These men want to devise a plan.

The astronomer tells them all of how he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that history repeats itself.

They ask for stories from all around.

One hears them talking and remembers an old story his grandfather told him when he was a young boy, but is unsure of the details so waits till he recants all of his memory.

The man then tells to the group a story that an Egyptian leader once told to his grandfather.

They then try to mimic history identically.

What if they were successful beyond our wildest imaginations?

What if?

TIMAEUS
Translated by Benjamin Jowett
Then listen, Socrates, to a tale which, though strange,
is certainly true, having been attested by Solon, who was the
wisest of the seven sages....
by Plato

SOCRATES -- One, two, three; but where, my dear Timaeus, is the fourth of those who were yesterday my guests and are to be my entertainers today?
TIMAEUS -- He has been taken ill, Socrates; for he would not willingly have been absent from this gathering.
SOCRATES -- Then, if he is not coming, you and the two others must supply his place.
TIMAEUS -- Certainly, and we will do all that we can; having been handsomely entertained by you yesterday, those of us who remain should be only too glad to return your hospitality.
SOCRATES -- Do you remember what were the points of which I required you to speak?
TIMAEUS -- We remember some of them, and you will be here to remind us of anything which we have forgotten: or rather, if we are not troubling you, will you briefly recapitulate the whole, and then the particulars will be more firmly fixed in our memories?
SOCRATES -- To be sure I will: the chief theme of my yesterday's discourse was the State-how constituted and of what citizens composed it would seem likely to be most perfect.
TIMAEUS -- Yes, Socrates; and what you said of it was very much to our mind.
SOCRATES -- Did we not begin by separating the husbandmen and the artisans from the class of defenders of the State?
TIMAEUS -- Yes.
SOCRATES -- And when we had given to each one that single employment and particular art which was suited to his nature, we spoke of those who were intended to be our warriors, and said that they were to be guardians of the city against attacks from within as well as from without, and to have no other employment; they were to be merciful in judging their subjects, of whom they were by nature friends, but fierce to their enemies, when they came across them in battle.
TIMAEUS -- Exactly.
SOCRATES -- We said, if I am not mistaken, that the guardians should be gifted with a temperament in a high degree both passionate and philosophical; and that then they would be as they ought to be, gentle to their friends and fierce with their enemies.
TIMAEUS -- Certainly.
SOCRATES -- And what did we say of their education? Were they not to be trained in gymnastic, and music, and all other sorts of knowledge which were proper for them?
TIMAEUS -- Very true.
SOCRATES -- And being thus trained they were not to consider gold or silver or anything else to be their own private property; they were to be like hired troops, receiving pay for keeping guard from those who were protected by them-the pay was to be no more than would suffice for men of simple life; and they were to spend in common, and to live together in the continual practice of virtue, which was to be their sole pursuit.
TIMAEUS -- That was also said.
SOCRATES -- Neither did we forget the women; of whom we declared, that their natures should be assimilated and brought into harmony with those of the men, and that common pursuits should be assigned to them both in time of war and in their ordinary life.
TIMAEUS -- That, again, was as you say.
SOCRATES -- And what about the procreation of children? Or rather not the proposal too singular to be forgotten? for all wives and children were to be in common, to the intent that no one should ever know his own child, but they were to imagine that they were all one family; those who were within a suitable limit of age were to be brothers and sisters, those who were of an elder generation parents and grandparents, and those of a younger children and grandchildren.
TIMAEUS -- Yes, and the proposal is easy to remember, as you say.
SOCRATES -- And do you also remember how, with a view of securing as far as we could the best breed, we said that the chief magistrates, male and female, should contrive secretly, by the use of certain lots, so to arrange the nuptial meeting, that the bad of either sex and the good of either sex might pair with their like; and there was to be no quarrelling on this account, for they would imagine that the union was a mere accident, and was to be attributed to the lot?
TIMAEUS -- I remember.
SOCRATES -- And you remember how we said that the children of the good parents were to be educated, and the children of the bad secretly dispersed among the inferior citizens; and while they were all growing up the rulers were to be on the look-out, and to bring up from below in their turn those who were worthy, and those among themselves who were unworthy were to take the places of those who came up?
TIMAEUS -- True.
SOCRATES -- Then have I now given you all the heads of our yesterday's discussion? Or is there anything more, my dear Timaeus, which has been omitted?
TIMAEUS -- Nothing, Socrates; it was just as you have said.
SOCRATES -- I should like, before proceeding further, to tell you how I feel about the State which we have described. I might compare myself to a person who, on beholding beautiful animals either created by the painter's art, or, better still, alive but at rest, is seized with a desire of seeing them in motion or engaged in some struggle or conflict to which their forms appear suited; this is my feeling about the State which we have been describing. There are conflicts which all cities undergo, and I should like to hear some one tell of our own city carrying on a struggle against her neighbours, and how she went out to war in a becoming manner, and when at war showed by the greatness of her actions and the magnanimity of her words in dealing with other cities a result worthy of her training and education. Now I, Critias and Hermocrates, am conscious that I myself should never be able to celebrate the city and her citizens in a befitting manner, and I am not surprised at my own incapacity; to me the wonder is rather that the poets present as well as past are no better-not that I mean to depreciate them; but every one can see that they are a tribe of imitators, and will imitate best and most easily the life in which they have been brought up; while that which is beyond the range of a man's education he finds hard to carry out in action, and still harder adequately to represent in language. I am aware that the Sophists have plenty of brave words and fair conceits, but I am afraid that being only wanderers from one city to another, and having never had habitations of their own, they may fail in their conception of philosophers and statesmen, and may not know what they do and say in time of war, when they are fighting or holding parley with their enemies. And thus people of your class are the only ones remaining who are fitted by nature and education to take part at once both in politics and philosophy. Here is Timaeus, of Locris in Italy, a city which has admirable laws, and who is himself in wealth and rank the equal of any of his fellow-citizens; he has held the most important and honourable offices in his own state, and, as I believe, has scaled the heights of all philosophy; and here is Critias, whom every Athenian knows to be no novice in the matters of which we are speaking; and as to, Hermocrates, I am assured by many witnesses that his genius and education qualify him to take part in any speculation of the kind. And therefore yesterday when I saw that you wanted me to describe the formation of the State, I readily assented, being very well aware, that, if you only would, none were better qualified to carry the discussion further, and that when you had engaged our city in a suitable war, you of all men living could best exhibit her playing a fitting part. When I had completed my task, I in return imposed this other task upon you. You conferred together and agreed to entertain me to-day, as I had entertained you, with a feast of discourse. Here am I in festive array, and no man can be more ready for the promised banquet.
Imagine if you will what it would mean if those men sitting on those rocks, where they joked about the entertainment of young boys, and would make important decisions at leisure; were simply the forefathers of today’s rulers of America? The rocks are no different than the logs at the Bohemian Grove. The little boys certainly are no different.

It is interesting to note a few things about this text.

Critias says, “It will be a fitting monument of our gratitude to you, and a hymn of praise true and worthy of the goddess, on this her day of festival.”

I find it incredibly interesting that this conversation took place on the day of her festival. Especially if Lady Liberty is in fact an artist rendition of the goddess Isis as we suspect. We do know for sure that she was indeed brought over by ship from a French Freemason. Let’s take a comparative look at it shall we?

Notice the headdress, lantern, and basket?
Isis was a winged goddess who represented all that was visible, birth, growth, development and vigour. Having wings, she was a wind goddess. The kite was sacred to her, and she could transform herself into this bird at will. She brought the heavenly scent with her through the land, leaving lingering scenes of spices and flowers her wake. She brought fresh air with her into the underworld when she gave food to the dead. She represented both the life-giving spring winds of Egypt and the morning winds that hailed the arrival of the sun each day.
The ancient Egyptians saw Isis as a benevolent goddess, good and kind. Each pharaoh was her son and Isis loved all creatures like a mother. She was the chaste and devoted wife and as a result most highly regarded among the Egyptian gods. Isis was the daughter of Nut and Geb and the sister and wife of Osiris. Isis aided her husband during his reign as the king of Egypt and searched madly for his body after his death so that he might be given a proper burial. Isis conceived her son Horus either through magic or by resurrecting Osiris. Isis raised Horus in the papyri and lotus thickets of Chemmis, in the delta area of Lower Egypt to protect the child from his uncle Seth. Seth wanted to murder Horus, but Isis hid the child so that some day he might avenge his father’s death.

I believe Isis is representing a mushroom in this form, if you notice the feathers representing the underside of her wings. Perhaps the basket is to collect the mushrooms that she finds with the lantern?

Critias says, “He asked the priests who were most skilful in such matters, about antiquity, and made the discovery that neither he nor any other Hellene knew anything worth mentioning about the times of old. On one occasion, wishing to draw them on to speak of antiquity, he began to tell about the most ancient things in our part of the world-about Phoroneus, who is called "the first man," and about Niobe; and after the Deluge, of the survival of Deucalion and Pyrrha; and he traced the genealogy of their descendants, and reckoning up the dates, tried to compute how many years ago the events of which he was speaking happened. Thereupon one of the priests, who was of a very great age, said: O Solon, Solon, you Hellenes are never anything but children, and there is not an old man among you. Solon in return asked him what he meant. I mean to say, he replied, that in mind you are all young; there is no old opinion handed down among you by ancient tradition, nor any science which is hoary with age. And I will tell you why. There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes. There is a story, which even you have preserved, that once upon a time Paethon, the son of Helios, having yoked the steeds in his father's chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt. Now this has the form of a myth, but really signifies a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals; at such times those who live upon the mountains and in dry and lofty places are more liable to destruction than those who dwell by rivers or on the seashore. And from this calamity the Nile, who is our never-failing saviour, delivers and preserves us. When, on the other hand, the gods purge the earth with a deluge of water, the survivors in your country are herdsmen and shepherds who dwell on the mountains, but those who, like you, live in cities are carried by the rivers into the sea. Whereas in this land, neither then nor at any other time, does the water come down from above on the fields, having always a tendency to come up from below; for which reason the traditions preserved here are the most ancient.
The fact is, that wherever the extremity of winter frost or of summer does not prevent, mankind exist, sometimes in greater, sometimes in lesser numbers. And whatever happened either in your country or in ours, or in any other region of which we are informed-if there were any actions noble or great or in any other way remarkable, they have all been written down by us of old, and are preserved in our temples. Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times, either among us or among yourselves. As for those genealogies of yours which you just now recounted to us, Solon, they are no better than the tales of children. In the first place you remember a single deluge only, but there were many previous ones; in the next place, you do not know that there formerly dwelt in your land the fairest and noblest race of men which ever lived, and that you and your whole city are descended from a small seed or remnant of them which survived. And this was unknown to you, because, for many generations, the survivors of that destruction died, leaving no written word. For there was a time, Solon, before the great deluge of all, when the city which now is Athens was first in war and in every way the best governed of all cities, is said to have performed the noblest deeds and to have had the fairest constitution of any of which tradition tells, under the face of heaven.”
The Egyptian priests are talking about the ripples in time that all great peoples understand. And they showed those peoples the future of themselves, and they divinated upon that man that they knew was sent from a land afar looking for false gold, and they sent him on his way packing with the greatest gold he could carry. The first truly prophesized destruction of America not by Nostradumbass, or anyone else, other than the same Egyptian priest that Plato told Atlantis about. Atlantis wasn't fictional, it was futuristic. America is the great island to the west, with many Kings controlling one grand island of mass power and economic wealth leading the world in all industries and fierce and powerful in war, a nation that has done one great thing such as unprovoked attack a nation of which had tried to take over all of Europe savagely.
America is Atlantis, as all things are backwards, as is this. Instead of Atlantis the lost continent, it has always secretly been America the Found. Egyptian priest paving the way for the original plans of the Illuminati.

The columns of Heracles btw were the WTC towers... just to let you know.







I have an idea for a short fictional play write and it goes like this.

These men want to devise a plan.

The astronomer tells them all of how he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that history repeats itself.

They ask for stories from all around.

One hears them talking and remembers an old story his grandfather told him when he was a young boy, but is unsure of the details so waits till he recants all of his memory.

The man then tells to the group a story that an Egyptian leader once told to his grandfather.

They then try to mimic history identically.

What if they were successful beyond our wildest imaginations?
What if?



What are the Origins of the Christmas Traditions?? Long lost into the Realm of simple Traditions are Very Amazing Truths that are long forgotten. This is My Christmas Present to you.... to know the Meanings behind the Traditions that as of yet have no Explanation.

Many books have been written about the Amanita Muscaria (Mushroom). This Mushroom is found Growing under Pine trees (Coniferous trees) All over the World. Particularly In Siberia Where Strangely enough Saint Nicholas Was From. This is a Large red and white mushroom Known to produce Religious visions. Some Synonymous names for this Mushroom through history are:

1. Soma (Hindu plant God)
2. Amrita (Buddhist Magical Sacrament)
3. Ambrosia (Greek Food of the Gods)
4. The Holy Grail (note the Grail like Shape, Vessel containing the blood of the God)
5. Fruit of the Tree of life (The main Body (mycelium) growing underground in a Symbiotic relationship with the pine tree)
6. The Golden Fleece (the magical Properties tell all)
7. The Fountain of Youth (I wonder how many Ponce De Leon Kicked over while searching)
8. Haoma (Islamic Sacrament.. Hmm Why all the Fighting?)
9. Manna (two kinds don't look in the Ark or You are dead)
10. Bread of Life (Yes its the Loaf of Bliss)
11. Fountain of living Waters (Its Alive and its 90% water)
12. Hidden Manna (hidden until you find it)
13. The Cosmic Egg (What are we really Mimicking at Easter?? The Mushroom hunt?? Of COURSE!!)
14. The Prima Materia (Alchemy's mystery substance)
15. The Water of Life (Pressed Juices of Soma Ancient Stuff)
16. The Flesh of the God (Sure does Resemble Flesh)
17. The Fruit of Knowledge (open your eyes)
18. The Flesh of Jesus (Take And Eat.. Not My ARM Silly!)

And that's just the Beginning! There's many more.
So Where does this Enter the Christmas Tradition? Many Christian Beliefs were Borrowed (to be kind) From the more ancient Religions. The Virgin Birth, The Incarnation of God, The Sacrament, Etc.
It is Well documented By Fundamentalists That the Christmas Traditions are Pagan in Origin.. Which Simply means that they Were From the Traditions of the Country Folks (pagan).
The Siberian Shamans Used and Still do today (despite Governmental Oppression) The Amanita Muscaria As a Religious Sacrament. The Value Of the Inebriant Is Placed Highly among the Commodities of the Natives. Fetching Reindeer Pelts and Meats As payment. Interesting to Note That if You aren't Quick enough you will find only the mushroom stubs The Rest Greedily Gobbled up by the Hungry Reindeer!!! Hence Hmmm. Reindeer Flying??? Hmmm Reindeer that can fly that have a RED nose? Well Due to the Reverence that these mushrooms Receive and the Ability that they possess to Spirit the Human off to Realms of the Angels, Gods, and Demons. Its no wonder that the Natives would Think that the Reindeer Also have Some type of a Similar Effect.

So why Do People Bring Pine trees into their houses At the Winter Solstice? Placing Brightly Colored (Red and White) Packages Under the Boughs To give each other as a token of their love and As a representation of the Love of God and the gift of his Sons life?
This is Because in nature that is where you will find this "Most Sacred" Substance. Big Clue here!!! Winter Brings Rains... Rains Bring Mushrooms Go to the Mountains around Christmas time... Look under the Pine Trees :o) Because what you will find unlocks the Key Mysteries of the Universe. This Gnosis (joining together of your mind with the mind of the Universal Consciousness) is What All the Sages, Mystics, Teachers, Prophets Were talking about. That is if they knew :o).

1. Saint Nicholas is the Patron Saint of Children (in Siberia)
2. The Reindeer Eat The Mushrooms.. Hence the Flight.
3. The Mushrooms Grow under Pine Trees in nature (nearly Exclusively)
4. The Mushrooms are Red and White.
5. The Mushrooms Were Typically Dried by Hanging them on the Hearth of The Fireplaces on Strings. Stocking Stuffers anyone??
6. They are Gathered in Sacks.. Santa's Bag.
7. The Very Name Christmas.. Is A Holiday Composing of the Words
...Christ (meaning the Anointed with the Magical Substance)
...Mass (a Special Service of the Sacramental ingestion of the Eucharist) the Body of Christ. In the Catholic Tradition this Substance Has been replaced by the Doctrine of Trans-substantiation, Whereby (By magical Ceremony) The Priests Claim the Ability to Transform A Cracker into the Literal Body of Christ.. Placebo!!

This Is Not Crazy Speculation, this is not Tradition for Traditions sake. This is Documentable, Historical, Anthropologically Provable Evidence of Surprising and Staggering Implication. A religion that does not give you direct Access to the Divine, A Religion that Expects you to be subservient to their Interpretations, is a Religion that does not have your best interest at heart.. The Understanding of Our Place in the Universe, The Realization of Self, The Direct Communion with the Divine IS the Spiritual Inheritance that We as Humans have right to !

Blessed are those that Love.. For they shall have Right to the Tree of life and Will enter through the Gates into the City.
Seek and You shall Find.. Knock and it will be opened to you,
You Have the Right to partake of the Waters of Life Freely.
I Will reveal to you the Hidden Manna.
You have the Right to the Fruit of the Tree of life.

Merry Christmas To All...I Hope all your Wishes Come True...
Again, I wonder… is Isis’ basket for gathering mushrooms? Maybe your reaction was different than it was the first time I asked that question.
Want more? COME GET SOME!
We can confidently assume that drinking ergot extract is entheogenic. However, what toll would this take after doing this weekly, 10 times? The rumors are consistent in the literature: drinking ergot extract repeatedly causes serious cumulative toxic effects, according to folk herbal medicine.
I also have a little more sympathy for those who keep A. Muscaria a secret tradition. There are several reasons for not telling others how to produce muscimol extract. Yet I feel the time has come to reveal the mystery, amidst the turmoil and uncertainty of bill 486.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the omitted sacred texts all are full of eating and drinking sacred foods and sacred drinks at sacred meals. Heinrich's book proposed that the sacred loaves are ergot cakes, and then Merkur's book proposed the same. Heinrich also proposed that the loaves are A. Muscaria caps.
Thiering has mapped out Qumran rituals to the last detail by decoding the pesher form in the Gospels. She reports that each loaf was broken and shared between two people. This happens to fit Heinrich's tip -- he and his friend took 10 caps total, split each cap in half and distributed the halves, and thus consumed identical, though uncertain, dosages.
This is a high-priority, must-have book for anyone interested in visionary plants. Get ahold of the suppressed, true gospel of Jesus Muscaria, the personified Life Of The Mushroom who is our savior (a savior by providing the entheogen and by symbolically representing reconciliation of the illusory nature of egoic sovereign agency).
Knowing and revealing the suppressed and secret gospel of the inner circle is a powerful strategic advantage in the battle between darkness and light. The book certainly instructs the reader how to produce and use psychedelic substances.
Christians anticipate the return of the messiah. The messiah returns every 10 months, for the 2 month A. Muscaria growing season. The Christs, such as the Greek savior figures in general, are the bringers of entheogen experiencing; they are the personified entheogens and the model of the personal self which results after being fully instructed by the entheogens. I insist that we need the messiah to return to save us. Without the annual return of Entheogen the Messiah riding on the thunder-clouds, we would be eternally in darkness. We are responsible but dependent still on the availability of entheogens. We should not be too proud to eat God's flesh which is given to us for free. It is wrong to consider entheogens as a crutch rather than a gift. Being a responsible individual includes knowing that we are dependent on plant teachers for illumination.
All the mental activity and strategies we can think of will not bring us illumination as surely, reliably, quickly, and easily as eating the flesh of God and drinking his divine vital fluid from his nurturing body. Avoiding eating the plant paracletes (helpers who are called for assistance and rescue) would be an avoidance of responsibility, the responsibility of becoming mature and fully developed, spiritually and philosophically. To accept responsibility for spiritual development is to accept the necessity and practicality, the effectiveness, of using plant teachers.
If anyone attempts to use the Jesus figure against drugs would actually be an anti-Christ. The Jesus who is the embodiment of entheogens, such as, prototypically, A. Muscaria, is the true Christ. A prohibitionist Jesus would be a false Christ, a false gospel, and an anti-Christ. Jesus the drug-law reformer (and symbol of illusory nature of ego) is the true Christ and the true Church of Christ. There has always been a battle of two Jesus figures -- the one who brings the sacrament to everyone for free (though with some inner-circle secrecy, the Bible says, as is also the norm in the Amanita tradition esp. with regard to the drinking of soma/muscimol-urine and bodily insertion) -- versus the Jesus figure who gives us merely mundane, literal, cannibalistic flesh of a human, or a symbol strictly of that literal human flesh, as does the dominant Church, the Church of Peter.
The Jesus figure himself would need to wait for the messiah to return, where "the awaited messiah" is considered as the annually returning A. Muscaria crop, for which one must wait 10 months. (Actually, the Magi, the Persian magicians, may have been able to keep a steady supply available, at a price.) Every time this messiah returns in the flesh, he comes first with death and Armageddon, then leads the soul into resurrection and heaven.
This split of original Christianity into two rival churches (the semi-suppressed mystical versions and the dominant church of the false gospel) fits perfectly with the burgeoning new view, which I maintain, that there are two rival mysticisms: false mysticism/spirituality, which reveres religious experiencing without the crutch of drugs, and true mysticism/spirituality, true religion, which reveres entheogens wholeheartedly and emphatically as the premiere door to heaven, to religious and high philosophical fulfillment. Entheogenic fundamentalism is the belief that those who refuse to eat and drink the sacred plant, which is the flesh of God, condemn themselves to eternal torment, eternal unquenched thirst and unfulfillment, and separation from God.
If the entheogenic plant had not spilled its vital blood for us, we would have no way to be saved, no door to bring us into heaven. Here we have a foundation for the only religious freedom that matters: the freedom to eat God's flesh as he has admonished, and drink his Life-giving blood. If we are permitted to "worship" but only in such a way that we do not consume God's true entheogenic flesh and drink his true entheogenic blood, then there simply is no possibility of any true worship. Worshipping God *is* consuming entheogenic flesh and blood; there is no reason to worship and there is no worship, without consuming this.
Do not forget that you still have to worry much about those pesky young boy molesters on those rocks. They planned this take over for thousands of years!
I believe they turned into these guys…
Albert Pike 33rd Degree
Albert Pike is the most revered mason of all time, he wrote what is considered to be the “Bible” of Freemasonry, Morals and Dogma. This book is only allowed to be in the hands of an initiate of the 32nd degree or higher. Pike's rotted corpse is now buried inside the Supreme Council 33rd Degree, House of the Temple, Washington DC, 13 blocks from the White House.
According to them all who wish to enter the New Age on the physical plane [alive] must undergo an 'energy activation' or 'rebirth' - usually marked by a subjective trance induced 'light experience' where one meets either a 'spirit guide' or one's 'higher self.' This 'altered state of consciousness' will eventually lead to a 'Luciferic initiation' into the 'new humanity', or a vow of allegiance to Lucifer (Moshiach) (Son of Perdition) as god. Those who cannot (no souls) or will not ('not sufficiently developed in their spiritual journey') will be sent on to their next life in a global 'cleansing action' (Noachide Laws imposed by George H. W. 33rd degree in order of Moloch Freemason) (Alice Bailey, 'The Rays and the Initiations' pp.754-755). By means of this 'initiation' all will continue on their journey to 'godhood' at the new level, which includes 'personal experience of the knowledge of good and evil'. ... and one cannot become a complete god with only one side. "Lucifer comes to give us the final gift of wholeness. (Moshiach ben Satan - Dovid) If we accept it, then he is free and we are free. That is the Luciferic initiation. It is one that many people now, and in the days ahead, will be facing, for it is an initiation into the New Age." (Spangler, 'Reflections on the Christ') NAers confirm that this is what Lucifer offered to Eve in the Garden, and it's being offered again today. Only it's been 'misunderstood due to fear inherited from the superstitious Jews'.


On the first Saturday of the camp, an elaborate ritual called the Cremation of Care is held just after dinner. It begins with the procession of a group of men, dressed in red pointed hoods and red robes, some of whom play a funeral dirge while others carry torches.

Now let me tell you! I saw that video of our ex presidents in those red robes worshipping that owl and the energy was haunting. Basically what I got from that little passage was that Moloch is symbolical of Lucifer; they worship Satan. Below is a photo of the president and beneath that is a photo of his daughter as well with a little excerpt that came with the photo.



Presently, the Bush twins are 19 years old; and in the Illuminati hierarchical structure they are being trained/programmed to become "Mothers of Darkness". A "Sealing Ritual" is required for females in the satanic bloodlines at age 19.
An Illuminati multiple will carry on ritual functions at a number of different levels in the occult. There will be different alters for different levels and different ritual dates. The back part of a hierarchy system will not be worked until a sealing ceremony involving Egyptian magic at the age of 19 in late Apr.-May...
Between age 16 and 19 the deep Satanic alters are working on “path working.” This path working will be completed before they are 19. The ceremony at 19 will include the 1,000 points of light ceremony at the super secret Mother-of-Darkness castle of Chateau des Arnerois (Castle of Kings) close to the Belgium-French border in Europe and about 20 kilometers as the crow flies west from Luxemburg. This will be a sealing ceremony with the Mothers dressed in black. Guards and heavy forest protect the large castle from view. The people in the nearby spooky village of Muno, Bel. basically belong to the castle. The castle has a cathedral inside with a dome with 1,000 lights. The words 1,000 lights is an Illuminati buzz word. When the President used it to describe the White House’s Christmas tree, hierarchy people knew what he was signaling. The cathedral has a great hall with coulombs on either side, and the Queen Mother’s throne will be set up there....
"The First World War must be brought about in order to permit the Illuminati to overthrow the power of the Czars in Russia and of making that country a fortress of atheistic Communism. The divergences caused by the "agentur" (agents) of the Illuminati between the British and Germanic Empires will be used to foment this war. At the end of the war, Communism will be built and used in order to destroy the other governments and in order to weaken the religions. The Second World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences between the Fascists and the political Zionists. This war must be brought about so that Nazism is destroyed and that the political Zionism be strong enough to institute a sovereign state of Israel in Palestine. During the Second World War, International Communism must become strong enough in order to balance Christendom, which would be then restrained and held in check until the time when we would need it for the final social cataclysm. The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the "agentur" of the "Illuminati" between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion…We shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time."
—General Albert Pike, from a letter that he wrote to Giusseppe Mazzini (founder of the Italian Mafia in 1860), dated August 15, 1871
Albert Pike 33° ~

"That which we must say to a crowd is - We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees - The Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian Doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay whose deeds prove his cruelty, perdify and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him? Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods: darkness being necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive. Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil."
Instructions to the 23 Supreme Councils of the World, July 14, 1889. Recorded by A.C. De La Rive in La Femme et l'Enfant dans la FrancMaconnerie Universelle on page 588

“Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the son of the morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with it's splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!" Morals and Dogma page 321
"Every Masonic lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion. Masonry, like all religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. The truth must be kept secret, and the masses need a teaching proportioned to their imperfect reason? Every man's conception of God must be proportioned to his mental cultivation, and intellectual powers, and moral excellence. God is, as man conceives him, the reflected image of man himself. The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is that of Yahweh reversed; for Satan is not a black god. Lucifer, the Light Bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light. Doubt it not.
—Confederate General Albert Pike, 1942 edition of Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and "Instructions to the 23 Supreme Councils of the World"
Below are quotes written by high level Masons praising Lucifer


"The Mysteries Of Magic' by Eliphas Levi
"What is more absurd and more impious than to attribute the name of Lucifer to the devil, that is, to personified evil. The intellectual Lucifer is the spirit of intelligence and love; it is the paraclete, it is the Holy Spirit, while the physical Lucifer is the great agent of universal magnetism." page 428.
'The Book Of Black Magic' by Arthur Edward Waite 33°
”First Conjuration Addressed to Emperor Lucifer. Emperor Lucifer, Master and Prince of Rebellious Spirits, I adjure thee to leave thine abode, in what-ever quarter of the world it may be situated and come hither to communicate with me. I command and I conjure thee in the Name of the Mighty Living God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, to appear without noise and without ...." page 244.
'The Secret Teaching Of All Ages' by Manly Palmer Hall 33°
"I hereby promise the Great Spirit Lucifuge, Prince of Demons, that each year I will bring unto him a human soul to do with as as it may please him, and in return Lucifuge promises to bestow upon me the treasures of the earth and fulfil my every desire for the length of my natural life. If I fail to bring him each year the offering specified above, then my own soul shall be forfeit to him. Signed..... { Invocant signs pact with his own blood } “ Page CIV.
'The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry' by Manly Palmer Hall 33°
"When The Mason learns that the Key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the Mystery of his Craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply this energy." page 48.







There is more to this "Clever System" than meets the eye. It is called "Freemasonry." Freemasonry is linked to Satanism; however, not all Masons are evil or have evil intentions. In fact, a majority of them are mislead and kept in the dark as to what the true agenda is.

Superior Masons deliberately lie to their fellow Masons, as those Masons "deserve to be mislead." Explanations given to 95% of all Masons are wrong. Listen to this quote from a Masonic author, Carl Claudy: “Cut through the outer shell and find a meaning; cut through that meaning and find another; under it, if you dig deep enough, you may find a third, a fourth -- who shall say how many teachings?”
So we see that Freemasonry deliberately misleads its members. This behavior of course, is not limited to just members of Freemasonry; it extends to the entire human race.
Freemasonry is a worship of Lucifer by the top 5% of all Masons. You can spot evidences of Satanism all over the world. There are numerous Masonic/Satanic symbols on this web site, all of which originate from this secret society called, "The Brotherhood of the Serpent/Snake." Many call it "Big Brother" without even realizing its extraterrestrial origins. It was also known in ancient Egypt as "The Mystery Schools."
Freemasonry is the secret organization famous for its use of Christianity as a tool for control. The King James version of the Bible, edited by Sir Francis Bacon (a 33rd degree Freemason), is used to create ORDER in society through the implementation of a Belief system geared towards their Fascist Ideologies. The CHAOS is carefully orchestrated to insure the passing of more and more LAWS that will (eventually) completely destroy freedom. This is why there is more and more MORALITY being preached by the Politicians. This (as well as the WAR ON DRUGS) is the Product of the Secret Societies (Freemasons Etc..) who have a great motto "Ordo Ab Chao" meaning Order Out of Chaos. Agendas are formulated designed to give the powerful more power. Chaos is created, and media blitzed. Then cries go out for solution. Laws are passed which could never have been passed without the chaos. The Order has reigned by deception of the masses, and the Agenda is Accomplished.




In the United States District Court
For the District of Nebraska

Paul A. Bonacci, Plaintiff 4:CV91-3037
vs
Lawrence E. King, Defendant Memorandum of Decision
Filed February 22, 1999

On February 27, 1998, I found that default judgment should be
entered against the defendant Lawrence E. King in favor of the
plaintiff, Paul A. Bonacci. A trial on the issue of the damages due
the plaintiff by that defendant was had on February 5, 1999.

Two counts are alleged against the defendant: King in the
complaint. Count V alleges a conspiracy with public officers to
deprive the plaintiff of his civil rights, designed to continue to
subject the plaintiff to emotional abuse and to prevent him from
informing authorities of criminal conduct. Count VIII charges
battery, false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress,
negligence and conspiracy to deprive the plaintiff of civil rights.
Between December 1980 and 1988, the complaint alleges, the
defendant King continually subjected the plaintiff to repeated
sexual assaults, false imprisonments, infliction of extreme
emotional distress, organized and directed satanic rituals, forced
the plaintiff to "scavenge" for children to be a part of the
defendant King's sexual abuse and pornography ring, forced the
plaintiff to engage in numerous masochistic orgies with other minor
children. The defendant King's default has made those allegations
true against him. The issue now is the relief to be granted
monetarily.

The now uncontradicted evidence is that the plaintiff has suffered
much. He has suffered burns, broken fingers, beating of the head
and face and other indignities by the wrongful actions of the
defendant King. In addition to the misery of going through the
experiences just related over a period of eight years, the
plaintiff has suffered the lingering results to the present time.
He is a victim of multiple personality disorder, involving as many
as fourteen distinct personalities aside from his primary
personality. He has given up a desired military career and received
threats on his life. He suffers from sleeplessness, has bad dreams,
has difficulty in holding a job, is fearful that others are
following him, fears getting killed, has depressing flashbacks, and
is verbally violent on occasion, all in connection with the
multiple personality disorder and caused by the wrongful activities
of the defendant King.

Almost certainly the defendant King has little remaining financial
resources, but a fair judgment to compensate the plaintiff is
necessary. For the sixteen years since the abuse of the plaintiff
began I conclude that a fair compensation for the damages he has
suffered is $800,000. A punitive damage award also is justified,
but the amount needs to be limited because of the small effect that
such a judgment would have on the defendant King, given his
financial condition and presence in prison. I deem the punitive
damage award of $200,000 to be adequate. Dated February 19, 1999.
By the Court /s/Warren Urborn United States Senior District Judge
Paul Bonacci
Affidavit of Paul Bonacci; a public court record

"I went in January of 84' on every trip. I was paid by men King knew for sex. The summer of 84' sometime I was (?) and had sex with several men King knew in a hotel. I flew on (YNR) airlines; by the way it's a private airline or private charter deal and Cam airlines, another charter deal normally for King. I never had much personally to do with King only went where he told me to go. In or on July 26th, I went to Sacramento,; CA. King flew me out in a private plane from (Eplick) airfield in Omaha to Denver where we picked up Nicholas. A boy who was about 12 or 13 then we flew to Vegas to a desert strip and drove into Las Vegas to some ranch and got something. Then flew onto to Sacramento. We were picked up by a white limo and taken to a hotel. I don't remember the name of it. We meaning, Nicholas and I, were driven to an area that had big, big trees. It took about an hour to get there. There was a cage with a boy in it who was not wearing anything. Nicholas and I were given these tarzan things to put around us and stuff like that. They told me to, I won't use the word, blank the boy and stuff. In other words have sex with. At first I said No and they held a gun to my genitals I'll use the word and said do it or else lose them or something like that. I began doing it to the boy and stuff. And Nicholas had anal sex with him and stuff. We were told to blank him and stuff and beat on him. I didn't try to hurt him. We were told to put our blanks in his mouth and stuff and sit on the boys blank and stuff and they filmed it. We did this stuff to the boy for about 30 minutes or an hour when a man came in and kicked us and stuff and in the genitals. And picked us up and threw us. He grabbed the boy and started blanking him and stuff. The man was about, I'm not sure how to say, the man was about so many inches long and the boy screamed and stuff. The man was forcing his blank into the boy all the way. The boy was bleeding from his rectum and the men tossed me and him and stuff and put the boy right next to me and grabbed a gun and blew the boy's head off. The boy's blood was all over me and I started yelling and crying and the men grabbed Nicholas and I forced us to lie down. They put the boy on top of Nicholas who was crying and they were putting Nicholas's hands on the boys blank. They put the boy on top of me and did the same thing. They then forced me to blank the kid. It's pretty crude. They put a gun to our heads to make us do it. His blood was all over us. They made us kiss the boys lips. Anyway, a few other things. Then they made me do something I don't even want to write so I won't. After that the men grabbed Nicholas and dragged him off screaming. They put me up against a tree and put a gun to my head but fired into the air. I heard another shot from somewhere and then saw the man who killed the boy drag him like a toy. Everything including when the men put the boy in the trunk was filmed. The men took me with them and we went up in a plane. I saw the bag the boy was in. We went over a very thick brush area with a clearing in it. Over the clearing they dropped the boy. One said the man with the hood would take care of the body for them. I didn't see Nicholas until that night at the hotel. He and I hugged and held each other for a long while. About 2 hours later then men or Larry King came in and told us to go take a shower since we'd had only been hosed off at some guy’s house. We took a shower together and were told to put on the tarzan things and after we were cleaned up and dressed in these things we were told to put on shorts, socks and a shirt and shoes and were driven to a house where the men were at some others. They had the film and they played it. As the men watched it they passed Nicholas and I around as if we were toys…”
July 23, 1967 at Bohemian Club: Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon
See the large trees in the background of this picture? Remember what he saw on his way to the horrendous event?
Bohemian Grove
Logo of the Bohemian Club



What is the Bohemian Grove? The Bohemian Grove is a 2700 acre redwood forest, located in Monte Rio, CA. It contains accommodation for 2000 people to "camp" in luxury. It is owned by the Bohemian Club.
What is the Bohemian Club? The Bohemian Club is a private. all male club, which is headquartered in the Bohemian building in San Francisco. It was formed in 1872 by men who sought shelter from the frontier culture (or lack of culture).
Who are the present members? The Club has evolved into an association of rich and powerful men, mostly of this country (there are similar organizations in other countries). Some artists are allowed to join (often at reduced rates), because of their social status and entertainment value. The membership list has included every Republican U.S. president (as well as some Democrats) since 1923, many cabinet officials, and director; & CEO's of large corporations, including major financial institutions.
What industries are represented among the members? Major military contractors, oil companies, banks (including the Federal Reserve), utilities (including nuclear power), and national media (broadcast and print) have high-ranking officials as club members or guests. Many members are, or have been, on the board of directors of several of these corporations. The members stay in different camps at the Grove, which have varying status levels. Members & frequent guests of the most prestigious camp (Mandalay) include: Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, S. D. Bechtel, Jr., Thomas Watson Jr. (IBM), Phillip Hawley (B of A), William Casey (CIA). and Ralph Bailey (Dupont). George Bush resides in a less prestigious camp (Hillbillies) with A. W. Clausen (World Bank), Walter Cronkite, and William F. Buckley.
What activities take place at the grove? The grove is the site of a two week retreat every July (as well as other smaller get-togethers throughout the year). At these retreats, the members commune with nature in a truly original way. They drink heavily from morning through the night, bask in their freedom to urinate on the redwoods, and perform pagan rituals (including the "Cremation of Care", in which the members wearing red-hooded robes, cremate a coffin effigy of "Dull Care" at the base of a 40 foot owl altar). They watch (and participate in) plays and comedy shows in which women are portrayed by male actors. Employees of the Grove have said that no verbal description can accurately portray the bizarre behavior of the Grove's inhabitants.





“This is a photograph of a rather striking owl, about four feet high, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, September 2005. At its base, the museum's information reads:
Owl with removable head Modeled by Robert Wallace Martin (1843 - 1923) Martin Brothers, Southall Middlesex, September, 1903 Incised inscriptions: round the neck: 'R.W. Martin & Brothers. London & Southall, England', and 'R.W.M.Sc; on the base: '9 1903/R.W. Martin & Bros/ London & Southall This owl probably resembled 'a monster owl' said to have been made by Wallace Martin as a punchbowl for the Bohemian Club of San Francisco in 1893 but destroyed in the earthquake of 1906. Made in 1903, it remained in Wallace Martin's studio until his death in 1923. “

Moloch

"There stands in their midst a bronze statue of Kronos, its hands extended over a bronze brazier, the flames of which engulf the child. When the flames fall upon the body, the limbs contract and the open mouth seems almost to be laughing until the contracted body slips quietly into the brazier. Thus it is that the 'grin' is known as 'sardonic laughter,' since they die laughing..."

- Cleitarchus, Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch all mention burning of children as an offering to Cronus or Saturn, that is to Ba‘al Hammon, the chief god of Carthage...Paul G. Mosca in his thesis (described above) translates Cleitarchus' paraphrase of a scholia to Plato's Republic.



The 12th century rabbi Rashi, commenting on Jeremiah 7.31 stated:
"Tophet is Moloch, which was made of brass; and they heated him from his lower parts; and his hands being stretched out, and made hot, they put the child between his hands, and it was burnt; when it vehemently cried out; but the priests beat a drum, that the father might not hear the voice of his son, and his heart might not be moved."

Now I must admit I am indeed more curious than ever about this Moloch, and I must admit that I do not often refer to the Bible for information, but when the Bible is one of the few places I can readily access I will not limit myself due to vain religious obscurities. So let us see what the Christian Bible has to say about this Moloch character.

Jeremiah 7:31 ~
"The sons of Judah have built the high places of Topheth in the valley of the son of Hinnom to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire...Therefore behold the days will come, says YHWH...the bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the beasts of the land..."

It was widely held that Cronus and Saturn were one in the same. Whoever wrote the myths were indeed portraying Zeus as Moloch. They also understood that they were covering up the fact that Zeus’ people, of Crete were initiated through Infant sacrifices. This Moloch cult had many terms used in reference to it in the Bible simply Ba’al was used as a generic term for this deity.

Leviticus 18.21 ~
“And you shall not let any of your seed pass through Mo’lech; neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

Leviticus 20.2–5 ~
“Again, you shall say to the Sons of Israel: Whoever he be of the Sons of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that gives any of his seed Mo'lech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people; because he has given of his seed Mo'lech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he gives of his seed Mo'lech, and do not kill him, then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go astray after him, whoring after Mo'lech from among the people.”


Wow so those are some pretty intense words coming from YHWH about Molech. Let’s find out some more shall we?


“Molech. Moloch, Hebrew Molokh, Molekh, an ancient Phoenecian and Ammononite god, to whom children were sacrificed by burning [alive]. Anything demanding terrible sacrifice.”
—Webster's New World Dictionary, 3rd College Edition


A picture taken from a high resolution satellite called KH-7 in 1966 catches the outline of the pagan owl known in Bohemian Grove as Moloch.

That is exactly what it looks like to you folks, your nation’s capital. Now I know that you are probably thinking in your head right now, “How come I never knew there was an owl pictogram to be seen from over the D.C.?” It gets much weirder. I’d also lay you odds that 99.9% of Americans wouldn’t be able to tell you what animal hides on the front of the U.S. one dollar bill.

Now I bet I know what the HELL you are thinking by now. You are 24 pages into hell! And there is NO going back. You’re thinking, “How in the hell did I get from a cool fiction about Atlantis, to BLATANT Moloch worship on your CURRENCY that you handle EVERYDAY!

TALK ABOUT NOT HAVING ANY GODS BEFORE HIM!!!! YOU PLACE MOLOCH INFRONT OF YOU EVERYDAY!


DON’T WORRY! THE GUY WHO SUPPOSEDLY SAID THAT DOESN’T EXIST ANYWAYS!

Breather Moment.


For me asshole.

Tori Amos wrote of a meeting with Lucifer the light bearer in her book “piece by piece”. She reports having an Ayahuasca experience in which she made divine love to the entity known as Lucifer. He then told her that she was impregnated with a part of herself that was previously circumcised in life.
I for one do not know who I will meet when I decide to go there.
Mushrooms & Mankind
by James Arthur
Figure 1. Amanita muscaria


A typical red variety of the Amanita muscaria, the single most written about and mystically symbolized mushroom throughout history. As you will see, this mushroom played a major role in the formulation of nearly every world religion and world mythology. It is the primary focus of this investigation.


