Night Vision: A Reflection on the Transfiguration

• August 3, 2022 Grace Abruzzo

I often receive images in prayer, but that night in prayer group they were different. Usually, the images were personal—if not for me, then for someone else with me. They were usually something to encourage or inspire, or perhaps (gently) challenge or correct. That night I saw visions of things happening around the world. They were at first glance terrifying—suggesting disaster, a reason to run in fear.

One image was of an explosion that produced a raging inferno—all I could see around me were flames. But then the lens seemed to shift, zooming out so to speak, and I was given a “big picture” view. I saw that the explosive fire was in fact the launching of a massive rocket ship on a beautiful sunny day. I saw that what at first seemed evil was in fact something powerful and positive. Then I heard: “What the enemy intends for evil, God intends for good.”

In another image, I saw in the sky a massive dark cloud, looking ominous. It then morphed into what looked like descending parachutes, or clusters of balloons, only they were made of a very pale beige mud. I sensed they were delivering assistance, hope, and ultimately victory—all of which God desired to bring about, and was inviting us to pray for. But my attention was being drawn to the mud.

I recalled how, in the Gospels, when a blind man came seeking sight, Jesus first put mud on his eyes. Surely the blind man must have been surprised—for just a moment, his vision was no doubt much worse! But what momentarily darkened his vision was the very means of his healing.

These images (and others like them) came two years ago, in early August of 2020, and I would have forgotten them, had it not been for the feast that followed, the Feast of the Transfiguration.

In the days leading up to the feast, these images and themes burned in my mind, and I heard repeatedly the words “Night Vision.” Soldiers are given night vision glasses, that enable them to see even in the dark.

It was on the occasion of the Transfiguration that Jesus gave night vision glasses to Peter, James, and John.

Jesus often ascended the mountain to pray, but this time He invited His closest disciples to accompany Him, to glimpse His glory. This ascent and that glimpse of glory were both to prepare for and foreshadow another ascent, and a very different kind of glory. When Jesus ascended Calvary and died on the Cross, the glory of God’s unfathomable love was lifted up for the world to see—a feast we celebrate exactly forty days after the Transfiguration, in the Triumph of the Cross.

In the moment, of course, His crucifixion did not seem like glory, but rather fearful defeat. For us too, what God is doing will often be obscured by signs of failure, danger, and even death. Like the apostles we need night vision glasses from Jesus—to be schooled in faith and trust, so that when things seem dark we will be able to see purpose and plan and hope. We are invited to hold fast to the glimpse of glory revealed in our mountaintop experiences and to let memory and hope sustain us. We are invited to remember the Triumph of the Cross, to see in those moments of darkness the promise of a glory greater than what we could imagine.

Night vision glasses are not given to armchair warriors, but to soldiers—those sent out to do battle. In Matthew 13 Jesus promises that “the gates of hell will not prevail” against the church.  I have heard it said that we often interpret this defensively, as in no matter what is leveled against the church, she will survive. But the Scripture language is actually more proactive—as though it is the Church thrusting a battering ram against the gates of hell—and the gates of hell will not prevail, will not be strong enough to sustain this onslaught.

The Cross is this battering ram. We are being called to go to battle with Jesus on behalf of His people, with the confidence of His victory and the assurance that His church will prevail. We can only have this confidence if we first grow in intimacy with Him, allowing Him to replace all of our fears and false humility with a strong conviction of our identity as beloved sons and daughters destined for glory.

I don’t know what this battle will look like—I don’t think it will look anything like we expect, and perhaps not like a battle at all. Jesus waged battle as a baby in a manger, as a gentle healer, as a feeder of the multitudes, as a teacher, and ultimately as lamb on the cross. He waged battle by allowing God to show Him each day where to show up, what to do, what to respond to.

In liturgical Lent, we give 40 days to fasting, almsgiving and prayer, with a focus is on doing something to prepare for Easter. What if we spent these 40 days, between the Transfiguration and the Triumph of the Cross, focused on receiving? What if we draw close to Him and allow Him to show us a new way of seeing?

Religion’s Decline is Reason’s Decline

People don’t rely on logic and evidence for most of the decisions they make; they follow the suggestions of their media, their tribe, and their appetites.

