( with just seven coronavirus deaths in a population of 24 million ) , Japan , the UK , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia and South Africa .
Champion Sports High I ... Buy New $ 320.85 The earlier , the better As a novel medical condition , Covid-19 presents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rooms ( ERs ) .
In this setting , doctors ’ and nurses ’ immediate responsibility is to assess how best to stabilize their patients .
However , in addition to using measures that are helpful in the short term , physicians caring for Covid-19 patients also recognize the need to try to forestall a potential downhill slide into a “ cytokine storm , ” a syndrome where the immune system goes rogue .
This phenomenon has been a hallmark of some severe Covid-19 cases .
Soon after Covid-19 emerged , Dr. Richard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trauma expert , found numerous mentions of budesonide in the scientific literature , which described budesonide as a promising antiviral and anti-inflammatory drug to address similar viruses such as rhinoviruses and other coronaviruses .
Budesonide , though not entirely side-effect-free , also has the reputation of working in a targeted manner that is less likely to produce the types of total-body side effects encountered with systemic corticosteroids—effects such as anxiety , insomnia , decreased muscle mass , bone loss , impaired wound healing and reduced immune response .
In symptomatic Covid-19 patients , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of nebulized budesonide , taken in combination with the antibiotic clarithromycin , produced favorable results—ameliorating symptoms , shortening illness duration and keeping cytokine storm reactions from taking hold .
In a case study co-authored with nursing expert Alexandria Watkins , DNP-APRN , Bartlett described successful outcomes in two Covid-19 patients who also happened to have multiple serious comorbidities ( including lymphoma , hypertension , hypothyroidism , type 2 diabetes and gout ) .
In August , a powerhouse group of 23 authors from Yale and other top U.S. universities as well as Italy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of corticosteroids and other interventions indicated for ambulatory patients ; more broadly , the group emphasized the importance of early outpatient treatment for preventing hospitalizations and death .
Wilson Soft Play Volle ... Best Price : $ 7.89 Buy New $ 8.97 During the McConaughey-Fauci interview , the Hollywood actor expressed “ rage ” at Covid-19 ’ s politicization but declined to put Dr. Fauci on the spot , even though Fauci ’ s confusing double standards about potential Covid-19 therapies—and his obvious bias in favor of vaccines—have helped propagate mistrust and polarization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similarly polarizing where children and school reopenings are concerned .
In mid-May , he castigated Senator Rand Paul for suggesting that schools should reopen .
In the August chat with McConaughey , the stern implications of Fauci ’ s remarks were that schools can not reopen without continued lockdown measures : “ You wan na open the bars , or you wan na open the schools ?
” Ignoring this flippancy , many concerned researchers and health care providers are speaking up about the adverse effects that lockdown and social distancing measures are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those age 14 and under represent 0.035 % of all deaths recorded as involving Covid-19 ( 57/164,280 as of August 22 ) .
In Canada , 57 % of 15- to 17-year-olds recently rated their mental health as “ somewhat worse ” or “ much worse ” than before physical distancing began .
In the U.S. , the verdict has been even blunter , with experts warning that a significant number of children are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) .
According to a summary of this assessment in Newsweek , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased time away from their peers and worries about their health [ is ] not only likely to impact [ children ] in the short term but also [ will ] have ‘ longer-term consequences for their mental health ’ even after the immediate COVID-19 pandemic.
” Just as health care providers are growing frustrated with having their hands tied in hospitals and clinics , many children and parents have had enough , arguing for the reopening of in-person instruction and especially for the renewal of extracurricular activities such as sports .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay away from crowds ” —sports present a “ fundamental problem of gathering people together.
” For a growing number of kids and parents , however , gathering together is the heart of the matter .
As a Dallas teen poignantly explained at a peaceful protest against school and sports closures in late August , “ extracurriculars are what make the heart of the school .
Without the heart , I don ’ t think you can operate.
” Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy , Jr. and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CHD is planning many strategies , including legal , in an effort to defend the health of our children and obtain justice for those already injured .
Your support is essential to CHD ’ s successful mission .

To date, the FDA has only approved a single therapeutic (Remdesivir) specifically for Covid-19—and that drug is, according to many, of questionable benefit. In situations where approved therapeutic options are lacking, health care providers typically draw on their knowledge of comparable ailments, their problem-solving skills and their prior experience using solidly vetted therapies and approaches from the medical toolkit. In fact, the FDA encourages them to do so, suggesting that health care providers engage in off-label prescribing (the prescription of a drug for a non-FDA-approved use) “when they judge that it is medically appropriate for their patient.” In the U.S., an estimated 12% to 38% of doctors’ prescriptions are for off-label uses. Although this practice has the potential for abuse, the president of the American College of Physicians says, “Just because something is an off-label use doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. And it doesn’t mean it’s inappropriate.”
The issue of off-label prescribing has come up repeatedly for Covid-19 and was touched on indirectly in a mid-August interview between movie actor Matthew McConaughey and Anthony Fauci, who came together on social media in what one news report characterized as a warm and fuzzy “happy hour celebration of science, certainty and teamwork.” McConaughey asked for Fauci’s opinion about two remedies reported as helpful for some Covid-19 patients: zinc supplements and budesonide, an inhaled steroid that some physicians have prescribed to help distressed Covid-19 patients breathe. Fauci was instantly negative about both, stating that many things “work in the test tube but don’t work in the body” and suggesting that, at best, the two remedies might occasionally be associated with a placebo effect. Champion Sports High I... Buy New $320.85 (as of 05:48 UTC - Details)
… concluded that systemic corticosteroids such as dexamethasone reduce the risk of death in critically ill Covid-19 patients by 20%.
