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Interview with Kris Newby author of the book “Bitten”: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons

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80
I would not deny the involvement of man-made chemicals in triggering or worsening disease.

Indeed, just prior to catching my ME/CFS-triggering virus, I had a severe chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides, after a large amount was (unbeknown to me) spilt in my home, where there is no wind or rain to disperse it, so it became a chronic exposure. The exposure was severe enough to cause some major effects in my gonads (which I will not go into!), as well as causing terrible psychological symptoms.

The psychological symptoms triggered by major pesticide exposure are dire: lots of farmers in India are constantly committing suicide, and there is a pesticide link to this (these farmers are not educated to understand that pesticides are very nasty chemicals, and in India they don't have the right protective equipment anyway).

So I am appreciative of the problems caused by toxic chemicals.


However, when you speak to the average person, many feel that environmental chemicals are the culprits behind much of disease. And many people go in for detox diets and such like, in the hope of removing chemicals from their body. You hear people say "this weekend I am not going out partying, I am going to do a detox". So in the common mythology of the people, chemicals are the villains.

However, very, very few people are aware of the enormous potential involvement of pathogens in ill-health. I certainly was not. Pathogens are just not something that appears on people's radar.

Greenpeace and similar organizations will raise awareness of chemicals in our clothes, chemicals in the air, chemicals in our water, etc. But they are totally silent on the issue of pathogens.

And this I see as a major disaster, because if people are not even aware of the problem — if they are oblivious to the fact that pathogens may well be causing untold misery and suffering via triggering chronic disease — then how are we going to even begin to address the problem? Pathogens are the invisible enemy that nobody suspects.

So the issue of chemical toxins is well served by activist groups, as well as by science itself. The issue of pathogens is barely addressed at all. The human race is asleep on this issue.

Did your pesticide associated symptoms go away? Was there a treatment available? What's the prognosis with that kind of exposure long term?
 

Hip

Senior Member
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17,824
Did your pesticide associated symptoms go away? Was there a treatment available? What's the prognosis with that kind of exposure long term?

The acute symptoms during the period of major exposure cleared up as the pesticide levels in my house slowly declined, but Is suspect there may have been long term changes in personality. What I call my Thanatos disposition, which was caused by these organophosphate pesticides, never went away.

Hard to know for sure, because within a few months of the acute symptoms clearing up, I caught a really nasty virus which led to major mental state changes, and a terrible decline in mental health (a few others who caught this virus also experienced the mental health effects).
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
Regardless of whether the book is true, imagine someone going to a doctor and telling them how they got Lyme according to this book, the doctor would instantly write the patient off as a nut job and refuse treatment, then anyone else going to help for Lyme would also be written off as a nut job. It doesn’t help anyone, even if it is true.
 
Messages
80
The acute symptoms during the period of major exposure cleared up as the pesticide levels in my house slowly declined, but Is suspect there may have been long term changes in personality. What I call my Thanatos disposition, which was caused by these organophosphate pesticides, never went away.

Hard to know for sure, because within a few months of the acute symptoms clearing up, I caught a really nasty virus which led to major mental state changes, and a terrible decline in mental health (a few others who caught this virus also experienced the mental health effects).

Damn.. those nasty chemicals really need to be even more heavily regulated, potential for chronic health effects including cancer is a huge concern.

I wonder whether they could cause nerve damage which dysregulates the immune system and causes all sorts of odd health outcomes.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Damn.. those nasty chemicals really need to be even more heavily regulated, potential for chronic health effects including cancer is a huge concern.

Note that I was exposed to a huge amount of organophosphate, much more than you might get from say spraying pesticides on your houseplants or garden plants, or the minute residues found in food.

But even spraying houseplants, if you do this for decades, can slightly increase your risk for autoimmune diseases and Parkinson's, studies have shown.

Some scientists are calling for organophosphates to be banned entirely, as there is increasing evidence of an autism link.



Generally though, for all the major nasty chronic diseases that afflict humanity, that greatly reduce the quality of life or greatly shorten life, I suspect common infectious pathogens are the primary culprits. Sadly, the general public has little awareness of the chronic disease - pathogen connection.
 
