Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 4
September 29, 2025
Lawsuit Link Depoprova Injections to Brain Tumors
Al Mahadeen English
Pfizer faces a major lawsuit in the United States over claims its contraceptive injection Depo-Provera caused brain tumours.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is facing a growing lawsuit in the United States over claims that its contraceptive injection, Depo-Provera, caused brain tumours in women who used it long-term.
The class action, brought by law firm Levin Papantonio, alleges that Pfizer failed to warn women and doctors about the increased risk of intracranial meningioma if Depo-Provera is used for more than a year.
A court hearing is scheduled in Pensacola, Florida, on Monday.
Since May, the number of plaintiffs has tripled to more than 1,300 cases, consolidated into multi-district litigation. Lawyers expect the total to rise to between 5,000 and 10,000 claims, with potential damages reaching billions of dollars.
Scientific studies have raised concerns about the safety of Depo-Provera. Research published in the British Medical Journal in March 2024 found that prolonged use of certain progestogen medications was linked to a higher risk of intracranial meningioma, a type of benign brain tumour. Depo-Provera was specifically linked to a 5.6-fold higher risk.
While meningiomas are not usually cancerous, they can cause seizures, headaches, and loss of vision or hearing. Surgical removal is often necessary but carries risks of damaging surrounding brain structures.
[…]
Steve Witkoff’s Latest Peace Plan is a Scam
Posted by Internationalist 360° on September 29, 2025
Reason2Resist with Dimitri Lascaris
Only weeks after Israel attempted to murder the negotiating team of the Palestinian resistance in Qatar, Israeli media report that Donald Trump’s ‘peace envoy’, Steve Witkoff, has developed a 21-point peace plan.
Moreover, both Trump and U.S. Vice-President Donald Trump claim that the U.S. government is on the precipice of ending Israel’s war on Gaza.
Is any of this credible?
Dimitri Lascaris examines closely the reported substance of Witkoff’s proposal, as well as the record of the Trump and Netanyahu regimes, with a view to assessing whether Witkoff’s proposal stands a serious chance of ending Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
What are the 21 points?
The following are the contents of the plan, which have been paraphrased at the request of the sources who provided it.
1. Gaza will be a de-radicalized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.
2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of its people.
3. If Israel and Hamas agree to the proposal, the war will immediately end, with the IDF halting all operations and gradually withdrawing from the Strip.
4. Within 48 hours of Israel publicly accepting the deal, all living and deceased hostages will be returned.
5. Once the hostages are returned, Israel will free several hundred Palestinian security prisoners serving life sentences and over 1,000 Gazans arrested since the start of the war, along with the bodies of several hundred Palestinians.
6. Once the hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence will be granted amnesty, while members who wish to leave the Strip will be granted safe passage to receiving countries.
7. Once this agreement is reached, aid will surge into the Strip at rates no lower than the benchmarks set in the January 2025 hostage deal, which included 600 trucks of aid per day, along with the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and the entry of equipment for removing rubble.
8. Aid will be distributed — without interference from either side — by the United Nations and the Red Crescent, along with other international organizations not associated with either Israel or Hamas.
The text of this clause appears intentionally vague and seemingly leaves an opening for the continued operation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as it technically is an American organization, even if it was the brainchild of Israelis linked to the government and was crafted to fit the Israeli government’s prosecution of the war.
9. Gaza will be administered by a temporary, transitional government of Palestinian technocrats who will be responsible for providing day-to-day services for the people of the Strip. The committee will be supervised by a new international body established by the US in consultation with Arab and European partners. It will establish a framework for funding the redevelopment of Gaza until the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program.
This is the US plan’s first mention of the Ramallah-based PA. Israel has ruled out the authority as a potential ruler of Gaza, thereby nixing what has become the key to recruiting Arab assistance in the post-war management of the Strip, given that the international community views unifying the West Bank and Gaza under a single, reformed governing body as essential for long-term stability and peace.
The apparent decision to reserve the PA’s role for an unspecified later date will likely be a difficult pill for Ramallah to swallow, but it also has limited leverage to bear in these discussions.
Point nine appears to borrow heavily from former UK prime minister Tony Blair’s plan for ending the war, which was first revealed by The Times of Israel earlier this month.
Blair and former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner have been working on the Gaza file for months, while advising Witkoff.
10. An economic plan will be created to rebuild Gaza through the convening of experts with experience in constructing modern Middle East cities and through the consideration of existing plans aimed at attracting investments and creating jobs.
11. An economic zone will be established, with reduced tariffs and access rates to be negotiated by participating countries.
12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, but those who choose to leave will be allowed to return. Moreover, Gazans will be encouraged to remain in the Strip and offered an opportunity to build a better future there.
13. Hamas will have no role in Gaza’s governance whatsoever. There will be a commitment to destroy and stop building any offensive military infrastructure, including tunnels. Gaza’s new leaders will commit to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.
14. A security guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas and other Gaza factions comply with their obligations and that Gaza ceases to pose a threat to Israel or its own people.
15. The US will work with Arab and other international partners to develop a temporary international stabilization force that will immediately deploy in Gaza to oversee security in the Strip. The force will develop and train a Palestinian police force, which will serve as a long-term internal security body.
16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza, and the IDF will gradually hand over territory it currently occupies, as the replacement security forces establish control and stability in the Strip.
17. If Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above points will proceed in terror-free areas, which the IDF will gradually hand over to the international stabilization force.
This is the first mention of the possibility that the deal could be at least partially implemented, even if Hamas doesn’t agree.
18. Israel agrees not to carry out future strikes in Qatar. The US and the international community acknowledge Doha’s important mediating role in the Gaza conflict.
19. A process will be established to de-radicalize the population. This will include an interfaith dialogue aimed at changing mindsets and narratives in Israel and Gaza.
20. When Gaza’s redevelopment has been advanced and the PA reform program has been implemented, the conditions may be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood, which is recognized as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
The clause doesn’t provide details regarding the Palestinian reform program and is not definitive regarding when the pathway to statehood can be established.