Source: Religion’s Decline is Reason’s Decline

Explosive’ Documents Reveal How CDC, Social Media Giants Colluded to Suppress Free Speech

Friday, July 29th 2022

Posted By:

Children’s Health Defense

Originally published on www.childrenshealthdefense.org by America First Legal

America First Legal on Wednesday released documents obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealing what it called “concrete evidence of collusion” between the CDC and social media companies to censor free speech and promote Biden administration propaganda

America First Legal (AFL) on Wednesday released shocking documents obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealing concrete evidence of collusion between the CDC and social media companies to censor free speech and promote Biden administration propaganda.

These documents are only the latest examples of this administration’s blatant disregard for the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.

Last July, then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted the White House was working with social media companies to identify “misinformation.”

Specifically, she said:

“We’re regularly making sure social media platforms are aware of the latest narratives, dangerous to public health that we and many other Americans are seeing across all of social and traditional media. And we work to engage with them to better understand the enforcement of social media platform policies.”

AFL immediately submitted FOIA requests to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to uncover the degree to which the CDC and the White House have been censoring content that it has deemed “disinformation” or “misinformation.”

Predictably, the Biden administration obstructed and delayed complying with their legal obligation to provide such information, and AFL sued the CDC to compel their release.

Today, after a year of work, AFL has obtained its first damning release of documents.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the CDC working with the U.S. Census Bureau to “leverage their infrastructure to identify and monitor social media for vaccine misinformation,” the 286-page production reveals shocking information, a sampling of which is below.

TWITTER:

• CDC sends Twitter officials a chart of tweets it deemed to be “misinformation” (p. 7).

• Regular BOLO (Be On the LookOut) meetings where CDC would share what they categorized as “misinformation” with various social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, and provide slide decks, requesting “Please do not share outside your trust and safety teams” (pp. 5, 28, 36-52).

• Express requests from Twitter to the CDC for help in identifying “misinformation” (p. 93).

• Twitter stated that coordination with CDC over vaccine misinformation was  “tricky” because the Twitter CEO was testifying before Congress that week (p. 99).

• CDC recommends information about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) be added to tweets (p. 36).

FACEBOOK:

• Direct engagement between CDC officials and social media companies where CDC sends links to Facebook to flag those posts as disinformation (pp. 55-57).

• $15 million worth of Facebook ad credits as “non-monetary gift” to HHS and CDC on vaccines, social distancing, travel, and priority communication messages — potentially in violation of the Antideficiency Act’s limitation on voluntary services (31 U.S.C. § 1342) (pp. 104, 116-119).

 

Later in the letter it states:

• CDC requests to help ensure “verifiable information sources” are not blocked because State Department of Health posts were being blocked as vaccine misinformation (pp. 101-102).

• Set up a COVID-19 Misinformation Reporting Channel for CDC and Census to make reports to Facebook, and hold a “training meeting” for the Misinformation Reporting Channel (pp. 106, 245).

• Feeding CDC with Facebook-sponsored research on the COVID–Vaccine (pp. 120-205).

GOOGLE:

• CDC requested that Google promote its new vaccine page in its search results (p. 58).

• CDC coordination with Google regarding vaccine “misinformation,” including a “Question Hub thing” the CDC and Google were collaborating on (p. 283).

• CDC sought coordination with Google regarding WHO (World Health Organization) infodemiology conference in connection with the CDC’s creation of the “discipline of infodemiology” to “target” the general public and “push back against the misinformation” (p. 282).

• Google’s News and Information Credibility Lead, News Lab asked CDC to keep Google posted about anything infodemiology-related, and that employee’s focus at the time was “primarily on election but the two are inevitably related” (p. 283).

• At CDC’s request, Google agreed to post an ad for a job position at CDC (pp. 281, 284-285).

• At CDC’s request, Google “signal boosts” the WHO’s “unicorn program” to provide “comprehensive global training on tracking, analyzing and addressing misinformation” (274-281).

• CDC directly making edits to Google’s code for its “Knowledgebase” (pp. 216-221).

The records AFL finally received from the CDC reveal the extent to which the Biden administration is willing to engage in unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful activities in total disregard for the rights of American citizens.

