lewrockwell--2020-09-28--Sunlight Makes Coronavirus Tests Turn Negative

Once the social , economic and medical implications of COVID-19 had a hold on society , all eyes turned from nearly every other environmental and health-related concern to focus solely on the controversies and debates about how to treat and contain the virus and what to do about a vaccine .
These are just some of the economic , political and social challenges people are facing : •The initial panic resulted in the purchase of $ 3 billion worth of ventilators , 79,295 of which The Washington Post reports are sitting unused.1 •The question of whether or not to wear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most hotly contested debates , despite research over the past decade demonstrating cloth masks are ineffective against viruses.2 •Hiding under the guise of “ biodefense ” and “ biomedicine , ” a network of virologists , military scientists and biotech entrepreneurs are weaponizing microorganisms and growing an arsenal of Frankenstein pathogens .
NOW Supplements , Vitam ... Best Price : null Buy New $ 9.92 ( $ 0.04 / Count ) But as investigative reporter and bioweapons expert Sam Husseini writes , gain-of-function/biowarfare scientists in labs such as Wuhan , China , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accused of deliberately and recklessly conducting nefarious types of research.3 •As part of Operation Warp Speed , Pfizer struck a $ 1.95 billion deal to provide the U.S. with 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to give the U.S. public for “ free , ” with an option for 500 million more.4 •As some people are considering whether they will submit to yet another vaccine , Yale University is conducting trials to determine the type of message that will maximize the number of people who will accept and use the vaccine.5 In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that will trigger an emotional response to raise the potential that you will say yes .
This is a blatant and highly sophisticated form of salesmanship .
The types of messages under investigation include those that address your personal freedom , self-interest , economic benefit and guilt .
The core message throughout this pandemic should have been how to protect your health and reduce the risk of severe disease .
But , it hasn ’ t been .
Instead , minor wars are being waged over financial decisions that may have little to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ named for the appearance of spikes on the surface .
There are four main subgroups , the first of which was identified in the mid-1960s .
To date , the CDC has identified seven types of coronavirus that can infect humans , including MERS , SARS and SARS-CoV-2.6 Without the fanfare that has accompanied the proposed release of remdesivir , an antiviral medication costing $ 3,120 per dose to treat COVID-19,7 recently published data again revealed the simple and cost-free act of sensible sun exposure for fighting SARS-CoV-2 and four other human coronaviruses.8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Somerville MD Best Price : $ 9.96 Buy New $ 9.98 The research team began with the knowledge that RNA viruses , such as human coronaviruses , are sensitive to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and that the “ incidence and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) are considered to be correlated with vitamin D levels.
” Using these two points as a foundation , they sought to analyze the correlation between five types of human coronavirus and how much sunlight was needed for a negative test .
Measurements were taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July 10 , 2020 , during which time the researchers found there was a significant negative correlation in four viruses with the amount of sunlight and a percent positive test .
The U.S. has four census regions , which the researchers used to categorize the findings .
Census region No.1 includes the Northeast states bordered in the south by Pennsylvania .
Census region No .
2 includes North Central states bordered on the south by Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , Missouri and Kansas .
Census No .
3 includes the Southern states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the east by Florida ’ s Atlantic coast .
Census region No .
4 is the West Coast , boarded on the east by Montana , Wyoming , Colorado and New Mexico .
Data indicate census regions 1 and 2 had a significant negative correlation with sunlight exposure ( meaning sunlight reduced coronavirus infection ) , while regions 3 and 4 had a minimal positive correlation that was not statistically significant .
The difference in these two areas may be explained by the significant heat during those months , driving people indoors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrates the effectiveness vitamin D has against infectious diseases and COVID-19 , it ’ s important to note that vitamin D deficiency across the world is also at a pandemic level .
Deficiencies have been found in countries in the Southern Hemisphere where it was assumed there was enough exposure to UV radiation to prevent a vitamin D deficiency.9 However , a variety of factors likely influence this difference .
For instance , the authors of one literature review found that women from the Middle East were particularly low in vitamin D.10 However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries practice Islam and the women do not go outside unless they are fully covered , the skin ’ s ability to produce vitamin D with exposure to the sun is inhibited.11 Another study involved the use of an international Vitamin D Standardization Program led by the National Institutes of Health to evaluate 14 population studies.12 The data showed that regardless of age , ethnicity or latitude , 13 % of the 55,844 Europeans who were tested had serum vitamin D levels less than 12 ng/mL ( 30 nmol/L ) .
Natures Plus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( $ 1.25 / Fl Oz ) When an alternate level of deficiency was used , less than 20ng/mL ( 50 nmol/L ) , the prevalence was even higher at 40.4 % .
Additionally , when the group was subdivided by ethnicity , the data showed people with dark skin had a much higher level of deficiency than white populations , at rates of up to 71 times higher .
Remarkably , as the importance of vitamin D becomes more widely recognized , some doctors are continuing to advise against sensible sun exposure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For example , Dr. Pieter Cohen is an internal medicine physician at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts who has not recognized the importance of vitamin D at this time .
In an interview with Today , Cohen told the reporter he strongly discourages people from even getting a vitamin D test , and went on to say:13 As sensible sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation are relatively innocuous with little to no side effects when done appropriately , it seems rather peculiar to recommend people should not even be tested or take a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ receive .
The advice to use sunscreen while getting “ incidental ” exposure is also medically incorrect , since sunscreen filters out the ultraviolet rays that stimulate vitamin D production in your skin .
In order for sensible sun exposure to work , your skin must be unprotected , and you should be sure you don ’ t get sunburned .
Stay out until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink and then cover with long sleeves and pants .
Positive Tests and Deaths Declined Over the Summer NatureBell Quercetin 1 ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ / Count ) Many respiratory illnesses decline over the summer .
While it ’ s still possible to get a cold or flu , it ’ s less likely during the summer months .
Since mid-July , indicators from the CDC show COVID-like illnesses and positive tests have declined in the U.S.14 The CDC also gathers data to tally the number of deaths from COVID-19 and pneumonia while excluding flu .
The first death in this category was recorded February 22 , 2020.15 The number peaked the week of April 18 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of June the number had dropped significantly to 1,530 .
However , as a new report from the CDC reveals , 94 % of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 happened in people who had other significant health conditions and contributing causes.16 For only 6 % of the deaths , COVID-19 was the single cause on the death certificate .
To make this comparison , it ’ s the difference between an individual dying FROM COVID-19 versus WITH COVID-19 , since for many with a positive test they are asymptomatic and therefore do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 but , rather , as a positive test .
Some of the top contributing conditions were cardiac arrest , heart or renal failure , vascular or unspecified dementia , and influenza and pneumonia.17 In addition to rising vitamin D levels during the summer months , there are other factors that influence the transmission of infectious diseases and slow the spread .
For instance , influenza is affected by both temperature and humidity.18 In one study conducted in New South Wales , Australia , researchers found a similar connection between humidity and COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was predicted to increase the number of cases by 6.11 % .19 In a separate study , the addition of a humidifier in the bedroom demonstrated a decrease in the survival of influenza virus , by 17.5 % to 31.6 % .20 During the cold winter months , people also spend more time indoors , in enclosed spaces with less ventilation .
The same can be said during the heat of the summer when people seek relief indoors with air conditioning .
During the fall and winter months , school is usually in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a higher transmission of respiratory viruses .
Marc Lipsitch , professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H .
Chan School of Public Health also notes:21 Combine These Strategies With Raising Your Vitamin D Level The Vitamin D Solution ... Michael F. Holick Best Price : $ 2.01 Buy New $ 9.08 Vitamin D optimization is a powerful and beneficial strategy to protect your health .
In my free report on vitamin D I ’ ve developed a resource you can use to share and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ ll know your vitamin D level is to test it .
GrassrootsHealth has a home test kit that is simple to use and provides you with results at home.22 You ’ ll find a calculator at GrassrootsHealth.net that uses your current weight , serum level and daily supplement intake to estimate how much vitamin D3 you need to reach your desired vitamin D level.23 Yet , while crucial , it ’ s not the only thing available to help protect your health .
It ’ s particularly important to become metabolically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a COVID-19 infection .
The single most important step to attaining and maintaining metabolic flexibility is to reduce the number of hours during the day in which you eat .
When you do this , you decrease insulin resistance .
In my book Fat for Fuel I discuss how to become metabolically flexible , including using intermittent fasting and cyclical nutritional ketosis .
The use of molecular hydrogen is another strategy , as it ’ s a powerful antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent .
Using quercetin with zinc can further lower your risk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and has its own antiviral effects.25 One of the best treatments today is the MATH+ Protocol , first developed by the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance.26 It ’ s designed to be used when someone is hospitalized and needs supplemental oxygen .
You ’ ll find further information about each of these strategies in “ How to Fix the COVID-19 Crisis in 30 Days.
” The Best of Joseph Mercola

