From Corrupted to Trusted: Shifting Perceptions of the FDA

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This article was written by John Roulac and originally published here.

Until recently, most Americans had little trust in the FDA. But when COVID arrived in early 2020, a scared nation deepened in tribal identity and then turned its faith and trust over to FDA and CDC. Interestingly, during COVID, medical professionals’ trust in the FDA and CDC plummeted. Let’s explore how American perceptions of the FDA have changed and what this faith has delivered to our nation.

In 2008 I obtained a letter written by an FDA official, which was sent to a competitor of Nutiva (the organic foods brand I founded in 1999). It warned firms to remove any reference to ‘non-GMO’ on food labels. Virtually every natural food brand quickly changed their labels. As CEO of Nutiva I determined that the warning was not based on any FDA regulation, but was an illegal abuse of power by an FDA official serving the interests of the GMO industry.

We chose to ignore the letter, and luckily I never heard from the agency. This is just one of many examples of the FDA’s suspect moves over the past decades.

The FDA has failed to regulate a toxic food system of dis-ease, inflammation, and the destruction of nature via harsh pesticides, leaving Americans with weakened immunity and vulnerability to pathogens. Tragically the U.S.A. has one of the highest COVID death rates in the world.

The FDA Has Been a Case Study of a Captured Agency

From the 1980’s thru 2019, the FDA was not considered trustworthy by the American people and was often described as “corrupt, filled with cronyism, or a captured agency”.

During the 1980s groundswell of the organic food movement, many Americans realized that Monsanto and the chemical industry’s cozy relationship with the FDA was a major issue. Most liberals were not happy with FDA policies that became the target of many legal campaigns over the safety and efficacy of GMO foods, pesticides and drugs.

In 1990, the FDA set out to make dietary supplements prescription only. The industry unified and rallied to pass the DSHE Act, legalizing supplements as foods.

There has been a revolving door of chemical and pharma executives between the FDA and industry, as was the case in 2009 when ex-Monsanto executive Michael R. Taylor was hired as the FDA’s food czar. Corn oil and corn syrup were given a pass, while eggs and beef were considered unhealthy.

Then came Scott Gottlieb MD, the former FDA Commissioner from 2017 to April 2019, where in June of 2019, he became a Director at Pfizer and Chair of their Regulatory and Compliance Committee.

In fact, as documented by the international news organization Quartz, “as of 2019, nine out of the last 10 FDA commissioners – representing nearly four decades of agency leadership – have gone on to work for pharmaceutical companies.

FDA approval of dangerous drugs such as Prozac and Vioxx has been standard operating procedure. Back in 2012, CBS’ 60 Minutes exposed collusion between the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA on anti-depressants. The majority of FDA’s drug budget is in fact funded by the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2013, a report published in the Journal of Law and Medicine summarized by Dr. Donald W. Light highlighted that ‘about 90 percent of all new FDA approved drugs over the previous 30 years were found to be little or no more effective for patients than existing drugs’, that ‘the bar for “safe” was equally low, even when properly prescribed’, and that ‘125K excess deaths occurred in the United States each year among people taking properly prescribed drugs to be healthier.’

A fall 2019 Gallup Poll ranked the pharmaceutical industry as the most poorly regarded industry in Americans’ eyes. Americans were more than twice as likely to rate the pharmaceutical industry negatively (58%) as positively (27%).

In 2020, as fears of COVID swept the land, the constant drumbeat of fear, isolation, and extreme polarization helped cultivate a “collective trauma” for the American people. Humans are social animals shaped by cultural context.

The deepening of tribal identities, Trump zig-zagging at the helm of the pandemic response, and the presence of the QAnon conspiracy movement caused an even deeper distrust of anything associated with Trump, including the FDA. By October 2020, trust in the FDA was at an all-time low.

Shifting Tides

Ironically, this all changed when Joe Biden assumed office. Liberals and democrats flipped rapidly from FDA skeptics to FDA cheerleaders in a matter of months, the perverse logic seeming to be “We hate Trump and now we are on Team FDA-Pharma”.

In May 2021, a Pew Research Poll found that the share of adults who are “basically content” with the federal government had risen to the highest point since 2004, driven by Democrats. In July 2021, an Annenberg Public Policy Center Poll found that 77% of Americans were confident that the FDA was providing trustworthy information about treating and preventing COVID-19.

Interestingly enough, at the exact same time that the general public’s trust in the FDA and CDC was soaring, healthcare professionals’ trust in the FDA and CDC was dramatically decreasing. A group of 20 + medical professionals spoke at a U.S. Senate Roundtable on January 24, 2022 (skip ahead to 51:28).

Perhaps the views of many of these healthcare professionals have not been able to reach the general public because MDs and nurses regularly face termination or threat of medical board decertification for publicly speaking of vaccine injuries, low cost effective treatment protocols, or on other matters that don’t fit the current approved narratives.

The FDA Now Is Trustworthy, Credible and Authoritative … Really?

It appears the majority of left-leaning Americans believe that the FDA has their best interests at heart regarding COVID policies and are obeying them without question. As leading clinical MDs remind me, much of what Americans base their opinion on is often simply pharma marketing claims disguised as medical science.

In a world of corruption, brainwashing, and dishonesty, it’s not easy to know whom to trust. It’s a classic example of mass formation psychosis, where people adhere to groupthink in order to find meaning and resolution in uncertain times, no matter how irrational.

It’s a stunning sociological study to see a mass population trusting leaders of companies with very low ethical standards. Just months ago, most would never agree to be injected with an experimental genetic drug therapy every six months based on FDA edicts. Upon shot five or six under threat of job loss or travel ban, and mounting vaccine injury reports, will more Americans resume asking good questions?

Repeat After Me …

Many Americans are repeating the FDA and the pharma sector’s slogan of “Vaccines are Safe and Effective”, almost like the pledge of allegiance to the flag, while ridiculing or ignoring other proven preventative and early treatment measures (as outlined in my recent article ‘Pharma’s Culture War’).’

Thousands of practicing MDs along with the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) agree that having more tools in the toolkit is wise and that “Early Treatment of COVID is Safe and VERY Effective”.

MDs and countries from around the world who focus on early treatment send very few patients to the hospitals, whereas countries with high vaccine rates such as the EU, UK, and the U.S.A. have some of the highest death rates in the world. Regions such as Africa and Northern India (until recently) had very low rates of vaccination and very low COVID cases and deaths.

Tokyo, Japan and Delhi, India’s COVID cases in the latter half of 2021 were 175 to 2000 times less than London or NYC (see graphic and data below) and their COVID hospital beds were virtually empty. These regions often used early treatment protocols to reduce the spread.

Oddly many Americans cheering on the FDA have little awareness of why other countries are doing much better than the USA. Why is that not in the news? What is the connection of early treatment, inflammation, diet, toxic pesticides, soil health, gut biome and industrial agriculture?

Suppression of Safe and Effective Treatments

The FDA, media, and the pharma sector have ignored the overwhelming benefits of Vitamin D and lifestyle choices. An Israeli study offers the strongest proof yet of Vitamin D’s power to fight COVID. “We found it striking, to see the difference in the chances of becoming a severe patient when you are lacking in Vitamin D compared to when you’re not,” said Dr. Amiel Dror, a Galilee Medical Center physician.

The U.S. media virtually never publishes positive articles on Vitamin D, which often appear in international media. Why has the FDA and the media not published statistical COVID hospitalization and death data on Vitamin D levels or on inflammation? Why have most Americans not bothered to pay attention to their Vitamin D levels?

Before COVID, the FDA never issued edicts preventing doctors from prescribing low cost and re-purposed medicines. 20% of all medicines prescribed in the U.S.A. today are generic repurposed, (e.g. a heart drug given to a cancer patient). Clinicians do this every day and no long term studies are required, since safety data is already established.

Fluvoxamine, !vermect!n, Nitazoxanide and Hydroxychloroquine are safe, commonly prescribed medicines and are part of the FLCCC COVID treatment protocols. According to Pierre Kory, MD “Since the summer of 2020, U.S. public health agencies have continually shut down the use of generic treatments.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded 20 large research studies of patented pharmaceutical industry drugs before only recently agreeing to study repurposed generic medicines.”

Link to Dr. Pierre Kory’s SpeechThe fact that doctors at the bedside are being fired or prevented from providing life saving vitamins and medicines is truly a black mark in America and has likely contributed to a significant number of unnecessary deaths. Instead they are told to use the highly toxic Remdesivir which can cause renal failure and hospitals are paid bonuses for treating COVID patients with this drug.

Censorship Is Now a Liberal Value?

Many liberals now want to cancel, restrict or censor their perceived ‘tribal enemies’. Some scream about medical issues that they have little or no training in as if they are judge and jury, and maybe even represent science itself as Dr. Fauci has alluded to. Easily triggered, they often refuse to even listen to the world-renowned MDs and scientists that they are criticizing or read the published science themselves.

Recently, Joe Rogan’s podcast came under fire, accused of promoting ‘COVID misinformation’, for hosting Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Robert Malone. Dr. Peter McCullough is the former Vice Chief of Internal Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center and is one of the most published authors in his field with 600 citations in the National Library of Medicine.

Dr. Robert Malone is one of the principle inventors of mRNA vaccine technology. Both hold views on COVID treatment and COVID vaccines that fall outside the mainstream ‘FDA-and-CDC-approved’ narratives, though neither are anti-vaccine. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell jumped in (unsuccessfully) to help ‘cancel’ Joe’s podcast as other artists followed with support from the woke mob (see: Not Your Cuppa Joe? Here’s a Thought: Move ON).

It seems absurd, yet Americans and our media now tar and feather anyone who dare question the approved narratives. Wokeism is now becoming the tip of the spear for the pharma industrial complex to cancel those that fall out of line. Facebook is now even starting to ‘fact check’ regenerative agriculture posts that mention holistic grazing with climate benefits.

