Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Covid Censorship Proved to be deadly...Finally some reckoning for a dismal abuse of power!

 

COVID Censorship Proved To Be Deadly

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola - July 25, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE 

  • The federal government was sued for colluding with social media companies to censor Americans
  • U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty issued a preliminary injunction stating, “the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history”
  • The governments censorship efforts depict “an almost dystopian scenario,” the ruling states, during which “the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’”
  • Topics that were clearly censored by the government, which “used its power to silence the opposition,” include opposition to COVID-19 vaccines, masks and lockdowns, the lab-leak theory of COVID-19 and more
  • When organizations talk about tackling “misinformation” and “disinformation,” it’s a code phrase for censorship that’s part of a globalist agenda to control free speech and alter the perception of truth and reality

We’ve just witnessed the biggest attack on freedom of speech in U.S. history. And it appears the writing is on the wall for “the most important free speech lawsuit of this generation,” in which the federal government was sued for working with social media companies to censor Americans.1

U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty issued a preliminary injunction, siding with the plaintiffs that the U.S. government colluded with social media companies to censor free speech.

“If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history,” Doughty wrote. “In their attempts to suppress alleged disinformation, the federal government, and particularly the defendants named here, are alleged to have blatantly ignored the First Amendment’s right to free speech.”2

Government Tried to Get Case Dismissed, but Failed

The lawsuit — Missouri et al v. Biden et al — was filed May 2022 by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, and plaintiffs Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya and Dr. Martin Kulldorff — co-authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, which scientifically critiqued the effects of prolonged lockdowns in response to COVID-19.3

The lawsuit alleges the Biden administration "colluded with social media giants Meta, Twitter and YouTube to censor free speech in the name of combating so-called ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation.’" In so doing, it suppressed and censored the truth “on a scale never before seen” on topics relating to COVID-19 shots, COVID-19’s potential laboratory origins and Hunter Biden’s laptop.4

Judge Doughty denied a motion from the government to dismiss the case,5 which called on Dr. Anthony Fauci and other officials, including CISA director Jen Easterly and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, to testify under oath.6 The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), which represents Bhattacharya and Kulldorff in the case, stated:7

“Social media platforms, acting at the federal government’s behest, repeatedly censored NCLA’s clients for articulating views on those platforms in opposition to government-approved views on Covid-19 restrictions. This insidious censorship was the direct result of the federal government’s ongoing campaign to silence those who voice perspectives that deviate from those of the Biden Administration.

Government officials’ public threats to punish social media companies that did not do their bidding demonstrate this linkage, as do emails from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to social media companies that only recently were made public.”

In a July 16, 2021, White House press briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki actually admitted the Biden administration is violating the First Amendment by alerting social media companies to posts and accounts it believes is peddling “misinformation” about COVID injections.8 This includes banning the 12 individuals, including yours truly, who were falsely deemed the “disinformation dozen” during the pandemic, from all available social medial platforms.9

US Government Assumed Role as ‘Orwellian Ministry of Truth’

Doughty didn’t mince words when it came to the severity of the government’s censorship efforts, writing:10

“The evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’”

Topics that were clearly censored by the government, which “used its power to silence the opposition,” included:11

Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines

Opposition to COVID-19 masking and lockdowns

Opposition to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19

Opposition to the validity of the 2020 election

Opposition to President Biden’s policies

Statements that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true

Opposition to policies of the government officials in power

Doughty added:12

“All were suppressed. It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature. This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech. American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country.

Although this case is still relatively young, and at this stage the Court is only examining it in terms of Plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits, the Plaintiffs have presented substantial evidence in support of their claims that they were the victims of a far-reaching and widespread censorship campaign. This court finds that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment free speech claim against the Defendants.”