21. The US will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful coexistence.
[…]
Via https://libya360.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/steve-witkoffs-latest-peace-plan-is-a-scam/
Drones from Turkey circle Gaza aid flotilla as boats sail east
REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
ANKARA, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Turkey has joined Spain, Italy and Greece in monitoring an international flotilla carrying aid for Gaza that was sailing east across the Mediterranean Sea on Monday despite warnings from Israel to stop the mission, flight data show.
Flight tracking websites showed that three long-endurance drones originating from Turkey’s Corlu airbase have been circling over the flotilla for three days, highlighting the growing international interest in the boats which have vowed to breach an Israeli naval blockade around
Reuters was unable to confirm the reason for the drone flights. Turkey’s foreign and defence ministries and the intelligence agency did not respond to requests for comment.
FLOTILLA RESUMES JOURNEY AFTER REPAIRS
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of civilian boats carrying parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was still hundreds of miles off the Gaza coastline on Monday. But it was approaching an area where other flotillas have previously been intercepted, people on board said. Tracking sites showed about 40 boats in the flotilla.
Its advance has raised international tensions, especially after a drone attack last week damaged some boats. No one was injured, but the flotilla had to pause for several days in Greek waters for repairs before setting sail again for Gaza over the weekend. Organisers said on Monday that the mission was now expected to reach Gaza in about four days.
Italy and Spain have deployed navy ships to accompany the flotilla in case of rescue or humanitarian needs, but have said they will not engage militarily. Greece’s coastguard had also monitored progress while the flotilla was in its rescue area.
Italy warned on Sunday that the flotilla was nearing a high-risk zone and repeated a proposal made last week for the flotilla to take the aid to Cyprus for eventual distribution in Gaza by the Roman Catholic Church. The flotilla rejected the idea.
CONCERNS OVER POSSIBLE ISRAELI RESPONSE
Israel has shown several times it has no red lines so it is clear that we are worried by what it could do. We will obviously do everything to have a peaceful, non-violent stance,” Italian European Parliament member, Benedetta Scuderi, told Italy’s Radio 24 on Monday from aboard the flotilla.
Israel did not comment on last week’s drone incident but has previously said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas militants in the coastal enclave.
[…]
Trump unveils Gaza peace plan as Netanyahu visits U.S., apologizes to Qatar
By Adam Geller, Sam Mednick And Aamer Madhani The Associated Press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a White House visit on Monday to extend a formal apology to his Qatari counterpart for a recent military strike targeting Hamas officials in the Gulf emirate that infuriated Arab leaders and triggered rare criticism by the U.S. of Israel.
Meanwhile, the White House has released a plan put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump for ending the Israel-Hamas war and Gaza governance. There’s no immediate word on whether Israel or Hamas has accepted 20-point plan.
The plan, unveiled by the White House shortly before Trump and Netanyahu were to hold a press conference, calls for a temporary governing board that would be headed by Trump and include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it. It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.
Netanyahu made the call to Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as he met with Trump for critical talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza and developing the U.S. plan on postwar governance in the war-battered Palestinian territory, according to the White House.
“As a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” the White House said in a statement. “He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
The White House talks, and apology from Netanyahu, come at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.
The question now is whether Trump, who has offered steadfast backing to Netanyahu throughout the war, will change his tone and turn up the pressure on Israel to wind down the conflict.
As he welcomed Netanyahu to the White House, Trump responded affirmatively when asked by reporters whether he was confident a deal would be soon reached to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
“I am. I’m very confident,” Trump said.
Netanyahu’s apology for strike that angered US allyIsrael stuck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on Sept. 9 as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally was a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages. No senior Hamas officials were killed in the strike.
The attack on an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the war and even before, was described by Trump as out of step with Israeli and U.S. interests. And Trump sought to move quickly to assuage his Qatari allies.
Qatar, meanwhile, condemned the strike as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Other key U.S. allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their support to Qatar.
The White House said al Thani welcomed Netanyahu’s “assurances” and emphasized “Qatar’s readiness to continue contributing meaningfully to regional security and stability.”
But even as the White House was spotlighting the apology, Israel’s far right national security minister newly defended the decision to carry out Israel’s attack.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key coalition partner of Netanyahu’s, in a posting on X called the operation “an important, just and ethical attack.”
“It is very good that it happened,” he added.
White House urges Israel and Hamas to get to a ceasefire and hostage release dealEarlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt urged both sides to finalize an agreement to bring an end to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.
“Ultimately the president knows when you get to a good deal, both sides are going to leave a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt told reporters. “But we need this conflict to end.”
Meanwhile, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said Palestinian officials stood ready to work with Trump and Arab countries in bringing an end to the war.
“Let us not delay a single minute more in doing what is necessary for this just peace to replace the unbearable reality of today,” Mansour said during a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
Trump growing more frustrated with conflictTrump joined forces with Netanyahu during Israel’s brief war with Iran in June, ordering U.S. stealth bombers to strike three nuclear sites, and he’s supported the Israeli leader during his corruption trial, describing the case as a “witch hunt.”
But the relationship has become more tense lately. Trump was frustrated by Israel’s failed strike this month on Hamas officials in Qatar.
Last week, Trump vowed to prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank — an idea promoted by some of Netanyahu’s hard-line governing partners. The international community opposes annexation, saying it would destroy hopes for a two-state solution.
On Friday, Trump raised expectations for the meeting with Netanyahu, telling reporters the U.S. was “very close to a deal on Gaza.”
Proposal does not include expulsion of PalestiniansTrump’s proposal to stop the war in Gaza calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages within 72 hours and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive. The militant group has demanded Israel agree to end the war and withdraw from all of Gaza as part of any permanent ceasefire.
Trump discussed the plan with Arab and Islamic leaders in New York last week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. It doesn’t include the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Trump appeared to endorse earlier this year.
The 20-point proposal also calls for an end to Hamas rule of Gaza and the disarmament of the militant group. Hundreds of Palestinians, including many serving life sentences, will be released by Israel, according to the proposal.
The plan also includes the establishment of an international security force to take over law enforcement in postwar Gaza.
A Palestinian committee of technocrats would oversee the civilian affairs of the strip, with power handed over later to a reformed Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu has rejected any role for the authority, the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinians, in postwar Gaza.