Once the social, economic and medical implications of COVID-19 had a hold on society, all eyes turned from nearly every other environmental and health-related concern to focus solely on the controversies and debates about how to treat and contain the virus and what to do about a vaccine. These are just some of the economic, political and social challenges people are facing:
•The initial panic resulted in the purchase of $3 billion worth of ventilators, 79,295 of which The Washington Post reports are sitting unused.1
•The question of whether or not to wear a mask has become one of the most hotly contested debates, despite research over the past decade demonstrating cloth masks are ineffective against viruses.2
•Hiding under the guise of “biodefense” and “biomedicine,” a network of virologists, military scientists and biotech entrepreneurs are weaponizing microorganisms and growing an arsenal of Frankenstein pathogens. NOW Supplements, Vitam... Buy New $9.92 ($0.04 / Count) (as of 04:43 UTC - Details)
But as investigative reporter and bioweapons expert Sam Husseini writes, gain-of-function/biowarfare scientists in labs such as Wuhan, China, and Fort Detrick, Maryland, have been accused of deliberately and recklessly conducting nefarious types of research.3
•As part of Operation Warp Speed, Pfizer struck a $1.95 billion deal to provide the U.S. with 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to give the U.S. public for “free,” with an option for 500 million more.4
•As some people are considering whether they will submit to yet another vaccine, Yale University is conducting trials to determine the type of message that will maximize the number of people who will accept and use the vaccine.5
In other words, they are testing messages that will trigger an emotional response to raise the potential that you will say yes. This is a blatant and highly sophisticated form of salesmanship. The types of messages under investigation include those that address your personal freedom, self-interest, economic benefit and guilt.
The core message throughout this pandemic should have been how to protect your health and reduce the risk of severe disease. But, it hasn’t been. Instead, minor wars are being waged over financial decisions that may have little to do with you.
Sunlight Negatively Correlated With Positive Testing
Human coronaviruses are named for the appearance of spikes on the surface. There are four main subgroups, the first of which was identified in the mid-1960s. To date, the CDC has identified seven types of coronavirus that can infect humans, including MERS, SARS and SARS-CoV-2.6
Without the fanfare that has accompanied the proposed release of remdesivir, an antiviral medication costing $3,120 per dose to treat COVID-19,7 recently published data again revealed the simple and cost-free act of sensible sun exposure for fighting SARS-CoV-2 and four other human coronaviruses.8
The Optimal Dose: Rest... Judson Somerville MD Best Price: $9.96 Buy New $9.98 (as of 06:05 UTC - Details) The research team began with the knowledge that RNA viruses, such as human coronaviruses, are sensitive to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and that the “incidence and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are considered to be correlated with vitamin D levels.”
Using these two points as a foundation, they sought to analyze the correlation between five types of human coronavirus and how much sunlight was needed for a negative test. Measurements were taken from April 17, 2020, to July 10, 2020, during which time the researchers found there was a significant negative correlation in four viruses with the amount of sunlight and a percent positive test.
The U.S. has four census regions, which the researchers used to categorize the findings. Census region No.1 includes the Northeast states bordered in the south by Pennsylvania. Census region No. 2 includes North Central states bordered on the south by Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Kansas.
Census No. 3 includes the Southern states bordered on the west by Texas and on the east by Florida’s Atlantic coast. Census region No. 4 is the West Coast, boarded on the east by Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
Data indicate census regions 1 and 2 had a significant negative correlation with sunlight exposure (meaning sunlight reduced coronavirus infection), while regions 3 and 4 had a minimal positive correlation that was not statistically significant. The difference in these two areas may be explained by the significant heat during those months, driving people indoors to air conditioning.
Vitamin D Deficiency at Pandemic Levels
As more research demonstrates the effectiveness vitamin D has against infectious diseases and COVID-19, it’s important to note that vitamin D deficiency across the world is also at a pandemic level.
Deficiencies have been found in countries in the Southern Hemisphere where it was assumed there was enough exposure to UV radiation to prevent a vitamin D deficiency.9 However, a variety of factors likely influence this difference. For instance, the authors of one literature review found that women from the Middle East were particularly low in vitamin D.10
However, since many people in Middle Eastern countries practice Islam and the women do not go outside unless they are fully covered, the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D with exposure to the sun is inhibited.11
Another study involved the use of an international Vitamin D Standardization Program led by the National Institutes of Health to evaluate 14 population studies.12 The data showed that regardless of age, ethnicity or latitude, 13% of the 55,844 Europeans who were tested had serum vitamin D levels less than 12 ng/mL (30 nmol/L). Natures Plus Liquid Su... Buy New $19.95 ($1.25 / Fl Oz) (as of 04:18 UTC - Details)
When an alternate level of deficiency was used, less than 20ng/mL (50 nmol/L), the prevalence was even higher at 40.4%. Additionally, when the group was subdivided by ethnicity, the data showed people with dark skin had a much higher level of deficiency than white populations, at rates of up to 71 times higher.
Sunscreen Advice Counter to Lifesaving Vitamin D
Remarkably, as the importance of vitamin D becomes more widely recognized, some doctors are continuing to advise against sensible sun exposure, vitamin D supplementation or both. For example, Dr. Pieter Cohen is an internal medicine physician at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts who has not recognized the importance of vitamin D at this time.
In an interview with Today, Cohen told the reporter he strongly discourages people from even getting a vitamin D test, and went on to say:13
“We don’t recommend vitamin D to our patients and I see no credible evidence that vitamin D has a role in either preventing or treating COVID-19. We might have evidence in the future that evolves and would change our opinion, but that’s the status here.
I would discourage anyone from thinking that any pill is going to resolve this problem. It’s going to be the meticulous social distancing, hand washing [and] wearing a mask that [are] going to be the key.”
As sensible sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation are relatively innocuous with little to no side effects when done appropriately, it seems rather peculiar to recommend people should not even be tested or take a supplement for the potential benefit they may receive.
The advice to use sunscreen while getting “incidental” exposure is also medically incorrect, since sunscreen filters out the ultraviolet rays that stimulate vitamin D production in your skin.
In order for sensible sun exposure to work, your skin must be unprotected, and you should be sure you don’t get sunburned. Stay out until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink and then cover with long sleeves and pants.
Positive Tests and Deaths Declined Over the Summer
NatureBell Quercetin 1... Buy New $28.95 ($0.12 / Count) (as of 04:29 UTC - Details) Many respiratory illnesses decline over the summer. While it’s still possible to get a cold or flu, it’s less likely during the summer months. Since mid-July, indicators from the CDC show COVID-like illnesses and positive tests have declined in the U.S.14
The CDC also gathers data to tally the number of deaths from COVID-19 and pneumonia while excluding flu. The first death in this category was recorded February 22, 2020.15
The number peaked the week of April 18, 2020, at 7,292 deaths. By end of June the number had dropped significantly to 1,530. However, as a new report from the CDC reveals, 94% of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 happened in people who had other significant health conditions and contributing causes.16
For only 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the single cause on the death certificate. To make this comparison, it’s the difference between an individual dying FROM COVID-19 versus WITH COVID-19, since for many with a positive test they are asymptomatic and therefore do not qualify as a “case” of COVID-19 but, rather, as a positive test.
Some of the top contributing conditions were cardiac arrest, heart or renal failure, vascular or unspecified dementia, and influenza and pneumonia.17 In addition to rising vitamin D levels during the summer months, there are other factors that influence the transmission of infectious diseases and slow the spread. For instance, influenza is affected by both temperature and humidity.18
In one study conducted in New South Wales, Australia, researchers found a similar connection between humidity and COVID-19. A 1% decrease in humidity was predicted to increase the number of cases by 6.11%.19 In a separate study, the addition of a humidifier in the bedroom demonstrated a decrease in the survival of influenza virus, by 17.5% to 31.6%.20
During the cold winter months, people also spend more time indoors, in enclosed spaces with less ventilation. The same can be said during the heat of the summer when people seek relief indoors with air conditioning. During the fall and winter months, school is usually in session, which has been associated with a higher transmission of respiratory viruses.
Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health also notes:21
“It is possible that the condition of the average person’s immune system is systematically worse in winter than summer. One hypothesis has focused on melatonin which has some immune effects and is modulated by the photoperiod, which varies seasonally. Another with more evidence is that vitamin D levels, which depend in part on ultraviolet light exposure (higher in summer) modulate our immune system in a positive way.”
Combine These Strategies With Raising Your Vitamin D Level
The Vitamin D Solution... Michael F. Holick Best Price: $2.01 Buy New $9.08 (as of 10:55 UTC - Details) Vitamin D optimization is a powerful and beneficial strategy to protect your health. In my free report on vitamin D I’ve developed a resource you can use to share and help educate others. The only way you’ll know your vitamin D level is to test it. GrassrootsHealth has a home test kit that is simple to use and provides you with results at home.22
You’ll find a calculator at GrassrootsHealth.net that uses your current weight, serum level and daily supplement intake to estimate how much vitamin D3 you need to reach your desired vitamin D level.23 Yet, while crucial, it’s not the only thing available to help protect your health.
It’s particularly important to become metabolically flexible to help reduce the severity of a COVID-19 infection. The single most important step to attaining and maintaining metabolic flexibility is to reduce the number of hours during the day in which you eat.
When you do this, you decrease insulin resistance. In my book Fat for Fuel I discuss how to become metabolically flexible, including using intermittent fasting and cyclical nutritional ketosis.
The use of molecular hydrogen is another strategy, as it’s a powerful antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent. Using quercetin with zinc can further lower your risk. Quercetin acts as a zinc ionophore24 and has its own antiviral effects.25
One of the best treatments today is the MATH+ Protocol, first developed by the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance.26 It’s designed to be used when someone is hospitalized and needs supplemental oxygen. You’ll find further information about each of these strategies in “How to Fix the COVID-19 Crisis in 30 Days.”
Sources and References
The Best of Dr. Joseph Mercola