Dissent = Misinformation

Dissent, and even skepticism is now being dangerously characterized as “misinformation”, while pharma marketing claims are now often labeled as “science”. It’s almost as if Orwell’s ‘newspeak’ is coming to life in realtime.

And the latest news is even more Orwellian as the Biden Administration mentions ‘misleading COVID narratives’. Disagree With Government Policy? Homeland Security Says You’re a ‘Terrorist’ if You Speak Out.

To even question the “Vaccines are Safe and Effective” narrative means possible loss of work or family drama. The ‘take the vaccine not for your health but to protect your mother’ mantra was repeated ad nauseum, despite the fact that you can still get COVID, spread COVID, and die from COVID even if you are vaccinated.

What Does “Safe and Effective” Really Mean?

Mirriam Webster defines “safe” as: 1 : free from harm or risk: unhurt. Vaccine injuries are generally under-reported but the numbers related to the COVID vaccine are staggering and increasing rapidly. From altering menstrual cycles in women to heart disease in boys and men, and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, the expanding list goes on.

With the growing vaccine injury issues of the mRNA jabs, Israel (which currently has one of the highest COVID death rates in the world- despite 4 jab booster regime) recently ordered 5 million non-genetic, non mRNA ‘old school’ Novavax vaccines.

A report reviewing data in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, co-authored by Dr. McCullough and Dr. Jessica Rose, a virologist and epidemiologist in Canada, found that the relative risk for myocarditis is increased by 19-fold in age 12 to 15-year-old males following the second mRNA vaccination compared to background myocarditis rates for this age group.

Interestingly, the report was pulled without a clear reason or explanation one week before the CDC deadline to review vaccine safety data in children.

A recent preprint from Kaiser Permanente Northwest also concluded that ‘the true incidence of myopericarditis is markedly higher than the incidence reported to US advisory committees’ and that ‘the VSD should validate its search algorithm to improve its sensitivity for myopericarditis.’

“Vaccine effectiveness” is another interesting term. Early epidemiological data is showing reduced rates of hospitalization and death in groups that are at higher-risk for developing severe COVID. However, there is now overwhelming evidence that the vaccines are not effective in preventing you from getting or transmitting COVID. Thus is this term ‘safe and effective’ based on sound science or should it have a qualifying statement to go along with it?

Weaponization of Vaccination Status

Mandates and vaccine passports based on experimental genetic vaccines (many of which were never officially approved by the FDA) are violations of the Geneva Convention, and arguably violations of the Nuremberg Code and human rights in general. One’s right to a job or going to your favorite café is now dependent on draconian and ever-changing rules.

California governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement of the lifting of indoor mask mandates only for those vaccinated, besides not being based on science, is divisive and antagonistic. Two shots were not enough and shortly three will be required to be a “member of society”, and soon perhaps four, five or more. Do Americans still have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? 

Waking Up (From the Woke?)

It’s truly strange times when your close friends or family would unwittingly rather have untold numbers of Americans die of a treatable disease (which must all be “misinformation”). However, a growing number of people are beginning to question the failed COVID policies.

Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands and the UK have all started to lift COVID restrictions. Remember when liberals used to suggest the U.S.A. should follow Scandinavian countries like Denmark?

Every day more people learn of the growing vaccine injuries or censorship of low cost repurposed medicines. Many are beginning to worry about the lack of transparency, misleading narratives, mandates and censorship, yet are afraid to say anything for fear of attacks on their reputation.

Regeneration 

It’s certainly fascinating to watch this unfold. Will public support fade for vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, school masking, and firing MDs for practicing medicine at the bedside? Will we gain the understanding of the linkage between soil health, pesticides, our gut biome health and regenerative agriculture (my 2021 article discusses this issue in more depth) as a key to boosting our personal and planet’s health?

As we shift from this pandemic to endemic phase, let’s make an extra effort to play more and nurture ourselves and our community. It’s time. Let’s regenerate.

EDITORS NOTE: This MERCOLA column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

U.S. Embassy In Ukraine Evacuates To Poland

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The U.S. State Department has ordered its personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to evacuate to Poland under threat of a Russian invasion, the U.S. announced Monday.

The U.S. had already evacuated most of its diplomats from the embassy in the capital city of Kyiv, and the few diplomats who remained moved to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. The small contingent of diplomats still in Kyiv is now evacuating fully.

“For security reasons, Department of State personnel currently in Lviv will spend the night in Poland,” The State Department said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.

The move comes just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a fiery speech in which he officially recognized two separatist groups in eastern Ukraine as independent states. The separatist groups currently lay claim to land under the control of the Ukrainian government, leading some to believe Putin’s speech was a prelude to war.

Ukraine is “an inherent part of our history, culture, spiritual space. They are our comrades, relatives, not only colleagues, friends, but also our family, people we have blood and family ties with,” Putin said. He went on to argue that the Ukrainian government is a puppet of the U.S. Putin also painted Ukraine as a security threat to Russia, so long as it remained close allies with NATO and the U.S.

Russia has amassed roughly 150,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders in recent months, according to U.S. intelligence. President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly argued that Putin will rely on a “false flag” or some other pretense to invade Ukraine. Some observers have argued that Putin’s complaints about Kyiv’s alleged “military action” are just such a pretense.

The U.S. and NATO have vowed aggressive economic consequences for Russia should Putin decide to invade.

COLUMN BY

ANDERS HAGSTROM

White House correspondent.

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Putin Claims Ukraine Was ‘Completely Created’ By Russia, Blasts Communists For ‘Giving’ It ‘Away’

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Has Fiction Become Science and Science Become Fiction?

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“A nation this is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” – John F. Kennedy

Science: The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

Fiction: Invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.

The first science fiction novel titled The Chymical Wedding was published in 1616 and written by Johannes Valentinus Andreae.

The Chymical Wedding was an allegoric romance story divided into Seven Days, or Seven Journeys, like Genesis, and recounts how Christian Rosenkreuz was invited to go to a wonderful castle full of miracles, in order to assist the Chymical Wedding of the king and the queen, that is, the husband and the bride. The Chymical Wedding is concerned with the inner transformation of the human soul.

A Trip to the Moon, a 1902 French film, is considered the first science fiction film ever made. It is about man travelling to the moon and returning to earth.

The first science fiction novel was about faith and a man’s soul. Today some still struggle with the idea of an all powerful and almighty God and their souls.

The first science fiction film became reality on July 20, 1969, when American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans ever to land and walk on the surface of the moon. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

What is interesting is that these two works allowed fiction to become science and science to become fiction.

Fast forward to 2022 and we have seen many films where man via science become superhuman. Two that come to mind are DC Comics Superman and Marvels Captain America. In the case of Superman, a.k.a. Clark Kent, came to earth via a space ship from Krypton. In the second case Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, was genetically enhanced soldier who had great strength, an enhanced intellect and longevity, being almost immortal.

Science or Science Fiction

Today we find that science isn’t what is was. Science has become fiction, even mythical. Science is being used to persuade people of its truthfulness in areas that are no longer rational or based on facts. It seems today that science has become more and more science fiction, not only in films like I Robot and Star Wars, but in government agencies like the Department of Energy, the Center for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Scientists, both those who work for the government and those who work in universities and funded by government grants, are producing science fiction.

The the new science fiction is about:

  • CLIMATE CHANGE: Scientists tell us that if we don’t stop changing the climate by using fossil fuels then we are all going to die, as will planet earth. They push the myth of carbon neutrality, the myth that mankind can change natures naturally occurring climate cycles, reduce the number of hurricanes, stop floods and the great myth that the sea levels are rising because of global warming. The truth is that it is the sun that has the greatest impact on the earth’s climate. Eliminating all green house gasses would take mankind back to the stone age. There are three absolutes, facts, about the climate: 1. the climate changes, 2. these changes are caused by naturally occurring cycles (i.e. summer, fall, winter, spring) and 3. there is nothing mankind can do to change these natural cycles.
  • GENDER AND SEXUAL DEVIANCY: Scientists want us to believe that there aren’t two genders, i.e. male (XX) and female (XY), but rather you can be and do what you want. This, the greatest science fictional myth, was begun by Alfred Charles Kinsey an American biologist, professor of entomology and zoology, and sexologist who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. During Kinsey’s research underaged boys were stimulated by adult pedophiles and pederasts. This led to the idea that sex wasn’t between one man and one woman but rather sex was solely for the sake of sexual stimulation and satisfaction. This lead to the growth of the LGBTQ+ movement. in an April 12th, 2014 column titled It’s Academic: Kinsey’s Love Affair with Pedophilia Three Generations Later wrote, “In fact, as long ago as 1948, the world’s future leaders were being taught that sex with children was intelligent adult behavior. Their teacher was that Rockefeller Foundation-funded biology professor at Indiana University, Alfred Kinsey. For 64 years—almost three generations—his Sexual Behavior in the Human Male has trained millions of young college students—like Berendzen, McGinnies, Sandusky, Spanier, and Fine—to believe that all sexual perversion is normal. Both hetero- and homosexual interactions with children are said to help children by replacing “sexually repressed” Judeo-Christian morality with a more “enlightened” sexual worldview. According to one Kinsey disciple, the late Dr. Loretta Haroian, “free sexual expression of children” requires “a sexually supportive society . . . in which every man, woman and child can say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to sex.” Dr. Haroian was a member of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, which has trained millions of “sexologists” in the Kinsey mode.” This even lead to scientists to search for a mythical “gay gene.” This is science fiction that promotes sexual deviancy.
  • THE PANDEMIC: Recently, the UVA Hospital denied Shamgar Connors a kidney because he refused to get a Covid vaccine and DJ Ferguson 31, father of two, was refused a heart transplant by Bostin Hospital because he too was unvaxxed. DJ’s dad says he’s on ‘the edge of death’! This is science fiction that causes doctors to refuse life saving treatments because the patient has decided not to be vaccinated for Covid. To fully understand how medical science has been coopted by the government and become science fiction read Federalizing the Science of Healthcare below.

