Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 486
November 25, 2022
The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity
GrahamHancock.com
There is an old saying: If you want to hide something, put it in plain sight. To our surprise, we learned that this saying is especially true for Christianity, where medieval works of art were created to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for the largely illiterate population. A close look at these religious artworks reveals the presence of psychedelic mushrooms–hidden in plain sight for centuries.
Based on stunning visual evidence of entheogens (plants that generate the divine within) found in cathedrals and churches throughout Europe and the Middle East, we propose the theory of the “Psychedelic Gospels.” By examining the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels through the lens of the Psychedelic Gospels, we reveal the role played by visionary plants in the origins of Christianity.
Astrophysicist Carl Sagan argues that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” The remarkable photographs of entheogenic Amanita muscaria and Psilocybe mushroom images in Christian art, found in frescos, illuminated manuscripts, mosaics and stained-glass windows, provide this “extraordinary evidence.” Here are three examples from our book.
Entheogens in Christian Art
First, this fresco in the Church of Saint Martin de Vicq shows five large psilocybin mushroom caps spread out over the heads of the joyous youth greeting Christ as he enters Jerusalem (upper right-hand corner).
Photo: Julie M. BrownChrist’s Entry into Jerusalem, Church of Saint Martin de Vicq, France
Fresco on south choir wall, early 12th century
Christ is moving towards the Towers of Jerusalem, depicted in an adjoining fresco which shows a youth using a long knife to cut through the stem of a giant psilocybin mushroom growing on top of the tower. A companion fresco depicts the famous Last Supper with a similar knife on the table along with what appear to be mushroom caps. Note that the artist has cleverly hidden a symmetrical row of mushrooms in the hems of the disciples!
Second, the twelve feet tall bronze Christ Column cast in 1015 by Bishop Bernard depicts the Transfiguration of Jesus, showing the disciples under a tri-fold psilocybin mushroom tree. This mushroom-tree is so realistically rendered in bas-relief that it has been identified as one of the most common European psilocybin mushrooms, Psilocybe semilanceata.
In the Transfiguration, the apostles Peter, James and John, go with Jesus to Mt. Tabor, where the Old Testament prophets Moses and Elias appear. There Jesus transforms before their eyes so that “his face did shine as the sun.” According to Matthew (17:5), “While he [Peter] yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”
Bernward’s portrayal of the sacred mushroom-tree in the Transfiguration of Jesus is of particular significance. Unlike other miracles, which were performed by Jesus, this one happens to Jesus, reaffirming, as did the baptism by John, his divinely chosen role as the “Son of God.” The Transfiguration is the pivotal moment of the New Testament where humanity first intersects with God. As Bernward implies artistically, access to the divine is mediated through the sacred sacrament of psychoactive mushrooms.
It is worth noting that in most cases we do not know who placed these mushroom images in Christian art: the artist, the church fathers who commissioned the artist, or the church patrons who funded the frescoes? Or all three collaborating? However, in the case of the Christ Column, we know it was cast by the eminent Bishop Bernward, who was named a saint of the Catholic Church in 1193, some 150 years after his death.
God Creates Psychedelic Mushrooms
Third, the cover image of our book comes from the Great Canterbury Psalter, an illuminated prayer book that originated in the scriptorium of Canterbury Cathedral in England around 1180. The Psalter begins with eight stunning folios, each containing twelve lavishly colored, gold-embellished miniature paintings. These opening folios depict the history of the world according to Scripture, from Genesis to the life of Jesus. While the biblical narrative is traditional, offering psalms, songs and prayers, the illustrations are remarkable.
Numerous red, blue, orange, and tan stylized mushrooms dot the first 100 pages, including this image showing God as the Creator of Plants; or, more specifically, as Creator of Sacred Plants. The red mushroom on the right with white speckles is Amanita muscaria. The next to appear is blue, attesting to Psilocybe mushrooms. While several authors have identified the following plant as a Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) pod, careful inspection reveals that it bears no resemblance. Rather the color, shape, and fringes of the eight tiny mushroom images embedded in the cap suggest Panaeolus, a psilocybin-containing mushroom found in England and northern Europe. While others have described the plant on the far left as “an Opium Poppy in the shape of a mushroom,” again, there is little resemblance either to the flower or the pod of the opium plant. Instead, this appears to be another mushroom of the genus Psilocybe.
The presence of psychedelic mushroom images in the high holy places of England (Canterbury Cathedral), France (Chartres Cathedral) and Germany (St. Michael’s Church) suggest that the use of entheogens was widespread among the Catholic religious elite during the Middle Ages. This dispels the claim, made by author Brian Muraresku in The Immortality Key, that psychedelics had been systematically suppressed by religious authorities from the fourth century on, stamped out “beneath the jackboots of the Roman Catholic Church.” This argument is presented in Jerry B. Brown’s Review of The Immortality Key, found here.
[…]
NY Times Takes Rare Look At Apparent Ukrainian War Crimes
Zero Hedge
The New York Times has in an extremely rare moment (or perhaps more like unprecedented) conducted an in-depth visual investigation of a likely war crime against surrendered Russian troops conducted by Ukrainian forces. Multiple videos from different angles, including drone footage, emerged last week showing the incredibly disturbing scenes as Ukrainian forces were recapturing the village of Makiivka in the Luhansk region.
The videos show ten apparently unarmed Russian soldiers lying facedown on the ground, who early on are seen moving and in a position of surrender as at least four Ukrainian troops stand nearby outside of a house in a farmyard.
