lewrockwell--2020-05-13--The Real Lord of the Flies

The Real Lord of the Flies

For centuries western culture has been permeated by the idea that humans are selfish creatures .
That cynical image of humanity has been proclaimed in films and novels , history books and scientific research .
But in the last 20 years , something extraordinary has happened .
Scientists from all over the world have switched to a more hopeful view of mankind .
This development is still so young that researchers in different fields often don ’ t even know about each other .
When I started writing a book about this more hopeful view , I knew there was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It takes place on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific .
A plane has just gone down .
The only survivors are some British schoolboys , who can ’ t believe their good fortune .
Nothing but beach , shells and water for miles .
And better yet : no grownups .
Lord of the Flies William Golding Best Price : $ 0.25 Buy New $ 5.30 On the very first day , the boys institute a democracy of sorts .
One boy , Ralph , is elected to be the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charismatic and handsome , his game plan is simple : 1 ) Have fun .
2 ) Survive .
3 ) Make smoke signals for passing ships .
Number one is a success .
The others ?
Not so much .
The boys are more interested in feasting and frolicking than in tending the fire .
Before long , they have begun painting their faces .
Casting off their clothes .
And they develop overpowering urges – to pinch , to kick , to bite .
By the time a British naval officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smouldering wasteland .
Three of the children are dead .
“ I should have thought , ” the officer says , “ that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that.
” At this , Ralph bursts into tears .
“ Ralph wept for the end of innocence , ” we read , and for “ the darkness of man ’ s heart ” .
This story never happened .
An English schoolmaster , William Golding , made up this story in 1951 – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sell tens of millions of copies , be translated into more than 30 languages and hailed as one of the classics of the 20th century .
In hindsight , the secret to the book ’ s success is clear .
Golding had a masterful ability to portray the darkest depths of mankind .
Of course , he had the zeitgeist of the 1960s on his side , when a new generation was questioning its parents about the atrocities of the second world war .
Had Auschwitz been an anomaly , they wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hiding in each of us ?
Lord of the Flies William Golding Best Price : $ 0.25 Buy New $ 5.30 I first read Lord of the Flies as a teenager .
I remember feeling disillusioned afterwards , but not for a second did I think to doubt Golding ’ s view of human nature .
That didn ’ t happen until years later when I began delving into the author ’ s life .
I learned what an unhappy individual he had been : an alcoholic , prone to depression ; a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have always understood the Nazis , ” Golding confessed , “ because I am of that sort by nature.
” And it was “ partly out of that sad self-knowledge ” that he wrote Lord of the Flies .
I began to wonder : had anyone ever studied what real children would do if they found themselves alone on a deserted island ?
I wrote an article on the subject , in which I compared Lord of the Flies to modern scientific insights and concluded that , in all probability , kids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sceptically .
All my examples concerned kids at home , at school , or at summer camp .
Thus began my quest for a real-life Lord of the Flies .
After trawling the web for a while , I came across an obscure blog that told an arresting story : “ One day , in 1977 , six boys set out from Tonga on a fishing trip … Caught in a huge storm , the boys were shipwrecked on a deserted island .
What do they do , this little tribe ?
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ”

For centuries western culture has been permeated by the idea that humans are selfish creatures. That cynical image of humanity has been proclaimed in films and novels, history books and scientific research. But in the last 20 years, something extraordinary has happened. Scientists from all over the world have switched to a more hopeful view of mankind. This development is still so young that researchers in different fields often don’t even know about each other.
When I started writing a book about this more hopeful view, I knew there was one story I would have to address. It takes place on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific. A plane has just gone down. The only survivors are some British schoolboys, who can’t believe their good fortune. Nothing but beach, shells and water for miles. And better yet: no grownups.
On the very first day, the boys institute a democracy of sorts. One boy, Ralph, is elected to be the group’s leader. Athletic, charismatic and handsome, his game plan is simple: 1) Have fun. 2) Survive. 3) Make smoke signals for passing ships. Number one is a success. The others? Not so much. The boys are more interested in feasting and frolicking than in tending the fire. Before long, they have begun painting their faces. Casting off their clothes. And they develop overpowering urges – to pinch, to kick, to bite.
By the time a British naval officer comes ashore, the island is a smouldering wasteland. Three of the children are dead. “I should have thought,” the officer says, “that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that.” At this, Ralph bursts into tears. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence,” we read, and for “the darkness of man’s heart”.
Golding had a masterful ability to portray the darkest depths of mankind
This story never happened. An English schoolmaster, William Golding, made up this story in 1951 – his novel Lord of the Flies would sell tens of millions of copies, be translated into more than 30 languages and hailed as one of the classics of the 20th century. In hindsight, the secret to the book’s success is clear. Golding had a masterful ability to portray the darkest depths of mankind. Of course, he had the zeitgeist of the 1960s on his side, when a new generation was questioning its parents about the atrocities of the second world war. Had Auschwitz been an anomaly, they wanted to know, or is there a Nazi hiding in each of us?
I first read Lord of the Flies as a teenager. I remember feeling disillusioned afterwards, but not for a second did I think to doubt Golding’s view of human nature. That didn’t happen until years later when I began delving into the author’s life. I learned what an unhappy individual he had been: an alcoholic, prone to depression. “I have always understood the Nazis,” Golding confessed, “because I am of that sort by nature.” And it was “partly out of that sad self-knowledge” that he wrote Lord of the Flies.
I began to wonder: had anyone ever studied what real children would do if they found themselves alone on a deserted island? I wrote an article on the subject, in which I compared Lord of the Flies to modern scientific insights and concluded that, in all probability, kids would act very differently. Readers responded sceptically. All my examples concerned kids at home, at school, or at summer camp. Thus began my quest for a real-life Lord of the Flies. After trawling the web for a while, I came across an obscure blog that told an arresting story: “One day, in 1977, six boys set out from Tonga on a fishing trip ... Caught in a huge storm, the boys were shipwrecked on a deserted island. What do they do, this little tribe? They made a pact never to quarrel.”
The article did not provide any sources. But sometimes all it takes is a stroke of luck. Sifting through a newspaper archive one day, I typed a year incorrectly and there it was. The reference to 1977 turned out to have been a typo. In the 6 October 1966 edition of Australian newspaper The Age, a headline jumped out at me: “Sunday showing for Tongan castaways”. The story concerned six boys who had been found three weeks earlier on a rocky islet south of Tonga, an island group in the Pacific Ocean. The boys had been rescued by an Australian sea captain after being marooned on the island of ‘Ata for more than a year. According to the article, the captain had even got a television station to film a re-enactment of the boys’ adventure.
I was bursting with questions. Were the boys still alive? And could I find the television footage? Most importantly, though, I had a lead: the captain’s name was Peter Warner. When I searched for him, I had another stroke of luck. In a recent issue of a tiny local paper from Mackay, Australia, I came across the headline: “Mates share 50-year bond”. Printed alongside was a small photograph of two men, smiling, one with his arm slung around the other. The article began: “Deep in a banana plantation at Tullera, near Lismore, sit an unlikely pair of mates ... The elder is 83 years old, the son of a wealthy industrialist. The younger, 67, was, literally, a child of nature.” Their names? Peter Warner and Mano Totau. And where had they met? On a deserted island.
My wife Maartje and I rented a car in Brisbane and some three hours later arrived at our destination, a spot in the middle of nowhere that stumped Google Maps. Yet there he was, sitting out in front of a low-slung house off the dirt road: the man who rescued six lost boys 50 years ago, Captain Peter Warner.
Savagery in the 1963 film adaptation of Lord of the Flies. Photograph: Ronald Grant
Peter was the youngest son of Arthur Warner, once one of the richest and most powerful men in Australia. Back in the 1930s, Arthur ruled over a vast empire called Electronic Industries, which dominated the country’s radio market at the time. Peter was groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps. Instead, at the age of 17, he ran away to sea in search of adventure and spent the next few years sailing from Hong Kong to Stockholm, Shanghai to St Petersburg. When he finally returned five years later, the prodigal son proudly presented his father with a Swedish captain’s certificate. Unimpressed, Warner Sr demanded his son learn a useful profession. “What’s easiest?” Peter asked. “Accountancy,” Arthur lied.