New Laws for Scientists

It is time for renewed ethical laws for science and scientists.

The 2004 film I Robot  takes place in the year 2035 and is about how highly intelligent robots fill public service positions throughout the world. The problem occurs when robots no longer follow the three rules to keep humans safe. This theme is eerily familiar as today we are witnesses to scientists, acting like robots, harming humans.

Isaac Asimov in his 1950 science fiction book “I, Robot” formulated three laws governing a robots’ behavior. Asimov’s idea was to protect mankind from a robot’s superior ability to do harm. Asimov wrote,

“Because, if you stop to think of it, the three Rules of Robotics are the essential guiding principles of a good many of the world’s ethical systems.”

We decided to use Asimov’s laws and apply them to all scientists. Here are our Three Laws:

First Law

A scientist may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law

A scientist must obey the orders given it by human beings who employ them except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law

A scientist must protect his/her own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Federalizing the Science of Healthcare

Today Dissent = ‘Misinformation’ and Disinformation = Science. Here are three memorable quotes about Covid:

  • Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., “You’re not going to get COVID if you have the vaccines.”
  • Director of the CDC Rochelle Paula Walensky, “Vaccinated people do not carry the virus, and they don’t get sick.”
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, “When people are vaccinated, they can feel safe that they are not going to get infected.”

Now doctors and hospitals are not practicing medicine rather they’re just chasing profits and enforcing government mandates.

Hospitals and doctors used to focus solely on their patients, today they are focused primarily on profiting from government largess and sharing personal information with health plans and other heath care providers.

Project Veritas revealed a source who works for United Healthcare of Louisiana’s Inpatient Utilization Management Department is blowing the whistle on COVID cases possibly being inflated for financial incentive.

WATCH: The Chief Medical Officer for United Healthcare of Louisiana (Medicaid) opined in a recorded phone conversation that the Medicaid rate for reimbursement of COVID patients, which is faster and significantly higher, could be the motivation for the improper “primary diagnosis” codes.

QUESTION: How did this all begin?

It began when the government first digitized and then federalized healthcare and transferred power from doctors and hospitals to health insurance providers and government agencies like: OSHA, DHS, HHS and Congress.

What is most interesting is the Congress always exempts itself from following their own laws, e.g. Obamacare.

More recently this power increased under the idea that government must control all aspects of our lives in order to stop Covid from spreading. The idea of “two weeks to flatten the Covid curve” is now entering its second year. Draconian policies have been instituted by politicians at every level, further taking away the important doctor patient relationship and replacing it with a scientist-doctor-government relationship.

The Bottom Line

What we have seen over the decades is science being controlled by governments in order to push myths that increase their power and control over mankind on a global scale.

When government touches anything, it becomes tainted. When government forces scientists to tow their lines rather than test the hypotheses, then mankind suffers.

From climate change, to gender, to the current pandemic, its not science it’s fiction.

We are now in an era where fiction has become science and science has become fiction.

©Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.

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Border Crisis: We Need to Discuss Your Vote for Biden

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I want you Biden voters to know exactly what you voted for – immigration policies only left-wing ideologue open borders crazies could love.

You voted for our government not putting out immigration numbers because they’re getting worse and our government doesn’t want us to know it.

You voted for stronger, more powerful drug cartels and Chinese fentanyl flowing into the country.

You voted for 50 Afghans with potentially significant security concerns being released into the country.

You voted for illegal aliens getting federal stimulus checks.

You voted for turning the border patrol into baby-sitters and paper-pushers who are no longer allowed to do their real jobs.

You voted for losing track of 45,000 unaccompanied illegal alien minors.  If they’re being trafficked for forced labor or worse, this administration doesn’t know and doesn’t care.  You voted for that.

You voted for an administration that will stop requiring GPS monitoring for illegal aliens released into the country.

You voted for illegal alien criminals, who previously have been deported, to easily find their way back into the country where they commit murder and other crimes.

You voted for an administration that is doing its best not to comply with a court order to reinstate Trump’s effective Remain in Mexico policy.

You voted for policies that cut the deportation of illegal aliens by 90 percent.  These are people who scoff at our laws and don’t belong here.  You voted for that.

In short, you voted for more drugs, more security threats, more lawlessness, more crime, and more exploitation of minors.  You voted to embolden our adversaries like the drug cartels and China.

And you voted to keep it all hidden from the American people.  Why hide it?  If you’re proud of these policies, why wouldn’t you want to tell the whole world the results?

Bottom line:  You voted for a crisis at the southern border with no end in sight.  Happy now?  If you are, that makes you a left-wing ideologue open borders crazy.  You’ll get yours.  Retribution is coming.

Visit The Daily Skirmish and Watch Eagle Headline News – 7:30am ET Weekdays

©Christopher Wright. All rights reserved.

Joseph “Joey” Robinette Biden Jr. a Foreign Affairs Expert?

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How goes it this morning Deano, old sport?  I hope today finds you, the lovely Dylan and young Ari well.  So much going on already this morning.

Joey, the Great Negotiator

Yet, there is a new scenario developing in regards to the Russia/Ukraine border standoff.  After the Harris administrations numerous (erroneous) Russian invasion dates, we are going a different route.  That champion of foreign policy, and border aficionado,  Ole Joey Talibiden will try to broker a deal with Vladimir Putin to keep world peace. I don’t know about you Deano, but I feel a helluva lot better with this guy on the case.  I mean, after his masterful performance in the Afghanistan debacle, I mean withdrawal, what could go wrong?  On a side note, doesn’t the U.S. get military strategic information (invasion dates, for example) from our adversaries, you know like treasonous “General” Milley gives to China. One thing troubles me Deano.  More and more media outlets are saying that this military build up is basically being staged by Putin, just to get what he wants.  Joey’s handlers know that, and are trying to put lipstick on a pig: by ridiculously painting this mentally addled misfit, as the broker to keep world peace, while eventually  giving into Putin’s demands.  Are we really supposed to think this puppet is going to dictate terms to Putin, the right says.  Conservatives don’t believe for a minute, that this former leader in the KGB is going to bow to a 5 time draft dodger (due to asthma, unless of course lifeguarding and playing sports in high school, and college).

Pulitzer Prize, Really?

Yeah right radical right, what are you going to say next, that the “Russian Collusion” (Pulitzer Prize worthy, NY Times, WAPO) travesty, was just an elaborate hoax to smear elected President Trump for nearly 4 years. By the way, Hillary’s lawyers are presently scrambling to get the Durham report throw out……..nothing to see here.  Come on man!  “You know, the thing.”

Problems, What Problems?

Time will tell, if this is just another narrative being drummed up by the equally nefarious and corrupt liberal machine (media obviously included).  You know, to distract from the train wreck of the first year of the installed dementia ridden “POTUS.”  Things like, the Southern border absolute debacle, rampant inflation, violent crime exploding across this once great country, racial divide worse then ever(great unifier?), Afghanistan disaster, over $30,000,000,000,000 in national debt, etc., etc., etc.  Yep, Joey is going solve border issues half away around the world, when he can’t (won’t, by design) solve his own crisis…..ok, Deano.  They better hurry up this ruse, the SOTU address is coming up fast, 3/1.  Maybe Ole Nancy can get a postponement due to a new COVID variant.  What a sweet, sincere gal she is; right up there with Joy Behar. It is kind of fun watching Joey play President though.  We just have to try and cut the microphone faster though,  before questions start coming his way, those pesky reporters.  I think we need to get back to those favorite ice cream flavor questions again.   He even cancelled a trip to Delaware during this tense time.  That is not an easy task considering he has spent over a 1/4 of his installed time in the White House there.  Word is he had family issues to attend to.  Hopefully Hunter (famous artist), isn’t back on the pipe.  If he is though, maybe he can get a hold of one of Joey’s $30,000,000 safe drug kits…see, win, win.

I don’t know what the fuss is all about anyway.  We have Heels Up Harris over there using her persuasive ways.  She is always force to reckon with, with or without Willie Brown.  It still amazes me with all her great accomplishments: that she was only able to garner about  2% of the vote during the Democratic primaries……..truly unbelievable.  I can’t for the life of me figure out why little Joey chose her with those numbers, can you Deano?

Antisemitic Assassination Attempt by BLM

Well, that is it for now.  I’ll try and reach out to you later champ.  I’d like to discuss the attempted assassination of a Jewish mayoral candidate In Kentucky by a BLM leader, a one Quintez Brown (out on bail).  Maybe you could put that investigative reporter Kenny Vogel on the story. Or maybe get an opinion piece, by the fair and balanced opinion contributor Jamelle Bouie who seems to write about racial concerns very objectively.  Maybe you could speak with them, when you get back from your highly non-diverse enclave in Larchmont, California. President Trump is a racist! Keep it up with the journalistic integrity your “newspaper” is known for.  Keep on “printing the news that is fit to print.”  Your investigative, unbiased reporting puts a smile on my face every morning.

Sincerely,

Chris Cirino

©Christopher Cirino. All rights reserved.

God or Government: Who Do You Trust?

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Should a Believer Trust The Government?

I find it curious that so many ‘religious people’ still believe, and place their trust in, the fallacy that governments are going to make things better for them and their families.  Ronald Reagan once said: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’”.  That old saw has made the rounds many times and still gets a few laughs, but the premise behind it is not laughable.  There are literally thousands of recorded instances of people who relied on the government to help them in certain situations and they were, for the most part, greatly disappointed.  That so many  ‘non-believers’ have bought into the satanic deception that governments can be trusted is not surprising, but a large number of those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ are also among those who place a great amount of trust in government.

A large number of seriously deluded Americans, both Christians and non-Christians, have the idea that “Uncle Sam”, as the US government has long been called, is a beneficent ‘rich uncle’ who needs only to be asked and he will give you whatever you need.  However, one must examine that idea carefully to avoid being further deceived by such nonsense.

