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ZeroHedge.com
by Tyler Durden – 7/21/18
A somewhat recently declassified CIA memo unearthed by the FOIA collective MuckRock shows that in the midst of the historic Church Committee hearings which attempted to bring various shocking and illegal US intelligence practices and operations to public light, the National Security Council considered the move for strong Congressional oversight a “personal holocaust” that could result in Americans losing faith in the CIA and intelligence officials.
MuckRock, drawing lessons from this historical CIA archived memo, rightly observes that it “reveals how hostile the Intelligence Community could be to the concept of oversight.”
In a ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ moment, the “eyes only” classified memo demonstrates in stunning clarity that a top concern for the agency has always fundamentally been fear of exposure over its “illegal and improper activities”.
As the MuckRock report explains: “Decades before Donald Trump infamously compared the CIA to Nazi Germany, the National Security Council made its own allusion to the Holocaust – the difference was that in the NSC’s version, it was CIA that was cast as the potential victim of a ‘Final Solution’ that might be imposed by Congress in response to the exposure of the Agency’s illegal and improper activities.”
And this is true and essential to remember now more than ever given intelligence officials’ increased role in setting the agenda of national debate through their close and longtime acknowledged ties to the mainstream media.
With a continuing avalanche of unverified and unproven assertions inundating the American and Western public from every corner of Washington’s deeply rooted intelligence establishment, we think it necessary to pause and reflect on the many reasons to remain skeptical of the claims and allegations coming from US officials.
Below are 10 Lessons from history that will destroy your trust in the CIA, via the Off Guardian
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In the hysterical wake of the Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki, President Donald Trump was roundly criticized in the media for taking the side of a “hostile state” over his own intelligence agencies. The Guardian referred to Mueller as a “heroic marine” who Trump disbelieved in favour of a “Russian dictator”.
In the past, when Trump has criticized the FBI, CIA or NSA he has been accused of “undermining faith in our institutions”. He’s been blamed for a collapse of trust in the government. But was this trust ever earned?
At every corner, we are urged to simply believe what we are told. Whether it is about believing Porton Down and MI6 about “novichok”, or believing the White Helmets about Sarin, or believing the FBI about “collusion”, we are present with no facts, just assertions from authority. Those who question those assertions are deemed “bots” at best or “traitors” at worst.
Well here, fellow “traitors”, are the Top Ten reasons to question anything and everything the CIA – or any intelligence agency – has ever told you (in descending order)…
#10) OPERATION PAPERCLIP
We’ll start with an oldie but a goody. In 1945, as the allies were advancing on Berlin from both sides, American Army Intelligence (this was before the CIA were founded) were “capturing” (read: recruiting) over 1600 Nazi scientists and engineers. Most famous of them was Werhner von Braun…sorry, SS Sturmbannführer von Braun.
Whilst Allied soldiers died in the name of defeating fascism, the CIA’s predecessors were actively recruiting Nazis to come and build bombs for them.
#9) OPERATION NORTHWOODS
The original, and important, precedent for accusations that the CIA et al. might engage in false-flag attacks. Operation Northwoods was a joint CIA/Pentagon proposal designed around the idea of escalating a war with Cuba by stoking public anger:
The proposals called for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or other U.S. government operatives to commit acts of terrorism against American civilians and military targets, blaming it on the Cuban government, and using it to justify a war against Cuba.
The idea was vetoed by President Kennedy. Fifty years later, the CIA and Pentagon still very much exist, but there’s no longer a Kennedy there to veto their more psychopathic ideas. Funny how that worked out.
#8) ALLENDE COUP
In 1970 Salvador Allende was elected to the Chilean Presidency. A Physician and dedicated socialist, Allende was the first socialist president elected in South America. The Nixon-lead government of the United States immediately implemented “economic warfare” (as they do, to this day, against Cuba, Venezuela and others). The economic warfare did not work, and in 1973 Allende’s socialist party increased their parliamentary majority.
In response, the US “assisted” (read: instructed) the Chilean military in carrying out a coup. Allende allegedly shot himself, and Augusto Pinochet was placed in power as the first dictator in Chile’s history. Pinochet was a fascist who executed Chilean “subversives” by the thousand…and was the darling of Western leaders.
#7) MOSADDEGH COUP
I could just copy-and-paste the above paragraph and the change the names for this entry. In 1953, the Prime Minister of Iran – Mohammad Mosaddegh, a democratic socialist – wanted to audit the income of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company with an eye to limiting foreign control of Iran’s oil. Within a few months, a joint US/UK operation – Operation Ajax – had removed Mosaddegh’s elected government and turned over full control of the state to the Shah. He was a brutal absolute monarch, but the question of Western control of Iran’s enormous oil reserves wasn’t raised again under his leadership.
#6) OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD
A CIA operation that you could deduce existed, even if were not proven….and it is proven. Mockingbird was the CIA project to coerce, train, control or plant CIA-friendly journalists in major news networks all across the country and in every medium. It’s existence is no longer disputed, thanks to FOIA releases of internal memos.
Mockingbird was allegedly shut down in 1976 – just after its existence was leaked – then CIA director George HW Bush claiming:
…effective immediately, CIA will not enter into any paid or contractual relationship with any full-time or part-time news correspondent accredited by any U.S. news service, newspaper, periodical, radio or television network or station.
If you’re willing to stake anything on the word of a Bush, well, good luck with that. It’s a decision that flies in the face of historical evidence.
Remember this one when you hear about the need to trust the CIA from some pundit on CNN or MSNBC.
#5) MASS SURVEILLANCE
It’s not really talked about much these days – what with the vast majority of the media and huge sections of the supposedly “anti-establishment” progressive left marching in-step with the Deep State – but the NSA spied on the whole world. The whole world. We know this to be true because an employee of the Deep State – Edward Snowden – leaked the information.
When challenged on this issue, representatives of the NSA and CIA lied. They lied to the public, and they lied to congress. When they were proven to have lied, they carefully qualified their lies.
A qualified lie is still a lie.
There is no indication they have stopped this illegal surveillance, but they may have passed laws to make it legal.