AFL continues to file crucial oversight requests with the Biden administration to reveal to the American people the actions this administration is taking on a daily basis which undermine the rule of law and the liberties of American citizens.

AFL has made clear that any corrupt government agency that attempts to conceal records should be prepared to face legal action.

The Case Against Contraception

Contraception is very much in Church news again, so it is pivotal that we know why the Church has always prohibited artificial contraception.

Source: The Case Against Contraception

Is Monkeypox the Next HIV, Planned Out 5 Years Ago?

(Shutterstock)

Health Viewpoints

BY Joseph Mercola TIME August 1, 2022

What are the odds? In 2017, we started accumulating this vaccine – and this week, despite zero deaths attributed to the disease, the WHO leader overruled the treaty committee to declare a monkeypox public health emergency.

Ever since the first European cases of monkeypox were confirmed in early May 2022, many suspected smallpox or monkeypox would become the next global pandemic to justify continued tyranny and the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset.

Indeed, in early December 2021, media started signaling that smallpox might be the next pandemic. As it turns out, monkeypox¹ is the same family as smallpox,² but is nowhere nearly as lethal.

By the third week of July 2022, some 16,000 cases of monkeypox had been recorded across 75 countries, with the vast majority of cases occurring among homosexual and bisexual men. In the U.S., recorded cases were around 3,000, including two children.

As we saw with COVID-19, health authorities claim many of the infections have no known source of infection, suggesting it may be spreading in unknown ways. With COVID, they blamed it on “asymptomatic spread,” which was always a complete fallacy. Time will tell what they come up with here.

Monkeypox Declared a Public Health Emergency

As reported by The New York Times,³ as of late June 2022, World Health Organization advisers still did not recommend issuing an emergency declaration for smallpox, in large part because “the disease had not moved out of the primary risk group, men who have sex with men, to affect pregnant women, children or older adults, who are at greater risk of severe illness if they are infected.”

One month later, the panel was still deadlocked in disagreement, with six supporting a declaration and nine opposing it.⁴ Despite the lack of consensus, July 23, 2022, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus unilaterally overruled this panel of advisers and declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC).⁵

That same day, the National Coalition of STD Directors also urged President Biden to follow the WHO’s lead and declare monkeypox a national public health emergency, and to allocate $100 million in emergency funding.⁶

According to Ghebreyesus, six versus nine “is very, very close,” and “Since the role of the committee is to advise, I then had to act as a tie-breaker.”⁷ In the real world, six versus nine is not “a tie.” So, clearly, the director-general was driven to act based on something else, and this silly justification was all he could come up with.

Importantly, the “public health emergency of international concern” declaration gives Ghebreyesus a number of distinct powers, including the ability to recommend how member states should respond to the outbreak, which of course includes the recommendation to mass vaccinate. As reported by The New York Times:⁸

“The WHO’s declaration signals a public health risk requiring a coordinated international response. The designation can lead member countries to invest significant resources in controlling an outbreak, draw more funding to the response, and encourage nations to share vaccines, treatments and other key resources for containing the outbreak.”

Monkeypox Virus Made by Wuhan Institute of Virology

In other words, “here we go again,” as predicted. And, as with COVID, there’s evidence that we may not be dealing with something that arose accidentally and naturally.

As discussed by Dr. John Campbell in the featured video, the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China and the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. have coincidentally been working on the monkeypox virus and its treatment⁹ for some time.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology published a study in February 2022, in which they describe creating a portion of a monkeypox genome from scratch in order to develop a PCR test for monkeypox diagnosis.

The NIH, which has identified monkeypox as a potential bioterrorism agent, is currently studying the safety and efficacy of an antiviral called tecovirimat for the treatment of monkeypox. The study in question began September 28, 2020, and will run through the end of September 2025.

Meanwhile, the WIV published a study¹⁰ in February 2022, in which they describe creating a portion of a monkeypox genome from scratch in order to develop a PCR test for monkeypox diagnosis.

As explained by Campbell, they created a section (fragment) of the monkeypox virus’ genome in order to use that as a quantitative polymerase chain-reactive (qPCR) template. Curiously, the paper states that, because there’s never been a monkeypox outbreak in China, “the viral genomic material required for qPCR detection is unavailable.”