To begin with, the US government manufactures no goods or products, it produces absolutely nothing tangible, and therefore has no inherent monetary wealth with which to be ‘beneficent’ to anyone.  In order for the government to function at any level, it must tax its citizens to get the revenue it uses to exist and function.  It has been thus with all governments since at least the time of Jesus.  When questioned by the Pharisees whether it was lawful to give tribute (taxes) to Caesar, Jesus asked for a coin that was used to pay the tax,  and having verified that the inscription on the coin was that of Caesar, He told His disciples and the evil Pharisees to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God, what is God’s” (Mark 12:17)

I am not, and would not, advocate that any American citizen, especially those who are believers, refuse to pay the taxes levied by any ‘legitimate government’.  Jesus Himself told His disciples to pay the tribute levied by the Roman government.  Failure to do so would be illegal and unwise.  But, though we are to “pay Caesar” (the government) what is owed to them, we do NOT owe them our trust, or our worship.

Did the Founders Trust The Government?

Abraham Lincoln called the United States, “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, and that may have been true when the government was originally formed; at least that’s what was promised to all the citizens of the new country.  However, it was not very long until the words of several of the Founding Fathers rang true.  The Founders may have trusted the idea of a republican form of government, but, with a strong belief in God, and an understanding of human nature, they seemed to have serious doubts about those who administer the government.

For example, Benjamin Franklin injected this note of prophetic insight after writing much of the US Constitution:

“I agree to this Constitution … and I believe, further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other”.  Samuel Adams said: “If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”

These are just a few of the comments made by early American leaders who feared that corruption would turn the ‘grand experiment’ of what should have been a beautiful republic, into a corrupt and despotic democracy.  A large majority of our Founders were God-fearing men who knew that, unless the government remained solidly based on the Judeo-Christian values upon which it was founded, it would soon turn from ‘republicanism’ into a democracy.  The Founding Fathers were, first and foremost, landowners who grew crops, ran businesses and engaged in profitable commerce.  They were NOT politicians.  They understood the difference between a republic and a democracy and desired to establish a true republic.  For a while, their attempts produced a wonderful government experiment that became a real republic.

Unfortunately, we are now living in a country that only faintly resembles the original republic.  Having degenerated into a corrupt, and sometimes chaotic democracy, our nation’s government has been tainted by evil and greed, and an unchecked hunger for power and control, the very definition of being ‘political.

If you actually know the meaning of ‘politics’, this comes as no great surprise.

Per Dictionary.com, this is the definition of ‘politics’: “the use of intrigue* or strategy** in obtaining any position of power^ or control^^, as in business, university, etc.”. 

*The definition of ‘intrigue’ is: “the use of underhanded machinations or deceitful stratagems”.

**Strategy is defined as: a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result”.  The words ‘power’ and ‘control’ should need no definition.  The desire for power, especially when fulfilled, usually leads to a hunger for more power.  John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902) famously said: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.  We are now seeing and living in a nation that is the result of corruption based on greed for power and money, in other words, a nation whose government cannot be trusted, period.

I contend that of all the names, or entities, a person can place his or her trust in, the United States government is certainly NOT one of them.

Accepting the Lie

Anyone truly interested in knowing what is happening in almost every segment of our society is easily able to educate himself/herself with available data on the level of corruption now rampant in the US government.  Those who claim otherwise are merely allowing themselves to be deceived into believing a lie, or they are a part of the corruption and are therefore complicit in the continuing deception of the American people.

Based on comments made by many college students interviewed on various campuses across America, the vast majority of them seem to have no problem with what is happening to our former republic and have seemingly bought the lie that ‘socialism is a good thing’.  They seem to be in favor of implementing a system that will turn our nation into a third world socialist toilet, as it has in every place it has been tried.  The evil system of socialism itself is based on a lie, as is the claim that socialism is, was, or ever could be a sound system of government.

What is that lie?  That everyone should rely on government to provide for their every need from cradle to grave, and that government can actually be trusted to follow through on the promise to provide those needs.  Current promoters of socialism claim that previous attempts to make socialism succeed were ‘not done right’; they insist that when socialism is allowed to grow and flourish, everyone will be better off because the ‘wealth’ will be distributed ‘more evenly’ throughout society.

Personally, I have worked hard all my life and have been greatly blessed by God with a strong work ethic and blessed by Him in all my endeavors.  I learned at an early age to accept that we live in a cursed world and that the curse pronounced on Adam, and through him, on the earth, has not yet been lifted.  As a result, I have been very successful in most of my endeavors, thanks to God.  The very idea that someone in a government should have the right, or authority, to determine what happens to my assets is totally abhorrent to me.

Wealth redistribution is, and long has been, well-established in our government and is a regular occurrence in the US Congress whereby those who are supposed to be working for the betterment of all their constituents, are instead working on ways to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense.  Nearly all the representatives in both the US House and the US Senate leave Congress much, much wealthier than when they entered it.  Those who so easily and eagerly accept the ‘socialism lie’ fail to understand that the socialists’ plan for wealth redistribution requires that only a certain, small number of people, especially those who feel that, due to what they perceive as their higher ‘level of intelligence’ than all the rest of the lower class of people, will decide how all wealth is distributed.  Because they have accepted the socialists lie, they still display some level of trust in those corrupt people who have been elected to political offices in Congress, or the Presidency.

In 1837, President Andrew Jackson said, “I weep for the liberty of my country when I see at this early day of its successful experiment that corruption has been imputed to many members of the House of Representatives, and the rights of the people have been bartered for promises of office.”  Old Hickory would be horrified if he could see the extent of corruption that is now so much a part of our American political system today.

The members of Congress alluded to by President Jackson, as well as the majority of those who have served there since Jackson’s day, were, and still are, greatly enriched by the ‘backroom’ deals they make, lobbying each other, and FOR each other, to get money from the treasury allocated to their pet special projects, some of which money, amazingly, seems to find its way into their own pockets.  The same corrupt congressional reps are privy to insider trading information and, even though it is illegal, when such information is used, it permits them to become extremely wealthy.  Where did the excessive wealth of congressional veterans originate?  To some extent, it came from the very treasury they were elected to oversee and  safeguard.

This information is public knowledge and is available for anyone who wants to dig for it.  In spite of the availability of the info proving the corruption of government and its officials, many people still have some confidence in those to whom has been entrusted the oversight of the national treasury.  Even worse, with all the corruption that CAN easily be seen through simple research, much more is hidden from our sight.

The Deception of Human Government

While some believers may be deceived into accepting the lie of the world and its governments, the lie that tries to convince us that our trust can, and should, be placed in that government’s benevolence and its ability to care for all its citizen’s needs, others are now seeing the error in that acceptance.  The statement, “Government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have”, should be remembered and memorized by every believer.  Though the identification of the author of it is unverified, this famous statement has been made by many throughout the years; personally, I remember Barry Goldwater saying this in his campaign for President back in 1964.  Regardless of who originally said it, it still rings true today.  It is very easy to make promises, especially during the emotionally charged setting of a presidential campaign.  Following through on such promises is usually a much more difficult matter.  Harry Browne famously stated: “For those looking for security, be forewarned, there is nothing more insecure than a political promise”.  It must be remembered that, since government is not a producer/seller of goods, all the money it promises to one group of people must be taken from a different group of people: “Hello, wealth redistribution!  Hello, Socialism!  Goodbye freedom and prosperity!”

The thought of receiving something that one has neither inherited nor earned, something that can be had with little to no effort on the part of the recipient, is a temptation too strong for most people to resist, and they eagerly buy into the fallacy that ‘they have a right to it’ when in fact, no one has the right to anything that was not earned by ‘the sweat of thy face”, based on the curse pronounced by God on Adam, and thus on the entire human race, in Genesis 3:18.  The lure of things easily obtained thorough a promise made by a politician, if accepted by the recipient, is a destroyer of motivation, a work-ethic killer that has robbed millions of Americans of the joy of working, sometimes very hard, to obtain that which is needed for life and fulfillment.  Those who mistakenly believe that they can have all their ‘things’ simply by putting their trust in human government, will find themselves disappointed, disillusioned and usually desperate at some point in their lives.  Misplaced trust can lead to a state of complete confusion and a lost ability to trust anything or anyone again.

Rahm Emmanuel, a member of the administration of former president Barack Obama once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”  In this time of ‘crisis’, supposedly brought on by a deadly virus that has swept across the world, it is once again apparent that government wants to establish itself as the saviour of man.  Due to the virus, our entire economy has been affected, with many businesses shut down and people told to ‘stay home’.  While these unconstitutional lockdown orders have already destroyed many small businesses, with many others uncertain if they will reopen when ‘the crisis’ is over, government has stepped in with their offer of a ‘stimulus’, basically a government-funded handout to ‘help people’.  Meanwhile our debt-ridden nation has seen another 2+ trillion dollars added to an already unpayable debt.

I research every major national event, especially the crises we face, to try to get the real facts about them, not just what the experts and government leaders tell us.  Now that this crisis has been going on for several months, and after the American public has been spoon-fed many ‘so-called facts’ that have since been proven to be lies, it is time for all of us to ask: “Just what is the truth of this event, and what has actually happened?”

Medical Event or Political Event?

I am certainty not a medical doctor, so I have no factual evidence of the deadliness, or lack thereof, of this virus, but I have enough common sense to know that this event appears to be a carefully planned attempt to see how far the American people can be pushed to obey unconstitutional orders.  It was pushed to us all using fear as the basis, telling us that hundreds of thousands of us, possibly millions of us, would die from this virus.  We all know what a powerful motivator fear can be.  It is one of the main tools Satan has used to destroy people in one way or another and he has become expert in its use.