On Twitter, journalist Glenn Greenwald called the judge’s ruling vital to not only acknowledge the “systemic program of the US Govt to pressure/coerce Big Tech to censor for it,” but also to “apply established 1st Am principles that the state is barred from pressuring private actors to censor for it.” What’s more, he added, the ruling even banned the practice from continuing.13

Judge Blocks US Government From Policing Social Media

As part of the preliminary injunction, Doughty limited the U.S. government from meeting with social media companies to discuss content online.14 Already, the U.S. State Department canceled its regular meetings with Facebook, during which it planned to discuss “safeguards” for the 2024 election — “pending further guidance.”15

In a commentary for WSJ Opinion, Bret Swanson, technology and global economy analyst, states COVID censorship proved to be deadly in that “government and social-media companies colluded to stifle dissenters who turned out to be right.”16 This led to effective COVID-19 treatments being silenced early on, leading to an unknown number of deaths that might have been prevented if censorship hadn’t prevailed.

“Legions of doctors stayed quiet after witnessing the demonization of their peers who challenged the COVID orthodoxy. A little censorship leads people to watch what they say. Millions of patients and citizens were deprived of important insights as a result,” Swanson wrote.17 He tweeted:18

“For three years, pandemic public relations mocked nature, generating fear, illness, inflation and excess death beyond what the virus caused. Digital censorship supercharged the effort to hide reality, but reality is getting its day in court.”

While much of the damage has already been done, the ruling restrains the government and other named defendants from engaging with social media via 10 key measures, including:19

Meeting with social-media companies for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms

Specifically flagging content or posts on social-media platforms and/or forwarding such to social-media companies urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner for removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech

Urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner social-media companies to change their guidelines for removing, deleting, suppressing or reducing content containing protected free speech

Emailing, calling, sending letters, texting, or engaging in any communication of any kind with social-media companies urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner for removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech

Collaborating, coordinating, partnering, switchboarding, and/or jointly working with the Election Integrity Partnership, the Virality Project, the Stanford Internet Observatory, or any like project or group for the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content posted with social-media companies containing protected free speech

Threatening, pressuring, or coercing social-media companies in any manner to remove, delete, suppress or reduce posted content of postings containing protected free speech

Taking any action such as urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner social-media companies to remove, delete, suppress or reduce posted content protected by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution

Following up with social-media companies to determine whether the social-media companies removed, deleted, suppressed, or reduced previous social-media postings containing protected free speech

Requesting content reports from social-media companies detailing actions taken to remove, delete, suppress, or reduce content containing protected free speech

Notifying social-media companies to Be on The Lookout (“BOLO”) for postings containing protected free speech

A Globalist Agenda

a globalist agenda.jpeg

When organizations talk about tackling “misinformation” and “disinformation,” it’s a code phrase for censorship. It’s also part of a globalist agenda to control free speech, alter the perception of truth and reality, and spread its carefully orchestrated propaganda. July 4, 2023, the United Nations tweeted the following statement from Melissa Fleming, its communications chief, with the above graphic:20

"Our information ecosystem is now so polluted with lies & hate that voices for positive change are seriously struggling to make themselves heard."

It’s a classic example of globalist propaganda, but the policing of “wrongthink” on social media also has deep roots stemming from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),21 which are mentioned in the lawsuit.

In addition, in June 2023, the House Judiciary Committee released a report detailing how CISA “colluded with Big Tech and ‘disinformation’ partners to censor Americans.”22 “The 36-page report raises three familiar issues,” the Brownstone Institute reported.

“First, government actors worked with third parties to overturn the First Amendment; second, censors prioritized political narratives over truthfulness; and third, an unaccountable bureaucracy hijacked American society.”23

The United Nations’ propaganda above has a familiar ring to it because it’s the same rhetoric being spouted the world over. Much of the new world order’s plans are based on crisis management, and the idea that a great crisis will occur that will lead to the great transition, where globalists will swoop in to save the day, transforming society into the promised paradise, which is actually a totalitarian society.

But in order for their plans to succeed, they must control the narrative. Technology and digitization have allowed this to occur at an unprecedented level compared to in the past, largely due to censorship online.