Peter went to work for his father’s company, yet the sea still beckoned, and whenever he could he went to Tasmania, where he kept his own fishing fleet. It was this that brought him to Tonga in the winter of 1966. On the way home he took a little detour and that’s when he saw it: a minuscule island in the azure sea, ‘Ata. The island had been inhabited once, until one dark day in 1863, when a slave ship appeared on the horizon and sailed off with the natives. Since then, ‘Ata had been deserted – cursed and forgotten.
It didn’t take long for the first boy to reach the boat. 'My name is Stephen,' he cried. 'We've been here 15 months.'
But Peter noticed something odd. Peering through his binoculars, he saw burned patches on the green cliffs. “In the tropics it’s unusual for fires to start spontaneously,” he told us, a half century later. Then he saw a boy. Naked. Hair down to his shoulders. This wild creature leaped from the cliffside and plunged into the water. Suddenly more boys followed, screaming at the top of their lungs. It didn’t take long for the first boy to reach the boat. “My name is Stephen,” he cried in perfect English. “There are six of us and we reckon we’ve been here 15 months.”
The boys, once aboard, claimed they were students at a boarding school in Nuku‘alofa, the Tongan capital. Sick of school meals, they had decided to take a fishing boat out one day, only to get caught in a storm. Likely story, Peter thought. Using his two-way radio, he called in to Nuku‘alofa. “I’ve got six kids here,” he told the operator. “Stand by,” came the response. Twenty minutes ticked by. (As Peter tells this part of the story, he gets a little misty-eyed.) Finally, a very tearful operator came on the radio, and said: “You found them! These boys have been given up for dead. Funerals have been held. If it’s them, this is a miracle!”
In the months that followed I tried to reconstruct as precisely as possible what had happened on ‘Ata. Peter’s memory turned out to be excellent. Even at the age of 90, everything he recounted was consistent with my foremost other source, Mano, 15 years old at the time and now pushing 70, who lived just a few hours’ drive from him. The real Lord of the Flies, Mano told us, began in June 1965. The protagonists were six boys – Sione, Stephen, Kolo, David, Luke and Mano – all pupils at a strict Catholic boarding school in Nuku‘alofa. The oldest was 16, the youngest 13, and they had one main thing in common: they were bored witless. So they came up with a plan to escape: to Fiji, some 500 miles away, or even all the way to New Zealand.
There was only one obstacle. None of them owned a boat, so they decided to “borrow” one from Mr Taniela Uhila, a fisherman they all disliked. The boys took little time to prepare for the voyage. Two sacks of bananas, a few coconuts and a small gas burner were all the supplies they packed. It didn’t occur to any of them to bring a map, let alone a compass.
The boys had set up a commune with food garden, gym, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire
No one noticed the small craft leaving the harbour that evening. Skies were fair; only a mild breeze ruffled the calm sea. But that night the boys made a grave error. They fell asleep. A few hours later they awoke to water crashing down over their heads. It was dark. They hoisted the sail, which the wind promptly tore to shreds. Next to break was the rudder. “We drifted for eight days,” Mano told me. “Without food. Without water.” The boys tried catching fish. They managed to collect some rainwater in hollowed-out coconut shells and shared it equally between them, each taking a sip in the morning and another in the evening.
Then, on the eighth day, they spied a miracle on the horizon. A small island, to be precise. Not a tropical paradise with waving palm trees and sandy beaches, but a hulking mass of rock, jutting up more than a thousand feet out of the ocean. These days, ‘Ata is considered uninhabitable. But “by the time we arrived,” Captain Warner wrote in his memoirs, “the boys had set up a small commune with food garden, hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire, all from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination.” While the boys in Lord of the Flies come to blows over the fire, those in this real-life version tended their flame so it never went out, for more than a year.
Mr Peter Warner, third from left, with his crew in 1968, including the survivors from ‘Ata. Photograph: Fairfax Media Archives/via Getty Images
The kids agreed to work in teams of two, drawing up a strict roster for garden, kitchen and guard duty. Sometimes they quarrelled, but whenever that happened they solved it by imposing a time-out. Their days began and ended with song and prayer. Kolo fashioned a makeshift guitar from a piece of driftwood, half a coconut shell and six steel wires salvaged from their wrecked boat – an instrument Peter has kept all these years – and played it to help lift their spirits. And their spirits needed lifting. All summer long it hardly rained, driving the boys frantic with thirst. They tried constructing a raft in order to leave the island, but it fell apart in the crashing surf.
Worst of all, Stephen slipped one day, fell off a cliff and broke his leg. The other boys picked their way down after him and then helped him back up to the top. They set his leg using sticks and leaves. “Don’t worry,” Sione joked. “We’ll do your work, while you lie there like King Taufa‘ahau Tupou himself!”
They survived initially on fish, coconuts, tame birds (they drank the blood as well as eating the meat); seabird eggs were sucked dry. Later, when they got to the top of the island, they found an ancient volcanic crater, where people had lived a century before. There the boys discovered wild taro, bananas and chickens (which had been reproducing for the 100 years since the last Tongans had left).
When they arrived home, they found the police waiting to meet them. They were arrested and thrown in jail
They were finally rescued on Sunday 11 September 1966. The local physician later expressed astonishment at their muscled physiques and Stephen’s perfectly healed leg. But this wasn’t the end of the boys’ little adventure, because, when they arrived back in Nuku‘alofa police boarded Peter’s boat, arrested the boys and threw them in jail. Mr Taniela Uhila, whose sailing boat the boys had “borrowed” 15 months earlier, was still furious, and he’d decided to press charges.
Fortunately for the boys, Peter came up with a plan. It occurred to him that the story of their shipwreck was perfect Hollywood material. And being his father’s corporate accountant, Peter managed the company’s film rights and knew people in TV. So from Tonga, he called up the manager of Channel 7 in Sydney. “You can have the Australian rights,” he told them. “Give me the world rights.” Next, Peter paid Mr Uhila £150 for his old boat, and got the boys released on condition that they would cooperate with the movie. A few days later, a team from Channel 7 arrived.
The mood when the boys returned to their families in Tonga was jubilant. Almost the entire island of Haʻafeva – population 900 – had turned out to welcome them home. Peter was proclaimed a national hero. Soon he received a message from King Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV himself, inviting the captain for an audience. “Thank you for rescuing six of my subjects,” His Royal Highness said. “Now, is there anything I can do for you?” The captain didn’t have to think long. “Yes! I would like to trap lobster in these waters and start a business here.” The king consented. Peter returned to Sydney, resigned from his father’s company and commissioned a new ship. Then he had the six boys brought over and granted them the thing that had started it all: an opportunity to see the world beyond Tonga. He hired them as the crew of his new fishing boat.
While the boys of ‘Ata have been consigned to obscurity, Golding’s book is still widely read. Media historians even credit him as being the unwitting originator of one of the most popular entertainment genres on television today: reality TV. “I read and reread Lord of the Flies ,” divulged the creator of hit series Survivor in an interview.It’s time we told a different kind of story. The real Lord of the Flies is a tale of friendship and loyalty; one that illustrates how much stronger we are if we can lean on each other. After my wife took Peter’s picture, he turned to a cabinet and rummaged around for a bit, then drew out a heavy stack of papers that he laid in my hands. His memoirs, he explained, written for his children and grandchildren. I looked down at the first page. “Life has taught me a great deal,” it began, “including the lesson that you should always look for what is good and positive in people.”
This is an adapted excerpt from Rutger Bregman’s Humankind, translated by Elizabeth Manton and Erica Moore. A live streamed Q&A with Bregman and Owen Jones takes place at 7pm on 19 May 2020.


lewrockwell--2020-05-13--Coronavirus and Dodgy Death Numbers

Coronavirus and Dodgy Death Numbers

Not only are the coronavirus models being used by WHO and the most national health agencies based on highly dubious methodologies , and not only are the tests being used of wildly different quality , that only indirectly confirm antibodies of a possible COVID-19 illness .
Now the actual designations of deaths related to coronavirus are being revealed to be equally problematic for a variety of reasons .