The latest data I read concerning the total number of cases of the virus and the deaths from it indicate that the death rate is around 0.15 %, certainly much lower than the original estimate of 3-4%, or even higher, as stated by the medical experts that advise our President.  The actual death rate is very close to the average death rate of seasonal influenza that we all contend with year after year.  And we are now learning that the overwhelming number of people who have died as a result of this virus, are those who are elderly and/or have one or more underlying medical issues that cause the virus to be more deadly.  Now, in spite of the facts about the virus, we are being told to keep fearing, that this virus will certainly return this fall to destroy us all again.  Based on what we now know of the true death rate of the virus, we seem to be facing some contradictions.

Ayn Rand, in her colossal and classic novel, “Atlas Shrugged” said, “Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”  Realizing the nature of contradictions, that they are highly illusory, every person, and especially every believer must ask himself: “What premise have I been using to determine the truth of this ‘crisis’”?  If that premise is that governments can be trusted to speak the truth, then it is certainly time to examine our premises and make some changes in them.

All those who have placed their trust in government, then see how corrupt that government truly is, and how untrustworthy it is, will likely believe they are facing a ‘contradiction’.  However, their original premise, that governments can be trusted, is a ‘wrong premise’.  They CANNOT be trusted.

What to Do, Whom to Trust

If believers ever find themselves confused, confounded, or conflicted by what is happening around them, regarding the level of government corruption, their only recourse is to go back to the basics of God’s Word to determine what a true follower of Jesus should place his or her trust in.

One can easily find Godly direction on trust, in the Psalms:

“O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:” (Psalm 7:1). “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me” (Psalm 56;11).  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” (Psalm 91:2).  “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5).  Paul, writing to Timothy said: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (I Timothy 6:17).

These are just a few of the many scriptures written in God’s Word where we are commanded to ‘trust in God’ and not in the world or any of the riches of this world.

But exactly what does it mean to trust God?  How does one go about it?  Is there a secret formula that can be followed to become a ‘God-truster’?  I go back to my earliest childhood experiences, remembering my father, a common man, poorly-educated, albeit a hard-working man from the south.  Though uneducated, he was raised by a God-fearing mother who always taught her seven children to work hard, love and worship God and to live by His word.  I knew from a very young age that my father and mother loved me and wanted to provide the very best for me, to the extent they were able.  I always knew that Dad and Mom would keep me fed, clothed and healthy though we were quite poor.  I never lacked for the necessities growing up, and I knew it was due to the love of my Dad and Mom for me, and the fact they trusted God for provision.  I learned over a short period of time during my childhood to trust my parents for my needs.  Along with my trust, I learned to love Dad and Mom wholeheartedly.

Therefore, whenever I would approach my Dad to ask for something I really wanted, I knew that, when he said he would do it, he would do it no matter what the cost to him.  There were times when he told me no, either because what I had asked was more than he could afford, or it was not a good thing for me.  But, when he said yes to any request, he never let me down.  I learned to trust his word, and trust HIM through his actions that fulfilled his words.  Trusting God is no different than trusting a human parent; it starts with knowing the words that they have spoken and believing they will put the full force of their authority behind those words.

Jesus taught this same precept to His disciples:

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:9-11).

When Jesus disciples’ tried to keep a group of small children away from Him, Jesus taught His disciples how anyone must relate to God in order to please Him: “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, Suffer (permit) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:13-15).

We must relate to our heavenly Father as we would to our earthly fathers, by developing a simple, child-like faith in the words that God has spoken, by first believing, then knowing, that He will put all His authority behind those words to provide for us when we ask anything according to those words.  Over a period of years, developing such faith will bring us to a place where we can approach the Throne of Grace, boldly and, by simply asking and believing, receive from Him (Hebrews 4:16).  However, just as it took some formative years in my early life to trust my Dad, building a relationship that led to trust, it takes time to build a relationship with God, through His word, to reach that place of loving Him and trusting in Him and His word.

Conclusion

The US government has multiple web sites where they post almost any information they are willing to share.  Supposedly, in those postings, one can learn just what to expect from the government.  But, keep in mind, that doesn’t mean that those words, though posted publicly for all to see, will always be what the government does.  On the contrary. Anyone placing blind trust in any government will soon learn that the people who write all the legislation and the regulations that control so much of our lives, are experts in ‘doublespeak’.  Just as I learned to trust my Dad, then God, through experiencing their ability and their willingness to make good on their words, I have learned that one can only trust a government to the extent it  has proven itself trustworthy.  Since there has never been a successful human government in the nearly 6000 years since Adam was created, it stands to reason that no government has earned that trust. And until Jesus returns to this earth and establishes a righteous kingdom, with Himself on the throne, that will not change.

I realize that, no matter what I write here, there will still be millions of folk, both rich and poor, who will still place all their trust in some government, expecting that, whatever that government has promised, it will bring to pass.  This blind trust will likely keep them in the dark and unwilling to accept that governments are NOT to be trusted, until they experience the doublespeak of government for themselves.  The world is still blindly stumbling along in the darkness and will continue to do so until a light shines in their lives, and dispels that darkness.  Until then, we can only pray that someone already living in the light will share it with them.

However, true believers should not be living in any kind of darkness.  With eyes, both fleshly and spiritual, wide open, they should by now know that all the governments of the world are inherently evil, totally or nearly corrupt and are under the control of Satan (Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:5-6) and his evil minions, both demonic and human, who have no other motivation than to steal, kill and destroy.  Somehow, it seems foolish to place any trust in a government that is mostly controlled by the persons who have determined to destroy us all.

In direct opposition to Satan is Jesus, whom God’s word says is the LIGHT, and He has come to bring LIFE (John 10:10).  Only by placing all our trust in Him, in simple childlike faith, will we ever experience true peace, joy and fulfillment.  No earthly government can honestly make this claim, and should not be trusted to fulfill it if they do.

Loving someone and trusting them wholeheartedly go hand in hand.  If you truly love them, you will trust them completely.  In Exodus 20:2-17, you will find listed the ten commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sanai.  The first is: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2).  God indicated that He is a jealous God who forbids the worship of any other god, in whatever form it may exist.  Jesus, when asked by a lawyer, “What is the great commandment in the law?”, replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).  The author of Exodus 20 doesn’t use the words “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”, but simply says, “You shall have no other gods before Me”.   In my mind, since love and trust go hand in hand, the Lord is saying: “the thing that you love, and trust most, has, or will, become the god you worship.”  Knowing that God is indeed a jealous God, we must be extremely careful not to love and place our trust in anything that could come between us and God. If one places all his or her trust in government promises, as though the government were capable of providing a person’s needs, has that person then made the government his god?  That is a question every believer must ask and answer to his own satisfaction, all the while remembering that God will not share His glory with any man or government.

I am reminded of the words reportedly spoken by Nancy Pelosi, who after being elected the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2006, said: “You don’t need God anymore, you have us Democrats”.  The fact that she is, once again, Speaker of the House, is a sobering reminder that anyone, other than God Himself, claiming to have godlike qualities, abilities, and attributes, is a person never to be trusted, EVER.  Every person, whether saved or unsaved, has the right to choose whom to trust; as for me and my house, we will serve, and trust, the Lord.

Blessings!

budaroo@twc.com

©Bud Hancock. All rights reserved.

VIDEO: FDA Exec Exposes Close Ties Between Agency and Big Pharma

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*CLICK HERE TO TWEET OUT THE VIDEO*

Project Veritas released Part Two of its video series on the FDA today, which features FDA Executive Officer, Christopher Cole, speaking about the inner workings of the agency — including the FDA’s conflicts of interest, overspending, and why it’s hard for those within the agency to speak out on such abuses.

Here are some of the highlights from today’s video:

  • FDA Executive Officer, Christopher Cole: “The drug companies, the food companies, the vaccine companies. So, they pay us hundreds of millions of dollars a year to hire and keep the reviewers to approve their products.”
  • Cole on FDA fees: “Congress approved user fees for [the] FDA. Basically, we charge the industry millions of dollars in order to hire more drug reviewers and vaccine reviewers which will speed up the approval process. So, they [pharmaceutical companies] make more money.”
  • Cole: “They [FDA] tone down the impact of the user fees on their operations because they know they’re dependent on the drug companies, and the vaccine companies, and these other companies for their agency to operate.”
  • Cole on blowing the whistle: “There’s not an incentive to speak out in government, surprisingly. You would think there would be, but there’s not. It’s better just to just not say anything and just ignore it.”

You can watch the full video by HERE.

Cole’s LinkedIn page lists him as an Executive Officer within the agency’s Countermeasures Initiatives, which plays a critical role in ensuring that drugs, vaccines, and other measures to counter infectious diseases and viruses are safe. He made these revelations on a hidden camera to an undercover Project Veritas reporter.

A spokesperson for FDA issued a statement yesterday saying, “The person purportedly in the video does not work on vaccine matters and does not represent the views of the FDA.”

This statement appears to contradict a phone call released Wednesday afternoon by Project Veritas wherein Cole reiterated that he is “a manager in the office that helps oversee the approval of the COVID vaccines for emergency approval.”

Will the FDA clarify this situation? Only time will tell…

*CLICK HERE TO TWEET OUT THE VIDEO*

EDITORS NOTE: This Project Veritas video report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

A Global March by Putin’s KGB Mafia/Army

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I am writing about Vladimir Putin for three reasons: First, I belong to a few who know more about Vladimir Putin than others. Second, we are watching Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America. Third: the recently revealed Durham’s bombshell is not news for me, I was writing about the deep criminal conspiracy of Russia’s Intelligence and the Democrat Party for thirty years. Durham is on the right path to expose it. Yet, for expressing my knowledge and sharing it with the American public, the FBI has submitted my name to the FISA Court and made me a Foreign Agent. That is the reason, you still have not read my books and articles: they have become banned …

All America’s problems and troubles in 2022 are caused by Putin’s KGB’ Mafia/Army and that is the reason knowledge of Putin’s KGB Mafia/Army is imperative. I am a political refugee from Russia and I know Putin. He and I lived in the same city and we both were Soviet lawyers. We studied Marxism-Leninism and Stalinism at the Law School for four years. My major was Criminal Law, Putin’s International Law. He graduated from Law School twenty years later, when I had already been practicing law as a defense attorney. His mentor, a Chair of the International Law Faculty, was my close friend: a smart and very savvy man with broad political horizons, who gave Putin recommendation to the KGB after Putin graduated from Law School.