#4) NAYIRAH “INCUBATOR BABIES”
A classic of “atrocity propaganda”, Nayirah should be required reading material for anybody looking top hop on a pro-war bandwagon. Nayirah – who originally gave only her first name – was a fifteen year old girl who testified in front of the United States Congress. She claimed to be a volunteer from at a Kuwaiti hospital, and to be an eye-witness to Iraqi soldiers throwing Kuwaiti babies out of incubators and leaving them to die:
I volunteered at the al-Addan hospital with twelve other women who wanted to help as well. I was the youngest volunteer. The other women were from twenty to thirty years old. While I was there I saw the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns. They took the babies out of the incubators, took the incubators and left the children to die on the cold floor. It was horrifying.
It was later revealed, not only that her full name was Nayirah al-Sabah and she was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador, but that she had never volunteered at a hospital and had seen no babies, soldiers or incubators. The whole thing was a fiction. A fiction paid for by the “Citizens of Free Kuwait”, an NGO (and obvious CIA front) set up to lobby the US to intervene in the Iraq-Kuwait war.
By the time this fiction was revealed it was too late, and the US had launched Operation Desert Storm….which was, of course, the entire point of the exercise
Remember this, when you hear about Assad gassing children or bombing kittens.
#3) COINTELPRO
The FBI’s long running (and sometimes illegal) COunter INTELligence PROgram, COINTELPRO was a series of domestic projects carried out by the FBI (with cooperation from other agencies), over decades, with the aim of “surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations”.
These political organizations included anti-Vietnam protestors, civil rights groups (including both MLK and Malcolm X), socialists, Communist Party USA, environmental groups and feminist organizations.
The brief for these “disruptions” came straight from J. Edgar Hoover who wanted the FBI to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise Neutralize”people he perceived to be enemies of the state. The capital N in “neutralise” is no accident, as the FBI was implicated in the deaths of several Black Panther leaders, including Fred Hampton.
COINTELPRO didn’t just involve undermining left-wing groups, but also creating right-wing groups:
The FBI also financed, armed, and controlled an extreme right-wing group of former Minutemen, transforming it into a group called the Secret Army Organization that targeted groups, activists, and leaders involved in the Anti-War Movement, using both intimidation and violent acts.
Whether this was done to actually push a right-wing agenda, create a fake threat to step up police powers, or just sow division and chaos, is unclear. But it definitely happened.
Much like MKUltra (below), COINTELPRO was “officially shut down”, not long after the public found out it existed. However, the accidental outing of undercover policeman at a rally in Oakland, and recent relaxation of the laws limiting the FBI’s powers, means that COINTELPRO – or a modern successor – is very likely still a thing.
The aim of COINTELPRO was to “Neutralize” anti-establishment political figures – the vast majority of targets were left wingers – through “smearing individuals and groups using forged documents and by planting false reports in the media”. Remember that when you see Rand Paul called a “traitor” on twitter, or read about “Russian collusion”, or see Jeremy Corbyn branded an anti-Semite.
Remember that it is proven that the Deep State – our trusted intelligence agencies – pay people to plant false stories and discredit political opponents.
#2) PROJECT MKULTRA
It might sound like something from a 70s sci-fi TV series, but it is unfortunately real. MKUltra was a series of (illegal) experiments carried out by the CIA from 1953 until it was *cough* “officially halted” in 1973 (just after its existence was leaked). The experiments were wide-ranging, achieved varied levels of success, but pretty uniformly brutal and unethical. They included, but were not limited too:
- Giving LSD to unsuspecting soldiers to see what happened.
- Mass hypnosis and mass suggestion
- Torture studies
- Studies on the effect of verbal and/or sexual abuse
We’ll never know the full range of studies, or how they were carried out, because in 1973 Richard Helms, then director of the CIA, ordered all MKUltra files destroyed. Only a fraction of them survive, thanks to FOIA requests, but it’s reasonable to assume they destroyed the worst parts and kept the more quote-unquote innocent files.
The CIA were not unique in this regard either, MKUltra was their baby – but there were parallel projects in other quarters of the deep state. Army Intelligence had Edgewood Arsenal, whilst the Department of Defense had Project 112. All these projects were “officially halted” in the early 70s…just around the time the public found out they existed.
The CIA (et al.) have strongly denied that these experiments and projects have ever been continued in any way, shape or form…but if you’d asked them in 1969, they would have denied they had ever taken place at all.
#1) THE IRAQ WAR
This might not be the most callous, the most dangerous, the most recent, the most secret or the most insidious of the items on this list, nevertheless it is – must be – number one…because it is the most brazen.
The war was started in the name of “weapons of mass destruction” that everyone – everyone – knew never existed. They all knew the truth, but they lied.
The President lied, the vice-president lied, the secretary of defence lied, the secretary of state lied. The Prime Minister lied, the defence minister lied, the foreign minister lied. They lied to the press, the people and the UN.
The CIA, the NSA, the FBI – then headed by the “heroic marine” Robert Mueller – they lied too. The press repeated these lies, without question (see: Operation Mockingbird). They weren’t “misinformed”, they weren’t “mistaken”. They lied, they lied repeatedly – and provably – and they did it in order to start a war, make money, take control, spread influence.
One million Iraqis died.
Our ruling class is peopled with psychopaths and war criminals, who have so little regard for the people they lie to they recycle the same childishly simple falsehoods to further their evil agenda again and again and again. They tried the same in Libya…it worked again. They tried again in Syria…luckily, it didn’t work there.
Our “democratic institutions” lie to start wars. There’s no reason to think they aren’t doing – or wouldn’t do – the same thing about Iran, North Korea…or Russia.
* * *
That’s our list, and there’s really only one lesson you can take away from it: These people, agencies and institutions deserve no trust, have earned no trust and have abused every micron of trust ever placed in them. To suggest we have a duty to believe them – or that they have ever done anything to serve the public good – is to live in a dream world.