It gives alarming food for thought as to the wisdom of deliberately putting most of the world ’ s people–and with it the world economy–into Gulag-style lockdown on the argument it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of hospital emergency services .
When we take a closer look at the definitions used in various countries for “ death related to COVID-19 ” we get a far different picture of what is claimed to be the deadliest plague to threaten mankind since the 1918 “ Spanish Flu.
” Google Archipelago : Th ... Michael Rectenwald Best Price : $ 4.99 Buy New $ 8.77 Right now the USA is said to be the nation with far the largest number of COVID-19 deaths , as of this writing , with media reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here is where it gets very dodgy .
The Government agency responsible for making the cause of death tally for the country , the CDC , is making huge changes in how they count so-called novel coronavirus deaths .
As of May 5 , the National Center for Health Statistics ( NCHS ) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta , the central agency recording cause of death nationwide , reported 39,910 COVID-19 deaths .
A footnote defines this as “ Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19.
” How a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaves huge latitude to the hospital and health professionals .
Although the coronavirus tests are known to be subject to false results , CDC states that even where no tests have been made a doctor can “ presume ” COVID-19 .
Useful to note for perspective is the number of USA deaths recorded from all causes in the same period of February 1 through May 2 , that was 751,953 .
Now it gets more murky .
The CDC posted this notice : “ As of April 14 , 2020 , CDC case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and probable cases and deaths.
” From that time the number of so-called COVID-19 deaths in USA has exploded in an alarming manner it would appear .
On that day , April 14 , New York City ’ s coronavirus death toll was revised with a major 3,700 fatalities added , with the provision that the count now included “ people who had never tested positive for the virus but were presumed to have it.
” The CDC now defines confirmed as “ confirmatory laboratory evidence for COVID-19 , ” which as we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but at least tests .
Then they define “ probable ” as “ with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19.
” Just a guess of the doctor in charge .
Now leaving aside the major discrepancy between the CDC headline COVID-19 deaths as of May 5 of 68,279 and their detailed total of 39,910 deaths for the same period , we find another problem .
Hospitals and doctors are being told to list COVID-19 as cause of death even if , say , a patient age 83 with pre-existing diabetes or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without COVID-19 tests .
The CDC advises , “ In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID can not be made but is suspected or likely ( e.g .
the circumstances are compelling with a reasonable degree of certainty ) it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as ‘ probable ’ or ‘ presumed.
’ ” This opens the door ridiculously wide for abuse of coronavirus death numbers in the United States .
A provision in the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act , known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ major incentive for hospitals in the US , most all of them private for-profit concerns , to deem newly-admitted patients as “ presumed COVID-19.
” By this simple method the hospital then qualifies for a substantially larger payment from the government Medicare insurance , the national insurance for those over 65 .
The word “ presumed ” is not scientific , not at all precise but very tempting for hospitals concerned about their income in this crisis .
Dr Summer McGhee , Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mary ’ s Monke ... Haslam , Edward T. Best Price : $ 11.15 Buy New $ 10.00 Then , according to a Minnesota medical doctor , Scott Jensen , also a State Senator , if that COVID-19 designated patient is put on a ventilator , even if only presumed to have COVID-19 , the hospital can get reimbursed three times the sum from the Medicare .
Dr Jensen told a national TV interviewer , Little wonder that states such as Massachusetts suddenly began backdating cause of death totals back to March 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo began demanding 30,000 ventilators and emergency equipment around the same early April time , equipment that was not needed .
In short , the COVID-19 death statistics in the USA are highly dubious for a variety of reasons , not least huge financial incentives to hospital administrators who had been told to cancel all other operations to make extra room for a predicted flood of coronavirus ill. That rising death toll said to be “ COVID-19 or presumed ” impacts the decisions to lock down the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic of unparalleled dimension .
Not only are USA COVID-19 death numbers open to serious question .
If we look closely most major countries have equally dubious data .
Until recently one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the EU was Italy where outbreaks have been concentrated in the Lombardy and adjacent regions of the industrial north .
Here again the definition of cause of death has been fuzzy .
A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a group of Italian doctors who analyzed the alarming high covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities made detailed case examination of a sample of 355 covid-19 “ presumed ” deaths , they found that the mean age was 79.5 years .
“ In this sample , 117 patients ( 30 % ) had ischemic heart disease , 126 ( 35.5 % ) had diabetes , 72 ( 20.3 % ) had active cancer , 87 ( 24.5 % ) had atrial fibrillation , 24 ( 6.8 % ) had dementia , and 34 ( 9.6 % ) had a history of stroke .
The mean number of preexisting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 patients ( 0.8 % ) had no diseases.
” That means that of the sample 99.2 % had other serious illnesses .
American Conspiracies ... Cirignano , Douglas Best Price : $ 5.04 Buy New $ 13.75 In Italy , the persons who tested positive for COVID-19 , regardless of preexisting serious illness , were listed as COVID-19 fatalities .
Italy has the EU ’ S oldest population on average and the worst air pollution in the EU , especially in the Lombardy region .
From the first case in early February @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 deaths .
This is more than the total of deaths in 2017 attributed to influenza and/or pneumonia which was reported 25,000 .
The reason for the apparent spike should be seriously investigated , but reports of panic among hospital workers over the shutdown declaration by the Conte government , with thousands reportedly fleeing Italy for their home countries in Poland or elsewhere , might have also played a role .
On March 31 a report from northern Italy stated , “ In recent weeks , most of the Eastern European nurses who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days a week supporting people in need of care in Italy have left the country in a hurry .
This is not least because of the panic-mongering and the curfews and border closures threatened by the ‘ emergency governments.
’ “ In many countries the picture is one of a predominately mild influenza-like infection with comparable death rates .
The lack of uniformly agreed tests and the inaccuracies of many tests used , as well as the extremely doubtful criteria for declaring a cause of death as being “ from ” COVID-19 suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reexamine the unprecedented lockdown measures , social distancing , possible mandatory vaccines of unproven effect , all of which are creating what is becoming the worst economic depression since the 1930 ’ s .
Limits to Medicine : Me ... Illich , Ivan Best Price : $ 8.93 Buy New $ 13.03 Master Manipulator : Th ... James Ottar Grundvig Best Price : $ 14.15 Buy New $ 17.78 The HPV Vaccine On Tri ... Iorio , Eileen Best Price : $ 12.95 Buy New $ 12.03

Not only are the coronavirus models being used by WHO and the most national health agencies based on highly dubious methodologies, and not only are the tests being used of wildly different quality, that only indirectly confirm antibodies of a possible COVID-19 illness. Now the actual designations of deaths related to coronavirus are being revealed to be equally problematic for a variety of reasons. It gives alarming food for thought as to the wisdom of deliberately putting most of the world’s people–and with it the world economy–into Gulag-style lockdown on the argument it is necessary to contain deaths and prevent overloading of hospital emergency services.
When we take a closer look at the definitions used in various countries for “death related to COVID-19” we get a far different picture of what is claimed to be the deadliest plague to threaten mankind since the 1918 “Spanish Flu.”
The USA and CDC definitions
Google Archipelago: Th... Michael Rectenwald Best Price: $4.99 Buy New $8.77 (as of 11:20 UTC - Details) Right now the USA is said to be the nation with far the largest number of COVID-19 deaths, as of this writing, with media reporting some 68,000 “Covid-19” deaths. Here is where it gets very dodgy. The Government agency responsible for making the cause of death tally for the country, the CDC, is making huge changes in how they count so-called novel coronavirus deaths.
As of May 5, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the central agency recording cause of death nationwide, reported 39,910 COVID-19 deaths. A footnote defines this as “Deaths with confirmed or presumed COVID-19.” How a doctor makes the “presumed” judgment leaves huge latitude to the hospital and health professionals. Although the coronavirus tests are known to be subject to false results, CDC states that even where no tests have been made a doctor can “presume” COVID-19. Useful to note for perspective is the number of USA deaths recorded from all causes in the same period of February 1 through May 2, that was 751,953.