A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group has repeatedly rejected laying down arms and has linked its weapons to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
[…]
Via https://globalnews.ca/news/11456141/israel-gaza-middle-east-peace-plan-trump-netanyahu/
September 28, 2025
How to Beat Weeds in a No-Till Garden
Dr Mercola
Story at-a-glanceNo-till gardening improves soil health and plant strength but brings new challenges with weed controlPerennial weeds like bindweed and thistle need long-term strategies such as tarping to starve out their underground root systemsFast-growing annual weeds spread quickly by seed, making early removal essential to prevent future infestationsCover crops such as rye, oats, and wheat naturally block sunlight and suppress weeds while feeding your soilMulching with straw, wood chips, or crop residue shields the soil, stops weed seeds from sprouting, and builds long-term fertilityNo-till gardening promises healthier soil, stronger plants, and better long-term fertility, but it comes with trade-offs that catch many growers by surprise. When you stop turning the ground, you protect delicate underground ecosystems — fungi, microbes, and earthworms — that form the backbone of soil health. These living networks improve structure, boost water retention, and feed your crops naturally.
At the same time, leaving soil undisturbed changes how weeds behave. Seeds that sit near the surface have the light and space they need to sprout, and deep-rooted perennials gain a foothold without being chopped up by tillage. This creates a new challenge: your soil thrives, but weeds become more difficult to manage.
Instead of relying on tillers to bury problems, you need layered approaches that match the type of weed you’re fighting. That shift requires planning and patience, but it also puts you in control of your garden in a more sustainable way. Understanding this balance is the first step toward mastering no-till — and finding strategies that keep your soil alive while keeping weeds in check.
Different Weeds Demand Different SolutionsAn article from Modern Farmer explored how no-till farming affects weed management and why some weeds are harder to control than others.1 Instead of relying on tillage to bury seeds and chop roots, growers are encouraged to identify the types of weeds in their fields and apply the right approach for each. By understanding whether a weed spreads underground through rhizomes or simply sprouts from seed each season, you know exactly what kind of strategy will save you time and frustration.
• Perennial weeds require patience and covering, not quick fixes — Plants like bindweed, bermudagrass, johnsongrass, and Canadian thistle store energy in underground stems called rhizomes, which act like hidden batteries that keep the plant alive. Pulling what you see above ground rarely works, because the underground network quickly resprouts.
Tilling makes the problem worse by chopping the rhizomes into pieces that grow into new plants. Instead, covering the soil with heavy tarps blocks sunlight, forcing the weeds to drain their reserves until they die. This process is slow — it sometimes takes a full year — but it drastically reduces their presence long term.
• Annual weeds spread through speed and numbers, so timing is everything — Pigweed and other quick-sprouting species complete their life cycle in just a month or two, meaning a single plant scatters thousands of seeds if ignored.
Because no-till systems don’t bring buried seeds to the surface, most problems come from seeds in the top inch of soil or blown in from nearby fields. Killing these weeds while they’re small — using a scuffle hoe or wheel hoe — stops the seed cycle and keeps infestations under control. Once they set seed, you face a multiplying problem that carries into future seasons.
• Cover crops act like plant-based bodyguards for your soil — Grasses such as rye, wheat, and oats grow quickly, creating a dense shield that shades out unwanted plants. Rye goes a step further by releasing natural chemicals into the soil that disrupt the growth of nearby weeds. Using cover crops means you fight weeds with plants instead of chemicals, while also building healthier soil in the process.
• Mulching locks weeds out before they start — Straw, wood chips, or the residue of cover crops form a blanket over the soil, stopping light from reaching weed seeds. Without sunlight, seeds fail to germinate. Mulch also protects soil moisture, regulates temperature, and feeds soil organisms as it breaks down. On larger farms, rolling and crimping cover crops keeps the mulch intact for longer, while mowing accelerates decay but requires more frequent applications.
Healthy Soil Grows Stronger PlantsGarden Design outlined how no-till gardening restores soil health while cutting back on weed pressure.2 Instead of tilling, the method uses natural layering — compost, cardboard, wood chips, and other organic materials — to build fertility from the top down. This process mimics what happens in forests when leaves fall and break down, slowly feeding the ground beneath.
• You can convert a garden without heavy machinery — A layer of cardboard or newspaper smothers grass and weeds underneath, while amendments like compost, straw, or aged manure add nutrients as they decay. Over time, earthworms and microbes pull that organic matter down into the soil. The end result is fertile ground that requires less fertilizer and water. For you, that translates into a garden that steadily improves year after year instead of declining with each round of tilling.
• Planting and maintenance become easier once the no-till system is established — In spring, plant directly into the layered beds without breaking apart the soil. Mulching around new seedlings with straw or compost suppresses weeds, locks in moisture, and keeps soil temperatures stable. That translates to fewer hours battling weeds and more time enjoying healthy plants that grow in rich, living soil.
• No-till gardens become more self-sustaining as time goes on — Each year, adding just 1 or 2 inches of organic matter is enough to feed the soil, rather than relying on repeated, heavy inputs. Cover crops like clover or buckwheat planted in fall add extra fertility and prevent weeds during the off-season.
By spring, they break down into mulch, saving you money and reducing the need for constant intervention. While farmers often till or spray to end cover crops, backyard growers can use plants like clover or peas that naturally die back in cold weather or can be mowed before they set seed.3 The longer you commit to this process, the less maintenance your beds demand.
• Leaving the soil undisturbed allows its natural ecosystem to flourish — Microbes, fungi, and worms build structure underground, creating pores that let water and nutrients flow freely. Compost and mulch feed those organisms, which in turn feed your plants. This leads to healthier roots, stronger growth, and better yields without chemical shortcuts. Healthy soil does the work for you, turning your garden into a productive, resilient system instead of a high-maintenance chore.
No-Till Protects the Underground WorkforceOregon State University similarly highlighted how no-till methods safeguard the living network of soil organisms that drive plant health.4 Instead of breaking apart soil with tillage, the approach leaves microbial life, earthworms, and fungal networks intact. These organisms build soil structure, create air pockets, and recycle nutrients into forms your plants actually use.