The Amanita muscaria mushroom can be found at the roots of most of the religious writings our planet has to offer. Yet you will find within these pages very little in way of endorsement of any particular religion. However, please bear with me when I interject my own philosophical opinions. Remember, I admit openly that I certainly do not know everything. This is the result of a serious study of the doctrinal/scriptural substance of each of the presented religions, and an exploration into the hidden symbology and meanings within them. The discovery that, although the Sacramental substance is unquestionably present, the organizations themselves have obscured the knowledge of it, was an enigma. That is, until the political nature at the roots of religion itself had been uncovered. Today's religions do not answer this important question. They explain it away as purely symbolic, or of no importance. Religion has polluted itself by denying its own source, and by removing the individual's ability to experience the effects produced by the substance that imparts Gnosis (the joining together of the consciousness with the consciousness of the Divine). By the removal of this key knowledge, religions themselves become lies; especially when the same systems inspired by Entheogens condemn their usage.
In today's society it has become taboo to present the expansion of consciousness by the use of any kinds of drugs/plants in a positive light. Such is the case when one discusses government or religion (or any other societal norm) in a negative light. While I have nothing positive to say about heroin, highly refined Coca (coke, crack), or amphetamines (crank), I feel that a blanket assessment of all drugs as being dirty is not only unfair, but a classic case of dis-information.
Drugs, in the psychedelic category, are commonly referred to these days (by those in the know) as "Entheogens", meaning simply; "the generation of God within"; for the experiencer, "the realization of God within ones own consciousness".
The facts are that there are many plants that have been known to expand consciousness, increase awareness of self, and initiate one into the nature of spirituality. Thousands of PhD. professors all over the world (in fields such as botany, ethnobotany, entheobotany, archaeology, anthropology, philology, philosophy, psychology, as well as a plethora of other inter-related fields) have written thousands of books/papers on the investigation and study of psychedelic plants. These writings have dealt with the use of such substances by spiritual practitioners in most every religion formed on the planet. Most people are out of the loop in knowing about any of this. Throughout history, each tribe/culture has looked for leadership and insight to the local Holy-man, or otherwise known as the Shaman, Healer, Priest, Mage, Sage, Yogi, Magician. The insight these leaders possessed was largely due to their experience and understanding of pharmacopoeia (use of plants) and the insight offered by the use of these things. "Pharmacopoeia" is the root of our English "pharmacy" or "pharmacist", and has been also translated as "witchcraft". Different tribes and peoples used different Entheogens, largely determined by local availability. The social power, respect, reverence, and authority held by the "pharmacopoeia-practicing" native shaman was/is a major problem for government and religion. It is the wanton jealousy for the power and control, held by these natives, which in turn, inspired the campaign to demonize and dis-repute Shamanism and pharmacopoeia as something of the devil. The Spanish (Catholic) inquisition and witch hunts (the murdering of over eight million people, tried as witches, and the stealing of their land and other propertiesdone in the name of God by the Church-government up until the 19th century) were prime examples of this. Also related to this church jealousy and greed is the matter of an estimated twenty million indigenous Central Americans murdered (exterminated), bringing about the near extinction of the Aztec/Inca/Mayan peoples, and the all-to-similar fate of indigenous North Americans ("American Indians"). The underlying agenda is the repression of the knowledge of Entheogenic plants that, if it succeeded, would insure the people's loyalty to established religion in all matters pertaining to God, primarily due to the inability of experiencing God for oneself. Since government and religion are the controllers of the world, an independent Shaman/Priest/Mage/Magician/Prophet is a threat to their power.
The sacramental use of Entheogens has only come into a bad/dirty light recently. This is largely due to the lumping together of any and all substances used by people (whether used for spiritual or recreation purposes) and then classifying them as "bad" (for you), "evil", "vile", and/or "dirty". This prohibition is the propaganda of the inept, corrupt, and oppressive (monetary based) war on drugs. In realty, despite the incredible amount of evidence that humanity's origins of spirituality are inseparably linked to Entheogens, governmental prohibition continues to rob each individual of their human right to directly access and understand the nature of spirituality through the traditional and ancient means provided by mother earth.
People who follow the government's lead in this field, without researching the subject on an individual basis, are usually quick to jump to conclusions and condemn things they really know nothing about. Unfortunately, there are many people who have not researched this subject and believe that anything the government says must be true, yet they have absolutely no personal experience or real understanding about the subject other than the government/media-released propaganda and dis-information geared to create their agenda-based opinion; an opinion really based on ignorance.
The agenda of the propaganda-pushers is not only sad but actually quite sickening because of the way it tends to lead the mindless masses of sheep right down the road to foolishness, causing them to become the unknowing pushers of the very same oppressive dis-information and propaganda which imprisons them, whilst believing the whole time that they are being right, proper, clean purveyors of the truth. As you will see, this subject is absolutely a matter of religious practice, and as such, it must be protected by Constitutional rights.
As Timothy Leary put it so well, "Psychedelics often produce psychotic and even violent behavior in those that have never used them".
The simple reality is that plant Entheogens are spiritual in nature.
I prefer "Just say know" to the oppressive fascist propaganda "Just say no"
One more thing before we get going...
Its the use of heroin, crack, and crank that the government throws on the table to cause panic in the minds of people (claiming ignorance to the efficatious properties of Entheogens), that has allowed them to erode the Constitution away into a now historical document, by passing unbelievable laws all under the guise of stopping the use of drugs and saving our precious children from the "vile drug-pusher", while all along it's been the O.S.S. and then the C.I.A. in bed with the Mafia and local government officials that bring the highly addictive drugs (Heroin/Cocaine/Crack), that destroy peoples lives, into the Country, and then distribute them locally. If you don't think this could be true, then take a look at this:
The CIA/OSS and the "War on Drugs"
You have heard the official state position on this, how could you miss it unless you were a hermit or just not paying attention. Then again media may still influence you even though you aren't paying attention.
Now look at the documented evidence.
Perhaps our favorite free-thinkers and musicians, by taking certain plants, and smoking certain herbs (also with a long religious history) should be praised for the insight and understanding they have received in life through these things, not be condemned and thought of as dirty for their use of the same. Of course, Heroin problems are very dangerous and damaging, and I am not talking about that. Besides, it is the highly addictive properties of these drugs that are exactly what make the Mafia/C.I.A./Government wet their lips from excitement (due to huge profits involved), not caring what damage they do to people. Also the natural plant Entheogens are not a hot commodity for them, partly because they actually make you think, which is one of the things those agenda-driven, power & money-hungry monsters would prefer you didn't do.
With that said, lets get going...
"Prohibition was introduced as a fraud; it has been nursed as a fraud. It is wrapped in the livery of Heaven, but it comes to serve the devil. It comes to regulate by law our appetites and our daily lives. It comes to tear down liberty and build up fanaticism, hypocrisy, and intolerance. It comes to confiscate by legislative decree the property of many of our fellow citizens. It comes to send spies, detectives, and informers into our homes; to have us arrested and carried before courts and condemned to fines and imprisonments. It comes to dissipate the sunlight of happiness, peace, and prosperity in which we are now living and to fill our land with alienations, estrangements, and bitterness. It comes to bring us evil - only evil - and that continually. Let us rise in our might as one and overwhelm it with such indignation that we shall never hear of it again as long as grass grows and water runs."
-- Roger Q. Mills of Texas, 1887, quoted repeatedly during a December 1914 debate in Congress over Prohibition


Figure 2. Artwork as Revelator


Amanita muscaria is a "good luck charm", associated with the four-leafed-clover in artwork and traditional folklore. It is not restricted to pictorial art in obvious places. Mushroom-associated symbolism is found throughout religious artwork as well. Decoding these religious art symbols has always been a favorite pass-time of mine and with recent validation of symbol experts who have added greatly to my abilities to do so it seems when you start to look, there is mushroom imagery everywhere, especially when the artist is one of those "in the know". For good reason, as the story unfolds you find that the depth of your understanding of religious art, is directly associated with the depth of your understanding of archetypes and symbols.



Figure 3. The Little People
Often associated with Gnomes, Fairies and ‘little people’, the beauty of this mushroom makes it a favorite for artists. Certain artists also reveal deeper symbolic information. The mystical aspect is generally reserved for those that happen to be ‘in the know.


"Mellow is the man who knows what he's been missing
Many many men can't see the open road.
Many is a word that only leaves you guessing
Guessing 'bout a thing you really ought to know, ooh!
You really ought to know"
-- Led Zeppelin
The Hidden Meanings of Christmas
After studying the Amanita muscaria mushroom for some twenty years, I fell into the company of some very enthusiastic folks who insisted that I commit this study to writing. It is one thing to talk about the many various religious writings which I have been looking into, and found ample mushroom symbology to present a verbal case for ethnomycological reference, but another thing entirely to compile it into book form. For one thing, in order to present a full scope of significant inter-religious connections verbally one can jump from one religious context to another, traversing a wide scope of references in several religions, weaving an overall scope of the similarities found in each. But in order to write a book on the subject I found that separating the different religious references into their respective chapters was the best way to go. So I try to limit the temptation to jump from one religion to another, and keep it to a minimum.
Within the study of world religion one finds philosophical systems. These are the philosophies that the respective believer adopts as their understanding of life itself. State-ism must be considered a religion in its own right, as even those who profess no religious preference or belief adopt a philosophical view of reality based upon a state/culturally conditioned belief system. These belief systems are also based upon religious philosophies that are brought into fruition through media and popular opinion. Were the many state and religious philosophies to be based upon truth and justice the world would not have an incredible history of bloodshed, wars and oppression. Therefore, religions and state indoctrinated belief systems share commonality of basic philosophical principles, and all of them must be looked into with an objective point of view. This must be done in order to dispel falsehood. It is not difficult to see that the condition of life on our planet leaves much to be desired. Societal conditioning plays an important part in developing individual belief systems. In some ways this could be considered a good thing, but in other ways it may be intrinsically bad. The study of ethnomycology cannot simply be the study of religion and its association with mushrooms per-se' because by its very nature it must examine the philosophical principles of the religions which have an ehtnomycological connection. I need to explain this in order to set the stage for what is to come within these pages. This is not only an examination of ehtnomycological associations throughout history but is also an examination of those religions which show evidence of having ethnomycological association, yet currently deny this association due to corruption of their root principles.
So this study will deal with ethnomycology as a base, but will also delve into psychology, ethnology, philology, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, art, history, religion, myth, culture, symbology, and philosophy.
I will begin this book with the study of Christmas and its associated symbols and icons because after studying most of the world’s religions and their associated philosophies, I have found this to actually be a religion in its own right and quite pure philosophically.
What are the origins of the Christmas traditions? Most people never think to ask this question. Those that do, find a seemingly complete dogmatic system of explanation. Then, of course, one day there is that discovery that Santa Claus does not really exist. But... Does he? Many things have been written in an attempt to trace Christmas' development. You can find people who consider themselves experts in this field, and even books on this subject. I suppose you could call the field "Santa-ology", or perhaps even "Santa-ism". Yet, long lost, deeply underlying the realms of simple tradition, are very amazing symbolic connections and origins that are either long- forgotten or were/are intentionally overlooked. The basic philosophy behind Christmas is; if you are good you will receive a present under the tree, if you are bad then you receive no present. In some cultures those who are bad even receive punishment delivered by various means and personages. This is a very simple philosophical system. Santa Claus is an all-knowing icon that reads the hearts and intentions of everyone on the planet. Each child is told the story of the round-man (who wears red and white) and his associates; reindeer, little people and Mrs. Claus. They are also told the story of a miraculous worldwide flight in a sleigh which results in presents being delivered under a tree. Yet when a child reaches the age of reasoning he is informed that this story is all a fabrication. This revelation is devastating upon the psyche of a young mind. It is also at this time that the child is often comforted, and pacified from the shock, by very strong reinforcement that the religious system which the parents or guardians profess are indeed factual. And an attempt is made to incorporate the respective religious traditions into the holiday as the REAL meaning for the celebration. There is an alternative to this cultural conditioning and shock-relief system of indoctrinations, into the realities of life, which is based upon truth and is much more interesting than even the simple traditional understandings of Christmas themselves. The key to this alternative is encoded within the icons and symbols of Christmas. To know the meanings behind the symbolism to which most people only attach dogmatic explanations, is to open the doorway to understanding the very roots of many other religions as well. Several books have been written about the Amanita muscaria mushroom. This mushroom is found growing all over the world under Pine (& other coniferous trees), Birch, and sometimes Oak. The Pine tree is one of the well-known central relics of Christmas. Under this tree is where those who are deemed good find their reward in the form of a present. A big red and white rounded mushroom grows under the very tree we are to look under on Christmas morning to find our gift. If we can find that this present does indeed exist. If we can find that reindeer are thought to be able to fly for a very good reason, and we can show that traditionally they carry people spiritually through the air in a way that defies the laws of time. And further, if we can show that the philosophical idiom "be good not bad" is really the universal truth, would we have sufficient basis for discarding the established religious dogmas which traditionally replace the Christmas tale, and instead simply expand the story to reveal the more esoteric principles upon which it is based?
It is my assertion that the traditional day of reckoning wherein it is revealed; Santa Claus is not real, Reindeer do not fly, there is no present under the tree (unless placed there by a deceiver), is a dis-information campaign geared towards conditioning the young mind to be unable to comprehend the information which is presented herein. I also assert that the devastating blow of the destruction of a belief, and the associated reinforcement of "Christianity" (or other religious system) is psychologically designed to support the replacement information which is given as a comforting foundation during a time of shock and crisis, and is explained as something that will never be revealed as false (like Santa and all that fantasy).
It is also my conclusion that this event subliminally plays an important role for religious systems that wish to suppress the expansion of consciousness through fear of the unknown. The psyche is scarred deeply when it is forced to deal with realizing it has accepted a falsehood as truth. And when it deals with plants and things found under trees, subliminally, one armors oneself against these concepts. There develops an unconscious fear of falling into the same trap. Of course this is also pacified through replacing the meaning of things like the pine tree. Interestingly, in some traditions the Pineal gland is thought to be the seat of the human soul. It is shaped exactly like a pinecone (hence the name Pine-al). Apparently, it is also an autonomous part of the brain, resting in the dead center, not attached to any other part of the brain; sort of a floating pinecone in the center of the human brain. Perhaps we have a lot more in common with the Pine tree than we thought. This gland, and its endogenous secretions, as well as other relevant implications, will be further discussed in a later section. But it is interesting to note; due to cultural phenomenon, the pineal gland atrophies during youth, which corresponds to this timely day of reckoning, and even begins to calcify during puberty. This atrophy/calcification causes a reduction of Pineal endogenous secretions.
The Santa Claus and Christmas traditions of today have metamorphosed out of many older mythologies. The icons, symbols, and relics that have managed to survive from the "Winter Solstice" celebrations of old, have a commonality that deserves some reflection, study, and perhaps even some reverence. Understanding that these traditions are borrowed ones, is central to getting at the heart of the true meaning of Christmas.
Figure 4. Santa as a Shaman
Today's Santa Claus is a metamorphosis of many older mythologies, including Thor or Donner (German Donar) who wears red and rides in a Golden Flying Chariot pulled by two Goats (Cracker and Gnasher). In a sense, these goats were the ancestors to the now popular reindeer. What would the red and gold clad angel be doing with that nice basket? An Easter basket at Christmas is an interesting concept.



Christmas is commonly thought of as a Christian holiday (the birth of Jesus). Many Christian beliefs and traditions were borrowed from more ancient religions and mythologies. This is well documented by authors such as Gerald Massey, Godfrey Higgins, Robert Graves, Kersey Graves and many others. The virgin birth, the incarnation of God, the sacrament, Christmas, Easter, etc. have all been adopted/stolen by Christianity as its own.
It is well documented by fundamentalists (apologists) that the Christmas traditions are Pagan in origin.. This simply means that their origin comes from the traditions of the country-folk (pagan). By contrast, the Pagan origins of most of the other attributes of Christianity are vigorously denied. It is also very easy to obscure, overlook and discredit the Egyptian, Mithraic, Germanic, Norse, Celtic, Greek, Hindu and Buddhist roots by lumping all non-Christian religions together and labeling them Pagan. These are certainly not simple country-folk religions. So to just say Christmas has Pagan roots, and not go further, is glossing over what exactly those roots are, and discrediting their study as worthless. Christmas icons, traditions and stories have hidden meanings. Although not initially apparent, a more thorough investigation reveals far more symbolic content (which is decipherable) than originally suspected. At the roots of this symbolism research is information about the secrets of the mushroom, regarding its habitats, forms, uses, preparations, and effects.
Shaman of Siberia and the Russian icon, St. Nicholas, both play parts in the tale of Christmas, providing clues as to where Christmas came from and why there are certain symbols associated with the holiday. It is these types of clues that will help (the questors) in the deciphering of the symbols. Siberian Shaman used/use (despite governmental oppression) the Amanita muscaria as a religious sacrament. It is used for spiritual vision, out-of-body travel into the realms of the spirits, and as a plant-spirit guide in teaching and healing. The value of the inebriant is placed highly among the commodities of the native tribesmen, fetching reindeer pelts, meats, and all manner of tradable goods in payment and barter. Interesting to note: If you aren't quick enough in the hunt, you will find only the mushroom stubs, the rest greedily gobbled up by the hungry reindeer.
Figure 5. Christmas Ornaments
One of the traditions, of ornamenting a tree, comes from the tradition of "The Paradise tree", a fir tree decorated with apples (representing the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden). This ‘fruit’ will be discussed later as the Amanita. During Germany's Middle Ages, a popular play, which was symbolic of the paradise story, was staged on December 24th (the religious feast day of Adam and Eve) . Two more symbolic connections with the mushroom are the candles and cookies that were also hung on the tree (candles = Christ; cookies = wafers of the Christian sacrament). This ornament is of particular interest because of its association with the fruit of the tree of knowledge and the Amanita muscaria. This indicates that there have always been people "In the Know" from time to time. According to Apocryphal texts and other older ones, the "Fruit of the Tree of Life" and the more recently added "Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge" were originally one in the same.
So, why do people bring Pine trees into their houses at the Winter Solstice, placing brightly colored (Red and White) packages under their boughs, as gifts to show their love for each other and as representations of the love of God and the gift of his Sons life?
It is because, underneath the Pine bough is the exact location where one would find this "Most Sacred" Substance, the Amanita muscaria, in the wild (in Nature). These mushrooms grow in a symbiotic/mycorrhizal relationship with the Pine tree, which means they always grow underneath it. The symbolic placing of gifts under the tree at Christmas is a sort of proxy-present-giving action, whereby the celebrants ritually mimic the work of God/Santa/Nature, by placing under the tree a gift (actually The gift). Big clue here: Winter brings rain; rain brings mushrooms, In the mountains, at Christmas time, under the Pine trees. Then and there will you find that which unlocks the key mysteries of the Universe, through a multi-dimensionalizing of the consciousness in a way that no other known substance can. This Gnosis (joining together of your mind with the mind of the Universal Consciousness) is what the Sages, Mystics, Teachers, and Prophets were attempting to communicate through their rampant symbolism. (Had they not feared persecution, they may have spoken of it openly and directly in public documents.)
Figure 6. The Christmas Tree
All over the world, people bring Coniferous trees into their houses and place brightly colored packages underneath them. In Nature, this is where you will find the Amanita muscaria (under coniferous trees). The actual mushroom "plant" is the underground "mycelium" or "mycorrhizae", which is directly attached to the tree roots; the mushroom itself is only the fruit-body of the mycelium. The mushroom is literally the Fruit of the Tree. They grow in a mycorrhizal (not parasitic) relationship with the tree. Many people follow the tradition/custom of bringing a tree into the home and putting presents under it, yet have absolutely no idea why. Even people that think they know, usually have no knowledge of these mushroom connections. The true symbolic meaning transcends dogmatic etymological and historical evidence, by revealing itself in the totally obvious iconography and historically associated myths and traditions.
• Saint Nicholas is the patron Saint of children in Siberia (Russia), a supplanter to the indigenous Shaman.
• The Amanita muscaria mushrooms grow nearly exclusively under the Christmas (Coniferous) Trees (Birch also [another whole story]).
• The Reindeer eat these mushrooms, hence the presumed flight.
• Santa brings presents in his white bag/sack. Mushrooms are gathered in bags, and Amanita muscaria sprouts out of a white vulvae sack.
• The mushrooms are red and white and grow under a green tree. Christmas colors are red, white and green.
• Typically, the red and white mushrooms are dried by stringing them on the hearth of the fireplace. Christmas stockings are red and white, hung in the same way, and shaped similar.
• The Virgin Birth is symbolic for the "seedless" growth/germination pattern of the mushroom. To the ancient mind, with no microscope to see the spores, it's appearance was thought to be miraculous.
• The very name, "Christmas" is a holiday name composed of the words, "Christ" (meaning "one who is anointed with the Magical Substance") and "Mass" (a special religious service/ceremony of the sacramental ingestion of the Eucharist, the "Body of Christ"). In the Catholic tradition, this substance (Body/Soma) has been replaced by the doctrine of "Trans-substantiation", whereby in a magical ceremony the Priests claim the ability to transform a "cracker/round-wafer" into the literal "Body of Christ"; ie, a substitute or placebo.
Figure 7. Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas, known as the "Patron Saint of Children" (among other things), is the most revered saint in Russia, second only to the apostles. He is the Russian Orthodox Church's supplanter to the native people's highly respected local Shaman. A Shaman is a holy man that is well acquainted with a form of spirituality that incorporates plant entheogens which facilitate the NDE (Near Death Experience), or "out of body" experience. Saint Nicholas may not have been a shaman, yet the symbolism on, and coloring of his robes could lend to speculation. The equilateral-circumscribed-cross is an ancient symbol for Christianity and the Holy Grail, it is also another mushroom symbol.


The ancient shamanic use of Amanita muscaria in Siberia is well documented. Despite governmental oppression against its use, there are still many who refuse to accept the authorized state religion, and continue the shamanic traditions in secret. Just as the Siberian shaman (commonly dressing in red and white) would enter through the opening in the roof of a home where a ritual was to be done, Santa Claus also arrives on the roof and enters through the chimney. Just as the shamans would gather the mushrooms in bags which they would bring with them when performing a ceremony, Santa Claus also (on the Holy Day) brings presents in a bag. The Santa Claus we see today evolved from traditions developed in Germany. It is fairly common knowledge that the Weihnachtsmann (St. Nick) was an amalgamation of older Germanic/Norse gods such as Thor, Donner, Odin and Wotan. What's missing here is just as Santa flies through the skies in his sleigh, Odin (as well as the rest) rode through the sky in his chariot, which is depicted in the stars by "The Big Dipper". The Big Dipper is the chariot of Odin & Wotan, Thor, King Arthur, and even Osiris (of Egypt). The chariot that circles the North Star in a 24 hour period is thus also known as the sleigh of Santa Claus because it circles his mythological home, the North Pole. It is no surprise that Nordic/Germanic gods have connection to mushrooms in their mythology. As Thor throws his mushroom-shaped hammer to the ground, mighty thunders and lightning cracks cause the real mushroom(s) to appear. As the horses pulling Odin through the sky in his chariot become over-exerted, their blood-mingled spit falls to the ground and causes the Amanita mushrooms to grow at those exact points. The Osiris mythology has even more to add to this. To the Egyptians; South was up (North). Osiris was the lord of the underworld, the South, (South=down) which is why he circles the sky in the furthest possible lower (southern) area. Not only did Osiris ride the sky in a chariot, but after his death Isis found that an evergreen (Cedar) had grown overnight from a dead stump to full-sized (this also relates to the Djed pillar); which was understood as a sign of Osiris' rebirth and immortality. Interestingly, the traditional birth of Osiris is the 25th of December. The 25th of December was also celebrated annually by putting presents around the Cedar tree. This tradition is at least five thousand years old. The birth of Horus to the goddess-virgin-mother, Isis, is perhaps the eldest representation of the goddess/son mythology, yet it is impossible to know this or the real age of the Astro-theological-Virgo-giving-birth-to-the-child/god/star mythology for sure. However it is the oldest source I have found; it is very old.
Drying the mushrooms was/is a necessary procedure typically accomplished by stringing them up (like popcorn) and hanging them above the hearth of the fireplace. shamans and lay people alike, would gather and dry them. They gather all they can since they are a valuable commodity. Reindeer (native to Siberia) are known to be quite fond of eating these mushrooms. The mythology of flying Reindeer reflects the supposed pharmacological effects of such a meal.
It is important to point out that this Christmas/Winter Solstice celebration, with all its various counterparts, transcends the world's religions. The reason that this celebration is held all over the planet in various forms may have something to do with this other commonality at which we are looking; it is certainly entwined in the symbolism.
This place setting and service was contributed by a very Laurence Stickney, he has been always an inspiration to me. It is certainly a real fine example of what a truly enlightened Christmas meal is all about. You don't have to read very far into this symbolism to realize what the table is saying about dinner. The idea of a "Sacred Meal" is incorporated into many ancient traditions that also celebrated the birth of the God on December 25th. The Sun, as it reaches the winter Solstice, ends its course across the heavens and appears to stop for 3 days, then it begins anew its trek across the heavens towards the Northern hemisphere. This 3 day "stoppage" was mythologized as the death of the Sun of God on the cross of the celestial 4 points, and after the 3 day waiting period as it began another precession across the sky, it was thought to return to life. Later mythologies transfer the death on the cross to a hanging on wood, and the 3 day death to the Son (Sun) being locked inside a tomb. The fact that the mushrooms must be dried before consumption is another euphemism of the god needing to die, or sacrifice himself, to save mankind through atonement (at-one-ment).
This is only the beginning: only a few of the associations between this mushroom and Christmas traditions; there are more. Here are some synonymous names and/or terminologies given to this mushroom throughout history, many of which we will be exploring further. In fact, there are so many that expounding upon them could take a lifetime, therefore, obviously, this list is not all-inclusive. The Egyptian term; "the God of a thousand names" begins to make sense as this research begins to encompass so many other traditions, mythologies and religions.
SOMA (Hindu plant-god). Soma is also Greek for "body".
Amrita (Buddhist Magical Sacrament).
Ambrosia (Greek, "Food of the Gods").
The Holy Grail (note the Grail-like shape of the upturned muscaria mushroom; "Vessel containing the blood of the God").
Fruit of the Tree of life: Fruit of the Tree = the mushroom; the main body (mycellium) growing underground in a
Symbiotic relationship with the Pine tree.
The Golden Fleece
The Fountain of Youth: Ponce De' Leon is likely to have unknowingly kicked over the very thing for which he was searching; the red muscaria grows under Longleaf Pine in northern Florida in December.
Haoma: Islamic Sacrament.
Manna: There are two kinds in the Bible; see John ch. 6 to 14. Manna means "mushroom".
Bread of Life: Yes, it's the "Loaf of Bliss".
Fountain of Living Waters: Its alive, 90% water, and shaped like a fountain.
Hidden Manna: See Rev. 2:17
The Cosmic Egg, The Easter Egg (What are we really mimicking at Easter? The mushroom hunt, OF COURSE).
The Prima Materia/Philosophers stone: The secret substance of the Alchemists (Get Clark Heinrich's book "Strange Fruit" for this one; fascinating!).
Soma: The Hindu plant God and elixir of immortality.
The Flesh of the God: The mushroom is very flesh-like and is depicted so.
The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge/Life.
The Flesh of Jesus, and other Gods (Take and eat. This is my "body" [Greek, "SOMA"]).
The Hammer of Thor: The shape is obvious. Thor throws his mushroom-shaped hammer to the ground in a bolt of lightning and a mighty thunderous CRACK. Lightning is the mythical creator of the mushroom.
The Small White Stone: The infant state of the mushroom resembles a small white stone.
The Elixir of Immortality: The churning-of-the-milky-ocean myth describes this in a phenomenal way.
The Feathered Serpent: From its first egg-state to its snake-looking second state, then shedding its universal veil (shedding its skin) and finally upturning its cap (gills resembling feathers). The feathered serpent is cosmopolitan in its symbology.
The Phoenix: From the ashes (spores) the egg appears. Then comes the upturned cap resembling a gold and red colored bird (the gills as feathers). Then the heat (sun) burns the mushroom and it dissolves, once again leaving only ashes (spores), and finally repeating the whole cycle.
Ankh: Waters and life, or the waters of life in Egypt.
Rudra: The Hindu red god of the forest.
Djed: The phallus or pillar of Osiris.
The One Eyed Howler: The round eye shape which represents the vision of the universe.
The Eye of Horus: (Djed-Eye) Sound familiar?
The World Tree: The mushroom is thought to be the creator of the world, in many cultures.
Celestial Food: The food of the Gods in the Egyptian "Book of the dead".
Aten: The Egyptian winged-disc.
Fly Agaric: Although "Fly" is commonly thought of in association with the "House-fly", there is also evidence that it refers to the act of "flying", as in taking spiritual flight.


Many times these representations are used severally in one depiction.
"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"THE HOLY GRAIL" Mushroom symbology in popular myth.






Figure 9. The Holy Grail
Amanita muscaria, long associated with the "Flesh of the God" in religious sacraments, was and is the true Holy Grail. The Grail cup, holding the blood of the god, is an obvious analogy for the shape of the fully-grown specimen and its juices. Note the look of the fully grown specimen. The imagery of a cup or fountain are two of the more pronounced symbols used to keep the understanding of the true nature of the sacrament a secret from everyone but the "Elite". In its infant (button) state, the muscaria resembles a small white stone. The pulling of the sword from the stone (a symbol of wielding the power), is another Arthurian legend connecting the mushroom to the myth. The quest for the Grail itself is the quest for the knowledge of the mushroom. The Parcival myth depicts paths (traditions), which are to be explored (but not adhered to), in order to complete the quest. This quest is described in the myths as a journey into the forest (the world) and finding paths (systems) which one may follow, for a time, but ultimately one must blaze his/her own trail in order to truly reach the final goal, the Holy Grail (the discovery and usage of the mushroom).


The search for the Holy Grail is a mythology that has become, through adaptation, a part of the story of the Crucifixion. Some of the stories incorporate a cup which was used to catch some of the flowing blood of Jesus as he died on the cross. This cup, like many other relics, was thereby thought to possess magical powers. Historically, themushroom has been the container for the juice of the "elixir of immortality", or the "blood of God", in many myths. The final shape of the muscaria, with its inverted cap, is the reason that the cup/fountain/grail symbology is used in the stories. King Arthur, as a child, gained his rightful place as King by pulling the sword from the stone. This is symbolic for wielding the power of the mushroom. The stone is a metaphor for the mushroom, and pulling the sword from it is symbolic of being able to crack the code and possess the power of the magical plant. After Arthur took ill (in his later years) he was told that he must seek and find the Holy Grail to renew his strength and re-acquire his power.


"Christianity" The popular western religion.
Christianity is a religion with a dubious history, yet many of the doctrines and stories are worth study. It is a religion which was created for political reasons. Constantine, The Emperor of Rome, knew one of the most basic tenets of government was the control of its people. The governmental control of people becomes much easier and effective when that government is able to also assume a "divine" authority. Although Rome holds no exclusive right to this idea, they certainly have etched their mark on history, enforcing their particular political machine. Christianity is the product of a governmental council acquiring and examining as many of the world's religious doctrines they could find; in order to create a "One World Religion". They took ideas and doctrine from Egyptology, Mithraism, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Torah of the Jews, and many others, picking the parts they wanted to include, altering them as they wished, discarding the parts they did not want included, and finally compiling their own plagiarized (and altered) writings to create the new Catholic (one from all) Bible. Since this was a plagiarized and altered conglomeration of many older works, many symbolic tenets have managed to retain their original meanings.
The primary purpose of this investigation is to explain these hidden meanings in as simple a form as possible. Much linguistic evidence, thoroughly covered by John Allegro in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, clearly demonstrates that mushrooms played a huge role in the written word. I will try to shed light on the basic philosophical nature behind the religion by examining and explaining the hidden symbolism in the doctrines themselves, opening up a deeper (though simplified) meaning to the texts. Keep in mind the particular points I will deal with, for now, will be those which have survived the cutting-room-floor, and simply because these things are to be found within should not imply that this compilation of altered works is, as a whole, something I consider a true religious document. Once you understand where to look, the ideas presented here will unlock the secret meanings of the book we know as the Bible. Then I will point out the same ideas and symbols, as they are found in the pre-Christian world, which gave birth to these myths, in an attempt to trace them to their eldest source.
Political and even Fascist elements, in the book, will be explored later. These elements are the result of corruption of the original source-documents, as well as the re-incorporation of older Patriarchal systems.
"The truth will set you free
but first it will piss you off."
-- Gloria Steinham


Figure 10. The Christian MANNAS revealed
John Marco Allegro, one of the worlds leading philologists, put his neck on the line when he wrote his book, "The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross", which made numerous connections from sacred doctrinal enigmas and sacraments to the Amanita muscaria. He fearlessly attempted to expose the reality of the mushroom symbolism throughout the Bible, Apocryphal writings, and The Dead Sea Scrolls. He was fully aware of the criticism his book would draw, yet as a true scholar, knowing the importance of the information, he put self aside for the good of all. Most criticism surrounding Allegro is a remnant of the fundamentalist bashing he took for exposing the Jesus Myth. Jesus IS the mushroom Anthropomorphized just like Santa, Mithra, Chrishna, Rudra etc.


Allegro linguistically linked the SOMA (Greek=Body), the Manna (Sumerian = Mushroom), (of which there are two kinds), the names Jesus, James, and John, the Fruit of the tree of Knowledge, and the symbol of the cross, to the Amanita muscaria, by stating that all of these names and terms (and others) were synonyms and wordplay for the hidden identity of the mushroom. Needless to say, he had the religious scholars doing flips. The biblical apologists instantly jumped on the bandwagon of attempting to disprove anything he said. Although he did stretch the boundaries (at least twice) of some established scholarship, the proof is in the pudding (so to speak) and most of his associations are beyond repute. Besides it is apparent to me that anyone who is afraid to challenge established authority and scholarship would not produce or expose most of the things which I find of value. Love him or hate him, he pioneered the field wherein most scholars and lay-people alike are afraid to even think about stepping in.
Even though it was the linguistic links that first brought this to light, it was the understanding of the symbolism that drove it home. Once you know where to look, and that was well revealed in the writings of Allegro, deciphering the mythologies unfolds into a whole new level of comprehension.
The Manna the Israelites ate in the desert is presently defined as a question. It is not ordinary for a word describing bread to be thought of in this context. Manna is defined in this way: (Manna="What is it?") a Biblical description of this mystical substance will toss the reader some clues.
Manna was a small round thing that appeared on the ground after the dew had fallen.
If it was left to the warmth of day it would breed worms and stink.
Manna was thought of as being produced miraculously (IE: birth without seed). This is a perfect botanical description of a mushroom. Birth without seed (miraculous) is due to spores being microscopic and not visible to the naked eye.

Jesus describes the Mannas in detail in the book of John. In this story Jesus attempts to make clear; of manna, there are two different ones/kinds. He describes the manna that he is giving the disciples (last supper) as the Manna that bestows immortality. His statement, unless you have eaten his flesh/body (Soma/Manna), and drink of his blood (Soma Juice), you have no life in you, takes on a whole new meaning in light of this discovery.
The Manna is directly associated with the fruit of the Tree of Life in the 2nd chapter of the book of Revelation. It is the reward for those who overcome (the lies of the world). The "Fruit of the Tree", the "Hidden Manna" and the "Small White Stone" are spoken ofseparately, but in the same context. All of these are symbols for the Amanita muscaria.


Figure 11. The Fruit of The Tree
This 13th Century Fresco from France shows the Amanita muscaria as the "fruit" (of the Tree) of the "knowledge of Good and Evil". Adam and Eve had their eyes opened. The Gods looked down and said "Behold, they have become as one of us". Contemporary Scholars and researchers have since uncovered many such representations. The Mushroom as the Fruit of the tree is actually pretty common among esoteric circles.

"At night when the stars are clear
And I long for delusion to disappear
Then I see the reflection that's in your eyes
Is it time, is it time, is it time to know?
--Supertramp
The knowledge of good and evil seems a strange thing to condemn someone for, unless the Gods wanted to dictate what was right and wrong, rather than have them know the difference for themselves. Imposing their will (and law) upon mankind is not so easy when people can think for themselves, especially if it becomes obvious that what you are being told is right and/or wrong is in direct opposition to what actually seems to be good and bad (The big knowledge).
What we have here, may be the future as we were never to know it to be. The "Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge" is the same thing as the "Fruit of the Tree of Life". The fruit of the tree that is to come down out of heaven and line the streets in the city of the "New Jerusalem", the city of the new "Golden Age". The same, of which, when you partake imparts direct communion with, and the direct knowledge of, God.
The Cuneiform clay tablets of Mesopotamia (at least 4,000 BC/CE) tell the oldest known tales of Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, eating of the fruit stories. But they tell a different tale than what is in the Bible of today. Zechariah Sitchen has been very foremost in the dispersion of what these tablets say. The gods came to our planet in Space/Time/Dimension ships from the star Sirius. Finding Neanderthal Man a bit primitive, they manipulated the DNA to produce the Homo-Sapien. In the stories, The Father God, "Anu", remained on Sirius, while two Brothers, Ea and Enlil, were the stewards of the new colonization. Enlil, wishing to Control the population, and Ea, wanting to expand man's consciousness. The High Council, and Anu, leaned towards the Enlilian point of view. But Ea, was determined to multi-dimensionalize (open/wake-up) the minds of his creations. This will be dealt with more fully in the section on Mesopotamia. But, for now, suffice it to say that the earlier stories portray the eating of the fruit in a completely different light, in fact the whole concept is flipped one hundred and eighty degrees. What was originally a glorious and incredible story about the hope and potential of humanity has become a primary story of a horrible fall-from-grace and even condemnation of the entire race.



Figure 12. The Last Supper (The sacramental ingestion of the body of God)
The concept of the literal ingestion of the body of God is highly downplayed by religious scholars of today. The body (soma) being a fleshy Mushroom is much more palatable than trying to stomach cannibalism or the transformation of ordinary substances.

Many questions should be asked about this cosmopolitan idea of the "Sacramental Substance". Unfortunately, the religious experts shun the notion, insisting that the entire idea is nothing more than symbolic. A symbol points at something else, not usually at another symbology. The Catholic church, in the early 1100's, decided to have the final word on this subject by establishing (under Emperor/Pope Innocent III) the "Doctrine of Trans-Substantiation". This it whereby, the Priests, by their assumed holy power, claim to be able to say some magical words, and turn ordinary bread into the literal "Body of God". This event is one of the biggest evil deceptions of all time, is an undermining of the basic esoteric aspects of the religion, and is, arguably, the most horrible and damning event to ever happen to Christendom, and as such the entire human race. Jesus clearly describes the Manna that he calls his body in the book of John. Repeatedly describing the "Thing/Manna" as a substance hidden from the world, but revealed to his disciples. Understanding the last supper story becomes as simplistic as it gets, if you know how to decipher the event. Adamantly; Jesus says, "Take and eat, This is my Body". This is the transformational and magnificent event. By intentional misrepresentation (by self appointed or politically correct authorities) it has been stripped down to rhetorical run around and ridiculous dogmatic interpretation by enthusiastic religious stumbling-block-throwers.
The Bible, as we have it today, should not be regarded as a historical document. This is not to say that it is not very interesting, but it must be read keeping in mind that it is a re-translation, of a re-translation, of a re-translation, of an initially altered plagiarism. The book itself (viewed in light of the possibility of what could have been) is a complex document that must have required some pretty intelligent minds to conceive. It is this complexity that so overwhelms those of limited intellect that it convinces many that it could only have been written by the hand (or direct inspiration) of God. Yet the Bible pales drastically in comparison to the thousands of Hindu or Buddhist writings in complexity and substance. Most who read it never know this because they are instructed to steer clear of any other religious writings, lest they become deceived. Those who become "completely blown away" by the conceptualization of what it must have taken to write such a document have never seen or attempted to really look at anything else similarly complex. Therefore, they have no point of reference, other than their own intellect, and the one book they believe to be the only true word of God. There is enough written there to speculate in awe, what those who wrote it were all about. Meaning; had we been there, at that time (6000 years ago), to read the original text (Cuneiform), and were reading it in our own native language, AND had been partakers of the heavenly gift (the mushroom), it must have been an incredible thing indeed. It is important to note, just briefly, that ecumenical council extricated the concepts and doctrines that specifically referred to reincarnation in Biblical texts from the cannon. This is another corruption that has obscured the understanding of life in general for all those believers who will never know this happened.
"Manna" means "Mushroom". However, if you reject the philological (linguistic) evidence proposed by Allegro and others, perhaps a simple read of the relevant scriptures will sway you towards the possibility, and perhaps you may also begin to understand how the mushroom, anthropomorphically, can become the body of the God.
Exodus 16-14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. Exodus 16-19 And Moses said, let no man leave of it till morning. Exodus 16-20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it till the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
Mushrooms grow from moisture, such it is that they grow after the dew falls. They appear miraculously because they grow from spores (which are microscopic) and have no seed. In fact, they seem to disappear as mysteriously as they appeared, leaving no visible trace. Mushrooms, as any mycologist can tell you, left in the sun, or otherwise left to their natural process, begin to rot, breed worms, and also begin to stink. Manna means mushroom philologically, linguistically, and, as you can see, mushrooms physically fit the description given of the substance in these texts.


Figure 13. Manna in the Ark of the Covenant
Moses built this elaborate device to carry the Manna through the wilderness. To look inside the ark was punishable by death. The box itself is of little import, or spiritual value. What is important is what was inside the ark. The Long and tedious search for this artifact, shows either a complete missing-of-the-point, or a deliberate mis-direction of attention.

According to the Bible there are two Mannas, the one the Israelites ate in the desert, and the "Hidden Manna" alluded to within the book of Revelation.
To know about the mushroom is to have the key to unlock the doors of scriptural interpretation. An "opening of the seals of the book" could be another way of looking at it. Without the understanding of the hidden meanings behind the symbolism the texts lose their full significance. For instance, reading in the Book of St. John, connect the dots and see what it seems to say (with this in mind). Biblical scholars know that reading the reference (center) column, between the columns of scripture reveal hidden connections between symbols, and clarify their meaning. I will follow these references to help guide the context of this exploration.
St John 14-6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me.
ref:John 10-9

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
ref:John 14-4

And wither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
John 14-16

And I will pray the father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you; and shall be in you.
ref:1John 2-27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in it.
There are many layers of interpretation of scripture, and those that have special understanding get into the deeper meanings. Thinking about what has been said at the surface level, and then looking for connections to the mushroom proposal may first understand this particular text.