Now it gets more murky. The CDC posted this notice: “As of April 14, 2020, CDC case counts and death counts include both confirmed and probable cases and deaths.” From that time the number of so-called COVID-19 deaths in USA has exploded in an alarming manner it would appear. On that day, April 14, New York City’s coronavirus death toll was revised with a major 3,700 fatalities added, with the provision that the count now included “people who had never tested positive for the virus but were presumed to have it.” The CDC now defines confirmed as “confirmatory laboratory evidence for COVID-19,” which as we noted elsewhere included tests of dubious precision, but at least tests. Then they define “probable” as “with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19.” Just a guess of the doctor in charge.
Now leaving aside the major discrepancy between the CDC headline COVID-19 deaths as of May 5 of 68,279 and their detailed total of 39,910 deaths for the same period, we find another problem. Hospitals and doctors are being told to list COVID-19 as cause of death even if, say, a patient age 83 with pre-existing diabetes or cardiac issues or pneumonia dies with or without COVID-19 tests. The CDC advises, “In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID cannot be made but is suspected or likely (e.g. the circumstances are compelling with a reasonable degree of certainty) it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate as ‘probable’ or ‘presumed.’” This opens the door ridiculously wide for abuse of coronavirus death numbers in the United States.
A Big Money Incentive
A provision in the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act, gives a major incentive for hospitals in the US, most all of them private for-profit concerns, to deem newly-admitted patients as “presumed COVID-19.” By this simple method the hospital then qualifies for a substantially larger payment from the government Medicare insurance, the national insurance for those over 65. The word “presumed” is not scientific, not at all precise but very tempting for hospitals concerned about their income in this crisis.
Dr Summer McGhee, Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven, notes that, Dr. Mary’s Monke... Haslam, Edward T. Best Price: $11.15 Buy New $10.00 (as of 11:10 UTC - Details)
“The CARES Act authorized a temporary 20 percent increase in reimbursements from Medicare for COVID-19 patients…” He added that, as a result, “hospitals that get a lot of COVID-19 patients also get extra money from the government.”
Then, according to a Minnesota medical doctor, Scott Jensen, also a State Senator, if that COVID-19 designated patient is put on a ventilator, even if only presumed to have COVID-19, the hospital can get reimbursed three times the sum from the Medicare. Dr Jensen told a national TV interviewer,
“Right now Medicare is determining that if you have a COVID-19 admission to the hospital you get $13,000. If that COVID-19 patient goes on a ventilator you get $39,000, three times as much.”
Little wonder that states such as Massachusetts suddenly began backdating cause of death totals back to March 30, significantly inflating COVID death numbers, or that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo began demanding 30,000 ventilators and emergency equipment around the same early April time, equipment that was not needed.
In short, the COVID-19 death statistics in the USA are highly dubious for a variety of reasons, not least huge financial incentives to hospital administrators who had been told to cancel all other operations to make extra room for a predicted flood of coronavirus ill. That rising death toll said to be “COVID-19 or presumed” impacts the decisions to lock down the economy and in effect create an economic pandemic of unparalleled dimension.
Italy COVID deaths?
Not only are USA COVID-19 death numbers open to serious question. If we look closely most major countries have equally dubious data. Until recently one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the EU was Italy where outbreaks have been concentrated in the Lombardy and adjacent regions of the industrial north. Here again the definition of cause of death has been fuzzy. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a group of Italian doctors who analyzed the alarming high covid-19 figures pointed out that when state medical authorities made detailed case examination of a sample of 355 covid-19 “presumed” deaths, they found that the mean age was 79.5 years. “In this sample, 117 patients (30%) had ischemic heart disease, 126 (35.5%) had diabetes, 72 (20.3%) had active cancer, 87 (24.5%) had atrial fibrillation, 24 (6.8%) had dementia, and 34 (9.6%) had a history of stroke. The mean number of preexisting diseases was 2.7. Overall, only 3 patients (0.8%) had no diseases.” That means that of the sample 99.2% had other serious illnesses. American Conspiracies ... Cirignano, Douglas Best Price: $5.04 Buy New $13.75 (as of 03:36 UTC - Details)
In Italy, the persons who tested positive for COVID-19, regardless of preexisting serious illness, were listed as COVID-19 fatalities. Italy has the EU’S oldest population on average and the worst air pollution in the EU, especially in the Lombardy region. From the first case in early February until 6 May Italy has declared 29,315 COVID-19 deaths. This is more than the total of deaths in 2017 attributed to influenza and/or pneumonia which was reported 25,000.
The reason for the apparent spike should be seriously investigated, but reports of panic among hospital workers over the shutdown declaration by the Conte government, with thousands reportedly fleeing Italy for their home countries in Poland or elsewhere, might have also played a role. On March 31 a report from northern Italy stated, “In recent weeks, most of the Eastern European nurses who worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week supporting people in need of care in Italy have left the country in a hurry. This is not least because of the panic-mongering and the curfews and border closures threatened by the ‘emergency governments.’“
In many countries the picture is one of a predominately mild influenza-like infection with comparable death rates. The lack of uniformly agreed tests and the inaccuracies of many tests used, as well as the extremely doubtful criteria for declaring a cause of death as being “from” COVID-19 suggest that it is well past time to reexamine the unprecedented lockdown measures, social distancing, possible mandatory vaccines of unproven effect, all of which are creating what is becoming the worst economic depression since the 1930’s.
Reprinted with permission from Global Research.
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lewrockwell--2020-05-13--Bioweapon Labs Must Be Shut Down and Scientists Prosecuted

The idea that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a bioweapons laboratory is gaining traction .
May 3 , 2020 , The New York Times reported1 that during an ABC “ This Week ” interview Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had stated “ the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan.
” Pompeo also accused China of covering up the leak .
Now , if you ’ ve been following this newsletter , you ’ ve likely seen my interviews with bioweapons expert Francis Boyle and molecular biologist Judy Mikovits , both of whom have cited evidence that strongly points toward SARS-CoV-2 being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assessment that there ’ s “ no indication ” that the virus has been modified seems dubious at best .
Most likely , we ’ re not just dealing with scientific interpretations here , but with political games as well .
Bioweapon Labs Must Be Shut Down and Scientists Prosecuted Biowarfare and Terrorism Boyle , Francis Anthony Buy New $ 12.95 As noted by Boyle — professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of the book , “ Biowarfare and Terrorism , ” 3 who drafted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — what ’ s needed is a ban on biosafety level ( BSL ) 3 and 4 labs .
Time and again , serious safety breaches have been identified at laboratories working with the most lethal and dangerous pathogens in the world.4,5,6,7,8,9,10 For example , in 2014 , six glass vials of smallpox virus were accidentally found in a storeroom in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ’ s lab at the National Institutes of Health.11 It was the second time in one month mishandling of potential deadly infectious agents was exposed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention12 realized as many as 84 , and possibly 86 , of its scientists had been exposed to live anthrax.13,14 The live pathogen had been sent from another , higher-security facility , which failed to follow biosafety protocols .
The anthrax sample was supposed to have been inactivated prior to transfer , but for a variety of reasons it wasn ’ t dead on arrival .
The next year , in 2015 , the Pentagon realized a Dugway Proving Ground laboratory had been sending incompletely inactivated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) to 200 laboratories around the world for the past 12 years .
According to a Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) report15 issued in August 2016 , incompletely inactivated anthrax was sent out on at least 21 occasions between 2003 and 2015 .
Asia Times16 lists several other examples as well , as does a May 28 , 2015 , article in USA Today17 and an April 11 , 2014 , article in Slate magazine.18 In 2017 , the BSL 4 lab on Galveston Island was hit by a massive storm and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might happen were some of the pathogens kept there to get out.19 As recently as 2019 , the BSL 4 lab in Fort Detrick was temporarily shut down after several protocol violations were noted.20 In October 2014 , a U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans took effect.21 The ban came on the heels of “ high-profile lab mishaps ” at the CDC and “ extremely controversial flu experiments ” in which the bird flu virus was engineered to become more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goal was to see if it could mutate and become more lethal and contagious between humans , causing future pandemics .
However , the federal moratorium on lethal virus experiments in the U.S. was lifted at the end of December 2017.22 In 2015 , researchers announced that in their labs they had created a hybrid coronavirus similar to that of SARS that was capable of infecting both human airway cells and mice .