Slavery Raids

Here , in the pile of rubble left where such a haughty villa once stood , was dramatic illustration of how profoundly Italy had slumped from her one-time greatness into impotence and poverty .
This was ninth-century Italy , a few centuries removed from the greatness of Empire .
But it wasn ’ t just impotence and poverty – if only it was merely these .
Across vast swaths of Italian countryside , nothing of value remained – the bones picked almost clean , as Holland puts it .
But Pope John VIII put it more directly at the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ castles , and estates perish – stripped of inhabitants.
” Millennium Holland , Tom Best Price : $ 9.12 Buy New $ 18.37 The Saracen slave trade was in full swing , operating on a “ near-industrial scale.
” Great flotillas of ships , tens-of-thousands of captives loaded for transports to the markets of Africa .
The word Saracen had become synonymous with Muslim during these centuries , more specifically describing Muslim Arabs .
Something about Pope John VIII : much of his papacy was devoted to halting and reversing Muslim gains in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Franks or Byzantines , he strengthened the defenses of Rome .
He was also unable to generate meaningful support from Christians in southern Italy , these Christians having formed alliances with the Muslim invaders and slave traders .
Things didn ’ t end well for John : John VIII was assassinated in 882 by his own clerics ; he was first poisoned , and then clubbed to death .
The motives may have been his exhaustion of the papal treasury , his lack of support among the Carolingians , his gestures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stop the Saracen raids .
Returning to Holland : this slave trading was a real business , the division of labor being quite well developed ; savagery , yes , but also a system : Persian Fire : The Firs ... Tom Holland Best Price : $ 2.68 Buy New $ 11.61 Some would guard the ships , others prepare the irons , others bringing in the captives .
Some even specialised in the rounding up of children .
The natives too – those with the determination to profit from the slavers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victims – had their roles to play .
Italian Christians were hunting down their fellow Christians .
The city of Amalfi was particularly noted for its role in such actions , exchanging slaves for gold dinars .
Naples is also noted .
Through this trade , these regions slowly pulled themselves out of the general poverty of the broader region – only at the cost of their souls .
Already in the ninth century , the markets of Naples had grown so bustling that visitors commented on how they appeared almost African in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a cliff , would turn the city into a hub of international trade ; merchants from this city could be found throughout the Mediterranean , flush with Saracen gold .
As the trade developed , the slavers would eventually receive official backing from the rulers of Sicily .
Some Christian leaders would come to believe that these depredations were driven by something more sinister than greed ( and I have noted a similar possibility in our time ) : Rubicon Tom Holland Best Price : $ 3.60 Buy New $ 12.07 Christendom , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systematically drained of her lifeblood : her reservoir of human souls .
And as their numbers diminished , the numbers of the enemy would increase .
Erchempert , a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Monte Cassino in Italy , would comment : “ For it is the fate of prisoners of our own race , both male and female , to end up adding to the resources of the lands beyond the sea.
” Profit was certainly the immediate motive ; but with official sanction from the rulers , the entire endeavor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Christian captives were being spiritually disciplined , a jihad – the eternal struggle to spread the faith .
The backwardness of the Christians in southern Italy only proved the idea that God had abandoned these “ infidels.
” It was the natural order of things that God would send the Muslims to correct the situation .
Many Christian slaves would convert – bringing the prospect of freedom and some measure of dignity ; of course , many would not .
In addition , free Christians under Muslim rule were forced to pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here lies a real paradox : it was the Muslim states with the largest number of Christians that could most readily afford jihad .
By this time , Muslims would rule over North Africa , southern Europe in both Italy and Spain , and to the borders of Constantinople – all regions that were recently Christian .
With the Muslims to the south and southeast , Vikings to the north and west , and Hungarians to the East , this time , perhaps , was the darkest time for Christendom since the earliest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mosquito

Here, in the pile of rubble left where such a haughty villa once stood, was dramatic illustration of how profoundly Italy had slumped from her one-time greatness into impotence and poverty.
– Millennium, Tom Holland
This was ninth-century Italy, a few centuries removed from the greatness of Empire. But it wasn’t just impotence and poverty – if only it was merely these. Across vast swaths of Italian countryside, nothing of value remained – the bones picked almost clean, as Holland puts it. But Pope John VIII put it more directly at the time:
“Behold, the towns, castles, and estates perish – stripped of inhabitants.”
Millennium Holland, Tom Best Price: $9.12 Buy New $18.37 (as of 04:59 UTC - Details) The Saracen slave trade was in full swing, operating on a “near-industrial scale.” Great flotillas of ships, tens-of-thousands of captives loaded for transports to the markets of Africa. The word Saracen had become synonymous with Muslim during these centuries, more specifically describing Muslim Arabs.
Something about Pope John VIII: much of his papacy was devoted to halting and reversing Muslim gains in southern Italy. Unable to gain assistance from the Franks or Byzantines, he strengthened the defenses of Rome.
He was also unable to generate meaningful support from Christians in southern Italy, these Christians having formed alliances with the Muslim invaders and slave traders. Things didn’t end well for John:
John VIII was assassinated in 882 by his own clerics; he was first poisoned, and then clubbed to death. The motives may have been his exhaustion of the papal treasury, his lack of support among the Carolingians, his gestures towards the Byzantines, and his failure to stop the Saracen raids.
Returning to Holland: this slave trading was a real business, the division of labor being quite well developed; savagery, yes, but also a system: Persian Fire: The Firs... Tom Holland Best Price: $2.68 Buy New $11.61 (as of 06:15 UTC - Details)
Some would guard the ships, others prepare the irons, others bringing in the captives. Some even specialised in the rounding up of children. The natives too – those with the determination to profit from the slavers rather than to end up as their victims – had their roles to play.
Italian Christians were hunting down their fellow Christians. The city of Amalfi was particularly noted for its role in such actions, exchanging slaves for gold dinars. Naples is also noted. Through this trade, these regions slowly pulled themselves out of the general poverty of the broader region – only at the cost of their souls.
Already in the ninth century, the markets of Naples had grown so bustling that visitors commented on how they appeared almost African in their prosperity.
Amalfi, perched on a cliff, would turn the city into a hub of international trade; merchants from this city could be found throughout the Mediterranean, flush with Saracen gold. As the trade developed, the slavers would eventually receive official backing from the rulers of Sicily. Some Christian leaders would come to believe that these depredations were driven by something more sinister than greed (and I have noted a similar possibility in our time): Rubicon Tom Holland Best Price: $3.60 Buy New $12.07 (as of 06:01 UTC - Details)
Christendom, it appeared to them, was being systematically drained of her lifeblood: her reservoir of human souls.
And as their numbers diminished, the numbers of the enemy would increase. Erchempert, a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Monte Cassino in Italy, would comment:
“For it is the fate of prisoners of our own race, both male and female, to end up adding to the resources of the lands beyond the sea.”
Profit was certainly the immediate motive; but with official sanction from the rulers, the entire endeavor took on the air of religiosity. The Christian captives were being spiritually disciplined, a jihad – the eternal struggle to spread the faith.
The backwardness of the Christians in southern Italy only proved the idea that God had abandoned these “infidels.” It was the natural order of things that God would send the Muslims to correct the situation.
Many Christian slaves would convert – bringing the prospect of freedom and some measure of dignity; of course, many would not. In addition, free Christians under Muslim rule were forced to pay a tax, a dhimmi. And here lies a real paradox: it was the Muslim states with the largest number of Christians that could most readily afford jihad.
By this time, Muslims would rule over North Africa, southern Europe in both Italy and Spain, and to the borders of Constantinople – all regions that were recently Christian. With the Muslims to the south and southeast, Vikings to the north and west, and Hungarians to the East, this time, perhaps, was the darkest time for Christendom since the earliest Apostolic age.
Reprinted with permission from Bionic Mosquito.
The Best of Bionic Mosquito


lewrockwell--2020-09-29--The Covidean Creed: As Agreed at the Unholy Conclave at Davos

We believe in one Virus , the SARS-COV-2 , the Almighty , destroyer of heaven and earth , that is all there is , seen and unseen .
We believe in one Malady , Covid-19 , the only son of SARS-COV-2 , eternally begotten of the Virus , God from God , Darkness from Darkness , true God from true God , begotten , not made ( probably ) of one Being with the Virus .
For diseases are they none but the One True Virus and Death comes not without Its presence .
Thou shalt have no diseases before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ die outside the Virus shall not have their passing told unto the people on a quotidian basis in hushed tones , but shall be quietly recorded in obscure tables when the time comes .
Through the Virus all things were unmade .
For us men ( and women and all points in between ) and for our damnation The Great Influenza : T ... John M. Barry Best Price : $ 2.99 Buy New $ 6.25 It came down from heaven ( or maybe from China or Maryland ) : By the power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the swirling microbes ( or maybe bat soup through immaculate Zoonosis ) , and was made Pandemic .
For Its sake we were crucified under ongoing Lockdown ; It suffered not death , like unto most it afflicteth , and is never buried in the news .
Though by the evidence that appeareth on those who do pass away or wax sick , it hath waned to almost nought .
On the second wave It rose again And though few did perish many were tested and lo !
Many were deemed infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were they named , though sickness showed they none , in accordance with the Great Plan ;

We believe in one Virus, the SARS-COV-2, the Almighty, destroyer of heaven and earth, that is all there is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Malady, Covid-19, the only son of SARS-COV-2, eternally begotten of the Virus, God from God, Darkness from Darkness, true God from true God, begotten, not made (probably) of one Being with the Virus.
For diseases are they none but the One True Virus and Death comes not without Its presence. Thou shalt have no diseases before the One True Virus. They that die outside the Virus shall not have their passing told unto the people on a quotidian basis in hushed tones, but shall be quietly recorded in obscure tables when the time comes.
Through the Virus all things were unmade.
For us men (and women and all points in between) and for our damnation The Great Influenza: T... John M. Barry Best Price: $2.99 Buy New $6.25 (as of 04:55 UTC - Details)
It came down from heaven (or maybe from China or Maryland):
By the power of the Holy WHO
It became incarnate from the swirling microbes (or maybe bat soup through immaculate Zoonosis), and was made Pandemic.
For Its sake we were crucified under ongoing Lockdown;
It suffered not death, like unto most it afflicteth, and is never buried in the news.
Though by the evidence that appeareth on those who do pass away or wax sick, it hath waned to almost nought.
On the second wave It rose again
And though few did perish many were tested and lo! Many were deemed infected (probably) and ‘cases’ were they named, though sickness showed they none,
in accordance with the Great Plan;
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-09-29--Seth Rich: the Murder Washington Doesn’t Want Solved