What’s the endgame? In 2019, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum entered into a strategic alliance, which called for the U.N. to “use public-private partnerships as the model for nearly all policies that it implements, most specifically the implementation of the 17 sustainable development goals, sometimes referred to as Agenda 2030.”24

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began, global leaders and WEF began calling for The Great Reset.25 Embedded in this future world order will be widespread digitization, data collection and digital IDs intended to track and trace the global population. The United Nation’s Summit of the Future is scheduled for 2024, honing in on “the triple planetary crisis,” the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war to instill fear and propel their agenda forward.

Described as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives,”26 — this is but one more checkmark toward reaching the new world order.

And a big part of the plan will involve readying for the next crisis — and obeying their orders on how to react when it occurs. Again, censorship is necessary for this to work, lest people start to question what’s really going on. They’ll put emergency platforms into place under the promise that they’ll dissolve once the crisis is solved. But if the crisis never ends, neither will their new authoritarian regime.27

Will truth and free speech ultimately prevail? Doughty’s ruling is a large step in the right direction, bringing hope that, at least in the U.S., freedom has not yet been lost.

 Sources and References
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Thursday, July 20, 2023

Dental care and health could protect against Dementia

Brushing, Flossing Could Help Protect Against Dementia

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola - July 20, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Dental health is associated with hippocampal atrophy — shrinkage of the hippocampus brain region that serves as a marker for Alzheimer’s disease
  • People with mild gum disease and fewer teeth had a faster rate of shrinkage in the left hippocampus; having one less tooth increased brain shrinkage at a rate equivalent to nearly one year of brain aging
  • For those with severe gum disease, having more teeth was linked to a faster rate of brain shrinkage, with one more tooth akin to 1.3 years of brain aging
  • Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), a pathogen involved in chronic periodontitis, has been identified in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease
  • Even in young, otherwise healthy, adults, episodic memory and learning rate is improved among those without good oral health compared to those with aggressive periodontal disease

Dementia has been added to the long list of health problems potentially associated with poor oral health. The finding, published in Neurology,1 suggests dental health is associated with hippocampal atrophy — shrinkage of the hippocampus brain region that serves as a marker for Alzheimer’s disease.2

In short, “Retaining more healthy teeth without periodontal disease may help to protect brain health,” study author Satoshi Yamaguchi, an associate professor at Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry in Sendai, Japan, explains.3

Since periodontal disease is also linked with systemic inflammation and bacteria in the bloodstream, leading to chronic disease, keeping your teeth, mouth and gums healthy is a key way to boost your overall health, as well.

Brain Shrinkage Linked to an Unhealthy Mouth

Without proper oral hygiene, gingivitis can develop. This is an inflammatory disease caused by an accumulation of plaque, or bacteria, on your teeth that often leads to bleeding gums. If left untreated, it can lead to periodontitis, which is a more serious infection that can lead to teeth loss.

Periodontitis, or gum disease, has been suggested as a potential risk factor for Alzheimer’s since at least 2015, when researchers with the University of Bristol noted “periodontal pathogens are possible contributors to neural inflammation and SLOAD [sporadic late onset Alzheimer's disease].”4

The Neurology study involved 172 people aged 55 years and over who had no cognitive decline at the start of the study. The participants had dental exams and took memory tests, while brain scans were used to measure hippocampus volume at the start of the study and four years later.

Both gum disease and number of teeth were linked to brain changes. Those with mild gum disease and fewer teeth had a faster rate of shrinkage in the left hippocampus. Among this group, having one less tooth increased brain shrinkage at a rate equivalent to nearly one year of brain aging.5

For those with severe gum disease, having more teeth was linked to a faster rate of brain shrinkage, with one more tooth akin to 1.3 years of brain aging.6 Yamaguchi said in a news release:

“Tooth loss and gum disease, which is inflammation of the tissue around the teeth that can cause shrinkage of the gums and loosening of the teeth, are very common, so evaluating a potential link with dementia is incredibly important. Our study found that these conditions may play a role in the health of the brain area that controls thinking and memory, giving people another reason to take better care of their teeth.”