Lab 257 : The Disturbin ... Carroll , Michael C. Best Price : $ 3.49 Buy New $ 8.59 The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proceed , despite the moratorium , because it had begun before the moratorium was put in place — a decision criticized by Simon Wain-Hobson , a virologist at Pasteur Institute in Paris , who pointed out that “ If the [ new ] virus escaped , nobody could predict the trajectory.
” 23 Others , such as Richard Ebright , a molecular biologist and biodefence expert at Rutgers University , agreed , saying “ The only impact of this work is the creation , in a lab , of a new , non-natural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trevan , a Maryland biosafety consultant , expressed concern about viral threats potentially escaping the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory.25 As reported by The Washington Post26 and Business Insider,27 diplomatic cables sent in 2018 also warned about “ possible safety breaches at a lab in Wuhan.
” Backing dangerous coronavirus research was none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci , who now leads the White House pandemic response team .
As reported by Newsweek , April 28 , 2020:28 According to Newsweek,29 the NIAID research in question was conducted in two parts .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2019,30 focused on “ understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence.
” Initial findings31 were published in Nature Medicine in 2015 .
The program , which had a budget of $ 3.7 million , was led by Wuhan virologist Shi Zheng-Li and sought to catalogue wild bat coronaviruses .
As noted by Boyle in our interview , it also involved U.S. scientists from the University of North Carolina and Harvard.32 West Nile Virus ( Deadl ... Hecht , Alan Best Price : $ 4.62 Buy New $ 39.99 The second phase began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronaviruses along with gain-of-function research to investigate how bat coronaviruses might mutate to affect humans .
This second phase “ was run by EcoHealth Alliance , a nonprofit research group , under the direction of president Peter Daszak , an expert on disease ecology .
NIH canceled the project Friday , April 24 , 2020 ” Newsweek reports , adding:33 Fauci also defended and promoted gain-of-function research on bird flu viruses a decade ago , saying such research was worth the risk because it allows scientists to prepare for pandemics.34 In reality , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have improved governments ’ pandemic responses .
If anything , it ’ s a curious coincidence that the very viruses undergoing gain-of-function research are the ones causing pandemics .
As noted in an interesting April 24 , 2020 , Salon article35 written by independent journalist and analyst for the Institute for Public Accuracy Sam Husseini , dangerous pathogens are made even more so in laboratories around the world , and the COVID-19 pandemic really “ exposes the threat of a biowarfare arms race.
” ‘ Natural Leap ’ Explanation Is Weak at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widely-cited study37 published March 17 , 2020 , which claims to disprove a lab origin for SARS-CoV-2 .
He writes:38 One way to manipulate viruses without genetically engineering them per se is by growing them in a series of animal tissues .
This is a process used in vaccine development to speed up evolution of the virus .
As explained by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in our recent interview , the way they accelerate evolution of bat coronaviruses is by taking it from the anus of the bat and replicating it in animal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Next , the grown viruses are placed on feral monkey kidney cells , followed by mouse brain tissue .
Each time you transfer the virus to another animal tissue , you increase the risk of zoonotic animal virus contamination in addition to mutations .
According to Kennedy , six years of evolution can be accomplished in a matter of days using this accelerated evolution process .
Through this process , extremely viral forms of the virus can be rapidly created .
Husseini also points out that : Mainstream media are now trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was man-made by insisting scientists wouldn ’ t have chosen a harmless coronavirus to work with .
Live Science , for example , tried debunking the man-made virus theory , saying : Trumpocalypse : The End ... Anderson , Troy Best Price : $ 13.90 Buy New $ 15.99 Similarly , a Scripps Research press release41 states that , “ If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen , they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness.
” ‘ Natural Leap ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Evidence Meanwhile , a recent article42 in the Great Game India Journal of Geopolitics & International Relations points out that Radiotelevisione Italiana exposed China ’ s coronavirus work in a November 2015 broadcast , raising serious questions about the ethics involved .
An English transcription of the Italian broadcast reads , in part:43 In Great Game India ’ s “ COVID-19 Files , ” 44 you can find data exploring the origin of SARS-CoV-2 from five different angles , including epidemiological investigations , virus gene comparisons , cross-species infection research , intermediate hosts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Meryl Nass — who in 1992 published a paper45 in which she identified the 1978-1980 Zimbabwe anthrax outbreak as a case of biological warfare — also isn ’ t buying the all-natural argument .
In an April 2 , 2020 , blog post , she wrote:46 • Exposing microorganisms to chemical or radiological agents that cause high mutation rates and selecting for desired characteristics • Passaging virus through a number of lab animals or tissue cultures • Mixing viruses together and seeking recombinants with a new mix of virulence factors ” Tracking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted by the National Review,47 getting to the bottom of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is indeed important if we want to prevent a similar pandemic to erupt in the future .
Do You Live Near a Bioweapons Lab ?
Many are unaware of just how many BSL 3 and 4 labs there are in the world .
According to the National Review,48 BSL 4 laboratories are found in the U.S. , China , Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Canada , The Czech Republic , France , Gabon , Germany , Hungary , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Africa , Sweden , Switzerland , Taiwan and the United Kingdom .
In testimony49 about high-containment biosafety laboratories presented to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in October 2007 , Keith Rhodes , chief technologist at the Center for Technology and Engineering , points out that BSL4 labs in the U.S. increased from five to 15 between 2001 and 2007 alone , and that no one is actually responsible for tracking the proliferation of BSL 3 and 4 labs in the U.S. or determining the risks associated with them .
On top of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laboratories .
The map below was published in the journal Science50 in 2007 and reprinted in Asia Times51 April 6 , 2020 , showing the proliferation of high-containment labs in the U.S. A USA Today investigation published in 2015 put the number of BSL 3 and 4 labs in the U.S. around 200,52 and Boyle estimates there are about 400 worldwide.53 As long as we are creating the risk , the benefit will always be secondary .
By taking dangerous pathogens and making them even more lethal through gain-of-function research , scientists and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high-risk game of Russian Roulette.54 Any scientific or medical gains made from such research pales in comparison to the incredible risks involved .
This sentiment has been echoed by others in a variety of scientific publications.55,56,57,58 Considering the potential for a massively lethal pandemic , I believe it ’ s safe to say that BSL 3 and 4 laboratories pose a very real and serious existential threat to humanity .
U.S. biowarfare programs employ some 13,000 scientists,59 all of whom are hard at work creating ever-deadlier pathogens , while the public is simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never be released , either involuntarily or voluntarily .
Historical facts tell us accidental exposures and releases have already happened , and we only have our lucky stars to thank that none have turned into pandemics taking the lives of millions .
Considering safety breaches at these labs number in the hundreds , it ’ s only a matter of time before something really nasty gets out .
Consider the ramifications if a souped-up Ebola or Spanish flu were to get out , for example .
Regardless of the exact method behind its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that SARS-CoV-2 has been modified and that its origin is being covered up by responsible parties .
Why the cover-up ?
In short , to avoid life behind bars .
The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 states:60 With sufficient evidence , many researchers and public health authorities stand to spend the rest of their lives behind bars , which is the penalty that the Anti-Terrorism Act calls for .
This is why it is vital that we initiate immediate actions to start closing BSL 3 and 4 laboratories that are working with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and prosecuting those involved in biowarfare-related research .
If we fail to start this process soon , and simply wait until something worse escapes , the COVID-19 pandemic will seem like a walk in the park and we could approach death rates more similar to the Spanish flu of 1918 or even the bubonic plague that wiped out 60 % of Europe .
The Best of Joseph Mercola

The idea that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a bioweapons laboratory is gaining traction. May 3, 2020, The New York Times reported1 that during an ABC “This Week” interview Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had stated “the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan.” Pompeo also accused China of covering up the leak.
“Mr. Pompeo, the former C.I.A. chief and one of the senior administration officials who is most hawkish on dealing with China, said that ‘there’s enormous evidence’ that the coronavirus came from the lab, though he agreed with the intelligence assessment that there was no indication that the virus was man-made or genetically modified,” The New York Times writes.2
Now, if you’ve been following this newsletter, you’ve likely seen my interviews with bioweapons expert Francis Boyle and molecular biologist Judy Mikovits, both of whom have cited evidence that strongly points toward SARS-CoV-2 being a laboratory creation. So, the assessment that there’s “no indication” that the virus has been modified seems dubious at best. Most likely, we’re not just dealing with scientific interpretations here, but with political games as well.