On the face of things , the July 2016 murder of Seth Rich had intrigue enough for a full season of House of Cards .
Unknown assailants gun down the young DNC data analyst at 4 A.M. on a Washington , D.C. , street and take nothing .
Two weeks later , international man of mystery Julian Assange strongly suggests on Dutch TV that Rich was his source for the purloined DNC emails then roiling the Democratic Party and offers a $ 20,000 reward to find the killer .
Three days before the November election , Assange reportedly tells liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indeed his source .
Days after Trump ’ s inauguration , legendary investigative journalist Sy Hersh cites an FBI report confirming Assange ’ s claim .
Later that year , DNC honcho Donna Brazile dedicates her book Hacks to Rich and wonders out loud whether the Russians had “ played some part in his unsolved murder.
” House of Cards : A Tale ... Cohan , William D. Best Price : $ 1.57 Buy New $ 9.99 Despite the stakes — the Trump presidency hinged on the investigation ’ s outcome — there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rich ’ s life and death , no movie , no serious books , not even a single episode of Unsolved Mysteries or 48 Hours .
Incredibly , no major publication or network save for Fox News has even attempted to resolve the still unsolved murder , and Fox execs rather wish they hadn ’ t .
To understand how a story this potentially explosive could be suppressed for so long , it is necessary to understand one basic fact of Washington life : Donald Trump received just 4.1 percent of the District @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump ’ s election disrupted short-term strategies and long-term expectations in every one of the capital ’ s major institutions , local and federal , public and private , the legal community among them .
According to Hersh , Trump was a “ circuit breaker , ” one who made a whole lot of enemies .
Those enemies , as we have seen , would go to great lengths to discredit Trump and anyone associated with him .
The pressure they can bring to bear on even those who want to tell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : The F ... Cashill , Jack Buy New $ 27.11 Instead of a serious investigation by either police or reporters , the Seth Rich case generated a dumpster-full of frivolous lawsuits .
These suits have had the result , likely intended , of silencing those who would dare to investigate Rich ’ s demise .
All too predictably , the media have heaped abuse on the investigators and cheered on the litigators .
Prominent among the private citizens who asked questions is Ed Butowsky , a Republican wealth manager from Texas .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ told me .
“ I had no idea how big the other side is , and they are completely after me.
” Once he started inquiring into Rich ’ s death , said Butowsky , “ everything just turned to crap.
” Butowsky stumbled into his role as sleuth .
Through his occasional TV appearances , Butowsky met Ellen Ratner , a friend of Assange .
Her late brother Michael Ratner had been one of the American lawyers for the fugitive WikiLeaks founder .
On the day after the election , Ratner lobbed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discussion at Florida ’ s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University .
“ I spent three hours with Julian Assange on Saturday at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London , ” Ratner volunteered midway through the event .
“ One thing he did say was the leaks were not from , they were not from the Russians .
They were an internal source from the Hillary campaign or from somebody that knew Hillary , an enemy.
” Hoodwinked : How Intell ... Jack Cashill Best Price : $ 8.84 Buy New $ 10.83 If the grenade had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hole in a collusion plot that centered on the presumed Russian hack of the DNC .
Fortunately for the plotters , Ratner ’ s self-involved fellow panelists skipped over her comments , and the video of the event passed into the ether all but unseen .
According to a complex , multi-party defamation suit Butowsky filed in 2019 , Butowsky learned of the Assange revelation from Ratner herself .
She contacted him after the meeting and added the critical detail that Seth Rich was Assange ’ s source .
On December 17 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joel and Mary Rich .
He felt sorry for the Riches , sensing they would get no help from the D.C. Police or the FBI .
In addition , as Ratner reportedly told him , Assange had requested that the parents be made aware of Seth ’ s role , a material fact in the search for their son ’ s killers .
According to Butowsky , Joel Rich told him he knew that Seth and his older brother Aaron were involved with the DNC email leak .
Joel chose not to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ responsible for getting Trump elected.
” Although the Riches would later deny many of Butowsky ’ s claims , no one disputes his offer to hire a private investigator for the Riches or their acceptance of that offer .

On the face of things, the July 2016 murder of Seth Rich had intrigue enough for a full season of House of Cards.
Unknown assailants gun down the young DNC data analyst at 4 A.M. on a Washington, D.C., street and take nothing. Two weeks later, international man of mystery Julian Assange strongly suggests on Dutch TV that Rich was his source for the purloined DNC emails then roiling the Democratic Party and offers a $20,000 reward to find the killer.
Three days before the November election, Assange reportedly tells liberal media analyst Ellen Ratner that Rich was indeed his source. Days after Trump’s inauguration, legendary investigative journalist Sy Hersh cites an FBI report confirming Assange’s claim. Later that year, DNC honcho Donna Brazile dedicates her book Hacks to Rich and wonders out loud whether the Russians had “played some part in his unsolved murder.” House of Cards: A Tale... Cohan, William D. Best Price: $1.57 Buy New $9.99 (as of 06:03 UTC - Details)
Despite the stakes — the Trump presidency hinged on the investigation’s outcome — there was to be no TV series about Rich’s life and death, no movie, no serious books, not even a single episode of Unsolved Mysteries or 48 Hours. Incredibly, no major publication or network save for Fox News has even attempted to resolve the still unsolved murder, and Fox execs rather wish they hadn’t.
To understand how a story this potentially explosive could be suppressed for so long, it is necessary to understand one basic fact of Washington life: Donald Trump received just 4.1 percent of the District’s vote in the 2016 election. Trump’s election disrupted short-term strategies and long-term expectations in every one of the capital’s major institutions, local and federal, public and private, the legal community among them.
According to Hersh, Trump was a “circuit breaker,” one who made a whole lot of enemies. Those enemies, as we have seen, would go to great lengths to discredit Trump and anyone associated with him. The pressure they can bring to bear on even those who want to tell the truth remains formidable.
Unmasking Obama: The F... Cashill, Jack Buy New $27.11 (as of 04:59 UTC - Details) Instead of a serious investigation by either police or reporters, the Seth Rich case generated a dumpster-full of frivolous lawsuits. These suits have had the result, likely intended, of silencing those who would dare to investigate Rich’s demise. All too predictably, the media have heaped abuse on the investigators and cheered on the litigators.
Prominent among the private citizens who asked questions is Ed Butowsky, a Republican wealth manager from Texas. “It is horrible,” he told me. “I had no idea how big the other side is, and they are completely after me.” Once he started inquiring into Rich’s death, said Butowsky, “everything just turned to crap.”
Butowsky stumbled into his role as sleuth. Through his occasional TV appearances, Butowsky met Ellen Ratner, a friend of Assange. Her late brother Michael Ratner had been one of the American lawyers for the fugitive WikiLeaks founder. On the day after the election, Ratner lobbed a grenade into an otherwise banal panel discussion at Florida’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
“I spent three hours with Julian Assange on Saturday at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London,” Ratner volunteered midway through the event. “One thing he did say was the leaks were not from, they were not from the Russians. They were an internal source from the Hillary campaign or from somebody that knew Hillary, an enemy.” Hoodwinked: How Intell... Jack Cashill Best Price: $8.84 Buy New $10.83 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details)
If the grenade had detonated, Ratner would have blown a hole in a collusion plot that centered on the presumed Russian hack of the DNC. Fortunately for the plotters, Ratner’s self-involved fellow panelists skipped over her comments, and the video of the event passed into the ether all but unseen.
According to a complex, multi-party defamation suit Butowsky filed in 2019, Butowsky learned of the Assange revelation from Ratner herself. She contacted him after the meeting and added the critical detail that Seth Rich was Assange’s source.
On December 17, Butowsky contacted Rich’s parents, Joel and Mary Rich. He felt sorry for the Riches, sensing they would get no help from the D.C. Police or the FBI. In addition, as Ratner reportedly told him, Assange had requested that the parents be made aware of Seth’s role, a material fact in the search for their son’s killers.
According to Butowsky, Joel Rich told him he knew that Seth and his older brother Aaron were involved with the DNC email leak. Joel chose not to go public lest people think his sons were “responsible for getting Trump elected.” Although the Riches would later deny many of Butowsky’s claims, no one disputes his offer to hire a private investigator for the Riches or their acceptance of that offer.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-09-29--The American Deep State Revives Its Tired Allegations of Russian Interference In November’s Presiden

The American Deep State Revives Its Tired Allegations of Russian Interference In November’s Presidential Elections