Kaneh Bosm

THE HIDDEN STORY OF CANNABIS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
By Chris Bennet

Part 3 in a series on the
History of Cannabis and
Human Consciousness
________________________________________
THEN GOD SAID, I GIVE YOU EVERY SEED-BEARING
PLANT ON THE FACE OF THE WHOLE
EARTH, AND EVERY TREE THAT
HAS FRUIT IN IT."
GENESIS 1:29-30
Those words seem straightforward enough, and yet cannabis and most other psychoactive medicine plants are outlawed in our society. Those who use these plant gat eways to other states of consciousness are jailed for doing so.
Ironically, the major force for continuing this plant prohibition is a group referred to as the Christian Right. They claim to believe in both the Bible and old Yahweh, yet Yahweh's opinion on the matter is stated quite clearly in the above quotation.
This article shows how the Old Testament Prophets were none other than ancient shamans, and that cannabis and other entheogens played a very prominent role in ancient Hebrew culture.
THE ROOTS OF KANEH-BOSM
The first solid evidence of the Hebrew use of cannabis was established in 1936 by Sula Benet, a little known Polish etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw (1).
The word cannabis was generally thought to be of Scythian origin, but Benet showed that it has a much earlier origin in Semitic languages like Hebrew, and that it appears several times throughout the Old Testament. Benet explained that "in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament there are references to hemp, both as incense, which was an integral part of religious celebration, and as an intoxicant (2)."
Benet demonstrated that the word for cannabis is kaneh-bosm, also rendered in traditional Hebrew as kaneh or kannabus. The root kan in this construction means "reed" or "hemp", while bosm means "aromatic". This word appears five times in the Old Testament; in the books of Exodus, the Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
The word kaneh-bosm has been mistranslated as calamus, a common marsh plant with little monetary value that does not have the qualities or value ascribed to kaneh-bosm. The error occurred in the oldest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint in the third century BC, and was repeated in the many translations that followed (3).
THE HIDDEN STORY
When we take a chronological look at biblical references to kaneh-bosm, we reveal more than just the story of cannabis in the Old Testament. Another exciting and concealed story emerges as well, that of the suppression of the worship of Astarte, also called Ashera, known t o the ancient Semites as the Queen of Heaven.
The First Reference
to Kaneh-Bosm
MOSES & MARIJUANA
The first mention of kaneh-bosm in the Old Testament appears with the prophet-shaman Moses. At the beginning of his shamanic career, Moses discovered the angel of the Lord in flames of fire from within a bush.
It is later in his life however, that a definite reference to cannabis is made. Sula Benet explains this reference as follows:
The sacred character of hemp in biblical times is evident from Exodus 30:22-33, where Moses was instructed by God to anoint the meeting tent and all its furnishings with specially prepared oil, containing hemp.
Anointing set sacred things apart from secular. The anointment of sacred objects was an ancient tradition in Israel: holy oil was not to be used for secular purposes...
Above all, the anointing oil was used for the installation rites of all Hebrew kings and priests.
This first reference to kaneh-bosm is the only that describes it as an ointment to be applied externally. However, anointing oils made with cannabis are indeed psychoactive and have been used by such seemingly diverse groups as 19th century occultists and medieval witches (4).
Closer to Moses' own time, cannabis was used as a topical hallucinogen by the ancient worshippers of Asherah, the Queen of Heaven. Asherah has also been referred to as the Hebrew Goddess (5).
The shamanistic Ashera priestesses of pre-reformation Jerusalem mixed cannabis resins with those from myrrh, balsam, frankincense, and perfumes, and then anointed their skins with the mixture as well as burned it (6).
THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, "TAKE THE FOLLOWING FINE SPICES: 500 SHEKELS OF LIQUID MYRRH, HALF AS MUCH OF FRAGRANT CINNAMON, 250 SHEKELS OF KANNABOSM, 500 SHEKELS OF CASSIA - ALL ACCORDING TO THE SANCTUARY SHEKEL - AND A HIND OF OLIVE OIL. MAKE THESE INTO MAKE THESE INTO A SACRED ANNOITING OIL, A FRAGRANT BLEND, THE WORK OF A PERFUMER. IT WILL BE THE SACRED ANNOITING OIL.
THEN USE IT TO ANOINT THE TENT OF THE MEETING, THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY, THE TABLE AND ALL ITS ARTICLES, THE LAMPSTAND AND ITS ACCESSORIES, THE ALTAR OF INCENSE, THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING AND ALL ITS UTENSILS, AND THE BASIN WITH ITS STAND. YOU SHALL CONSECRATE THEM SO THEY WILL BE MOST HOLY, AND WHATEVER TOUCHES THEM WILL BE HOLY.
ANOINT AARON AND HIS SONS AND CONSECRATE THEM SO THEY MAY SERVE ME AS PREISTS. SAY TO THE ISRAELITES, "THIS IS TO BE MY SACRED ANOINTING OIL FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME. DO NOT POUR IT ON MEN'S BODIES AND DO NOT MAKE ANY OIL WITH THE SAME FORMULA. IT IS SACRED, AND YOU ARE TO CONSIDER IT SACRED. WHOEVER MAKES PERFUME LIKE IT AND WHOEVER PUTS IT ON ANYONE OTHER THAN A PREIST MUST BE CUT OFF FROM HIS PEOPLE."
EXODUS 30:22-33
THE PRIESTS OF POT
The above Old testament passage makes the sacredness of this ointment quite clear. Moses and the Levite priesthood jealously guarded its use, and enforced this discriminatory prohibition with God's commandment that any transgressors be 'cut off from his people'. This law amounted to a death sentence in the ancient world.
SMOKE IN THE TENT
Lacking the invention of pipes, it was the practice of some ancient peoples to burn cannabis and other herbs in tents, so that more smoke could be captured and inhaled. In the last installment of this column we discussed such a group, the ancient Scythians. The Scythians were a nomadic people who travelled and settled extensively throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, Central Asia, and Russia. They burned cannabis inside small tents and inhaled the fumes for ritualistic and recreational purposes.
Moses and his priests burned incense and used the holy ointment in a portable 'tent of meeting', the famous Tent of the Tabernacle. As cannabis is listed directly as an incense later in the Bible, it seems likely that Moses and the Levite priesthood would have burned cannabis flowers and pollen along with the ointment and incense which God commanded them to make.
AND AARON SHALL BURN INCENSE EVERY MORNING: WHEN HE DRESSETH THE LAMPS, HE SHALL BURN INCENSE UPON IT. AND WHEN AARON LIGHTETH THE LAMPS AT EVEN, HE SHALL BURN INCENSE UPON IT, A PERPETUAL INCENSE BEFORE THE LORD THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS.
EXODUS 30:8-10
THE SCYTHIAN CONNECTION
Given that the Scythians and Israelites were involved in a trade of goods and knowledge, it is not surprising to find the similar technique of using tents to retain smoke. Benet commented on the often overlooked connections between these two groups.
The Scythians participated in both trade and wars alongside the ancient Semites for at least one millennium before Herodotus encountered them in the fifth century BC. The reason for the confusion and relative obscurity of the role played by the Scythians in world history is the fact that they were known to the Greeks as Scythians but to the Semites as Ashkenaz.
The earliest reference to the Ashkenaz people appears in the Bible in Genesis 10:3, where Ashkenaz, their progenitor, is named the son of Gomer, the great-grandson of Noah.
GOD WITHIN A CLOUD
A reading of the Old Testament reveals that Yahweh "came to Moses out of the midst of the cloud" and that this cloud came from smoke produced by the burning of incense. As scholar Ralph Patai commented in his book The Hebrew Goddess, "Yahweh merely put in temporary appearances in the tent of meeting. He was a visiting deity whose appearance in or departure from the tent was used for oracular purposes."
One is reminded of the ancient Persian sage Zoroaster, another monotheist like Moses, who heard the voice of his god, Ahura Mazda, while in a state of shamanistic ecstasy produced by cannabis. The Greek oracle of Delphi also revealed her prophecies from behind a veil of intoxicating smoke.
The insights achieved from the use of cannabis, whether inhaled in the Tent of the Tabernacle or applied topically, could have been interpreted by Moses as messages from God. This is similar to modern shamans who interpret their experiences with plant hallucinogens as containing divine revelations.
CANNABIS CONCIOUSNESS
In issue #1 of CANNABIS CANADA, we discussed a book by Julian Jaynes called The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Jaynes offers an interesting explanation of how the development of consciousness may have taken place. Although he failed to fully recognize the strong role that plant-drugs may have played in the development of consciousness (7), Jaynes did come up with a most revolutionary theory.
In his book, Jaynes claims that ancient people were not as fully conscious and self-aware as modern humans. Being unable to introspect, they experienced their own higher cognitive functioning as auditory hallucinations - the voices of gods, actually heard as in the Old Testament or the Iliad - which told a person what to do in circumstances of novelty or stress.
GOD SAID TO MOSES, I AM THAT I AM. THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE TO SAY TO THE ISREALITES: 'I AM HAS SENT ME TO YOU.'
EXODUS 3:14
I AM THAT I AM
Could the commandments given by God to Moses and other Biblical prophets have been the early beginnings of full human self-awareness? Cannabis has its own unique receptor sites in the human brain, located in the areas governing higher thinking and memory. Could it be that deep interior thought grew out of language and the use of psychoactive plants like cannabis? And that the first prototypes of this ability for deep interior thinking, an ability we now take for granted, would have been considered Prophets? Would this make God's commandments any less sacred?
In light of this information, is not the above statement more believable as the birth words of Judaic consciousness, rather than as the commandment of an omnipotent God?
The Second Appearance
of Cannabis
The next Biblical account of cannabis comes under the name kaneh and appears in relation to King Solomon. In Solomon's Song of Songs, one of the most beautifully written pieces in the Old Testament, Solomon mentions kaneh in describing his bride.
COME WITH ME FROM LEBANON, MY BRIDE, COME WITH ME FROM LEBANON. DESCEND FROM THE CREST OF AMANA, FROM THE TOP OF SENIR, THE SUMMIT OF HERMON. . .
HOW DELIGHTFUL IS YOUR LOVE, MY SISTER, MY BRIDE! HOW MUCH MORE PLEASING IS YOUR LOVE THAN WINE, AND THE FRAGRANCE OF YOUR OINTMENT THAN ANY SPICE!. . .
THE FRAGRANCE OF YOUR GARMENTS IS LIKE THAT OF LEBANON. . .
YOUR PLANTS ARE AN ORCHARD OF POMEGRANATES WITH CHOICE FRUITS, WITH HENNA AND NARD, NARD AND SAFFRON, KANEH AND CINNAMON, WITH EVERY KIND OF INCENSE TREE.
SONG OF SONGS 4:8-14
THE GARDEN OF THE GODDESS
The ancients worshiped the Goddess as a nude female image, the earth they lived on and the nature around them. The fertile rays of the sun on the earth was thought of as God's fertilization of the Great Mother. In light of this symbolism, it is not surprising to find Solomon's Song to be full of both erotic and vegetative imagery (8).
In The Woman's Book of Myths and Secrets, Feminist Scholar Barbara Walker explains
the Old Testament 'Ashera' is translated 'grove', without any explanation that the sacred grove represented the Goddess, genital center, birthplace of all things. In the matriarchal period, Hebrews worshiped the Goddess in groves (1 Kings 14:23), later cut down by patriarchal reformers who burned the bones of Ashera's priests on their own altars (2 Chronicles 24:4-5).
SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN
In The Temple and the Lodge by Baigent and Leigh, the authors state that Solomon's 'Song of Songs' is a hymn and invocation to the Phoenician mother goddess Astarte. Astarte was known as "Queen of Heaven", "Star of the Sea" and "Stella Marris".
The authors show us that Astarte was conventionally worshiped on mountains and hilltops, and then point to a quote from I Kings 3:3.
SOLOMON LOVED YAHWEH; HE FOLLOWED THE PRECEPTS OF DAVID HIS FATHER, EXCEPT THAT HE OFFERED SACRIFICE AND INCENSE ON THE HIGH PLACES.
I Kings 11:4-5 offers an even more explicit example of Solomon's ties to Astarte.
WHEN SOLOMON GREW OLD HIS WIVES SWAYED HIS HEART TO OTHER GODS; AND HIS HEART WAS NOT WHOLLY WITH YAHWEH HIS GOD AS HIS FATHER DAVID'S HAD BEEN. SOLOMON BECAME A FOLLOWER OF ASTARTE, THE GODDESS OF THE SIDONIANS.
THE SPIRIT OF THE SCYTHIANS
Solomon's practice of burning incense on high to the Queen of Heaven may have been a custom done in the same spirit as that of the Scythians, who burned cannabis in mountain caves and consecrated the act to their version of the Great Goddess, Tabiti-Hestia (9).
Archeological finds show that the worship of the old Canaanite gods was an integral part of the religion of the Hebrews, through to the very end of Hebrew monarchy. The worship of the Goddess played a much more important role in this popular religion than that of the gods.
The Third Reference
to Cannabis
GOD WANTS HERB
The next direct reference to kaneh-bosm appears in Isaiah, where God is reprim anding the Israelites for, among other things, not supplying him with his due of the Holy Herb.
YOU HAVE NOT BROUGHT ANY KANEH FOR ME, OR LAVISHED ON ME THE FAT OF YOUR SACRIFICES. BUT YOU HAVE BURDENED ME WITH YOUR SINS AND WEARIED ME WITH YOUR OFFENCES.
ISAIAH 43:23-24
A HOUSEFUL OF SMOKE
An excerpt from earlier in Isaiah indicates that God's appetite had previously been appeased, and "the house was filled with smoke..."
AND THE POSTS OF THE DOOR MOVED AT THE VOICE OF HIM THAT CRIED, AND THE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH SMOKE
THEN SAID I, WOE IS ME, FOR I AM UNDONEL BECAUSE I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS, AND I DWELL IN THE MIDST OF A PEOPLE OF UNCLEAN LIPS; FOR MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE KING, THE LORD OF HOSTS.
THEN FLEW ONE OF THE SERAPHIMS UNTO ME, HAVING A LIVE COAL IN HIS HAND, WHICH HE HAD TAKEN WITH THE TONGS FROM OFF THE ALTAR,
AND HE LAID IT UPON MY MOUTH AND SAID, LO, THIS HATH TOUCHED THY LIPS; AND THYNE INIQUITY IS TAKEN AWAY, AND THY SIN PURGED.
ISAIAH 6:4-7
EATING ANGELS
In The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, Scholar John M. Allegro points out that ancient peoples believed psychoactive plants to be living gateways to other realms, and thought of them as angels. The Greek and Hebrew equivalent of the word angel literally means messenger or worker of miracles.
SHAMANS IN DISGUISE
It seems much more believable that the winged beings which appeared to Isaiah and other Biblical prophets were not actual angels (10), but rather ancient shamans, wearing elaborate costumes and enacting trance inducing rituals, all enhanced by the use of cannabis smoke and psychotropic compounds like anamita muscaria, mandrake, and others.
This type of ritual initiation was common in the ancient middle east, and often involved the use of winged costumes and masks like those the early European explorers would find the aboriginal peoples of the world still using thousands of years later.
DRINKING IN THE HOLY SMOKE
Seraphim translates as "smoke drinker," and those of us familiar with hashish know that it burns in a similar way to both incense and coal. It isn't hard to imagine an ancient shaman lifting a burning coal of hashish or pressed bud to the lips of the ancient prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah, upon having the coal lifted to his lips, had his iniquity taken away and his sins purged. This is comparable to the way in which the Hindu sadhus lift their chillums to their third eye and exclaim "Boom Shiva," an act indicating their loss of ego and oneness with Shiva.
The Fourth
Reference to
Cannabis
KANEH FROM A DISTANT LAND
The fourth appearance of cannabis in the Old Testament is in Jeremiah, by which time it seems that Yahweh's taste for the herb had declined. In the same way that God rejected Cain's offering of grain in favour of Abel's blood sacrifice, the cannabis also is rejected.
WHAT DO I CARE ABOUT INCENSE FROM SHEBA OR KANEH FROM A DISTANT LAND? YOUR BURNT OFFERINGS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE; YOUR SACRIFICES DO NOT PLEASE ME.
JERIMIAH 6: 20
The Final
Reference
to Cannabis
TRADING WITH TYRE
The final Biblical reference to kaneh appears in Ezekiel 27, in a passage called A Lament for Tyre. The kingdom of Tyre had fallen into disfavor with Yahweh, and cannabis appears as just one of many of the wares received by Tyre, the merchant of peoples on many coasts.
Both of these passages refer obliquely back to the story of King Solomon. The mention of Sheba brings to mind Solomon's love affair with the Queen of Sheba, and the King of Tyre played a pivotal role in Solomon's building of the temple.
DANITES AND GREEKS FROM UZAL BOUGHT YOUR MERCHANDISE; THEY EXCHANGED WROUGHT IRON, CASSIA AND KANEH FOR YOUR WARES.
EZEKIEL 27:19
FROM FAVOUR TO DISFAVOUR
Of these five references to kaneh and kaneh-bosm, the first three have cannabis appear in Yahweh's favour, the fourth definitely in his disfavour, and the fifth on a list from a kingdom that had fallen from grace in the eyes of the Israelite God. One might wonder at the reason for these apparent contradictions, and the answer can be found within the story of the suppression of the cult of Ashera, or Astarte, the ancient Queen of Heaven.
In The Chalice and the Blade, Riane Eisler explains this as follows:
There are of course some allusions to this in the Bible itself. The prophets Ezra, Hosea, Nehemiah, and Jeremiah constantly rail against the "abomination" of worshipping other gods. They are particularly outraged at those who still worship the "Queen of Heaven". And their greatest wrath is against the "unfaithfulness of the daughters of Jerusalem," who were understandably "backsliding" to beliefs in which all temporal and spiritual authority was not monopolized by men. But other than such occasional, and always pejorati ve, passages, there is no hint that there ever was - or could be - a deity that is not male.
The ties between cannabis and the Queen of Heaven are probably most apparent in Jeremiah 44, where the ancient patriarch seems to be concerned by the people's continuing worship of the Queen of Heaven, especially by the burning of incense in her honour.
Keep in mind the documented use of cannabis by the shamanistic Ashera priestesses of pre-reformation Jerusalem, who anointed their skins with cannabis mixtures as well as burning it as incense.
THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL; YE HAVE SEEN ALL THE EVIL THAT I HAVE BROUGHT UPON JERUSALEM, AND UPON ALL THE CITIES OF JUDAH; AND BEHOLD, THIS DAY THEY ARE A DESOLATION. . .
BECAUSE OF THEIR WICKEDNESS WHICH THEY HAVE COMMITTED TO PROVOKE ME TO ANGER, IN THAT THEY WANTED TO BURN INCENSE, AND TO SERVE OTHER GODS. . .
THEREFORE NOW. . . WHEREFORE COMMIT YE THIS GREAT EVIL AGAINST YOUR SOULS. . . IN THAT YE PROVOKE ME TO WRATH WITH THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS, BURNING INCENSE UNTO OTHER GODS IN THE LAND OF EGYPT?
THEN ALL THE MEN WHICH KNEW THAT THEIR WIVES HAD BURNED INCENSE UNTO OTHER GODS, AND ALL THE WOMEN THAT STOOD BY, A GREAT MULTITUDE, EVEN ALL THE PEOPLE THAT DWELT IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, ANSWERED JEREMIAH, SAYING,
AS FOR THE WORD THAT THOU HAST SPOKEN UNTO US IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, WE WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO THEE.
BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY DO WHATSOEVER THING GOETH FORTH OUT OF OUR OWN MOUTH, TO BURN INCENSE UNTO THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN, AND TO POUR DRINK OFFERINGS UNTO HER, AS WE HAVE DONE. WE, AND OUR FATHERS, OUR KINGS, AND OUR PRINCES, IN THE CITY OF JUDAH, AND IN THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM: FOR THEN WE HAD PLENTY OF VICTUALS, AND WERE WELL, AND SAW NO EVIL.
JEREMIAH 44:15-23

BIBLICAL PROHIBITION
Jeremiah's reference to the previous kings and princes that burned incense t o the Queen of Heaven can be seen as referring to King Solomon, his son Rehoboam, and other Biblical kings and prophets.
Other key Biblical figures in the prohibition of cannabis use and the worship of the Queen of Heaven include King Hezekiah and his great-grandson Josiah.
II Kings 18:4 reports of Hezekiah that:
HE REMOVED THE HIGH PLACES, AND BRAKE THE IMAGES, AND CUT DOWN THE ASHERAS, AND BRAKE INTO PIECES THE BRAZEN SERPENT THAT MOSES HAD MADE; FOR UNTO THOSE DAYS THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID BURN INCENSE TO IT:
AND HE CALLED IT NEHUSHTAN.
BREAKING THE SERPENT
The interesting thing about this passage is that the Ark of the covenant does not contain the ten commandments of the law of Moses, rather it holds Nehushtan, a brass serpent. The serpent is a frequent component in early representations of the goddess.
The Bible reports that the kings before Hezekiah "set up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree; And there they burnt incense in all the high places..."(1Kings 17) So did the kings who reigned after Josiah, who was killed in battle in 609 BC. According to The Columbia History of the World, Josiah's defeat seems to have been taken as proof of the error of his ways... the later prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel show polytheism back in practice."
A FORGED BOOK OF LAW
The Book of the Law, which makes up most of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, was used to prohibit the worship of the Goddess and instill the death penalty for the burning of incense. Although it was supposedly written by Moses, it was not discovered until some 600 years after Moses' death.
In Green Gold, Judy Osburn follows the suggestion that the Book of the Law may have been a forgery committed by the Hebrew priesthood with the hope of eradicating the competing temples and their deities, which were getting more sacrifices from the people than was the temple of Yahweh.
Osburn quotes Occidental Mythology by theologian Joseph Campbell, as stating that, before the discovery of the Book of the Law,
neither kings nor people had paid attention whatsoever to the law of Moses which, indeed, they had not even known. They had been devoted to the normal deities of the nuclear Near east, with all the usual cults...
Up until that time the Hebrew people worshiped in the old ways, practicing their cult in open places on peaks and hills and mountains, and even caves below.
The mysterious discovery of the Book of the Law took place during the reign of King Josiah. Once informed of the new regulations, Josiah's wrath against the incense burners was far harsher than that of his great-grandfather Hezekiah. The Bible describes his actions as follows.
AND THE KING COMMANDED HILKIAH THE HIGH PREIST. . . TO BRING FORTH OUT OF THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD ALL THE VESSELS THAT WERE MADE FOR BAAL AND FOR ASHERAH, AND FOR ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN: AND HE BIRNED THEM OUTSIDE JERUSALEM IN THE FIELDS OF KIDRON. . .
AND HE PUT DOWN THE IDOLATROUS PRIESTS, WHOM THE KINGS OF JUDAH HAD ORDAINED TO BURN INCENSE IN THE HIGH PLACES IN THE CITIES OF JUDAH, AND IN THE PLACES ROUND ABOUT JERUSALEM; THEM ALSO THAT BURNED INCENSE UNTO BAAL, TO THE SUN, AND TO THE MOON, AND TO THE PLANETS, AND TO ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN.
AND HE BROUGHT OUT THE ASHERAH FROM THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, OUTSIDE JERUSALEM. . . AND BURNED IT AT THE BROOK KIDRON, AND STAMPED IT SMALL TO POWDER. . . AND HE BROUGHT ALL THE PRIESTS OUT OF THE CITIES OF JERUSALEM, AND DEFILED THE HIGH PLACES WHERE THE PRIESTS HAD BURNED INCENSE. . .
AND THE HIGH PLACES THAT WERE BEFORE JERUSALEM. . . WHICH SOLOMON THE KING OF ISRAEL HAD BUILDED FOR ASHTORETH THE ABOMINATION OF THE ZIDONIANS. . . DID THE KING DEFILE. AND HE BRAKE IN PIECES THE IMAGES, AND CUT DOWN THE GROVES, AND FILLED THEIR PLACES WITH THE BONES OF MEN.
AND HE SLEW ALL THE PRIESTS OF THE HIGH PLACES THAT WERE UPON THE ALTARS, AND BURNED MEN'S BONES UPON THEM, AND RETURNED TO JERUSALEM. . .
AND LIKE UNTO HIM WAS THERE NO KING BEFORE HIM, THAT TURNED TO THE LORD WITH ALL HIS HEART, AND WITH ALL HIS SOUL, AND WITH ALL HIS MIGHT, ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF MOSESL NEITHER AFTER HIM AROSE THERE ANY LIKE HIM.
2 KINGS 23

SEPERATION FROM THE SHEKINAH
The Goddess returned to the Hebrew faith somewhat later in a form of Jewish mysticism called the Cabala. This teaches that the Shekinah is the female soul of God, who couldn't be perfect until he was reunited with her. Cabalists believed that it was God's loss of his Shekinah that brought about all evils. In some traditions the Shekinah is seen as the pillar of smoke that guided the wandering nation of Israel during its Exodus from Egypt.
THE RETURN OF THE GODDESS
Our separation from the ancient Goddess and the denial of her ecstasies could well be seen as the root cause of humanity's separation from nature, both our own and that of the world around us. Perhaps the Goddess' ancient spirit won't fully be restored until her children begin to respect and heal her abused body the Earth, return to her sacred groves in dance and worship, and are free to once again burn the holy incense of kaneh-bosm in her honor and praise.
It would seem that the spirit of Ashera's ancient incense burners has returned, in the form of the modern-day smoke-in. Once again people of all ages, races, and creeds are gathering together illegally, to celebrate the many benefits and uses of the sacred tree, and to burn holy incense in protest, as did the defiant crowd before Jeremiah so long ago.
CANNABIS AND THE CHRIST?
But what of the Bible's new Testament? Was Jesus a secret imbiber of the herb, or did he continue on with the harsh prohibition of cannabis, instituted with the zeal of Hezekiah, Josiah and Jeremiah? For the answer to those questions, you'll have to order a copy of Green Gold, or wait for a distant installment of When Smoke gets in my I.
BOOM SHIVA! BOOM SHAKTI!
HARI HARI GUNJA!

________________________________________
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler; Harper Row; 1987.
Early Diffusions and Folk Uses of Hemp by Sula Benet; Reprinted in Cannabis and Culture edited by Vera Rubin; Mouton; 1975.
Flesh of the Gods edited by P T Furst; Praeger; 1972.
Green Gold the Tree of Life; Marijuana in Magic and Religion by Chris Bennet, Judy Osburne, & Lynn Osburne; Access Unlimited; 1995.
The Hebrew Goddess by Raphael Patai; Avon Books; 1967.
Marihuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years by Ernest Abel; Plenum Press; 1980.
Marijuana and the Bible edited by Jeff Brown; The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church; 1981.
Occidental Mythology by Joseph Campbell; Penguin Books; 1982.
The Origins of Consciousness in the Break down of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes; Houghton Mifflin Company; 1976.
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross by John M. Allegro; Double day; 1969.
Techniques of High Magic, by King and Skinner; Destiny Books; 1976.
The Temple and the Lodge by Baignet and Leigh; Corgy Books; 1989.
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker; Harper Collins; 1983.




This Assyrian clay tablet (now located in the British Museum of London) may well be the earliest written prescription for Medical Marihuana still known to be in existence. It is dated at around 650 BC. - (Photos courtesy British Museum of London)
Why You Should Smoke More Pot
The average lifespan in the United States is 76 for a man and 78 for a woman. But if you smoke pot morning, noon and night, you will live an average of two years longer than if you don’t. People who smoke pot but don’t smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol will live approximately 8 to 24 years longer than those who do smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. This was proven in studies done by Dr. Vera Ruben on Rastafarians in Jamaica from 1968 to 1974. The Rastafarians lived up in the hills and were the poorest people in Jamaica. Everyone expected them to have the shortest lives but instead they had the longest lives. They smoked pot morning, noon and night. This study cost $6,000,000.00 and was an extremely comprehensive study. If the same study was done today it would cost approximately $125,000,000.00.
In 1979 and 1980, the National Institute of Science did studies on Rastafarians in Costa Rica that proved the same results. There were only 100 copies of this study released to researchers who were working for the government. The only reason we have the results of this study is because someone managed to leak a copy to NORML in 1981.
Between 1968 and 1975, there were about 10,000 marijuana studies done all over the world, but mostly in American universities and colleges. Approximately 4,000 of the studies were universal health studies. Almost all of them proved marijuana to be beneficial in every way. The few that were unfavorable were never proven by a second study.
In 1974 and 1975, Dr. Donald Tashkin did research to prove marijuana was harmful to the lungs. He was the head of pulmonary research on marijuana at UCLA Hospital. He predicted that more people would develop lung cancer from smoking marijuana than from smoking tobacco. Dr. Tashkin was 100 percent positive that all of the studies about marijuana would come out negative in his lung research. He had the only study in the whole country from 1975 to 1999. After 1975 there was no more funding for positive marijuana studies of any type by the U.S. Government for any reason whatsoever. Only a negative study could get funding from the U.S. Government and Dr. Tashkin had almost all of it. I came out against Dr. Tashkin in 1979.
In 1981, I was approached by Dr. Tashkin to take part in his study. I was protesting the marijuana laws on the front lawn of the Federal Building, 500 yards away from the UCLA Hospital and University on Wilshire Boulevard. I signed up (along with about 50 other pot protesters) for Dr. Tashkin’s study because all of the UCLA students refused to participate in his study after Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981. Dr. Tashkin saw us pot protesters every day at the Federal Building for 102 days. We weren’t college students and we smoked pot morning, noon and night.
Once or twice a year I would have interviews with Dr. Tashkin. I told him about the positive effects of marijuana. We disagreed 100 percent and he was sure I was wrong. This was a long term study. I was paid $80.00 to $90.00 for each test from 1981 to the mid 1990s. Once or twice a year I would go smoke marijuana to get the pulmonary lung studies done and I would interview Dr. Tashkin as part of my research for my book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes". I told Dr. Tashkin from 1981 to 1997 that no one gets lung cancer or any other type of cancer from marijuana because Dr. Vera Ruben and Dr. Todd Mikuriya had already each separately proven it. I had been doing research for my book since the early 1970s.
Now Dr. Tashkin has come out and is saying the same things I said to him 25 years ago. There is no link between marijuana and lung cancer or any other type of cancer. In fact, Dr. Tashkin has found that marijuana, by killing off old cells that could become cancerous, can actually prevent cancer.
If you want to live longer, smoke more pot.
Jack Herer
July 4, 2006



Cannabis Sativa L.
Also known as: Hemp, cannabis hemp, Indian (India) hemp, true hemp, muggles, weed, pot, marijuana, reefer, grass, ganja, bhang, "the kind," dagga, herb, etc., all names for exactly the same plant!
What's in a Name? (U.S. Geography)
HEMPstead, Long Island; HEMPstead County, Arkansas; HEMPstead, Texas; HEMPhill, North Carolina; HEMPfield, Pennsylvania, among others, were named after cannabis growing regions, or after family names derived from hemp growing.
American Historical Notes
In 1619, America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, "ordering" all farmers to "make tryal of" (grow) Indian hempseed. More mandatory (must-grow) hemp cultivation laws were enacted in Massachusetts in 1631, in Connecticut in 1632 and in the Chesapeake Colonies into the mid-1700s.
Even in England, the much-sought-after prize of full British citizenship was bestowed by a decree of the crown on foreigners who would grow cannabis, and fines were often levied against those who refused.
Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s. Why? To encourage American farmers to grow more.1
You could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for over 200 years.2
You could even be jailed in America for not growing cannabis during several periods of shortage, e.g., in Virginia between 1763 and 1767. (Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; The Chesapeake Colonies, 1954; L.A.Times, August 12, 1981; et al.)
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations. Jefferson,3 while envoy to France, went to great expense - and even considerable risk to himself and his secret agents - to procure particularly good hempseeds smuggled illegally into Turkey from China. The Chinese Mandarins (political rulers) so valued their hempseed that they made its exportation a capital offense.
The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations"* (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Most of these plantations were located in the South or in the border states, primarily because of the cheap slave labor available prior to 1865 for the labor-intensive hemp industry.
(U.S. Census, 1850; Allen, James Lane, The Reign of Law, A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, MacMillan Co., NY, 1900; Roffman, Roger, Ph.D. Marijuana as Medicine, Mendrone Books, WA, 1982.)
*This figure does not include the tens of thousands of smaller farms growing cannabis, nor the hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of family hemp patches in America; nor does it take into account that well into this century 80 percent of America's hemp consumption for 200 years still had to be imported from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland, etc.
Benjamin Franklin started one of America's first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify the need for paper and books from England.
In addition, various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second and third most prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. It's medicinal use continued legally through the 1930s for humans and figured even more prominently in American and world veterinary medicines during this time.
Cannabis extract medicines were produced by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, Brothers Smith (Smith Brothers), Squibb and many other American and European companies and apothecaries. During all that time there was not one reported death from cannabis extract medicines, and virtually no abuse or mental disorders reported, except for first-time or novice users occasionally becoming disoriented or overly introverted.
(Mikuriya, Tod, M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, Medi-Comp Press, CA; Cohen, Sidney & Stillman, Richard, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, NY, 1976.)
World Historical Notes
"The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, which began to be worked in the eighth millennium (8,000 - 7,000 B.C.)"
(The Columbia History of the World, 1981, page 54.)
The body of literature (i.e., archaeology, anthropology, philology, economy, history) pertaining to hemp is in general agreement that, at the very least:
From more than 1,000 years before the time of Christ until 1883 A.D., cannabis hemp - indeed, marijuana - was our planet's largest agricultural crop and most important industry, involving thousands of products and enterprises; producing the overall majority of Earth's fiber, fabric, lighting oil, paper, incense and medicines. In addition, it was a primary source of essential food oil and protein for humans and animals.
According to virtually every anthropologist and university in the world, marijuana was also used in most of our religions and cults as one of the seven or so most widely used mood-, mind-, or pain-altering drugs when taken as psychotropic, psychedelic (mind-manifesting or -expanding) sacraments.
Almost without exception, these sacred (drug) experiences inspired our superstitions, amulets, talismans, religions, prayers, and language codes.
(See chapter 10 on "Religions and Magic.")
(Wasson, R., Gordon, Soma, Divine Mushroom of Immortality; Allegro, J.M., Sacred Mushroom & the Cross, Doubleday, NY, 1969; Pliny; Josephus; Herodotus; Dead Sea Scrolls; Gnostic Gospels; the Bible; Ginsberg Legends Kaballah, c. 1860; Paracelsus; British Museum; Budge; Ency. Britannica, "Pharmacological Cults;" Schultes & Wasson, Plants of the Gods, Research of R.E. Schultes, Harvard Botanical Dept.; Wm EmBoden, Cal State U., Northridge; et al.)
Great Wars were Fought to Ensure the Availability of Hemp
For example, the primary reason for the War of 1812 (fought by America against Great Britain) was access to Russian cannabis hemp. Russian hemp was also the principal reason that Napoleon (our 1812 ally) and his "Continental Systems" allies invaded Russia in 1812. (See Chapter 12, "The (Hemp) War of 1812 and Napolean Invades Russia.")
In 1942, after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines cut off the supply of Manila (Abaca) hemp, the U.S. Government distributed 400,000 pounds of cannabis seeds to American farmers from Wisconsin to Kentucky, who produced 42,000 tons of hemp fiber annually until 1946 when the war ended.
Why Has Cannabis Hemp/Marijuana Been So Important in History?
Because cannabis hemp is, overall, the strongest, most-durable, longest-lasting natural soft-fiber on the planet. Its leaves and flower tops (marijuana) were - depending on the culture - the first, second or third most important and most used medicines for two-thirds of the world's people for at least 3,000 years, until the turn of the century.
Botanically, hemp is a member of the most advanced plant family on Earth. It is a dioecious (having male, female and sometimes hermaphroditic - male and female on the same plant), woody, herbaceous annual that uses the sun more efficiently than virtually any other plant on our planet, reaching a robust 12 to 20 feet or more in one short growing season. It can be grown in virtually any climate or soil condition on Earth, even marginal ones.
Hemp is, by far, Earth's premier, renewable natural resource. This is why hemp is so very important.
If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation;
Then there is only one known annual renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world's paper and textiles; meeting all of the world's transportation, industrial and home energy needs; simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time...
And that substance is - the same one that did it all before -
Cannabis Hemp...Marijuana!
Ships and Sailors
Ninety percent* of all ships' sails (since before the Phoenicians, from at least the 5th Century B.C. until long after the invention and commercialization of steam ships (mid to late19th century) were made from hemp.
*The other 10% were usually flax or minor fibers like ramie, sisal, jute, abaca.
(Abel, Ernest, Marijuana: The First 12,000 Years, Plenum Press, 1980; Herodotus, Histories, 5th Century B.C.; Frazier, Jack, The Marijuana Farmers, 1972; U.S. Agricultural Index, 1916-1982; USDA film, Hemp for Victory, 1942.)
The word "canvas" is the Dutch pronunciation (twice removed, from French and Latin) of the Greek word "Kannabis."*
*Kannabis - of the (Hellenized) Mediterranean Basin Greek language, derived from the Persian and earlier Northern Semitics (Quanuba, Kanabosm, Cana?, Kanah?) which scholars have now traced back to the dawn of the 6,000-year-old Indo-Semitic-European language family base of the Sumerians and Accadians. The early Sumerian/Babylonian word K(a)N(a)B(a), or Q(a)N(a)B(a) is one of man's longest surviving root words.1 (KN means cane and B means two - two reeds or two sexes.)
In addition to canvas sails, until this century virtually all of the rigging, anchor ropes, cargo nets, fishing nets, flags, shrouds, and oakum (the main protection for ships against salt water, used as a sealant between loose or green beams) were made from the stalk of the marijuana plant.
Even the sailors' clothing, right down to the stitching in the seamen's rope-soled and (sometimes) "canvas" shoes, was crafted from cannabis.*
*An average cargo, clipper, whaler, or naval ship of the line, in the 16th, 17th, 18th, or 19th centuries carried 50 to 100 tons of cannabis hemp rigging, not to mention the sails, nets, etc., and needed it all replaced every year or two, due to salt rot. (Ask the U.S. Naval Academy, or see the construction of the USS Constitution, a.k.a. "Old Ironsides," Boston Harbor.)
(Abel, Ernest, Marijuana, The First 12,000 Years, Plenum Press, 1980; Ency. Brittanica; Magoun, Alexander, The Frigate Constitution, 1928; USDA film Hemp for Victory, 1942.)
Additionally, the ships' charts, maps, logs, and Bibles were made from paper containing hemp fiber from the time of Columbus (15th Century) until the early 1900s in the Western European/American World, and by the Chinese from the 1st Century A.D. on. Hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most preparations of papyrus, and was a hundred times easier and cheaper to make.
Incredibly, it cost more for a ship's hempen sails, ropes, etc. than it did to build the wooden parts.
Nor was hemp restricted to the briny deep...
Textiles & Fabrics
Until the 1820s in America (and until the 20th Century in most of the rest of the world), 80% of all textiles and fabrics used for clothing, tents, bed sheets and linens,* rugs, drapes, quilts, towels, diapers, etc. - and even our flag, "Old Glory," were principally made from fibers of cannabis.
For hundreds, if not thousands of years (until the 1830s), Ireland made the finest linens and Italy made the world's finest cloth for clothing with hemp.
*The 1893-1910 editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica indicate - and in 1938, Popular Mechanics estimated - that at least half of all the material that has been called linen was not made from flax, but from cannabis. Herodotus (c. 450 B.C.) describes the hempen garments made by the Thracians as equal to linen in fineness and that "none but a very experienced person could tell whether they were of hemp or flax."
Although these facts have been almost forgotten, our forebears were well aware that hemp is softer than cotton, more water absorbent than cotton, has three times the tensile strength of cotton and is many times more durable than cotton.
In fact, when the patriotic, real-life, 1776 mothers of our present day blue-blood "Daughters of the American Revolution" (the DAR of Boston and New England organized "spinning bees" to clothe Washington's soldiers, the majority of the thread was spun from hemp fibers. Were it not for the historically forgotten (or censored) and currently disparaged marijuana plant, the Continental Army would have frozen to death at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
The common use of hemp in the economy of the early republic was important enough to occupy the time and thoughts of our first U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in a Treasury notice from the 1790s, "Flax and Hemp: Manufacturers of these articles have so much affinity to each other, and they are so often blended, that they may with advantage be considered in conjunction. Sailcloth should have 10% duty..."
(Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; DAR histories; Able Ernest, Marijuana, the First 12,000 Years; also see the 1985 film Revolution with Al Pacino.)
The covered wagons went west (to Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Oregon, and California*) covered with sturdy hemp canvas tarpaulins,2 while ships sailed around the "Horn" to San Francisco on hemp sails and ropes.
*The original, heavy-duty, famous Levi pants were made for the California '49ers out of hempen sailcloth and rivets. This way the pockets wouldn't rip when filled with gold panned from the sediment.3
Homespun cloth was almost always spun, by people all over the world, from fibers grown in the "family hemp patch." In America, this tradition lasted from the Pilgrims (1620s) until hemp's prohibition in the 1930s.*
*In the 1930s, Congress was told by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics that many Polish-Americans still grew pot in their backyards to make their winter "long johns" and work clothes, and greeted the agents with a shotguns for stealing their next year's clothes.
The age and density of the hemp patch influences fiber quality. If a farmer wanted soft linen-quality fibers he would plant his cannabis close together.
As a rule of thumb, if you plant for medical or recreational use, you plant one seed per five square yards. When planted for seed, four to five feet apart.
(Univ. of Kentucky Agricultural. Ext. leaflet, March 1943.)
One-hundred-twenty to 180 seeds to the square yard are planted for rough cordage or course cloth. Finest linen or lace is grown up to 400 plants to the square yard and harvested between 80 to 100 days.
(Farm Crop Reports, USDA international abstracts. CIBA Review 1961-62 Luigi Castellini, Milan Italy.)
By the late 1820s, the new American hand cotton gins (invented by Eli Whitney in 1793) were largely replaced by European-made "industrial" looms and cotton gins ("gin" is short for engine), because of Europe's primary equipment-machinery-technology (tool and die making) lead over America. Fifty percent of all chemicals used in American agriculture today are used in cotton growing. Hemp needs no chemicals and has few weed or insect enemies - except for the U.S.government and the DEA.
For the first time, light cotton clothing could be produced at less cost than hand retting (rotting) and hand separating hemp fibers to be handspun on spinning wheels and jennys.4
However, because of its strength, softness, warmth and long-lasting qualities, hemp continued to be the second most-used natural fiber* until the 1930s.
*In case you're wondering, there is no THC or "high" in hemp fiber. That's right, you can't smoke your shirt! In fact, attempting to smoke hemp fabric - or any fabric, for that matter - could be fatal!
After the 1937 Marijuana Tax law, new DuPont "plastic fibers," under license since 1936 from the German company I.G. Farben (patent surrenders were part of Germany's World War I reparation payments to America), replaced natural hempen fibers. (Some 30% of I.G. Farben, under Hitler, was owned and financed by America's DuPont.) DuPont also introduced Nylon (invented in 1935) to the market after they'd patented it in 1938.
(Colby, Jerry, DuPont Dynasties, Lyle Stewart, 1984.)
Finally, it must be noted that approximately 50% of all chemicals used in American agriculture today are used in cotton growing. Hemp needs no chemicals and has few weed or insect enemies - except for the U.S. government and the DEA.
(Cavendar, Jim, Professor of Botany, Ohio University, "Authorities Examine Pot Claims," Athens News, November 16, 1989.)
Fiber & Pulp Paper
Until 1883, from 75-90% of all paper in the world was made with cannabis hemp fiber including that for books, Bibles, maps, paper money, stocks and bonds, newspapers, etc. The Gutenberg Bible (in the 15th Century); Pantagruel and the Herb pantagruelion, Rabelais (16th Century); King James Bible (17th Century); the works of Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Mark Twain, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas; Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" (19th Century); and just about everything else was printed on hemp paper.
The first draft of the Declaration of Independence (June 28, 1776) was written on Dutch (hemp) paper, as was the second draft completed on July 2, 1776. This was the document actually agreed to on that day and announced and released on July 4, 1776. On July 19, 1776, Congress ordered the Declaration be copied and engrossed on parchment (a prepared animal skin) and this was the document actually signed by the delegates on August 2, 1776. Hemp paper lasted 50 to 100 times longer than most preparations of papyrus, and was a hundred times easier and cheaper to make.
What we (the colonial Americans) and the rest of the world used to make all our paper from was the discarded sails and ropes by ship owners as scrap for recycling into paper.
The rest of our paper came from our worn-out clothes, sheets, diapers, curtains and rags* sold to scrap dealers made primarily from hemp and sometimes flax.
*Hence the term "rag paper."
Our ancestors were too thrifty to just throw anything away so, until the 1880s, any remaining scraps and clothes were mixed together and recycled into paper.
Rag paper, containing hemp fiber, is the highest quality and longest lasting paper ever made. It can be torn when wet, but returns to its full strength when dry. Barring extreme conditions, rag paper remains stable for centuries. It will almost never wear out. Many U.S. government papers were written, by law, on hempen "rag paper" until the 1920s.5
It is generally believed by scholars that the early Chinese knowledge, or art, of hemp paper making (1st Century A.D. - 800 years before Islam discovered how, and 1,200 to 1,400 years before Europe) was one of the two chief reasons that Oriental knowledge and science were vastly superior to that of the West for 1,400 years. Thus, the art of long-lasting hemp papermaking allowed the Orientals' accumulated knowledge to be passed on, built upon, investigated, refined, challenged and changed, for generation after generation (in other words, cumulative and comprehensive scholarship).
The other reason that Oriental knowledge and science sustained superiority to that of the West for 1,400 years was that the Roman Catholic Church forbade reading and writing for 95% of Europe's people; in addition, they burned, hunted down, or prohibited all foreign or domestic books - including their own Bible! - for over 1,200 years under the penalty and often-used punishment of death. Hence, many historians term this period "The Dark Ages" (476 A.D. - 1000 A.D., or even until the Renaissance). (See Chapter 10 on Sociology.)
Rope, Twine & Cordage
Virtually every city and town (from time out of mind) in the world had an industry making hemp rope.6 Russia, however, was the world's largest producer and best-quality manufacturer, supplying 80 percent of the Western world's hemp from 1740 until 1940.
Thomas Paine outlined four essential natural resources for the new nation in Common Sense (1776); "cordage, iron, timber and tar."
Chief among these was hemp for cordage. He wrote, "Hemp flourishes even to rankness, we do not want for cordage." Then he went on to list the other essentials necessary for war with the British navy; cannons, gunpowder, etc.
From 70-90% of all rope, twine, and cordage was made from hemp until 1937. It was then replaced mostly by petrochemical fibers (owned principally by DuPont under license from Germany's I.G. Corporation patents) and by Manila (Abaca) Hemp, with steel cables often intertwined for strength - brought in from our "new" far-western Pacific Philippines possession, seized from Spain as reparation for the Spanish American War in 1898.
Art Canvas
Hemp is the perfect archival medium. 7
The paintings of Van Gogh, Gainsborough, Rembrandt, etc., were primarily painted on hemp canvas, as were practically all canvas paintings.
A strong, lustrous fiber, hemp withstands heat, mildew, insects and is not damaged by light. Oil paintings on hemp and/or flax canvas have stayed in fine condition for centuries.
Paints & Varnishes
For thousands of years, virtually all good paints and varnishes were made with hempseed oil and/or linseed oil.
For instance, in 1935 alone, 116 million pounds (58,000) tons*) of hempseed were used in America just for paint and varnish. The hemp drying oil business went principally to DuPont petrochemicals.8
*National Institute of Oilseed Products congressional testimony against the 1937 Marijuana Transfer Tax Law. As a comparison, consider that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with all America's state and local police agencies, claim to have seized for all of 1996, 700+ tons of American-grown marijuana; seed, plant, root, dirt clum and all. Even the DEA itself admits that 94 to 97 percent of all marijuana/hemp plants that have been seized and destroyed since the 1960s were growing completely wild and could not have been smoked as marijuana.
Congress and the Treasury Department were assured through secret testimony given by DuPont in 1935-37 directly to Herman Oliphant, Chief Counsel for the Treasury Dept., that hempseed oil could be replaced with synthetic petrochemical oils made principally by DuPont.
Oliphant was solely responsible for drafting the Marijuana Tax Act that was submitted to Congress.9 (See complete story in Chapter 4, "The Last Days of Legal Cannabis.")
Lighting Oil
Until about 1800, hempseed oil was the most consumed lighting oil in America and the world. From then until the 1870s, it was the second most consumed lighting oil, exceeded only by whale oil.
Hempseed oil lit the lamps of legendary Aladdin, Abraham the prohet, and in real life, Abraham Lincoln. It was the brightest lamp oil.
Hempseed oil for lamps was replaced by petroleum, kerosene, etc., after the 1859 Pennsylvania oil discovery and John D. Rockefeller's 1870-on national petroleum stewardship. (See Chapter 9, "Economics.")
In fact, the celebrated botanist Luther Burbank stated, "The seed [of cannabis] is prized in other countries for its oil, and its neglect here illustrates the same wasteful use of our agricultural resources."
(Burbank, Luther, How Plants Are Trained To Work For Man, Useful Plants, P.F. Collier & Son Co., NY, Vol. 6, pg. 48.)
Biomass Energy
In the early 1900s, Henry Ford and other futuristic, organic, engineering geniuses recognized (as their intellectual, scientific heirs still do today) an important point - that up to 90% of all fossil fuel used inthe world today (coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) should long ago have been replaced with biomass such as: cornstalks, cannabis, waste paper and the like.
Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol or gasoline at a fraction of the current cost of oil, coal, or nuclear energy - especially when environmental costs are factored in - and its mandated use would end acid rain, end sulfur-based smog, and reverse the Greenhouse Effect on our planet - right now!*
*Government and oil and coal companies, etc., will insist that burning biomass fuels is no better than using up our fossil fuel reserves, as far as pollution goes; but this is patently untrue.
Why? Because, unlike fossil fuels, biomass comes from living (not extinct) plants that continue to remove carbon dioxide pollution from our atmosphere as they grow, through photosynthesis. Furthermore, biomass fuels do not contain sulfur.
This can be accomplished if hemp is grown for biomass and then converted through pyrolysis (charcoalizing) or biochemical composting into fuels to replace fossil fuel energy products.*
*Remarkably, when considered on a planet-wide, climate-wide, soil-wide basis, cannabis is at least four and possibly many more times richer in sustainable, renewable biomass/cellulose potential than its nearest rivals on the planet - cornstalks, sugarcane, kenaf trees, ect. (Solar Gas, 1980; Omni, 1983; Cornell University; Science Digest, 1983; etc.).
Also see Chapter 9, "Economics."
One product of pyrolysis, methanol, is used today by most race cars and was used by American farmers and auto drivers routinely with petroleum/methanol options starting in the 1920s, through the 1930s, and even into the mid-1940s to run tens of thousands of auto, farm and military vehicles until the end of World War II.
Methanol can even be converted to a high-octaine lead-free gasoline using a catalytic process developed by Georgia Tech University in conjunction with Mobil Oil Corporation.
Medicine
From 1842 through the 1890s, extremely strong marijuana (then known as cannabis extractums) and hashish extracts, tinctures and elixirs were routinely the second and third most-used medicines in America for humans (from birth, through childhood, to old age) and in veterinary medicine until the 1920s and longer.
(See Chapter 6, "Medicine," and Chapter 13, "19th Century.")
As stated earlier, for at least 3,000 years, prior to 1842, widely varying marijuana extracts (buds, leaves, roots, etc.) were the most commonly used and widely accepted majority of mankind's illnesses.
However, in Western Europe, the Roman Catholic Church forbade use of cannabis or any medical treatment, except for alcohol or blood letting, for 1200-plus years.
(See Chapter 10, "Sociology.")
The U.S. Pharmacopoeia indicated that cannabis should be used for treating such ailments as fatigue, fits of coughing, rheumatism, asthma, delirium tremens, migraine headaches and the cramps and depressions associated with menstruation. (Professor William EmBoden, Professor of Narcotic Botany, California State University, Northridge.)
Queen Victoria used cannabis resins for her menstrual cramps and PMS, and her reign (1837-1901) paralleled the enormous growth of the use of Indian cannabis medicine in the English-speaking world.
In this century, cannabis research has demonstrated therapeutic value - and complete safety - in the treatment of many health problems including asthma, glaucoma, nausea, tumors, epilepsy, infection, stress, migraines, anorexia, depression, rheumatism, arthritis and possible herpes.
(See Chapter 7, "Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis.")
Food Oils & Protein
Hempseed was regularly used in porridge, soups, and gruels by virtually all the people of the world up until this century. Monks were required to eat hempseeed dishes three times a day, to weave their clothes with it and to print their Bibles on paper made with its fiber.
(See Rubin, Dr. Vera, "Research Institute for the Study of Man;" Eastern Orthodox Church; Cohen & Stillman, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, 1976; Abel, Ernest, Marijuana, The First 12,000 Years, Plenum Press, NY, 1980; Encyclopedia Brittanica.)
Hempseed can be pressed for its highly nutritious vegetable oil, which contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids in trhe plant kingdom. These essential oils are responsible for our immune responses and clear the arteries of cholesterol and plaque.
The byproduct of pressing the oil from the seed is the highest quality protein seed cake. It can be sprouted (malted) or ground and baked into cakes, breads and casseroles. Marijuana seed protein is one of mankind's finest, most complete and available-to-the-body vegetable proteins. Hempseed is the most complete single food source for human nutrition.
(See discussion of edistins and essential fatty acids, Chapter 8.)
Hempseed was - until the 1937 prohibition law - the world's number-one bird seed, for both wild and domestic birds. It was their favorite* of any seed food on the planet; four million pounds of hempseed for songbirds were sold at retail in the U.S. in 1937. Birds will pick hempseeds out and eat them first from a pile of mixed seed. Birds in the world live longer and breed more with hempseed in their diet, using the oil for their feathers and their overal health. (More in Chapter 8, "Hemp as a Basic World Food.")
*Congressional testimony, 1937; "Song birds won't sing without it," the bird food companies told Congress. Result; sterilized cannabis seeds continue to be imported into the U.S. from Italy, China and other countries.
Hempseed produces no observable high for humans or birds. Only the most minute traces of THC are in the seed. Hempseed is also the favorite fish bait in Europe. Anglers buy pecks of hempseed at bait stores for chumming (casting the hempseeds on the water), causing the fish to scramble from all over to get the seeds, thereby getting caught. Hempseed is the favorite of fish, as well as most birds.
(Jack Herer's personal research in Europe.) (Frazier, Jack, The Marijuana Farmers, Solar Age Press, New Orleans, LA, 1972)
Building Materials & Housing
Because one acre of hemp produces as much cellulose fiber pulp as 4.1 acres of trees,* hemp is the perfect material to replace trees for pressed board, particle board and for concrete construction molds.
*Dewey & Merrill, Bulletin #404, United States Dept. of Agriculture, 1916.
Practical, inexpensive fire-resistant construction material, with excellent thermal and sound-insulating qualities, is made by heating and compressing plant fibers to creat strong construction paneling, replacing dry wall and plywood. William B. Conde of Conde's Redwood Lumber, Inc. near Eugene, Oregon, in conjunction with Washington State University (1991-1993), has demonstrated the superior strength, flexibility, and economy of hemp composite building materials compared to wood fiber, even as beams.
Isochanvre, a rediscovered French building material made from hemp hurds mixed with lime, actually petrifies into a mineral state and lasts for many centuries. Archeologists have found a bridge in the south of France, from the Merovingian period (500-751 A.D.), built with this process.
(See Chenevotte habitat of Rene, France in Appendix I.)
Hemp has been used throughout history for carpet backing. Hemp fiber has potential in the manufacture of strong, rot resistant carpeting - eliminating the poisonous fumes of burning synthetic materials in a house or commercial fire, along with allergic reactions associated with new synthetic carpeting.
Plastic plumbing pipe (PVC pipes) can be manufactured using renewable hemp cellulose as the chemical feedstocks, replacing non-renewable coal or petroleum-based chemical feedstocks.
So we can envision a house of the future built, plumbed, painted and furnished with the world's number-one renewable resource - hemp.
Smoking, Leisure & Creativity
The American Declaration of Independence recognizes the "inalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Subseuqent court decisions have inferred the rights to privacy and choice from this, the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments.
Many artists and writers have used cannabis for creative stimulation - from the writers of the world's religious masterpieces to our most irreverent satirists. These include Lewis Carroll and his hookah- smoking caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, plus Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas; such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Gene Krupa; and the pattern continues right up to modern-day artists and musicians such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Bob Marley, Jefferson Airplane, Willie Nelson, Buddy RIch, Country Joe & the Fish, Joe Walsh, David Carradine, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lola Falana, Hunter S. Thompson, Peter Tosh, the Grateful Dead, Cypress Hill, Sinead O'Connor, Black Crowes, etc.
Of course, smoking marijuana only enhances creativity for some and not for others.
But throughout history, various prohibition and "temperance" groups have attempted and ocasionaly suceeded in banning the preferred relaxational substances of others, like alcohol, tobacco or cannabis.
Abraham Lincoln responded to this kind of repressive mentality in December, 1840, when he said:
"Prohibition . . . goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes . . . A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."
Economic Stability, Profit & Free Trade
We believe that in a competitive market, with all facts known, people will rush to buy long-lasting, biodegradable "Pot Tops" or "Mary Jeans," etc., made from a plant without pesticides or herbicides. Some of the companies who have led the way with these products are Ecolution, Hempstead, Marie Mills, Ohio Hempery, Two Star Dog, Headcase, and in Germany, HanfHaus, et al.
It's time we put capitalism to the test and let the unrestricted market of supply and demand as well as "Green" ecologically consciousness decide the future of the planet.
A cotton shirt in 1776 cost $100 to $200, while a hemp shirt cost 50 cents to $1. By the 1830s, cooler, lighter cotton shirts were on par in price with the warmer, heavier, hempen shirts, providing a competitive choice.
People were able to choose their garments based upon the particular qualities they wanted in a fabric. Today we have no such choice.
The role of hemp and other natural fibers should be determined by the market of supply and demand and personal tastes and values, not by the undue influence of prohibition laws, federal subsidies and huge tariffs that keep the natural fabrics from replacing synthetic fibers.
Sixty years of government suppression of information has resulted in virtually no public knowledge of the incredible potential of the hemp fiber or its uses.
By using 100% hemp or mixing hemp with cotton, you will be able to pass on your shirts, pants and other clothing to your grandchildren. Intelligent spending could essentially replace the use of petrochemical synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester with tougher, cheaper, cool, absorbent, breathing, biodegradable, natural fibers.
China, Italy and Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia currently make millions of dollars worth of sturdy hemp and hemp/cotton textiles - and could be making billions of dollars worth - annually.
These countries build upon their traditional farming and weaving skills, while the U.S. tries to force the extinction of this plant to prop up destructive synthetic technologies.
Even cannabis/cotton blend textiles were still not cleared for direct sale in the U.S. until 1991. The Chinese, for instance, were forced by tacit agreement to send us inferior ramie/cottons.
(National Import/Export Textile Company of Shangai, Personal communication with author, April and May, 1983.)
As the 1990 edition of The Emperor went to press, garments containing at least 55 percent cannabis hemp arrived from China and Hungary. In 1992, as we went to press, many different grades of 100% hemp fabric had arrived directly from China and Hungary. Now, in 1998, hemp fabric is in booming demand all over the world, arriving from Romania, Poland, Italy, Germany, et al. Hemp has been recognized as the hottest fabric of the 1990s by Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, Paper, Detour, Details, Mademoiselle, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Der Spiegel, ad infinitum. All have run, over and over again, major stories onindustrial and nutritional hemp.
Additionally, hemp grown for biomass could fuel a trillion-dollar per year energy industry, while improving air quality and distributing the wealth to rural areas and their surrounding communities, and away from centralized power monopolies. More than any other plant on Earth, hemp holds the promise of a sustainable ecology and economy.
In Conclusion . . .
We must reiterate our original premise with our challenge to the world to prove us wrong:
If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation;
Then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world's paper and textiles; meeting all of the world's transportation, industrial and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time . . .
And that substance is - the same one that didi it all before - Cannabis Hemp . . . Marijuana!
________________________________________
Footnotes:
1. Oxford English Dictionary; Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11th edition, 1910; U.S.D.A. film, Hemp for Victory, 1942.
2. Ibid.
3. Levi-Strauss & Company of San Francisco, CA, author's personal communication with Gene McClaine, 1985.
4. Ye Olde Spinning Jennys and Wheels were principally used for fiber inthis order: cannabis hemp, flax, wool, cotton, and so forth.
5. Frazier, Jack, The Marijuana Farmers, Solar Age Press, New Orleans, LA, 1974; U.S. Library of congress; National Archives; U.S. Mint; etc.
6. Adams, James T., editor, Album of American History, Charles Scribner's Sons, NY, 1944, g. 116.
7. Frazier, Jack, The Marijuana Farmers, Solar Age Press, New Orleans, LA, 1974; U.S. Library of Congress; National Archives.
8. Sloman, Larry, Reefer Madness, Grove, New York, NY, 1979, pg. 72.
9. Bonnie, Richard and Whitebread, Charles, The Marijuana Conviction, Univ. of Virginia Press, 1974.