Bioweapon Labs Must Be Shut Down and Scientists Prosecuted
Biowarfare and Terrorism Boyle, Francis Anthony Buy New $12.95 (as of 04:59 UTC - Details) As noted by Boyle — professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of the book, “Biowarfare and Terrorism,”3 who drafted the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 — what’s needed is a ban on biosafety level (BSL) 3 and 4 labs.
Time and again, serious safety breaches have been identified at laboratories working with the most lethal and dangerous pathogens in the world.4,5,6,7,8,9,10 For example, in 2014, six glass vials of smallpox virus were accidentally found in a storeroom in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s lab at the National Institutes of Health.11
It was the second time in one month mishandling of potential deadly infectious agents was exposed. One month before this shocking discovery, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention12 realized as many as 84, and possibly 86, of its scientists had been exposed to live anthrax.13,14
The live pathogen had been sent from another, higher-security facility, which failed to follow biosafety protocols. The anthrax sample was supposed to have been inactivated prior to transfer, but for a variety of reasons it wasn’t dead on arrival.
The next year, in 2015, the Pentagon realized a Dugway Proving Ground laboratory had been sending incompletely inactivated anthrax (meaning it was still live) to 200 laboratories around the world for the past 12 years. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report15 issued in August 2016, incompletely inactivated anthrax was sent out on at least 21 occasions between 2003 and 2015.

Asia Times16 lists several other examples as well, as does a May 28, 2015, article in USA Today17 and an April 11, 2014, article in Slate magazine.18 In 2017, the BSL 4 lab on Galveston Island was hit by a massive storm and severe flooding, raising questions about what might happen were some of the pathogens kept there to get out.19 As recently as 2019, the BSL 4 lab in Fort Detrick was temporarily shut down after several protocol violations were noted.20
In October 2014, a U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans took effect.21
The ban came on the heels of “high-profile lab mishaps” at the CDC and “extremely controversial flu experiments” in which the bird flu virus was engineered to become more lethal and contagious between ferrets. The goal was to see if it could mutate and become more lethal and contagious between humans, causing future pandemics. However, the federal moratorium on lethal virus experiments in the U.S. was lifted at the end of December 2017.22
Fauci Backed Dangerous Coronavirus Research
In 2015, researchers announced that in their labs they had created a hybrid coronavirus similar to that of SARS that was capable of infecting both human airway cells and mice. Lab 257: The Disturbin... Carroll, Michael C. Best Price: $3.49 Buy New $8.59 (as of 03:25 UTC - Details)
The NIH had allowed the controversial research to proceed, despite the moratorium, because it had begun before the moratorium was put in place — a decision criticized by Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at Pasteur Institute in Paris, who pointed out that “If the [new] virus escaped, nobody could predict the trajectory.”23
Others, such as Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and biodefence expert at Rutgers University, agreed, saying “The only impact of this work is the creation, in a lab, of a new, non-natural risk.”24
In 2017, Tim Trevan, a Maryland biosafety consultant, expressed concern about viral threats potentially escaping the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory.25 As reported by The Washington Post26 and Business Insider,27 diplomatic cables sent in 2018 also warned about “possible safety breaches at a lab in Wuhan.”
Backing dangerous coronavirus research was none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci, who now leads the White House pandemic response team. As reported by Newsweek, April 28, 2020:28
“Just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID], the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.
In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million.
Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.”
NIAID Funded Coronavirus Gain-of-Function Research
According to Newsweek,29 the NIAID research in question was conducted in two parts. The first, which began in 2014 and ended in 2019,30 focused on “understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence.” Initial findings31 were published in Nature Medicine in 2015.
The program, which had a budget of $3.7 million, was led by Wuhan virologist Shi Zheng-Li and sought to catalogue wild bat coronaviruses. As noted by Boyle in our interview, it also involved U.S. scientists from the University of North Carolina and Harvard.32
West Nile Virus (Deadl... Hecht, Alan Best Price: $4.62 Buy New $39.99 (as of 04:41 UTC - Details) The second phase began in 2019 and included additional surveillance of coronaviruses along with gain-of-function research to investigate how bat coronaviruses might mutate to affect humans. This second phase “was run by EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit research group, under the direction of president Peter Daszak, an expert on disease ecology. NIH canceled the project Friday, April 24, 2020” Newsweek reports, adding:33
“The project proposal states: ‘We will use S protein sequence data, infectious clone technology, in vitro and in vivo infection experiments and analysis of receptor binding to test the hypothesis that % divergence thresholds in S protein sequences predict spillover potential.’
In layman’s terms, ‘spillover potential’ refers to the ability of a virus to jump from animals to humans, which requires that the virus be able to attach to receptors in the cells of humans. SARS-CoV-2, for instance, is adept at binding to the ACE2 receptor in human lungs and other organs.
According to Richard Ebright, an infectious disease expert at Rutgers University, the project description refers to experiments that would enhance the ability of bat coronavirus to infect human cells and laboratory animals using techniques of genetic engineering. In the wake of the pandemic, that is a noteworthy detail.”
Fauci Defended Gain-of-Function Research on Bird Flu
Fauci also defended and promoted gain-of-function research on bird flu viruses a decade ago, saying such research was worth the risk because it allows scientists to prepare for pandemics.34 In reality, this kind of research does not appear to have improved governments’ pandemic responses.
If anything, it’s a curious coincidence that the very viruses undergoing gain-of-function research are the ones causing pandemics. As noted in an interesting April 24, 2020, Salon article35 written by independent journalist and analyst for the Institute for Public Accuracy Sam Husseini, dangerous pathogens are made even more so in laboratories around the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic really “exposes the threat of a biowarfare arms race.”
“Regardless of the source of this pandemic, there is considerable documentation that a global biological arms race going on outside of public view could produce even more deadly pandemics in the future,” Husseini writes, adding:36
“Governments that participate in such biological weapon research generally distinguish between ‘biowarfare’ and ‘biodefense,’ as if to paint such ‘defense’ programs as necessary. But this is rhetorical sleight-of-hand; the two concepts are largely indistinguishable.
‘Biodefense’ implies tacit biowarfare, breeding more dangerous pathogens for the alleged purpose of finding a way to fight them. While this work appears to have succeeded in creating deadly and infectious agents, including deadlier flu strains, such ‘defense’ research is impotent in its ability to defend us from this pandemic.” Bitten: The Secret His... Newby, Kris Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:41 UTC - Details)
‘Natural Leap’ Explanation Is Weak at Best
Husseini goes on to discuss a widely-cited study37 published March 17, 2020, which claims to disprove a lab origin for SARS-CoV-2. He writes:38
“That journal article,39 titled ‘The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2,’ stated unequivocally: ‘Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.’
This is a subtly misleading sentence. While the scientists state that there is no known laboratory ‘signature’ in the SARS-Cov-2 RNA, their argument fails to take account of other lab methods that could have created coronavirus mutations without leaving such a signature.”
One way to manipulate viruses without genetically engineering them per se is by growing them in a series of animal tissues. This is a process used in vaccine development to speed up evolution of the virus. As explained by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in our recent interview, the way they accelerate evolution of bat coronaviruses is by taking it from the anus of the bat and replicating it in animal tissue such as pangolin kidney tissue.
Next, the grown viruses are placed on feral monkey kidney cells, followed by mouse brain tissue. Each time you transfer the virus to another animal tissue, you increase the risk of zoonotic animal virus contamination in addition to mutations. According to Kennedy, six years of evolution can be accomplished in a matter of days using this accelerated evolution process. Through this process, extremely viral forms of the virus can be rapidly created. Husseini also points out that:
“… there is also the question of conflict of interest in the Nature Medicine article. Some of the authors of that article, as well as a February 2020 Lancet letter40 condemning ‘conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin’ … have troubling ties to the biodefense complex, as well as to the U.S. government.