This list is not a full catalogue of Deep State crimes, it would be 1000s of entries long if it were, but these ten are important. They’re important because they are admitted, proven and beyond debate. They are important because they show the many facets of dishonesty, hypocrisy and abuses of power that Intelligence agencies engage in, and they are important because they form the best riposte to the disingenuous clamour for “trust” in our “democratic institutions”.
Never trust the CIA, they have proved they don’t deserve it.
Story at-a-glance
- June 28, 2018, the New York Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the New York city health department has the right to require annual flu vaccinations for children attending child care and preschool
- June 26, 2018, the California state Senate Committee on Human Services passed AB 1992 on June 26 — a controversial bill that eliminates the personal belief vaccine exemption for families on welfare
- Recent research found infectious influenza viruses in the exhaled breath of people who had gotten seasonal flu shots and contracted influenza. Those vaccinated two seasons in a row shed a greater viral load of influenza A virus
- According to the researchers, study results suggest there may be an association between flu vaccinations and the promotion of lung inflammation and increased shedding of influenza A viruses via breathing
- Studies also show annual vaccination leads to reduced protection against influenza; each vaccination is likely to make you progressively more prone to getting sick from influenza
By Dr. Mercola – July 10, 2018
Recent events again highlight the need for Americans to stand up for their right to know, and freedom to choose, when it comes to medical risk taking. The New York Court of Appeals not only has given the nod of approval to New York City’s health department requirement that all preschoolers must get annual flu shots, but the California legislature is also moving toward eliminating the personal belief vaccine exemption for families on welfare.
Aside from the loss of the human right to informed consent to medical risk taking, these decisions are all the more incomprehensible considering the lack of scientific evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of annual flu vaccination from cradle to grave and one-size-fits-all vaccination policies and laws. Again and again, we see vaccine policy built on lobbying dollars without real concern for human health and welfare.
Informed Consent to Medical Risk Taking Is a Basic Human Right
As noted by National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) president Barbara Loe Fisher in her Independence Day commentary on zero tolerance vaccine laws,1 “Today, we are witnessing the erosion of core values that our constitutional democracy was founded upon. One example is a public campaign led by the medical establishment to demonize and discriminate against anyone opposing zero tolerance vaccine laws that violate human rights in the name of public health.”
Informed consent is a basic human right in which a person has the ability to voluntarily accept or reject a treatment or medical procedure, including use of pharmaceutical products, after being fully informed of all possible risks and benefits. According to the University of Washington School of Medicine,2 “The most important goal of informed consent is that the patient has an opportunity to be an informed participant in her health care decisions.”
It’s a simple enough premise, but throughout history we’ve seen cases where informed consent was not only challenged but completely ignored, and this trend not only exists to this day, it has flourished in recent years, with cities, states and federal government pushing for mandatory vaccine laws with no ability to opt out. As noted by Fisher:3
“There are only two laws that require American citizens to risk their lives. The first is a federal law, the military draft, which requires all healthy male adults to risk their lives in a war declared by the government to protect national security. The second is a state law requiring all healthy children to risk their lives in a war that doctors declared on microbes two centuries ago.
However, unlike adults who are NOT punished for following their conscience and refusing to fight in a war to protect national security, parents CAN be punished for following their conscience and refusing to risk their children’s lives in a war to theoretically protect the public health.
State sanctions include segregation and loss of the unvaccinated child’s right to a school education or permitting pediatricians to deny medical care to children if their parents refuse one or more government recommended vaccinations.
Two different laws that require healthy Americans to risk injury or death: one conscripting adults in what government clearly defines as an emergency military action; and the other conscripting children in a mandatory vaccination program that is not defined as an emergency military action but is operated like one.”
New York City Gets Green Light to Require Annual Flu Vaccinations for Preschoolers
Case in point, June 28, 2018, the New York Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the New York City health department has the right to require flu vaccination for preschoolers. The requirement was initiated in 2013 by city public health officials.
Five families sued the health department in 2015 to have the requirement overturned and two lower court rulings agreed the city had overstepped its legal authority. This final decision by the Court of Appeals now cements the city’s legal right to require flu shots for children aged 6 to 59 months before they’re permitted to attend child care or preschool. In the decision, Judge Leslie Stein wrote:4
“Undisputedly, there is a very direct connection between the flu vaccine rules and the preservation of health and safety. The rules challenged here do not relate merely to a personal choice about an individual’s own health but, rather, seek to ensure increased public safety and health for the citizenry by reducing the prevalence and spread of a contagious infectious disease within a particularly vulnerable population.”
In response to the decision, New York City health commissioner Mary Bassett said:5
“Vaccines save lives and are an effective public health tool to prevent the spread of disease. The severity of this past influenza season reminds us of how deadly influenza can be. The influenza vaccine is the best protection against seasonal influenza for everyone.
Children who receive the influenza vaccine are less likely to get sick, less likely to need medical attention and less likely to die from influenza. This decision will help us protect more than 150,000 children in city-regulated day cares and preschools across the city.”
‘Vaccine-Before-Welfare’ Bill Moves Forward in California
Meanwhile, the California state Senate Committee on Human Services passed AB 19926 June 26 — a controversial bill that eliminates the personal belief vaccine exemption for families on welfare. Already, welfare recipients are required by state law to be up to date on all government mandated vaccines or lose a portion of their welfare benefits.
AB 1992, authored by Assemblyman Kansen Chu, improves access to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS) program — a public assistance program that provides financial aid and services — for families whose children are not fully vaccinated or have difficulty proving that their children have received the required vaccinations.
Estimates suggest 4,000 families in California are not meeting the vaccine requirement for public assistance, and this bill would give families who want to vaccinate their children greater access to vaccination services.
The bill also lowers the monthly penalty for not being fully vaccinated from $130 to $50, extends the time that families have to produce vaccination records from 45 days to six months, and grants county welfare workers access to medical databases to determine whether the child has received the required vaccines in cases where parents cannot produce the records.
However, the bill also eliminates the personal belief exemption, which means welfare recipients would no longer have the legal right or ability to opt out of vaccine requirements. Candace Connelly testified before the committee, saying “her choice not to vaccinate her children shouldn’t preclude her from receiving benefits.”