By the end of the footage, eleven Russians had been shot dead at close range, in what Russia says was a summary execution of people who at that point (based on their surrender) effectively become non-combatants based on accepted international laws of war.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said the videos confirm “deliberate and methodical murder” of its soldiers by the Ukrainian side, also with the Russian Foreign Ministry calling the act “merciless” and “shocking”.
Surprisingly, the videos were initially made public by Ukrainian news sources and soldiers themselves, and were shared widely on social media, as they purportedly showed the ‘heroism’ of Ukrainian soldiers as they clawed back territory in eastern Ukraine.
But The New York Times described, “The videos show the grisly before-and-after scenes of the encounter earlier this month, in which at least 11 Russians, most of whom are seen lying on the ground, appear to have been shot dead at close range after one of their fellow fighters suddenly opened fire on Ukrainian soldiers standing nearby.”
The United Nations has called for a formal investigation into the videos, with a statement from the UN Human Rights Office quoted in Reuters saying, “We are aware of the videos, and we are looking into them.”
“Allegations of summary executions of people hors de combat should be promptly, fully and effectively investigated, and any perpetrators held to account,” the statement continued, in reference to people legally designated “outside of combat”.
The Times report details the sequence of events beginning as follows:
One soldier, with his rifle drawn, tentatively approaches the structure where the Russian soldiers are sheltering. The soldier with the machine gun provides cover. Several gunshots are heard — though it’s not clear from where — and the soldier slowly backs away from an outhouse, drawing out the Russian soldiers at gunpoint.
The report comments that soon after the Russian soldiers emerge from the building, it is clear that an orderly surrender has taken place, with many of the prone Russian solders moving around on the ground after giving up their arms, clearly alive.
But soon after the entire scene turns to carnage:
Two of the Ukrainians standing by appear to be relaxed and are pointing their rifles toward the ground…
As an 11th Russian soldier emerges from the outhouse, he opens fire, aiming at one of the Ukrainian soldiers. The Ukrainians are taken by surprise. The cellphone camera jolts away as the Ukrainian soldier filming the scene flinches. A frame-by-frame analysis of what happens next shows the Ukrainian soldier standing beside him raise his rifle and aim toward the Russian gunman.
By the time the dust settles, all of the Russian soldiers – and not just the gunman who emerged from the outhouse – lie dead, apparently shot in the head at close range, pools of blood forming around them.
“The video ends and it’s unclear what happens next. But a second aerial video of the location shows the bloody aftermath,” the NYT writes. “The Russian soldiers are lying motionless, apparently dead, most of them positioned as they were when they surrendered. Blood is pooling around them, and some appear to be bleeding from the upper body or head. The soldiers are dressed in the same uniforms with the distinctive red straps and blue marking.”
The footage, as well as the NY Times’ confirmation of the event, is now going viral inside Russia, causing fury and an angry denunciations, while at the same time Ukrainian officials have suggested the initial surrender had been “staged” by the Russian side in order to set a trap for the Ukrainian soldiers. Kiev has rejected the charges of war crimes from Moscow.
Russia has consistently complained that the West routinely ignores clear evidence of Ukrainian war crimes, while only putting Russian forces under the microscope. This NY Times investigation is an almost unprecedented moment where the “paper of record” is actually hinting that the Kremlin has a valid point.
[…]
Via https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ny-times-takes-rare-look-apparent-ukrainian-war-crimes
14th Century Korea: The Mongols Withdraw and Technological Innovation Shifts to Korea and Japan
Episode 39: Korean Choson – Rise of the Yangban
Foundations of Eastern Civilization
Dr Craig Benjamin (2013)
Film Review
By the mid-14th century, the Koryo puppet dynasty was ending, as the Mongols withdrew from Korea, China and elsewhere in East Asia. In 1392, Yi Seong-gye overthrew the Koryo Dynasty and proclaimed the Choson Dynasty. The latter ruled until Japan occupied Korea in 1910.
Creating a neo-Confucian state, the Choson significantly expanded Korean territory and attacked Buddhism as being detrimental to families. The Yangbang, consisting of elite Confucian scholars,[1] created a Hall of Worthies, bureaucrats who shared power with the military and emperor in a constitutional monarchy.
By 1800, the Yangban constituted approximately 30% of the population. Approximately 30-40% consisted of slaves[2] or lowborn peasants and the remaining 30-40% commercial farmers, artisans, craftsmen and textile workers.[3] Under Choson Confucianism, women had very low status, with fathers, husbands and sons making all their major life decisions.
All land belonged to the government, and farmers paid a 10% tax for the privilege of using it. This was in addition the tax they paid to land owners and the sales tax they paid on all manufactured goods.
The Choson scholar emperor Sejong (1397 – 1450) placed major emphasis on art and science. This translated into a number of new inventions, including the rain gauge, the wind sock (measuring wind direction and velocity), the surveyor rod, various astronomical calendars and clocks and the Hangal alphabet.[4]
The late sixteenth and early seventeenth century saw increased political and economic instability, with Japanese military raids in 1592 and 1597 and continuous Manchu raids between 1627-1636. This led to significant civil unrest, with numerous farmer revolts protesting high taxes.
Beginning in the 18th century, the Sirhak or “practical learning” movement, facilitated renewed technological innovation and an increase in manufacturing, shifting the center of technological progress from China to Korea and Japan. Inspired by innovations the Jesuits introduced to China, Korean scholars studied planetary movements to produce a more accurate calendar. They also invented a new kind of pulley.