Notably, neither of these articles makes clear that a virus can have a natural origin and then be captured and studied in a controlled laboratory setting before being let loose, either intentionally or accidentally — which is clearly a possibility in the case of the coronavirus.”
Mainstream media are now trying to squash conversations about the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 was man-made by insisting scientists wouldn’t have chosen a harmless coronavirus to work with. Live Science, for example, tried debunking the man-made virus theory, saying: Trumpocalypse: The End... Anderson, Troy Best Price: $13.90 Buy New $15.99 (as of 04:55 UTC - Details)
“Scientists have studied how SARS-CoV differs from SARS-CoV-2 — with several key letter changes in the genetic code. Yet in computer simulations, the mutations in SARS-CoV-2 don’t seem to work very well at helping the virus bind to human cells.
If scientists had deliberately engineered this virus, they wouldn’t have chosen mutations that computer models suggest won’t work. But it turns out, nature is smarter than scientists, and the novel coronavirus found a way to mutate that was better — and completely different— from anything scientists could have created …”
Similarly, a Scripps Research press release41 states that, “If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness.”
‘Natural Leap’ Theory Is Not Believable in Face of Evidence
Meanwhile, a recent article42 in the Great Game India Journal of Geopolitics & International Relations points out that Radiotelevisione Italiana exposed China’s coronavirus work in a November 2015 broadcast, raising serious questions about the ethics involved. An English transcription of the Italian broadcast reads, in part:43
“Chinese scientists have created a pulmonary super virus from bats and mice … It is a group of Chinese researchers attaching a protein taken from bats to the SARS virus, Acute Pneumonia, derived from mice. The output is a super coronavirus that could affect man.
It remains closed in laboratories and it is only for study purposes, but is it worth the risk — creating such a great threat only for examination purposes? …
Here is an experiment in China, in which a group of scientists has managed to develop a chimera — an organism modified by attaching the surface protein of a coronavirus found in bats of the common species called the Great Horseshoe Bat, to a virus that causes SARS in mice, although in a non-fatal form.
It was suspected that the protein could make the chimeric hybrid organism suitable for affecting humans, and the experiment confirmed it.
It is precisely this molecule, called SHCO14, that allows the coronavirus to attach itself to our respiratory cells and to trigger the syndrome. According to researchers, the two organisms, the original and even more so the engineered one, can infect humans directly from bats, without going through an intermediate species like the mouse …”
In Great Game India’s “COVID-19 Files,”44 you can find data exploring the origin of SARS-CoV-2 from five different angles, including epidemiological investigations, virus gene comparisons, cross-species infection research, intermediate hosts and findings from the Wuhan lab.
Dr. Meryl Nass — who in 1992 published a paper45 in which she identified the 1978-1980 Zimbabwe anthrax outbreak as a case of biological warfare — also isn’t buying the all-natural argument. In an April 2, 2020, blog post, she wrote:46
“Why are some of the U.S.’ top scientists making a specious argument about the natural origin of SARS-CoV-2? … Prior to genetic engineering techniques being developed (1973) and widely used (since late 1970s), more ‘primitive’ means of causing mutations, with the intention of developing biological weapons, were employed …
They resulted in biological weapons that were tested, well-described, and in some cases, used … These methods can result in biowarfare agents that lack the identifiable signature of a microbial agent constructed in a lab from known RNA or DNA sequences.
In fact, it would be desirable to produce such agents, since it would be difficult to prove they were deliberately constructed in a lab. Here are just a few possibilities for how one might create new, virulent mutants:
Exposing microorganisms to chemical or radiological agents that cause high mutation rates and selecting for desired characteristics
Passaging virus through a number of lab animals or tissue cultures
Mixing viruses together and seeking recombinants with a new mix of virulence factors”
Tracking Down Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Is Crucial
As noted by the National Review,47 getting to the bottom of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is indeed important if we want to prevent a similar pandemic to erupt in the future.
“If it originated from a person eating bat or pangolin at a wet market, then we need to take steps to ensure that bat and pangolin consumption and trade stops …” the National Review writes.
“Bat guano is used as fertilizer in many countries, and that guano can be full of viruses … If this is the source of the virus, we need to get people to stop going into caves and using the guano as fertilizer …
In a strange way, the ‘lab accident’ scenario is one of the most reassuring explanations. It means that if we want to ensure we never experience this again, we simply need to get every lab in the world working on contagious viruses to ensure 100 percent compliance with safety protocols, all the time.”
Do You Live Near a Bioweapons Lab?
Many are unaware of just how many BSL 3 and 4 labs there are in the world. According to the National Review,48 BSL 4 laboratories are found in the U.S., China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, The Czech Republic, France, Gabon, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
In testimony49 about high-containment biosafety laboratories presented to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in October 2007, Keith Rhodes, chief technologist at the Center for Technology and Engineering, points out that BSL4 labs in the U.S. increased from five to 15 between 2001 and 2007 alone, and that no one is actually responsible for tracking the proliferation of BSL 3 and 4 labs in the U.S. or determining the risks associated with them.
On top of that there are dozens more BSL 3 laboratories. The map below was published in the journal Science50 in 2007 and reprinted in Asia Times51 April 6, 2020, showing the proliferation of high-containment labs in the U.S. A USA Today investigation published in 2015 put the number of BSL 3 and 4 labs in the U.S. around 200,52 and Boyle estimates there are about 400 worldwide.53
The Danger Outweighs Any Potential Benefit
As long as we are creating the risk, the benefit will always be secondary. By taking dangerous pathogens and making them even more lethal through gain-of-function research, scientists and those who fund them are playing a high-risk game of Russian Roulette.54 Any scientific or medical gains made from such research pales in comparison to the incredible risks involved. This sentiment has been echoed by others in a variety of scientific publications.55,56,57,58
Considering the potential for a massively lethal pandemic, I believe it’s safe to say that BSL 3 and 4 laboratories pose a very real and serious existential threat to humanity. U.S. biowarfare programs employ some 13,000 scientists,59 all of whom are hard at work creating ever-deadlier pathogens, while the public is simply told to trust that these pathogens will never be released, either involuntarily or voluntarily.
Historical facts tell us accidental exposures and releases have already happened, and we only have our lucky stars to thank that none have turned into pandemics taking the lives of millions. Considering safety breaches at these labs number in the hundreds, it’s only a matter of time before something really nasty gets out. Consider the ramifications if a souped-up Ebola or Spanish flu were to get out, for example.
Regardless of the exact method behind its creation, it seems clear to me that SARS-CoV-2 has been modified and that its origin is being covered up by responsible parties. Why the cover-up? In short, to avoid life behind bars. The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 states:60
“Whoever knowingly develops, produces, stockpiles, transfers, acquires, retains, or possesses any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon, or knowingly assists a foreign state or any organization to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both. There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section committed by or against a national of the United States.”
With sufficient evidence, many researchers and public health authorities stand to spend the rest of their lives behind bars, which is the penalty that the Anti-Terrorism Act calls for. This is why it is vital that we initiate immediate actions to start closing BSL 3 and 4 laboratories that are working with the most lethal pathogens known to man and prosecuting those involved in biowarfare-related research.
If we fail to start this process soon, and simply wait until something worse escapes, the COVID-19 pandemic will seem like a walk in the park and we could approach death rates more similar to the Spanish flu of 1918 or even the bubonic plague that wiped out 60% of Europe.
Sources and References
The Best of Dr. Joseph Mercola


lewrockwell--2020-05-14--How the Left Finally Found Trump’s Achilles

During the summer of 2016 I was interviewed by several radio talk show hosts and a German newspaper who asked of my views of the presidential race .
I predicted at the time that Trump would be the next president .
They all politely refrained from laughing — at least while I was within earshot .
My main reason for making this prediction was : 1 ) the notoriously fraudulent business of political “ polling ” which at the time was predicting a Hillary Clinton landslide ; and 2 ) Trump ’ s stupendous popularity at campaign rallies all across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been watching entirely online scenes of 70,000 people or more gathering at some large convention center to hear a Trump campaign speech .
There was virtually none – none !
– of this on any network television since all of the networks except for FOX are the propaganda arms of the Democrat National Committee .
At the same time there were short snippets online and on television of Hillary Clinton “ rallies.