According to a report by GV Wire,7 Connelly “objected to the 72 doses required in a child’s lifetime, noting the potential for vaccine injury. ‘Surely if parents have rights, one of them is to decide what gets injected into their children … I don’t believe I should have money taken out of my benefits because I don’t think that is a safe thing for my child.'”
AB 1992 Moves to Senate Appropriations Committee
Chu’s reasoning for including this provision in his bill is that the personal belief exemption from vaccines to attend public and private school was already removed by SB 277 in 2015.8 According to Chu, removing the personal belief vaccine exemption for welfare recipients simply makes the bill “comply with current law.”9 Sen. Janet Nguyen objected to the removal of the personal belief exemption.10
Sen. Connie Leyva also objected, saying “I believe requiring proof of vaccinations in order for someone to receive their benefits is unfair and unnecessary. We should not be basing it off their need, and not off of vaccinations.” Stefanie Fetzer, an advocate with Parents United 4 Kids, also commented:11
“This is NOT a public health issue. Vaccination rates are high. There is no crisis mitigating such a heavy handed, totalitarian piece of legislation. Our legislators are testing the water. How far can they go? Can they withhold a parents’ ability to feed their children if the parents are unwilling to ignore their religious or personal convictions? Why are our legislators targeting this poor, minority community?”
Fisher, on behalf of the NVIC, has also spoken out against the bill, saying,12 “It is cruel to withhold welfare benefits from families in need. NVIC opposes AB 1992 and any legislation that threatens Americans with punishment for making voluntary vaccine decisions for themselves or their children.”
Despite objections, the bill passed 4-0 out of the Senate Committee on Human Services. Leyva did not vote and Nguyen was not present during the voting; the remaining committee members, Scott Wiener, Steven Glazer, Mike McGuire and Anthony Portantino, voted in favor. A seventh member, Tom Berryhill also was not present. Next, AB 1992 will be reviewed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Why the Lack of Concern for Vaccine Safety?
In a series of articles, the World Mercury Project questions the apparent disinterest of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) in improving vaccine safety, choosing instead to engage in smear campaigns against anyone who questions the conventional dogma and who counters false vaccine safety claims with scientific facts:13
“In the face of snowballing vaccine scandals — from fudged safety trials that use other vaccines as placebos, to persistent use of neurotoxic aluminum adjuvants, to the accelerated rollout of unproven vaccines that may be causing more problems than they solve — these and other vaccine advocacy organizations are not only turning a blind eye but are … beefing up public relations (PR) intended to stifle discussion …
Due to the well-funded medical-pharmaceutical-media apparatus that endlessly repeat the mantra that ALL vaccines are safe for ALL people ALL the time, it is nearly impossible to get a fair hearing for common-sense questions about vaccine safety, no matter how urgent such questions may be.”
In addition to the AAP and IAC, the World Mercury Project also singles out three organizations that are closely allied with AAP, all of which “frame their aims in terms of cementing vaccine infrastructure and funding,” according to the featured article:
- The 317 Coalition, whose members include vaccine manufacturers. The coalition’s focus is to increase funding to Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act, the law that governs federal purchases of vaccines. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and coinventor of a rotavirus vaccine, is on the steering committee, as are the executive director and chief strategy officer of the IAC
- Every Child by Two (ECBT), which promotes the mandatory use of vaccines to state and federal legislators, supports the elimination of all personal belief vaccine exemptions and generates “vaccine safety talking points.” Here, Offit is on the board of directors
- The Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, the focus of which is to lobby for “necessary federal policy changes” to boost adult vaccination rates
According to the World Mercury Project,14 ” … [T]he AAP, IAC and … ECBT are among the leading actors propagating misleading assertions about vaccine safety. All three are also actively lobbying legislators to effectively jettison informed consent in favor of mandatory vaccines.”
Leading Vaccine Educators Are Bound by Conflicts of Interest
The AAP, IAC and ECBT were also the focus of an investigative report into the partnerships between the CDC and non-profits promoting vaccines15 published in the British Medical Journal late last year. In the paper, “The Unofficial Vaccine Educators: Are CDC Funded Non-Profits Sufficiently Independent?” BMJ associate editor Peter Doshi wrote:
“[S]urvey data have documented that parental concerns over vaccination safety and timing are common, even among those whose children receive all recommended vaccines.
In 2015, a U.S. federal advisory committee warned that public confidence in vaccines cannot be taken for granted, and some prominent vaccine advocacy organizations are pushing for greater compulsion. But are these groups — which present themselves as reliable sources of information — providing the public with independent information?”
The AAP, IAC and ECBT all receive funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and vaccine manufacturers. AAP is also on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which determines which vaccines should be added to the childhood and adult vaccine schedules.
At the same time, these three nonprofits are also actively lobby for legislation aimed at removing religious and conscientious belief vaccine exemptions from state vaccine laws, which has been successful in some states like California.
This, despite the fact that federal law prohibits nonprofit organizations from using CDC or other federal agency money for lobbying efforts. According to Doshi, it’s unclear whether the CDC’s relationship with these three organizations has crossed into illegal territory, as he could not determine exactly how much money was received from the CDC and vaccine makers respectively.
But, as noted by World Mercury Project, “It is clear that when these … nonprofits receive grant money from CDC, those grants free up other monies for lobbying purposes.”
Doshi also notes that “These groups are so strongly pro-vaccination that the public is getting a one-sided message that all vaccines are created equal … regardless of the circumstances.” What’s more, their inherent bias and financial ties with the CDC and vaccine manufacturers completely undermine their ability to appraise CDC vaccine recommendations.
As it stands, there’s no one to counter and cross-check those recommendations because everyone involved is on the same pro-vaccine team. The drug companies manufacturing and selling vaccines have no incentive to look at safety issues either, as this would merely cut into profits and undermine the partial product liability shield given to them by the U.S. Congress in 1986 and the total immunity from vaccine injury lawsuits handed to them by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011.