Eventually applied to political science as well, Sirhak-based land and social reform would eventually replace Confucianism. With French missionaries active throughout the Korean peninsula, there was a brief increase in conversions to Catholicism. Government persecution forced the Yangbang elite to turn away from Catholicism, although farmers and artisans continued to be drawn to its egalitarian teachings (eg that all human beings are children of God).
By 1900, 20,000 Koreans had converted to Catholicism.
[1] Only members of the second rank Yangban were allowed to take the Confucian civil service exam.
[2] Slavery was hereditary under the Choson Dynasty. There were both privates slaves, who could be inherited as private property, and government slaves. Private slaves were allowed to own property and buy their way to freedom. In 1801 all government slaves were emancipated, and all slavery was abolished in 1894.
[3] Under the Choson, the rapid emergence of cotton led to a thriving household textile industry.
[4] Hangal script didn’t come into wide use until the 20th century, as Korean Confucian scholars continued to write in classical Chinese.
Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.
https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/5808608/5808691
November 24, 2022
China Restricts Movement Across City as Unrest Rocks World’s Largest iPhone Factory
China’s Zhongzhou, home to Apple contractor Foxconn’s massive iPhone factory, will begin to enforce mobility restrictions across eight districts in main urban areas on Friday. The reason, well, authorities blame it on ‘rising Covid infections,’ though we should note that the new restrictions come as massive unrest has erupted at the factory of more than 200,000 workers.
Zhongzhou authorities posted a statement on its WeChat page on Wednesday about mobility restrictions from Friday through Sunday.
“At present, the epidemic situation in our city is still severe and complicated,” the statement said. Health officials will conduct daily mass PCR tests and request that residents in high-risk areas stay within their homes.
[…]
On Wednesday, unrest broke out at Apple contractor Foxconn’s massive iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, central China, reported Bloomberg. Videos on social media showed hundreds of workers, if not more, clashing with security personnel after a month of strict Covid restrictions.
Manufacturer Foxconn confirmed the outbreak of “violence” and said it would work with local authorities to quell further violence. It released a statement that said workers were furious about pay and living conditions.
“Regarding any violence, the company will continue to communicate with employees and the government to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” the world’s largest producer of iPhones wrote in a statement.
As Covid infections increased across Zhengzhou and iPhone factory, Foxconn adopted a “closed loop” system for employees in October. Workers were forced to live on campus and were prohibited from physical contact with the outside world – including family members.
Then by late October, strict Covid restrictions for workers sparked minor unrest at the facilities of about 200,000 workers — all were banned from eating in public and forced to eat meals back at their dorms.
By early November, while Beijing ramped up its zero Covid policy by locking down the surrounding metro area — workers began to flee the factory.
Now in videos posted on Weibo and Twitter that AFP and Reuters have verified, all hell appears to have broken out as hundreds of workers clash with security guards and people in hazmat suits.
Violent #protests erupt at #Apple's Main #iPhone Plant ( #Foxconn ) in #China ……Staff clash with security as tensions boil over in #Zhengzhou pic.twitter.com/xUjvhSz5sX
— Smriti Sharma (@SmritiSharma_) November 23, 2022
At #Foxconn, #Zhengzhou City, #CCPChina, newly recruited workers break out of the #iPhone city after they found they have to live and work together with veterans who might have #Covid. The terms of their contracts were not the same as they were promised, social media post says. pic.twitter.com/QTtBpLpVUD
— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferzeng97) November 23, 2022
[…]
Escalating unrest at the factory added new uncertainties for iPhone production. Weeks ago, Apple said it had reduced iPhone 14 production because of the Covid restrictions at the plant. The latest round of unrest could dramatically impact output.
A source told Reuters that Foxconn would be unable to achieve production targets. They said much of the unrest is centered around recruits hired to replace a gap in the workforce.
“Originally, we were trying to see if the new recruits could go online by the end of November. But with the unrest, it’s certain that we can’t resume normal production by the month-end.”
Wednesday’s protest underscores how President Xi Jinping’s zero Covid policy that requires factories like the iPhone one in Zhengzhou to operate as “closed loops” can backfire.
“It’s really a mess,” Barry Naughton, a professor at the University of California San Diego who specializes in Chinese economics, told Bloomberg. “They’ve created a situation where the local decision-makers are under intolerable pressure,” he said.
Besides backfiring zero Covid policies, mounting trade conflicts and geopolitical tensions have forced Apple to review its global supply chain, primarily centered in China. Some iPhone 14 production has been shifted to India as Apple begins to diversify away from China.
[…]
Via https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/massive-unrest-rocks-worlds-largest-iphone-factory-china
Georgian Legion Carries Out ISIS-Style Executions in Ukraine
[Source: greydynamics.com]
Internationalist 360°
U.S. has a long history of subcontracting dirty counterinsurgency operations to brutal proxy forces–the Georgian Legion is but the latest
The Georgian Legion stands out among the many right-wing militias of Ukraine.
While most of the new breed of Ukrainian fascists are active on social media, the Georgian Legion has gone beyond Telegram and risen to mainstream appeal through clever internet memes. An army of trolls called the “Fellas” with cartoon Shiba Inu avatars earned through donations to the legion prowl social media, eager to dog-pile and mass-report anyone who questions official narratives.