When Hemp Saved George Bush's Life
One more example of the importance of hemp: Five years after cannabis hemp was outlawed in 1937, it was promptly reintroduced for the World War II effort in 1942.
So, when the young pilot, George Bush, baled out of his burning airplane after a battle over the Pacific, little did he know:
- Parts of his aircraft engine were lubricated with cannabis hempseed oil;
- 100% of his life-saving parachute webbing was made from U.S. grown cannabis hemp;
- Virtually all the rigging and ropes of the ship that pulled him in were made of cannabis hemp.
- The fire hoses on the ship (as were those in the schools he had attended) were woven from cannabis hemp; and,
- Finally, as young George Bush stood safely on the deck, his shoes' durable stitching was of cannabis hemp, as it is in all good leather and military shoes to this day.
Yet Bush has spent a good deal of his career eradicating the cannabis plant and enforcing laws to make certain that no one will learn this information - possibly including himself. . .
(USDA film, Hemp for Victory, 1942; U. of KY Agricultural Ext. Service Leaflet 25, March 1943; Galbraith, Gatewood, Kentucky Marijuana Feasibility Study, 1977.)

The Battle of Bulletin 404
or
How World War I Cost Us Hemp & the Forests
The Setting
In 1917, the world was battling World War I. In this country, industrialists, just beset with the minimum wage and graduated income, tax, were sent into a tailspin. Progressive ideals were lost as the United States took its place on the world stage in the struggle for commercial supremacy. Is is against this backdrop that the first 20th Century hemp drama was played.
The Players
The story begins in 1916, soon after the release of USDA Bulletin 404. Near San Diego, California, a 50-year-old German immigrant named George Schlichten had been working on a simple yet brilliant invention. Schlichten had spent 18 years and $400,000 on the decorticator, a machine that could strip the fiber from nearly any plant, leaving the pulp behind. To build it, he had developed an encyclopedic knowledge of fibers and paper making. His desire was to stop the felling of forests for paper, which he believed to be a crime. His native Germany was well advanced in forestry and Schlichten knew that destroying forests meant destroying needed watersheds.
Henry Timken, a wealthy industrialst and investor of the roller bearing, got wind of Schlichten's invention and went to meet the inventor in February of 1917. Timken saw the decorticator a a revolutionary discovery that would improve conditions for mankind. Timken offered Schlichten the chance to grow 100 acres of hemp on his ranch in the fertile farmlands of Imperial Valley, California, just east of San Diego, so that Schlichten could test his invention.
Shortly thereafter, Timken met with the newspaper giant E.W. Scripps, and his long-time associate Milton McRae, at Miramar, Scripp's home in San Diego. Scripps, then 63, had accumulated the largest chain of newspapers in the country. Timken hoped to interest Scripps in making newsprint from hemphurds.
Turn-of-the-century newspaper barons needed huge amounts of paper to deliver their swelling circulations. Nearly 30% of the four million tons of paper manufactured in 1909 was newsprint; by 1914 the circulation of daily newspapers had increased by 17% over 1909 figures to over 28 million copies.1 By 1917, the price of newsprint was rapidly rising, and Mcae, who had been investigating owning a paper mill since 1904,2 was concerned.
Sowing the Seeds
In May, after further meetings with Timkin, Scripps asked McRae to investigate the possibility of using the decorticator in the manufacture of newsprint.
McRae quickly became excited about the plan. He called the decorticator "a great invention. . . [which] will not only render great service to this country, but it will be very profitable financially. . . [it] may revolutionize existing conditions." On August 3, as harvest time neared, a meeting was arranged between Schlichten, McRae, and newspaper manager Ed Chase.
Without Schlichten's knowledge, McRe had his secretary record the three-hour meeting stenographically. The resulting document, the only known record of Schlichten's voluminous knowledge found to date, is reprinted fully in Appendix I.
Schlichten had thoroughly studied many kinds of plants used for paper, among them corn, cotton, yucca, and Espana bacata. Hemp, it seemed, was his favorite:
"The hemp hurd is a practical success and will make paper of a higher grade than ordinary news stock," he stated.
His hemp paper was even better than that produced for USDA Bulletin 404, he claimed, because the decorticator eliminated the retting process, leaving behind short fibers and a natural glue that held the paper together.
At 1917 levels of hemp production Schlichten anticipated making 50,000 tons of paper yearly at a retail price of $25 a ton. This was less than 50 percent of the price of newsprint at the time! And every acre of hemp turned to paper, Schlichten added, would preserve five acres of forest.
McRae was very impressed by Schlichten. The man who dined with presidents and captains of industry wrote to Timken, "I want to say without equivocation that Mr. Schlichten impressed me as being a man of great intellectuality and ability; and so far as I can see, he has created and constructed a wonderful machine." He assigned Chase to spend as much time as he could with Schlichten and prepare a report.
Harvest Time
By August, after only three months of growth, Timken's hemp crop had grown to its full height - 14 feet! - and he was highly optimistic about its prospects. He hoped to travel to California to watch the crop being decorticated, seeing himself as a benefactor to mankind who would enable people to work shorter hours and have more time for "spiritual development."
Scripps, on the other hand, was not in an optimistic frame of mind. He had lost faith in a government that he believed was leading the country to financial ruin because of the war, and that would take 40% of his profits in income tax. In an August 14 letter to his sister, Ellen, he said: "When Mr. McRae was talking to me about the increase in the price of white paper that was pending, I told him I was just fool enough not to be worried about a thing of that kind." The price of paper was expected to rise 50 percent, costing Scripps his entire year's profit of $1,125,000! Rather than develop a new technology, he took the easy way out: the Penny Press Lord simply planned to raise the price of his papers from one cent to two cents.
The Demise
On August 28, Ed Chase sent his full report to Scripps and McRae. The younger man also was taken with the process: "I have seen a wonderful, yet simple, invention. I believe it will revolutionize many of the processes of feeding, clothing, and supplying other wants of mankind."
Chase witnessed the decorticator produce seven tons of hemp hurds in two days. At full production, Schlichten anticipated each machine would produce five tons per day. Chase figured hemp could easily supply Scripps' West Coast newspapers, with leftover pulp for side businesses. He estimated the newsprint would cost between $25 and $35 per ton, and proposed asking an East Coast paper mill to experiment for them.
McRae, however, seems to have gotten the message that his boss was no longer very interested in making paper from hemp. His response to Chase's report is cautious: "Much will be determined as to the practicability by the cost of transportation, manufacture, etc., etc., which we cannot ascertain without due investigation." Perhaps when his ideals met with the hard work of developing them, the semi-retired McRae backed off.
By September, Timken's crop was producing one ton of fiber and four tons of hurds per acre, and he was trying to interest Scrips in opening a paper mill in San Diego. McRae and Chase travelled to Cleveland and spent two hours convincing Timken that while hemp hurds were usable for other types of paper, they could not be made into newsprint cheaply enough. Perhaps the Eastern mill at which they experimented wasn't encouraging - after all, it was set up to make wood pulp paper.
By this time, Timken, too, was hurt by the wartime economy. He expected to pay 54% income tax and was trying to borrow $2 million at 10% interest to retool for war machines. The man who a few weeks earlier could not wait to get to California, no longer expected to go West at all that winter. He told McRae, "I think I will be too damn busy in this section of the country looking after business."
The decorticator resurfaced in the 1930s, when it was touted as the maching that would make hemp a "Billion Dollar Crop" in articles in Mechanical Engeneering and Popular Mechanics.*
(Until the 1993 edition of The Emperor, the decorticator was believed to be a new discovery at that time.)
Once again, the burgeoning hemp industry was halted, this time by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.
- Ellen Komp
Why Not Use Hemp to Reverse the Greenhouse Effect & Save the World?
In early, 1989, Jack Herer and Maria Farrow put this question to Steve Rawlings, the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Department of Agruculture (who was in charge of reversing the Greenhouse Effect), at the USDA world research facility in Beltsville, Maryland.
First, we introduced ourselves and told him we were writing for Green political party newspapers. Then we asked Rawlings, "If you could have any choice, what would be the ideal way to stop or reverse the Greenhouse Effect?"
He said, "Stop cutting down trees and stop using fossil fuels."
"Well, why don't we?"
"There's no viable substitute for wood for paper, or for fossil fuels."
"Why don't we use an annual plant for paper and for fossil fuels?"
"Well, that would be ideal," he agreed. "Unfortunately, there is nothing you can use that could produce enough materials."
"Well, what would you say if there was such a plant that could substitute for all wood pulp paper, all fossil fuels, would make kmost of our fibers naturally, make everything from dynamite to plastic, grows in all 50 states and that one acre of it would replace 4.1 acres of trees, and that if you used about 6 percent of the U.S. land to raise it as an energy crop - even on our marginal lands, this plant would produce all 75 quadrillion billion BTUs needed to run America each year? Would that help save the planet?"
"That would be ideal. But there is no such plant."
"We think there is."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Hemp."
"Hemp!" he mused for a moment. "I never would have thought of it. . . You know, I think you're right. Hemp could be the plant that could do it. Wow! That's a great idea!"
We were excited as we outlined this information and delineated the potential of hemp for paper, fiber, fuel, food, paint, etc., and how it could be applied to balance the world's ecosystems and restore the atomosphere's oxygen balance with almost no disruption of the standard of living to which most Americans have become accustomed.
In essence, Rawlings agreed that our information was probably correct and could very well work.
He said, "It's a wonderful idea, and I think it might work. But, of course, you can't use it."
"You're kidding!" we responded. "Why not?"
"Well, Mr. Herer, did you know that hemp is also marijuana?"
"Yes, of course I know, I've been writing about it for about 40 hours a week for the past 17 years."
"Well, you know marijuana's illegal, don't you? You can't use it."
"Not even to save the world?"
"No. It's illegal", he sternly informed me. "You cannot use something illegal."
"Not even to save the world?" we asked, stunned.
"No, not even to save the world. It's illegal. You can't use it. Period."
"Don't get me wrong. It's a great idea," he went on, "but they'll never let you do it."
"Why don't you go ahead and tell the Secretary of Agriculture that a crazy man from California gave you documentation that showed hemp might be able to save the planet and that your first reaction is that he might be right and it needs some serious study. What would he say?"
"Well, I don't think I'd be here very long after I did that. After all, I'm an officer of the government."
"Well, why not call up the information on your computer at your own USDA library. That's where we got the information in the first place."
He said, "I can't sign out that information."
"Well, why not? We did."
"Mr. Herer, you're a citizen. You can sign out for anything you want. But I am an officer of the Department of Agriculture. Someone's going to want to know why I want all this information. And then I'll be gone."
Finally, we agreed to send him all the information we got from the USDA library, if he would just look at it.
He said he would, but when we called back a month later, he said that he still had not opened the box that we sent him and that he would be sending it back to us unopened because he did not want to be responsible for the information, now that the Bush Administration was replacing him with its own man.
We asked him if he would pass on the information to his successor, and he replied, "Absolutely not."
In May, 1989, we had virtually the same conversation and result with his cohort, Dr. Gary Evans of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Science, the man in charge of stopping the global warming trend.
In the end, he said, "If you really want to save the planet with hemp, then you [hemp/marijuana activists] would find a way to grow it without the narcotic (sic) top - and then you can use it."
This is the kind of frightened (and frightening) irresponsibility we're up against in our government.
Interesting though how it was our government that put out “Hemp for Victory”.
The film was made to encourage farmers to grow hemp for the war effort because the United States was facing a hemp shortage. The intended audience was probably Kentucky corn farmers, since the narrator emphasises the fact that land used to grow corn could also grow hemp, and a segment from the song My Old Kentucky Home can be heard on the soundtrack. The film shows a history of hemp and hemp products, how hemp is grown, and how hemp processed into rope, cloth, cordage and other products.
As it was made by the US Government, it is public domain and is freely available for download on the Internet.
Before 1989, the film was relatively unknown, and the United States Department of Agriculture library and the Library of Congress told all interested parties that no such movie was made by the USDA or any branch of the U.S. government. Two VHS copies were recovered and donated to the Library of Congress on May 19, 1989 by Maria Farrow, Carl Packard, and Jack Herer.
Hemp For Victory


Directed by Raymond Evans

Produced by U.S. Department of Agriculture

Written by Brittain B. Robinson

Starring Lee D. Vickers (Narrator)

Music by Reuben Ford (Monaural)

Release date(s) 1942

Running time 16 minutes
From Wikipedia.org

Popular Mechanics – February 1938

I. Definition
Industrial hemp means those parts of the Cannabis sativa plant which contain less than 1.00% tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). THC is the psychoactive chemical found in Cannabis sativa. Industrial hemp is not to be confused with marijuana. Marijuana comes from the flowers of the Cannabis sativa plant and contains more than 1.00% THC.1 Industrial hemp has no psychoactive properties.
Industrial hemp can be grown as a profitable, high-quality fiber crop without producing marijuana. Registered seed varieties that produce hemp containing less than 0.3% THC even in the flowers are available throughout Europe.2 Farmers in the European Community have been growing hemp for over 20 years without any problems related to marijuana.3
II. Hemp Production in Other Countries
Industrial hemp is grown as a profitable fiber crop in many countries.4 Industrial hemp crops have been subsidized in the European Community since before 1988.5 In 1993, England began to produce hemp for fiber.6 In 1994, Canada harvested its first crop of industrial hemp after more than 50 years of prohibition.7 The re-emerging world hemp industry is growing steadily, and farmers are excited and enthusiastic about the potential of hemp crops.
III. Hemp Production in the United States
Hemp has been valued throughout this country's history as an important raw material. Until the late 1800s, almost all of our cloth was made from hemp, and virtually all of our paper was made from hemp rags.8 From 1631 to the early 1800s, hemp was such a valued commodity that it was considered legal tender (money).9 Regions of Kentucky and Wisconsin were among the largest hemp producers.10
Hemp production seemed destined to increase dramatically in the 1930s, when an invention called the decorticator began getting wide attention.11 The decorticator strips the hemp fiber from the stalk. This had been the most labor-intensive and expensive part of producing hemp.12 The decorticator was to hemp what the cotton gin was to cotton. The invention prompted a 1937 Popular Mechanics magazine to call hemp the "New Billion Dollar Crop"13 and Mechanical Engineering magazine to call it "The Most Desirable Crop That Can Be Grown."14
However, the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act dealt a fatal blow to the promising hemp fiber industry. The Act established a prohibitive tax on hemp manufacturers and distributors as well as on hemp transactions.15 It was modeled after a similar tax that was enacted to prohibit machine guns. The transfer tax of $1.00/ounce effectively ended all hemp production in the United States by making commerce in hemp prohibitively expensive.
Restrictions on hemp production were eased briefly in the United States during World War II when Japan invaded the Philippines, cutting off the supply of abaca (Manila hemp).16 The U.S. Navy desperately needed a domestic supply of hemp to provide the lines and rigging for its fleet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture encouraged farmers to produce hemp for the war effort by distributing a film called "Hemp for Victory!".17
After World War II, the hemp industry declined as the federal government again began to restrict hemp production.18 Farmers continued to produce hemp on a limited scale until the 1950s.19 However, legislation eventually came to treat industrial hemp crops as marijuana (drug) crops, and hemp fiber production was no longer promoted.
Currently, hemp production is treated as a felony in the United States because it is assumed that all hemp crops will produce marijuana. With the advent of industrial hemp and low-THC seed varieties, this is no longer true. Hemp can now be grown as a profitable fiber crop in the United States with absolutely no danger of increasing marijuana use.
IV. Raw Materials and Products from Hemp
Hemp consists of three principal raw materials: fiber, seeds, and hurds. Hemp is principally grown for the bast fiber it produces from its stalk. However, the seeds and hurds are also important economically.
1. Fiber:
The hemp stalk is composed of 20% fiber.20 Hemp is the strongest natural fiber in the world.21 It is valued for its strength and durability when used for textiles, cordage, and paper.
o Textiles: The fiber can be made into any type of cloth, from the finest linen to the coarsest canvas.22 The word canvas comes from the Arabic word for hemp.23 Cloth made from hemp fiber is stronger, warmer, more durable, more absorbent, and softer than cotton.24
o Cordage: Hemp rope has been valued throughout history for its superior strength and resistance to deterioration in salt or fresh water.25
o Paper: Paper made from hemp is known as the "archivist's perfect paper" because it lasts much longer than tree pulp paper and does not harden, crack, yellow, or crumble with age.26 Hemp fiber can be used to make every grade of paper.27
2. Hurds:
The hemp stalk is composed of 80% hurds.28 The hurds are the woody inner portion of the hemp stalk that are separated from the hemp fiber.29 The hurds are 50% - 77% cellulose,30 which makes them ideal for use in paper and plastic products.
o Paper: One acre of hemp hurds can make as much pulp for paper as four acres of trees.31 Hemp paper can be whitened without producing dioxins and lasts much longer than paper made from trees.32
o Particle Board: Hemp hurds can be pressed and injected with phenolic resin to make a particle board that is resistant to fire and water.33 The board also makes a good insulation and thermal barrier.34
o Plastic: Plastics were first made from plant cellulose (i.e., cellophane, celluloid).35 The hemp hurd is one of the richest sources of plant cellulose,36 a building block of modern industry. Plastics made from hemp instead of petroleum would be biodegradable.37
o Animal Bedding: The hurds make an excellent animal bedding because they absorb more liquid and compost faster than wood shavings.38
3. Seed:
The hemp seed is composed of two raw materials: the seed oil and the seed cake.
Seed Oil:
The hemp seed is composed of 30% oil.39
o Food: Hemp seed oil contains over 70% cholesterol-fighting essential fatty acids, the highest of any seed oil.40
o Fuel: Hemp seed oil can be chemically combined easily with 15% methanol to provide a premium diesel fuel substitute.41
This hemp bio-diesel fuel burns 70% cleaner than petroleum diesel in soot and particulate pollution.42
o Paints and varnishes: Hemp seed oil dries quickly and leaves a thin elastic film.43
o Lubricant: Hemp seed oil makes an ideal all-purpose lubricant.44
Seed Cake:
The seed cake is the solid part of the seeds that remains after the oil is expelled.
o Food: Hemp seed cake makes a nutritional, high-protein supplement to wheat flour. It contains 25% protein.45
Whole Seed:
The whole hemp seed contains 20% high-quality digestible complete protein.46
o Food: The hemp seed can be eaten as a nutritious snack, like sunflower seeds.
o Bird Feed: Birds like hemp seed because of its nourishing, oily content.47
V. Economics of Hemp Production
A hemp crop could be sold for at least $860 per acre. Since a hemp crop produces three different raw materials each year, the total value of hemp far exceeds other crops grown for a single material.
The chart below compares yields of hemp and comparable crops. Since there are currently no domestic hemp crops being sold in the United States, the prices for comparable crops were used to estimate the prices for domestic hemp fiber, hurds, and seed.
Hemp fiber is compared to cotton for textile production. Hemp hurds are compared to wood chip prices and Douglas fir yield for paper production. Hemp seed is compared to soybeans for oil seed production.
Production costs were not factored into this estimate, although hemp would be considerably less expensive to produce than cotton (see Section VI -- Hemp Cultivation).
________________________________________
Estimated Value of a Hemp Crop

Yield*48 X Price = Value/Acre

Fiber: 1,100 lbs./acre $.60/lb. (cotton) $660.00
Hurds: 2.5 tons/acre $50/ton (wood chips) $125.00
Seed: 15 bu./acre $5/bu. (soybean) $75.00
---------
Hemp Total Value/Acre $860.00



Value of Comparable Crops 49
Total
Yield X Price = Value/Acre

Cotton 578 lbs./acre $.60/lb. $347.00
Douglas Fir 1 ton/acre $50/ton $50.00
Soybeans 34 bu./acre $5/bu. $170.00
Corn $205.00
Wheat $78.00


Value of Comparable Crops
(data from above)

$900 XXXX
$800 XXXX
$700 XXXX
$600 XXXX
$500 XXXX
$400 XXXX XXXX
$300 XXXX XXXX
$200 XXXX XXXX
$100 XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
0___XXXX_______XXXX________XXXX______XXXX____XXXX_____XXXX_____
Cotton Doug.Fir Soybeans Corn Wheat Hemp


* The hemp yields are based on historical and limited
current figures. These are conservative estimates; the actual
yields will probably be 2 to 3 times higher. Hemp prohibition
has stifled contemporary research in the field of hemp
production.
________________________________________
Please see the References.
VI. Hemp Cultivation
Hemp is easy to grow.50 Hemp is an annual herbaceous crop that grows from 5 to 16 feet tall in a season of four months.51 It will grow in all 50 states.52 It is a good rotation crop.53 Hemp has long roots that penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next crop.54
Production costs for hemp would be considerably lower than cotton's. Herbicides are not needed because fiber hemp is sown thickly and chokes out competing weeds.55 Pesticide use is limited because hemp has few insect enemies.56
VII. Current Hemp Market in the United States
Hundreds of entrepreneurs are now selling imported hemp products. However, they are stifled by high prices and uncertain availability since all of the hemp is imported from overseas. Demand for hemp products in the U.S. is enormous. Hemp clothing and accessories have become a fashion trend.57 Tree- free hemp paper is also in demand.58 The market has a potential of as much as $15 to $30 billion a year.59
VIII. Potential for New Jobs
Hemp production in Colorado would create new farming opportunities and make Colorado farmers competitive in the global market against countries that already grow hemp for fiber. It would also create thousands of processing and manufacturing jobs in such industries as textiles, plastics, pulp paper, energy, timber, construction, and food. The retail market for tree-free paper and building materials, for biodegradable plastics, for soft and durable natural clothing, and for other hemp products has huge potential.
IX. Benefits of Hemp Production
Hemp will be a profitable crop for farmers because of the volume of hemp each crop produces, the number of different products that can be made from hemp, and the demand for hemp products.
Not only is hemp profitable, but it is a desirable crop to grow for other reasons. Hemp is a renewable and sustainable resource. It will help shift our economy away from dwindling non-renewable petroleum resources and help preserve our forest resources.
Hemp is the strongest natural fiber.60 It has an extremely high cellulose content.61 It is biodegradable.62 It requires no herbicides to grow.63 It can be used to make paper, cloth, rope, particle board, plastic, paint, varnishes, linoleum, dynamite, fuel, food, and cardboard. It will create new jobs and make Colorado competitive with other countries. It is the fiber of the 1990s.
________________________________________
Copyright 1994 by The Boulder Hemp Initiative Project. All the facts contained herein have been compiled from the sources listed below and are true to the best of our knowledge.
Reproduction of this report is encouraged. We ask only that credit be given to the: Boulder Hemp Initiative Project P.O. Box 729 Nederland, CO 80466 (303) 784-5632 Email: bhip@darkstar.cygnus.com
The Marijuana Conspiracy
THE REAL REASON HEMP IS ILLEGAL
by Doug Yurchey
And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger
in the land.
-- Ezekiel 34/29


The real reason Cannabis has been outlawed has nothing to do with its effects on the mind and body.
MARIJUANA is DANGEROUS. Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.
The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.
Where did the word 'marijuana' come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant...as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years:
* All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974.
* It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1800s; LA Times, Aug. 12, 1981.
* REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon.
* George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.
* Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow's export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer.
* For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis; Webster's New World Dictionary.
* 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.
* The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.
* The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives.
* Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.
* Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen.
* In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture
* Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
* Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.
* Hemp called 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938.
* Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled 'The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.' It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture's 1942 14-minute film encouraging and instructing 'patriotic American farmers' to grow 350,000 acres of hemp each year for the war effort:
'...(When) Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable...
...Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese...American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries...
...the Navy's rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again; hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails. Hemp for victory!'
Certified proof from the Library of Congress; found by the research of Jack Herer, refuting claims of other government agencies that the 1942 USDA film 'Hemp for Victory' did not exist.
Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that hemp produces 4 times as much pulp with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution. From Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938:
'It has a short growing season...It can be grown in any state...The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds.
...hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.'
In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.
William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst's grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of hemp.
In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont's Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of Dupont's business.
THE CONSPIRACY
Andrew Mellon became Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury and Dupont's primary investor. He appointed his future nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word: 'marihuana' and pushed it into the consciousness of America.
MEDIA MANIPULATION
A media blitz of 'yellow journalism' raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst's newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of marihuana. The menace of marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.
Films like 'Reefer Madness' (1936), 'Marihuana: Assassin of Youth' (1935) and 'Marihuana: The Devil's Weed' (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-marihuana laws could be passed.
Examine the following quotes from 'The Burning Question' aka REEFER MADNESS:
• a violent narcotic.
• acts of shocking violence.
• incurable insanity.
• soul-destroying effects.
• under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an ax.
• more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of marihuana!
Reefer Madness did not end with the usual 'the end.' The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: TELL YOUR CHILDREN.
In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby-boomers.
On April 14, 1937, the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law or the bill that outlawed hemp was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the Ways and Means, Robert Doughton, was a Dupont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress.
Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marihuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that marihuana was hemp.
Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst's front pages was in fact passive hemp. The AMA understood cannabis to be a MEDICINE found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years.
In September of 1937, hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since.
Congress banned hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.
Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet's energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80% of our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.

THE WONDER PLANT
Hemp has a higher quality fiber than wood fiber. Far fewer caustic chemicals are required to make paper from hemp than from trees. Hemp paper does not turn yellow and is very durable. The plant grows quickly to maturity in a season where trees take a lifetime.

ALL PLASTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP SEED OIL. Hempen plastics are biodegradable! Over time, they would break down and not harm the environment. Oil-based plastics, the ones we are very familiar with, help ruin nature; they do not break down and will do great harm in the future. The process to produce the vast array of natural (hempen) plastics will not ruin the rivers as Dupont and other petrochemical companies have done. Ecology does not fit in with the plans of the Oil Industry and the political machine. Hemp products are safe and natural.
MEDICINES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. We should go back to the days when the AMA supported cannabis cures. 'Medical Marijuana' is given out legally to only a handful of people while the rest of us are forced into a system that relies on chemicals. Pot is only healthy for the human body.
WORLD HUNGER COULD END. A large variety of food products can be generated from hemp. The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature. ALSO: They have two essential fatty acids that clean your body of cholesterol. These essential fatty acids are not found anywhere else in nature! Consuming pot seeds is the best thing you could do for your body. Eat uncooked hemp seeds.
CLOTHES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. Hemp clothing is extremely strong and durable over time. You could hand clothing, made from pot, down to your grandchildren. Today, there are American companies that make hemp clothing; usually 50% hemp. Hemp fabrics should be everywhere. Instead, they are almost underground. Superior hemp products are not allowed to advertise on fascist television. Kentucky, once the top hemp producing state, made it ILLEGAL TO WEAR hemp clothing! Can you imagine being thrown into jail for wearing quality jeans?
The world is crazy...but that does not mean you have to join the insanity. Get together. Spread the news. Tell people, and that includes your children, the truth. Use hemp products. Eliminate the word 'marijuana.' Realize the history that created it. Make it politically incorrect to say or print the M-word. Fight against the propaganda (designed to favor the agenda of the super rich) and the bullshit. Hemp must be utilized in the future. We need a clean energy source to save our planet. INDUSTRIALIZE HEMP!
The liquor, tobacco and oil companies fund more than a million dollars a day to Partnership for a Drug-Free America and other similar agencies. We have all seen their commercials. Now, their motto is: ‘It's more dangerous than we thought.’ Lies from the powerful corporations, that began with Hearst, are still alive and well today.
The brainwashing continues. Now, the commercials say: If you buy a joint, you contribute to murders and gang wars. The latest anti-pot commercials say: If you buy a joint...you are promoting TERRORISM! The new enemy (terrorism) has paved the road to brainwash you any way THEY see fit.
There is only one enemy; the friendly people you pay your taxes to; the war-makers and nature destroyers. With your funding, they are killing the world right in front of your eyes. HALF A MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE CAUSED BY TOBACCO. HALF A MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE CAUSED BY ALCOHOL. NO ONE HAS EVER, EVER DIED FROM SMOKING POT!! In the entire history of the human race, not one death can be attributed to cannabis. Our society has outlawed grass but condones the use of the KILLERS: TOBACCO and ALCOHOL. Hemp should be declassified and placed in DRUG stores to relieve stress. Hardening and constriction of the arteries are bad; but hemp usage actually enlarges the arteries...which is a healthy condition. We have been so conditioned to think that: Smoking is harmful. That is NOT the case for passive pot.
Ingesting THC, hemp's active agent, has a positive effect; relieving asthma and glaucoma. A joint tends to alleviate the nausea caused by chemotherapy. You are able to eat on hemp. This is a healthy state of being.
{One personal note: During the pregnancy of my wife, she was having some difficulty gaining weight. We were in the hospital. A nurse called us to one side and said: ‘Off the record, if you smoke pot...you'd get something called the munchies and you’ll gain weight.' I swear that is a true story}.
The stereotype for a pothead is similar to a drunk, bubble-brain. Yet, the truth is one’s creative abilities can be enhanced under its influence. The perception of time slightly slows and one can become more sensitive. You can more appreciate all arts; be closer to nature and generally FEEL more under the influence of cannabis. It is, in fact, the exact opposite state of mind and body as the drunken state. You can be more aware with pot.
The pot plant is an ALIEN plant. There is physical evidence that cannabis is not like any other plant on this planet. One could conclude that it was brought here for the benefit of humanity. Hemp is the ONLY plant where the males appear one way and the females appear very different, physically! No one ever speaks of males and females in regard to the plant kingdom because plants do not show their sexes; except for cannabis. To determine what sex a certain, normal, Earthly plant is: You have to look internally, at its DNA. A male blade of grass (physically) looks exactly like a female blade of grass. The hemp plant has an intense sexuallity. Growers know to kill the males before they fertilize the females. Yes, folks...the most potent pot comes from 'horny females.'
The reason this amazing, very sophisticated, ET plant from the future is illegal has nothing to do with how it physically affects us…..
…POT IS ILLEGAL BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES WANT TO REMAIN BILLIONAIRES!
ps: I think the word ‘DRUGS’ should not be used as an umbrella-word that covers all chemical agents. Drugs have come to be known as something BAD. Are you aware there are LEGAL drugstores?! Yep, in every city. Unbelievable. Each so-called drug should be considered individually. Cannabis is a medicine and not a drug. We should DARE to speak the TRUTH no matter what the law is.