So, they created a version of the monkeypox genome on their own, using synthetic techniques such as viral DNA recombination. They basically built a new genome by stitching it together using a variety of (presumably known) gene sequences. The new DNA construct is then reproduced by growing it in yeast, and that yeast is subsequently used to assess the veracity of the PCR test.

Why did they choose this route? The monkeypox virus is readily available in several laboratories around the globe, most notably Africa, but also other countries, so why didn’t they just get it from one of those? As noted by Campbell, the idea that they have to synthesize their own virus because it’s unobtainable is simply not believable, and therefore raises a number of concerns.

What’s more, the paper even warns that “this DNA assembly tool applied in virological research could … raise potential security concerns … especially when the assembled product contains a full set of genetic material that can be recovered into a contagious pathogen.”

Now, to be clear, they did not create a full-length genome in this study. The genome fragment they used was only one-third of the full genome of the monkeypox virus, and this was supposedly done to prevent the accidental reverse engineering of an infectious virus. Still, it raises concerns about the risks inherent in creating synthetic viruses.

Prepare for Another Round of Fearmongering — and Vaccinations

Not surprisingly, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is already urging those who may be at high risk for monkeypox — including those who attended the “Daddyland Festival” in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend — to get vaccinated.¹¹

New York City started administering the smallpox vaccine in late June 2022. That’s not a typo. There is no specific monkeypox vaccine. They’re using the smallpox vaccine under the assumption that it might work because the two viruses are in the same family of pox viruses, but there’s very little evidence for this.¹²

The idea that smallpox vaccines may be effective against monkeypox comes from a 1988 non-randomized observational study¹³ in which 0.96% of vaccinated close contacts contracted monkeypox, compared to 7.47% of unvaccinated close contacts.

Two of the biggest problems with this assumption are that a) the vaccine used in that 1988 study was a first-generation vaccine that is no longer in use, and b) the current strain of monkeypox has undergone many mutations since 1988. So, there’s really no telling whether the vaccine will have any benefit at all.

As noted by Ira Longini, Ph.D., a biostatistician at the University of Florida and a WHO adviser, “The truth is, we don’t know the efficacy of any of these monkeypox vaccines.”¹⁴ Such facts notwithstanding, by July 22, 2022, some 18,000 New Yorkers had already received their first dose of smallpox vaccine.¹⁵

Two Types of Smallpox Vaccines in Use

There are currently two types of smallpox vaccine available in the U.S.:¹⁶ ACAM2000, which contains live replicating but weakened vaccinia virus and Jynneos (also sold under the names Imvanex and Imvamune), which uses a live but non-replicating modified vaccinia Ankara virus.

Jynneos was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 and is indicated for smallpox and monkeypox in adults aged 18 and older.¹⁷ Since it doesn’t contain replicating virus, it’s thought to be less hazardous than ACAM2000, but there’s no guarantee.

It’s also not supposed to spread the virus, which is something that can occur with ACAM2000 (which is using a live replication-competent virus). Those who receive ACAM2000 have to take careful precautions, for a full month, to avoid spreading the virus to others.

ACAM2000 is known to produce severe side effects, including myocarditis at a rate of 5.7 per 1,000 vaccinees.¹⁸ Jynneos is “believed” to have a lower risk for cardiac adverse events, but time will tell whether that’s true. As with the COVID shots, those getting Jynneos are basically volunteers in a vaccine trial, whether they realize it or not.¹⁹

Disturbingly, HIV-positive subjects who participated in Jynneos clinical trials saw a rise in HIV virus counts.²⁰ Today, gay men are the primary recipients of this vaccine, and they’re also a group that tends to be more prone to have HIV-AIDS. So, there may be significant risks to this vaccine in this particular group.

The U.S. Department of Health has a stockpile of more than 200 million doses of ACAM2000, and they’ve vowed to provide some 296,000 doses of Jynneos, but it’s unclear which of the two vaccines is currently being administered.

If someone you know has received the ACAM2000 vaccine, be sure to take the same precautions as you would with someone who is infected with monkeypox (see below).

The hazard of live vaccines was recently made evident by a case in which an unvaccinated individual contracted polio from a person who had received an oral live poliovirus vaccine.²¹ (The U.S. only uses inactivated polio vaccine, but live polio vaccine is still used in many other countries.) So, if ACAM2000 were to be widely used, and people fail to take proper precautions, outbreaks of smallpox could be possible.