This cutesy exterior is cover for a unit every bit as brutal and violent as their Nazi counterparts.
The Georgian Legion prides itself on never taking prisoners, releasing videos on its social media of ISIS-style executions of bound, tortured POWs that are so brazen even Western intelligence cutouts such as Bellingcat and Western press agencies like CNN and The New York Times have confirmed their authenticity.
Despite this, the Georgian Legion finds support not just among internet trolls, but also from people at the highest echelons of American power. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the “never Trump” Republican (who voted pro-Trump 90% of the time in Congress), is one of their most vocal backers.
Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) meeting with terrorists. [Source: twitter.com]Via https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/11/23/georgian-legion-carries-out-isis-style-executions-in-ukraine/
Serious Safety Concerns: 66 Doctors, Clinicians and Scientists Call to End Covid Vaccination of Pregnant Women Over Serious Safety Concerns
By WILL JONES
The Daily Sceptic
There follows an open letter from 66 doctors, scientists and clinical practitioners to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) regarding safety concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations in pregnancy. Where is the evidence, they ask.
Obstetricians and gynaecologists in the U.K. have put their faith in and adjusted their practice according to guidance from their Royal College (RCOG). However, recent advice from the RCOG has been in complete contradiction to everything that it itself and academic institutions have been teaching about evidence-based medicine. This advice is that: COVID-19 vaccines are not only safe but strongly recommended for pregnant women.
Such advice is not grounded in robust data based on ethically conducted research – and anyone who is medically and academically trained should take serious issue with this.
Ethics of clinical research
Clinical researchers, especially when conducting trials to investigate pharmaceutical products, are required to update themselves every two years on the principles of Good Clinical Practice, which incorporate the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki. According to those principles, it is unethical to violate a study protocol by under-reporting adverse events, by removing subjects with adverse events from the study and by unblinding study participants prematurely with the purpose of administering the product under investigation to everyone and therefore effectively ending the trial – as have all happened in the COVID-19 vaccine trials. It is unethical to prevent the public from accessing raw trial data for 75 years and to only release some of it for independent scrutiny after a lawsuit. It is unethical to extrapolate the conclusions of a prematurely ended trial to vulnerable groups not represented in the trial – such as pregnant women.
For obvious reasons, pregnant women are usually excluded from clinical trials. The British National Formulary frequently advises against the use of a pharmaceutical product in pregnancy as a precaution due to lack of data. In pregnancy, lack of data is sufficient to be hesitant. Two examples in the not-too- distant past remind us how disastrously wrong it can go when a new product is given to pregnant women: thalidomide caused severe limb defects in the foetus, and diethylstilbestrol (DES) increased the risk of certain cancers after exposure in utero, requiring life-long surveillance for more than one generation. It was indeed the thalidomide scandal which led to the establishment of the U.K. Yellow Card system for adverse event reporting. But suddenly all of this seems to be forgotten.
Lack of robust and reliable safety data
A recent public controversy focused on MHRA advice updated on August 16th 2022 stating in the toxicity conclusions that “sufficient reassurance of safe use of the vaccine (mRNA BNT162b2/Pfizer/BioNTech) cannot be provided at the present time” and “women who are breastfeeding should also not be vaccinated”. The Government and the RCOG were very quick to express their concerns about the circulation of this apparent misinformation and to reinforce their advice that pregnant women should get vaccinated. This document was originally from December 2020, and so the claim is that this section is outdated. The question remains why this section was not amended if this document was recently updated. The answer is of course because there is nothing to update it with: studies regarding genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and prenatal and postnatal development have still not been conducted.
It cannot possibly be known whether it is safe to give these products to pregnant and breastfeeding women. Clinical research standards dictate close and prolonged observation of trial subjects, documenting any and all observed clinical effects following administration of the trial compound. This has not been done. There are no trials that last even the duration of a pregnancy. COVID-19 vaccines were on the market for a mere four months when the initial advice to avoid them in pregnancy changed by 180 degrees and they were declared safe. Potential adverse effects for the offspring have not even been considered.
It is profoundly unethical to give a completely novel compound to pregnant women on a mass scale without the strict protocols of clinical research to just see what happens and then pretend that this is science. Yet this is exactly what has been happening.
Incorrect interpretation of available data
Safety data are largely based on retrospective and observational cohort analyses and registries, such as the CDC’s V-Safe COVID-19 Vaccine Pregnancy Registry. Voluntary registries are not equivalent to well-designed prospective clinical trials, as follow-up is inconsistent and incomplete with no standardisation or systematisation and no tracking of participants.
Other data are from short-term studies where outcomes are determined in post hoc analyses, with little or no stratification of gestational age at the time of vaccination. A large Canadian study published in the Lancet concluded that “COVID-19 vaccines have a good safety profile in pregnancy” based on a follow-up period of a whole seven days. Conflicts of interest status on this paper is notable. Publications are clearly biased towards reaching the conclusions of affirming safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy even when their study data do not allow such conclusions. The U.K. Medical Freedom Alliance (UKMFA) has published on its website open letters to the U.K.-based authors of two such studies with a critique of their conclusions. Both papers were widely propagated to the public.
The systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness and perinatal outcomes of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy was co-authored by the current president of the RCOG, who shared this headline with the RCOG membership: “COVID-19 vaccination associated with 15% reduction in stillbirths in pregnant women.” The prompt within the message to “Find out more” linked not to the original paper for everyone to scrutinise and recognise the flawed methodology, but to the Guardian propagating the same headline. The work of Professor Norman Fenton (Professor of Risk Information Management) on the “statistical illusion of better pregnancy outcomes for vaccinated women” is worth considering for a comprehensive analysis of the available data.