Pinch Hitters for Defense

Popular Mechanics
December, 1941


Over in England it's saccharine for sugar; on the continent it's charcoal "gasogenes" in the rumble seat instead of gasoline in the tank. Here in America there's plenty of sugar, plenty of gasoline. Yet there's an industrial revolution in progress just the same, a revolution in materials that will affect every home.

After twelve years of research, the Ford Motor Company has completed an experimental automobile with a plastic body. Although its design takes advantage of the properties of plastics, the streamline car does not differ greatly in appearance from its steel counterpart. The only steel in the hand-made body is found in the tubular welded frame on which are mounted 14 plastic panels, 3/16 inch thick. Composed of a mixture of farm crops and synthetic chemicals, the plastic is reported to withstand a blow 10 times as great as steel without denting. Even the windows and windshield are of plastic. The total weight of the plastic car is about 2,000 pounds, compared with 3,000 pounds for a steel automobile of the same size. Although no hint has been given as to when plastic cars may go into production, the experimental model is pictured as a step toward materialization of Henry Ford's belief that some day he would "grow automobiles from the soil."

When Henry Ford recently unveiled his plastic car, result of 12 years of research, he gave the world a glimpse of the automobilie of tomorrow, its tough panels molded under hydraulic pressure of 1,500 pounds per square inch from a recipe that calls for 70 percent of cellulose fibers from wheat straw, hemp and sisal plus 30 percent resin binder. The only steel in the car is its tubular welded frame. The plastic car weighs a ton, 1,000 pounds lighter than a comparable steel car. Manufacturers are already taking a low-priced plastic car to test the public's taste by 1943.
* * * * *
6. Paints and Varnishes

For thousands of years, virtually all good paints and varnishes were made with hemp seed oil and/or linseed oil.

For instance, in 1935 alone, 116 million pounds (58,000 tons) [National Institute of Oilseed Products congressional testimony *against* the 1937 Marijuana Transfer Tax Law] of hemp seed were used in America just for paint and varnish. As a comparison, consider that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), along with all America's state and local police agencies, claim to have seized for all of 1988, 651.5 tons of American-grown marijuana--seed, plant, root, dirt clump and all.[National Narcotics Intelligence Consumer's Committee, NNICC Report, 1988 DEA office relase, El Paso, TX, April, 1989.] The hemp drying oil business went principally to DuPont petro-chemicals.

[Sloman, Larry, "Reefer Madness," Grove Press, New York, NY, 1979, pg. 72.]

Congress and the Treasury Department were assured through secret testimony given by DuPont in 1935-37 directly to Herman Oliphant, Chief Counsel for the Treasury Dept., that hemp seed oil could be replaced with synthetic petro-chemical oils made principally by DuPont.

Oliphant was solely responsible for drafting the Marijuana Tax Act that was submitted to Congress.[Bonnie, Richard and Whitebread, Charles, "The Marijuana Conviction," Univ. of Virginia Press, 1974.] (See complete story in Chapter 4, "The Last Days of Legal Cannabis.")

-- Herer, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," 1991 edition, p. 8.
* * * * *


11. Building Materials And Housing

Because one acre of hemp produces as much cellulose fiber pulp as 4.1 acres of trees (Dewey & Merrill, "Bulletin #404," U.S. Dept. of Ag., 1916), hemp is the perfect material to replace trees for pressed board, particle board and cor concrete construction molds.

Practical, inexpensive construction material which is fire resistant, with excellent thermal and sound insulating qualities, can be made using a process called Environcore.(c) This process, developed by Mansion Industries, applies heat and compression to agricultural fiber to create strong construction paneling, replacing dry wall and plywood. (See Appendix, p. 172. [Vincent H. Miller, "A Grass House In Your Future?," "Freedom Network News," June/July 1989])

Hemp has been used throughout history for carpet backing. Hemp fiber has potential in the manufacture of strong, rot resistant carpeting--eliminating the poisonous fumes of burning synthetic materials in a house or commercial fire, along with allergic reactions associated with new synthetic carpeting.

Plastic plumbing pipe (PVC pipes) can be manufactured using renewable hemp cellulose as the chemical feedstocks, replacing non- renewable petroleum-based chemical feedstocks.
THE HEMP WAR OF 1812
NAPOLEON INVADES RUSSIA
This is a piece of history that you may have been a little bit hazy about when they taught it in school: You might well have asked, "What the heck were we fighting about, anyway?"
Here we present the events that led up to the Battle of New Orleans, which, due to slow communications, was actually fought on January 8, 1815, two weeks after the war had officially ended on December 24, 1814, by the signing of a peace treaty in Belgium.
TIME:
1700S AND EARLY 1800s
Cannabis hemp is, as it has been for thousands of years, the biggest business and most important industry on the planet. Its fiber (see chapter 2, "Uses") moves virtually all the world's shipping. The entire world's economy uses and depends upon thousands of different products from the marijuana plant.
1740 ON
Russia, because of its cheap slave/serf labor1, produces 80% of the western world's cannabis hemp and finished hemp products, and is, by far, the world's best-quality manufacturer of cannabis hemp for sails, rope, rigging, and nets.
Cannabis is Russia's number-one trading commodity - ahead of its furs, timber and iron.
Russia under the Czars' and Russian Orthodox Church's domination continued to have virtual slave/serf/peasant labor for making hemp until 1917. Cannabis is Russia's number one trading commodity ahead of its furs, timber, and iron.
1740 TO 1807
Great Britain buys 90% or more of its marine hemp from Russia; Britain's navy and world sea trade runs on Russian hemp; each British ship must replace 50 to 100 tons of hemp every year or two.
There is no substitute; flax sails, for example, unlike hemp sails, would start rotting in three months or less from salt air and spray!
1793 TO 1799 ON
The British nobility is hostile toward the new French government primarily because the British are afraid that the 1789-93 French Revolution of commoners could spread, and/or result in a French invasion of England and the loss of its Empire and, of course, its nobility's heads.
1803 TO 1814
Britain's navy blockades Napoleon's France, including Napoleon's allies on the Continent. Britain accomplishes the blockade of France by closing its (France's) English Channel and Atlantic (Bay of Biscay) ports with its navy; also, Britain controls absolute access to and from the Mediterranean and Atlantic, by virtue of its control of the straits of Gibraltar.
1798 TO 1812
The fledgling United States is officially "neutral" in the war between France and Britain. The United States even begins to solve its own foreign problems by sending its navy and marines (1801-1805) to the Mediterranean to stop Tripoli pirates and ransomers from collecting tribute from American Yankee traders operating in the area. "Millions for Defense not a penny for Tribute" was America's rallying cry, and the incident came to be memorialized in the second line of the Marine Corps' hymn: "To the shores of Tripoli."
1803
Napoleon, needing money to press war with Great Britain and pursue control of the European continent, bargain-sells the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million, or roughly two-and-a-half cents per acre.
This area is about one-third of what is now the 48 contiguous states.
1803 ON
The Louisiana Purchase gives rise to some Americans' mostly Westerners' dreams of "Manifest Destiny." That is, the United States should extend to the utmost borders of North America: From the top of Canada to the bottom of Mexico and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
1803 TO 1807
Britain continues to trade and buy 90% of its hemp directly from Russia.
1807
Napoleon and Czar Alexander of Russia sign the Treaty of Tilset, which cuts off all legal Russian trade with Great Britain, its allies, or any other neutral nation ship acting as agents for Great Britain in Russia.
The treaty also sets up a buffer zone, the Warsaw Duchy (approximately Central Eastern Poland) between Napoleon's allies and Russia.
Napoleon's strategy and his most important goal with the treaty is to stop Russian hemp from reaching England, thereby destroying Britain's navy by forcing it to cannibalize sails, ropes, and rigging from other ships; and Napoleon believes that eventually, with no Russian hemp for its huge navy, Britain will be forced to end its blockade of France and the Continent.
1807 TO 1809
The United States is considered a neutral country by Napoleon, as long as its ships do not trade with or for Great Britain, and the United States considers itself to be neutral in the war between France and Great Britain.
However, Congress passes the 1806 Non-Importation Pact: British articles which are produced in the U.S., but which could also be produced elsewhere, are prohibited. Congress also passes the 1807 Embargo Act, to wit: American ships could not bring or carry products to or from Europe.
These laws hurt America more than Europe; however, many Yankee traders ignored the law anyway.
1807 TO 1814
After the Treaty of Tilset cuts off their Russian trade, Britain claims that there are no neutral countries or shipping lanes.
Hence, any ship that trades with Napoleon's "Continental System" of allies are the enemy and are subject to blockade.
On this pretext, Britain confiscates American ships and cargo and sends sailors back to the United States at American ship owners' expense.
Britain "impresses" some American sailors into service in the British Navy. However, England claims that they only "impress" those sailors who are British subject and whose American shipping companies refused to pay for the sailors' return fares.
1807 TO 1810
Secretly, however, Britain offers the captured American traders a "deal" (actually a blackmail proposition) when they "overhaul" Board and confiscate an American ship and bring it into an English port.
The deal: Either lose your ship and cargos forever, or go to Russia and secretly buy hemp for Britain, who will pay American traders with gold in advance, and more gold when the hemp is delivered back.
At the same time, the Americans will be allowed to keep and trade their own goods (rum, sugar, spices, cotton, coffee, tobacco) to the Czar for hemp, a double profit for the Americans.
1808 TO 1810
Our shrewd Yankee traders, faced with the choice of either running British blockades and risking having their ships, cargo, and crews confiscated or acting as secret (illegal) licensees for Britain, with safety and profits guaranteed, mostly choose the latter.
John Quincy Adams (later to become president), who was American Consul at St. Petersburg, in 1809 noted:
"As many as 600 clipper ships, flying the American flag, in a two week period, were in Kronstadt" (the Port of St. Petersburg, once called Leningrad in the former USSR) loading principally cannabis hemp for England (illegally) and America, where quality hemp is also in great demand.
(Bennis, John Q. Adam and the American Foreign Policy, New York, NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1949.)
The United States passes the 1809 Non-Intercourse Act which resumes legal trade with Europe, except for Britain and France. It is soon replaced with the Macon Bill resuming all legal trade.
1808 TO 1810
Napoleon insists that Czar Alexander stop all trade with the independent United States traders as they are being coerced into being illegal traders for Great Britain's hemp.
Napoleon wants the Czar to allow him to place/station French agents and troops in Kronstadt to make sure the Czar and his port authorities live up to the treaty.
1808 TO 1810
The Czar says "Nyet!" despite his treaty with France, and turns a "blind eye" to the illegal American traders, probably because he needs the popular, profitable trade goods the Americans are bringing him and his nobles as well as the hard gold he is getting from the Americans' (illegal) purchases of hemp for Great Britain.
1809
Napoleon's allies invade the Duchy of Warsaw.
1810
Napoleon orders the Czar to stop all trade with the American traders! The Czar responds by withdrawing Russia from that part of the Treaty of Tilset that would require him to stop selling goods to neutral American ships.
1810 TO 1812
Napoleon, infuriated with the Czar for allowing Britain's life blood of navy hemp to reach England, builds up his army and invades Russia, planning to punish the Czar and ultimately stop hemp from reaching the British Navy.
1811 TO 1812
England, again an ally and full trading partner of Russia, is still stopping American ships from trading with the rest of the Continent.
Britain also blockades all U.S. traders from Russia at the Baltic Sea and insists that American traders have to now secretly buy other strategic goods for them (mostly from Mediterranean ports), specifically from Napoleon and his allies on the Continent who by this time are happy to sell anything to raise capital.
1812
The United States, cut off from 80% of its Russian hemp supply, debates war in Congress.3
Ironically, it is representatives of the western states who argue for war under the excuse of "impressed" American sailors. However, the representatives of the maritime states, fearful of loss of trade, argue against war, even though it's their shipping, crews, and states that are allegedly afflicted.
Not one senator from a maritime state votes for war with Great Britain, whereas virtually all western senators vote for war, hoping to take Canada from Britain and fulfill their dream of "Manifest Destiny," in the mistaken belief that Great Britain is too busy with the European wars against Napoleon to protect Canada.
It's interesting to note that Kentucky, a big supporter of the war which disrupted the overseas hemp trade, was actively building up its own domestic hemp industry.
At this time, 1812, American ships could pick up hemp from Russia and return with it three times faster than shippers could get hemp from Kentucky to the East coast over land (at least, until the Erie Canal was completed in 1825; shortening travel time dramatically by as much as 90%).
The western states win in Congress, and on June 18, 1812, the United States is at war with Britain.
America enters the war on the side of Napoleon, who marches on Moscow in June of 1812.
Napoleon is soon defeated in Russia by the harsh winter, the Russian scorched-earth policy, 2,000 miles of snowy and muddy supply lines and by Napoleon not stopping for the winter and regrouping before marching on Moscow, as was the original battle plan.
Of the 450,000 to 600,000 men Napoleon start with, only 180,000 ever make it back.
1812 TO 1814
Britain, after initial success in war with the United States (including the burning of Washington in retaliation for the earlier American burning of Toronto, then the colonial Canadian capitol), finds its finances and military stretched thin with blockades, war in Spain with France, and a tough new America on the seas.
Britain agrees to peace, and signs a treaty with the United States in December, 1814. The actual terms of the treaty give little to either side.
In effect, Britain agrees it will never again interfere with American shipping.
And the United States agrees to give up all claims to Canada forever (which we did, with the exception of "54-40 or Fight").
1813 TO 1814
Britain defeats Napoleon in Spain and banishes him to Elba, but he escapes for 100 days.
1815
Britain defeats Napoleon at Waterloo (June 18) and banishes him to St. Helena Island off Antarctica where, in 1821, he dies and his hairs and private parts are sold to the public for souvenirs.
JANUARY 1815
Tragically for Britain, more than two weeks after the December 24, 1814, signing of the Ghent peace treaty between the United States and Britain, Andrew Jackson defeats a huge British attack force at New Orleans (January 8, 1815) while news of the treaty slowly makes its way across the Atlantic.
20TH CENTURY
American, British, French, Canadian, and Russian schools each teach children their own, completely different versions of history with virtually no mention of hemp in this war (nor, in the American versions, at any other time in history).
Footnotes:
1. Russia under the Czars' and Russian Orthodox Church's domination continued to have virtual slave/serf/peasant labor for making hemp until 1917. 2. One of America's leading foreign trade deficits, until this century, was to Russia for hemp. 3. Crosby, Alfred, Jr., America, Russia, Hemp & Napoleon, Ohio State University Press, 1965. This situation only began to improve after the 1898 (Spanish-American War) conquest and acquisition of the Philippines with its (cheap) "coolie" labor and manila-hemp (abaca). 4. Adams, John Q., microfilms, Mass. Historical Society, Boston, MA.




Left: The Main Library of the Supreme Council 33° of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, S.J., U.S.A., the Mother Supreme Council of the World, Washington D.C., is dedicated to none other than Confederate General Albert Pike, the KKK's Chief of "Judiciary".
He has lived. The fruits of his labors live after him. - Albert Pike, 33°
These words dedicated to Albert Pike are mounted in bronze near the impressive, leather-covered doors leading into the Library of The Supreme Council, 33°. They are an appropriate greeting to the user of the Library since today The Supreme Council's Library continues Pike's lifework and Freemasonry's mission.
Pike, who admitted to being "capricious in my reading," was an avid collector of books. In his Little Rock, Arkansas, home one of the most impressive rooms was the library, and Pike kept an extensive collection of books at his Arkansas mountain cabin retreat where he wrote the first drafts of what was to become Morals and Dogma.
Pike saved what he could of these books during the turmoil of the Civil War and its aftermath, and when he moved to the nation's capital area, he built on these collections, first in his home in Alexandria, Virginia, and then in the first House of the Temple at Third and D Streets, NW, in Washington, DC. his death, he willed all his books to The Supreme Council, 33, under the provision that they be made available to the general public at no charge. Thus in 1891, the House of the Temple Library became, in effect, the first "public library" in the District of Columbia.
Today, many of these books from Pike's personal collection form the nucleus of the Library of The Supreme Council at the present House of the Temple at 1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, and they are still available for use, free of any charge, by the general public as well as, of course, the Brethren. One of the thrills of conducting research in the Library is, unexpectedly, to come across a few words in Pike's own small, meticulous handwriting in some of the older books.
The above description of Pikes importance to Freemasonry from the Supreme Council 33° shows the claims by Masonic Apologists today that Pike is a "nobody" whose "importance is nothing to masonry", who "no one even knows who he is save for a few anti's" to be a real whopper. Albert Pike is to Freemasonry what Shakespeare is to Drama. One is inseperable from the other. Don't let practiced dissemblers tell you anything different.
Right: One of the most widely read occult books in the world; Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. This book is still given to Masons on being awarded the 32nd Degree.
Pike has been termed by a number of well known Masonic authors as the Plato of Freemasonry, and even the Masonic Pope!
Freemasonry, that is to say Organized Freemasonry practices the big lie technique. More to the point organized Freemasonry has perfected the big lie technique. They term this doublespeak ' diverting the discourse'. In regard to Confederate general, slaver, British spy, convicted Confederate war criminal, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council 33rd Degree, Ku Klux Klan ritual designer, Ku Klux Klan Chief Judicial Officer and Arkansas Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon it is necessary to add some superlatives on to the term 'divert the discourse', because that opaque term doesn't nearly come close to describing the effort and tactics it has and is employing to cover-up, obscure, deflect, and divert about Pike's leading roll in the KKK's creation.
Please excuse us if we seem to go to some length to explain what exactly organized Freemasonry with all it's thousands of internet sites, millions of members, and billions of net worth is doing in regard to the Albert Pike issue because one has to be very specific when dealing with the masters of parsing. In fact it is likely the case that Freemasonry provided the initial instruction to intelligence agencies on the most effective methods of using disinformation.
First they eliminate all "documents" - not that a oral secret society such as Freemasonry or the KKK keeps a paper trail. Then they say no documents exist or none can be found. If there is any eyewitness testimony included in books or writings on the topic they deny the books or writings exist, if that fails they attack the witnesses and try and destroy their character - even if they were masons and thereby ignoring their oaths on the matter, and if that fails they attack the character of the authors themselves - again if they also too were masons. Finally they will simply lie or mischaracterize the nature of a book or writing by terming it 'anti' - even if the work was 'pro' but written in another time before the fall of the KKK.
The use of the term "anti" is one of pure Orwellian rhetoric. All those who write critically of Freemasonry are anti's and all anti's are frauds, liars, zealots, or extremists and cannot be accepted. Therefore there is no such thing as a legitimate work criticizing Freemasonry because by it's very nature it must be 'anti' and organized Freemasonry will accept no references from 'anti's' in any debate or discussion of Freemasonry. If per chance the writing was from a mason but was one that was meant not to come out into the public view (in the jacket cover of most masonic books is typed that the books must be returned to the Lodge if the owner dies), or if it was simply written in another time politically - such as the case with pro Ku Klux Klan books that extoll the roll of Albert Pike in the KKK, the tact is to attack the authors. Even though at the time the books were written Organized Freemasonry was more that happy to accept the kudos of the millions strong KKK on all the wonderful things that Pike did for them.
A non-mason may provide quote after quote from old masonic or KKK works and Freemasonry will not accept any of them because anyone who would suggest such a thing today (the non-mason) would be doing so with the knowledge that it would be harmful to Freemasonry's public image and standing, and anyone who would do that would obviously have to be an 'anti'. Of course nothing an "Anti" says or writes is acceptable to a Mason. Logicians term this circular reasoning and furthermore classify circular reasoning as a fallacy. A fallacy is equivalent to an mathematical error in logic or rhetoric, and it is disallowed. It is not a legitimate debating method, it is in the same category as ad hominem personal attacks. Unfortunately with the Freemasons power it is very difficult to compete with the deluge of misinformation they spew out repeating these illegitimate debating and reasoning methods. In crude terms organized Freemasonry's most effective tactic is to "baffle them with bee's wax". Mountains of it. If it will take a thousand websites or a hundered thousand usenet posts to bury the 'anti's' point (which they never respond to without employing shabby cut and paste, deletion, or misquoting games) then that is what they will do. Masons term this 'good work'.
Right: Atrium of the Supreme Council 33°, Washington DC. A bust of Pike can be seen in the distance on the landing of the Grand Staircase which leads up to the main temple room which all 33° Masons must file past. Pike is buried in a secret crypt under the stairway, beneath the bust, the only Freemason to be given this "honor".
But what is the purpose of this exercise? Masons who find themselves on the clear loosing end of a Pike match (it happens but they quickly cancel the posts or pretend the verbal arguement never occured) will say "but even if you are right, so what it happened 150 years ago and has no bearing today, etc". Here is why it does very much matter. Pike wasn't just any Freemason he was the head of the Supreme Council which has defacto control of the entire worldwide masonic movement. Therefore the Ku Klux Klan was an official (albiet very secret) and planned masonic organization with political overtones that foreknowingly was set up to engage in murder, arson, blackmail and other extra constitutional tactics to achieve the Scottish Rites political objectives. The KKK and Freemasonry relationship thereby is as a seamless as could be. From it's inception through the open recruiting of masons in newspapers to the KKK, to the use of masonic temples and halls for KKK meetings, to the rituals, rites, and occult themes, to the high degree masonic membership of the leadership of the old and new klans. Even the present cover-up can be seen to be part of Organized Freemasonry's continued involvement with reactionary politics. They have never stopped, they have never given up. Many have speculated on what happened to the millions of KKK Members that were on the rolls up to the KKK's final downfall at the hands of the IRS in the 40's. We now know. They simply carried on inside the masonic lodges as if nothing had changed at all. And what really had changed? In most regions of the country the local KKK Klavern's membership was indistinguishable from the local 'Blue' masonic lodges membership.
After all the KKK had openly advertised in newspapers for new recruits specifiying that masons were preferred! The only change was the sheets were stowed away, but the political goals and willingness and capability to follow through on them carried on. The letter that the head of the Supreme Council wrote about a Roman Catholic president in 1960 in the official organ of the Scottish Rite - 'New Age' magazine, and the continuing practically non-existant black membership in the 'blue' lodges, plus the non-recognition as 'regular' of black only Prince Hall lodges testify's boldly to that.
The 1940's folding was a complete sham. That is why the desperate defense of Albert Pike. They're still at it, they never went away.

Here then gentle, patient readers are the references which prove that the Illustrious Albert Pike was part of the KKK, and that the KKK and Freemasonry were intrinsically linked.

Reference Number ONE.
Ku Klux Klan: Its Origin, Growth, and Disbandment
It was in 1905 that the Neale Publishing Company, New York and Washington, published Ku Klux Klan: Its Origin, Growth and Disbandment, written and edited by Walter L. Fleming, incorporating earlier published material by J.C. Lester and D.L. Wilson. Historian Walter Fleming's introduction to this 1905 book explains that he has been given "information in regard to Ku Klux Klan, by many former members of the order, and by their friends and relatives." Dr. Fleming states that "General Albert Pike, who stood high in the Masonic order, was the chief judicial officer of the Klan." On a page of illustrations of important founders of the KKK, Dr. Fleming places General Pike's portrait in the center, makes it larger than the six others on the page, and repeats this information as a caption: "General Albert Pike, chief judicial officer". Dr. Fleming attaches as an appendix to his book, a KKK "prescript" or secret constitution which had then recently been discovered. This document sets forth the regulations of the Klan's "judiciary"' department, over which Albert Pike ruled. This is the internal disciplinary or counterintelligence department. It also corresponds to Pike and the Klan's influence over the regular court system and the legal profession in the post-civil War southern states.
As the boss of all the southern secret societies and simultaneously president of the Tennessee Bar Association, Pike was the grand strategist of Klan "justice." It is to be stressed that Walter Fleming's book was not a slander or hatchet job against Albert Pike. Though it revealed much important data for the first time, it placed the KKK and Pike in the most favorable possible light. The book was a hit among diehard Confederates and Anglo-Saxon "race patriots," and it launched Fleming's career as the dean of southern historians. Fleming became the leading apologist for the KKK, and was the father of the modern historical line that Reconstruction was a corrupt oppression of the South. In September 1903, Fleming had written in the Journal of the Southern History Association: "The very need for such an organization in the disordered conditions of the time caused the Dens [KKK local units] to begin to exercise the duties of a police patrol for regulating the conduct of thieving and impudent negroes and similar "loyal' whites...." Dr. Fleming's biases have not hurt his reputation with established authorities. The National Cyclopedia of American Biography calls his 1905 Ku Klux Klan history "an authoritative account of that organization." The Dictionary of American Biography states bluntly: "Fleming covered the Civil War and Reconstruction in the South more fully than any other man. His works are characterized by ... scholarly objective. A Southerner, Fleming wrote of the sectional conflict with Southern sympathies yet he was more objective than most Southerners of his generation. The historiography of the Civil War and Reconstruction owes much to his indefatigable research, his breadth of scholarship, and power of interpretation." Basing his career on his defense of Pike's KKK, Fleming became dean of arts and sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Pike's Tennessee Klan Command
It was in Nashville that Albert Pike and other Confederate generals met in 1867 to form a southern states-wide terrorist KKK, expanding the little project they had started two years before in Pulaski, Tenn. The organization he formed in Nashville designated Pike its chief judiciary officer, and its Grand Dragon for Arkansas.
As owner-publisher of the Memphis, Tennessee, Daily Appeal, Albert Pike wrote in an editorial on April 16, 1868:
"With negroes for witnesses and jurors, the administration of justice becomes a blasphemous mockery. A Loyal League of negroes can cause any white man to be arrested, and can prove any charges it chooses to have made against him. ...The disenfranchised people of the South ... can find no protection for property, liberty or life, except in secret association.... We would unite every white man in the South, who is opposed to negro suffrage, into one great Order of Southern Brotherhood, with an organization complete, active, vigorous, in which a few should execute the concentrated will of all, and whose very existence should be concealed from all but its members."
(A copy of that issue of Pike's paper may be viewed at the Library of Congress, as may the books mentioned in this article.)
Left: The Albert Pike Memorial Room inside the Supreme Council 33° Temple, which itself is located 13 blocks directly north of the White House in Washington D.C..
But it was as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, and the recognized boss of the southern white masonic order, that Pike exercised the great clandestine power that welded the KKK together. Dr. Walter Fleming designates Confederate Major James R. Crowe as the pre-eminent source for his 1905 KKK History, and describes Crowe as one of the original KKK founders in Pulaski. Fleming says that Major Crowe "held high rank in the Masonic order." In his honor roll of "well-known members of the Klan," Dr. Fleming places "General John C. Brown, of Pulaski, Tennessee" and "Colonel Joseph Fussell, of Columbia, Tennessee."
General Brown and Colonel Fussell, like Major Crowe, are identifiable as soldiers of Albert Pike's masonic order. General Brown had been a master mason in the Pulaski lodge for 15 years when the KKK was formed there, and became grand master of Tennessee Masons and governor of Tennessee during the Klan's era of power. Colonel Fussell was commandant of Tennessee's masonic Knights Templar during the Klan rule. The preceding masonic information is taken from Tennessee Templars: A Register of Names with Biographical Sketches of the Knights Templar of Tennessee by James D. Richardson. This James D. Richardson was himself the Commandant of Knights Templar and Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee, and was speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the era of the Klan power. This same James D. Richardson was Albert Pike's successor as commander of the southern Scottish Rite masons. It was this same Richardson who ordered the Pike statue to be erected in Washington, D.C. It was Richardson who, as a U.S. congressman from Tennessee, introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives the infamous 1898 resolution: It called for the federal government to provide federal land to Richardson's masonic organization, on which to put up their statue honoring the master strategist of KKK terror.

Reference Number TWO.
The KKK on Parade
Susan Lawrence Davis's 1924 Authentic History, Ku Klux Klan, 1865-1877, repeats the pattern Fleming created in 1905, revealing Pike's KKK role but treating him and the Klan sympathetically. The Davis book was written to celebrate the new, 20th-century KKK, which was just then staging full-dress mass marches in Washington and northern cities such as Detroit. In her chapter on General Pike's leadership of the Klan, Miss Davis applauds Pike's clever stewardship of the KKK secret organization. She reproduces in her KKK history an oil portrait of Albert Pike given to her for the KKK book by Pike's son.

Reference Number THREE.
The Tragic Era
The same is true of other book-length histories of the Klan and numerous published biographies of Albert Pike: Pike's role as Klan leader or KKK boss of Arkansas is discussed, but treated as if KKK terrorist murder of African-Americans was "regrettable" but "only natural" and "understandable." In his book, The Tragic Era, Claude Bowers, who served many years as the U.S. ambassador to Spain and to Chile, described Albert Pike as one of the handful of distinguished, respectable founders of the KKK and the Klan's leader in Arkansas.
Bowers describes the KKK as patriotic southerners defending their way of life from out-of-control blacks and northerners.
Bowers wrote that much of the KKK's alleged violence was actually perpetrated by Negroes disguised in Klan robes to wreak vengeance on other Negroes!

Reference Number FOUR.
The Fiery Cross
"Prominent Southern gentlemen were later cited as state leaders of the Invisible Empire. Alabama claimed General John T. Morgan as Grand Dragon. Arkansas was headed by General Albert Pike, explorer and poet. North Carolina was led by former governor Zebulon Vance, and Georgia by General John B. Gordon, later a U.S. Senator."
Source: The Fiery Cross: Wade, Wyn Craig. Oxford University Press 1998 Page 58 Originally Published: Simon & Schuster 1987 Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 1.Ku Klux Klan (1915-)-History. 2. White Supremacy movements--United States --History. 3. Racism--United States-- History. 322.4'2'0973-dc21 97-44001

Reference Number FIVE.
The Aryan's
Albert Pike also wrote extensively on the mythtical super-race of the Aryans, extolling their virtues, imagined history, and religion which he tried to show was the precursor of Freemasonry in is numerous Published Works. It would seem that Pike was a fellow traveller with Blavatsky on this subject. Fifty years later in Central Europe there will be others who will take up this mantle and use these writings as the basis for a ideology that curiously enough will also use the term 'new world order' to describe it's agenda. Just a co-incidence of course.

Reference Number SIX.
History and Evolution of Freemasonry
A further useful quotation from Mr. Pike was also supplied by Mr. Bill Maddox, a Freemason on the Usenet group alt.freemasonry (and vigorously attacked for doing so by the resident "e-m@sons").
"I took my obligations from white men, not from negroes. When I have to accept negroes as brothers or leave masonry, I shall leave it" - Albert Pike 33rd*
Delmar D. Darrah
History and Evolution of Freemasonry 1954, page 329.
The Charles T Powner Co.

Reference Number SEVEN.
A Critical Examination of Objections to the Legitimacy of the Masonry Existing Among the Negroes of America
On Bastille Day 2001 in response to a reference made in the usenet newsgroup alt.freemasonry to the page you are currently reading a mason once again attacked the above reference as being a "anti lie".
He is then publically rebutted by a brother thusly:
Lee Duncan wrote in message
news:1bfe0d70.0107141925.c01c59d@posting.google.com...
> For example, there is a popular claim among "anti's" that Pike said
> something resembling this: "I took my vows to white men, not
> Negroes...when I must call a Negroe 'brother,' I shall resign from
> Masonry."
> Of course, Pike said no such thing. In reality, Pike was a great
> champion of Prince Hall (Negroe) Masonry.

snip
For your consideration the full text of Pike's letter follows as quoted in "A Critical Examination of Objections to the Legitimacy of the Masonry Existing Among the Negroes of America" by William H. Upton, 1902, p.214-15. My thanks to Brother Bennie for prompting me to scan the document because of his contribution.
F&S,
Mike Wells
Normal #673 AF&AM Illinois
Collector of old Masonic books
Views of General ALBERT PIKE, Sovereign Grand Commander, A. & A. Scottish Rite. ALEXANDRIA, Va., 13th September, 1875.

My DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER.-I can see as plainly as that the negro question is going to make trouble. Then plenty of regular negro Masons and negro lodges in South America and the West Indies, and our folks only stave of the question by saying that negro Masons here are clandestine. Prince Hall Lodge was as regular a Lodge as any lodge created by competent authority, and had a perfect right (as other lodges in Europe did) to establish other lodges, making itself a mother Lodge. That's the way the Berlin lodges, Three Globes and Royal York, became Grand Lodges.

The Grand Orient of Hayti is as regular as any other. So is the Grand Orient of the Dominican Republic, which, I dare say, has negroes in it and negro lodges under it.

Again, if the negro lodges are not regular, they can easily get regularized. If our Grand Lodges won't recognize negro lodges, they have the right to go elsewhere. The Grand Lodge can't say to eight or more Masons, black or white, we will not give you a charter because you are negroes, or because you wish to work the Scottish Rite, and you shall not go elsewhere to get one. That latter part is bosh.

Hamburg recognizes the Grand Lodges. Yes, and so the German Grand Lodge Confederation is going to do, and so will the Grand Orient of France before long.

Of course, if negrophily continues to be the religion established by law of your States, there will be before long somewhere a beginning of recognition of negro lodges. Then the Royal Arch and Templar bodies of negroes must be taken in, and Masonry go down to their level. Will your plan work? I think not. I think there is no middle ground between rigid exclusion of negroes or recognition and affiliation with the whole mass.

If they are not Masons, how protect them as such or at all ? If they are Masons, how deny them affiliation or have two supreme powers in one jurisdiction.

I am not inclined to meddle in the matter. I took my obligations to white men, not to negroes. When I have to accept negroes as brothers or leave Masonry, I shall leave it.

I am interested to keep the Ancient and Accepted Rite uncontaminated, in our country at least, by the leprosy of negro association. Our Supreme Council can defend its jurisdiction, and it is the law-maker. There can not be a lawful body of that Rite in our jurisdiction unless it is created by us.

I am not so sure but that, what with immensity of numbers, want of a purpose worth laboring for, general indifference to obligations, pitiful charity and large expenses, fuss, feathers and fandango, big temples and large debts, Masonry is become a great helpless, inert mass that will some day, before long, topple over, and go under. If you wish it should, I think you can hasten the catastrophe by urging a protectorate of the negroes. Better let the thing drift. Apres noun le, deluge.

Truly, yours,
ALBERT PIKE
Left: The Albert Pike Scottish Rite Temple, Little Rock Arkansas, home of the Arkansas Scottish Rite Supreme Council 33°, and the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. There are also a large number of regular 'Blue' lodges named after Pike in small and big town U.S.A..

Reference Number EIGHT.
The Knights of the Golden Circle
Brigadier General Albert Pike organized and lead the African Slave Owning Cherokee Indians in the Oklahoma Territory who were part of the Masonic Knights of the Golden Circle, in their own secret society called the Keetowah. Under Pikes Generalship this Brigade raped, pillaged, and murdered civilian communities in the Oklahoma and Missori Territories. For these "good works" Brother Albert became a Convicted War Criminal in a War Crimes Trial held after the Civil Wars end. Unfortunately the "Pope" and "Plato" of Freemasonry had to be tried in absentia because he had fled to British Territory in Canada. Second Generation British-American Pike has also been alledged to have been working for the Crown as an agent and key civil war agitator. Pike only returned to the U.S. after his hand picked Scottish Rite Succsessor James Richardon 33° got a pardon for him after, making President Johnson a 33° Scottish Mason in a ceremony held inside the White House itself! In fact given Mr. Pikes leadership roll in the Knights of the Golden Circle and the fact that the name Ku Klux Klan is a version of Circle (Kluklos) it seems pretty clear to most researchers who was higher up the secret society occult ladder and therefore more instrumental in the founding of the Klan - Mason/Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest or Mason/Confederate General/ Knights of the Golden Circle Leader/British Agent/ Scottish Rite Supreme Council Head Albert Pike 33°.

Reference Number NINE
Scholarship
Dr. Walter Fleming's Academic Credentials by Auburn University.
Where or what are the academic credentials of Masonic "truth seekers" such as the self styled "Grand" Lodge of BC and others that call anyone who says Pike was a key figure in the KKK a liar and "a hater"?
FLEMING, WALTER LYNWOOD, 1874-1932
University professor, dean. Born: April 8, 1874, Brundridge. Parents: William Leroy and Mary Love (Edwood) Fleming. Married: Mary Wright Boyd, September 17, 1902. Children: Four. Education: Alabama Polytechnic Institute, B.S., (with honor), 1896; M.A., 1897; Columbia University, A.M., 1901; Ph.D., 1904. While at Auburn served as an instructor in history and English; assistant librarian. At Columbia, lecturer in history. Served with the Alabama Voluntary Infantry in the Spanish-American War. Taught at West Virginia University, 1903-1907; Louisiana State University, 1907-1917; Vanderbilt University, 1917-1928; dean of the College of Arts and Services, 1923-1926. Member of the editorial board of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1922.
Source: Who Was Who in America, Vol. 1; Owen's The Story of Alabama, and Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 1.
Author: Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama. New York: Columbia University Press, 1905.
Documentary History of Reconstruction: Political, Military, Social, Religious, Educational & Industrial, 1861 to the Present Time. Cleveland, Ohio: A. H. Clarke Co., 1906-1907.
The Freedman's Savings Bank. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1927.
History of Louisiana State University (1860-1896). Sewanee, Tenn.: The University of the South Press, 1931.
The Reconstruction of the Seceded States, 1865-76. Albany, N.Y.: New York State Education Department, 1905.
The Reconstruction Period: a Syllabus & Reference List. Morgantown, W. Va.: A. G. Sturgiss, 1904.
The Sequel to Appomatox .... New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1921.
Southern Biography. (Vols. 11 & 12 in The South in the Building of the Nation) Richmond, Va.: Southern Historical Publication Society, 1909-1913.
Editor: Documents Relating to Reconstruction. Morgantown, W. Va.: s.n., 1904.
General W.T. Sherman as College President: a Collection of Letters, Documents, and Other Material .... Cleveland, Ohio: The Arthur M. Clarke Co., 1912.
Ku Klux Klan, its Origin, Growth and Disbandment. New York: Neale Pub. Co., 1905.
SOURCE:
Auburn University History Department

Reference Number TEN.
Investigative Journalism
Detroit Metro Times article:
Top Twenty List of Monuments and Statues in the United States of America that must Topple.

Conclusion
Rather than quake in fear when Masonic Propagandists puts the muscle on (as in the case of the 1990's Pike Statue removal fight in Washington D.C.), a citizen or his political representative ought to put this question to General Pike's defenders: "Do you say that Professor Fleming, Miss Davis, Mr. Bowers, and all the other pro-Confederate historians were liars when they wrote of Pike's marvelous deeds as KKK founder and leader?" They want to have it both ways: first to issue propaganda justifying Klan terrorism as the work of "respectable'' men like Pike; later, when their hero is under attack, to claim that their own propaganda slanders their man!

Resources:
Essay by John Covici, January 19, 1993
The Crown in the Capitol
The Ku Klux Klan, It's Origins Growth and Disbandment
Authentic History, Ku Klux Klan
The Tragic Era
The Fiery Cross
History and Evolution of Freemasonry
The Published Works of Illustrious Albert Pike 33
Usenet
Knights of the Golden Circle Cherokee Indians

In 1995 African-American and Anti-Racist Groups attempted to get Pike's statue near the Federal Department of Justice Building in "Judiciary" Square taken down but were out lobbied by the Supreme Council 33°, who were able to successfully mobilize fellow Scottish Rite 'travelling brethren' inside the powerful ADL of the Grand Lodge of B'nai B'rith, who then told politicians and officials that no evidence existed for Pike's involvement in the KKK. Brother heal thyself.
We predict Grand-Wizard Pike's future in Judiciary Square is about as promising as the statues of assorted henchman that used to sit outside KGB headquarters in Moscow under the hammer and sickle.
The worm has turned, brethren.



Religious leader and host of news show "The 700 Club" Pat Robertson predicted U.S. will suffer massive terror attack in 2007.


VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (AP) -- Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007.
"I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
"The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
Robertson said God told him about the impending tragedy during a recent prayer retreat.
God also said, he claims, that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.
Robertson suggested in January 2006 that God punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians.
The broadcaster predicted in January 2004 that President Bush would easily win re-election.
Bush won 51 percent of the vote that fall, beating Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
In 2005 Robertson predicted that Bush would have victory after victory in his second term. He said Social Security reform proposals would be approved and Bush would nominate conservative judges to federal courts.
Lawmakers confirmed Bush's 2005 nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. But the president's Social Security initiative was stalled.
"I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."
In May, Robertson said God told him that storms and possibly a tsunami were to crash into America's coastline in 2006.
Even though the U.S. was not hit with a tsunami, Robertson on Tuesday cited last spring's heavy rains and flooding in New England as partly fulfilling the prediction.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The scariest part about this is that he is always correct, it’s not hard to figure out how, and he is an Illuminist after all.



THE DARK HISTORY OF THE TEMPLARS



Although the crusaders are commonly thought to have been motivated by their deep Christian faith, crusades were actually wars inspired by avarice. At a time of utmost poverty and misery prevalent in the West, the attractions of the East-in particular, the Muslim societies' wealth and prosperity-played on the minds of Europeans, especially those in the Church. These attractions, bolstered with Christian teachings, begot the crusaders' mindset, seemly motivated by religion but actually motivated by worldly designs. This is the reason why Christians, who had followed more or less peaceful policies in the previous 1,000 years, suddenly began to display an appetite for war-specifically, the "liberation" of the holy city of Jerusalem and Palestine as a whole.