Aventis Pasteur also has a smallpox vaccine that, while still investigational, could still receive emergency use authorization.²² It too is replication-competent, and therefore could create outbreaks if used extensively.

At present, the WHO is not recommending mass vaccination,²³ primarily because the smallpox vaccine is known to have its risks. According to the WHO, good hygiene and safe sexual behavior are, for now, your best prevention against monkeypox. I suspect that may change in time, however, especially considering Moderna is now working on an mRNA monkeypox injection.²⁴ Preclinical investigation is already underway.

How to Protect Yourself Against Monkeypox

The monkeypox virus is spread via close contact with infected bodily fluids, not through the air, so to protect yourself against it, be sure to:²⁵

• Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with an infected person. This includes avoiding kissing, hugging, cuddling and sex
• Do not touch the rash or scabs
• Don’t handle or touch the bedding, towels or clothing of an infected person
• Do not share eating utensils or cups with an infected person
• Frequently wash your hands with soap and water, especially after contact with sick people

If you are infected with monkeypox, isolate at home and avoid close contact with people and pets while you have active symptoms, such as rashes. On a side note, Campbell is concerned that the virus may start spreading to house pets and other animals found in suburban areas, such as squirrels, which could result in monkeypox becoming endemic in the West as it has been in Africa.

Interestingly, while monkeypox has historically resulted in painful rashes and pus-filled lesions all over the body, in most current cases, the lesions are localized to the genital and anal regions. So, clearly there are some differences between the current outbreak and the monkeypox of old.

Avoiding sexual contact appears to be a primary strategy to avoid infection at present, and that goes for women as well. While many are dismissing monkeypox as a “gay disease,” doctors warn that “anyone can get it.”²⁶

This makes sense, since not all men who have sex with men are exclusively homosexual. Bisexuals who have sex with both genders will sooner or later spread it to female partners, and children can also be affected through skin-to-skin contact.

According to the CDC, the two children in the U.S. who were diagnosed with monkeypox had contact with “individuals who come from the men-who-have-sex-with-men community.”²⁷ That said, homosexual and bisexual men and their partners are undoubtedly in the highest-risk category. As noted by Ghebreyesus:²⁸

“Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners. That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.”

The Financial Incentive Behind Monkeypox

COVID-19 has arguably been the greatest profit maker for Big Pharma of all time, and monkeypox is undoubtedly viewed as a similar future profit maker. The sad reality is, there’s so much liability-free money to be made in pandemic vaccines, they’re not likely to give up on them, and that requires keeping the world in a more or less constant health emergency.

As COVID fatigue is setting in and people are increasingly resisting the shots, monkeypox allows for a brand-new cycle of fear porn to be spun, and for new experimental vaccines to be rolled out. This, I fear, is why Ghebreyesus unilaterally decided to declare monkeypox a global health emergency.

Ghebreyesus may also be trying to push the pandemic treaty forward. Either way, his behavior is a foretaste of what we can expect if that pandemic treaty becomes reality. As noted by Dr. Robert Malone in a July 23, 2022, Substack article:^29,30

“Clearly, the WHO committee did not reach the desired decision to declare a PHEIC, and so for some extraordinary reason Tedros stepped in … Tedros’ statements clearly demonstrate that he unilaterally substituted his own opinions for those of the convened panel, raising questions of his objectivity, commitment to process and protocol, and whether he has been unduly influenced by external agents.”

In short, Ghebreyesus is acting like a corrupt dictator, and it’s not difficult to figure out who the beneficiaries might be. In a recent review³¹ by Pandemics Data Analytics (PANDA), they detail the corruption by the WHO, global leaders and governments around the world during the COVID pandemic. As noted by Malone:³²

“This review empowers you with key information to help you assess the WHO’s candidacy as an authoritative global public health organization … It is a must-read by anyone who is interested in public health, the global COVID-19 WHO policies that almost all nations followed, and the full extent of the corruption …”

Is the Basis of Alzheimer’s Research Fundamentally Flawed?