Currently, any quantitative assessment of the risks of adverse events in pregnancy is mostly stymied by the lack of reliable denominators, prohibiting accurate interpretation of existing data.
Shimabukuro et al. published their preliminary findings of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine safety in pregnancy in the NEJM based on the V-Safe registry, reporting a miscarriage rate of 12.6% – consistent with the general population. This was based on a denominator of 827 completed pregnancies. The conclusion was incorrect as only 127 women had been vaccinated in the first or second trimester, and so by definition the remaining 700 women could not possibly have had an early pregnancy loss.
According to post-marketing data from Pfizer, 42,086 adverse events were reported to the manufacturer during the first three months of the vaccination programme. Amongst these were reports from 270 pregnant women. Only 32 pregnancy outcomes were recorded. This should have been but indeed was not a study with dedicated follow-up. These data were collected as part of post-marketing surveillance and are insufficient for comprehensive analysis.
Therefore, there are no reliable statistics at this time – but there are plausible mechanisms of potential harm and there are glaring safety signals.
at this stage completely unknown.
Concern regarding potential autoimmunity is also based on molecular mimicry. mRNA vaccines induce human cells to produce antigens (spike proteins) in order to elicit an immune response. Similarities between spike protein and human proteins may lead to an adverse autoimmune reaction. It is potentially relevant for pregnant women that the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein was found to share similarities with 27 human proteins that relate to oogenesis, uterine receptivity, decidualisation and placentation in a study published in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology.
Safety Signals
Most concerning are the accumulating safety signals – and the apparent reluctance to fully investigate them. All four major databases for adverse event reporting (VAERS, MHRA Yellow Cards, EudraVigilance, WHO Vigiaccess) contain significant numbers of pregnancy-related adverse outcomes, including miscarriages and stillbirths
[…]
November 23, 2022
Republican senators demand White House pause all taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research
(AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans are demanding that the White House pause all federally funded gain-of-function research, which they say may have been responsible for the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, according to a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.
Five senators sent a letter to Dr. Arati Prabhakar, the director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, on Tuesday, detailing a need to further evaluate the risks of gain-of-function research, which often includes intentionally altering viruses to be more pathogenic or transmissible as a means to develop preemptive treatments for deadly diseases.
The former Obama administration paused new funding of gain-of-function research in 2014 to “assess the potential risks and benefits.” However, it was reinstated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2017, and the senators argue in their letter that a pause is again necessary after the recent COVID-19 outbreak, which they say may have originated from a lab in Wuhan, China.
“We are extremely troubled about the enduring culture of noncompliance at NIH and the alarming reports about their failure to properly oversee domestic and foreign-based dangerous [gain-of-function] research projects, enforce grant requirements, or conduct appropriate research risk assessments of studies involving [enhanced pathogens of pandemic potential (ePPP)],” the letter states, which was authored by GOP Sens. Roger Marshall, Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, Marsha Blackburn and Marco Rubio.
WHITE HOUSE SHUTS DOWN REPORTER’S FAUCI QUESTION ON COVID ORIGIN: ‘I’M DONE WITH YOU’
The NIH funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to government documents obtained by The Intercept. The story countered claims from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Dr. Francis Collins, who was the head of NIH at the start of the pandemic. Medical experts noted that this NIH-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, where the virus first spread, could not have directly caused the COVID-19 outbreak but leads reason to believe the lab lacked proper oversight and engaged in risky research.
Fauci, who announced in August that he will step down from his position in December, spoke at a White House press briefing Tuesday for what he said would be the last time, and he encouraged Americans to get additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Fauci added that he would testify to Congress if there are investigations launched into the government’s handling of the pandemic. Several reporters attempted to ask Fauci about the origins of COVID-19 at the briefing but were shut down by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
NIH admitted last year that the organization it funded for research in Wuhan, EcoHealth Alliance, failed to immediately report an “unexpected result” from its research in 2018 and 2019 that created a coronavirus that was more infectious in mice. The agency terminated the subgrants to Wuhan in August after a two-year investigation. Previous government-funded studies in Wuhan included funds from Fauci’s NIAID on bat coronavirus research.The origin of COVID-19 is still unknown. Republican-led investigations in both the House and Senate concluded that a lab leak is the most likely origin. The World Health Organization, backed by most prominent science organizations, concluded the most likely origin is a natural jump from animals to people.
The senators note that in January 2020, NIH asked the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to propose considerations on how to increase public transparency for “research involving enhanced potential pandemic pathogens.” Medical experts, they add, have testified to the Senate that more oversight on gain-of-function research is needed.
“As the advances in biotechnology have made research exceedingly more dangerous, increased protections and regulations have become more necessary. The COVID-19 outbreak has been devastating, and until clear ePPP research policies are implemented, it is critically important for the [Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)] to immediately institute increased protections for the public from these potentially lethal pathogens,” the lawmakers write.
“The OSTP can implement safeguards today to prevent the possibility of an American-based viral outbreak by issuing a new government-wide moratorium on [gain-of-function] studies involving enhanced pathogens of pandemic potential,” they write in the letter.