Besides, 9 out of 10 of the world’s leading drug companies spend far more money on marketing their drugs and vaccines than they do on research and development.16
Flu Vaccine Allows Transmission of Disease, Study Shows
Getting back to where we started, the notion that “the influenza vaccine is the best protection against seasonal influenza for everyone,” is not supported by a large body of good scientific evidence. Recent basic science research into the shedding of influenza viruses adds yet another nail in the proverbial coffin of junk science that too often is used to promote seasonal flu shots.
The new study,17 published in the journal PNAS January 18, 2018, found infectious influenza viruses in the exhaled breath of people who had gotten seasonal flu shots and contracted influenza. Those vaccinated two seasons in a row had a greater viral load of shedding influenza A viruses. According to the authors:
“Our findings, that upper and lower airway infection are independent and that fine-particle exhaled aerosols reflect infection in the lung, opened a pathway for a deeper understanding of the human biology of influenza infection and transmission …
Self-reported vaccination for the current season was associated with a trend toward higher viral shedding in fine-aerosol samples; vaccination with both the current and previous year’s seasonal vaccines, however, was significantly associated with greater fine-aerosol shedding in unadjusted and adjusted models.
In adjusted models, we observed 6.3 times more aerosol shedding among cases with vaccination in the current and previous season compared with having no vaccination in those two seasons. Vaccination was not associated with coarse-aerosol or NP shedding. The association of vaccination and shedding was significant for influenza A but not for influenza B infections …
Finding infectious virus in 39 percent of fine-aerosol samples collected during 30 minutes of normal tidal breathing in a large community-based study of confirmed influenza infection clearly establishes that a significant fraction of influenza cases routinely shed infectious virus … into aerosol particles small enough to remain suspended in air and present a risk for airborne transmission …
The association of current and prior year vaccination with increased shedding of influenza A might lead one to speculate that certain types of prior immunity promote lung inflammation, airway closure, and aerosol generation … If confirmed, this observation, together with recent literature suggesting reduced protection with annual vaccination, would have implications for influenza vaccination recommendations and policies.”
Flu Vaccines May Do More Harm Than Good
Here, researchers provide evidence for an association between seasonal flu shots and increased shedding of influenza A viruses via breathing. They also note that other studies suggest annual flu vaccination leads to reduced protection against influenza, which means each vaccination is likely to make you progressively more prone to getting sick. The question that remains to be definitively answered is: Are vaccinated individuals with influenza more contagious than unvaccinated individuals with influenza?
Studies have also shown that getting flu shots makes you more prone to more severe respiratory illness (see below). Yet, New York City is willing to place all young children at risk for long-term complications from influenza vaccination — for what? To support the vaccine industry and meet a 100 percent flu vaccination rate for all children relentlessly pursued by public health department officials?
The flawed mandatory vaccination ideology pays no attention at all to studies that provide mounting evidence that vaccines can cause acute and chronic illness while failing to work as advertised.
The CDC and AAP direct doctors to give infants and children seasonal influenza shots starting at 6 months of age. Most studies find higher rates of health problems after just one or two flu shots. What’s going to happen to the health of children as they grow up if they are required to get a flu shot each and every year, starting in the year they were born? This simply cannot be shrugged off as a question that isn’t up for public discussion.
A 2017 article in Science magazine18 delved into some of the finer points about individuality and how people’s immune responses vary depending on a number of different factors, including the age at which you’re exposed to influenza viruses for the very first time.
That first exposure will actually influence how your immune system responds to influenza viruses for the rest of your life. Knowing this, what kind of adverse effects on healthy immune function might one expect when a child’s first exposure to influenza viruses are vaccine strain viruses created in a drug company lab that atypically manipulate the immune system to produce artificial immunity? It’s a gamble that no one has the answer to as of yet.
Mounting Body of Research Questions Validity of Annual Flu Vaccination as a Public Health Measure
Other studies have shown that:
With each successive annual flu vaccination, the theoretical protection from the vaccine appears to diminish19,20 A 2012 Chinese study21 found a child’s chances of contracting a respiratory infection after getting the seasonal flu shot rose more than fourfold, and research published in 2014 concluded that resistance to influenza-related illness in persons over age 9 years in the U.S. was greatest among those who had NOT received a flu shot in the previous five years.22 More recent research suggests the reason seasonal flu shots become less protective with each dose has to do with “original antigenic sin.” Here, they found that influenza vaccine failed to elicit a strong immune response in most participants,23 which was explained as follows:24
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The flu vaccine can increase your risk of contracting other, more serious influenza infections Canadian researchers found that people who had received the seasonal flu vaccine in 2008 had twice the risk of getting sick with the pandemic H1N1 “swine flu” in 2009 compared to those who did not receive a flu shot the previous year.25 These findings were replicated in a 2014 ferret study.26 Similarly, a 2009 U.S. study compared health outcomes for children between 6 months and age 18 who do and do not get annual flu shots and found that children who receive influenza vaccinations have a three times higher risk of influenza-related hospitalization, with asthmatic children at greatest risk.27 The concept of heterologous immunity may account for these findings. Heterologous immunity refers to the concept that your immune system is directional, and that once you’ve encountered a pathogen, your body is better equipped to fight pathogens that are similar. However, in the case of influenza vaccines, this directionality appears to work against you. By learning to fend off certain influenza virus strains contained in the vaccine, your immune system becomes less able to fend off other influenza strains and disease-causing pathogens. As noted in a 2014 paper on heterologous immunity:28
In other words, while influenza vaccine may offer some level of protection against the three or four viral influenza strains included in the vaccine, depending on whether the vaccine used is trivalent or quadrivalent, it may simultaneously diminish your ability to ward off infection by other influenza strains and types of viral or bacterial infections. Heterologous immunity is also addressed in a 2013 paper,29 which notes that “vaccines modulate general resistance,” and “have nonspecific effects on the ability of the immune system to handle other pathogens.” Researchers stated that:
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Flu vaccine doesn’t work well in statin users Statin drugs — taken by 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 45 — may interfere with your immune system’s ability to respond to the influenza vaccine.30,31 After vaccination, antibody concentrations were 38 percent to 67 percent lower in statin users over the age of 65, compared to non-statin users of the same age.32 Antibody concentrations were also reduced in younger people who took statins. |