(Illustration – Shutterstock)

Alzheimer’s Disease

A new report found image tampering that could throw out years of research for a cure

BY Kelly Song and Health 1+1 TIME August 1, 2022

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia. It is named after German pathologist Alois Alzheimer, who discovered what is believed to be the distinctive feature of the disease–plaques and other protein deposits–in the brain of a deceased patient in 1906.

In the 1980s, a protein called amyloid beta (Aβ) was identified as the main component of the plaques. This led to the “amyloid hypothesis,” which suggests that a primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease is Aβ clumps in brain tissue. The amyloid hypothesis, although controversial, has been the basis of most Alzheimer’s disease research for decades.

A recent analysis of the images in published papers discovered “shockingly blatant” examples of image tampering, according to a new report by Science. It implicates one of the foundations of amyloid based cures for Alzheimer’s disease. The process of reaching this bombshell discovery has been fascinating, to say the least.

The Amyloid Hypothesis

In theory, stopping Aβ deposits became the most plausible strategy to cure Alzheimer’s. But no one had proved that any one of the many known Aβ deposits (or oligomers) directly caused the disease. Hundreds of clinical trials failed to generate the expected results. This led more and more scientists to question the validity of the amyloid hypothesis.

In 2006, a groundbreaking study, conducted by a team at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Twin Cities, identified an Aβ subtype, Aβ*56, as the culprit that caused Alzheimer’s dementia in rats.

Like a beam of light piercing through the darkest night, this discovery cemented the dominance of the amyloid hypothesis in seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s.

The UMN study was done in the lab of Prof. Karen Ashe. A young French scientist, Sylvain Lesné, who worked in the lab, was the first author of the paper. Lesné was 34 years old when the study was published in Nature. This seminal paper has been cited in almost 2,300 scholarly articles.

The gist of the experiment involves 1) identifying a previously unknown oligomer species Aβ*56 in the brains of transgenic mice; 2) isolating Aβ*56 from the transgenic mice and injecting it into young mice; 3) observing the young mice’s memory capacity plummeting over time.

What’s a transgenic mouse, you might ask? It was created by Karen Ashe in the mid-1990s. Inside a transgenic mouse’s brain, human Aβ is produced, which forms plaques. As a result, the mouse shows dementia-like symptoms.

Since then, NIH has poured billions of dollars into research focused on Aβ*56.

A lot of other investigators set off looking for Aβ*56-like oligomer species. But none of them were successful. The drug development based on the Aβ*56 discovery and amyloid hypothesis has been disappointing and controversial.

Controversies Surrounding Alzheimer’s Drug Development

First, we have Aduhelm.

In June 2021, Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab) became the first drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s in nearly 20 years.

However, FDA’s accelerated approval was controversial, because of Aduhelm’s questionable efficacy data and undesirable risk-benefit ratio. Only 29 patients enrolled in the study, when 6,000 were needed. And the insurers drastically limited their coverage of the drug. Eventually, Biogen abandoned the post-market real-world study in June 2022.

Then there is Simufilam.

Simufilam, developed by Cassava Sciences, was also met with strong criticism. Matthew Schrag, a neuroscientist and physician at Vanderbilt University, found “apparently altered or duplicated images in dozens of journal articles” about Simufilam. Schrag’s findings were supported by independent image analysts and some Alzheimer’s experts.

His analysis was used in an August 2021 petition to FDA to halt two phase 3 clinical trials of Simufilam. In February 2022, FDA refused the petition, calling it the wrong way to intervene.

It’s worth noting that Schrag’s findings implicated senior management at Cassava Sciences, and prominent neurologists at City University of New York (CUNY) and Harvard University, who were advisors for Cassava.

Several papers that contain questionable images have been retracted. Various investigations were triggered.

But Schrag’s research did not stop there, and it generated a bigger shockwave across the Alzheimer’s research communities.

A Bombshell Discovery

In his analysis of images in published papers, Schrag inevitably came across papers by Lesné, including the seminal paper from 2006.

Shockingly, Schrag found signs of tampering in papers co-authored by Lesné, including the images in the 2006 paper, the basis for many others.

In January 2022, Schrag raised his doubts about Aβ*56 research with NIH. Meanwhile, Science conducted a six month investigation and published an elaborate report in July 2022. It provides strong support for Schrag’s suspicions and raises questions about Lesné’s research.