Gum Disease Bacteria Travel to Your Brain

In 2019, researchers with the University of Louisville identified Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), a pathogen involved in chronic periodontitis, in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.7 Gingipains — toxic proteases from P. gingivalis — were also found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Levels of gingipains were associated with two markers of the disease, tau protein and another protein called ubiquitin.8

Further, in mice, oral infection with P. gingivalis resulted in brain colonization of the pathogen, along with increased production of Aβ1–42, which is found in amyloid plaques.9 In vivo and invitro studies also showed gingipains were neurotoxic and damaging to tau, which is needed for normal neuronal function.

Gingipain antigens were detected in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease as well as in those with Alzheimer’s pathology who had not yet been diagnosed. This “argues that brain infection with P. gingivalis is not a result of poor dental care following the onset of dementia or a consequence of late-stage disease, but is an early event that can explain the pathology found in middle-aged individuals before cognitive decline,” the researchers explained.10

It's suggested the bacteria may access the brain from an infected oral cavity via infection of endothelial cells protecting the blood-brain barrier, spreading through cranial nerves or infection of monocytes — white blood cells — that travel to the brain.

“After entering the brain, we suggest that P. gingivalis may spread slowly over many years from neuron to neuron along anatomically connected pathways, similar to what has been demonstrated for vascular cell-to-cell transmission of P. gingivalis,” the team added.11


Periodontal Disease Linked to Alzheimer’s

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease often have poor oral health, which has commonly been attributed to declining self-care or neglect for oral health by caregivers. Past research has also revealed that periodontal disease may be a contributory factor in the disease’s development.12

For instance, a systematic review and meta-analysis that included 13 studies showed the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment in patients with periodontal disease was significantly higher than in those without periodontal disease.13 This was especially true in people with severe periodontal disease.

A separate study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease, found that among people aged 65 and older, Alzheimer’s disease incidence and mortality were consistently associated with probing pocket depth, a measure of periodontal health, as well as Prevotella melaninogenica (P. melaninogenica) and Campylobacter rectus (C. rectus), bacterial markers of periodontitis.14

New Bacteria Linked to Cavities

Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) bacteria are usually blamed for causing cavities, but another species may also be involved, highlighting how much remains to be learned about the microbes in our mouths and how they influence disease processes. The bacteria, Selenomonas sputigena (S. sputigena), have previously been linked to gum disease.

Research published in Nature Communications15 revealed they also partner with S. mutans, enhancing their ability to cause cavities.16 Using plaque samples from 300 children aged 3 to 5 years, the researchers found that S. sputigena don’t cause cavities on their own.

However, they may become trapped by sticky deposits on the teeth called glucans, which are built by S. mutans. According to a University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine news release:17

“Once trapped, S. sputigena proliferates rapidly, using its own cells to make honeycomb-shaped “superstructures” that encapsulate and protect S. mutans. The result of this unexpected partnership, as the researchers showed using animal models, is a greatly increased and concentrated production of acid, which significantly worsens caries severity.”

It's possible that using specific enzymes or tooth-brushing methods could better target S. sputigena superstructures to reduce cavity incidence. “This phenomenon in which a bacterium from one type of environment moves into a new environment and interacts with the bacteria living there, building these remarkable superstructures, should be of broad interest to microbiologists,” study author Hyun Koo noted.18

‘Gum Disease Is Often Silent’

Among adults aged 30 or over, 46% have signs of gum disease, while 9% of adults have severe gum disease.19 However, many aren’t aware they have it, as gum disease is often a “silent” condition, not showing signs and symptoms until more advanced stages.20

In the initial stage of gingivitis, you may notice that your gums bleed when you brush your teeth, floss or eat hard food. Your gums may also be red or swollen. As the disease progresses, your gums may pull away from your teeth, making your teeth appear longer. Your teeth may also become loose, and there may sores in your mouth, bad breath and pus between your gums and teeth.21

In addition to cognitive decline, periodontitis has been linked to a number of systemic diseases, including:22

Diabetes

Heart disease

Respiratory disease

Adverse pregnancy outcomes

Cancer

Nervous system diseases

Protecting Oral Health Early on Is Best

Since deposits of amyloid beta in the brain may start one to two decades before cognitive decline and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, and periodontal disease may also be persistent for about 10 years to initiate Alzheimer’s, positive oral health early on may help prevent the disease.23

This is important not just for older adults, but also middle-aged and younger adults, who may be able to protect their brain health by maintaining good oral health. Even in young, otherwise healthy, adults, episodic memory and learning rate is improved among those without good oral health compared to those with aggressive periodontal disease24 — suggesting damage to brain health may start early on.