Clinical trials say otherwise
Fauci’s dismissive comments were somewhat surprising, given that the doctor’s agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), currently lists 26 studies involving zinc and 7 studies involving budesonide in its clinical trials database. Patented in 1973, budesonide was commercialized for asthma in the early 1980s and has been used uncontroversially and worldwide ever since. The World Health Organization (WHO) includes budesonide on its List of Essential Medicines.
Five countries are dedicating time and resources to the study of budesonide for Covid-19. These include France (with two trials), the UK, Spain, Iran and the U.S. itself, including one study in which the NIH is a partner. As Dr. Fauci likely also knows, over two dozen Covid-19 clinical trials have been completed or are underway focusing on another inexpensive steroid called dexamethasone.
On September 2, news outlets around the world shared the dramatic results of a meta-analysis of seven clinical trials, carried out by a WHO working group and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which concluded that systemic corticosteroids such as dexamethasone reduce the risk of death in critically ill Covid-19 patients by 20%. A British researcher involved in the meta-analysis noted that the results were remarkably consistent across the seven countries (one being the U.S.), “showing the drugs were beneficial in the sickest patients regardless of age or sex or how long patients had been ill.” Another researcher stated, “These results are clear, and instantly usable in clinical practice.” The WHO has updated its treatment guidance accordingly.
Even before the release of these results, a number of nations—whether hit hard by Covid-19 or not—had already approved dexamethasone specifically as a Covid-19 treatment, including Taiwan (with just seven coronavirus deaths in a population of 24 million), Japan, the UK, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Champion Sports High I... Buy New $320.85 (as of 05:48 UTC - Details)
… proactive early use of nebulized budesonide, taken in combination with the antibiotic clarithromycin, produced favorable results
The earlier, the better
As a novel medical condition, Covid-19 presents novel challenges to clinicians working in emergency rooms (ERs). In this setting, doctors’ and nurses’ immediate responsibility is to assess how best to stabilize their patients. However, in addition to using measures that are helpful in the short term, physicians caring for Covid-19 patients also recognize the need to try to forestall a potential downhill slide into a “cytokine storm,” a syndrome where the immune system goes rogue. This phenomenon has been a hallmark of some severe Covid-19 cases.
Soon after Covid-19 emerged, Dr. Richard Bartlett, a Texas-based ER physician and trauma expert, found numerous mentions of budesonide in the scientific literature, which described budesonide as a promising antiviral and anti-inflammatory drug to address similar viruses such as rhinoviruses and other coronaviruses. Budesonide, though not entirely side-effect-free, also has the reputation of working in a targeted manner that is less likely to produce the types of total-body side effects encountered with systemic corticosteroids—effects such as anxiety, insomnia, decreased muscle mass, bone loss, impaired wound healing and reduced immune response.
In symptomatic Covid-19 patients, Dr. Bartlett found that proactive early use of nebulized budesonide, taken in combination with the antibiotic clarithromycin, produced favorable results—ameliorating symptoms, shortening illness duration and keeping cytokine storm reactions from taking hold. In a case study co-authored with nursing expert Alexandria Watkins, DNP-APRN, Bartlett described successful outcomes in two Covid-19 patients who also happened to have multiple serious comorbidities (including lymphoma, hypertension, hypothyroidism, type 2 diabetes and gout). In August, a powerhouse group of 23 authors from Yale and other top U.S. universities as well as Italy published a paper that endorsed early use of corticosteroids and other interventions indicated for ambulatory patients; more broadly, the group emphasized the importance of early outpatient treatment for preventing hospitalizations and death.
In Canada, 57% of 15- to 17-year-olds recently rated their mental health as “somewhat worse” or “much worse” than before physical distancing began.
Let’s not forget the children
Wilson Soft Play Volle... Best Price: $7.89 Buy New $8.97 (as of 05:48 UTC - Details) During the McConaughey-Fauci interview, the Hollywood actor expressed “rage” at Covid-19’s politicization but declined to put Dr. Fauci on the spot, even though Fauci’s confusing double standards about potential Covid-19 therapies—and his obvious bias in favor of vaccines—have helped propagate mistrust and polarization. Fauci’s messages have been similarly polarizing where children and school reopenings are concerned. In mid-May, he castigated Senator Rand Paul for suggesting that schools should reopen. In the August chat with McConaughey, the stern implications of Fauci’s remarks were that schools cannot reopen without continued lockdown measures: “You wanna open the bars, or you wanna open the schools?”
Ignoring this flippancy, many concerned researchers and health care providers are speaking up about the adverse effects that lockdown and social distancing measures are having on children, particularly given that those age 14 and under represent 0.035% of all deaths recorded as involving Covid-19 (57/164,280 as of August 22). In Canada, 57% of 15- to 17-year-olds recently rated their mental health as “somewhat worse” or “much worse” than before physical distancing began. In the U.S., the verdict has been even blunter, with experts warning that a significant number of children are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to a summary of this assessment in Newsweek, “The impact of school closures, increased time away from their peers and worries about their health [is] not only likely to impact [children] in the short term but also [will] have ‘longer-term consequences for their mental health’ even after the immediate COVID-19 pandemic.”
Just as health care providers are growing frustrated with having their hands tied in hospitals and clinics, many children and parents have had enough, arguing for the reopening of in-person instruction and especially for the renewal of extracurricular activities such as sports. For Fauci—who says “for goodness sakes, stay away from crowds”—sports present a “fundamental problem of gathering people together.” For a growing number of kids and parents, however, gathering together is the heart of the matter. As a Dallas teen poignantly explained at a peaceful protest against school and sports closures in late August, “extracurriculars are what make the heart of the school. Without the heart, I don’t think you can operate.”
Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Children’s Health Defense. CHD is planning many strategies, including legal, in an effort to defend the health of our children and obtain justice for those already injured. Your support is essential to CHD’s successful mission.