• Tilling disrupts the very system plants depend on to thrive — Every time a tiller blade cuts through soil, it collapses pores, increases compaction, and destroys fungal threads that act like scaffolding underground. Once broken, soil loses its ability to hold water and nutrients. For a gardener, that means more runoff, poorer drainage, and weaker plants that are left vulnerable to stress and disease.
• Mulch acts as a protective shield for the soil — It prevents weed seeds from waking up and stops erosion at the surface.5 When you spread straw, compost, or dried leaves, you block sunlight from reaching dormant seeds. Without light, they stay buried and inactive. At the same time, mulch keeps rain from compacting bare soil and wind from stripping away topsoil. This leads to fewer weeds to pull and more fertile ground staying exactly where you need it.
• Sheet mulching, also called lasagna gardening, is an accessible no-till technique — In this system, you layer cardboard, food scraps, grass clippings, and leaves to create a thick bed of organic matter.6 Over time, those layers decompose into rich soil without ever turning the ground. This technique allows you to recycle materials you already have into a low-cost, high-yield garden bed that steadily improves each season.
• Leave roots in place after harvest to feed microbes and improve soil texture — Cutting plants at ground level instead of pulling them keeps underground tunnels open while giving beneficial bacteria and fungi a steady food source as roots break down. This way, every crop works double duty — first producing food for your table, then building the foundation for future harvests.
How to Beat the Weeds in a No-Till LandscapeWhen you switch to no-till, the biggest challenge you’ll face isn’t getting crops to grow — it’s keeping weeds from stealing your time, energy, and harvest. By understanding how weeds grow and designing your system to block them before they spread, you set yourself up for success. Think of these steps as tools you can choose from depending on your situation. Whether you’re a backyard gardener or managing larger plots, these strategies work because they focus on prevention, not constant cleanup.
1. Identify your weeds before you fight them — Don’t treat all weeds the same. Some, like pigweed, spread fast from seed, while others, like bindweed or bermudagrass, regrow from underground stems called rhizomes. If you know what type you’re dealing with, you’ll choose the right tactic from the start and save yourself months of wasted effort.
2. Starve out stubborn perennials with tarps — If you’re dealing with thistle, johnsongrass, or other deep-rooted perennials, covering the soil with a heavy tarp is the smartest first step. The opaque material blocks sunlight and forces the plant to burn through its stored energy until it dies. Yes, this takes time — often a season or more — but you end up with ground that’s ready for planting without endless regrowth.
3. Stop annual weeds before they drop seed — Annuals like pigweed turn one plant into thousands if you let them go to seed. The trick is catching them early with a sharp hoe or cultivator. Knock them out while they’re small, and you’ll save yourself years of problems. Think of it as a short daily task that pays off with a season of cleaner beds.
4. Grow cover crops that do the work for you — Rye, oats, and wheat aren’t just filler plants — they act like bodyguards for your soil. They grow thick enough to shade out weeds and, in rye’s case, release natural compounds that slow weed germination. This is a win-win: you’re improving soil health and keeping weeds in check at the same time.
5. Use mulch to block sunlight and protect soil — Cover your soil with straw, wood chips, or the remains of your cover crops. Mulch keeps weed seeds buried, locks in moisture, and keeps the soil cooler in summer heat. If you’re gardening on a bigger scale, rolling and crimping cover crops leaves a long-lasting mat that keeps working for months. Think of mulch as armor — it shields your soil and makes your job easier.
[…]
Via https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/09/27/no-till-gardening-weed-control.aspx
Disturbing Secrets about Vaccines
Peter C. GøtzscheThe vaccine area is much more complicated than I knew when I worked at a department of infectious diseases as a young doctor. I didn’t perceive vaccines could be a problem and had taken all the recommended ones.
My 2013 book, Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime, hardly mentions vaccines at all because none of the major scandals in healthcare where drugs had killed thousands of patients because of drug company fraud had involved vaccines.
In 2015, the former head of Cabinet in the Danish Ministry of Health asked me to attend a meeting about an ongoing dispute about the safety of the HPV vaccines. He was hoping I would agree that there was no reason to worry about the alleged serious neurological harms of the vaccines.
There surely was, and my 2021 book, Vaccines: Truth, Lies, and Controversy, has a long chapter about the HPV vaccines. It also documents how the influenza vaccines have been hyped beyond belief and the evidence, both by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I never had a flu shot, and after having studied the data and considering that influenza is a rare disease, I decided I would never get one.
My work with the vaccine book made me realise that it is very difficult to get honest information about vaccines. The vaccine area is fraught with censorship, retaliations, and intolerance. I was called an anti-vaxxer even when I only asked questions and when I argued why mandatory vaccinations are unethical.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Harvard professor Martin Kulldorff was fired for debating official policies. One of the things Martin had said was that those with prior natural infection and children did not need the vaccine. Children are at very low risk of becoming seriously ill after a Covid-19 infection whereas the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines have killed about 1-2 per 200 children who got myocarditis. But it did not matter that Martin was right. What mattered was that he had broken the omertá.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is determined to get rid of the corruption at the CDC. He fired the whole Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) and installed a new, much better one. There have also been changes at the top, and his Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, Acting Director of the CDC, announced on X:
“During the previous administration, CDC lost public trust by manipulating health data to support a political narrative…We have…ended the misuse of the childhood immunization schedule for Covid vaccine mandates.”
Most disturbingly, vaccine programmes have not taken the important results by Danish researchers Peter Aaby and his wife, Christine Stabell Benn, into account. They have shown that live attenuated vaccines decrease total mortality more than what can be predicted from their specific effect, while non-live vaccines increase total mortality. They have also shown that the sequence of vaccinations is important; that it is best to end with a live vaccine; and that the harms of non-live vaccines predominantly affect girls. These results are so groundbreaking that they are on the list of milestones in Nature that starts with the discovery of the smallpox vaccine, which, like the measles vaccine, has saved millions of lives.
Just as for other drugs, we need to look at each vaccine separately to find out if it is worth taking. It is meaningless to divide people into being for or against vaccines. We don’t divide people into being for or against humans. It depends on the person.
When Peter gave a talk at an international meeting I had arranged in 2019 about vaccines, YouTube removed the video and disregarded our protests. When I interviewed Christine about vaccines for our Broken Medical Science channel and we uploaded it on YouTube, the video was removed. The videos can be seen here and here. Everything Peter and Christine said was correct, but this is immaterial for the censorship clergy.