The authors of the 2006 paper “appeared to have composed figures by piecing together parts of photos from different experiments,” says Elisabeth Bik, a molecular biologist and well-known forensic image consultant. Bik reviewed Schrag’s findings upon Science’s request. They found more than 20 suspicious papers by Lesné, and 10 of them are about Aβ*56.

The Science report includes a detailed image showing duplicated bands.

UMN is reviewing Lesné’s work. Ashe declined via email to be interviewed or to answer written questions posed by Science.

The Science report also mentioned that in May 2022, four months after Schrag delivered his concerns to NIH, Lesné received a coveted R01 research project grant from NIH, with up to five years of support. The NIH program officer for the grant, Austin Yang, was one of the co-authors on the 2006 Nature paper.

Top Alzheimer’s researcher John Forsayeth of the University of California, San Francisco, reviewed and agreed with Schrag’s analysis, and said that the amyloid hypothesis is “the scientific equivalent of the Ptolemaic model of the Solar System,” in which the Sun and planets rotate around Earth.

The shock waves generated by Schrag’s findings have not been pacified. Sixteen years of precious research efforts by scientists the world over might be for naught. Billions of NIH dollars might be wasted. Alzheimer’s disease is still debilitating millions around the world. Perhaps it is time for our scientific communities to rethink their strategy.

FEMA Alerts Broadcasters to Vulnerabilities in EAS Devices

By Elle Kehres

Encourages participants to take security precautions

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(Image credit: FEMA)

On Monday, Aug. 1, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (opens in new tab) issued a public alert about “certain vulnerabilities” in EAS encoder/decoder devices. FEMA said these vulnerabilities present a security concern, allowing outside actors to issue emergency alerts, whether it be via TV, radio or cable network.

In its public notice (opens in new tab), FEMA encourages broadcasters and other EAS participants to check that their devices and supporting systems are up to date with the most recent software and security patches. The agency also asks participants to ensure that EAS devices are protected by a firewall and are monitored, with audit logs regularly reviewed looking for unauthorized access.

“This exploit was successfully demonstrated by Ken Pyle, a security researcher at CYBIR.com, and may be presented as a proof of concept at the upcoming DEFCON  conference in Las Vegas,” said FEMA. “In short, the vulnerability is public knowledge and will be demonstrated to a large audience in the coming weeks.”

Closing out its remarks, FEMA said it values its partnership with broadcasters “and appreciate your efforts to maintain public trust and confidence in the Emergency Alert System.”

Glyphosate Crosses Blood-Brain Barrier and Exposure Correlates with Alzheimer’s Symptoms – New Study

In a new study, Arizona State University (ASU) and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN) have explored the effects of glyphosate exposure

Source: Glyphosate Crosses Blood-Brain Barrier and Exposure Correlates with Alzheimer’s Symptoms – New Study

‘The problem Buhari has is that he doesn’t listen’, Islamic Cleric

Editorial

August 5, 2022

Sheik Ahmad Gumi

By Oluwatobi Enitan, Fatunbi Olayinka and Nurudeen Akewushola

The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR) spoke exclusively with Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi in Kaduna, where he spoke about the recent spate of insecurity in Nigeria, ranging from Boko haram terrorists, Abuja-Kaduna train abduction,  attack on Kuje prison, recent threat video by terrorists and how he thinks the government can stem the tide of terror attacks in the country.

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The ICIR: What is your comment on the now-viral video of the Kaduna-Abuja train attack terrorists torturing the kidnap victims? Gumi:  There was a lady who was pregnant and they let her go to deliver and they kept her husband trying to show that they are civilised and trying to show that they are not fighting society but fighting the government. Then they negotiated for the release of their children. We are surprised that no matter how criminal a person would be what he is concerned about is underage children. That shows that there’s something underneath their agitations. Their children were released for a number of victims.

Then they requested a list of other prisoners who are still under detention. There was a stalemate, and they attacked the prison because they have intelligence. They budgeted huge amount of money for every victim.

For the first set group of victims, we were able to pay their money and they were released. There was a lady from Lagos, she was able to pay her money and she was released. Then another group, they were ready to pay for their relatives but they were prevented by the security. That prevention is what provoked them to attack the male victims.