Messages
80
Note that I was exposed to a huge amount of organophosphate, much more than you might get from say spraying pesticides on your houseplants or garden plants, or the minute residues found in food.

But even spraying houseplants, if you do this for decades, can slightly increase your risk for autoimmune diseases and Parkinson's, studies have shown.

Some scientists are calling for organophosphates to be banned entirely, as there is increasing evidence of an autism link.



Generally though, for all the major nasty chronic diseases that afflict humanity, that greatly reduce the quality of life or greatly shorten life, I suspect common infectious pathogens are the primary culprits. Sadly, the general public has little awareness of the chronic disease - pathogen connection.

Agreed, more awareness and research is needed.
 

frozenborderline

Senior Member
Messages
4,405
in my opinion, the takeaway from the bioweapons program revelations shouldnt be "the government created lyme disease specifically to make our own population sick, but only in parts of the northeast", a lot of what i took away was stuff that supports the dual-factor theory of me/cfs--combining pathogens or toxins plus pathogens, was often part of how they tried to make cocktails that would disabled a large amount of the population.
@Hip I suspect this will soon be seen as a modest and very sober idea. Remember!her that the idea that covid 19 had lab origin wax dismissed as total conspiracy not long ago yet now credible mainstream sources are examiningnthe possible origin from controversial gain of function research at wuhan institute of virology and taking the claim seriously.

Lyme probably wasn't created by some evil shadow government to spread misery or depopulation, this doesn't rule out the idea it could've been studied for weaponixation, seeded through A new disease vector (ticks) and then inadvertently released in the northeast USA
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Remember!her that the idea that covid 19 had lab origin wax dismissed as total conspiracy not long ago yet now credible mainstream sources are examiningnthe possible origin from controversial gain of function research at wuhan institute of virology and taking the claim seriously.

In the early days of the pandemic, I seem to remember the idea the virus had escaped from the Wuhan lab was on the table, because we knew there was coronavirus research going on in that lab, as the research had been funded by the US NIH. Although there were not many news articles on this.

Though a lab escape is different to some of the conspiracy theories in circulation, such as the idea that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was part of a bioweapons research project, or that China had deliberately released this virus for some reason.


I recently read parts of a long article explaining that the NIH-funded coronavirus research at Wuhan may have been conducted at level 2 safety (which just basically means you have to wear gloves); whereas for work like this, you want to be using level 4 (where everyone has to work in space suits, etc).

If it did escape from the Wuhan lab, it would be terribly ironic, because I understand that this gain-of-function research was being performed with the intention of identifying animal viruses that had a high risk of jumping into human populations, so that something might be done to prevent that happening!

I read an article 10 or 15 years ago, about how the NIH were starting to take a pro-active stance towards preventing animal viruses jumping into human populations, to prevent a recurrence of the HIV story. If you can identify in advance animal viruses at risk of jumping to humans, then you might be able to do something about it.
 
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duncan

Senior Member
Messages
2,240
If you can identify in advance animal viruses at risk of jumping to humans, then you might be able to do something about it.

If you replace "animal viruses" with "pathogens/parasites". then I have to say I think you've hit the nail on the head. Being able to do something about it is the crux of the matter, given human nature and history. Both good and bad. Remember Tuskegee?

Edited to add "Both good and bad."
 
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lenora

Senior Member
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4,913
There have been so many "theories" that have been thrown around over the years, many started by books written by researchers. The first thing anyone should do is read 3 or 4 books on the subject and see how the arguments stand up.

From the days of AIDS we had wild ideas, and that was before the Internet really came long. It does take more than one book or listening to many researchers to form an opinion....and after all that, it's still only an opinion.

Are biological weapons being produced now and in the past? Most likely, but I do think the idea would be to directly kill people instead of having them suffer lingering effects that would, as Wolfcub pointed out, be a strain on benefits and social care systems. But in the end, those are just my thoughts. Before I even said I had an opinion I would read a few books on the subject and even then I'd most likely be confused as to the outcome.

Many things occurred after WWII....for a real reason. To stop what had by then become another enemy. Each time I heard of another "unknown" disease I wonder about its origins. But I'm not a scientist, and that's all I can do....wonder. Even scientists wouldn't agree among themselves. That's a given. Yours, Lenora.