Censorship is detrimental to science itself and to public health. Hiding data on serious harms, which the HPV vaccines illustrate, should be a criminal offence.
The HPV VaccinesThe HPV vaccines are highly controversial. Women can avoid cervical cancer altogether by attending screening regularly, as it takes a long time before cell changes develop into cancer. Moreover, it has not been documented in reliable research that the vaccines decrease the occurrence of cervical cancer or mortality, whereas we know that the antibody response to the vaccines disappears rather quickly and that the vaccines are only about 70% protective against the targeted HPV strains. Other strains may also cause cancer and could take over, which is why screening is still being recommended.
Whatever their effect, the HPV vaccines are not life-saving, as women may avoid cervical cancer deaths by screening, whereas some people have been killed by an HPV vaccine.
The drug industry’s mantra that a drug or vaccine is effective and safe is a logical impossibility. Nothing that has a benefit can be safe. There will always be people who are harmed. One of the biggest problems in healthcare is that we lack the full data on harms, which is an important reason why our prescription drugs are the leading cause of death.
In my capacity as an expert witness for the Wisner Baum law firm in Los Angeles in their litigation against Merck, the manufacturer of Gardasil and Gardasil 9, I am likely the only person in the world who has read 112,452 pages of Merck’s confidential study reports. This was so revealing that Michael Baum suggested I write a book about it, which I did.
I uncovered systematic scientific misconduct on many levels and outright fraud in Merck’s clinical trials, which included using a myriad of confusing and obfuscating methods to avoid reporting serious neurological harms of Gardasil.
I found many examples of numerical inconsistencies, even for deaths, and of mathematical impossibilities, also in the package inserts, and extreme discrepancies in reported adverse events in trials with the same design. Merck’s trial publications in major medical journals, e.g. New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet, were also seriously misleading.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) was complicit in the scientific misconduct. The EMA knew that Merck had cheated on them earlier by avoiding reporting cases of serious harms of its vaccine, and the Danish Medicines Agency had also documented scientific misconduct. When the EMA asked Merck to look for serious neurological harms in its trial databases and other databases, Merck cheated again by using a ludicrous search strategy that made it virtually certain that nothing of interest would be found. The EMA did not react to this serious and obvious violation of good research practice but accepted Merck’s findings.
The EMA’s key argument, mentioned ten times in its official report, was that, in the manufacturers’ analyses, there was no difference between what was observed and the expected background incidence. But Merck based their estimate of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) on the background rate of chronic fatigue syndrome. This is like estimating bicycle accidents based on the number of car accidents.
Lucija Tomljenovic, another expert witness for Wisner Baum, provided much more realistic estimates than Merck had done. She found that under many of her assumptions, the observed number of POTS cases following Gardasil vaccination was much greater than the expected number, even though Merck had grossly underestimated the observed number.
The EMA and Merck also colluded in calling active comparators a placebo. I was shocked when I learned in 2016, through my work with the HPV vaccines, that the regulatory requirements are much less stringent for vaccines than for other drugs. Very few vaccines have ever been compared to a placebo. The other HPV vaccine manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), also committed fraud by claiming that its studies were placebo-controlled even though active comparators were used.
This is a smart way of covering up for the harms of vaccines. It makes it impossible to find out what the harms are. The active vaccine comparators might cause similar harms as the studied vaccine, and this could also be the case when the active comparator is the strongly immunogenic adjuvant used in the vaccine.
The EMA claimed that the adjuvant is harmless, which is totally false. Moreover, because the HPV vaccines and their adjuvants had similar harm profiles, the manufacturers and regulators concluded that the vaccines are safe. This is like saying that cigarettes and cigars must be safe because they have similar harm profiles. It is worth noting that GSK found signals of neurological harm already in 2007.
Merck also lied to the patients volunteering for the trials because they were told the control group would receive a placebo. And court documents revealed that, in addition to the aluminium adjuvant, there is an undisclosed adjuvant in Gardasil. In an act of corporate deception, Merck kept this secret from the public, and the additional adjuvant does not have regulatory approval. Gardasil contains billions of fragments of HPV L1 DNA, which originate from the synthetic DNA plasmid used in manufacturing. These fragments make Gardasil far more immunogenic than if they had not been present. Merck was not only aware of this but took deliberate steps to preserve and retain the DNA fragments in the final vaccine formulation.
The drug regulators helped Merck cover this up, and there is nothing in Gardasil’s package inserts about the fragments. Dr. Sin Hang Lee, a pathologist, expert in molecular diagnostics, and an expert witness in the court case, noted that for some individuals, particularly those with genetic predispositions, this additional adjuvant can lead to autoimmune conditions such as POTS and, in rare cases, sudden death. Furthermore, there is a possibility that such external DNA can integrate into the human genome and cause cancer, which has been raised as a concern with the Covid-19 vaccines.
In my book, I describe verbatim, based on the court transcript, how I was harassed by Merck’s lawyer, Emma C. Ross, for a whole day. It was the most absurd day in my whole life. Ross had set up many traps and became very annoyed when I didn’t fall into them. She interrupted me on numerous occasions and demonstrated her disdain repeatedly by saying, “Are you finished?” even though it was obvious that I had finished my explanations, which neutralised her attacks.
Alan Cassels writes in his review of my book that he laughed out loud in places, imagining me staring down this lawyer who was going out of her way to make me squirm. “The grilling was rife with arrogance and condescension, frequently hilarious, and often sliding into childish and outlandish sniping, so theatrical you’d think it was cooked up by a team of drunk Hollywood scriptwriters.”
Ross referred to many observational studies as “proof” that Gardasil is safe, but I explain in my book why the studies she mentioned are not reliable. Most importantly, people who choose to get vaccinated are healthier than those who don’t, which we call the “healthy vaccinee bias.”
The best and most convincing observational study was based on data from the WHO’s pharmacovigilance database. It showed that POTS was reported 82 times more often for HPV vaccines than for other vaccines and that reports of adverse events after HPV vaccination were of a serious and often incapacitating nature. Ross did, of course, not mention this study, but I did.