The crusades were a barbaric attack on the Middle Eastern Muslim population, living in peace.
We can retrace the beginnings of the crusades to November 1095, when Pope Urban II gathered the Council of Clermont. Three hundred members of the clergy convened under his chairmanship. The pacifist doctrines that had dominated Christendom were abandoned, laying the foundations for the conquest. At the close of the Council, Urban II announced this state of affairs in his famous speech to a congregation that comprised all social classes, demanding that Christians stop the infighting and warring among themselves. The Pope called on them-whether rich or poor, aristocrat or peasant-to unite under one banner and to free the holy land from the Muslims. To him, this was "a holy war."
Historians describe Urban II as a good orator. He intended to incite the Christians against Muslim Turks and Arabs, and succeeded by alleging that the Muslim were assaulting pilgrims and that Christianity's sacred places were being desecrated.1 Of course, none of this was true.
As historians have confirmed, the Muslims were very tolerant towards Christians and Jews, whom they permitted to pray and worship. All minorities co-existing in the Holy Land benefited equally from this atmosphere of tranquility, created by the moral code of Islam. But because means of communication at the time were terribly primitive compared to today's, medieval Europeans weren't aware of this. Owing allegiance to the Vatican in Rome and conducting services in Latin, they knew little about the Eastern Orthodox Church or the Greek-speaking Byzantium, and even less about Islam.
Since what the common people did know amounted to nothing more than hearsay, the Pope found it easy to excite their emotions. Urban II went on to proclaim as an encouragement that for those who participated in the crusade, all sins would be forgiven. The exuberant crowd was distributed fabric crosses to emblazon their garments, and they dispersed to spread the word of the "holy war."
The overwhelming response to this call made history. In a very short period of time, a massive "crusaders' army" was assembled, consisting of not only professional warriors, but also ten thousands of ordinary people.
Some historians suggest that the impoverished kings of Christendom, eager to exploit the fabled riches of the East, pressurized the Pope to call a "holy war." Others find an altogether different motive for Pope Urban II, suggesting that he wished to gain power and prestige for himself at the expense of a rival claiming to be pope. But in reality, all the various kings, princes, aristocrats and others who obliged this call did so for worldly purposes. As Donald Queller of the University of Illionois put it, "the French knights wanted more land. Italian merchants hoped to expand trade in Middle Eastern ports. . . Large numbers of poor people joined the expeditions simply to escape the hardships of their normal lives."2
On the way, greedy hordes murdered countless Muslims and Jews in the hope of finding gold and jewels. Among crusaders, it was common practice to disembowel their victims in the hopes that they might have swallowed their gold and jewels to hide them. In the Fourth Crusade, their avarice reached the point where they looted Christian Constantinople, scratching gold leaf off the frescos in the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia.
Barbarism of the Crusaders


A 16th-century crusader
In the summer of 1096, this mob of self-appointed crusaders set off in three separate groups, each taking a different route to Constantinople, where they met up with one another. The Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, did what he could to aid this force, comprising 4,000 mounted knights and 25,000 infantry troops.3 Raymond IV of Saint-Gilles, Count of Toulouse;Bohemond, Duke of Taranto; Godfrey of Bouillon;Hugh, Count of Vermandois;and Robert, Duke of Normandy commanded this army. Bishop Adhemar of le Puy, the close friend of Urban II, was their spiritual leader.4
After ransacking and setting fire to many settlements and putting countless Muslims to the sword, eventually the crusaders reached Jerusalem in 1099. After a siege of approximately five weeks, the city fell. When the victors finally entered Jerusalem, according to one historian, "They killed all the Saracens and the Turks they found... whether male of female."5
Crusaders slaughtered everyone they met and looted everything they could get their hands on. They murdered indiscriminately those who had taken refuge in the mosques, whether young or old, and devastated the Muslim and Jewish holy sites and places of worship setting the city's synagogues aflame, burning alive Jews who had hidden inside. This slaughter continued until no longer could they find anyone to kill.6
One of the crusaders, Raymond of Aguiles, boasts of this incredible cruelty:
Wonderful sights were to be seen. Some of our men (and this was more merciful) cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into flames. Piles of heads, hands and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious services are normally chanted . . . in the temple and the porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins.7


An engraving depicting the crusaders' occupation of Jerusalem A Medieval Age drawing of Templars in Jerusalem
In The Monks of War, researcher Desmond Seward narrates the events of these tragic days:
Jerusalem was stormed in July 1099. The rabid ferocity of its sack showed just how little the Church had succeeded in Christianising atavistic instincts. The entire population of the Holy City was put to the sword, Jews as well as Moslems, 70,000 men, women and children perished in a holocaust, which raged for three days. In places men waded in blood up to their ankles and horsemen were splashed by it as they rode through the streets.8
According to another historical source, the number of Muslims pitilessly slaughtered was 40,000.9 Whatever the actual number of the dead, what the crusaders committed in the Holy Land has gone down in history as an example of matchless barbarism.
The first crusade ended with the fall of Jerusalem in 1099. After 460 years of Muslim rule, the Holy Land came under Christian control. The crusaders established a Latin kingdom that stretched from Palestine to Antioch and made Jerusalem its capital city.
Thereafter, the crusaders began struggling to establish themselves in the Middle East. But to sustain the state they had founded, they needed to organize themselves-and to achieve his, they established unprecedented military orders. Members of these orders had emigrated from Europe and, in Palestine, lived a monastic life of sorts. At the same time, they trained for war against the Muslims. One of these orders went down a different route, undergoing a change that would significantly alter the course of history in Europe and-eventually-the world: the Knights Templar.



Founding of the Knights Templar

14th-century drawing of the Temple of Solomon
About 20 years after the conquest of Jerusalem and the creation of a Latin Empire, the Templars first appeared on the scene of history. Otherwise known as Templars or Knights Templar, the order's full and proper name was Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonis, or "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon." (A major part of the information we have today on the Templars was recorded by the 12th century historian Guillaume of Tyre.) The order was founded in 1118 by nine knights: Hugues de Payens, Geoffrey de St. Omer, Rossal, Gondamer, Geoffrey Bisol, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St. Agnat, Andre de Montbard, and the Hugh Conte de Champagne.
Thus was quietly born one of the most talked-about, effective and powerful organizations of Medieval Europe. These nine knights presented themselves to Baldwin II, the Emperor of Jerusalem, asking him to assign them the responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the many Christian pilgrims now flocking to Jerusalem from all over Europe. The Emperor knew Hugues de Payens, the first Grand Master of the order, well enough to grant the nine their request. Accordingly, the district where Solomon's Temple once stood (and by then, included the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which survives to this day), was allocated to the order of the Templars, giving the order its name.

The Temple Mount thus remained the order's headquarters for the next 70 years until, following the battle of Hattin, the great Islamic commander Saladin reconquered Jerusalem for the Muslims.
The Templars had established themselves there by choice, because the site of the Temple represented the earthly power of the Prophet Solomon; and the remnants of the temple contained big secrets. Protecting the Holy Land and the Christian pilgrims was the official reason the nine founders gave for joining forces and for creating the order in the first place. But the true reason behind it all was altogether different.
The Order's Mission
At the time, there were a number of other orders of warrior monks in Jerusalem, but all acting according to their charters. Besides training as soldiers, the Knights of St. John-a large organization also known as the Knights Hospitalers-took care of the sick and the poor and were performing other good deeds in the Holy Land. The Templars, however, had taken it upon themselves to protect the lands between Haifa and Jerusalem-a physical impossibility for the nine knights to shoulder all by themselves. Even then, it was now obvious that they sought political as well as economic gains, quite aside from performing works of charity.

The famous Grand Master Albert Pike, with his book titled Morals and Dogma
In Morals And Dogma, one of Freemasonry's most popular books, Grand Master Albert Pike (1809-1891) reveals the Templars' true purpose:
In 1118, nine Knights Crusaders in the East, among whom were Geoffroi de Saint-Omer and Hughes de Payens, consecrated themselves to religion, and took an oath between the hands of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a See always secretly or openly hostile to that of Rome from the time of Photius. The avowed object of the Templars was to protect the Christians who came to visit the Holy Places: their secret object was the rebuilding of the Temple of Solomon on the model prophesied by Ezekiel...10
The Knights Templar, he continued, were from the very beginning "devoted to . . . opposition to the tiara of Rome and the crown of its Chiefs. . ." The object of the Templars, he said, was to acquire influence and wealth, then to "intrigue and at need fight to establish the Johannite or Gnostic and Kabbalistic dogma. . ."
Adding to the information that Pike provides, the English authors of The Hiram Key, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas-both Masons-write about the Templars' origin and purpose. According to them, the Templars discovered "a secret" in the ruins of the temple. This then changed their worldview; and from then on, they adopted un-Christian teachings. Their "protection for pilgrims" became a front behind which they hid their real intent and activities.
There is no evidence that these founding Templars ever gave protection to pilgrims, but on the other hand, we were soon to find that there is conclusive proof that they did conduct extensive excavations under the ruins of Herod's Temple [as Solomon's temple was called after Herod rebuilt it].11
The authors of The Hiram Key are not the only researchers finding evidence for this. Writes the French historian,
Gaetan Delaforge:
The real task of the nine knights was to carry out research in the area, in order to obtain certain relics and manuscripts which contain the essence of the secret traditions of Judaism and ancient Egypt�12
In The Hiram Key, Knight and Lomas conclude that the Templars excavated items of such importance at the site that they adopted a wholly new world view. Many other historians draw similar conclusions. The order's founders and their successors were all of Christian upbringing, yet their philosophy of life was not a Christian one.


Some seals and maps from the era of the crusades: From left to right: A sketch showing the centers of religious importance in Jerusalem; Seal of Frederick III; another map of Jerusalem; front and back of the crusader king Baldwin's seal; front and back of the Cesaree Archbishop's seal.
At the end of the 19th century, Charles Wilson of the Royal Engineers, began conducting archeological research in Jerusalem. He concluded that the Templars had gone to Jerusalem to study the temple's ruins and, from the evidence Wilson obtained there, that the Templars had set themselves up in the vicinity of the temple to facilitate excavation and research. The tools that the Templars left behind form part of the evidence Wilson gathered, and are now in the private collection of the Scottish Robert Brydon.13
According to the authors of The Hiram Key, the Templars' search was not in vain. They made a discovery that altered their perception of and outlook on the world entirely. Despite being born and raised in a Christian society, they adopted wholly un-Christian practices. Black magic rituals and rites and sermons of perverse content were common practice. There is a general consensus among historians that these practices were derived from on the Cabala.

Muslims and Christians during one of their clashes
Map of Palestine showing the crusades
Cabala literally means "oral tradition." An esoteric branch of mystical Judaism, the Cabala is also a school that researches the secret, hidden and meanings of the Torah (or first five Books of Moses) and other Jewish writings. There's more to it, however. A close examination of the Cabala reveals that it actually precedes the Torah. A pagan teaching, it continued to exist after the revelation of the Torah and lived on to spread amongst the followers of Judaism. (For further reading on the subject, see Harun Yahya's Global Freemasonry, Global Publishing, 2002)
For thousands of years, the Cabala has been a resource for sorcery and practitioners of black magic and now enjoys a strong following all around the world, not only in the Jewish community. The Templars were one such group, engaged in research into the Cabala with the goal of acquiring supernatural powers. As the following chapters will examine in detail, they were keen on establishing ongoing relationships with Cabalists in Jerusalem as well as in Europe-a view widely accepted by researchers working on the subject.14
The Development of the Order
With new members joining their order, the Templars soon entered a phase of rapid growth. In 1120, Foulgues d'Angers became a Knight Templar and so did Hugo, Count of Champagne, in 1125. The enigma surrounding the order and its mystic teachings drew the attention of many European aristocrats. At the Council of Troyes in 1128, the Papacy officially recognized the order of the Templars, which further aided their growth.15

A ship carrying the symbols of the Templars
Rome's recognition of the Templars is related in the Turkish Masonic journal, Mimar Sinan:
To obtain the Papacy's approval of the order, Grand Master Hugues de Payens, accompanied by five knights, paid a visit to Pope Honorius II. The Grand Master submitted two letters-one from the patriarch of Jerusalem, the other from King Baudoin II-setting forth the order's honorable mission, its services to Christianity, and many another good deed. On the 13th of January, 1128, the Council of Troyes convened. Present were many high-ranking officials of the Church, including the Abbot of Citeaux, Etienne Harding, and Bernard, the Abbot of Clairvaux. The Grand Master presented his case once more. It was agreed that the Church would officially recognize the order under the name of Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ. Bernard was commissioned to prepare a Rule for the Templars. So, the order was officially founded.16
In the order's development and progress, the single most important person is undoubtedly St. Bernard (1090-1153). Becoming the Abbot of Clairvaux at the tender age of 25, he had risen in the Catholic Church's hierarchy to become a respectable spokesman for the Church, influential with the Pope as well as the French King. It must be added that he was a cousin of Andre de Montbard, one of the founders of the order. The Templars' Rule was written according the principles of the Cistercian Order to which St. Bernard belonged-or short, the Templars adopted the rules and organization of this monastic order. But most of their rule never went any further than being written down and recognized: The Templars continued in their un-Christian practices that the Church had strictly forbidden.
It's entirely possible that St. Bernard was duped, and that he never knew the truth about the Templars who, taking advantage of his trustworthiness and status in the Church and throughout Christian Europe, used him for their own ends. He wrote a favorable appraisal of the order, "De Laude Novae Militae" (In Praise of the New Knighthood) following Grand Master Hugues de Payens's persistent requests for him to do so.17 Around that time, St. Bernard had become the second most influential person in Christendom, after the Pope.

The famous explorer Vasco de Gama was a Templar who set sail to discover new ocean trading routes. Above: Vasco de Gama's ship with the Templars Cross on its sails.
One source illustrates the importance of Bernard's support of the Templars:
Bernard's document, "De Laude Novae Militae", swept through Christendom like a tornado, and in no time the number of Templar recruits increased. At the same time donations, gifts and bequests, from Monarchs and Barons throughout Europe, were arriving regularly on the Templar doorstep. With a staggering rapidity, the fledgling little band of nine knights grew into what we refer to as Templar, Inc.18

"Shall I tell you upon whom the satans descend? They descend on every evil liar. They give them a hearing and most of them are liars." (Qur'an, 26: 221-223)

The Cabala is a mystic synthesis between pagan teachings preceding the Torah and Judaism. For centuries, the Cabala has been associated with sorcery and was a source of inspiration for the Templars' perverse beliefs.
With this document, the Templars obtained unprecedented privileges not granted to other orders and-according to Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe, known for their research is this field-became the most successful military, commercial and financial organization in Medieval Europe. As their legend and renown spread from mouth to mouth, they became a multinational company with seemingly unlimited capital and financial resources and ten of thousands of trained employees:
Recruits, and offers of money and land came flowing in from far and wide. Soon, numerous presbyteries, castles, farms and churches, were built and occupied by the Templar Knights and their servants. The Templars fitted out ships, creating both a merchant and fighting navy. In time, they became the most famous warriors, travellers, bankers and financiers of their day.19
In short, the Templars were an autonomous entity answerable only to the Pope, with no obligation to pay dues to any king, ruler or diocese. Their wealth increased day by day. In the Holy Lands, the order's power was legendary and continued until the fall of Acre (1291). They controlled the shipping routes from Europe to Palestine used by pilgrims, but all these constituted just a fraction of the Templars' overall activities.
They had entered the scene as "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ," but no description could have been less accurate. Amongst their ranks were to be found the wealthiest people of Europe: leading bankers from London and Paris, among whose customers were Blanche of Castile, Alphonso de Poitiers, and Robert of Artois. The finance ministers of James I of Aragon, and Charles I of Naples and the chief advisor of Louis VII of France were all Templars.20
By the year 1147, 700 knights and 2,400 servants of the order were stationed in Jerusalem. Across the known world, 3,468 castles had become the Templars' property. They had established trading posts and routes on both land and sea, had won war booty and spoils from the wars they participated in. Among Europe's states, they were a political power to be reckoned with, often called in to arbitrate between rulers during times of conflict.
It is estimated that in the 13th century, the Templars numbered 160,000, of whom 20,000 were knights-in those times, constituting an undoubted superpower.
In The Temple and the Lodge, authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh document the Templars' incredibly widespread influence throughout Christian Europe. They were simply everywhere, even playing a role in the signing of England's Magna Carta. Having amassed huge wealth, they were the most powerful bankers of their time and also the largest fighting force in the West. The Templars commissioned and financed cathedrals, mediated in international transactions, and even supplied court chamberlains to the ruling houses of Europe.
The Structure of the Order
One of the most interesting aspects of the Templars was their emphasis on discretion. In the two hundred years between the order's founding and its liquidation, they never compromised on secrecy. This, however, is inexplicable by any standard of reason, logic, or common sense. If they were truly devoted to the Catholic Church, there was no need for this secrecy: All of Europe was under the sovereignty of the Papacy. If they were merely following Christian teachings, then they had nothing to hide and there was no need for secrecy. Why adopt secrecy as a fundamental principle if you are in compliance with Church doctrine and your mission is to uphold and defend Christianity-unless you are engaged in activities incompatible with the Church?
Discipline was so very strictly observed within the order's hierarchy that it can only be described as a chain of command. According to the Templar rule, obedience to the Grand Master and Masters of the order was paramount:
... if anything be commanded by the Master or by one to whom he has given his power, it should be done without demur as if it were a command from God.21

Ruins of castles and fortresses built by the Templars in Europe and Palestine
The Templars were not allowed any personal possessions; everything remained the property of their order. They also had their own unique dress code. Over their armor, they wore a long white mantle emblazoned with a red cross, so that they were recognized as Templars wherever they went. The Red Cross symbol was assigned to the order by Pope Eugene III, who, incidentally, had been tutored by St. Bernard.
There were three classes of Templars: Knights and warriors of various ranks, men of religion, and finally servants. Other rules specific to the order prohibited marriage, correspondence with relatives or a private life.22 Meals were taken together en masse. As portrayed on their seal-which depicted two knights on one single horse-they were required to go about their business in pairs, share everything, and eat from the same bowl. They addressed each other as "my brother," and each Templar had the right to three horses and one servant. Breach or disrespect of any of these rules was harshly punished.
Grooming and cleansing were considered an embarrassment, so Templars rarely washed and went around filthy and stinking of sweat, from the heat of wearing their armor. But according to history, the Templars were good seafarers. From the surviving Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land, they had acquired various maps and learned the sciences of geometry and mathematics, enabling them to navigate not only along the shores of Europe and along the African coast, but to explore lands and seas lying farther away.
Admission to the Order


Money and medallions issued by the Templars, who invented the first banking system.
Before one could be considered for admission into the order, he had to meet a number of preconditions. Among them, a man had to be in good health, not married or indebted, without any obligations and not bound by any other order, and willing to accept becoming a slave and servant of the order.
The initiation ceremony was held in a domed chamber resembling the Church of The Holy Sepulchre and was to be conducted in absolute secrecy.23 Just as in Freemasonry centuries later, esoteric rituals had to be performed during this ceremony.
In his article titled "Tampliyeler ve Hurmasonlar" (Templars and Freemasons) mason Teoman Biyikoglu refers to the order's rule of 1128 about the initiation ceremony:
The Master addresses the congregated brothers of the order: "Dear brothers, some of you have proposed that Mr. X may be admitted to the order. If any of you know of any reason to oppose his initiation, say so now."
If no word of opposition is spoken, the candidate will be led to the adjoining chamber of the temple. In this chamber, the candidate is visited by three of the most senior brothers, told of the difficulties and hardship awaiting him if he is admitted to the order, and then asked whether he still wishes to be admitted. If his answer is affirmative, he is asked whether he is married or engaged to be married, has links to other orders, is indebted to anyone, is of good health, and whether or not he is a slave.
If his answers to these questions comply with the requirements of the order, the senior brothers will return to the temple and say, "We told the candidate of all the hardships awaiting him and our conditions of admission, but he is insistent on becoming a slave of the order." Before being readmitted into the temple, the candidate is again asked whether he still insists on being admitted. If he still answers yes, the Grand Master addresses the candidate: "Brother, you are asking much of us. You have seen only the façade of the order, and you hope to acquire pureblood horses, honorable neighbors, good food and nice garments. But are you aware of how hard our conditions really are?" Proceeding to list the difficulties awaiting the candidate, he continues: "You must not seek admittance for wealth, nor for status."
If the candidate agrees, he is again led out of the temple. The Grand Master then asks the brothers whether they have anything to say about the candidate. If there is nothing said against him, he is brought back, made to kneel down, and given the Bible. He is asked if he is married. If he answers no, the oldest or most senior in the congregation is asked, "Have any questions that need to be asked been forgotten?" If the answer is no, the candidate is asked to swear an oath that he will remain loyal to the order and his brothers until the day he dies, and that he will not reveal to the outside world a word that is spoken in the temple. After he has sworn the oath, the Grand Master kisses the new brother on the lips [according to another source he is kissed on the belly and neck]. He then is given a Templar mantle and a woven belt, which is never to be taken off.24

Mystic teachings like the Cabala are not the only things the Knights Templars borrowed from Judaism. Although not sanctioned by the true faith, vices like amassing wealth and usury, practiced by some unobservant Jews have been adopted likewise by the Templars. In the Qur'an, God speaks of people who amass gold and silver:
Jewish religious ornaments
"Christian Usurers"
According to Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe, "The Templars were expert financiers, using trading techniques quite unknown in the Europe of their day. They had clearly learned many of these skills from Jewish sources, but would have much more freedom to extend their financial empire, in a way that any Jewish financier of the period would have envied greatly."25
Even though usury was strictly forbidden, they weren't afraid to lend money on interest. The Templars had acquired such wealth-and the power that came with it-that nobody dared speak out against them or do anything about it.26 This so went to their heads that they went out of control. They were disobedient to kings and the Pope and in some cases, even challenged their authority. In 1303, for example, few years before their order was liquidated, they refused a request for assistance from the French King Philip IV, as well as his later request in 1306 for the Templars' order to merge with the Hospitalers.27
Travel could be a hazardous enterprise in the 12th century. En route, wayfarers could be robbed by bandits anywhere and at anytime. Transporting money, as well as other precious commodities essential for trade, was particularly risky. Out of this situation, the Templars made a fortune by means of a fairly simple system of banking. For example, if a tradesman wanted to go from London to Paris, first he would go to the Templars' office in London and hand over his money. In return, he was given a paper with an encoded message written on it. On his arrival in Paris, he could hand in this note in exchange for the money he'd paid in London, minus a fee and interest. Thus the transaction was completed.
Along with traders, wealthy pilgrims too made use of this system. "Checks" issued by Templars in Europe could be cashed in on arrival in Palestine, minus a hefty interest charge for this service. In The Temple and the Lodge, co-authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh explain the Templars' economic dimension, recording that the beginnings of modern banking can be traced back to them, and that no other organization contributed as much as the Templars to the rise of capitalism.28 History records Florentine bankers as having invented "checking accounts," yet the Templars were using this method of money transfer long before. It is generally accepted that capitalism first arose in the Jewish community of Amsterdam, but long before them, the Templars had established their own medieval capitalism, including banking based on interest. They lent money on interest rates of up to 60% and controlled a major proportion of capital flow and liquidity in the economy of Europe. Using methods much like those of a modern private bank, they derived profits from both trade and banking, as well as from donations and armed conflict. They became as rich as the multinational company that, in effect, they were. At one time, the finances of the English and French monarchies were controlled and run by the Templars' respective offices in Paris and London, and both the French and English royal families owed the Templars huge amounts of money.29 The kings of Europe were literally at their mercy, hoping to borrow money, and most royal households had come to depend on the order. This let them manipulate the kings and their national policies for their own purposes. The Enigma of the Templars and Gothic Architecture


St. Bernard, spiritual leader of the Templars
After Innocent II was elected Pope with St. Bernard's backing, he granted the Templars the right to build and run their own churches. This was a first in the history of the Church, which ruled as an absolute power at the time. This privilege meant that from now on, the Templars were answerable only to the Pope and beyond the reach of other authorities, including kings and lesser rulers. It also reduced their responsibilities to the Papacy, letting them hold court, impose their own taxes and collect them. Thus they could realize their worldly ambitions free of any pressure from the Church.
In the process of planning their churches, they developed their own style of architecture, later to be known as "Gothic." In The Sign and the Seal, Graham Hancock states that Gothic architecture was born in 1134 with the construction of the north tower of Chartres Cathedral. The person behind this work of architecture was St. Bernard, the Templars' mentor and spiritual leader. He felt it important that this construction symbolize in stone the cabbalistic approach and the esotericism that the Templars esteemed so highly. As Graham Hancock wrote, St. Bernard, the patron of the Templars, "played a formative role in the evolution and dissemination of the Gothic architectural formula in its early days (he had been at the height of his powers in 1134 when the soaring north tower of Chartres cathedral had been built, and he had constantly stressed the principles of sacred geometry that had been put into practice in that tower and throughout the whole wonderful building.)"


A medieval engraving showing Jerusalem at the time of the Templars
Elsewhere in the same book, the author writes:
The entire edifice had been carefully and explicitly designed as a key to the deeper religious mysteries. Thus, for example, the a
rchitects and masons had made use of gematria (an ancient Hebrew cipher that substitutes numbers for the letters of the alphabet) to "spell out" obscure liturgical phrases in many of the key dimensions of the great building. Similarly the sculptors and glaziers-working usually to the instructions of the higher clergy-had carefully concealed complex messages about human nature, about the past, and about the prophetic meaning of the Scriptures in the thousands of different devices and designs that they had created.


Characteristic examples of Gothic architecture in some of Europe's cities

(For example, a tableau in the north porch depicts the removal, to some unstated destination, of the Ark of the Covenant-which is shown loaded upon an ox-cart. The damaged and eroded inscription, "HIC AMICITUR ARCHA CEDERIS," which could be "Here is hidden the Ark of the Covenant."
Clearly he had regarded the Templars' architectural skills as almost supernaturally advanced and had been particularly impressed by the soaring roofs and arches that they had built. . . Soaring roofs and arches had also been the distinguishing features of the Gothic architectural formula as expressed at Chartres and other French cathedrals in the twelfth century-cathedrals that . . . were regarded by some observers as "scientifically... far beyond what can be allowed for in the knowledge of the epoch."30
The Battle of Hattin
Following the death of the Latin King Baldwin I in 1186, Guy de Lusignan-who was known to be close to the Templars-succeeded to the throne in Palestine. Reynald de Chatillon, Prince of Antioch, became the new king's closest aide. After fighting in the Second Crusade, Reynald had stayed behind in Palestine, where he became good friends with the Templars.


Gold and silver swords belonging to Templars
Reynald's cruelty was well known in the Holy Land. On the 4th of July, 1187 the crusader armies fought their bloodiest battle at Hattin. The army numbered 20,000 infantry and a thousand mounted knights. Assembling this army stretched to the limit the resources of towns along the border, leaving the others unprotected and vulnerable. The battle ended with the virtual annihilation of the crusaders. Most lost their lives, and every survivor was captured. Among the prisoners of war were King Guy himself and the leading commanders of the Christian army

Drawing depicting the Templars' defeat at the Battle of Hattin
According to the Templars' own records, Saladin, the great commander of the Muslim forces, was fair. Despite all the cruelty inflicted on Palestine's Muslim population over the previous 100 years of Christian rule, the defeated forces were not ill-treated. While most Christians were pardoned, the Templars had been responsible for the savage attacks carried out on the Muslim population, and for this reason, Saladin had the Templars executed, along with the Grand Master of the order and Reynald de Chatillon, both known for their inhumane cruelty. King Guy was freed after only one year in captivity in the town of Nablus.
After Saladin's victory at Hattin, he advanced with his army and proceeded to free Jerusalem. Despite serious losses, the Templars survived their defeat in Palestine and along with other Christians, withdrew to Europe. Most headed for France where, thanks to their privileged status, they continued to increase their power and wealth. In time, they became the "state within the state" in many European countries.
Acre, the crusaders' last stronghold in Palestine, was captured by the Muslim army in 1291. With this, the original justification for the Templars' existence-the protection of pilgrims in the Holy Land-disappeared as well.
Now the Templars could concentrate all their efforts on Europe, but needed a little time to adapt to this new situation. During this transitional period, they relied on the help of their friends in the royal houses of Europe, of whom the best-known was Richard the Lion-Hearted. His relationship with the Templars was such that he was regarded as an Honorary Knight Templar.31
Furthermore, Richard had sold to the Templars the Island of Cyprus, which was to become the temporary base of their order, while they strengthened their position in Europe to counteract their losses in Palestine.
Cyprus: A Temporary Base
In order to understand the links between Cyprus and the order, we need to examine the events that culminated in the 3rd Crusade. By July 4, 1187, Jerusalem was conquered. Guy de Lusignan was taken prisoner the same day to be freed a year later, after swearing an oath never to attack the Muslims again.
Germany, France, and England made the joint decision to launch the 3rd Crusade in order to retake Jerusalem. But before proceeding to attack the Holy City, they considered it essential for their success to first capture a harbor, where they could land troops and supplies. Acre was selected; and King Philip of France and England's King Richard began their sea journey
After King Richard's naval forces took Cyprus, Templar Master Robert de Sable entered the scene with a proposal to purchase Cyprus from Richard the Lion-Hearted. A price was fixed at 100,000 bezants (then gold currency of Byzantium), and de Sable made a down payment of 40,000 bezants. This sum, available so soon after the defeat at Hattin, is enough to illustrate the order's financial strength.
In 1291, Acre fell to the Muslim army. As the Christian presence in Palestine came to an end, the Templars moved on. Some settled in Cyprus, later to serve as their temporary base in the Mediterranean. The Templars had been hoping to acquire a kingdom, such as the Teutonic Knights had won for themselves in northern Europe, except they wanted theirs in center of Europe-preferably in France.
In Europe, under the guidance of their Master based in France, the rest of the Templars carried on their usual activities, with an unequalled degree of freedom. The Grand Master enjoyed a status on a par with kings; the Templars owned land in most countries of Christendom, from Denmark to Italy. A massive warrior army formed the basis of their political power. Because all the ruling houses of Europe were indebted to the Templars, they feared that their future was threatened.
The throne of England was seriously indebted to the order. King John had emptied the coffers of the treasury between 1260 and 1266 in order to finance his military operations; and Henry III, likewise, borrowed heavily from the Knights Templar.32
The situation in France was such that the Templars offices in Paris housed their own treasury as well as the state's and the treasurer of the order was also the treasurer of the King. The Royal household's finances were thus under the control of the Templars and dependent on them.33
Decadence and Its Unmasking
After Christian presence in the Holy Land ended on June 16th, 1291, the Templars returned to Europe. Even though their original purpose-protecting European pilgrims-had ceased to exist, they kept on strengthening their power base, increasing their number of soldiers and amassing ever greater fortunes. But from this date onward, events began to turn against the Templars.
While their numbers and their wealth were on the rise, their greed, arrogance and tyranny increased accordingly. By now, the Knights Templar had grown apart from the Catholic Church's teachings, beliefs, and practices. In general, no longer did any European have anything to say in their favor. In France, expressions like "to drink like a Templar" were common and widespread. In Germany, "Tempelhaus" meant whorehouse, and if anyone acted in an unacceptably arrogant way, he was said "to be proud as a Templar."34

THE BARBARITY OF RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED
Richard the Lion-Hearted had a close relationship with the Templars. Despite his glorious title of "Lionheart," he was a cruel and merciless ruler.
When he and his crusader army reached Palestine, they came to Acre, which had then been besieged for two years by the last remaining Christian army in Palestine. Facing the crusaders was Saladin's army which, despite many attempts, hadn't managed to break the siege and relieve the 3,000 Muslims inside the Acre castle. With the arrival of Richard the Lion-Hearted, Acre's already weakened resistance was weakened further. In the end, on July 12th, 1192, Acre fell. This was the crusaders' first victory after their defeat at the Battle of Hattin.
3,000 Muslims lived in the town, more than half of them women and children. Richard demanded a huge sum as ransom for the lives of his 3,000 captives. Saladin agreed, but could not raise the requested sum at once, so installments were agreed upon. Some had already been paid when one was delayed. On August 20th Richard, who had grown tired of sitting and waiting, decided to slaughter all 3,000 Muslim prisoners. His soldiers placed the block on the front walls of the castle and, one by one, beheaded all of the 3,000. It took them three whole days. On the right, this act of barbarism is depicted from a Christian perspective.

The kingdoms of Europe, especially France, were angered by the Templars' political intrigues and shadowy designs. After having plenty of opportunity to get acquainted with them, people started to realize that their order was not comprised of genuinely religious knights. Finally in 1307, Philip the Fair, King of France, and Pope Clement V realized that the Templars were seeking to change not only Europe's religious landscape, but its political balance as well. In October 1307, they moved in on the Templars, with the view of liquidating this decadent, treacherous order.35
The Templars' True Face
Modest missionaries, fighting for Christianity-this was how the Templars presented themselves to the ordinary people. Undeservedly, they were perceived to be saints of great virtue, mentors of Christianity, devoted to aiding the poor and the needy. It's amazing that they managed to create such a positive image while leading lives contrary to Christian teachings and, on the way acquiring status and wealth through donations, trade, banking and even looting. The few who discovered their true identity did not dare to speak out against this powerful order. Philip, King of France, feared the dangers their financial strength could create for him.
It was high time to unmask the Templars. As a Masonic writer of the 18th century explains:
The war, which for the greater number of warriors of good faith proved the source of weariness, of losses and misfortunes, became for them [the Templars] only the opportunity for booty and aggrandizement, and if they distinguished themselves by a few brilliant actions, their motive soon ceased to be a matter of doubt when they were seen to enrich themselves even with the spoils of the confederates, to increase their credit by the extent of the new possessions they had acquired, to carry arrogance to the point of rivalling crowned princes in pomp and grandeur, to refuse their aid against the enemies of the faith... and finally to ally themselves with that horrible and sanguinary prince named the Old Man of the Mountain Prince of the Assassins.36
The Templars became increasingly confident and impertinent in their practices and in disseminating their teachings, trusting in the unjustifiably positive image they had managed to create throughout society. This in turn led to an increase in the numbers who witnessed their perversion and began to whisper about it.
Whatever might the Templars be doing behind the closed doors of their palaces? The knights' avarice, inhumanity, greed and zeal, already well known, awakened the curiosity of the locals, the clergy, and the monarchy. The Papacy was almost certain that this group, which it could no longer control, was living an irreligious life and abusing the privileges it had granted them.
Rumors and complaints circulated about the Templars. There were increasingly credible accusations that they engaged in forbidden practices and other wrongdoing and that was why they operated under strict secrecy. People had begun to whisper of secret rites performed in their palaces, rituals of Satanist worship, and various immoral relationships.
All these rumors were combined with actual fact-what servants in Templar palaces and the people living in the vicinity of them witnessed and reported. The Papacy found itself in a predicament, not knowing what to do. Clement V, elected Pope in 1305, was trying to calculate the damage to Christianity-and therefore, to the Vatican-and how to minimize its effects. At the same time, he had to put an end to constant pressure from regional dioceses and the King of France. Meanwhile, in Cyprus, Jacques de Molay, leader of the Templars, was making preparations for war, as the order had not given up hope to go back in the Middle East. He was recalled to France and ordered by the Pope to investigate these allegations.
All this, however, was unacceptable to the French King. He quickly passed a new law, under which he had the Templars arrested. On October 13, 1309, they were accused in the courts with the following charges:
1. That during the reception ceremony, new brothers were required to deny Christ, God, The Virgin or the Saints on the command of those receiving them.
2. That the brothers committed various sacrilegious acts either on the cross or on an image of Christ.
3. That the receptors practiced obscene kisses on new entrants, on the mouth, navel or buttocks.
4. That the priests of the Order did not consecrate the host, and that the brothers did not believe in the sacraments.
5. That the brothers practiced idol worship of a cat or a head.
6. That the brothers encouraged and permitted the practice of sodomy.
7. That the Grand Master, or other officials, absolved fellow Templars from their sins.
8. That the Templars held their reception ceremonies and chapter meetings in secret and at night.
9. That the Templars abused the duties of charity and hospitality and used illegal means to acquire property and increase their wealth.37
Perversion in the Templars' Faith and Practice
The documents at hand, together with the allegation made against the Templars, demonstrated that this was no ordinary order of knights. It was a darker organization altogether: one of perverted faith, frightening methods, and cunning strategies. It was well organized and well prepared, always scheming, always ready and dangerous, and-unlike anything seen before-forward thinking, with comprehensive plans for the future.


The Templars worshipped the idol Baphomet, thought to symbolize Satan.
During their time in the Middle East, the Templars had established and maintained contact with mystic sects belonging to different religions and denominations, including sorcerers. They were known to have close links to the hashashis (assassins) who, while influential, were regarded as a perverted sect by the Muslim population. From them, the Templars had learned some mystic teachings and barbaric strategies, as well as how to organize a sect. As will be seen in the coming chapters, the order's higher echelons in particular had also acquainted themselves with-and incorporated into their practice-beliefs based on the mystic teachings of the Cabala, the influence of the Bogomils, and Luciferians, thus leaving Christianity behind. According to the Templars, Jesus was a god ruling in another world, with little or no power in our present one. Satan was the lord of this material world of ours.
Now the rumors were confirmed: Candidates for the order were indeed required to deny God, Christ and the Saints, committed sacrilegious acts, spit and urinate onto the holy Cross, be kissed square on the mouth with the "Oscolum Infame" or "The Kiss of Shame" on the navel and buttocks by the more senior Knights Templars, during the initiation ceremony. That they freely practiced homosexuality and other sexual perversions, that the Grand Master wielded total authority over everything, that they practiced rituals of sorcery and used Cabalistic symbolism was clear evidence that the order had had become a sect blasphemous to Christianity. Their questioning revealed yet another of their unorthodox practices: Without being specific, they had admitted to idolatry, but during their ongoing interrogation, it gradually emerged that without any doubt, they were worshipping Satan. The Templars revered an idol of Baphomet; a demon with the head of a goat, whose image was later to become the symbol of The Church of Satan. From Peter Underwood's Dictionary of the Occult and Supernatural:
Baphomet was the deity worshipped by the Knights Templar, and in Black Magic was the source and creator of evil; the Satanic goat of the witches' Sabbath�38
During their trial, almost all Templars mentioned having worshipped Baphomet. This idol they described as having a scary human head, a long beard and frightening, shining eyes. They also mentioned human skulls and idols of cats. The consensus among historians is that all these figures are objects of Satanic worship. The demon Baphomet has ever since been an object of Satanic veneration. Details about Baphomet were later conveyed by Eliphas Levi; a 19th-century Cabalist and occultist, whose drawings illustrate Baphomet as having a goat's head with two faces, and a winged human body that is female above the waist and whose lower half is male.


Among the European monarchs indebted to the Templars was the England's King Henry A historic document describing the abolition of the Knights Templar s
Most Templars confessed that they didn't believe in Jesus because they held him to be "a false prophet"; that they had committed acts of homosexuality during the admission ceremony as well as afterwards, that they worshipped idols and practiced Satanism. All these admissions entered the court records, and following their trial, most of the Templars were imprisoned.
Much has been said about the Templars' homosexual practices, and it has been suggested that their insignia-of two riders on the back of one horse-represented this custom. In his novel Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco extensively touches upon this aspect of the Templars.39
After their confessions in the courts of the French King, the Pope himself interrogated 72 of the Templars. They were asked to swear an oath to tell the truth and then, proceed to confirm that their previ
ous confessions were truthful: that they rejected belief in Jesus, that they spat on the holy cross and committed all the other acts of perversion they'd admitted to. They then knelt down and asked for forgiveness.


The Templars' confessions made references to perverted sexual practices. Homosexuality was rife between the Knights.
It is said that the Templars' official seal symbolizes this kind of relationship.
The interrogation of the Templars culminated in the dissolution of their order. In 1314, Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake. Templars who had managed to escape arrest by fleeing to other countries were pursued throughout the whole of Christendom. Other countries including Italy and Germany followed suit, arresting and interrogating the Templars they could apprehend. But for various reasons, some countries offered the Templars refuge. On November 10, 1307, England's Edward II wrote the Pope that he would not persecute the Templars and that in his country, they would remain safe. But two years later, after interrogating the Templars, the Pope issued a Papal Bull declaring that the Templars' "unspeakable wickednesses and abominable crimes of notorious heresy" had now "come to the knowledge of almost everyone." Upon reading it, King Edward agreed to prosecute the Templars.
Finally, at the Council of Vienne in France in 1312, the Order of the Knights Templar was officially declared illegal in all of Europe, and captured Templars were punished. On March 22nd, Clement V issued a Papal Bull under the name of Vox in Excelso (A Voice from on High), in which the order was declared to be dissolved and-on paper, at least-its existence erased from the official records:
... Hark, a voice of the people from the city! a voice from the temple! the voice of the Lord rendering recompense to his enemies. The prophet is compelled to exclaim: Give them, Lord, a barren womb and dry breasts. Their worthlessness has been revealed because of their malice. Throw them out of your house, and let their roots dry up; let them not bear fruit, and let not this house be any more a stumbling block of bitterness or a thorn to hurt.
. . . Indeed a little while ago, about the time of our election as supreme pontiff before we came to Lyons for our coronation, and afterwards, both there and elsewhere, we received secret intimations against the master, preceptors and other brothers of the order of Knights Templar of Jerusalem and also against the order itself.
. . . [T]he holy Roman church honoured these brothers and the order with her special support, armed them with the sign of the cross against Christ's enemies, paid them the highest tributes of her respect, and strengthened them with various exemptions and privileges; and they experienced in many and various ways her help and that of all faithful Christians with repeated gifts of property. Therefore it was against the lord Jesus Christ himself that they fell into the sin of impious apostasy, the abominable vice of idolatry, the deadly crime of the Sodomites, and various heresies.40
The Templars Go Underground
Liquidating the order of the Templars proved harder than anticipated. Even though Grand Master de Molay and many of his brothers had been eliminated, the order survived, albeit by going underground. In France alone, there were more than 9,000 representatives to be found and across the countries of Europe, thousands of castles and other strongholds were still in their possession. According to historical sources of the time, the Inquisition had captured and punished only 620 out of a total of 2,000 knights. It has since been estimated that the knights' actual grand total was in the vicinity of 20,000, each of whom had a team of seven or eight Templars of other professions at his service. A simple calculation based on eight Templars per knight gives us a total number of 160,000 organizing and carrying out the order's activities, including shipping and commerce. The Pope and the French King couldn't possibly locate and confiscate all of their property. This network of active members across Europe and along the Mediterranean coast, 160,000 strong, was the largest logistical force of their time. In terms of property, they could measure up to any king and this wealth assured their protection and safety. Despite the Papacy's claim that the Templars had been annihilated, not only did they survive the Inquisition by going underground, but they kept on being active, especially in England and in Northern Europe:


The Templars' world view and philosophy were greatly influenced by the Jewish mystic teachings of the Cabala. Above, a medieval Cabalic text. A piece of 16th-century Cabalist writing
[I]n the years following the loss of the Holy Land, the Templars had shown a continuing desire to create a 'state' of their own. . . [W]e are now left in no doubt that the Templars indeed manage, against all odds, to carve out their own nation. It wasn't some Eldorado in the New World, nor a hidden kingdom of the Prester John variety in darkest Africa. In fact the Templars remained absolutely central to everything that was happening in Europe, and what is more they were partly instrumental in the formation of the Western World as we know it today. The Templar State was, and is, Switzerland.41


King Philippe of France, who ordered the arrest of the Templars
In order to carry on their activities in safety, Templars escaping persecution and arrest in France and some other countries of Europe needed to regroup somewhere. They chose the confederation of cantons now known as Switzerland. The Templars' influence in Switzerland's formation and traditional makeup can still be easily recognized today. Alan Butler, a Mason and co-author of The Warriors and the Bankers is an expert on the subject of Templars. In a discussion forum held in 1999, of he said:
There are a few important reasons why this [that the Knights Templar went to Switzerland after their liquidation] is likely to have been the case. For example:
1. The founding of the embryonic Switzerland conforms exactly to the period when the Templars were being persecuted in France.
2. Switzerland is just to the east of France and would have been particularly easy for fleeing Templar brothers from the whole region of France to get to.
3. In the history of the first Swiss Cantons, there are tales of white-coated knights mysteriously appearing and helping the locals to gain their independence against foreign domination.
4. The Templars were big in banking, farming and engineering (of an early type). These same aspects can be seen as inimical to the commencement and gradual evolution of the separate states that would eventually be Switzerland.
5. The famous Templar Cross is incorporated into the flags of many of the Swiss Cantons. As are other emblems, such as keys and lambs, that were particularly important to the Knights Templar.42
A significant number of Templars found refuge in Scotland, the only monarchy in 14th century Europe that didn't recognize the authority of the Catholic Church. Reorganizing under the protection of King Robert the Bruce, they soon found the perfect camouflage to hide their existence in the British Isles. Outside of the state and local governments, the Masons' Lodges were the most powerful organizations of the time, and and the Templars first infiltrated them, then brought them under control. Lodges that had been professional bodies were turned into ideological and political organizations, which are now the Freemason Lodges of today. (This is what Masons call "progress from operational to speculative Masonry")
Another Masonic source estimates that between 30,000 and 40,000 Templars escaped the Inquisition by wearing Masons' cloth and mingling with them. So as to flee abroad, others obtained and used the "Laissez passer" (free passage) given to Masons.
Some Templars escaped to Spain and entered orders like the Caltrava, Alcantra, and Santiago del Espada, while others moved on to Portugal and they renamed themselves the Order of Christ. Still others fled to the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and joined the Teuton knights, while another large group of Templars is known to have joined the Hospitalers. In England, the Templars were arrested and interrogated, but quickly released again. In still other countries, the Templars remained unmolested.