CIA and FBI officials , helped by MSM chums , allege the Kremlin ’ s running a campaign to denigrate Joe Biden .
But where ’ s the evidence ?
The real threat to US democracy isn ’ t Russia , but the anonymous sources behind the claims .
There have been a spate of reports recently , alleging Russian interference in the 2020 US presidential election , specifically the charge that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to “ sow divisiveness and discord ” to “ denigrate ” the Democratic nominee , Joe Biden , and undermine public confidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
While allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election continue to be bandied about by those who believe that President Donald Trump ’ s victory over Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton was solely due to Russian malfeasance , the new allegations arise from a separate set of facts unique to this year ’ s race .
SCORPION KING : America ... Ritter , Scott Best Price : $ 22.80 Buy New $ 22.82 These are the efforts of Donald Trump ’ s personal lawyer , Rudy Giuliani , and the Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Finance Committees ( Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley , respectively ) to uncover evidence of corruption on the part of Joe Biden and his son Hunter regarding the latter ’ s relationship with Burisma , a Ukrainian energy company .
These efforts have led to the release of an 87-page joint report , titled ‘ Hunter Biden , Burisma , and Corruption : The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns ’ , published by Senator ’ s Johnson and Grassley on September 22 .
There is nothing substantively new in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disclosed previously .
The difference is that Giuliani , Johnson , and Grassley have made extensive use of information provided to them by a pro-Russian member of the Ukrainian Parliament , Andriy Derkach , in fleshing out the allegations of corruption leveled against Joe and Hunter Biden .
The information contained in the report does not significantly further the case against either Joe or Hunter Biden and , if left to its own devices , the report would most likely have been ignored by the voting public .
But the Derkach angle has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US intelligence community and the FBI , who have used the connection between Giuliani , Johnson , and Grassley on the one hand , and Derkach on the other , to promote their own conspiracy theories linking the Russian government to the revelations .
This linkage was furthered by the fact that Derkach was singled out by the US Department of Treasury in August for being “ an active Russian agent for over a decade , ” who employed “ manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the United States.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject of a classified CIA assessment published on August 31 in the CIA World Intelligence Review .
But the CIA took it a step further , stating : “ We assess that President Vladimir Putin and the senior-most Russian officials are aware of and probably directing Russia ’ s influence operations aimed at denigrating the former U.S. Vice President , supporting the U.S. President and fueling public discord ahead of the U.S. election in November.
” Joe Biden Unauthorized ... McCormick , Mike Best Price : $ 13.70 Buy New $ 14.49 Details @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Josh Rogin , an opinion columnist with the Washington Post ( and vehement opponent of Trump ) , who published them in a column that appeared in his newspaper on September 22 .
According to Rogin , the information about the CIA assessment came from two unnamed sources “ familiar with ” the report .
Rogin claims he withheld details about the intelligence used to form the assessment at the request of his sources to protect them and their methods .
Rogin ’ s ‘ scoop ’ comes on the heels of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Congress by the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center , William Evanina , in early August .
“ We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘ establishment , ’ ” Evanina wrote .
“ This is consistent with Moscow ’ s public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his role in the Obama administration ’ s policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia.
” Evanina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Director Christopher Wray , who testified before the House Homeland Security Committee on September 17 .
“ We certainly have seen very active , very active efforts by the Russians to influence our election in 2020 … to both sow divisiveness and discord and … to denigrate Vice President Biden , ” Wray said .
Both Evanina and Wray drew heavily on the efforts by Derkach to assist Giuliani , Johnson , and Grassley in their aim of digging up dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden .
Wray ’ s testimony , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the CIA ’ s assessment , appears to be timed to pre-empt the impact of the Johnson-Grassley report .
If that ’ s true , then the FBI director , together with whomever in the intelligence community leaked the details of the CIA ’ s assessment to Rogin , are guilty of the kind of politicization of intelligence that undermines public confidence in the US system of government far more than any thinly sourced allegations about Russian interference .
Iraq Confidential : The ... Ritter , Scott Best Price : $ 1.66 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the government ’ s organizational charts , looking in vain for an entity that describes itself as the ‘ deep state ’ , and the efforts will be in vain .
But the deep state exists .
It exists in the form of so-called intelligence professionals who craft analysis about alleged foreign interference in domestic American politics , derived from secret ‘ sources and methods ’ , which is then leaked to a willing recipient in the press who publishes it for the sole purpose of undermining a sitting president on the eve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what these ‘ sources and methods ’ are .
It exists in the form of an organization , the FBI , that is already stinging from the public disclosure of its massive failings on issues related to allegations of Russian collusion on the part of a sitting president ( the Mueller Report fiasco , the disaster that was the Steele Dossier , and the incompetence manifested in the Carter Page FISA warrant process , to name but a few ) suddenly seeking relevance – and , one might say , revenge – by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same allegations put forward by the intelligence community .
The only purpose one can ascribe to these actions is the denigration of President Trump for the purpose of sowing divisiveness and discord regarding the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election – the very charge that those who embrace the CIA and FBI allegations about Russian interference have levelled against Moscow .
A reasonable person can conclude that President Trump , by questioning the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and openly speculating about voter fraud , is actively engaging in a politically motivated ploy to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the purpose of preparing the public for an inevitable challenge if the results point to a Biden victory .
While this is not conduct that any politician seeking elected office should engage in , it isn ’ t being done in the shadows , as part of a vast secret conspiracy , but rather out in the open , for all the public to see and , by extension , to opine on come election day .
That ’ s the difference between what Trump and his supporters are doing , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are destroying public confidence in whatever the outcome may be on election night , to make the case that their candidate has the more legitimate claim to electoral victory .
Yesterday ’ s Man : ... Marcetic , Branko Best Price : $ 12.00 Buy New $ 13.46 Two wrongs don ’ t make a right , but the fact that one side – the supporters of Donald Trump – are conducting their work with complete transparency , while the other side hides behind the impenetrable walls the deep state affords them , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does not need any help in undermining the foundations of democratic rule , nor does it need help in destroying public confidence in the notion of a free and fair election .
The actions of both political parties have shown they are collectively and individually more than capable of accomplishing this in their own right ; all an outside power need do is sit back and watch the show .
There is nothing to gain for Putin , were he to orchestrate a campaign designed to attack Joe Biden , and everything to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Andriy Derkach , Rudy Giuliani and Senator Johnson would have found someone just like him .
The Hunter Biden/Burisma story is to Republican operatives like chum is to sharks – irresistible .
It wasn ’ t manufactured by Putin and co behind the Kremlin walls , but was rather the by-product of Hunter and Joe Biden ’ s own words and deeds .
The American electorate is sophisticated enough to sort through the chaff to get to the wheat .
Nothing Giuliani or Johnson did was in secret – and they most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ sources and methods ’ when making their allegations .
One can not say the same thing for the intelligence community , the FBI , or the partisan mainstream media .
At the end of the day , the information they describe as being at the heart of the alleged Russian interference – the Derkach papers – contains the same fact set as does the report published by Senators Johnson and Grassley .
Target Iran : The Truth ... Ritter , Scott Best Price : $ 1.48 Buy New $ 8.75 The big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information is packaged and marketed .
The Republicans have taken the path of full transparency , where every voter is capable of discerning whether this is a matter of legitimate national concern , or a political witch hunt .
Most important of all is the fact that both Johnson and Grassley are elected officials who , at the end of the day , are accountable to their respective constituencies for their conduct while in office .
The deep state , however , has taken a different path – one of secret allegations about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The deep state seeks to distract from the political reality of what the Republicans have done – namely , to put it all on the line for the American people to see whether the Hunter Biden/Burisma story holds water , or to conclude that the Republicans have behaved poorly .
The Republicans have given the American voter a choice – one the deep state seeks to obviate by tainting it with unfounded allegations of Russian interference .
Moreover , the deep state has put forward its case in an opaque way and in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not be held accountable to the American public because they were never elected in the first place , and have opted to keep their identities a secret .
And it is destroying American democracy as we speak .
The statements , views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT .

CIA and FBI officials, helped by MSM chums, allege the Kremlin’s running a campaign to denigrate Joe Biden. But where’s the evidence? The real threat to US democracy isn’t Russia, but the anonymous sources behind the claims.
There have been a spate of reports recently, alleging Russian interference in the 2020 US presidential election, specifically the charge that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to “sow divisiveness and discord” to “denigrate” the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, and undermine public confidence in the legitimacy of the electoral process.
While allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election continue to be bandied about by those who believe that President Donald Trump’s victory over Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton was solely due to Russian malfeasance, the new allegations arise from a separate set of facts unique to this year’s race. SCORPION KING: America... Ritter, Scott Best Price: $22.80 Buy New $22.82 (as of 06:04 UTC - Details)
These are the efforts of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and the Republican chairmen of the Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees (Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley, respectively) to uncover evidence of corruption on the part of Joe Biden and his son Hunter regarding the latter’s relationship with Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. These efforts have led to the release of an 87-page joint report, titled ‘Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns’, published by Senator’s Johnson and Grassley on September 22.
There is nothing substantively new in the report that has not already been publicly disclosed previously. The difference is that Giuliani, Johnson, and Grassley have made extensive use of information provided to them by a pro-Russian member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Andriy Derkach, in fleshing out the allegations of corruption leveled against Joe and Hunter Biden. The information contained in the report does not significantly further the case against either Joe or Hunter Biden and, if left to its own devices, the report would most likely have been ignored by the voting public.
But the Derkach angle has caught the eye of elements within the US intelligence community and the FBI, who have used the connection between Giuliani, Johnson, and Grassley on the one hand, and Derkach on the other, to promote their own conspiracy theories linking the Russian government to the revelations. This linkage was furthered by the fact that Derkach was singled out by the US Department of Treasury in August for being “an active Russian agent for over a decade,” who employed “manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the United States.”
Derkach’s activities were also the subject of a classified CIA assessment published on August 31 in the CIA World Intelligence Review. But the CIA took it a step further, stating: “We assess that President Vladimir Putin and the senior-most Russian officials are aware of and probably directing Russia’s influence operations aimed at denigrating the former U.S. Vice President, supporting the U.S. President and fueling public discord ahead of the U.S. election in November.”
Joe Biden Unauthorized... McCormick, Mike Best Price: $13.70 Buy New $14.49 (as of 06:03 UTC - Details) Details of this classified CIA assessment were shared with Josh Rogin, an opinion columnist with the Washington Post (and vehement opponent of Trump), who published them in a column that appeared in his newspaper on September 22. According to Rogin, the information about the CIA assessment came from two unnamed sources “familiar with” the report. Rogin claims he withheld details about the intelligence used to form the assessment at the request of his sources to protect them and their methods.
Rogin’s ‘scoop’ comes on the heels of similar claims put forward in written testimony to Congress by the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, William Evanina, in early August. “We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment,’” Evanina wrote. “This is consistent with Moscow’s public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his role in the Obama administration’s policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia.”
Evanina’s concerns were echoed by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who testified before the House Homeland Security Committee on September 17. “We certainly have seen very active, very active efforts by the Russians to influence our election in 2020 … to both sow divisiveness and discord and … to denigrate Vice President Biden,” Wray said.
Both Evanina and Wray drew heavily on the efforts by Derkach to assist Giuliani, Johnson, and Grassley in their aim of digging up dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden. Wray’s testimony, when viewed in conjunction with the Rogin revelations about the CIA’s assessment, appears to be timed to pre-empt the impact of the Johnson-Grassley report.
If that’s true, then the FBI director, together with whomever in the intelligence community leaked the details of the CIA’s assessment to Rogin, are guilty of the kind of politicization of intelligence that undermines public confidence in the US system of government far more than any thinly sourced allegations about Russian interference.
Iraq Confidential: The... Ritter, Scott Best Price: $1.66 Buy New $8.98 (as of 06:05 UTC - Details) One can scour the government’s organizational charts, looking in vain for an entity that describes itself as the ‘deep state’, and the efforts will be in vain. But the deep state exists. It exists in the form of so-called intelligence professionals who craft analysis about alleged foreign interference in domestic American politics, derived from secret ‘sources and methods’, which is then leaked to a willing recipient in the press who publishes it for the sole purpose of undermining a sitting president on the eve of a national election, without disclosing what these ‘sources and methods’ are.
It exists in the form of an organization, the FBI, that is already stinging from the public disclosure of its massive failings on issues related to allegations of Russian collusion on the part of a sitting president (the Mueller Report fiasco, the disaster that was the Steele Dossier, and the incompetence manifested in the Carter Page FISA warrant process, to name but a few) suddenly seeking relevance – and, one might say, revenge – by speculating on the domestic impact of the same allegations put forward by the intelligence community.
The only purpose one can ascribe to these actions is the denigration of President Trump for the purpose of sowing divisiveness and discord regarding the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election – the very charge that those who embrace the CIA and FBI allegations about Russian interference have levelled against Moscow.
A reasonable person can conclude that President Trump, by questioning the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and openly speculating about voter fraud, is actively engaging in a politically motivated ploy to undermine public confidence in the election for the purpose of preparing the public for an inevitable challenge if the results point to a Biden victory.
While this is not conduct that any politician seeking elected office should engage in, it isn’t being done in the shadows, as part of a vast secret conspiracy, but rather out in the open, for all the public to see and, by extension, to opine on come election day.
That’s the difference between what Trump and his supporters are doing, and the actions of the deep state. Both are destroying public confidence in whatever the outcome may be on election night, to make the case that their candidate has the more legitimate claim to electoral victory. Yesterday’s Man:... Marcetic, Branko Best Price: $12.00 Buy New $13.46 (as of 03:45 UTC - Details)
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but the fact that one side – the supporters of Donald Trump – are conducting their work with complete transparency, while the other side hides behind the impenetrable walls the deep state affords them, does serve as a discriminator.
America does not need any help in undermining the foundations of democratic rule, nor does it need help in destroying public confidence in the notion of a free and fair election. The actions of both political parties have shown they are collectively and individually more than capable of accomplishing this in their own right; all an outside power need do is sit back and watch the show.
There is nothing to gain for Putin, were he to orchestrate a campaign designed to attack Joe Biden, and everything to lose. If there wasn’t an Andriy Derkach, Rudy Giuliani and Senator Johnson would have found someone just like him. The Hunter Biden/Burisma story is to Republican operatives like chum is to sharks – irresistible.
It wasn’t manufactured by Putin and co behind the Kremlin walls, but was rather the by-product of Hunter and Joe Biden’s own words and deeds. The American electorate is sophisticated enough to sort through the chaff to get to the wheat. Nothing Giuliani or Johnson did was in secret – and they most certainly don’t hide behind secret ‘sources and methods’ when making their allegations.
One cannot say the same thing for the intelligence community, the FBI, or the partisan mainstream media. At the end of the day, the information they describe as being at the heart of the alleged Russian interference – the Derkach papers – contains the same fact set as does the report published by Senators Johnson and Grassley.
Target Iran: The Truth... Ritter, Scott Best Price: $1.48 Buy New $8.75 (as of 06:05 UTC - Details) The big difference, however, is how this information is packaged and marketed. The Republicans have taken the path of full transparency, where every voter is capable of discerning whether this is a matter of legitimate national concern, or a political witch hunt. Most important of all is the fact that both Johnson and Grassley are elected officials who, at the end of the day, are accountable to their respective constituencies for their conduct while in office.
The deep state, however, has taken a different path – one of secret allegations about foreign manipulation of American democratic processes. The deep state seeks to distract from the political reality of what the Republicans have done – namely, to put it all on the line for the American people to see whether the Hunter Biden/Burisma story holds water, or to conclude that the Republicans have behaved poorly.
The Republicans have given the American voter a choice – one the deep state seeks to obviate by tainting it with unfounded allegations of Russian interference. Moreover, the deep state has put forward its case in an opaque way and in a manner where those making the case cannot be held accountable to the American public because they were never elected in the first place, and have opted to keep their identities a secret.
And it is destroying American democracy as we speak.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.


The Covid Deception

We have been deceived by public health authorities about Covid , partly from public authorities ’ ignorance of the virus , its spread and treatment , but mainly on purpose .
One reason we were intentionally deceived by public health authorities , and continue to be deceived by them , is to create a market for a Covid vaccination .
There are billions of dollars of profits in this , and Big Pharma wants them .
The financial connections between public health authorities and Big Pharma means that WHO , NIH , and CDC also desire mass vaccinations .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their wits to voluntarily seek vaccination , the chances are vaccinations will be made mandatory or your ability to travel , and so forth , will be made dependent on being vaccinated .
Another intentional reason for our deception is the Covid threat justifies voting by mail from the safety of one ’ s home .
Voting by mail means that no winner can be declared on election night .
The mail-in votes will have to be counted as they come in .
The delay in declaring an election winner allows time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 ) fraudently rigged his reelection or ( 2 ) has lost and won ’ t step down .
As the presstitutes speak with one orchestrated voice , whether Trump wins or not will be buried in reports that he lost and refuses to step down or that he won by fraud .
Unreported Truths abou ... Berenson , Alex Buy New $ 5.99 Even if Trump survives the color revolution planned for him , he will be under attack as an illegitimate president just as he was during his first term when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interference.
” This will suffice to prevent a renewal of his attack on the Globalist Establishment—listen to his first inaugural address—and again sideline his desire to serve peace by reducing the dangerous tensions with Russia , a policy that deprives the military/security complex of its valuable enemy .
As presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan learned , reducing tensions with Russia threatens the budget and power of the military/security complex that President Eisenhower warned Americans against .
This complex has more power than the president of the United States .
As no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lone assassin ” explanation , Trump is being assassinated with false accusations and a color revolution .
For awhile Trump used Twitter to refute the false accusations , but now the President of the United States is censored by Twitter .
When the color revolution strikes , Trump will not be able to communicate with the American people through print , TV , NPR , or social media .
There will only be charges against Trump , and no answers from him .
Unreported Truths abou ... Berenson , Alex Buy New $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Postmaster General is appointed by Trump , he will rig the mail-in votes by not delivering votes from blue states .
Yet polls show that the vast majority of Democrats are voting by mail and that hardly any Republicans are .
This is because the postal union is a public-sector union and belongs to the Democrats .
The postal workers already have their instructions : deliver no votes from red areas .
Obviously , no Democrats would vote by mail if they thought the Postmaster General had any control over mail delivery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ union will not deliver their votes and are voting in person .
( Thousands of undelivered , unopened votes from 2018 have been found in a trash dump ) .
This should mean that on election night Trump will have a tremendous victory , but the delay to count the mail-in votes gives the Democrats the time needed to figure out how large the mail-in vote has to be to win or contest the election .
It is not only mail-in voting but also absentee ballots that don ’ t get delivered .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Covid threat is to build the growing police state on more intrusions into private life .
The public health threat is used to mandate unconstitutional intrusions that close private businesses or force them to operate at 50 percent capacity , thus driving them into bankruptcy and destroying the lifework of people in the name of public health .
The threat is also used to accustom the public to obey mandates to wear masks that provide zero protection .
Although opposition to this harmful policy is rising in the US and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fear of Covid that has been indoctrinated has caused most populations to behave as lemmings .
People are being trained to obey edicts that harm them .
Now , let ’ s look at the misrepresentation of the Covid Threat itself .
COVID-19 and the Agend ... Perloff , James Best Price : $ 15.95 Buy New $ 14.57 Many medical professionals have shown , with evidence , that the Covid threat has been greatly overstated .
According to the CDC ’ s own data , of the alleged 200,000 Americans killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The remainder had 2.6 co-morbidities that in fact killed them .
The CDC reports that in only 6 % of the reported Covid deaths was Covid the only cause .
For 94 % of the Covid deaths , there were on average 2.6 comorbidities or additional causes of death .
The CDC concludes that the initial fatality rates were overestimated .
If you have the virus , the CDC reports the survival rate by age group .
As I read the report , the percentages are all Covid deaths including those with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Who Tells You V ... Coleman , Dr Vernon Buy New $ 3.99 In addition to existing morbidities , many who died from Covid died from the ventilators or from being denied HCQ treatment .
HCQ , a safe and certain cure , was demonized by public health officials in alliance with Big Pharma and the presstitutes , because it is inexpensive and in the way of vaccine profits .
If there is a cure , there is no need for a vaccine that some experts believe will be more dangerous than Covid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have found a second cure . )
The Covid threat is being kept alive by the presstitutes and public health officials until a vaccine can be developed .
The latest claim is that the return of the young to colleges has reignited the contagation and spreading it to the adult population in a second wave .
This “ threat ” is an orchestrated hoax .
According to the data , the 48,299 Covid-19 cases reported at 37 US universities are associated with only two hospitalizations and zero deaths .
There is talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mask requirements .
All of this is to keep people , especially the elderly , frightened and supportive of vaccination .
Proper testing of the vaccine is suspended in an effort to rush it to market before Covid disappears .
Dr. Mike Yeadon , former Chief Science Officer for Big Pharma giant Pfizer says that the pandemic is over and that the Covid test produces “ false positives ” and does not indicate infection with Covid .
Dr. Yeadon said that we are basing a government policy , an economic policy , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may well be completely fake data on this coronavirus.
” According to Dr.Yeadon , a “ second wave ” and “ any government case for lockdowns , given the well-known principles of epidemiology , will be entirely manufactured ” .
It is clear that the Covid threat was overestimated at great cost .
The Belgian medical profession has demanded a halt to the Covid propaganda .
Of course Big Pharma and its shills such as Fauci , Redfield , and the presstitutes , will continue to keep the “ Covid Crisis ” alive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s vaccine profits , the Democrats ’ color revolution against President Trump , and the training of populations to accept more government control over their lives .
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts

We have been deceived by public health authorities about Covid, partly from public authorities’ ignorance of the virus, its spread and treatment, but mainly on purpose.
One reason we were intentionally deceived by public health authorities, and continue to be deceived by them, is to create a market for a Covid vaccination. There are billions of dollars of profits in this, and Big Pharma wants them. The financial connections between public health authorities and Big Pharma means that WHO, NIH, and CDC also desire mass vaccinations. If there are not enough people scared out of their wits to voluntarily seek vaccination, the chances are vaccinations will be made mandatory or your ability to travel, and so forth, will be made dependent on being vaccinated.
Another intentional reason for our deception is the Covid threat justifies voting by mail from the safety of one’s home. Voting by mail means that no winner can be declared on election night. The mail-in votes will have to be counted as they come in. The delay in declaring an election winner allows time for more propaganda that Trump has (1) fraudently rigged his reelection or (2) has lost and won’t step down. As the presstitutes speak with one orchestrated voice, whether Trump wins or not will be buried in reports that he lost and refuses to step down or that he won by fraud. Unreported Truths abou... Berenson, Alex Buy New $5.99 (as of 03:17 UTC - Details)
Even if Trump survives the color revolution planned for him, he will be under attack as an illegitimate president just as he was during his first term when he was allegedly elected by “Russian interference.” This will suffice to prevent a renewal of his attack on the Globalist Establishment—listen to his first inaugural address—and again sideline his desire to serve peace by reducing the dangerous tensions with Russia, a policy that deprives the military/security complex of its valuable enemy.
As presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan learned, reducing tensions with Russia threatens the budget and power of the military/security complex that President Eisenhower warned Americans against. This complex has more power than the president of the United States. As no one would any longer believe another “lone assassin” explanation, Trump is being assassinated with false accusations and a color revolution. For awhile Trump used Twitter to refute the false accusations, but now the President of the United States is censored by Twitter.
When the color revolution strikes, Trump will not be able to communicate with the American people through print, TV, NPR, or social media. There will only be charges against Trump, and no answers from him.
Unreported Truths abou... Berenson, Alex Buy New $5.71 (as of 07:13 UTC - Details) The Democrats are claiming that as the Postmaster General is appointed by Trump, he will rig the mail-in votes by not delivering votes from blue states. Yet polls show that the vast majority of Democrats are voting by mail and that hardly any Republicans are. This is because the postal union is a public-sector union and belongs to the Democrats. The postal workers already have their instructions: deliver no votes from red areas. Obviously, no Democrats would vote by mail if they thought the Postmaster General had any control over mail delivery. The Republicans know that the postal union will not deliver their votes and are voting in person. ( Thousands of undelivered, unopened votes from 2018 have been found in a trash dump).
This should mean that on election night Trump will have a tremendous victory, but the delay to count the mail-in votes gives the Democrats the time needed to figure out how large the mail-in vote has to be to win or contest the election.
It is not only mail-in voting but also absentee ballots that don’t get delivered.
A third reason for the intentional misrepresentation of the Covid threat is to build the growing police state on more intrusions into private life. The public health threat is used to mandate unconstitutional intrusions that close private businesses or force them to operate at 50 percent capacity, thus driving them into bankruptcy and destroying the lifework of people in the name of public health. The threat is also used to accustom the public to obey mandates to wear masks that provide zero protection. Although opposition to this harmful policy is rising in the US and is strong in Germany and the UK, the fear of Covid that has been indoctrinated has caused most populations to behave as lemmings. People are being trained to obey edicts that harm them.
Now, let’s look at the misrepresentation of the Covid Threat itself.
COVID-19 and the Agend... Perloff, James Best Price: $15.95 Buy New $14.57 (as of 05:16 UTC - Details) Many medical professionals have shown, with evidence, that the Covid threat has been greatly overstated. According to the CDC’s own data, of the alleged 200,000 Americans killed by Covid, only 9,000 actually were. The remainder had 2.6 co-morbidities that in fact killed them. The CDC reports that in only 6% of the reported Covid deaths was Covid the only cause. For 94% of the Covid deaths, there were on average 2.6 comorbidities or additional causes of death.
( Examples of comorbidities)
The CDC concludes that the initial fatality rates were overestimated. If you have the virus, the CDC reports the survival rate by age group. As I read the report, the percentages are all Covid deaths including those with an average of 2.6 comorbidities.
See this.
Anyone Who Tells You V... Coleman, Dr Vernon Buy New $3.99 (as of 04:06 UTC - Details) In addition to existing morbidities, many who died from Covid died from the ventilators or from being denied HCQ treatment. HCQ, a safe and certain cure, was demonized by public health officials in alliance with Big Pharma and the presstitutes, because it is inexpensive and in the way of vaccine profits. If there is a cure, there is no need for a vaccine that some experts believe will be more dangerous than Covid itself. (Doctors in Florida claim to have found a second cure.)
The Covid threat is being kept alive by the presstitutes and public health officials until a vaccine can be developed. The latest claim is that the return of the young to colleges has reignited the contagation and spreading it to the adult population in a second wave. This “threat” is an orchestrated hoax. According to the data, the 48,299 Covid-19 cases reported at 37 US universities are associated with only two hospitalizations and zero deaths.
There is talk of returning to lockdowns and more stringent mask requirements. All of this is to keep people, especially the elderly, frightened and supportive of vaccination. Proper testing of the vaccine is suspended in an effort to rush it to market before Covid disappears.
Dr. Mike Yeadon, former Chief Science Officer for Big Pharma giant Pfizer says that the pandemic is over and that the Covid test produces “false positives” and does not indicate infection with Covid. Dr. Yeadon said that we are basing a government policy, an economic policy, and a civil liberties policy on “what may well be completely fake data on this coronavirus.” According to Dr.Yeadon, a “second wave” and “any government case for lockdowns, given the well-known principles of epidemiology, will be entirely manufactured”.
It is clear that the Covid threat was overestimated at great cost. The Belgian medical profession has demanded a halt to the Covid propaganda.
Of course Big Pharma and its shills such as Fauci, Redfield, and the presstitutes, will continue to keep the “Covid Crisis” alive as it is essential to Big Pharma’s vaccine profits, the Democrats’ color revolution against President Trump, and the training of populations to accept more government control over their lives.
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts


Learning From Fidel

Fidel Castro was the longest-reigning political leader of the twentieth century .
How did this one-time law student/protestor pull this off ?
Well , as a protesting student , he made every mistake in the book , with particular emphasis on egotistically wanting always to be at the forefront and getting all the press .
His efforts were never well-thought through .
He got by mostly on zeal and braggadocio .
Then , as an armed revolutionary , his first effort was an ill-conceived attempt to take over a fortified army barracks , which failed miserably , landing him in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... Fontova , Humberto Best Price : $ 10.57 Buy New $ 16.87 Having gained a pardon , he went into exile in Mexico , then foolishly sailed an overloaded boat to Cuba in questionable weather along with his co-conspirators .
Luckily , he made it to the southeast coast but was promptly set upon by waiting government forces .
Unlike many of his comrades , he escaped to the Sierra Madre , from where he accomplished only the occasional raid in the eastern cities .
Mister Castro , by any measure , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ success as a revolutionary .
But something else was working for him .
The Cuban people were more than ready for a change .
They were sick of leaders who subjugated Cuba to the American sugar interests , chronically impoverishing a third of the Cuban people .
They were willing to take a chance on virtually anyone who opposed the much-derided Fulgencio Batista , and when the revolutionaries marched to Havana , not only the townspeople along the way , but much of the military , joined them .
Mister Batista didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He simply got on a plane , looting the Treasury on his way out , and never returned .
As a national leader , Fidel had major shortcomings .
He was impatient , a poor planner and had an almost childlike inability to understand economics and money management .
Fidel : Hollywood & rsquo ... Fontova , Humberto Best Price : $ 1.49 Buy New $ 12.99 By all rights , this was a character who should , at best , have enjoyed a brief term as leader – to be replaced after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So how is it that he survived to become the longest-ruling political leader in the world and , perhaps more importantly , what does that mean to us today in our own fragmenting world ?
Well , in addition to his personal shortcomings , he did have some very strong talents .
He was very skilled at marketing and knew how to spin events to his advantage .
One of the first occasions on which this was revealed was when , some months after the revolution , counterinsurgencies took place .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been , and although they never developed enough to be a major threat , they did provoke him to announce to the Cuban people that the revolution was ongoing , that the new government must remain armed and ready at all times and never let down their guard .
This resulted in the Cuban people accepting the notion that the police state that existed after the revolution was justified for as long as it proved necessary .
As the Cuba-based counterinsurgencies waned , several US-organised attempts to take out Fidel occurred , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to thumb the collective Cuban nose at the Great US Empire and get away with it .
Each time , he was cheered on by his people .
Exposing the Real Che ... Fontova , Humberto Best Price : $ 2.00 Buy New $ 9.72 At some point along the way , Mister Castro realised that the endless promotion of a continued revolution could allow him to make use of martial law indefinitely – a situation that would not normally be tolerated by a nation of people after the threat was gone .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ US attempts to assassinate him died down , he came up with his own theatrical events to extend the need for military posturing .
In later years , it was not uncommon to wake up in the morning in Havana , drive along the Malecon , and see that , during the night , heavy artillery emplacements had been installed along the avenue .
The following day , in reading the national newspaper , Granma , an explanation would be offered .
The front-page article would describe yet another attempt by the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reinstall the capitalists that had once ruled Cuba .
The article would state that Fidel ’ s operatives were once again successful in finding out about the intended invasion ahead of time and , overnight , preparing for the invasion , ruining its chances .
Once again , the Great US Empire had been outsmarted by Fidel .
Whilst such theatrical events may seem rather transparent to those outside Cuba , they were very effective locally .
First , they created great pride in Cubans that their small island could take on such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after time .
Against All Hope : A Me ... Armando Valladares Best Price : $ 2.55 Buy New $ 8.86 Second , they kept the Cuban people reminded that their leader had an exceptional ability retaliate against counterrevolutionary action at a moment ’ s notice .
Whilst we can imagine that the theatrical events may possibly have taken weeks of preparation , Cubans saw only the results – overnight emplacement of artillery .
This also served a more subtle , but perhaps more important purpose : To this day , the Cuban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the streets to be reminded that their government is not to be trifled with .
Such presence today is less prominent than , say , in the US , and even police presence is not only less than in the US , but for the most part more benign .
But Cubans have been programmed to behave themselves .
From that time on , Fidel Castro lived in his fortified compound outside Havana , in a comfort similar to that of a Columbian drug lord .
At home , he often wore flowered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in public , he wore military fatigues .
He understood that , in the eyes of the Cuban people , the revolution must be ongoing , in order to maintain the totalitarian government on a permanent basis .
The US has , until recently , been mostly peaceful .
Yet , Americans now witness violence in the streets every day on the evening news .
Pundits on such programmes ask , “ What can be done to return America ’ s communities to safety and peace ?
” The obvious answer would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal government step in .
And a marketing-conscious government may well use this anomaly to justify federally ordered force .
It matters little who ’ s killed in the riots , whether it be police , rioters or bystanders .
Once martial law is introduced , it should not be surprising if the problem of violence never quite goes away – if the “ temporary ” police state becomes permanent , in the name of “ safety.
” It may be that Americans will discover that the cure is more threatening than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s success is an accurate example of how this will turn out , the reign of the post-2020 government may well be not only tyrannical , but long-lived .

Fidel Castro was the longest-reigning political leader of the twentieth century. How did this one-time law student/protestor pull this off?
Well, as a protesting student, he made every mistake in the book, with particular emphasis on egotistically wanting always to be at the forefront and getting all the press.
His efforts were never well-thought through. He got by mostly on zeal and braggadocio.
Then, as an armed revolutionary, his first effort was an ill-conceived attempt to take over a fortified army barracks, which failed miserably, landing him in prison. The Longest Romance: T... Fontova, Humberto Best Price: $10.57 Buy New $16.87 (as of 06:08 UTC - Details)
Having gained a pardon, he went into exile in Mexico, then foolishly sailed an overloaded boat to Cuba in questionable weather along with his co-conspirators. Luckily, he made it to the southeast coast but was promptly set upon by waiting government forces. Unlike many of his comrades, he escaped to the Sierra Madre, from where he accomplished only the occasional raid in the eastern cities.
Mister Castro, by any measure, was an unlikely candidate to become a success as a revolutionary.
But something else was working for him. The Cuban people were more than ready for a change. They were sick of leaders who subjugated Cuba to the American sugar interests, chronically impoverishing a third of the Cuban people.
They were willing to take a chance on virtually anyone who opposed the much-derided Fulgencio Batista, and when the revolutionaries marched to Havana, not only the townspeople along the way, but much of the military, joined them.
Mister Batista didn’t even put up a fight. He simply got on a plane, looting the Treasury on his way out, and never returned.
As a national leader, Fidel had major shortcomings. He was impatient, a poor planner and had an almost childlike inability to understand economics and money management. Fidel: Hollywood&rsquo... Fontova, Humberto Best Price: $1.49 Buy New $12.99 (as of 11:15 UTC - Details)
By all rights, this was a character who should, at best, have enjoyed a brief term as leader – to be replaced after the dust had settled on the revolution.
So how is it that he survived to become the longest-ruling political leader in the world and, perhaps more importantly, what does that mean to us today in our own fragmenting world?
Well, in addition to his personal shortcomings, he did have some very strong talents. He was very skilled at marketing and knew how to spin events to his advantage.
One of the first occasions on which this was revealed was when, some months after the revolution, counterinsurgencies took place.
They were guerrilla-based, as his own revolution had been, and although they never developed enough to be a major threat, they did provoke him to announce to the Cuban people that the revolution was ongoing, that the new government must remain armed and ready at all times and never let down their guard.
This resulted in the Cuban people accepting the notion that the police state that existed after the revolution was justified for as long as it proved necessary.
As the Cuba-based counterinsurgencies waned, several US-organised attempts to take out Fidel occurred, each one failing. This allowed him to thumb the collective Cuban nose at the Great US Empire and get away with it. Each time, he was cheered on by his people.
Exposing the Real Che ... Fontova, Humberto Best Price: $2.00 Buy New $9.72 (as of 04:40 UTC - Details) At some point along the way, Mister Castro realised that the endless promotion of a continued revolution could allow him to make use of martial law indefinitely – a situation that would not normally be tolerated by a nation of people after the threat was gone.
This worked so well that, as US attempts to assassinate him died down, he came up with his own theatrical events to extend the need for military posturing.
In later years, it was not uncommon to wake up in the morning in Havana, drive along the Malecon, and see that, during the night, heavy artillery emplacements had been installed along the avenue. The following day, in reading the national newspaper, Granma, an explanation would be offered.
The front-page article would describe yet another attempt by the US government to overthrow the Cuban government and reinstall the capitalists that had once ruled Cuba.
The article would state that Fidel’s operatives were once again successful in finding out about the intended invasion ahead of time and, overnight, preparing for the invasion, ruining its chances. Once again, the Great US Empire had been outsmarted by Fidel.
Whilst such theatrical events may seem rather transparent to those outside Cuba, they were very effective locally.
First, they created great pride in Cubans that their small island could take on such a major power and outfox them time after time. Against All Hope: A Me... Armando Valladares Best Price: $2.55 Buy New $8.86 (as of 06:08 UTC - Details)
Second, they kept the Cuban people reminded that their leader had an exceptional ability retaliate against counterrevolutionary action at a moment’s notice.
Whilst we can imagine that the theatrical events may possibly have taken weeks of preparation, Cubans saw only the results – overnight emplacement of artillery.
This also served a more subtle, but perhaps more important purpose: To this day, the Cuban people need very little military presence on the streets to be reminded that their government is not to be trifled with. Such presence today is less prominent than, say, in the US, and even police presence is not only less than in the US, but for the most part more benign. But Cubans have been programmed to behave themselves.
From that time on, Fidel Castro lived in his fortified compound outside Havana, in a comfort similar to that of a Columbian drug lord. At home, he often wore flowered shirts, but whenever he was seen in public, he wore military fatigues. He understood that, in the eyes of the Cuban people, the revolution must be ongoing, in order to maintain the totalitarian government on a permanent basis.
The US has, until recently, been mostly peaceful. Yet, Americans now witness violence in the streets every day on the evening news. Pundits on such programmes ask, “What can be done to return America’s communities to safety and peace?”
The obvious answer would be for the populace to demand that the federal government step in. And a marketing-conscious government may well use this anomaly to justify federally ordered force.
It matters little who’s killed in the riots, whether it be police, rioters or bystanders. Once martial law is introduced, it should not be surprising if the problem of violence never quite goes away – if the “temporary” police state becomes permanent, in the name of “safety.”
It may be that Americans will discover that the cure is more threatening than the illness. And if Mister Castro’s success is an accurate example of how this will turn out, the reign of the post-2020 government may well be not only tyrannical, but long-lived.
Reprinted with permission from International Man.