The EMA did not find the study important either. It trusted the drug companies, distrusted independent research, and violated their own Good Pharmacovigilance Practices guidelines. The EMA also violated its conflict-of-interest policy when it hired the experts who proclaimed that Gardasil is safe. The similarities to how the FDA operates are striking.
[…]
Via https://brownstone.org/articles/disturbing-secrets-about-vaccines/
Reviving Farm Biodiversity and Protecting Rights of Farmers
By Bharat DograSeptember 25, 2025One of the biggest worries relating to the food and farming system at world level has been that in recent decades the diversity of crops being grown on the fields of farmers has declined to an alarming extent. The diversity of crops has decreased and in addition the diversity of varieties of crops has decreased even more and their genetic base has become narrower.
Earlier the crop diversity had evolved over a period of over ten thousand years on farms and for much longer in nature. Apart from nature’s bounty or gift, efforts and experience and wisdom of hundreds of generations of farmers had contributed to this diversity in the form of thousands of varieties and cultivars of many crops. What had evolved or had been created over thousands of years has been lost on a massive scale on the farms of farmers over a period of just a few decades.
This trend is deeply worrying due to a number of reasons. The varieties which have been lost rapidly had existed precisely because these were useful in providing particular types of foods and other useful materials, or were suitable for growing in some special environmental conditions, or were resistant to some troublesome pests and diseases, or were of use in other ways. Their loss is not just an immediate loss or a one-time loss, but would adversely affect the ability of future generations to grow several useful and cherished kinds of food and what is more, protect their crops from adverse weather or from disease and pests. In times of climate change greater diversity of crops was needed to cope with new challenges, but the disturbing trends have moved in the opposite direction.
The official response nationally and internationally to this crisis situation has been to create gene banks or similar establishments in which germplasm can be kept in protected lab conditions under the care of various government and international institutions but also increasingly under the control of several big corporate interests and powerful multinational companies who are more likely to use these collections for increasing their profits and power.
In this way what was once the heritage of farmers and indeed of all humanity in free conditions, available on the fields of tens of millions of farmers all over the world, has increasingly become concentrated in conditions in which there are increasing chances of this being used more for increasing profits and power of a few.
In addition it has been increasingly realized that farm biodiversity cannot really be protected just in lab conditions as this is a very fragile and uncertain protection which can be endangered by several mistakes, flaws and accidental factors. The best way to ensure the protection of farm biodiversity is to save it on the fields of farmers.
Hence it has been increasingly emphasized by several experts as well as by social and farmers’ movements that the focus should shift to creating enabling and encouraging conditions in which farm biodiversity can be saved on the fields of farmers in ways that are highly creative and involving for farming communities, just as these had always been for thousands of years before the disruptions of recent decades arrived.
If farm biodiversity is saved on the farms of ordinary farmers, then this means that this becomes accessible to all farmers and people just as it should be and just as it was in times of our ancestors who had contributed so much to this farm biodiversity (as against the experience of fast decline of farm biodiversity in recent times). However to ensure the realization of farm biodiversity being a common heritage, it is important also to ensure that laws and plant patents do not become a barrier to this.
This becomes a more complex issue as in recent decades powerful forces have been working to spread narrow laws and patents, or systems similar to this. This is a very important aspect of the adverse changes in recent times which have threatened the entire concept of free growth of farm biodiversity as a common heritage of humankind without any disruption from narrow interests guided by profit and control.
While abundant genetic diversity on farms had earlier always been seen as a sign of wellness, what happened in the course of the so-called ‘green revolution’ was that exotic varieties with a narrow genetic base were promoted by powerful forces with the aim of increasing at a very fast pace the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, while at the same time a very false message was spread that the traditional diversity of crops and their many, many varieties was a sign of backwardness. Although this was done in the name of increasing yields, the traditional varieties that were already giving high yields even without high doses of chemical fertilizers were ignored and phased out. As has subsequently become very clear, the yield increases promised by the green revolution proved to be an illusion or a big exaggeration, or came with so many other adverse factors (harm caused to soil, water, environment being only some of these) as to deny any overall beneficial impact. Thus we had an utterly absurd and tragic situation of the heritage of a vast diversity of crop varieties suited to local conditions and evolved by hundreds of generations of farmers being rudely displaced by exotic varieties heralding expensive farming promoted by agribusiness interests, and all this being applauded as a big development achievement.
The matter did no end here. This was followed by the promotion of plant patents and ‘intellectual property rights’. While the concept of patents being applied to plants had initially appeared absurd to people more used to thinking of plant diversity as a common heritage, with immense resources being poured in by powerful forces to take forward patent-based thinking this soon began dominating the discourse in the seeds sector. As a result, the task of saving farm biodiversity on the farms of ordinary farmers with a perspective that they and all people are involved in both protecting and sharing a common heritage of humanity has become more and more difficult. Instead the forces of profits and control are increasing their grip on the seeds sector.
It is in these difficult conditions that we must proclaim the commitment to two most important objectives. Firstly, farm biodiversity must definitely be saved as a big priority and it must be saved on the fields of farmers (while publicly owned gene banks can play a supportive role). Secondly, all farm biodiversity must be seen as a common heritage of humankind, of all farmers and of all people, to be freely shared, exchanged, grown, saved, conserved, celebrated.
All those who are working in this direction and to take forward this objective are doing a great service to humanity and to farming and farm biodiversity. However some of them are able to come only half-way as they feel the need to make some compromises. They should also come forward in a more public-spirited way to take up what is most needed in the present difficult conditions.
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Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/reviving-farm-biodiversity-protecting-rights-farmers/5901096
Biden and Trump Administrations Personally Destroying Ancient Christian Communities of the Middle East
Mohammed ibn Faisal al-Rashid, September 28, 2025 Under the guise of fighting for democracy and freedom, Washington is waging an unprecedented war of annihilation against Arab Christians, forever altering the ethno-religious map of the region.