Vladimir Putin is a creation of the Soviet Socialist System. That means: Putin is a byproduct of Stalin’s dreams of One World Socialist Government under the Kremlin rule. Putin is connected to Stalin by the umbilical cord of ideology. The same connection Putin has with China and Chairman Xi Jinping; they are both war criminals, the natural allies representing Socialist/Communist forces waging the war against Western civilization and American Capitalism… I have been writing about this war for the last thirty years and called it WWIII. Read my books and columns at www.drrichswier.com/author/spipko/ and http://www.simonapipko1.com/index.htm.

The Roots of WWIII: Putin’s Socialist Revolution in America

 It is not a coincidence that Peter Schweizer began his book Red Handed about China with a quotation from Vladimir Lenin and the Soviet times. That fact proves the real history of events—the war against American capitalism started a hundred years ago by Russia. Though China’s military now is a great danger to the United States today, yet, Russia presents an existential threat to America, covertly destroying our republic from within. All America’s problems in 2022 derive from the decades of real collusion between Russia’s Intelligence and the American Democrat Party. Bill Clinton was the first American President recruited and drilled by the KGB under the Chairman, Yuri Andropov in 1969-1970. Read the details in my book: What is Happening to America? The Hidden Truth of Global Destruction, XLIBRIS, 2012.      

Yes, all America’s problems in 2022 are caused by Putin’s KGB’ Mafia/Army and that is the reason knowledge of Putin’s KGB Mafia/Army is imperative. The second American President, Barack Obama has been educated and drilled also by the KGB mafia/Army. The above mentioned book details his story as well. The massive infiltration by the KGB Mafia/Army to American democratic institutions, courts, sports, and government took place during the time of Clinton’s and Obama’s presidencies. Biden’s presidency has also been created by the Putin’s KGB Mafia/Army and the first executive orders by Biden illustrated its anti-American essence: self-inflicting energy policy, inflation, and open borders have continued demolition of the American republic… Read my book: Socialist Revolution in America, XLIBRIS, 2021

There is a special and fundamental idea in my entire writings: a war against Western civilization and American capitalism by the totalitarian Regimes. That multi-faceted geopolitical war for world domination started by Stalin and developed at the time by his devoted disciples, the KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov 1967-1982 and Vladimir Putin. This war has never stopped. The tension of Russia’s claim over Ukraine is that WWIII was waged by Vladimir Putin in the center of Europe today. His desire to have a Great Russia will impact the entire world and destabilize the globe.

Putin had thirty years to prepare, analyze, and calculate his war on Ukraine. The Democrat Party has given Putin those thirty years. Today, Putin practices coercive diplomacy along with intimidation and threat to the world order. Democracy is under attack and the dark future is looming. Modern Warfare has changed dramatically since WWII: there are now a quadruple opportunity to kill and destroy, let alone cyberattacks and electronic warfare, known well by the KGB Mafia/Army…

Please, remember September 1, 1939 when WWII had begun by Nazis with a false flag operation Glaives against Poland: the German soldiers disgusted in Polish uniform attacked Nazi Germany. Doesn’t it remind you of Putin’s preparation to attack Ukraine? Do you remember Hitler, Nazis and their war against Western democracies in WWII? This is the repetition and illustration of the aggressive and reckless behavior of the leaders in the global setting! Fascism never sleeps. Watch similar events in our hemisphere.

I have been writing about worldwide Russian/China’s criminal activities for thirty years. Misinformation means in Russian—Disinformation. Planting a fraud is the usual Russian dirty trick and Putin is a master of provocation, dirty tricks, sabotage, and disinformation. I have deliberately focused your attention on the Soviet narrative-propaganda to lie, deceive, or defraud to advance the agenda—those are the tools. For that exact reason I was writing about Socialist modus operandi and describing it as lies, deceit, and fraud. Those verbs exactly portrayed the intent to misinform and mislead.

In fact, it was the exact task of Socialist modus operandi described by me based on Stalin’s Political Correctness and aimed at masking the truth and substituting it with the Stalinist Dogma of Soviet Socialism. The essence of Stalin’s PC, those precise narratives, actions, and events you can see in Biden’s 2021-2022 America. This Socialist modus operandi has been implemented in all countries of “the Axis of Evil” under the Russian umbrella, now run by Putin. Read my columns about “the Axis of Evil” to see the real division of the globe and the place the Democrat Party occupied.

I have already warned you that America looks very weak on the world stage in 2022 and as a result the criminal and aggressive “Axis of Evil” forces will act. You will see their real faces! In this respect, Hunter Biden’s connection with Moscow’s Mayor, which means the KGB and the weak personality of our President Biden is the crux of the matter. Watching and following Joe’s family for the last decade, I found his direct ties with Putin and the KGB. He has been collaborating with Putin since 2013-2014 or maybe even prior to that. You saw Biden illustrating his interest in helping Putin to suffocate democratic Ukraine. Do you remember Biden’s quid-pro-quo with $1 Billion of our money? He was against the democratic Ukraine!

Just look at Biden’s first executive orders to undermine American energy policy, the major engine of our independence and success of capitalism. His un-American energy policy impacted the American economy, creating world crises and giving control and power to Russia… At the same time Joe Biden helped Russia with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, providing Putin with psychological support, and enabling him to act aggressively further. Biden didn’t “carry a big stick” he did the opposite! I don’t trust Biden’s team and don’t believe a word from them: I suspected the KGB was running his presidency. Putin’s aggressive plan to surround a defenseless Ukraine on three sides with almost 200 thousand troops is a threat to Humanity and world stability. That conduct required a stronger language against the Russian aggressor. Listening to Jake Sullivan, we heard the opposite. Wake up, America! Democrats keep failing you!

Watch the American administration’s narratives and actions: censorship, control, self-defeating energy policy, inflation, and surge of crime. Those are anti-American events opposing moral principles of our Constitutional republic. Moreover, you can see a collaboration of the government with big-tech corporations censoring the descent. Pay attention to the recent policies of the Canadian and American administrations. Be aware: your political view has become the cause of freezing your bank account by the government. Socialism and Fascism are two sides of the same totalitarian coin and Fascism never sleeps.

Biden called Tridua to inspire him to apply more severe police force against truckers. Both administrations are deeming the Canadian Truckers and American parents to be the terrorists. For control and power they are expending the definition of terrorism, which is illegal. Recently, Justin Tridua is engaged in fascistic practicing, treating truckers as terrorists, arresting the leaders and their bank accounts. It is not law and order, but it is Martial Law against democracy.

Here is the right conclusion “Every day Americans need to wake up to how their own money is used to advance an ideological agenda that they find repugnant.” Vivek Ramaswamy.

Special Counsel Durham and the Faith of the Democrat Party 

 Yes, if Special Counsel John Durham knows Russia and its Intelligence, he will be able to prove long-term treasonous activities of the Democrat Party leadership—a real collusion of the leadership with the KGB Mafia/Army. I was describing that exact collusion in my columns and books providing a reader with the names and events for thirty years. I had named six candidate-Democrats running for the U.S. presidency sponsored by the KGB. Some of them are now in the Biden administration. You see the result of the KGB’ Special Operations during the decades…

I am warning you again: Our national security is at stake. The entire Trump/Russia collusion narrative was a politically motivated scam, calculated, coordinated, and orchestrated by Russia’s Intelligence in concert with the leadership of the Democrat Party to cover up the crime they themselves have been committing for decades. The leaders of that politically motivated scam were Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Vladimir Putin. We were witnessing the KGB Mafia/Army Special Operation against the American Constitutional republic. The operation is still going on… Read about Stalin’s postulates and Andropov’s design to infiltrate America in my columns.

I think that Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have a common agenda to save the Democrat Party from extinction; and that makes Putin’s hands free for an arrogant aggression. Today you see Putin’s psychological pressure on the West for concessions: he wants to have a Buffer-Zone and occupy Donbass in Eastern Ukraine.

Remember, the symbols played a big role in Putin’s Soviet mind. The Soviet Union was established in 1922—a centennial is in 2022. February 23d is the Day of the Soviet Army.

Putin will act… Just wait…

To be continued at:  http://www.simonapipko1.com/index.htm and www.drrichswier.com/author/spipko/

©Simona Pipko. All rights reserved.

Trump On Russia-Ukraine Tensions: ‘Would Never Have Happened Under The Trump Administration’

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Indeed.

Trump On Russia-Ukraine Tensions: ‘Would Never Have Happened Under The Trump Administration’

By The Freedom Times, February 19, 2022

45th President Donald Trump said in an email statement on Monday that the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine would never have occurred while he was in office.

NATO announced on Jan. 24 that it is placing extra forces on standby and sending more warships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe as Russia continues its military buildup near Ukrainian territory. NATO’s announcement comes one day after the U.S. State Department ordered family members of government employees at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv to leave Ukraine, and authorized the voluntary departure of nonessential civil servants, The Epoch Times reported.

“What’s happening with Russia and Ukraine would never have happened under the Trump Administration. Not even a possibility!” the 45th President said in an email statement from his “Save America” PAC.

Newsweek reported:

Russia recently told the U.S. to stop providing military aid to Ukraine, warning it had “almost completed” assembling 127,000 troops at the Ukrainian border.

The Russian Embassy in Washington said if the U.S. was “truly committed to diplomatic efforts to resolve the internal Ukrainian conflict” it would “abandon plans to supply new batches of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

The United States and the European Union, wary of Russia’s intentions since it seized Crimea and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014, have warned Russia not to invade, per The Epoch Times.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the West is showing “hysteria” and is putting out information “laced with lies.”