The Senators also called on NIH to properly enforce the Stevens Amendment, which requires federal grantees to disclose the exact amount of federal funds utilized. The Government Accountability Office concluded in 2019 that agencies have consistently failed to ensure their grantees comply with the amendment.Boston University recently used federal funds to insert an Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant into a deadlier coronavirus strain, which the NIH said it was not told about in advance.
Another group of Republican lawmakers have asked Boston University for all proposal and progress reports related to the study, each of the NIH grants referenced in the study, a list of all funding streams for the study and a copy of the university’s safety protocols. They are also questioning whether the research needed to be approved by the NIAID.
However, the university claims it did not use NIH funds directly in the study. A spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the research was not gain-of-function and made the virus “less dangerous.”
Other NIH-funded studies analyze increasingly deadly monkeypox strains altered in mice.
What the FDA and CDC Are Still Hiding
By Dr. Joseph Mercola Government health officials could have saved themselves by coming clean a few months into the COVID-19 jab scam. At this point, there’s no way to save face, let alone anyone’s career.
Story at a glance:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has publicly warned that COVID-19 is one of the Top 10 causes of death in children aged 5 to 11, yet when asked to produce the data, they admitted they never conducted an analysis for that age group.The CDC has also lied about Pfizer’s study results. While claiming the Pfizer jab was 92% effective for those with previous COVID-19 infection, the actual trial data found NO evidence of efficacy in those with previous infection.In July 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly disclosed finding an increase in four types of serious adverse events in elderly people who received Pfizer’s COVID-19 jab: acute myocardial infarction, disseminated intravascular coagulation, immune thrombocytopenia and pulmonary embolism. However, more than a year later, that study still has not been published.The FDA is also hiding other studies. Buried inside a study protocol, the FDA discusses findings from an unpublished “cohort study of the third dose safety in the Medicare population where historical controls were used.” In that Medicare study the FDA found a significant risk for immune thrombocytopenia and acute myocardial infarction among those with prior COVID-19 diagnosis, as well as an increased risk of Bell’s palsy and pulmonary embolism in general.Analysis of the CDC’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Reports (MMWR) reveals the CDC is systematically (and automatically) hiding jab-related deaths, particularly in categories like cancer, cardiac deaths and strokes, to make the shots appear unrelated to excess deaths.The FDA and the CDC jointly run and, allegedly, monitor the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) for safety signals.
Both agencies have been blatantly derelict in their duties in this regard, as the safety signals in VAERS have been screaming for attention since the first quarter of 2021. Yet both the FDA and CDC claim they’ve found nothing of concern. Nothing at all.
They’re so unconcerned they even added the COVID-19 jabs to the childhood vaccination schedule, with the first jab series to be given to toddlers and babies as young as 6 months.
Meanwhile, data from around the world, including data in VAERS, V-Safe and the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database, suggest these shots are the deadliest in the history of vaccines. No other product comes even close.
[…]
FDA is withholding crucial study findings
The FDA is also guilty of massive data obfuscation. In a recent BMJ article, investigative journalist Maryanne Demasi discusses the FDA’s failure to follow up on and release data showing an increase in serious adverse events in elderly individuals who received the Pfizer shot:
“In July 2021 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly disclosed findings of a potential increase in four types of serious adverse events in elderly people who had had Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine: acute myocardial infarction, disseminated intravascular coagulation, immune thrombocytopenia, and pulmonary embolism.”
[…]
Serious side effects in seniors are being hidden
As explained by Demasi, the July 2021 findings came from a surveillance system called Rapid Cycle Analysis (RCA), which provides “near real-time” monitoring of 14 “adverse events of special interest.” Like VAERS and other surveillance tools, the RCA cannot establish causality, but unlike the others, its strength lies in detecting potential safety signals more rapidly.
The FDA’s protocol document for the planned follow-up study indicates that a manuscript of the original RCA study is being prepared, but more than a year later, neither the original RCA study nor the follow-up study have been published. Why?
The FDA is also hiding other studies. Buried inside yet another study protocol, the FDA discusses findings from “a cohort study of the third dose safety in the Medicare population where historical controls were used.” In that Medicare study, the FDA found:
“A statistically significant risk for immune thrombocytopenia (incidence rate ratio 1.66, confidence interval 1.17 to 2.29) and acute myocardial infarction (IRR 1.15, CI 1.02 to 1.29) among people with prior COVID-19 diagnosis as well as an increased risk of Bell’s palsy (IRR 1.11, CI 1.03 to 1.19) and pulmonary embolism (IRR 1.05, CI 1.0001 to 1.100) in general.”
Why were those results buried in a study protocol and never published or announced to the public?
[…]
Reanalysis of trial data confirms safety problems
Fraiman is particularly concerned as his team recently reanalyzed data from the Pfizer and Moderna Phase 3 trials, finding results that match those that the FDA are now hiding.
Their reanalysis, which focused on serious adverse events highlighted in a World Health Organization-endorsed “priority list” of potential adverse events relevant to the COVID-19 shots, found Pfizer’s shot was associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events at a rate of 10.1 events per 10,000.
The rate for Moderna’s jab was 15.1 events per 10,000.
Fraiman’s analysis stressed that this level of risk for a post-injection event was significantly greater than the risk reduction for COVID-19-related hospitalization found in both trials, which was only 2.3 per 10,000 participants in the Pfizer trial and 6.4 per 10,000 in the Moderna trial.