The Middle East, the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of Christianity, is experiencing a quiet but one of the most horrific humanitarian catastrophes of our time. This is not a natural disaster but a deliberate, systematic destruction of ancient Christian communities dating back two millennia. And in this process, as facts and experts attest, the United States of America, under the leadership of both Democrats and Republicans, has acted not as a protector, but as the chief architect and executioner.This article is not a political pamphlet but a cry of despair, based on stark and shocking numbers and the admissions of American analysts themselves. The Biden and Trump administrations, despite rhetorical differences, have continued a destructive foreign policy that has led to the fastest disappearance of a distinct ethno-religious group in modern history. Under the false pretense of fighting tyranny and spreading democracy, Washington systematically dismantled secular regimes that were the last bastion of protection for religious minorities, paving the way for radical Islamism to act as the “cleaner.”
Syria: The Destroyed Ark. How the US Created a Vacuum for Slaughter
The civil war in Syria, instigated by the West led by the United States and its local allies and unleashed in 2011, became a point of no return for Syrian Christians. As Richard Gazal, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Christians and a US Air Force intelligence veteran, writes in his July 7, 2025 article, Washington actively and deliberately facilitated the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s secular regime.
Returning 1.5 million exiles from Iraq or 1.7 million refugees from Syria is unrealistic. Their homes are destroyed, their memory desecrated, their trust in the West, and especially the US, betrayed foreverCriminal intent or monstrous stupidity? US policy in Syria was marked by hypocrisy from the very beginning. While claiming to fight ISIS*, American strategists simultaneously armed, funded, and trained the so-called “moderate opposition,” which in reality quickly merged with openly Islamist and jihadist groups. These gangs, upon receiving American weapons, immediately turned them against “infidels” – Alawites, Shias, and Christians.
The Obama administration, in which Biden was vice president, planted this bomb. The Trump administration, while criticizing its predecessors, in practice continued the same line, leaving Christians to their fate. Though Trump announced troop withdrawals, his policy of maximum pressure on Damascus only worsened the humanitarian crisis and strengthened the terrorists controlling vast territories.
The result? Numbers that make your blood run cold. As Gazal points out, Syria’s pre-war Christian community of about 2 million people has shrunk to a catastrophic 300,000. This means the disappearance of over 85% of the community. Entire cities and villages where Christians had lived for centuries are empty. Ancient monasteries and churches lie in ruins. This is not “collateral damage” of war. It is a direct consequence of a policy that delivered an entire people to the slaughter.
Iraq: The Precursor to the Catastrophe. The 2003 Lesson No One Learned
The Syrian tragedy would have been impossible had the world learned the lessons from Iraq. Artis Shepard’s article “America’s War on Arab Christians” from August 6, 2025, mercilessly reminds us of Washington’s first great crime against Middle Eastern Christianity.
A liberation that became a pogrom. The 2003 invasion of Iraq under the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction was an act of naked aggression. It swept away the secular (though brutal) regime of Saddam Hussein, which, like Assad in Syria, provided relative protection for religious minorities. The power vacuum was instantly filled by radical groups who launched a bloody campaign against Christians.
Shepard provides horrifying data: 1.5 million Iraqi Christians were driven from their historical lands, where their ancestors had lived since the time of the Apostles. Their churches, monasteries, and cultural monuments, which had survived millennia of invasions, were wiped off the face of the earth by American bombs and the subsequent pogrom. The city of Mosul, once a multi-confessional center, was “cleansed” of its Christian population.
What did subsequent administrations do to stop this genocide? Virtually nothing. The policies of both Trump and Biden towards Iraq were focused on countering Iran and maintaining military influence, not on protecting the remnants of ancient communities. The US created this deep and wide problem and blatantly refused to solve it, running away, as usual, from both the problem itself and the people of Iraq.
A Consistent Cross-Cutting Policy: From Trump to Biden and Back?
Here we come to the key question: whose administration is more guilty? The answer is disheartening: both. The difference between them is only in style, not substance.
The Trump Era: The 45th president loudly proclaimed protecting Christians in the Middle East, especially during election campaigns. He signed executive orders to aid religious minorities. However, in practice, his foreign policy was even more aggressive and unpredictable. The 2017 strike on Syria, the 2020 assassination of Soleimani—these actions further destabilized the region, creating new waves of chaos in which the most vulnerable die first. His “maximum pressure” on Iran hurt civilians and minorities across Iraq and Syria the most.
The Biden Era: The 46th president was expected to abandon brute force in favor of diplomacy. But no. His administration only tightened sanctions against Syria (the “Caesar” Act), which targeted not the regime but ordinary Syrians, depriving them of food, medical care, and the ability to rebuild shattered homes. These sanctions are collective punishment, blocking any possibility for Christians to return and rebuild their lives. Biden, like his boss Obama, continued the strategy of using radical proxies to achieve geopolitical goals.
The Trump 2.0 Era: Complicity in Genocide and a Betrayal of Christian Values.
Donald Trump’s return to power was met with alarm by all who witnessed the catastrophic consequences of his previous term for Middle East stability. Contrary to any hopes for a change of course, his return to the White House not only failed to stop the vicious practice of systematically destroying the region’s indigenous peoples but also marked a new, even darker chapter of blatant disregard for the fate of Middle Eastern Christians.
This tragic symbiosis of Washington and Tel Aviv reached its apex in the figure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Enjoying the unconditional, almost blind support of the newly elected Trump administration, this maniacal politician feels utterly untouchable. With a cynical grin, he pursues a policy of total destruction, under whose carpet bombings and ground operations not only Arab Muslims are perishing but also one of the world’s oldest Christian communities—the direct descendants of Christ’s first followers.
Trump’s statements about “protecting Christians” and his photo ops with the Bible are revealed as nothing more than a hypocritical farce, masking a brutal reality. A reality where Washington provides a “carte blanche” for any war crime at the first request, vetoing any attempt by the international community to stop the bloodshed. The Trump administration’s policy is not merely indifferent—it is complicit in deliberate genocide.
Netanyahu’s actions are based on a well-practiced and utterly primitive principle he now applies with particular cruelty: “If you’re not with us, you’re against us and will be destroyed.” Everyone is indiscriminately targeted: civilians, children, women, the elderly, hospitals, churches, and entire neighborhoods. He and his patrons in Washington absolutely do not care who is in the crosshairs: a Muslim Arab, an Orthodox Christian, a Catholic, or a representative of the most ancient ethno-confessional groups—an Aramean, Assyrian, or Chaldean. Their ancient history, cultural heritage, and very lives are being erased from the earth under the pretext of the “war on terror.”