” Some of them showed dark , almost empty rooms at a hotel somewhere with maybe 200 people , most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did hold larger choreographed rallies , of course , but these almost-empty ones spoke volumes about her “ popularity.
” She also did not help herself by labeling 65 million voters as “ deplorable ” racists , sexists , homophobes , etc .
to a televised laughing and jeering crowd of Democrat supporters .
This is what convinced me that Trump was going to win , and shock just about everyone .
The Problem with Socia ... Thomas DiLorenzo Best Price : $ 9.49 Buy New $ 11.93 This main ingredient of Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been completely undermined by the planned-demic .
“ Social distancing rules ” prohibit little league baseball games , let alone a 70,000 person Trump rally .
Just as important as the rallies themselves was what Trump was saying at them , which did get reported – mostly through social media , not the Democrats ’ kept puppies at CNN , MSNBC , See-B.S.
, etc .
These things obviously struck a chord with millions of voters , since he won the election .
All of this is now gone ; there likely won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Furthermore , there has been a striking change in how Trump communicates with the public .
His strength was his spontaneity .
That ’ s how he defeated sixteen Republican candidates and the Clinton Crime Family .
But with the planned-demic he has apparently been convinced by his advisors to read bureaucratic gobbledygook from a telepompter like all the other “ respectable ” Republican Party losers in Washington do .
He made snide comments about it at first , but now seems resigned to continuing it .
Figuratively speaking , Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been ruptured .
Then comes the lockdown , the destruction of most of the economy , and the abolition of the rule of law once and for all .
Trump ’ s second major strength was his reputation as a successful businessman with a decades-long record of getting things done , not just promising and then never performing , as is the case with every single member of Congress and the entire federal bureaucracy .
This in fact is the primary reason why the Washington establishment has such a red hot hatred of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about them to the American public .
Just two-and-a-half months ago he was loudly boasting of the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years , and the lowest unemployment rates among blacks and Hispanics .
A total disaster for the Democrats , who understand that with presidential elections it ’ s always about “ The Economy , Stupid !
, ” as Clinton sychophant James Carville famously said .
This , too , is in the process of being taken away from Trump .
The order has gone out from the DNC to all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city council members : If you want a future in Democrat Party politics , you must destroy your state ’ s economy and keep it destroyed as long as possible in order to reduce Trump ’ s chances for re-election .
This is why virtually all the Democrat governors ( and extreme NeverTrumpers like Maryland ’ s Governor Larry Hogan ) are threatening The End of the World if even one single barber shop is to open in their state .
The Republican governors have been slightly better , but not by much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carries with it health costs , and probably costs that exceed whatever ends up being the human costs of the “ COVID ” cold virus .
Organized Crime : The U ... Thomas J. DiLorenzo Best Price : $ 11.82 Buy New $ 10.79 The Democrats ’ worst nightmare is that the warm weather ( as I write this the forecast for New York City in three days is 84 degrees ) will cause this cold virus to disappear , as all others usually do once the cold-and-flu season ends in May or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this occurs , their stooges in the “ mainstream media ” will spend the next several months continuing their reign of terror about a theoretical return of the deadly virus ( the death rate of which even Dr. Brixx now says is exaggerated by the CDC by 25 % ) .
In short , any kind of economic recovery before the election is the Democrats ’ worst nightmare ; they will do anything they can to avoid it .
This is Tump ’ s right ( political ) achilles heel .
Taking away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accomplishments and to display his popularity through those monster campaign rallies will make it almost impossible for him to win .
Of course , it is likely that after the election will come stagflation – rising price inflation and unemployment , the latter caused by the inevitable bursting of another round of Fed-created bubbles in the economy .
That ’ s a story for another day .
The Best of Thomas DiLorenzo

During the summer of 2016 I was interviewed by several radio talk show hosts and a German newspaper who asked of my views of the presidential race. I predicted at the time that Trump would be the next president. They all politely refrained from laughing — at least while I was within earshot. My main reason for making this prediction was: 1) the notoriously fraudulent business of political “polling” which at the time was predicting a Hillary Clinton landslide; and 2) Trump’s stupendous popularity at campaign rallies all across the country.
For months I had been watching entirely online scenes of 70,000 people or more gathering at some large convention center to hear a Trump campaign speech. There was virtually none – none! – of this on any network television since all of the networks except for FOX are the propaganda arms of the Democrat National Committee. At the same time there were short snippets online and on television of Hillary Clinton “rallies.” Some of them showed dark, almost empty rooms at a hotel somewhere with maybe 200 people, most of whom were probably DNC plants. She did hold larger choreographed rallies, of course, but these almost-empty ones spoke volumes about her “popularity.” She also did not help herself by labeling 65 million voters as “deplorable” racists, sexists, homophobes, etc. to a televised laughing and jeering crowd of Democrat supporters. This is what convinced me that Trump was going to win, and shock just about everyone.
The Problem with Socia... Thomas DiLorenzo Best Price: $9.49 Buy New $11.93 (as of 06:45 UTC - Details) This main ingredient of Trump’s historical victory in 2016 has been completely undermined by the planned-demic. “Social distancing rules” prohibit little league baseball games, let alone a 70,000 person Trump rally. Just as important as the rallies themselves was what Trump was saying at them, which did get reported – mostly through social media, not the Democrats’ kept puppies at CNN, MSNBC, See-B.S., etc. These things obviously struck a chord with millions of voters, since he won the election. All of this is now gone; there likely won’t be any such rallies. Furthermore, there has been a striking change in how Trump communicates with the public. His strength was his spontaneity. That’s how he defeated sixteen Republican candidates and the Clinton Crime Family. But with the planned-demic he has apparently been convinced by his advisors to read bureaucratic gobbledygook from a telepompter like all the other “respectable” Republican Party losers in Washington do. He made snide comments about it at first, but now seems resigned to continuing it. Figuratively speaking, Trump’s left (political) achilles heel has been ruptured.
Then comes the lockdown, the destruction of most of the economy, and the abolition of the rule of law once and for all. Trump’s second major strength was his reputation as a successful businessman with a decades-long record of getting things done, not just promising and then never performing, as is the case with every single member of Congress and the entire federal bureaucracy. This in fact is the primary reason why the Washington establishment has such a red hot hatred of the president: He speaks this truth about them to the American public.
Just two-and-a-half months ago he was loudly boasting of the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, and the lowest unemployment rates among blacks and Hispanics. A total disaster for the Democrats, who understand that with presidential elections it’s always about “The Economy, Stupid!,” as Clinton sychophant James Carville famously said. This, too, is in the process of being taken away from Trump. The order has gone out from the DNC to all Democrat governors, mayors, and even city council members: If you want a future in Democrat Party politics, you must destroy your state’s economy and keep it destroyed as long as possible in order to reduce Trump’s chances for re-election. This is why virtually all the Democrat governors (and extreme NeverTrumpers like Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan) are threatening The End of the World if even one single barber shop is to open in their state. The Republican governors have been slightly better, but not by much, in realizing that economic destitution also carries with it health costs, and probably costs that exceed whatever ends up being the human costs of the “COVID” cold virus. Organized Crime: The U... Thomas J. DiLorenzo Best Price: $11.82 Buy New $10.79 (as of 06:00 UTC - Details)
The Democrats’ worst nightmare is that the warm weather (as I write this the forecast for New York City in three days is 84 degrees) will cause this cold virus to disappear, as all others usually do once the cold-and-flu season ends in May or early June every year. Even if this occurs, their stooges in the “mainstream media” will spend the next several months continuing their reign of terror about a theoretical return of the deadly virus (the death rate of which even Dr. Brixx now says is exaggerated by the CDC by 25%). In short, any kind of economic recovery before the election is the Democrats’ worst nightmare; they will do anything they can to avoid it.
This is Tump’s right (political) achilles heel. Taking away his ability to boast of his economic accomplishments and to display his popularity through those monster campaign rallies will make it almost impossible for him to win.
Of course, it is likely that after the election will come stagflation – rising price inflation and unemployment, the latter caused by the inevitable bursting of another round of Fed-created bubbles in the economy. That’s a story for another day.
The Best of Thomas DiLorenzo