Flu vaccine does not prevent most types of influenza Independent scientific reviews have also concluded that flu shots have only a “modest effect in reducing influenza symptoms and working days lost,” and have no effect on complications of influenza.33,34 Moreover, the influenza vaccine fails to prevent influenza-like illness associated with other types of viruses responsible for about 80 percent of all respiratory or gastrointestinal infections during any given flu season.35,36,37,38 |
Vaccination does not lower mortality in the elderly Research39 published in 2006, which analyzed influenza-related mortality among the elderly population in Italy associated with increased vaccination coverage between 1970 and 2001, found that after the 1980s, there was no corresponding decline in excess deaths, despite rising vaccine uptake. According to the authors, “These findings suggest that either the vaccine failed to protect the elderly against mortality (possibly due to immune senescence), and/or the vaccination efforts did not adequately target the frailest elderly. As in the U.S., our study challenges current strategies to best protect the elderly against mortality, warranting the need for better controlled trials with alternative vaccination strategies.” Another 2006 study40 showed that, even though seniors vaccinated against influenza had a 44 percent reduced risk of dying during flu season than unvaccinated seniors, those who were vaccinated were also 61 percent less like to die BEFORE the flu season ever started. This finding has since been attributed to a “healthy user effect,” which suggests that older people who get vaccinated against influenza are already healthier and, therefore, less likely to die anyway, whereas those who do not get the shot have suffered a decline in health in recent months. |
Flu vaccination during pregnancy raises your risk of miscarriage Research published September 25, 2017, in the medical journal Vaccine41,42,43 found that women who had received a pH1N1-containing flu shot two years in a row were more likely to suffer miscarriage within the following 28 days. While most of the miscarriages occurred during the first trimester, several also took place in the second trimester. The median fetal term at the time of miscarriage was seven weeks. In all, 485 pregnant women aged 18 to 44, who had a miscarriage during the flu seasons of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, were compared to 485 pregnant women who carried their babies to term. Of the 485 women who miscarried, 17 had been vaccinated twice in a row — once in the 28 days prior to vaccination and once in the previous year. For comparison, of the 485 women who had normal pregnancies, only four had been vaccinated two years in a row. |
Vitamin D substantially outperforms flu vaccine In a 2014 analysis44 of the available research on inactivated influenza vaccines, the Cochrane Collaboration (which is considered by many as the gold standard for scientific meta-reviews) concluded that:
For comparison, a 2017 scientific review45,46 of 25 randomized controlled trials found the number needed to treat (NNT) for vitamin D is 33, meaning one person would be spared from acute respiratory infection for every 33 people taking a vitamin D supplement. This evidence suggests that vitamin D supplementation is, at bare minimum, more than twice as effective as the flu vaccine. Among those with severe vitamin D deficiency at baseline, the NNT was 4. |
Effectiveness of flu vaccine is typically below 50 percent February 16, 2018, the CDC published interim estimates of the 2017/2018 seasonal influenza vaccine’s effectiveness for the U.S.47 The overall adjusted vaccine effectiveness against influenza A and influenza B virus infection associated with medically attended acute respiratory illness was 36 percent. Put another way, the vaccine did not work 64 percent of the time. More precisely, vaccine effectiveness is estimated to be 25 percent effective against the A(H3N2) virus; 67 percent effective against A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses and 42 percent effective against influenza B viruses. In 2015, a CDC analysis48 revealed that, between 2005 and 2015, the flu vaccine was less than 50 percent effective more than half of the time, so this year’s low effectiveness rating (36 percent) was no great surprise. The Flucelvax vaccine introduced during the 2017-2018 flu season, grown in dog kidney cells rather than chicken eggs, was also a failure. Touted as a new-and-improved flu shot that would protect more people, FDA research found no significant difference between it and the conventional flu shot in protecting seniors. While flu vaccines overall had a 24 percent effectiveness in preventing flu-related hospitalizations in people aged 65 and older, the Flucelvax vaccine had an effectiveness rate of only 26.5 percent in that population.49 |
Flu vaccine does not lessen influenza severity While health officials are fond of saying that getting a flu shot will lessen your symptoms should you contract influenza, a 2017 study50 by French researchers, which aimed to assess the veracity of such claims, found it not to be true. Looking at data from vaccinated and unvaccinated elderly patients diagnosed with influenza, all they found was a reduction in initial headache complaints among those who had been vaccinated. According to the authors:
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Flu vaccine is associated with serious disability Permanent disability such as paralysis from Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a risk you need to take into account each time you get a flu shot. As early as 2003, the CDC recognized the flu vaccine causes an excess of 1.7 cases of GBS per 1 million people vaccinated.51 Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows GBS is the top injury for which people are receiving financial compensation through the federal vaccine injury compensation program (VICP), and the flu vaccine is now the most common vaccine cited by adults seeking a vaccine injury compensation award.52 Shoulder damage is another risk, caused by improper injection technique.53,54,55 Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) includes chronic pain, limited range of motion, nerve damage, frozen shoulder and rotator cuff tears, and is typically the result of the injection being administered too high on the arm. This risk is particularly high when people get vaccinated outside of a doctor’s office or other clinical setting. Many people getting flu shots in a public setting like a grocery store or pharmacy simply roll up their sleeves or pull down the top of their shirt, exposing only the upper part of their deltoid, thereby increasing the risk of getting the injection in the joint space rather than the muscle. GBS and SIRVA were both added to the Vaccine Injury Table in 2017.56,57 By adding those vaccine complications to the table, vaccine-related GBS and SIRVA cases brought before the “Vaccine Court” in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., will be more likely to receive federal vaccine injury compensation. In this lecture, immunologist Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D., author of “Vaccine Illusion: How Vaccination Compromises Our Natural Immunity and What We Can Do to Regain Our Health,” explains how vaccines damage your immune function, which can result in any number of adverse health effects. |
Story at-a-glance
- Chamomile is easy to grow and one of the most beneficial herbs; it has a long history of medicinal use dating back to ancient Egypt
- Though grown as an annual, German chamomile is hardy and self-seeding, as well as drought- and pest-resistant
- In addition to acting as a natural sedative, chamomile possesses antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antispasmodic, antiulcer and antiviral properties
- While you are very likely familiar with it as a tea, you may not realize chamomile is also useful as a bath, cream, essential oil, gargle, inhalation, poultice and tincture
By Dr. Mercola – July 6, 2018
Chamomile is one of the most beneficial herbs and it has a long history of use dating back to ancient Egypt. Best known as a soothing tea widely embraced for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, chamomile produces lovely daisy-like plants that are drought- and pest-resistant. Given its many medicinal uses, you may want to consider growing chamomile in your garden this year.