Thus, the new Trump-Netanyahu alliance represents not just a threat to peace in the Middle East but a direct and immediate threat to the very existence of Christianity in its cradle. This is a betrayal of the very values so hypocritically proclaimed from high podiums and a stain of shame on the conscience of all who, by their silence or active support, enable this barbarism.
Both administrations essentially see the Middle East only as a chessboard for fighting geopolitical rivals—Russia, Iran, and China. Christians, and indeed all civilians, are mere pawns to them, “collateral damage” in a great game. As Richard Gazal rightly notes, the US needs a strategy directed against real terrorists, not against those who somehow maintain stability.
Is Redemption Possible?
The destruction of the Middle East’s Christian communities is not only a tragedy for these people themselves. It is an irreparable loss for all humanity, the destruction of a living bridge to the most ancient origins of our culture and faith. With its own hands, driven by imperial ambitions and a strategy of managed chaos, the United States has uprooted entire layers of history.
What has been done cannot be undone. Returning 1.5 million exiles from Iraq or 1.7 million refugees from Syria is unrealistic. Their homes are destroyed, their memory desecrated, and their trust in the West, and especially the US, betrayed forever.
* Organizations banned in the Russian Federation
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FBI had nearly 300 ‘plainclothes agents’ at Jan 6 Riot
© Getty Images / CQ-Roll Call / Bill ClarkRT
Donald Trump has pledged a probe into “dirty cops and crooked politicians” in the wake of the report
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had some 274 “plainclothes agents” present during the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, conservative outlet Blaze News reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed senior congressional source.
The new claim contradicts the bureau’s longstanding denial of its alleged heavy presence during the 2021 unrest. Late last year, the US Department of Justice Office of Inspector General said the bureau had no “undercover employees” in the crowds, but acknowledged that 26 FBI confidential informants were present.
At the time, the DOJ inspector general said that four of the informants had entered the Capitol alongside the crowds. Only three of the informants were summoned to Washington to report on “domestic terrorism subjects who were possibly attending the event” in the aftermath.
Blaze News noted that the new information it had learned from the congressional source does not necessarily contradict the official account, given that “undercover employees” and “plainclothes agents” could be treated differently by the bureau.
The report nonetheless drew the ire of US President Donald Trump, who pledged to investigate the claims and bring “dirty cops and crooked politicians” to justice. The FBI undercover personnel could have been acting as “agitators and insurrectionists” during the January 6 events, Trump alleged.
“I want to know who each and every one of these so-called ‘Agents’ are, and what they were up to on that now ‘Historic’ Day. Many Great American Patriots were made to pay a very big price only for the love of their Country. I owe this investigation of ‘Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians’ to them! Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The January 6 events prompted a massive FBI investigation, as well as a far-reaching probe into the alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. The probe resulted in more than 1,500 people being charged with federal crimes, including Trump himself. Trump granted clemency to everyone who faced charges stemming from the riot, with most receiving full pardons.
[…]
Via https://www.rt.com/news/625412-fbi-agents-capitol-riots/
September 27, 2025
Massie Secures House Vote to Release Epstein Files, Defying GOP Leadership and Unleashing Grassroots Fury
Thomas Massie and Rand Paul join forces to secure a historic House vote on releasing Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, defying GOP leadership.
By Ethan Fowler
Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie is turning up the heat on Washington’s most sensitive secrets, claiming he’s just shy of forcing a public vote to release the federal investigation files on Jeffrey Epstein—the notorious sex offender and financier whose web of blackmail left the country’s ruling class sweating bullets.
Massie’s campaign, derided by party bosses but cheered by Epstein’s victims, now rides the momentum of the Arizona special election which sent Democratic candidate Adelita Grijalva to Congress—Grijalva promised to sign Massie’s petition, giving him the magic number: 218.
Washington Panic Over Epstein FilesAt a community forum in northeastern Kentucky, Massie didn’t mince words. Both Arizona candidates pledged their support, and with Grijalva’s victory, the discharge petition is locked and loaded. Now, as Massie put it, not even Republican leadership can duck responsibility: “We’re going to force a vote on releasing those files.”
But the Republican congressional brass, led by Speaker Mike Johnson and Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, want no part of this grassroots insurrection. Massie says party leadership is “in full panic,” with pressure and threats raining down on co-signers.
According to Massie, any attempt to use obscure parliamentary gimmicks to block the vote would itself require 218 representatives—throwing everyone into the headlights: “If you participate in that vote to sideline the discharge petition, now you’re part of the coverup.”
Hall passes? “This is an 80-20 issue,” Massie said, suggesting Speaker Johnson might let some members side with transparency—if only to save face with angry constituents.
Grassroots vs. Insiders: Trump and Massie
Massie’s crusade puts him at direct odds with President Donald Trump, who once vowed to unseat the Kentucky Congressman over perceived political betrayal, even though both men draw strong support from the region’s GOP voters.
The Trump-Massie feud is tangled: Trump himself has stoked speculation about Epstein’s death, hinting at foul play and promising to declassify Epstein records if given a second term as president. Massie—in stubborn populist fashion—shows no sign of backing down.
Rand Paul Joins the FrayMassie wasn’t alone in Greenup County. Senator Rand Paul joined him on a whistlestop tour, stirring the pot and predicting a “groundswell” if Speaker Johnson tries to ice the petition. Paul says members could object to Johnson’s tricks, not just the substance, suggesting the movement could grow if leadership doubles down on secrecy.
Epstein Files: The StakesEpstein died in custody under a cloud of suspicion in 2019—officially ruled suicide, but widely doubted on both the right and left. The official line matters little to the activists and survivors who appeared with Massie to demand congressional action.
Their voices—frequently sidelined by DC’s gatekeepers—are driving a surge in support for letting Americans see what the federal government knows about Epstein, his crimes, and the powerful circles he manipulated.
If Speaker Johnson and the old guard try to sideline this vote, the backlash may finally crack the Capitol’s walls of secrecy—proving that when the grassroots are cornered, the establishment’s coverups don’t stand a chance.
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The Most Revolutionary Act
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