“As for specific actions, we see statements by the North Atlantic Alliance about reinforcement, pulling forces and resources to the eastern flank. All this leads to the fact that tensions are growing,” Peskov said. “This is not happening because of what we, Russia, are doing. This is all happening because of what NATO and the U.S. are doing and due to the information they are spreading.”

Meanwhile, Defense Department Spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that 8,500 US troops are on “heightened alert” if needed to deploy to Ukraine and “no decisions have been made to deploy any forces from the U.S. at this time”.

45th President Donald Trump’s email statement posted on Twitter by his spokesperson Liz Harrington:

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Taliban Judge: Women Can’t be Judges because they ‘have lesser brains’

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This is based on a hadith:

Narrated Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delivered a Khtubah in which he exhorted them, then he said: “O women! Give charity for you are the majority of the people of the Fire.” A woman among them said: “And why is that O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Because of your cursing so much.” – meaning your ungratefulness towards your husbands. He said: “And I have not seen any among those lacking in intellect and religion who are more difficult upon people possessing reason and insight than you.” A woman among them said: “And what is the deficiency of her intellect and religion?” He said: “The testimony of two women among you is like the testimony of a man, and the deficiency in your religion is menstruation, because one of you will go three or four days without performing Salat.” (Jami al-Tirmidhi, 5.40.2613)

Taliban judge says women have lesser brains: Read how human rights are crushed in Afghanistan after Taliban have taken over

 OpIndia, February 16, 2022:

…The documentary covers various regions of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. It reveals that women have no human rights in the Islamic rule there. Marrying a 15-year-old daughter to some 80-year-old man in exchange for some money and a few sheep is normal. Women get beaten by their husbands on a regular basis. So much so that their hand-bones, leg-bones, nose, etc. are broken.

One such case is referred to in the documentary in which the victim woman had complained against her husband with all the proofs of domestic violence including medical reports. She was asking for the divorce and the lady judge in that court had ordered the separation of the couple. Before the judgment could realize, the Taliban took over the country. Now the woman is forced to stay with her husband who continues to beat her on regular basis and the lady judge who had passed the judgment is living somewhere secretly, hiding her identity fearing the Talibani torture.

A Talibani judge who had handled this case in the new Islamic setup was asked about this. Replying to the journalist, he had said, “It was a very simple case. She just put allegations. She had no witness to the domestic violence she was claiming. On the other hand, her husband had sworn in by the holy book. So he was to be believed.”

Next, he was asked if women could do his job to which he replied, “No. Because women have lesser brains and they are not good believers.”…

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

VIRGINIA: Biden’s Handlers Dumping 16,000 Afghan ‘Translators’ in Loudoun County, Most Don’t Speak English

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Sheriff Michael Chapman of Loudoun County, Va. got an unpleasant surprise recently from Old Joe Biden’s handlers. On Thursday, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) published a press release that reveals the truly astonishing extent of the administration’s high-handedness, dishonesty, carelessness, and recklessness in its resettlement of Afghan refugees in cities and towns all over the United States. Without any prior warning, Loudoun County officials were told that 2,000 Afghan refugees would be arriving in the county in just over two weeks and that 2,000 more would be arriving every month after that through September. In what will come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention for the last thirteen months, Chapman and other Loudoun County officials found the Biden team to be disingenuous, uncooperative, poorly prepared, and worse.

“On February 4, 2022,” says the Sheriff’s Office press release, “the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) received an unannounced visit by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Protective Service (FPS) in which it learned that approximately 2000 Afghan refugees, per month, were slated to arrive at the Washington Dulles International Airport during a window beginning as early as February 19, 2022, and extending to September 2022.” This gave them just two weeks to prepare for the influx. “DHS/FPS regional personnel advised the refugees would be transported by bus to the National Conference Center (NCC) where they would stay until their ultimate relocation elsewhere in the United States. DHS/FPS estimated that no more than 1000 refugees per month would remain at the NCC at any given time until September 2022. The refugees, for the most part, would enter the US from Qatar.”

Let’s remember that in Oct. 2021, a Congressional delegation in Qatar led by Rep. Darell Issa (R-Calif.) was told that fully 12,000 of the Afghans who had come to Camp As Sayliyah and then went on to the U.S. had no identification at all. Issa stated: “They came with nothing. No Afghan I.D., no I.D. of any sorts. Those people were all forwarded on to the U.S., and that’s quite an admission. So many people had no I.D. whatsoever and yet find themselves in the United States today based on what they said.”

Are any of these people we know absolutely nothing about going to Loudoun County? There’s no way to tell, but once they get there, they’ll have it made: “DHS/FPS advised that the refugees will be provided cash and cell phones from non-government organizations and be required to remain on the NCC grounds.” Whether voting for Democrats was a requirement for keeping the dough rolling in was not mentioned; maybe it’s just understood.

There is more. Read the rest here.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Is Canada Now A Dictatorship?

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“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?” — Thomas Jefferson

“Those who would give up freedoms for temporary security, deserve neither freedom or security.” — Benjamin Franklin

“Those who deny freedoms to others, deserve it not themselves.” — Abe Lincoln

“The freedoms of everyone are threatened when the freedom of one person is threatened.” — John F. Kennedy

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” — Ronald Reagan

“You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.” — Malcolm X

“My liberty depends on you being free, too.” — Barack Obama

Evidence continues to mount that we are fast approaching the End of Times. For example,  we have Russia bullying its much smaller, freedom-loving neighbor (Ukraine). More shocking, current Canadian leadership is now bullying its own freedom-loving citizens!

Much of my life was spent in the Adirondacks of northern NY — not far from the Canadian border. As a result I know hundreds of Canadian citizens. By-and-large they are intelligent, hard-working, friendly, kind, freedom-loving people. Citizens should always have a voice — particularly when the government is addressing a technical issue in an unscientific manner. Political science should never replace real Science.

This special issue of the Media Balance Newsletter is dedicated to supporting not only Free Speech, but also that technical policies be based on genuine Science… What can you do? Work as if everything depended on you, and pray as if everything depended on God.

Here is a sample overview of the disturbing Canadian situation. As usual, most of these will not be found on mainstream media:

PS — For Science-based info on COVID-19 injections, masks, etc., see C19Science.info.

©John Droz, Jr. All rights reserved.

RELATED VIDEO: Archbishop Viganò’s IMPORTANT MESSAGE To Canadian Truckers

Heroic beginning of Catholic Church in China

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A humble Italian priest won tens of thousands of converts.

In 1905, one of the greatest Catholic missionaries to China wrote down his thoughts for the Chinese New Year. His story is still of interest today.

“It is Chinese New Year, and a new epoch has begun for China. It is now essential to activate every means to take advantage of this favorable time for our religion. If Europe were truly Catholic, I do not doubt that the time for China’s conversion would be now. But unfortunately one must look to the future with fear and trembling. There is no time to lose, and we should work tirelessly.”

These words, perhaps replacing “Catholic” with “Christian” due to the success of various brands of Protestantism in China, might have been written for the Chinese New Year of 2022.

However, the text is not from 2022. It is from 1905. The person who wrote these wishes for the Chinese New Year was a mountain man from Val Badia, the Badia Valley, now part of the Italian South Tyrol, Josef Freinademetz. He had gone from being assistant parish priest in the mountain hamlet of St Martin to being a famous and successful missionary in China.

Add that he was a member of a linguistic minority that spoke Ladin (not a typo for “Latin,” but a Romance language spoken by less than 50,000 mountain villagers), and had learned Italian and German with great difficulty. He was the superior for the Chinese territory of a specialized religious congregation, the Verbites, i.e., the members of the missionary Society of the Divine Word.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year, he could state that he had become “Chinese with the Chinese,” speaking fluently three different Mandarin dialects and even wearing a pigtail. Pope John Paul II inscribed him in 2003 in the catalog of saints of the Catholic Church.

Several years ago, a visit to Val Badia led me to the poor birthplace of Freinademetz in the hamlet of Oies, a hamlet composed of half a dozen houses. Much more importantly, on August 5, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI visited the home, and prayed for China there.

In this remote corner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (which became part of Italy after World War I), Ujöp Freinademetz (the German version, spelled Josef, of the Ladin name Ujöp would come only many years later) was born in 1852. The family lived in dignified poverty and in a typically Tyrolean Catholic piety, which may be difficult to understand today. The daily rhythms of prayer alternating with work were more reminiscent of a monastic community than a modern lay family.

It is not extraordinary that in this environment a religious vocation matured, and Ujöp, who spoke Ladin only, overcame the language barrier to enter the seminary of Brixen (now Bressanone, Italy) and become a priest. What was extraordinary was the dream that matured in the young Freinademetz, who had never traveled outside South Tyrol. He dreamed to convert the most populous country in the world, China, to Catholicism. Even though stories about the missions reached the seminary through Catholic magazines, Freinademetz knew precious little about China. But he understood it was immense and believed it should be converted.

From a local Catholic magazine, he learned of the existence in Steyl, in the Netherlands, of a new missionary institute that intended to devote itself to Asia, the Society of the Divine World, founded by a man Pope John Paul II will canonize along with Freinademetz himself, the German-Dutch priest Arnold Janssen. Freinademetz asked for and obtained permission from his bishop to leave the diocese and join the Verbites.

Janssen’s style was cold and severe, while Freinademetz was enthusiastic and exuberant. Also, Janssen had an academic education in secular universities and had been a professor, while Freinademetz had been barely able to complete the seminary with the greatest of efforts. Eventually, however, the two priests learned to understand and respect each other, and even became friends.

In 1879, the first two Verbite missionaries left for China: one was Freinademetz and the other was Johann Baptist Anzer. Later, Anzer became the first Verbite bishop in China, as Apostolic Administrator of Southern Shandong, then called Shantung. The position was offered to Freinademetz, but he refused out of humility, while keeping his role as superior of the Verbites in China.