In short, the shots are far more likely to land you in the hospital than COVID-19 itself. For every 800 jab recipients, one person will suffer a serious injury. Meanwhile, some 5,000 must get the Pfizer jab to prevent a single COVID-19 hospitalization.
[…]
Scandinavian study confirms cardiovascular risks
Demasi also cites an observational study from Denmark, Finland and Norway, which found “statistically significant increases in thromboembolic and thrombocytopenic outcomes following both Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines.”
[…]
CDC lied about Pfizer study results
In addition to hiding data, the CDC has also lied about trial results. As noted in an Oct. 31, 2022, tweet from Rep. Thomas Massie:
“Pfizer’s original vaccine trial, which contained 1,200 participants with evidence of prior infection, showed no benefit from their shots for those who had evidence of prior infection. CDC lied, said study showed it was 92% efficacious for those w/ evidence of prior infection.”
Credit: Rep. Thomas MassieCDC has automated data falsification
A day earlier The Ethical Skeptic posted the second installment of his “Houston, the CDC Has a Problem” series, in which he details how the CDC is systematically manipulating the data to hide signs of COVID-19 jab dangers.
Using data from the CDC’s MMWR, he shows how the CDC hides and deletes excess jab-related deaths, particularly in categories like cancer, cardiac deaths and strokes. In June 2022, the CDC temporarily paused its MMWR reporting to perform a “system upgrade.” That lasted two months.
When it came back online, large numbers of deaths jab-related categories had been moved, either into the COVID-19 death category or a “holding” category for undetermined deaths, thereby making it appear as though deaths from cancer, heart attacks and strokes are far lower than they are.
This gaming of the algorithm appears to have been automated as of that system update.
Here’s an excerpt from Part 2, in which The Ethical Skeptic summarizes his findings:
“The principal concerns with regard to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‘Weekly Provisional Counts of Deaths by State and Select Causes’ and ‘Wonder: Provisional Mortality Statistics’ are that the reports have begun to exhibit two primary apparent goals on the part of the CDC and its agency: concealing excess deaths potentially caused by the mRNA vaccines and attempting to make mRNA vaccines falsely appear as uber-effective in saving lives.”
Excess Cancer Mortality is being concealed through Cancer Multiple Cause of Death (hereinafter referred to as ‘MCoD’) categorical reassignment to COVID-19 Underlying Cause of Death (hereinafter referred to as ‘UCoD’).
Sudden Adult Deaths are being concealed by holding Pericarditis-Myocarditis-Conductive heart related deaths inside the R00-R99 temporary disposition bucket, far longer than per historical practice, thereby falsely depleting the associated ICD-10 mortality trend for these related deaths.
The CDC is using Multiple Cause of Death categorical gaming, and is creating novel death counts, in order to counterfeit an appearance that the unvaccinated are dying at a rate 12 times that of the vaccinated.”
[…]
Justice for Vaccine Victims Act
Marjorie Taylor Greene, House representative for Georgia’s 14th Congressional district, recently introduced HR 7308, the Justice for Vaccine Victims Act of 2022, which would require an investigation into COVID-19 jab injuries reported to VAERS to be completed within three months of the bill’s enactment.
The bill would also remove liability protections “that apply to the administration or use of certain medical countermeasures (e.g., vaccines) during the public health emergency.”
Last but not least, on Nov. 1 Judicial Watch announced it is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for all of its safety studies relating to vaccines and gene therapies to treat or prevent COVID-19.
All in all, it seems the wheels are coming off the COVID-19 jab bus. Sparks are already flying. The FDA and CDC could have saved themselves by coming clean a few months into the COVID-19 jab scam. At this point, there’s no way to save face, let alone anyone’s career. Both agencies are doomed, as are their leadership.
[…]
Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/lies-secrecy-cdc-fda-covid-vaccines-cola/?
RSV Vaccines: We have to Stop These Shots
By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D. In a recent episode of “RFK Jr. The Defender Podcast,” Lyn Redwood, R.N., M.S.N., Dr. Meryl Nass and Dr. Ryan Cole joined Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to discuss Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and the potential dangers associated with RSV vaccines in development.
In a recent episode of “RFK Jr. The Defender Podcast,” Lyn Redwood, R.N., M.S.N., Dr. Meryl Nass, and Dr. Ryan Cole joined Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to discuss Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and potential risks associated with RSV vaccines in development.Rising case numbers of RSV, the most common respiratory virus in children, have been reported across the U.S. According to Kennedy, the crisis “has become a vehicle for re-implementing the COVID-19 playbook all over the country and responding with vaccines.”
Redwood, a nurse practitioner with more than 20 years experience in pediatrics and family medicine and co-founder of Children’s Health Defense, who wrote a detailed historical account of RSV for The Defender, outlined the virus’s origin.
Nass, an internist and biological warfare epidemiologist, discussed the RSV vaccines in development.
Dr. Ryan Cole, a pathologist with expertise in how vaccines given to pregnant women can impact the immune system, talked about the dangers of vaccines and pregnancy.
“We have to stop these shots,” Nass said. “It’s just extraordinary that we’re still vaccinating people … we have a lot of work to do.”