Chamomile: An Enduring Medicinal Herb
Chamomile’s history1 and use as a medicinal herb dates back to ancient Egypt, where it was used as a cure for fever and as an embalming oil. The Romans used chamomile in incense, as a medicinal herb and to flavor drinks. In Spain, chamomile flowers, which are known as “manzanilla” (little apple), have long been used to flavor a light sherry of the same name.
Chamomile is the common name for several daisy-like plants belonging to the Asteraceae family — German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and Roman or English chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) are the two most common types. German chamomile is the annual plant most often used to make tea, while Roman chamomile is a perennial groundcover.2 While you are very likely familiar with the tea, you may not realize chamomile is also useful as a bath, cream, essential oil, gargle, inhalation, poultice and tincture.
In addition to acting as a natural sedative, chamomile boasts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as antibacterial, antifungal, antispasmodic, antiulcer and antiviral properties. Consumption of chamomile tea has been shown to protect you from benign thyroid diseases and thyroid cancer.
German Chamomile, Your Best Choice for Making Tea
Given its usefulness for making chamomile tea, the remainder of this article will focus on German chamomile. Below are some interesting facts about this daisy double:3
- Though grown as an annual, German chamomile will self-seed fairly aggressively and can become invasive if left unchecked
- The flowers and leaves can both be used to make tea, but the leaves may have a slightly bitter taste
- Tea made from fresh chamomile flowers is said to have a slight apple-like taste
- The daisy-like white petals and yellow center of chamomile flowers give it a wildflower look
- German chamomile stems are fairly weak and they tend to bend and flop over as the plant grows
Growing German Chamomile in Your Garden
In terms of growing conditions, below are some tips to help you create the right environment in which to cultivate German chamomile plants:4,5
- Seeds: You can start seeds indoors about six weeks before the last expected frost in your area. Because the seeds require light to germinate, you’ll want to simply scatter the seeds and scratch them into the soil. To promote faster germination, do not cover the seeds with soil. It takes about seven to 14 days for chamomile seeds to germinate.
- Soil: For best results, choose an organic soil that is not too rich. Chamomile prefers a neutral pH in the range of 5.6 to 7.5. While the plants will survive in poorer soils, they will produce even floppier stems.
- Spacing: When transplanting seedlings, be sure to harden them off first and then space them about 8 to 10 inches apart in the garden bed.
- Sun: German chamomile will bloom best in full sun. If you live in a hot climate, however, partial shade is a better choice to ensure your plants will have some protection from the heat.
- Water: Prior to planting, mist your starter soil and then add your seeds. Keep the starter mix moist until they germinate. Once your plants are established outdoors, regular watering will encourage more blooms. That said, chamomile is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant and can go without water if necessary.
German chamomile plants will grow to be, on average, 8 to 24 inches high. Fortunately, they attract very few pests. If you grow cucumbers, you’ll be happy to know chamomile is used as a cucumber pest deterrent. German chamomile plants typically begin to flower in late spring unless you are pruning them or harvesting leaves right away, in which case bloom growth will be delayed.
Given its unimposing nature, chamomile is a good candidate for underplanting when paired with taller garden plants. Another option is to grow your chamomile plants in containers.
Time for Tea: Harvesting and Storing Chamomile
The secret to making great-tasting chamomile tea is using high-quality, pesticide-free flowers, preferably from your own garden. Under ideal conditions, your plants will bloom a few weeks after transplanting and will continue to produce flowers throughout the summer. To dry chamomile you can snap off individual flowers or cut a group of the stems to form a bouquet that can be dried upside down.