The Templars seemed to have disappeared from the history until 1804; when Bernard-Raymond Fabré Palaprat became Grand Master. Truly interesting is an accidental discovery he made in 1814� In one of the bookstalls along the river Seine in Paris, he came upon a handwritten Bible of the Yuhanna translation in the Greek language. The Bible's last two chapters were missing; and in their place were notes divided by-and containing-numerous triangles. Examining these notes a bit closer, he realized that this was a document listing the Grand Masters of the Templars, beginning with the fifth Grand Master, Bertrand de Blanchefort ( 1154), through the 22nd, Jacques de Molay, the 23rd Larmenius of Jerusalem (1314) and then on to Grand Master Claudio Mateo Radix de Chevillon (1792). This document suggested that Jacques de Molay passed the title of Grand Master on to Larmenius of Jerusalem. It could be concluded that the Templars never ceased to exist. They live on today in the lodges of Freemasonry.
In Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco writes:
After Beaujeu, the order has never ceased to exist, not for a moment, and after Aumont we find an uninterrupted sequence of Grand Masters of the Order down to our own time, and if the name and seat of the true Grand Master and the true Seneschals who rule the Order and guide its sublime labors remain a mystery today, an impenetrable secret known only to the truly enlightened, it is because the hour of the Order has not struck and the time is not ripe�43
Many sources suggest that after the death of Jacques de Molay, survivors of the order planned a conspiracy. Supposedly, the Templars sought to bring down not only the Papacy, but the kingdoms that had declared them illegal and executed their Grand Master. This secret mission was handed down through generations of members, preserved and maintained by later organizations like the Illuminati and Freemasons. It's widely accepted that the Masons played a major role in the downfall of the French monarchy and the ensuing Revolution. When Louis XVI was guillotined in a public square in Paris, one of the onlookers shouted, "Jacques de Molay, you have been avenged!"






The AIDS Myth

A Canadian mathematical biologist working as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at University of Texas at Tyler, who has lived and breathed the theory of Aids and HIV infection for practically all of her professional life, has announced that she "quit HIV".

There are a number of reasons for Rebecca Culshaw's decision - none of them should be a surprise to regulars of this site. They include the non-specific and therefore unreliable nature of the 'HIV test' used to determine infection, the impossibility of modeling the consequences of HIV infection because of disagreements over how exactly the virus acts to kill immune cells, the fact that most deaths of Aids victims are not due to opportunistic infections but are the result of liver failure - a consequence of the drugs that are administered to those who test positive.
Applying statistical models to the data on HIV infection and Aids, Dr Culshaw came across inconsistencies that made it ever harder to understand the epidemic she was helping to overcome. But unlike many others who continue to work in this world of medicine gone very very wrong, Dr Culshaw quit. She explains why in this excellent article - certainly worth reading...
- - -
Why I Quit HIV
(original found on LewRockwell.com)
by Rebecca V. Culshaw
As I write this, in the late winter of 2006, we are more than twenty years into the AIDS era. Like many, a large part of my life has been irreversibly affected by AIDS. My entire adolescence and adult life – as well as the lives of many of my peers – has been overshadowed by the belief in a deadly, sexually transmittable pathogen and the attendant fear of intimacy and lack of trust that belief engenders.
To add to this impact, my chosen career has developed around the HIV model of AIDS. I received my Ph.D. in 2002 for my work constructing mathematical models of HIV infection, a field of study I entered in 1996. Just ten years later, it might seem early for me to be looking back on and seriously reconsidering my chosen field, yet here I am.
My work as a mathematical biologist has been built in large part on the paradigm that HIV causes AIDS, and I have since come to realize that there is good evidence that the entire basis for this theory is wrong. AIDS, it seems, is not a disease so much as a sociopolitical construct that few people understand and even fewer question. The issue of causation, in particular, has become beyond question – even to bring it up is deemed irresponsible.
Why have we as a society been so quick to accept a theory for which so little solid evidence exists? Why do we take proclamations by government institutions like the NIH and the CDC, via newscasters and talk show hosts, entirely on faith? The average citizen has no idea how weak the connection really is between HIV and AIDS, and this is the manner in which scientifically insupportable phrases like "the AIDS virus" or "an AIDS test" have become part of the common vernacular despite no evidence for their accuracy.
When it was announced in 1984 that the cause of AIDS had been found in a retrovirus that came to be known as HIV, there was a palpable panic. My own family was immediately affected by this panic, since my mother had had several blood transfusions in the early 1980s as a result of three late miscarriages she had experienced. In the early days, we feared mosquito bites, kissing, and public toilet seats. I can still recall the panic I felt after looking up in a public restroom and seeing some graffiti that read "Do you have AIDS yet? If not, sit on this toilet seat."
But I was only ten years old then, and over time the panic subsided to more of a dull roar as it became clear that AIDS was not as easy to "catch" as we had initially believed. Fear of going to the bathroom or the dentist was replaced with a more realistic wariness of having sex with anyone we didn’t know really, really well. As a teenager who was in no way promiscuous, I didn’t have much to worry about.
That all changed – or so I thought – when I was twenty-one. Due to circumstances in my personal life and a bit of paranoia that (as it turned out, falsely and completely groundlessly) led me to believe I had somehow contracted "AIDS," I got an HIV test. I spent two weeks waiting for the results, convinced that I would soon die, and that it would be "all my fault." This was despite the fact that I was perfectly healthy, didn’t use drugs, and wasn’t promiscuous – low-risk by any definition. As it happened, the test was negative, and, having felt I had been granted a reprieve, I vowed not to take more risks, and to quit worrying so much.
Over the past ten years, my attitude toward HIV and AIDS has undergone a dramatic shift. This shift was catalyzed by the work I did as a graduate student, analyzing mathematical models of HIV and the immune system. As a mathematician, I found virtually every model I studied to be unrealistic. The biological assumptions on which the models were based varied from author to author, and this made no sense to me. It was around this time, too, that I became increasingly perplexed by the stories I heard about long-term survivors. From my admittedly inexpert viewpoint, the major thing they all had in common – other than HIV – was that they lived extremely healthy lifestyles. Part of me was becoming suspicious that being HIV-positive didn’t necessarily mean you would ever get AIDS.
By a rather curious twist of fate, it was on my way to a conference to present the results of a model of HIV that I had proposed together with my advisor, that I came across an article by Dr. David Rasnick about AIDS and the corruption of modern science. As I sat on the airplane reading this story, in which he said "the more I examined HIV, the less it made sense that this largely inactive, barely detectable virus could cause such devastation," everything he wrote started making sense to me in a way that the currently accepted model did not. I didn’t have anywhere near all the information, but my instincts told me that what he said seemed to fit.
Over the past ten years, I nevertheless continued my research into mathematical models of HIV infection, all the while keeping an ear open for dissenting voices. By now, I have read hundreds of articles on HIV and AIDS, many from the dissident point of view but far, far more from that of the establishment, which unequivocally promotes the idea that HIV causes AIDS and that the case is closed. In that time, I even published four papers on HIV (from a modeling perspective). I justified my contributions to a theory I wasn’t convinced of by telling myself these were purely theoretical, mathematical constructs, never to be applied in the real world. I suppose, in some sense also, I wanted to keep an open mind.
So why is it that only now have I decided that enough is enough, and I can no longer in any capacity continue to support the paradigm on which my entire career has been built?
As a mathematician, I was taught early on about the importance of clear definitions. AIDS, if you consider its definition, is far from clear, and is in fact not even a consistent entity. The classification "AIDS" was introduced in the early 1980s not as a disease but as a surveillance tool to help doctors and public health officials understand and control a strange "new" syndrome affecting mostly young gay men. In the two decades intervening, it has evolved into something quite different. AIDS today bears little or no resemblance to the syndrome for which it was named. For one thing, the definition has actually been changed by the CDC several times, continually expanding to include ever more diseases (all of which existed for decades prior to AIDS), and sometimes, no disease whatsoever. More than half of all AIDS diagnoses in the past several years in the United States have been made on the basis of a T-cell count and a "confirmed" positive antibody test – in other words, a deadly disease has been diagnosed over and over again on the basis of no clinical disease at all. And the leading cause of death in HIV-positives in the last few years has been liver failure, not an AIDS-defining disease in any way, but rather an acknowledged side effect of protease inhibitors, which asymptomatic individuals take in massive daily doses, for years.
The epidemiology of HIV and AIDS is puzzling and unclear as well. In spite of the fact that AIDS cases increased rapidly from their initial observation in the early 1980s and reached a peak in 1993 before declining rapidly, the number of HIV-positive individuals in the U.S. has remained constant at one million since the advent of widespread HIV antibody testing. This cannot be due to anti-HIV therapy, since the annual mortality rate of North American HIV-positives who are treated with anti-HIV drugs is much higher – between 6.7 and 8.8% – than would be the approximately 1–2% global mortality rate of HIV-positives if all AIDS cases were fatal in a given year.
Even more strangely, HIV has been present everywhere in the U.S., in every population tested including repeat blood donors and military recruits, at a virtually constant rate since testing began in 1985. It is deeply confusing that a virus thought to have been brought to the AIDS epicenters of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the early 1970s could possibly have spread so rapidly at first, yet have stopped spreading completely as soon as testing began.
Returning for a moment to the mathematical modeling, one aspect that had always puzzled me was the lack of agreement on how to accurately represent the actual biological mechanism of immune impairment. AIDS is said to be caused by a dramatic loss of the immune system’s T-cells, said loss being presumably caused by HIV. Why then could no one agree on how to mathematically model the dynamics of the fundamental disease process – that is, how are T-cells actually killed by HIV? Early models assumed that HIV killed T-cells directly, by what is referred to as lysis. An infected cell lyses, or bursts, when the internal viral burden is so high that it can no longer be contained, just like your grocery bag breaks when it’s too full. This is in fact the accepted mechanism of pathogenesis for virtually all other viruses. But it became clear that HIV did not in fact kill T-cells in this manner, and this concept was abandoned, to be replaced by various other ones, each of which resulted in very different models and, therefore, different predictions. Which model was "correct" never was clear.
As it turns out, the reason there was no consensus mathematically as to how HIV killed T-cells was because there was no biological consensus. There still isn’t. HIV is possibly the most studied microbe in history – certainly it is the best-funded – yet there is still no agreed-upon mechanism of pathogenesis. Worse than that, there are no data to support the hypothesis that HIV kills T-cells at all. It doesn’t in the test tube. It mostly just sits there, as it does in people – if it can be found at all. In Robert Gallo's seminal 1984 paper in which he claims "proof" that HIV causes AIDS, actual HIV could be found in only 26 out of 72 AIDS patients. To date, actual HIV remains an elusive target in those with AIDS or simply HIV-positive.
This is starkly illustrated by the continued use of antibody tests to diagnose HIV infection. Antibody tests are fairly standard to test for certain microbes, but for anything other than HIV, the main reason they are used in place of direct tests (that is, actually looking for the bacteria or virus itself) is because they are generally much easier and cheaper than direct testing. Most importantly, such antibody tests have been rigorously verified against the gold standard of microbial isolation. This stands in vivid contrast to HIV, for which antibody tests are used because there exists no test for the actual virus. As to so-called "viral load," most people are not aware that tests for viral load are neither licensed nor recommended by the FDA to diagnose HIV infection. This is why an "AIDS test" is still an antibody test. Viral load, however, is used to estimate the health status of those already diagnosed HIV-positive. But there are very good reasons to believe it does not work at all. Viral load uses either PCR or a technique called branched-chained DNA amplification (bDNA). PCR is the same technique used for "DNA fingerprinting" at crime scenes where only trace amounts of materials can be found. PCR essentially mass-produces DNA or RNA so that it can be seen. If something has to be mass-produced to even be seen, and the result of that mass-production is used to estimate how much of a pathogen there is, it might lead a person to wonder how relevant the pathogen was in the first place. Specifically, how could something so hard to find, even using the most sensitive and sophisticated technology, completely decimate the immune system? bDNA, while not magnifying anything directly, nevertheless looks only for fragments of DNA believed, but not proven, to be components of the genome of HIV – but there is no evidence to say that these fragments don’t exist in other genetic sequences unrelated to HIV or to any virus. It is worth noting at this point that viral load, like antibody tests, has never been verified against the gold standard of HIV isolation. bDNA uses PCR as a gold standard, PCR uses antibody tests as a gold standard, and antibody tests use each other. None use HIV itself.
There is good reason to believe the antibody tests are flawed as well. The two types of tests routinely used are the ELISA and the Western Blot (WB). The current testing protocol is to "verify" a positive ELISA with the "more specific" WB (which has actually been banned from diagnostic use in the UK because it is so unreliable). But few people know that the criteria for a positive WB vary from country to country and even from lab to lab. Put bluntly, a person’s HIV status could well change depending on the testing venue. It is also possible to test "WB indeterminate," which translates to any one of "uninfected," "possibly infected," or even, absurdly, "partly infected" under the current interpretation. This conundrum is confounded by the fact that the proteins comprising the different reactive "bands" on the WB test are all claimed to be specific to HIV, raising the question of how a truly uninfected individual could possess antibodies to even one "HIV-specific" protein.
I have come to sincerely believe that these HIV tests do immeasurably more harm than good, due to their astounding lack of specificity and standardization. I can buy the idea that anonymous screening of the blood supply for some nonspecific marker of ill health (which, due to cross reactivity with many known pathogens, a positive HIV antibody test often seems to be) is useful. I cannot buy the idea that any individual needs to have a diagnostic HIV test. A negative test may not be accurate (whatever that means), but a positive one can create utter havoc and destruction in a person’s life – all for a virus that most likely does absolutely nothing. I do not feel it is going too far to say that these tests ought to be banned for diagnostic purposes.
The real victims in this mess are those whose lives are turned upside-down by the stigma of an HIV diagnosis. These people, most of whom are perfectly healthy, are encouraged to avoid intimacy and are further branded with the implication that they were somehow dreadfully foolish and careless. Worse, they are encouraged to take massive daily doses of some of the most toxic drugs ever manufactured. HIV, for many years, has fulfilled the role of a microscopic terrorist. People have lost their jobs, been denied entry into the Armed Forces, been refused residency in and even entry into some countries, even been charged with assault or murder for having consensual sex; babies have been taken from their mothers and had toxic medications forced down their throats. There is no precedent for this type of behavior, as it is all in the name of a completely unproven, fundamentally flawed hypothesis, on the basis of highly suspect, indirect tests for supposed infection with an allegedly deadly virus – a virus that has never been observed to do much of anything.
As to the question of what does cause AIDS, if it is not HIV, there are many plausible explanations given by people known to be experts. Before the discovery of HIV, AIDS was assumed to be a lifestyle syndrome caused mostly by indiscriminate use of recreational drugs. Immunosuppression has multiple causes, from an overload of microbes to malnutrition. Probably all of these are true causes of AIDS. Immune deficiency has many manifestations, and a syndrome with many manifestations is likely multicausal as well. Suffice it to say that the HIV hypothesis of AIDS has offered nothing but predictions – of its spread, of the availability of a vaccine, of a forthcoming animal model, and so on – that have not materialized, and it has not saved a single life.
After ten years involved in the academic side of HIV research, as well as in the academic world at large, I truly believe that the blame for the universal, unconditional, faith-based acceptance of such a flawed theory falls squarely on the shoulders of those among us who have actively endorsed a completely unproven hypothesis in the interests of furthering our careers. Of course, hypotheses in science deserve to be studied, but no hypothesis should be accepted as fact before it is proven, particularly one whose blind acceptance has such dire consequences.
For over twenty years, the general public has been greatly misled and ill-informed. As someone who has been raised by parents who taught me from a young age never to believe anything just because "everyone else accepts it to be true," I can no longer just sit by and do nothing, thereby contributing to this craziness. And the craziness has gone on long enough. As humans – as honest academics and scientists – the only thing we can do is allow the truth to come to light.
Agents And Factors Responsible For Causing AIDS

My extensive review of the medical literature has not led me to a single individual with AIDS that was caused by HIV, nor a single person with AIDS who was cured by the treatment with the antiviral agents (AZT and protease inhibitors). On the contrary, epidemiology and pathology of AIDS worldwide show that agents and factors other than HIV are responsible for causing the AIDS epidemic.


My findings include:
1. The appearance of AIDS in the USA and Europe coincided with the introduction of crack cocaine, the use of alkyl nitrites by homosexuals to enhance anal sex, and the approval of glucocorticoid aerosol use to treat inflammation of respiratory systems in 1976.
2. AIDS in drug users and homosexuals in the USA and in Europe results from heavy ancillary use of glucocorticoids and other immunosuppressive agents. Physicians prescribe these drugs to treat a wide range of chronic illnesses of the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, and other organs.
3. AIDS in hemophiliacs relates to the use of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive agents to prevent the development of antibodies for factors VIII and IX, and used to treat other chronic illnesses such as joint disease.
4. AIDS in people receiving blood and/or tissue follows use of glucocorticoids to prevent transfusion and tissue rejection, and to treat other illnesses.
5. AIDS in infants and children is caused by their exposure to drugs and corticosteroids in utero, and to corticosteroids used after birth to treat their chronic illnesses.
6. AIDS in Africa results from malnutrition, the consequent release of endogenous cortisol, and opportunistic diseases. Atrophy in the thymus and lymphoid tissue in people suffering from malnutrition has been known since 1925; malnutrition also impairs T cells functions. Feeding an adequate diet reverses these changes. It cures AIDS! Thymus size in malnourished children increased from 20% of normal to 107% of normal, after nine weeks of feeding.
7. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and lymphoma result from the use of steroids and drugs, and the release of endogenous cortisol. They are not caused by a slow virus. Stopping treatment with immunosuppressive agents prior to metastasis reverses KS in some cases.
8. The medications currently used to treat patients with AIDS, such as AZT, protease inhibitors, and glucocorticoids are highly toxic. They can cause AIDS in asymptomatic patients; they worsen the condition of AIDS patients and even lead to their death. These drugs have no therapeutic value; their use should stop forthwith.
9. Damage to the immune system is rapidly reversible after removal of the true insulting agent or treatment of the factual causes. Examples: a) The CD4+ T cells of 1,075 HIV-positive pregnant women increased from 426/uL to 596/uL in six months on a balanced diet. This also improved the outcome of their pregnancies; and b) In HIV-positive homosexuals, stopping treatment with glucocorticoids reversed a fall in CD4+ T cells.
Causes and pathogenesis of AIDS in the USA and the industrialized world
The appearance of the AIDS epidemic in the United States of America in 1981 can easily be explained by the following events.

1. Crack cocaine became very popular in the 1970s and the inhalation of crack cocaine has caused severe respiratory illnesses that needed long- term treatment with high doses of powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. The United States Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of glucocorticoids by inhalation in 1976 to treat the inflammation of the respiratory system and asthma that are caused by inhaling crack cocaine. The chronic use of medications containing glucocorticoids at high doses by inhalation caused severe impairment of the immune defenses of the lungs and the upper respiratory tract. This led to the infection of the lungs and other organs with opportunistic microorganisms and the development of cancer ( 1).

2. Since the 1970s, the prescriptions containing glucocorticoids have increased tremendously to treat more than forty medical conditions induced by narcotics. The side effects of these medications include thrombocytopenia, peripheral neuropathy, and chronic opportunistic infections. Glucocorticoids have also been given to hemophiliacs to prevent the development of antibodies against foreign transfused clotting factors. They are also given to pregnant women who are expected to have premature infants as the result of the use of illicit drugs, and to their infants to enhance the maturation of the lungs. The use of other immuno- suppressant agents, cytotoxic drugs, antibiotics, antiviral, and antifungal has also increased tremendously since the1970s. Most of these agents cause bone marrow depression and other tissue damages, which have also contributed to the pathogenesis of AIDS ( 1, 7).

3. Some homosexual men who inhaled cocaine and/or other narcotics suffered from respiratory inflammation, infections and other systemic damage, which are then treated with glucocorticoids. In addition, the use of alkyl nitrites, also known as "poppers", became popular in 1970's among homosexuals.
The inhalation of "poppers" at sufficient amounts causes methemoglobinemia and severe headaches, which is then treated with aspirin. The heavy use of aspirin and alcohol cause thrombocytopenia. As well, AZT and proteases inhibitors also cause thrombocytopnea, peripheral neuropathy, and bone marrow depression. Thrombocytopenia, peripheral neuropathy are classified by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an AIDS indicator, which is also treated with high doses of glucocorticoids that cause AIDS ( 1 2 3 4, 7) .

Examples Of How People Develop AIDS
The following are clinical examples that show how drug users, homosexual men, and individuals with chronic health conditions develop AIDS as a result of the use of the immunosuppressant agents. These examples also show that AIDS is reversible in HIV-positive individual following the cessation of the glucocorticoids treatment.
1. A 33-year-old previously healthy female developed acute bilateral pulmonary infiltrates after 18 hours of intense rock cocaine (crack) smoking. Ten months later she developed progressive dyspnea and interstitial pneumonia. She was unsuccessfully treated with high doses of prednisone (1 mg/kg/day for eight weeks) followed by a trial of cyclophosphamide. She died due to respiratory failure with a superimposed mycobacterial infection. The time from her first admission to the hospital with interstitial pneumonia and her death with AIDS was about 21 months ( 8).

2. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), an AIDS-indicator disease, developed in HIV -negative patients chronically treated with glucocorticoids and people suffering from severe malnutrition ( 1). For example, KS developed eight months after initiation of prednisone treatment (40 mg per day for three months) in a 58-year-old man with systemic rheumatoid disease ( 9). He also had lymphocytopenia (896/µL), reduction of T4 cells (215/µL), and T4/ T8 ratio of 0.7. This man was HIV-negative as tested by western blot. This case meets all the criteria set by the CDC for the diagnosis of individuals with AIDS in terms of having their CD4+ T cells below 300 cells/µL and having KS. Yet, this individual was HIV-negative. Also, there are many individuals who developed KS following treatment with glucocorticoids and had reversal of their KS after the termination of the treatment ( 1).

3. Sharpstone et al. reported that eight HIV-positive males with inflammatory bowel disease who used rectal steroid preparation had a decline in their CD4+ T cells at a rate of 85 cells/µL per year ( 10). Four of them underwent coloectomy that eliminated the need for the steroid and their CD4+ T cells increased 4 cells/µL per year. Eight HIV-positive men who were used, as match control did not have surgery. They continued to have a decline of 47 cells/µL per year as the result of the use of rectal steroids. This study clearly shows that AIDS is caused by glucocorticoids, that HIV is a harmless virus, and that AIDS is reversible following the termination of the causative agent.
4. Investigators from George Washington University and the National Institutes of Health reported a case of an HIV-positive homosexual man with ulcerative colitis who developed a severe reduction in his CD4+ T cells counts following 9 days treatment with corticosteroid. The depletion in CD4+ T cells number was reversed following the cessation of the treatment with the steroid ( 11). Briefly, approximately 3 weeks prior to surgery for ulcerative colitis that was unresponsive to corticosteroids, the patient's CD4+ T cell count was 930 cells/µL of blood and the count fell to 313 cells/µL within 10 days of treatment with corticosteroid. Five days postoperatively, the patient became asymptomatic and was discharged on tapering prednisone without the use of antiretroviral agents. After surgery, the patient's CD4+ T cells counts progressively rose. The CD4+ T cells counts were 622 cells/µL and 843 cells/µL at 3 and 6 weeks following the operation, respectively.
It is very clear that the reduction in CD4+ T cell counts in this patient resulted from the treatment with glucocorticoid and not as the result of his HIV-infection. This case also provides very important observations that the CD4+ T cells counts rose from 313 cells/µL to 843 cells/µL, while the viral load drop from 31,300 RNA copies/mL to 11,400 RNA copies/mL within a few weeks following the cessation of the glucocorticoid treatment and without the use of the antiviral therapy. This indicates that the viral load counts are highly influenced by the glucocorticoid treatment. Considering the fact that the lives of millions of people are influenced by the result of the HIV viral load test. This practice should be urgently evaluated!
My investigation also revealed that the majority of AIDS patients suffer from metabolic and endocrine abnormalities ( 1). The high prevalence of adrenal insufficiency observed among AIDS patients provides strong evidence that AIDS in these patients is caused by the use of corticosteroids. The medical evidence that support my conclusions can be found in Fauci et al. book ( 7). They stated that endocrine and metabolic abnormalities are frequently seen in HIV-infected individuals, and that most HIV-infected individuals studied at autopsy had involvement of adrenal glands. The most common abnormality seen in HIV-infected individuals is hyponatremia, seen in up to 30 percent of patients. They also stated in the same book that the presence of a low sodium level combined with a high serum potassium level in a patient should alert one to the possibility of adrenocortical insufficiency as seen following prolonged administration of excess glucocorticoids ( 7). However, Fauci and his colleagues have not considered the involvement of corticosteroids in the pathogenesis of AIDS in risk groups.
Causes and pathogenesis of AIDS in Africa:
In Africa, AIDS is caused by severe starvation. An individual suffering from severe starvation usually loses up to 90% of his or her thymus size along with the capacity of the functions of their immune system. The release of endogenous cortisol plays a major role in the pathogenesis of AIDS in people suffering from malnutrition. In starvation, cortisol, a hormone released from the adrenal glands, is required for the conversion of fat and protein to glucose in the liver. Glucose is used as energy by the heart, brain, and other organs and without the endogenous cortisol, human beings are unable to survive very long without food. Any person who suffers from severe starvation has AIDS regardless if the person is HIV-positive or HIV-negative. Fortunately, AIDS in people who are suffering from severe starvation is reversible with proper nutrition and supportive medical care as shown by the following studies.
1. In a study involving 110 malnourished children, the thymic area was found to be 20% of the size in healthy children. The size of the thymus in these children was increased from 20% of normal to 107% of normal following 9 weeks of proper feeding ( 12).

2. The reversal of the reduction in CD4+T cell count in HIV+ pregnant women following proper feeding was also reported by Fawzi et al. ( 13). Briefly, the influence of diet on T cells counts in peripheral blood of 1,075 HIV-infected pregnant women who had poor nutritional status was studied. The CD4+ T cell counts of the women who received multivitamins increased from 424/µL to 596/µL during six months of proper feeding.
The prevalence of KS, lymphoma, lymphadenitis, and tuberculosis in Africa is similar or even higher than those observed in homosexual men, drug users, and AIDS patients in the United States and Europe ( 1). However, AIDS in Africa occurs almost equally in males and females because starvation affects both sexes equally. For example, Sibanda and Stanczuk reviewed all histopathology reports of lymph node biopsy submitted to the Histopathology unit in Harare, Zimbabwe in the period of January 1988 to June 1990. The most common diseases in the 2,194 lymph node specimens were: non-specific hyperplasia (33%), tuberculous lymphadenitis (27%); metastases (12%), Kaposi's sarcoma (9%); and lymphomas (7%). Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) involving the lymph nodes was reported in 176 (9%). In children, the prevalence of KS was higher in children under 5 years than in 6-15 year bracket. Approximately two thirds (65%) of all patients with KS were aged between 20 and 40 years ( 14).

AZT and Protease Inhibitors Are Poisons And Not Cures:
I reviewed the designs and the results of numerous AZT and protease inhibitors clinical trials and found that the results of these studies clearly show that these agents are poisons and not a cure for AIDS. AZT causes severe bone marrow depression and reduces white blood cell counts including T cells. It is very toxic to the stem cells in bone marrow (the source of T and B lymphocytes) and to fast growing tissues such as embryonic and fetal tissues. Protease inhibitors and other toxic antiviral agents cause wide spread systemic damage in liver, kidneys, pancreas, and other organs and should not be given to any human being ( 1, 2).
The following is a brief description of the results of Fischl et al AZT clinical trial that clearly demonstrates the toxicity of AZT in humans and invalidate the claim that AZT has cured people. They gave AZT to 524 subjects who had a first episode of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia ( 15). These subjects received AZT in either a dose of 250 mg taken orally every four hours (n=262) or a dose of 200 mg taken orally every four hours for four weeks and thereafter 100 mg taken every four hours (n=262). In this study, additional AIDS-defining opportunistic infections developed in 429 subjects (82%) in the AZT treated groups. Furthermore, the neutrophil counts declined to less than 34% of baseline in 230 subjects; the hemoglobin levels declined to less than 66% of baseline in 178 subjects; and 134 subjects received red-cell transfusions. 183 subjects (35%) were withdrawn from AZT therapy because of toxic reactions such as severe anemia and neutropenia. At 24 months of treatment, the mortality rates were 66% and 73% in the low and standard AZT doses, respectively.
The AIDS Establishment Has Overlooked Medical Facts That Show HIV Does Not Cause AIDS:
My review of the medical literature relating to the AIDS epidemic has raised many questions about the way that the CDC, the FDA, Anthony Fauci, and the AIDS establishment have dealt with the AIDS epidemic for the past 22 years. As a toxicologist and pathologist, my review of the medical evidence has led me to believe that these agencies have not used standard medical procedures to solve the AIDS epidemic. In fact, their actions have contributed tremendously to the increase of the AIDS epidemic worldwide by giving the wrong treatment recommendations. The correct approach for investigating the cause(s) of any disease is by evaluating the medical evidence that considers infectious, chemical, nutritional, metabolic, and other biological and environmental factors. It appears that Fauci and the CDC have taken the exact-opposite approach. They have called well- established symptoms and lesions resulting from the use of drugs and medications; severe starvation; and opportunistic infections as HIV diseases. The following few clinical examples that show the CDC and Fauci's treatment recommendations cause AIDS.
1. The CDC and Fauci have considered peripheral neuropathy and thrombocytopenia as AIDS-indicators illnesses ( 7). They justified their actions by stating that autoimmune diseases induced by HIV cause these illnesses. These patients are usually treated with high doses of glucocorticoids and other immunosuppressant agents that cause AIDS. The CDC and Fauci's assumptions are not valid because alcohol, illicit drugs, and many medications used by individuals in risk groups cause peripheral neuropathy and/or thrombocytopenia. In addition, AIDS and autoimmune disease are mutually exclusive illnesses. Patients with AIDS suffer from a depression in the immune system functions, while patients with autoimmune disease suffer from hyperactive immune system.
The common drugs that cause thrombocytopenia include: chemotherapeutic agents, alcohol, myelosuppressive drugs, thiazide diuretics, estrogens, antibiotics, sedative, hypnotics, anticonvulsants, aspirin, sulfa drug, digitoxin, phenytoin, gold salts, heparin, sulfnamides and trimethoprim (the treatment for Pneumocyst carrinii). Fauci et al. described the treatment for thrombocytopenia as follows: 60 mg of prednisone is administered for 4 to 6 weeks and then decreased slowly for over another a few weeks ( 7). Cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, and AZT are also among the drugs recommended for the treatment of thrombocytopenia.
This treatment for thrombocytopenia can cause AIDS as shown in the following case: An 18-year-old woman with thrombocytopenia was treated with a steroid for 42 months. She subsequently developed Kaposi's sarcoma that spread to the spleen (16).

2. The treatment described on page 1463 of Fauci's book for patients suffering from lung fibrosis (LF) can also cause AIDS ( 7). The long-term use of crack cocaine causes lung fibrosis( 1). The treatment for LF includes: "A trial of oral prednisone is begun at a dose of 1mg/kg daily and continued for about 8 weeks. Should the disease not respond or be progressive, additional immunosuppression with cyclophosphomide should be considered. The objective is to reduce the white blood cell count to approximately half the normal baseline value, causing a distinct drop in the total lymphocyte count. However, a minimum count of 1000 PMNs/µL should be maintained". At these dose levels, the CD4+T cells count in the peripheral blood of the treated individual is expected to be <300/µL which meets the definition for AIDS set by CDC.
3. Pneumocystis carinii (PC) is one of the opportunistic infection classified by the CDC as an AIDS-defining disease. Glucocorticoids are also one of the agents described by Fauci et al. as treatment for PCP ( 7, page 1825). They stated, "Adjunct glucocorticoid therapy should be started as soon as possible after the diagnosis is made, preferably no later than 36 to 72 h". It is completely puzzling to me to see glucocorticoid compounds, which cause severe depression in T cell counts and the functions of the immune systems, are used to treat PCP and other opportunistic infections in AIDS patients. This approach is scientifically unjustified.
4. Also, sulfnamides and trimethoprim are used in the treatment of PCP. These drugs cause severe hematological complications, including agranulocytosis, hemolytic and megaloblastic anemia, and thrombocytopenia. As you may recall that the CDC considers thrombocytopenia an AIDS- indicator disease. It is also treated with glucocorticoid at dosage levels that cause AIDS as previously explained. It seems that the possibilities of inducing AIDS in patients with medications are endless.
Furthermore, A. Fauci, the CDC, and the AIDS establishment have also overlooked a list of events presented to them. These medical events clearly show that agents and factors other than HIV cause the symptoms, and the pathology observed in people with AIDS. Below is a list of some of these medical events to illustrate my points.
1. The HIV-hypothesis states that HIV causes AIDS by selective killing of the CD4+ T cells because these cells have a special receptor on their membrane that bind with HIV. I have not found any truth to support this assumption. HIV provirus has been found in CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and B cells lymphocytes in the lymph nodes of HIV infected patients and its ability to infect cells is not restricted to cells that have CD4 receptor as predicted by the HIV-hypothesis ( 1).

2. People with AIDS usually suffer from severe loss of CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, and other white blood cells in the peripheral blood and lymphatic tissues. The lymph nodes of AIDS patients show atrophy and the loss of all components that include T cells, B cells, and connective tissues. These abnormalities resemble those found in patients treated with high doses of corticosteroids and/or other immunosuppressant agents and people suffering from severe malnutrition. Fauci's study also supports my observations ( 17). He and his colleagues examined lymph nodes from HIV- positive AIDS patients and found that all types of lymphocytes were depleted. They stated that "apoptosis was not restricted only to CD4+ T cells; both B cells and CD8+ T cells were found to undergo apoptosis. They also stated that the increased intensity of the apoptotic phenomenon in HIV infection is independent of the progression of HIV activities and the levels of viral load".
3. Physicians reported to the CDC many cases of individuals with AIDS but were not infected with HIV. Fauci and the CDC had not investigated the cause(s) of AIDS in these people but rather described this condition as "idiopathic CD4+ T cells lymphocytopenia" (ICL). They stated that ICL is different from AIDS because the ICL patients also have low CD8+ T cells and B cells counts in addition to low CD4+ T cells counts ( 7). However, in the same book, they stated that people with AIDS also have low B cells and CD8+ T cells counts. These statements are contradictory. My review of the literature revealed that all patients with AIDS suffer from severe deficiencies of T cells as well B cells.
4. There are thousands of healthy people who have been infected with HIV for more than 10 years. However, they remained asymptomatic. Fauci and the CDC refer to these people as "long-term non-progressors". The proponents of the HIV-hypothesis should explain to us why people are living in perfect health for 10 years or more with HIV, if HIV is supposed to be a killer virus. The logical explanation of this mystery is that these people are not using drugs and/or taking toxic medications.
5. The majority of AIDS patients usually suffer from metabolic and endocrine abnormalities ( 1, 7). The high prevalence of adrenal insufficiency observed among AIDS patients provides strong evidence that AIDS in these patients is likely to be caused by the use of corticosteroids.
Summary:
The HIV-hypothesis has misled physicians from all over the world to prescribe toxic medications to healthy HIV-positive people and people with AIDS. This has resulted in death of millions of people for the last twenty years. It has also influenced physicians to overlook the health problems associated with the use of illicit drugs, alcohol and the adverse reactions to medications used to treat these conditions with the incorrect medications. The classic examples are peripheral neuropathy and thrombocytopenia. These illnesses treated with immunosuppressant agents at high doses that cause AIDS, are based on the presumption that these illnesses are caused by HIV as autoimmune diseases. I hope that the medical community will take an action to re-evaluate the HIV-hypothesis.
There are many reflectors for AIDS discussion. The Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis operates a news reflector whose address is:
philjohn@garnet.berkeley.edu.
The Group also operates a discussion reflector whose address is:
quilty@philos.umass.edu
as well as an HIV+ support group called HIV+ and Healthy. Its address is
hfflyynn@aol.com

The Aids Mirage
by Professor Hiram Caton (23/3/1995)