Sheik Gumi

The ICIR: In the light of a threat issued against the president and the governor of Kaduna state, what do you make of it?

Gumi: I have been there meeting with bandits, trying to show them, educate them because they are not educated. Where do you want them to get their morals ? Where do you want them to get their education and direction? Who is there to tell them what to do? Nobody! They are all uneducated and the offence society has done is to leave such a number of people uneducated without education, without budgetary concern for their education, their health, what they are doing, and what they are thinking. Nobody is concerned about them. This is negligence.

So, we talked about it, and I spoke with them. We didn’t get a listening ear from the press,  the government or the population. They think we are cajoling and appeasing criminals. They are more than criminals; they are fighting you.

Sheik Gumi

The ICIR: If you are to justify the payment of ransom to bandits and then looking at those victims who may not be able to afford it. What do you think should be the way forward?

Gumi: The government has left the issue now for the family to raise money and pay ransom for their individuals. But I think what the government needs to do is to put the round figure for everybody to be released. Then sit down with them and tackle the issue.

The ICIR: Justifying the payment of ransom?

Gumi: Nobody is justifying the payment of ransom but do we have options? You can’t give your enemy your money, but is there any way out?

The ICIR: If there’s no way out,  would you say the government and the security architecture and even the security agencies have failed?

Gumi: Let me give you an example, if you go to Oxford University now, they will be conducting a PhD examination on any subject like mass communication. Okay now in Oxford, a mass communication exam is going on. Me that I’m in Nigeria, can you tell me that I failed the exam? Am I a student? How can you say I failed the exam?

Sheik Ahmad Gumi

What I’m trying to say is no security outfit is designed to tackle this issue. The army is very strong. The army can destroy this town in 15 minutes. The air force can devastate Kaduna if, given the go-ahead. They have that power. The tactics, they have it. But if I give you a hammer to kill a fly in this room, you may end up destroying my furniture and your camera, and you would not get the fly because a hammer is not meant for killing flies. But if I give you a rubber flexible swat which is cheaper than a hammer, you can easily get the fly. So, the question is not the army, is not DSS. These people are isolated in an island or in a forest.

The ICIR: Who or what is the problem?

Gumi: We don’t have the outfit to deal with them. One is a socioeconomic, political issue, you deal with it largely. The army is to give you the power and backing to do it.

When I went there, they thought the government was with me. All of them came, they tried to negotiate, but when I came, and they realised that the government was not with me, they continued their ways.

The ICIR: Would you say your hanging up the negotiation is worsening the situation? 

Gumi: Before, they have an iota of doubt whether there’s a genuine face that can dialogue with them but when they saw a clergyman like me who doesn’t have any interest in politics trying to convince them that this is a bad way of having hope that the government will listen to me but when the government didn’t listen to me, everybody finds his own way.

Sheik Ahmad Gumi

The ICIR: Since you say it is not the victims (Abuja-Kaduna train attack) that they (terrorists) are after why not go after the people they are after?

Gumi: I don’t speak for them. But the government took their children, is that so ? After then, they feel too that they will take the citizens of the nation that the government needs to protect to show that the government has failed.

Terrorists usually target soft targets because they cannot get to the officials, that’s why. It’s an unfortunate situation and we are not applying the correct medication and remedy for it.

The ICIR: What of those who cannot meet up with the ransom demand, who would you appeal to in such a situation?

Gumi: We will appeal to the bandits. We need to go there and educate them. They are Nigerians! People don’t know. When I went there,  you see, the people that are doing this are called Ansaru. An offshoot of Boko Haram. They are not even Fulanis. But they are using herdsmen as foot soldiers.

I heard they are paying them N50,000 every day. Even if we assumed that they are Boko Haram that was putting bombs during Jonathan’s time, but they don’t have foot soldiers to carry out big operations. They just put bombs, but if you can see now, they go and break prison and release people and they go with their people, they have foot soldiers.

Where are these foot soldiers coming from? It’s these bandits. Since I have been warning Nigerians, these are not even Fulanis but they are only using them as foot soldiers. Don’t let allow us make them our enemies. I have said this in ABU Zaria. Don’t make your neighbour your enemy. Try to pull him to your own side. We left them. We fight them. The language is “kill them”, “bomb them”.