Proper oral hygiene, including regular brushing, flossing and tongue scraping, and getting regular cleanings with a mercury-free biological dentist, will go a long way toward keeping your teeth and gums healthy. A lifestyle that includes a diet based on fresh, whole foods is also essential to a naturally clean mouth and good oral health.

Oil Pulling Works Wonders for Healthy Teeth and Gums

For extra care, try oil pulling using coconut oil. I’ve previously detailed how simple it is to incorporate oil pulling into your dental hygiene routine. Coconut oil is antibacterial and antiviral, and oil pulling has been found to reduce gingivitis and plaque, significantly lowering plaque index scores compared to a control group, while also reducing bacterial colony counts in saliva.25

Notably, researchers also found that coconut oil pulling worked as well as chemical (chlorhexidine) mouthwash for plaque score, gingival index score and bleeding-on-probing.26 The oil may also be effective against gingivitis. In a pilot study of 20 people with plaque-induced gingivitis, coconut oil was used as a mouthwash daily for 30 days.

A control group carried out normal daily oral health procedures but without coconut oil. Both plaque and bleeding decreased in the groups, but the coconut oil group had a more significant decline, showing promise for reducing plaque formation and gingivitis.27

To try it, take a small amount of the oil and swish it around your mouth, “pulling” it between your teeth and ensuring it moves around your entire mouth. After about 20 minutes, spit the oil out into the garbage. You can use oil pulling daily along with regular brushing and flossing.

More Ways to Protect Your Brain Health 

Shortly after the draft of this article was written I serendipitously discovered Dr. Ellie Phillips, a dentist trained in the U.K., from a recommended YouTube video on how to regrow receding gums. I purchased her book "Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye" which outlines her complete program to eliminate tooth decay by removing the bacteria from your mouth. Her program is very inexpensive and highly counterintuitive, and, among other strategies, uses 10 grams of xylitol per day to alkalinize the saliva and kill dental bacteria..

I have been doing her program for the past week and notice a radical decrease in dental plaque which I have been plagued with my entire life. I hope to interview her later this year and give you an update at that time but thought it was important to give you a sneak preview now.

Beyond oral health, nourishing brain health is best done with a comprehensively healthy lifestyle, including healthy diet, which will also work to reduce your risk of gum disease. Your risk of cavities increases the more sugar you eat, for instance. One study found that, in order to minimize your risk of cavities, processed sugars should make up no more than 3% of your total energy intake (with 5% noted as a “pragmatic” or more realistic goal).28

Mineral deficiencies, like magnesium, can weaken bones and teeth,29 while B vitamins are also important. Research published in PLOS One compared brain atrophy in participants taking folic acid (0.8 milligrams (mg) per day), vitamin B12 (0.5 mg per day) and vitamin B6 (20 mg per day) for 24 months with that in patients taking a placebo.30

Those taking B vitamins had a lower rate of brain atrophy per year — 0.76% — than those not taking them, who had an atrophy rate of 1.08%. According to the researchers, “The accelerated rate of brain atrophy in elderly with mild cognitive impairment can be slowed by treatment with homocysteine-lowering B vitamins.”31

Vitamin B3 is found in grass fed beef, mushrooms and avocados,32 while vitamin B6 is plentiful in grass fed beef, potatoes, bananas and avocados.33 You can find folate, or vitamin B9, spinach, broccoli, avocado and asparagus.34

Vitamin B12-rich foods include grass fed beef liver, wild rainbow trout and wild sockeye salmon. Other important strategies to boost your brain health include exercise, ketogenic diet, time-restricted eating, optimizing vitamin D and other hormones, increasing sleep, meditation and detoxification and eliminating processed food.

 Sources and References
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