Here are highlights from what Redwood, Nass and Cole discussed in the podcast:
Lyn Redwood, R.N., M.S.N.:
Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline had an RSV vaccine targeting pregnant women but in February stopped its clinical trials because of a concerning safety signal, which they never shared with the public. The company is moving forward with its development of another RSV vaccine targeting the adult population.Redwood’s husband, an ER doctor, is seeing many more infants with respiratory illness than in previous years. “There is something sort of unique going on right now. Is it because these infants’ mothers received COVID vaccines? Do they have problems with their immune system? They’re not able to clear this virus … is this part of viral interference that we see with other vaccines?”Dr. Meryl Nass:
“My read of the literature is that basically RSV, for 99% of people, caused a cold — and that’s it. … We don’t actually know how many people had it [RSV], how many people have died from it, because you only ever got a test for it if you went into the hospital … and the tests are PCR or antigen tests, and they’re only maybe 80%, at best, accurate.”Nass pointed out that two RSV vaccines using monoclonal antibodies, one targeting infants and one targeting adults, were presented last month to the Centers for Disease Control’s independent vaccine advisory committee. “This was very strange to me because the studies on them had not been completed yet. And yet they were being presented to the committee. The committee was being basically softened up so they would approve them with little data.”The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only required that drugmakers report a lower bound of confidence interval for efficacy, which allows drugmakers to say they cannot report an accurate effectiveness estimate (i.e., a small confidence interval) because they tested it in so few people. “As long as there’s a 95% chance that it’s at least 20% effective, that’s all we’re [the FDA] shooting for. … So it’s like, great, we don’t know if the thing works, you’ve paralyzed a few people and you’ve killed one probably. … Why are we gonna roll this out to pregnant women and elderly immunocompromised people and newborns?”Dr. Ryan Cole:
Cole and other doctors, including Dr. James Thorp, started a study group to examine the placentas of pregnant women who received a COVID-19 vaccine. They found evidence that the COVID-19 spike protein, maternal antibodies, cytokines and lipid nanoparticles can all cross the umbilical placental barrier and into the fetus.Since roughly 70% of the U.S. adult population had two COVID-19 shots and around 30% had three COVID-19 shots, the general population is likely experiencing immune suppression as a side effect of the vaccination. “So many things are suppressed now that parents are spreading RSV to their children. Children are spreading RSV to other children. So even the children who haven’t received the jab are more susceptible to just a higher inoculum in their environment because of a broad populace that is immune-suppressed.”“We have a ‘sick’ care system, not a healthcare system. … The best doctor you’ll ever meet is here right now — and that is you. You need to be your own best doctor and work with those who are going to focus on not the heavy financial solution, but what’s the easy wellness solution.”Watch the podcast here:
[…]
Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/rfk-jr-podcast-rsv-vaccines-lyn-redwood-ryan-cole/
Teen’s Death 3 Weeks After Pfizer Vaccine Triggers Investigation
The death last year of a 14-year-old Irish teen three weeks after he received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has sparked a “considerable investigation” that will include requests to Pfizer for safety information, officials involved in an inquest into the teen’s death said this week.
The death last year of a 14-year-old Irish teen three weeks after he received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has sparked an investigation that could take years, officials involved in an inquest into the teen’s death said this week.As part of the “considerable investigation,” authorities said they will request safety information about the vaccine from Pfizer.
Joseph McGinty, a secondary school student from Achill Island, Ireland, received the Pfizer vaccine on Aug. 20, 2021. On Sept. 1, 2021, he was hospitalized overnight at Mayo University Hospital and discharged the following day.
On Sept. 8, 2021, McGinty revisited the hospital for review. He died at home on Sept. 13, 2021.
Patricia McGinty formally identified her son’s remains on the day of his death but “has very little recollection of the morning in question,” the family’s attorney, Rita Kilroy, told the court.
The coroner involved in the case, Pat O’Connor, called McGinty’s death “a matter of significant public concern.”
“The circumstances of Joseph McGinty’s death is that COVID vaccination was administered to him [and] that there appears to have been either a reaction or a significant change in his medical circumstances following the administration of the vaccine and that subsequently, unfortunately, Master McGinty died,” O’Connor said in Monday’s hearing.
Kilroy told the court this week, “We would perceive there to be a concern for public health and safety and potential for recurrence in two circumstances.”
An inquest is a formal investigation conducted by a coroner in order to determine how someone died. The purpose of an inquest is limited to establishing the identity of the deceased individual as well as where, when and how they died.
At the request of Kilroy, O’Connor agreed to make a request for legal aid and legal advice for the McGinty family under Section 60 of the Coroners Act, 1962.
The inquest into McGinty’s death will resume on Dec. 20.
Studies link COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer’s, to negative health outcomes — especially among young men — including death.
In June 2021, The Defender reported on the death of 13-year-old Jacob Clynick just three days after he received the second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to investigate Clynick’s death, even though the death was reported to the agency’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
Between Dec. 14, 2020, and Nov. 11, 2022, there have been nine deaths reported to VAERS following COVID-19 vaccines among children ages 6 months to 5 years, 31 deaths reported among children 5 to 12 years old and 133 deaths among teens 12 to 18 years old.
Last month, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, M.D., Ph.D., recommended against mRNA COVID-19 vaccination of males ages 18 to 39 years given the results of a study that found an 84% increase in the risk of cardiac death among young adult males within 28 days of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.
Since March, Florida has recommended against mRNA COVID-19 vaccination of healthy children and adolescents younger than 18.
On Sept. 30, Sweden announced it would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children ages 12 to 17 and in Denmark, COVID-19 vaccines are not recommended for anyone under 50 years old.
[…]
Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/joseph-mcginty-death-pfizer-covid-vaccine-investigation/
The Most Revolutionary Act
- Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's profile
- 11 followers