Anzer was not the best choice for a bishop. He was authoritarian, troubled by personal problems of alcoholism, and concerned as a Bavarian to promote the political interests of Germany in China. When Anzer died in Rome in 1903, Freinademetz was again the most logical choice as bishop. This time, he might have accepted but was blocked by a veto of the German government, which was afraid that an Austro-Hungarian subject as a bishop might not continue to advance the political interests of Germany.

Freinademetz was, however allowed to serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese for several years. Finally, a German was nominated as bishop, Augustin Henninghaus. He proved to be a good bishop, and Freinademetz was happy to work with him. Later, Henninghaus became the first biographer of Freinademetz.

When Freinademetz arrived in China, his judgment on the local religions was very negative, and influenced by a Catholic literature he had read in Europe that certainly did not promote interreligious dialogue. He was impressed by what looked like miraculous feats of Buddhist and Taoist ascetics, but attributed them to the work of the Devil, although he added that some of them may be good men deceived by the Evil One without knowing it.

The men he regarded as criminal and bandits were the members of the anti-Christian secret societies, who had kidnapped and murdered several missionaries, and whose fury was unleashed in the Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901.

Boxer-related atrocities were less prevalent in Shandong, where Freinademetz lived, but it was suggested to him to seek protection in one of the areas controlled by the Western armies. He refused, and survived the Boxer crisis unharmed, but not the subsequent epidemic of typhus. In fact, he insisted that he should visit the hospitals and even help the doctors and nurses, until he became infected himself.

He died in Daijiazhuang, Shandong, on January 28, 1908. While other missionaries had their bodies taken to Europe to be buried there, Freinademetz wrote in his will that “I love China and Chinese, and I want to be buried with them.”

His name was unpronounceable in China and he preferred to be called “Fu Shenfu,” the Priest Fu. Shortly before he died, Freinademetz wrote a report on his years of missionary activity in Shandong. When he arrived there, he found 158 Catholics in the region. Dying, he left 40,000.

It is a truism to state that Freinademetz was a man of his time, and we can regard some of his remarks about China and its traditions today as orientalist or colonialist. On the other hand, as Pope John Paul II noted when he canonized him, Freinademetz made a genuine effort to overcome his prejudices, eventually abandoning most of them, and understand the Chinese culture on its own terms.

His genuine love for the Chinese, Catholic or non-Catholic, was universally recognized. His grave was visited and honored by tens of thousands until it was desecrated and destroyed by the Cultural Revolution, although a memorial had been re-erected since.

Cultural problems aside, that a mountain man from a remote hamlet in the mountains of South Tyrol could not only conceive but begin to realize the idea of converting immense China, or at least a vast region of it, to Christianity remains an extraordinary story—one worth remembering on the celebration of Chinese New Year, with Bitter Winter’s best wishes to those who celebrate it.

This article has been republished with permission from Bitter Winter.

COLUMN BY

Massimo Introvigne

Massimo Introvigne is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new… More by Massimo Introvigne

EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Ukraine: what would a Russian invasion actually look like? These are the three most likely scenarios

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Russia has been laying the ground for military action against Ukraine since 2014.

Despite suggestions to the contrary from the Kremlin, Ukraine remains surrounded by Russian troops, both along its long border with Russia and from within occupied Crimea. The Russian Federation has deployed land, air and naval forces that give the Kremlin a range of possibilities should it seek to initiate military action.

Not for the first time, Russian forces look set to challenge the sovereignty of Ukraine, and the west appears no closer to knowing what to do about it without risking war between nuclear armed states.

Russia has been laying the ground for military action against Ukraine since 2014, when it seized Crimea and thereby gained a more substantial military foothold to the south. Meanwhile, the ongoing war in Ukraine’s Donbas region allowed Russian security and intelligence units to continue to gauge Ukrainian military and paramilitary operations.

In spring 2021, the Russian Federation ramped up actions against Ukraine, stopping short of actual war. It launched cyber attacks and misinformation campaigns as well as disrupting the energy supply. The Ukrainian Security Service has identified operational and sleeper units from Russia’s Federal Security Service, Foreign Intelligence Service, Military Intelligence and Special Forces operating within its borders.

If military action does occur, there are three likely scenarios for how it would play out.

Scenario 1: decapitation

The first is the decapitation approach. Russian military and security forces would seek to remove the current government and state powers in order to insert replace them with people more favourable to (and owned by) Moscow. Perhaps surprisingly, this would entail keeping on some people who are already working in the Ukrainian state. There are figures who have shown sympathies for and have worked with the Russian Federation.

This scenario would probably entail security and intelligence units on the ground in Ukraine as well as units from the military exercise currently being conducted in Belarus. The greatest concern for Russia in this scenario would be how the Ukrainian military and police would respond. There may also be a significant public backlash against a change of government led from Moscow.

Scenario 2: war in the east

The second possibility is the eastern war approach. Here, Russian forces would seek to reinforce the breakaway regions in the Donbas with arms, supplies and intelligence. These areas would then be used as a springboard to take more Ukrainian territory to more fully cover those areas where ethnic Russians and Russian speaking Ukrainians are located.

Such a manoeuvre could take Russian troops as far as the Dnieper river, which splits the country into east and west. It could also stretch across the coast of the Black Sea all the way to the Moldova border (where another Russian reinforced breakaway region is located).

Such an operation would be supported by military forces stationed in and around the Russian region of Rostov-on-Don, to the east of Ukraine, forces to the south stationed in Crimea and also probably Russian army motor and rifle battalions stationed in the breakaway Transnistria in Moldova.

Scenario 3: full invasion

The final possibility is the full invasion approach. All of those forces mentioned thus far as well as air units located further north would seek to defeat Ukraine militarily. They would use recent experience in combat operations in Syria to defeat any popular insurgency against Russian forces.

This approach would be devastating for the people of Ukraine. Large-scale death tolls would be expected across the Ukrainian military and police forces as well as among local populations adjacent to battles. There would be major flows of refugees to the west of Ukraine and into the bordering states of Poland, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. Such a refugee crisis could be the largest in Europe since the second world war.

Daunting repercussions

It’s important to note that these approaches are not mutually exclusive. They could even occur sequentially should the Kremlin be unsatisfied with the changes it finds in Ukraine or the west.

Regardless of what Russia does, other countries with unsettled disputes over breakaway territories, such as Moldova with Transnistria and Georgia with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, will be watching events nervously. A victory in Ukraine for Russia might well fuel actions against these countries in the future. And if the west fails to respond robustly, even countries like Estonia and Latvia could face threats in the future.

Russia’s military threat against Ukraine has put the west in a difficult position. It has to decide how to deal with a belligerent Russia and how far it should expand its membership to, say, Ukraine or Georgia and beyond. Nor are these predicaments helped by the fact that the United States is more concerned with China, the South China Sea and the status of Taiwan these days than the fate of eastern Europe.

What’s more, the very future of NATO may be on the line if it cannot have a credible response to Ukraine through diplomacy, military assistance and maybe even military response. Such a loss of credibility would be a major win for Russia, which sees NATO as a threat to its own national security and global strategy to regain power. In other words, the significance of the situation in Ukraine cannot be underestimated.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

COLUMN BY

David J. Galbreath

David Galbreath is Professor of International Security at the University of Bath, in the UK. His current research is on military transformation, the role of science and technology in defence and security,… More by David J. Galbreath

EDITORS NOTE: This MercatorNet column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: Senator Ted Cruz: ‘Joe Biden Becoming President Is The Best Thing That Ever Happened…For Vladimir Putin’

Cruz: ‘Joe Biden Becoming President Is The Best Thing That Ever Happened…For Vladimir Putin’

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‘That’s why we’re on the brink of war in Europe’

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz blamed President Joe Biden for bringing Europe to the “brink of war” Sunday, telling “Fox News Sunday” host Bill Hemmer that Biden’s presidency was the “best thing that ever happened” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“If you look at what the Ukrainians want, they’ve been very explicit…they’ve asked the United States explicitly, put sanctions on Nord Stream 2, right now, today. Joe Biden could do that this morning. He refuses to do it,” Cruz argued.

Cruz pointed out that in 2019, sanctions against the Nordstream 2 pipeline passed in Congress with “overwhelming bipartisan support”, essentially preventing Putin from completing the pipeline.

“That pipeline was dead for over a year until Joe Biden became president and Putin began building that pipeline again on January 24, 2021, four days after Biden was sworn into office. Why? Because he knew what was going to happen…which was that Joe Biden formally waived sanctions on Russia, on Putin, and gave the green light to build Nord Stream 2,” Cruz explained.

“That is why we have over 100,000 troops and Russian tanks on the border of Ukraine preparing to invade. That’s why we’re on the brink of war in Europe,” Cruz stated.

When asked why Congress hasn’t been able to agree on sanctions against Russia, Cruz asserted, “Joe Biden came to Capitol Hill and personally lobbied Democratic senators to vote against Russian sanctions. That’s why we’re facing this invasion. Joe Biden becoming president is the best thing that ever happened, tragically, for Vladimir Putin.”

WATCH: 

Cruz’s comments followed those of Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby who reiterated to Hemmer that the U.S. would impose “crippling” sanctions on Russia when and if Putin invades Ukraine.

“If you pull the trigger on that deterrent, well then, it doesn’t exist anymore as a deterrent. He has not conducted another invasion in Ukraine yet and we want to get — we still think there’s time to prevent that. So it’s supposed to be a deterrent,” Kirby argued.

“If you…punish somebody for something they haven’t done yet, then they might as well just go ahead and do it. So we’re holding that in advance and we’re hoping that that could affect the calculus of Mr. Putin,” he concluded.

Cruz disagreed, stating that the U.S. has not come “remotely close” to doing all that it can to prevent an invasion of Ukraine, arguing that the “disastrous retreat from Afghanistan” not only increased the chances of Russia invading Ukraine “tenfold” but also increased the chances of China invading Taiwan.

COLUMN BY

GRETCHEN CLAYSON

Contributor.

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