Place individual flowers on a tray and maintain them in a warm, dry area (but not in direct sunlight) until they are crispy. When stored in a sealed glass container, dried chamomile flowers can last up to a year. To make tea, you can use fresh blooms or dried blooms. You’ll want to use 2 tablespoons of fresh chamomile flowers or 1 tablespoon of dried blooms for each cup of tea. Feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your personal taste. Below is an easy recipe provided by DIY Herbal Tea:6
Brewing Homemade Chamomile Tea
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh or 1 tablespoon dried chamomile flowers
- 2 cups filtered water
- Tea ball or infuser
- Tea cup
- Raw honey or stevia (optional)
Procedure
- Bring the water to a gentle boil
- While the water is boiling, add chamomile flowers to the tea ball and place it in the tea cup
- Pour near-boiling water into the cup, cover with a lid or saucer
- Steep the tea for about five minutes and remove the tea ball
- Add honey or stevia (optional)
Nutrition Facts for Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea is a caffeine-free, low-calorie drink that will cost you just 2 calories per cup when unsweetened. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a nutritious beverage that can be enjoyed cold or hot. Chamomile tea contains healthy amounts of vitamin A, potassium, calcium and folate. The following table provides an overview of its nutritional values:7
Amt. Per Serving |
% Daily Value* |
||
---|---|---|---|
Calories | 2 | Iron | 0.2 mg |
Total Carbs | 0.5 g | Potassium | 21.3 mg |
Vitamin A | 47 g | ||
Folate | 2.4 mcg | ||
Choline | 0.9 g | ||
Calcium | 5 g |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Seven Health Benefits of Chamomile
Due to its pleasant taste as a tea and the ready availability of its flowers, chamomile has been praised for millennia for its many health benefits. The presence of numerous antioxidants contributes to chamomile’s positive effects on your body. Among its many health benefits, chamomile:8,9,10
Acts as a mild sedative and sleep inducer Chamomile has long been used to treat insomnia and is highly regarded for its ability to induce daytime calmness and relaxation. Its sedative effects are likely due to the flavonoid apigenin, which binds to benzodiazepine receptors in your brain. While there is an absence of clinical trials to validate the effects of chamomile on sleep, 10 cardiac patients who drank chamomile tea were reported to have quickly fallen into a deep sleep lasting 90 minutes.11 Authors of a study involving the effects of chamomile extracts on sleep-disturbed rats concluded chamomile extracts exhibit “benzodiazepine-like hypnotic activity.”12 |
Addresses cold symptoms and sinus pain and pressure Anecdotal studies suggest chamomile can be effective as a natural cold remedy, especially for cold symptoms such as sinus congestion, pain and pressure. Check out the video above for a demonstration on how to use dried chamomile flowers as an herbal steam to clear your sinuses and lungs. |
Calms gum inflammation, mouth sores and tooth abscesses Chamomile has been shown to be effective in the treatment of gum inflammation, mouth sores and ulcers and tooth abscesses. Some suggest placing a wet chamomile teabag alongside an inflamed tooth may provide pain relief until you are able to be seen by your dentist. |
Reduces menstrual cramps and pain Multiple studies have validated chamomile tea to help reduce the severity of menstrual cramps. A 2010 study13published in the Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility indicated that consuming chamomile tea for a month appears to reduce menstrual pain and cramps, as well as the anxiety and distress that often accompany it. The study authors said: “[C]hamomile tea [is] an effective therapy in relieving the pain originated from primary dysmenorrhea and its consequent psycho-social problems.” |
Relieves gastrointestinal complaints and bowel problems Though most of the evidence is anecdotal, chamomile is believed to help reduce smooth muscle spasms associated with gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders such as Crohn’s disease, diverticular disease, gastritis, irritable bowel problems and ulcerative colitis. Chamomile is particularly helpful in dispelling gas, soothing heartburn and relaxing muscles that move food through your intestines. It also inhibits Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium linked to stomach ulcers. |
Soothes burns and other skin irritations Although somewhat less effective than hydrocortisone cream, chamomile has been shown to be effective in relieving minor burns and sunburn, as well as soothing skin conditions such as chickenpox, diaper rash, eczema and psoriasis. |
Treats eye infections and inflammation Due to its calming and soothing properties, chamomile has been shown to reduce eye irritation and redness.14Add two chamomile teabags to 3 cups of boiling water. Allow to steep until the tea has cooled, then discard the teabags. Dip a clean washcloth into the cooled tea and apply to your eye as a compress for 15 minutes, three to four times a day. |
Chamomile Shown to Reduce Your Risk of Thyroid Cancer
A 2015 study15 published in the European Journal of Public Health linked the consumption of chamomile tea to a lower risk of benign thyroid diseases and thyroid cancer. In fact, the more tea consumed, the lower the cancer risk. Specifically, those who drank chamomile tea two to six times a week had a 70-percent lower risk of developing thyroid abnormalities, while those who drank the tea regularly for 30 years achieved an 80 percent lower risk.
Despite the protective role of black and green teas with respect to diseases like cancer, the study authors noted there have been only a few studies regarding tea and thyroid disease. They stated, “Our findings suggest, for the first time, that drinking herbal teas, especially chamomile, protects from thyroid cancer, as well as other benign thyroid diseases.”16
Chamomile’s anticancer effects very likely result from naturally occurring flavonoids such as apigenin. Found not only in chamomile, but also in celery and parsley, as well as other vegetables, fruits and herbs, apigenin has been shown to slow cancer growth and shrink cancerous tumors in animal studies. In a 2012 study17 in which mice implanted with the cells of a fast-growing human breast cancer were treated with apigenin, cancer growth slowed and tumors shrank.
The Best Ways to Use Chamomile
If you’ve long known about chamomile tea but never considered using this versatile herb for anything but tea, you may be interested to learn of its other potential uses for adults, which include:18,19
Bath: Add 1/4 pound of dried flowers or 5 to 10 drops of chamomile essential oil to bathwater to soothe cuts, eczema, hemorrhoids or insect bites |
Capsules: Consume 300 to 400 milligrams three times per day, as directed by your physician |
Cream: Apply cream containing 3 to 10 percent chamomile to treat dry, flaky skin, as well as eczema and psoriasis |
Gargle or mouthwash: Gargle with cooled chamomile tea as often as desired or make a mouthwash by adding 10 to 15 drops of German chamomile liquid extract to about 3 ounces of warm water, and use up to three times a day |
Inhalation: Calm a cough by adding a few drops of chamomile essential oil to a pot of hot water and breathing in the steam |
Poultice: Mix powdered chamomile with water to make a paste and then apply it to inflamed skin |
Tincture: Take 1 teaspoon up to three times daily to calm frayed nerves, ease menstrual cramps, improve sleep and relieve headaches |
Side Effects Associated With Chamomile Tea
While chamomile is generally well tolerated, you should avoid it if you have an allergy to ragweed or any other member of the daisy family of plants such as chrysanthemum or marigold. Also avoid chamomile if you are pregnant, or if you are taking anticoagulants or sedative medications.20
Prior to using chamomile essential oil, do a skin test on your arm before applying it to your whole body. As with most other essential oils, it is best to use chamomile with a carrier oil such as coconut oil or olive oil. In whatever way you decide to use this lovely, hardy herb, you won’t regret growing chamomile.
You know you are on the right point by the pain, or tender and possibly electric feel when you apply pressure. Breathe deeply and slowly to encourage your trigger points to release.
Holding your breath tells your body to hang on to the tension. Let it go and breathe. Trigger points should release the muscle tension while you hold the point and it may take 30 seconds or the whole two minutes or a few moments longer.
You will need to come back and work the points several times every day. Do work both sides of the head at the same time and breathe while you hold the points.
Be Healthy. Stay Healthy.