Donald Francis Invents A Viral Epidemic
The AIDS virus attacks the mind. About 40% of AIDS patients develop neurological and associated psychological symptoms. They begin with a slowing of speech and thought, short term memory failure, and difficulty in concentrating. These deficits become more pronounced and new ones appear: deteriorated motor coordination, apathy, confusional states; then irritability, hyperactivity, incontinence, and delirium or mania, or both. As death approaches, the patient lies immobile, staring vacantly ahead, silent and unresponsive. The mind has been destroyed. These symptoms are indistinguishable from those caused by encephalopathic or cerebral atrophy conditions. Yet they are special because they terrify friends and lovers who know that HIV did it.
The virus assaults the minds of about half those who are diagnosed to be HIV+. Although they may be otherwise healthy, they experience feelings of powerlessness, shock, isolation, anger, denial, guilt, anxiety, apathy, and suicidal thoughts. Depression and malaise disrupt work and social relations. These symptoms are indistinguishable from garden-variety panic and depression, but for one thing: HIV did it.
The virus terrorises the minds of some people so much that they believe that they are infected even though they test negative. They mimic the mononucleosis-like symptoms of initial HIV infection. The syndrome is called AFRAIDS. It's indistinguishable from ordinary hysteria but for one thing: HIV did it.
The virus brutalises the minds of carers, family and friends of AIDS patients. They experience grief, social withdrawal, and are at risk of chronic psychological disorders. Carers have recorded their anguish in witnessing the slow death:
"He looked pathetically decrepit, his face almost unrecognisable from the skin lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma;
There are simply no words in human language to express the suffering of any one person with AIDS;
You could literally see every function in his body closing down one by one".
Descriptions of this kind have been recorded for many diseases. The tertiary syphilis patient, for example, is ghastly. Large ulcers disfigure the face, scalp, trunk, and legs. The mouth and nose are eaten away; mind and brain are gone. This spectrum of wounds endured by carers of AIDS patients is indistinguishable from disturbances experienced by others who care for the dying, except for one thing: the patients in their care suffer from AIDS.
The virus attacked the minds of Sydney morticians so violently that they got up a law to prohibit viewing the remains of those who died of AIDS or of any unexplained infection. If the next-of-kin choose not to have the corpse cremated, it is placed in a sealed plastic bag by apprentices wearing disposable infection-control clothing.
Politicians are at high risk from HIV mental attacks. During the 1984 general election, the Queensland Heath Minister startled the government by announcing that three infants were dead and a fourth was dying from contaminated transfused blood. It was the signal for the Opposition to pummel Labor's initiative to extend human rights protection to homosexual acts. A National Party leader blamed the deaths on Labor's "promotion of homosexuality as a norm". The Queensland legislature needed but one day to pass a law banning blood donation by anyone in a risk group. Hair-trigger though this response was, it did not satisfy a Sydney clergyman, who demanded that gay men be quarantined. The Prime Minister, thrown from his horse by the uproar, huddled with minders. The outcome was to call an emergency meeting of health ministers to consider strict guidelines for blood donation. It was much the same elsewhere. When the AIDS panic was at full tide in the US, state legislators introduced, in just one year, 450 bills relating to AIDS.
No doubt about it, HIV drives people bananas. Those who suffer from the Acquired Anxiety Syndrome must number in the millions. It drives you crazy because you can't see the damned thing. Neither can scientists. The electron microscope lets them see virus particle concentrations in excess of 1 million per millilitre. But those concentrations of HIV haven't been found. Thus, as Donald Francis states, direct visualisation of viruses is often "difficult". So there's no telling where it will strike next. Innocent babes, the all-American idol Rock Hudson, a romper-stomper type right-wing activist, a sports superstar. God help us!
Or does God side with the bug? Is the plague Jehovah's way of bringing corrupt, luxuriant nations back to the path of righteousness? Health bureaucrats easily refuted the quarantine proposal; rounding up millions, pinning them in special facilities for the duration of their lives, isn't the sort of empire Australians like to build. It's nuts. HIV doesn't spare clergymen.
AIDS scientists have no credible answer to the Jehovah hypothesis. Suddenly, from out of the blue, the wretched microbe struck in Kinshasa, Haiti, New York, Rio, Sydney. Virologists classify microbes into phyla and orders and try to date their evolutionary origin. All the viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that pester us and livestock have been around for a long time; some protozoans for maybe a billion years. So AIDS must have been around for a long time. Yet there was nary a sign of it until 1981.
The public had to be given a plausible scientific story about origins; otherwise evangelists would sweep the field with the Jehovah hypothesis. There was also the KGB to worry about.
Using East German conduits, the KGB put out the story that the virus was a weapon devised in the US biological warfare program. This sensational notion was endorsed by a few reputable scientists and by British anti-vivisectionists, who said that HIV is a recombinant animal-human hybrid. The Strangeloves who allegedly masterminded this devil's work at the Fort Detrick biological weapons facility were named in some publications. They were scientists in leading universities. If the dark forces behind the scenes could assassinate President Kennedy, would they scruple about devising an unstoppable killer to use on the Reds, or Africans, or homosexuals? Here again the virus showed its incredible power to induce delusional states. The CIA and the State Department were frantic for the bug boffins to come up with a plausible story.
The boffins obliged. Government scientist Robert Gallo had what he touted as invincible proof that the virus was transmitted from monkeys to humans at least 400 years ago. If you are a virologist, chopping millions of years down to a few centuries is pretty neat. You need only a few more strides to bring you up to the epidemic. Here are the steps. For four centuries HIV was doing its work in an isolated African population that doctors never reached. This secures the key dogma that the virus is an inexorable killer: it was killing, but no MD attended the isolate. The virus spread when maidens left the forests for Kinshasa, where the flesh trade was brisk. Bisexual Belgian businessmen collected the virus from these girls and gave it to male prostitutes in Haiti. A Canadian airline steward picked it up in Haiti and spread it to thousands of his contacts in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.
This incredible story was actually believed. It is reported with a straight face in AIDS literature, but with no explanation of why scientists think it plausible. The reason is that infections of their technicians by laboratory animals is a standing hazard. The story was told to me in all sincerity by a scientist in Myron Essex's lab shortly after he discovered that simian immunovirus (SIV) had about 70% of its genes in common with HIV; stir in a couple of lucky mutations, and, Presto! SIV became HIV. This was his Eureka. He was on a high; he had found the key that fits all locks.
Gallo's monkey story was meant to be the last word about origins, but the virus outsmarted him. HIV used his story to start a new cycle of stories. Here's one of them.
Keep the monkey, discard the bites and the prostitutes. Add scientists in a Philadelphia lab circa 1957. The scientists are growing the poliomyelitis virus in a culture of African green monkey kidney cells. They need lots of polio virus because they are making polio vaccine. The bug boffins don't know that the kidneys of healthy green monkeys are the ancestral home of SIV. So SIV contaminates the vaccine unnoticed. The vaccine is ready for trial. Naturally it will be trialed in the Third World because that's where the greatest need is. A benevolent drug company provides 300,000 doses of this latest pride of humanitarian science. It is administered by compassionate disease conquerors to children and young adults in Zaire, Rwanda and Uganda. But an invisible tragedy has struck. The vaccine is contaminated. SIV mutates to HIV. Add sex holidays decades later. Voilà the African AIDS Belt and an epidemic down the middle of the international fastlane.
This story was told by Julian Cribb in the Weekend Australian in 1992. It won him the Walkley prize for investigative journalism. It's wild. Sixty million doses of possibly contaminated polio vaccine were administered over the years, yet it seeded only one AIDS epicentre. Still Julian won the prize because people are so keen to know where the virus came from. Cribb collected no bouquets from our AIDS scientists. They hate the story. They will not even reply to it. They hate it with the same fervour that the US State Department hates the Fort Detrick story.
No doubt about it, HIV sends minds into spins. It has defeated AIDS science, which threw in the towel on the origin of the AIDS virus some years ago.
The CDC's official epitaph was written by Donald P. Francis in 1989. He said:
"From the moment AIDS was recognised as a strange and frightening phenomenon, speculation about its origin was irresistible. Growing just beneath the fear and speculation was the xenophobia that has often accompanied transcontinental propagation of epidemics".
(Francis knows about Africa. He served humanity, on secondment from the CDC to the WHO team that staunched African haemorrhagic fever and smallpox.) He goes on to discuss theories of simian origin and mutation origin. He rejects both and tosses it in: "It is doubtful that the origins of the virus will ever be fully known". He means it will never be known at all. Don Francis, MD, DSc, is unduly modest. He knows the origin of the AIDS virus because he led the CDC virologists who postulated a viral cause of AIDS. That moment of creativity is what we today know with certainty about the origin of the virus. Indeed, it exhausts what we know about its origin. Let's have a look.
Atlanta, May 1981. The CDC's hypersensitive sentinel system receives a message from its Los Angeles listening post. A cluster of five homosexual men with Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) and candidiasis (thrush), three of whom had abnormalities of cell-mediated immunity. The next CDC surveillance report (5 June) described the cluster and postulated a
'cellular immune dysfunction related to a common exposure that predisposes individuals to opportunistic infections such as pneumonia and candidiasis'.
The definition will be used as a surveillance criterion by doctors all over the country. It is the first step in the definition of AIDS.
July. Doctors attending gay men are eagle-eyed. They report 26 cases of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) accompanied by immune dysfunction. KS is a puzzle. Some doctors call it an inflammation; others a cancer. Among Europeans, it is rare, and prefers older men of Mediterranean origin. But in Africa it prefers children of both sexes, its prevalence is significant, and it kills like cancer. Now KS is going for gay men ranging from 26 to 51 years of age, in Los Angeles and New York. Very odd.
August. The CDC switches the epidemic vigilance light to amber. An unusual incidence of disease associated with unexplained immunosuppression has been flagged. The concept of opportunistic infection, accompanied by a deficit of cell-mediated immunity, is bedded down as the revised surveillance definition of a disease called informally Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID). With it is bedded down the concept of an underlying common cause. Another foundation stone of AIDS science is set in place.
September. The CDC switches the epidemic light to green. In Washington the National Cancer Institute (NCI) convened a KS workshop on the 15th. Fewer than 20 cases are available for study. Not many as populations go, but the Public Health Service lives by the motto that you should shut the door before the horse bolts.
Medical scientists study the data. The common immunodeficiency factor is that most of the patients have significantly elevated CD8+ and significantly lower CD4+ T lymphocytes and lower ratios of CD4 to CD8 cells in peripheral blood. Thus, in only three months, the basic pathology-immunosuppression-had been identified and the probable mode of transmission by sexual contact had been established. Lowered counts of T4 helper cells but elevated counts of T8 suppressor cells. The workshop debates what, if anything, this means. The technology for counting T lymphocytes is new; there is little clinical experience to go on. The immune system is composed of a wide variety of differentiated cells that interact in a complex and patchily understood manner to provide protection against infectious diseases. While acknowledging that the distinction between T4 and T8 cells is oversimplified, the workshop fastened on it as a reasonably sensitive measure. So it is added to the surveillance definition of GRID. Another foundation stone of AIDS science had been laid.
The workshop moved on to discuss the cause of this "strange and frightening phenomenon". Strange, because doctors had not encountered KS and PCP of this virulence. The PCP bacterium is carried by 95% of us. When on rare occasion it does act up, the sickness is mild. The KS story is similar. Since it was identified in 1872, doctors have debated whether KS is a cancer or an unusual inflammation. Since the cells that cause the condition have never been identified, no rational therapy has been devised. Some patients may live with KS for years. So the puzzle before the workshop was that two usually mild diseases were taking a new and aggressive course. The men in whom they appeared were apparently healthy at the time of onset. They worked, jogged, travelled. Suddenly they were ill. This aspect of the clinical signs was captured in the surveillance definition, "no known cause for diminished resistance". Here opinion divided.
The NCI thought that there were plenty of known causes of diminished resistance among these men. The cardiovascular patient can also look healthy shortly before a fatal coronary, but autopsy will show extensive vascular damage. So it was with the gay patients under study. They were calamities waiting to happen.
• They all had numerous sexual partners. They had infestations common among fastlane gay men: Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and several other herpes viruses, varicella zoster virus, adenovirus, chlamydia, toxoplasma gondii, respiratory syncytial virus, hepatitis A and B virus, gonorrhoea, candida albicans (thrush), syphilis, plus a variety of enteric and protozoan infections. Each of these viruses, particularly CMV, could cause immune suppression, and CMV had been implicated as a cofactor for KS. Could not the novelty of the syndrome be due to interaction between these viruses, bacteria, and protozoans? This was the "viral overload" hypothesis.
• It was also observed that all patients used nitrite inhalants. Poppers became fashionable among gay men in 1972. By 1981, legal sales had reached $250 million annually and National Institute of Drug Abuse reported that more than 5 million people were using them at least once a week. Drug manufacturers extensively promoted them in gay publications as "better living through chemistry". Gay men used them heavily as relaxants to facilitate anal intercourse. But heavy use of nitrites was known to cause severe symptoms and immunosuppression, and there was evidence that they were also mutagenic and carcinogenic.
• The KS cohort of men had yet another factor in common , anorectal mucosal trauma. Trauma arises from various ways that gay men mobilise the anus for sex. Enemas are used prior to intercourse and intercourse is usually vigorous. The anorectal damage caused by these activities can be extensive. Trauma allows semen to enter the bloodstream. But semen is an antigen when it enters the blood of another, and is immunosuppressive.
• Most fast-lane gay men are on heavy antibiotic medication to contain their infectious diseases. Much of this is self-administered because medical lore among gay men states that dosages in excess of prescription maximums are required. These medicines are purchased on the black market and they are not necessarily from a reliable pharmaceuticals source. Thus gay men are pouring large doses of antibiotics into their systems unaware that antibiotics are immunosuppressive.
Such was the NCI case. Its central idea was that the cause of the novel syndrome was to be sought amidst this thicket of potential causes. There was no need to postulate a new infectious agent. This was to become known as the multi-factorial model of AIDS.
The CDC felt confident of its case. It knew the clinical diseases of gay men thoroughly from the 7000-man cohort of its hepatitis study. Nitrites, they believed, could be dismissed. Nitrites had been in use for over a century. Viral overload was no use either. The hepatitis cohort answered to this description, but the novel KS and PCP symptoms had not been found among them. No, there had to be a new infectious agent, a point source of immune cell destruction. This is the single-virus, single-disease model that came to dominate AIDS science.
The architect of the CDC position was Don Francis. He had taken his PhD at Harvard under the supervision of Myron Essex, who was a colleague of Robert Gallo. His thesis had been a study of feline leukaemia virus — a retrovirus. His study of 134 cats claimed that infection with the retrovirus caused immune suppression that led in turn to cancers and other diseases. Francis' thesis was a seminal study because it supported the concept of a viral cause of cancer. The Grail of a cancer virus had been sought since about 1970. It was indeed this Grail that launched the study of retroviruses by Duesberg, Essex, and Gallo. But the aching expectation of a breakthrough had been disappointed until 1980, when Gallo discovered a human leukaemia virus (HTLV-I). (Duesberg, we noticed, challenged this claim in 1987.)
It was only weeks after the CDC received the initial notification of five cases in San Francisco that Don Francis, at age 39, experienced his first AIDS Eureka. His training as a viral epidemiologist made him impatient of the fuzzy causality of the multi-factorial model. Viral causality by contrast is clean and geometrical: one virus, one disease. His doctoral thesis had provided a distinctive viral causality. Now he had found the human clinical application that virologists had vainly sought. The syndrome looked ever so much like the leukaemia syndrome in his cats. In an inspired moment it was vouchsafed to him that the cause of GRID was a virus; specifically, a retrovirus. Gallo had just discovered human T-cell leukaemia virus. It made sense.
A second Eureka occurred in March 1982 after numerous discussions with Essex, Gallo, and his colleagues at the CDC. All the pieces came together. Francis presented a lecture to NCI scientists in which he outlined his doctoral work, the data on the hepatitis cohort, and IV drug users. He argued that the risk factors for GRID and hepatitis were virtually identical. "Combine these two diseases, feline leukaemia and hepatitis, and you have immune deficiency," he said. Feline leukaemia modelled the latency period, while hepatitis modelled the risk factor.
The NCI was not convinced. Apart from the fact that a new virus was a speculation, Francis' sketchy model did not connect immunosuppression with the specific opportunistic infections, nor with their virulence. Why these diseases and why their virulence? How could a virus infect and kill not only T4 cells, but macrophages, B cells and other elements of the immune system?
There was no answer. The indications today are that no answer will be forthcoming from the standard model. In May 1994, the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) held a conference on AIDS and drugs. Some of the outcomes of this conference were:
• the toxicity of nitrites was well established in the medical literature by 1980, but the CDC chose to ignore it;
• a large study in 1985 provided significant evidence for the KS/nitrites link in gay men, but still the CDC turned a deaf ear;
• current studies by NIDA scientists again confirm the KS/nitrites;
• gay activists have campaigned against nitrites since 1983;
• a leading AIDS scientist acknowledged that his lab's four year study of KS tended to confirm a nitrite aetiology for KS; the scientist even conceded the obvious point that HIV could not be the cause of KS in gay men who are not HIV+;
• it was also acknowledged that no lab till now has isolated HIV from KS cell necrosis.
The NIDA conference reveals retrospectively the diagnostic blunder of the clause crucial to the definition of AIDS—"no known cause for diminished resistance". It now seems that the CDC engaged in the "unprincipled actions" that Dr Wecht detected in its handling of the swine flu epidemic. The nitrite evidence was ignored. The same story can also be told of the second AIDS diagnostic disease, PCP. This disease is developed by intravenous drug users, who inject opioids.
When AIDS was defined as a sexually transmissible disease, KS and PCP were significantly related to drug abuse. There was no good reason to postulate an infectious agent and every reason to investigate further the toxic effects of these drugs.

HIV PICTURES; WHAT THEY REALLY SHOW
By Stefan Lanka

It has been long known that what "AIDS" researchers have presented as photos of "HIV" show normal cellular particles in use for export/import and other tasks. As those particles are designed, in contrast to viruses, for cellular use only, they are very unstable when removed from their context, and not able to be isolated and photographed in an isolated state. Genuine viruses are so stable that it is easy, in order to prove successful isolation, to photograph them directly as three dimensional particles in the electron microscope (EM) without prior chemical fixation. In contrast, the cellular-transport and other particles are so unstable (excluding cell organelles like Mitochondria, the energy producing sites which are able to be isolated in a stable form) they can only be photographed in a chemically fixed state, in cells, tissues or in supernatants. As these particles are not isolated and therefore are together with other materials the chemically fixed and resin-embedded cells, tissues or liquids - the mixed material has to be cut in very thin sections (ultrathin sections) to be able to see anything - it's not possible in the electron microscope to look through thicker sections. Of course existing viruses can be photographed in ultrathin sections too but, and this is the point, in their isolated form. All that have been shown to us "HIV" are ultrathin sections of cellular particles (1, 2).
EM photo of very small particles in ultrathin cell-line section. The particles are claimed to be HIV, but are cellular and not viral particles (they are normally refered to as 'virus-like particles', 'microvesicles' and 'microsomes'). The debris on the lower part of the photo indicates that the particles are not purified or isolated. These photos are always published without any evidence that the particles are of viral origin.
Computer enhanched EM photo of a cell surrounded by small particles. The blue/grey stained particles, which are claimed to be HIV particles attacking or (depending on the publication) leaving a white blot cell, are artefacts of the staining and/or fixation process and at best may be cellular particles entering or leaving the cell (in a well known process called endo-/ or exocytosis). These kind of nice photographs, made by Lennart Nilsson, have been published without any evidence that the particles have a viral origin.
HIV researchers believe the AIDS virus looks like this; like a bomb or water (blood) mine. This model is based on the detection of cellular particles in cell lines under very special conditions. Such particles never have been isolated or somehow else demonstrated to exist as a virus or be of viral origin. This is nothing but a modell based on a collection of proteins of various size (no other characterization!) which by antibody detection (known as HIV- or AIDS-test) have been chosen to be said to represent parts of HIV according to the ill-minded and false concept of retroviruses and how they should look like.


AN ACTUARIAL ANALYSIS OF THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN THE U.S.
By Peter Plumley

Presented at the 75th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, June 21, 1994.
Introduction
Since the AIDS epidemic first appeared in the early 1980s, hundreds of thousands of people have been diagnosed with the disease. It has captured the attention of medical authorities, the press, the public, and many special interest groups. Billions of dollars have been spent on AIDS treatment, research, and attempts at prevention. In the process, AIDS has replaced smoking as the greatest single cause of statistics.
Unfortunately, AIDS is a complicated disease, poorly understood by the public. Furthermore, it affects different groups to vastly different degrees. Because of this, and because one of the means of transmission of HIV is by sexual intercourse, it has proven to be a fertile ground for special interest groups to pursue their various agendas. As a result, many of the statistics have been distorted, and many of the prevention efforts have been misguided and even counterproductive.
The professional training of the actuary includes the development of skills useful for analysis of data, modeling, and determination of risk levels. This paper examines the AIDS epidemic from the viewpoint of the actuary, with particular emphasis on the relationship of risk of HIV infection and AIDS to lifestyles and health.
It is well-known that most AIDS victims are either homosexual men or IV drug users, or both. For them, the risk levels are high. As will be shown in this paper, nearly all of these AIDS victims have a lifestyle that creates immune system disorders and is generally not conducive to good health.
At the same time, the vast majority of Americans are healthy heterosexuals. ("Healthy" within the context of this paper means free of street drugs, other sexually transmitted diseases, and immune system disorders which might make one susceptible to HIV and AIDS.) For them, the conclusions as to risk levels and best techniques for the prevention of HIV transmission can be summarized as follows:
1. Unless one has a regular sexual relationship with someone who is HIV-positive, it is virtually impossible to become infected with HIV by heterosexual intercourse.
2. Mutual monogamy provides little protection from AIDS, because most HIV transmissions from heterosexual contact are from someone infected by non-sexual means such as IV drug use or blood transfusions, to his or her regular (and quite possibly monogamous) sexual partner.
3. Multiple sexual partners involve little or no increase in risk of HIV infection, as compared with monogamous relationships.
4. Because the risk of HIV transmission is so extremely remote for this group. urging the use of condoms will do virtually nothing to prevent transmission of HIV. Therefore, because condoms intrude so much on the lovemaking process, there usually is little point in using one, unless it is felt necessary for the prevention of pregnancy or the transmission of other, more easily transmitted, sexually transmitted diseases ("STDs").
5. AIDS education and prevention efforts for heterosexuals, as presently structured, can be counterproductive, because it may create fear and paranoia which in turn may cause more of an increase in mortality than that from the rare case of HIV transmission that might be prevented. Instead, the focus of AIDS education and prevention for this group should concentrate on three points:
By far the most important way to prevent HIV infection is to maintain a healthy body, free of street drugs, other STDs, and immune system disorders, so that one's body will not be susceptible to HIV infection, if by chance one is exposed.
While the healthy person has little to fear from the "one-night" stand, a regular sexual relationship with an HIV positive person can involve significant risk because of the repeated exposure to HIV. Therefore, greater care should be used in choosing one's regular sexual partner.
Receptive anal sex presents a higher risk than vaginal sex, for several reasons. Therefore, if done at all, it should be done carefully and sparingly, and only with a reliable partner who is HIV-negative and free of any STDs.
Some of the actuarial analysis in this paper makes the implicit assumption that HIV causes AIDS. However, it should be noted that there is a growing body of scientific opinion that questions the role of HIV in AIDS. A full analysis of that issue is beyond the scope of this paper. What is clear, however, is that nearly all cases of AIDS are associated with other significant health problems which impair the immune system, and which are unrelated to HIV. In view of this fact, from the viewpoint of the actuary, mortality rates would be improved far more if the focus were more on the underlying causes (street drugs, anal sex, other STDs, etc.) of the immune system disorders affecting nearly all of those with AIDS, rather than merely trying to find a cure for HIV.
Distribution of AIDS cases in the United States
As of the end of 1992 (publication of the 1993 report having been delayed by the CDC), the cumulative distribution of adult cases since 1981 by exposure category was as follows:
Male homosexual/bisexual contact 142,626 (57%)
IV drug use (female and heterosexual male) 57,412 (23%)
Male homosexual/bisexual contact and IV drug use 15,899 ( 6%)
Hemophilia/coagulation disorder 2,026 ( 1%)
Heterosexual contact with a person with, or at increased risk for, HIV infection 13,292 (5%)
Born in Pattern II country 2,962 ( 1%)
Receipt of blood transfusion, blood components or tissue 4,980 ( 2%)
Other/undetermined 10,002 ( 4%)
Total 249,199 (100%)
The heterosexual contact cases are subdivided into the following categories, shown with cases reported through December 31, 1992:
Sex with IV drug user 8,481 (64%)
Sex with bisexual male 823 ( 6%)
Sex with person with hemophilia 131 ( 1%)
Sex with person born in Pattern II country 205 ( 2%)
Sex with transfusion recipient with HIV infection 311 (2%)
Sex with HIV-infected person, risk not specified 3,341 (25%)
Total 13,292 (100%)
As mentioned in the introduction, it is clear that, unlike many infectious or contagious diseases, AIDS strikes different groups very unevenly, and therefore the risk of contracting the disease varies significantly. This paper examines the epidemic from the point of view of the level of risk for each group, and the relationship of poor health and immune system disorders to these risk levels.
Reliability of the CDC's classification system
The CDC does not itself report AIDS cases; that is the responsibility of state and local health departments. The CDC states as follows in the information provided with its public data set with respect to the surveillance process:
"Although state and local health departments share AIDS surveillance data with CDC, the responsibility and authority for AIDS surveillance rests with the individual health departments. Like any reportable disease, the completeness of AIDS reporting reflects the aggressiveness with which these health departments solicit case reports. Health departments may depend on health-care providers to know and comply with reporting requirements. Alternatively, health departments may regularly contact and interact with health-care facilities or individual providers to stimulate disease reporting."
In examining the accuracy of the classification of cases by the CDC, it must be recognized that, except in perinatal cases, it is virtually impossible to know with absolute certainty how a particular individual became infected with HIV. Originally, AIDS was referred to as "GRIDS" ("gay related immunodeficiency syndrome"), because it appeared to be a disease which affected only homosexual men. Later, it became clear by statistical analysis that it primarily affected homosexual men and IV drug users, but that HIV could also be transmitted by penile-vaginal intercourse and blood transfusions, and from an infected mother to her child. All of these transmission methods are consistent with the fact that AIDS is a blood disease. However, even though the high risk categories are known, there is no way of knowing for certain whether a particular person became infected in a particular manner, because the precise details of one's life cannot be known with absolute certainty by others.
This is particularly important with respect to AIDS cases attributed to heterosexual contact, because so many homosexuals and IV drug users try to conceal their lifestyles. These are lifestyles which are condemned by a large part of our society, and which many times cause loss of jobs, ostracism, and criminal action. Studies have shown that AIDS cases which at first appeared to be attributable to heterosexual contact were actually linked to other risk classifications., The overall level of concealment which has occurred is difficult to determine, because it varies with the effectiveness of local health departments in determining the full facts. However, it may well be a significant part of the cases categorized as heterosexual contact, particularly for males. We sometimes read about how someone is supposed to have become infected with HIV under some unusual circumstance. This incident is then used to justify precautions against the spread of HIV, where none were felt needed previously. Yet in most cases, such precautions are not productive, because either (1) the cause of the HIV infection may have been misclassified, or (2) the risk is so remote that it is not worth the precautions that are being considered.
Risk of AIDS - risks of life
We are all "at risk" for AIDS - and for that matter, for death from many other causes, each day of our lives. Merely walking down the street could result in HIV infection from being stabbed with an HIV-infected needle. It also could result in death from falling objects, or from an out-of-control car, or a stray bullet. People have been killed in plane crashes while sleeping in their beds. "Freak" accidents occur nearly every day. And death from natural causes can strike, suddenly or slowly, at any age. Therefore it is pointless to try to lead a risk-free life. It just simply cannot be done, and those who try will be termed "paranoid" by their peers, and will do little to extend their life expectancy, while diminishing their enjoyment of life.
So the first challenge is to sort out the "significant" risks from the "insignificant" ones. But even here, it is not so easy. A 20 year old healthy man might well feel that unprotected sexual intercourse with an HIV-infected partner presented an unacceptably high risk. However, if he was 90 years old and the woman was young and beautiful, he might decide that the risk was well worth the reward.
Nevertheless, in order to discuss HIV and AIDS in terms of significant risk levels, we must have some type of benchmark. So let us start by considering how often we incur a "one-in-a-million" risk in our daily lives. The average risk of death from all causes for a 25-year old (both sexes and all races combined) is 1.18 per 1000 per year. This means that the average 25-year old has a "one-in-a-million" risk of death from all causes every 7 hours. Yet people at that age generally are not concerned about the risk of death in the near future, in the absence of a specific situation which is perceived to involve a higher risk.
Another instructive comparison can be made with automobile fatality rates. In 1988, there were 2.4 deaths from automobile accidents per 100 million vehicle miles. Assuming an average of 2 people per vehicle, this means that the risk of being killed in an automobile accident is "one-in-a-million" for every 83 miles traveled - less than two hours time at normal highway speeds. (Considering the higher automobile fatality rates for younger drivers, the number of miles presumably is significantly lower for the 25-year old.)
A 1991 television special also referred to "one-in-a-million" risks. It stated that one increased his risk of dying by one-in-a-million by:
Traveling six miles in a canoe
Traveling 10 miles
on a bicycle
Spending one hour in a coal mine
Smoking 1.4 cigarettes
This author has made no attempt to verify the accuracy of these figures; however, they are further demonstration that most of us take "one-in-a-million" risks routinely in our lives, without undue fear of the consequences, simply because we believe that the risk is too insignificant to worry about. In examining the AIDS epidemic in terms of how it should affect our daily behavior, it is important that we realize that our lives are full of "one-in-a-million" risks, many of which we cannot avoid no matter how hard we try. We of course should be aware of the dangers of "high-risk" activities of any type so that we can avoid them if we do not want to take the risk. At the same time, we should recognize that some activities which are described as putting people "at risk" for HIV infection in fact involve "one-in-a-million" risks such as those described above, and therefore might reasonably be ignored in going about our everyday lives.
The difficulty of transmission of HIV by heterosexual contact
Most STDs have a fairly high efficiency of transmission - perhaps a 10% to as high as a 50% probability of transmission during a single sexual act with an infected partner. As a result, the typical route for such diseases is from male-to-female-to-male-to-female..., by heterosexual intercourse. Obviously, therefore, the best defenses against the spread of such diseases are (1) monogamy, (2) condoms, and (3) medical treatment when symptoms occur.
HIV, however, is very different in one fundamental respect. Although it has been demonstrated that the transmission of HIV by heterosexual intercourse is possible, both male-to-female and female-to-male, unlike most other sexually transmitted diseases, the transmission is extremely inefficient, particularly female-to-male.
In addition, transmission usually is associated with some type of abnormality, such as some other STD. This was dramatically illustrated in a paper titled "Female-to-Male Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus", by Padian et al, published in the September 25, 1991 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In this paper, 72 male, non-drug using partners of HIV-positive women were studied, beginning in 1985. Of the 72 males, only a single one became infected through sexual contact. It is instructive to quote excerpts from the description of this couple's sexual practices and physical condition, to show the conditions which caused the man to become infected.
"Over the five years prior to the study, [the woman] had over 600 male partners, including over 2000 contacts with a bisexual man, an unidentified number of contacts with an intravenous drug user, and over 1000 contacts with a person she knew to be HIV-infected.
"The couple reported an average of 15 sexual contacts a month for the last 7 years. Almost all of these contacts consisted of unprotected vaginal-penile and oral intercourse. The couple practiced anal intercourse twice. The couple never used condoms. ... The woman would frequently have sexual intercourse with another partner while her husband first observed and then had intercourse with her immediately after the other partner.
"This couple reported ... over 100 episodes of both vaginal and penile bleeding. The cause of this bleeding could not be established. Medical data were available only by history, and over the last 5 years, the woman reported four cases of vaginal yeast infections, both reported one case of trichomoniasis, and the man reported one case of urethral gonorrhea. In addition, the woman reported a history of endometriosis and had a hysterectomy during the year prior to entry into the study."
The report goes on to suggest that the man's HIV infection may have come from one of the other men who had sexual relations with his wife immediately prior to his sexual activity, rather than from his wife.
The report also states that six other of the 72 men reported penile bleeding during sexual intercourse, but did not become infected.
It is not at all surprising that this one man became infected, given his history of penile bleeding and other STD's. In fact, it illustrates that the risk of transmission of HIV infection may depend on a variety of factors relating both to the degree of infectiousness of the infected partner and to the susceptibility to infection of the uninfected partner. Of particular interest in this regard is the paper "Biologic Factors in the Sexual Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus", by Holmberg et al. This paper discusses a number of possible cofactors, and concludes with the following summary:
"The probability that any single episode of genital-genital or anogenital sexual intercourse will result in transmission of HIV may be determined by multiple biologic factors of the infectious person, the virus itself, and the exposed susceptible person. Some of these factors are known or suspected (figure 1), and they may explain observed differences in the sexual transmission of HIV in different parts of the world, notably in Africa, where genital ulcerative disease is probably influencing the epidemiology of HIV. Several studies have shown that infection in partners of HIV-infected persons is not determined solely by numbers of sexual encounters; on the contrary, HIV-infected partners have usually had fewer sexual encounters with infectious mates than have noninfected partners.,, Thus, sexually active persons should be cautioned that, to our knowledge, there are no nonsusceptible persons and that any single sexual encounter may lead to HIV transmission. Research into biologic factors that modulate HIV transmission continues to be hampered by difficulties in identifying HIV transmitters and nontransmitters, infective and noninfective variants of HIV (if the latter exist in vivo), and persons relatively more or less susceptible to HIV infection. However, as the number of partner studies and the number enrolled in them increase, a progressively clearer idea of the biologic determinants of sexual transmission should emerge."
The "figure 1" referred to above shows the following biologic factors considered possible risk factors in the sexual transmission of HIV. Question marks indicate factors whose effect in enhancing transmission are debatable, in the opinion of the authors of the paper.
Host Infectiousness:
Late HIV infection: marked by low T-helper cell levels. p24 antigenemia, clinical symptoms (?) Early HIV infection: marked by increased T-suppressor cells, and (?) p24 antigenemia and (?) elevated antibody titers to cytomegalovirus (CMV)
(?) Menstruation (female-to-male transmission)
(?) Lack of integrity of vaginal sucosa from genital ulcer disease (female-to-male transmission)
Viral Virulence/Infectivity:
(?) Variation in the viral genome, resulting in increased or decreased infectivity
Host Susceptibility:
Genital ulcerative disease from herpes simplex virus type 2 and syphilis (Western industrialized societies) and by chancroid and syphilis (Africa)
(?) lack of circumcision in men: intact foreskin
(?) Trauma during sex, especially in post-menopausal women
(?) Estrogen (birth control pill) use in African prostitutes
(?) Variants of CD4 receptor molecule of T-lymphocytes
(?) HLA haplotype or other cell surface antigens
Is it theoretically possible for a fully healthy heterosexual to become infected with HIV from a single act of heterosexual intercourse with an HIV-positive partner? Holmberg et al believe that it is. On the other hand, as stated earlier, it is never possible to be absolutely certain how a person became HIV-positive, simply because we can never know of all of the details of anyone's life. Thus the supposedly otherwise totally "clean living" victim of the "one night stand" may have had a secret drug habit, or other venereal disease, which placed him or her at risk. It is only when a significant number of such instances occur that we can be reasonably certain that that means of transmission really does occur, rather than simply indicating some kind of aberration or misclassification.
In any event, it is clear that the average efficiency of HIV transmission among people of average health is extremely low. Moreover, for the "one night stand", it appears to be virtually zero in the absence of some cofactor such as other STD or penile bleeding. Robert Root-Bernstein sums it up in his book "Rethinking AIDS" as follows:
"In short, although HIV certainly can be transmitted through semen from one person to another, it is in fact transmitted so rarely to healthy sexual partners and is present at such low amounts in so few sperm samples from HIV-infected men that it is probable that those who become infected must be exposed repeatedly to many HIV carriers or have some unusual susceptibility to the virus."
Root-Bernstein further states (p. 313), that "The chances that a healthy, drug-free heterosexual will contract AIDS from another heterosexual are so small they are hardly worth worrying about. One statistician has compared them to the probability of winning a state lottery game or being struck by lightning." Root-Bernstein goes on to quote a report in the journal Science which states that the chance of becoming infected with HIV after one sexual fencounter, without using a condom, with someone whose HIV status is unknown, but who does not belong to any high-risk group, yields a calculated risk of 1 in 5 million.
Some important implications of the low efficiency of HIV transmission by heterosexual contact
The low efficiency of transmission of HIV by sexual intercourse results in some fundamental differences between HIV and other STDs. These include the following:
It can be mathematically demonstrated (see Appendix A) that the lower the efficiency of transmission of a sexually transmitted disease, the greater the proportion of transmissions will occur between regular partners, rather than secondary partners (e.g., "one night stands"). Most heterosexuals who get HIV do so by sharing IV drug needles, not from sex. Some of them in turn infect their sexual partners - generally their regular partner. Therefore, mutual monogamy does little to reduce the transmission of HIV - even if both partners have tested negative for HIV at the time the monogamous relationship began.
The number of heterosexual partners makes little difference in the risk of HIV infection (although the type of partner may make a difference). This also can be demonstrated mathematically (see Appendix B). It even is theoretically possible, in fact, that for a given amount of sexual activity, multiple partners might reduce risk because of greater sexual arousal, and therefore better vaginal lubrication and consequent lower efficiency of HIV transmission. (Obviously, those who became infected from their regular partner might have been better off if less of their sexual activity had been with that person!)
Only very rarely does someone become infected with HIV from engaging in penile-vaginal sex with someone who in turn became infected in the same manner (rather than from IV drugs, homosexual activity, or some other means such as a blood transfusion). Therefore it usually makes little or no difference whom your sexual partner has had heterosexual relations with previously (though it would matter if a man's previous partners were male).
HIV risks for those with multiple sexual partners
In Appendix B, it is demonstrated that, for a disease with as low an efficiency of transmission as HIV, the number of sexual partners makes little difference. This theoretical result appears to be validated by an examination of the experience of those who are known to have many partners. Let us look at three groups: (1) professional athletes, (2) "swingers", and (3) prostitutes.
HIV and professional athletes
Several years ago, Magic Johnson was forced to retire from basketball when he was discovered to be HIV-positive. He claimed to have become infected from unprotected sexual activity, and admitted to having had a large number of sexual partners, without using condoms. Much was made of this by the media and health care officials, and his experience was used to demonstrate the "high risk" involved with unprotected sex with multiple partners.
However, a further analysis suggests that the risk wasn't so high after all. Since the AIDS epidemic began, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of professional sports figures who would have made the headlines if they had been found to be HIV-positive. Sports figures are noted for their sexual activity - a reputation deserved by some, and not by others. Yet to the best of this author's knowledge, Magic Johnson is the only one to have fmade any such headlines (except for Arthur Ashe, who was known to have become infected from a blood transfusion). To this day, it is not certain exactly why Magic Johnson became infected while others have not. Therefore, although it is not possible to develop a reliable risk factor for professional athletes, his experience appears to be more of an faberration or misclassification than something which is likely to befall other athletes.
HIV and social/sexual clubs
Another group with multiple sexual partners are the members of social/sexual clubs, commonly known as "swingers". Swingers engage in recreational sexual activity with multiple partners. In many cases, these sexual partners were strangers when the evening began. There are more than 200 swingers clubs in the U.S. and Canada, with a membership totalling perhaps 100,000, according to one magazine report. Swingers generally do not use condoms. Therefore they provide in effect a made-to-order laboratory for the study of transmission of HIV through multiple sexual partnerships and unprotected sex. If in fact the swinging lifestyle did present an "increased risk" of HIV infection, by now there would have been many cases of HIV and AIDS among the various swing clubs (or, more likely, the clubs would have closed up because of the unacceptability of the high risk).
However, there has been only one reported episode of HIV infection among members of a swingers club. It involved anal rather than vaginal sex, and was reported by the CDC. In this instance, which occurred in 1986, all of the members of a swingers club were tested, and two female members were found to be HIV-positive. Both had engaged in repeated anal intercourse with two bisexual men whose HIV status could not be determined. As will be seen later in this paper, receptive anal intercourse appears to involve much higher risk levels than penile-vaginal sex. Presumably they became infected from the anal sex, rather than from vaginal sexual activity. They did not infect any of their male sexual partners, even though their HIV status was not detected until some time after their infection occurred, during which time they continued their sexual activity with various other partners.
A recent article in Penthouse magazine titled "Swinging Swings Back" described the resurgence of swinging. As might be expected, the article included some "hand wringing" about the risks of AIDS being taken by these people, including a quote from a representative of the CDC that swingers were "just whistling past the graveyard".
Yet the facts are to the contrary. Robert McGinley, President of the North American Swing Club Association, is quoted in the Penthouse article as stating categorically that "as far as we can tell, no person has ever contracted AIDS through heterosexual [i.e., penile-vaginal] swinging in North America". His statement appears to be correct. This author has been unable to find any data which contradicts his statement or suggests anything to the contrary.
How can this be, in the face of all of the warnings about the high risk of unprotected sex, particularly with multiple partners who frequently are relative strangers?
The answer appears to lie in the ethics of the swinging lifestyle, and in the type of people who are involved in swinging.
For obvious reasons, swingers clubs will not allow any members under age 18, and usually not under age 21. In addition, swingers generally are "middle class" types who have a primary sexual partner, with whom they are involved in a regular, frequently long-term relationship. Therefore, they tend to be a generally healthier group than those most susceptible to HIV and AIDS.
Because swingers are potentially vulnerable to the spread of the more contagious STDs, they are careful to watch for the symptoms of any STDs, and to take appropriate steps to correct any problems as quickly as possible, on those rare occasions when they occur.
Swingers realize that, while authorities cannot legally prevent adults from engaging in consensual heterosexual activities, many disapprove of their lifestyle and would shut them down if they had an excuse to do so. Therefore, swingers clubs are very strict about forbidding illegal drugs, and generally will throw out anyone who disobeys this prohibition. By doing this, the clubs keep out the primary source of heterosexual HIV infections.
What is the lesson to be learned from the swingers about the risk of HIV infection from heterosexual (vaginal) intercourse? It is this: keep your body in good health, and free of other STDs, avoid any regular sexual relationships with high risk people such as drug users, and you don't need to worry about AIDS.
HIV and female prostitutes
Prostitutes are another group which engages in sexual activity with multiple partners. Root-Bernstein discusses their experience as follows:
"M. Seidlin and his colleagues examined the prevalence of HIV infections in New York City call girls during 1987, They studied seventy-eight women who had been prostitutes for an average of five years each. Each woman had had an average of over 200 clients during the past year, or approximately 1,000 lifetime partners. Use of condoms was sporadic at best. Vaginal intercourse was common; anal, rare. Since it is estimated that nearly 5% of men in New York City are thought to be intravenous drug users and half of these are HIV seropositive, it is probable that each of these prostitutes had sexual relations with an average of twenty-five HIV-seropositive individuals. Despite this unusual promiscuity and despite living in one of the AIDS capitals of the world, only one of the women was HIV seropositive. She admitted being an intravenous drug abuser. Her seventy-two non-drug abusing co-workers were all HIV negative.
"Another study carried out in New York City by Dr. Joyce Wallace and her co-workers between 1982 and 1988 found similar results. They surveyed several hundred streetwalkers (a lower class of prostitute than call girls) for a variety of measures of immunodeficiency. Excluding admitted intravenous drug users from their study, they found that only 4.5 percent of the prostitutes were HIV infected. The only statistical difference between those who were infected and those who were not was that the HIV-positive women had had a mean of 3,062 sexual partners during their lifetime, whereas the HIV-seronegatives had had 1,047. On the other hand, Wallace found an HIV seropositivity rate approaching 50% among drug-abusing prostitutes."
Similarly, a 1988 study concluded that "HIV infection in non-drug using prostitutes tends to be low or absent, implying that sexual activity alone does not place them at high risk, while prostitutes who use intravenous drugs are far more likely to be infected with HIV".
Given the level of STDs among streetwalker prostitutes, and the desire by some to try to conceal their drug habit, it is not surprising that a small percentage of those who did not admit to drug use nevertheless were HIV-positive. All things considered, it is significant that the percentage was so low, and is another indication of the extreme difficulty of HIV transmission by heterosexual intercourse.
Condoms - common sense or nonsense?
The low average efficiency of transmission of HIV raises serious doubts as to the value of the emphasis being placed on the use of condoms for the prevention of transmission of HIV infection during heterosexual intercourse, for several reasons:
The vast majority of people are (1) in good health and free of STDs, and (2) not sexually involved on a regular basis with anyone who is in a "high risk" group (i.e., an IV drug user or a homosexual/bisexual). For them, the risk of HIV infection from sexual intercourse is so remote (generally considerably less than one chance in a million per episode) that using a condom is comparable to wearing a hard hat for a walk down Main Street - it may be theoretically possible that it could save your life, but it really isn't worth the bother and inconvenience, considering the remoteness of the risk.
Condoms are more likely to be used for casual sex, and by those who are "safety-conscious" and unlikely to be involved with IV drug users or other "high-risk" sexual partners. However, the majority of transmissions of HIV from sexual intercourse occur between regular partners, where one partner became infected from some non-sexual means such as IV drug use or blood transfusion.
Condoms may create a false sense of security (they are not foolproof, and have shown a failure rate of from 10% to 20%), and may cause an increase in sexual activity or a less careful choice of sexual partners.
Finally, who is supposed to use condoms, anyhow? If they are to be used only for casual sex, very few cases of HIV transmission will be prevented. If they are to be used for all sexual activity, are we proposing reducing the birth rate to zero to prevent HIV transmission? (It is to be noted in this respect that in Africa, where life expectancy is low and the need to reproduce is more keenly felt than in the United States, some are concerned that the emphasis on condoms will have an adverse effect on the population demographics because of the impact on birth rates.)
Condoms make good sense in some situations, particularly for young people for whom the risk of unwanted pregnancy and STDs is high. Condoms are one method of birth control (though usually not the best one). They also can reduce the spread of the more easily transmitted STDs. However, the blunt truth is that, in spite of all of the public health campaigns urging their use, they will have virtually no effect on the spread of HIV and AIDS among heterosexuals.
AIDS and homosexual men
In contrast to the low risk for heterosexuals, homosexual men incur a significant risk because of their lifestyle. Root-Bernstein details the many immunosuppressive risk factors that affect homosexual men. Many of these, such as syphilis and a variety of other infections, are associated with anal sexual practices engaged in by a significant percentage of homosexual men. However, other risk factors were related to the widespread use of various drugs by homosexuals. In this respect, Root-Bernstein quotes the following studies:
"A CDC survey conducted in 1983 found that a 'typical' gay man in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco used four street drugs regularly. Those who had developed AIDS by 1983 had a history of increased drug use both in therm of frequency of use and number of different drugs used regularly. Ninety-five percent of the gay men surveyed regularly used inhalant nitrites; over 90 percent smoked marijuana; 60 percent used cocaine; about 8 percent used heroin; over 50 percent used amphetamines; over 30 percent, barbiturates; almost 50 percent, LSD and methaqualone; and about 40 percent had used phencyclidine. Linda Pifer's 1987 survey of gay men in Memphis found slightly lower rates of drug use. Over 80 percent of this group admitted to using nitrites at least occasionally and 30 percent more than once a week. Seventy-four percent admitted to use of other illicit drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, phencyclidine, and LSD, with an average of nearly seven years of 'routine use.' Eleven percent described themselves as being 'heavy drinkers' and another 37 percent as 'moderate drinkers.' Multiple drug use was the norm among the heavy abusers."
The increased risk of HIV infection for those homosexuals (and heterosexuals) who engage in anal sex is described by Root-Bernstein as follows:
"Immunological contact with sperm, or material carried in sperm, is increased in anal, as contrasted with vaginal or oral, intercourse. On reason has to do with the physiological differences of the rectum, vagina, and upper gastrointestinal tract. Vaginal tissue differs markedly from rectal tissue. The vagina has thick, muscular walls covered by a fdeep layer of epithelial (skin-like) cells that are easily sloughed off and secrete a lubricating mucus to decrease the possibility of abrasion. Even if abrasion does occur, the capillaries that embedded in the vaginal tissue are far from the surface and difficult to reach. There are also very few lymphocytes directly in the vagina, most of them being located higher up, near the cervix. The rectal tissue presents an entirely different picture. The rectum is comprised of an extremely thin layer of tissue, densely entwined with capillaries. It lacks the thick layers of epithelium that protect the vagina and its ability to produce a protective mucus. Moreover, the intestines are studded with Peyer's patches. Located along with the Peyer's patches are concentrations of M cells, which apparently function as portals through which the resident lymphocytes constantly sample the contents of the rectum for foreign material. These M cells have been shown to permit viruses such as HIV to gain access to the immune system from the rectum. Thus, unlike the vagina, the rectum represents a place in the body through which the immune system can easily be reached, even under normal conditions. Since microscopic tears and bleeding can accompany anal intercourse and infections but are rare in vaginal intercourse, anal exposure confers another means for semen components (and viruses) to enter the bloodstream, there to be immunologically processed."
Root-Bernstein then goes on to list a number of diseases that may develop in the rectum as a result of the various anal sexual practices engaged in by homosexual men. It is no wonder that, even apart from AIDS, homosexual men who engage in anal sexual activity have a higher incidence of immunosuppressive disease than heterosexuals.
AIDS and drug use
It is well known that IV drug users are at high risk of AIDS. The reason for this is believed to be the sharing of needles. To reduce this risk, there are "clean needle" programs in some areas, through which IV drug users are provided with clean needles so that there will not be HIV transmission during the injection of IV drugs.
There is no doubt that IV drug users are at high risk for a variety of conditions relating to damage to the immune system, and there is little to be gained by elaborating on this point here. However, what is not usually emphasized is that those who use non-intravenous drugs also are damaging their immune system, and in the process leave themselves open to various immunosuppressive agents. Root-Bernstein sums it up as follows:
"The various immunosuppressive effects [of drug use] occur independent of the route by which the drugs are administered. It does not matter to the immune system whether the drugs are smoked, injected intravenously, injected by 'skin popping' (the technique used in tuberculin testing), or taken by oral or nasal routes. As long as the drug appears in sufficient concentrations in the blood for a long enough period of time, it will lead to both short term and long term immune suppression, with specific effects on T cells. A common result, particularly of heroin addiction and high dose cocaine use is an inversion of the T helper/ T-suppressor ratio, such as that seen in AIDS. Thus, one important feature of drug abuse that has not been taken into account in defining who is at risk for AIDS is the possibility that nonintravenous drug abusers who are exposed to HIV or other immunosuppressive agents by sexual routes will be at as great a risk of AIDS as are intravenous drug abusers. This fact may help to explain why so many sexual partners of intravenous drug abusers - people who are almost all drug users themselves - are developing AIDS despite the fact that they do not share needles."
The misinforming of the public
For better or for worse, we live in an age of the "thirty-second sound bite". Most of the public gets its knowledge about matters such as AIDS from the evening news, newspaper headlines, and other easy to absorb sources such as talk shows and advice columnists. Relatively few people acquire much knowledge from more reasoned sources such as scientific studies or in-depth analyses such as might be presented in serious books or articles in scientific publications.
The AIDS epidemic has provided the popular media with ample material. There have been many warnings given to the public about the dangers of contracting HIV by sexual intercourse. In addition, there have been stories of people who have supposedly contracted HIV from what normally would be considered to be casual contact. A number of groups have had a self interest in making the epidemic appear worse than it really is. Only rarely is the low risk level for heterosexuals mentioned. The result is that the public has been badly misinformed, and in the process has been terrorized far more than justified by the facts.
The misleading of the public has appeared in many forms, but in general has fallen into several broad categories:
Gross exaggerations of the extent to which the epidemic would spread among heterosexuals. Example: The statement heard by millions of television viewers in February, 1987, that "Research studies now project that one in five - listen to me, hard to believe - one in five heterosexuals could be dead from AIDS at the end of the next three years. That's by 1990."
Failure to recognize the low efficiency of transmission of HIV by making the implicit assumption that sexual activity with an infected partner will cause the virus to transmit 100% or nearly 100% of the time. Example: The letter published by a nationally syndicated columnist from a woman who said "Last night I had sex with 4,096 people... I had sex with a man (who) admitted to having sex with eight...female partners during the past year... I took those eight women and assumed that they also had slept with eight men, and each of those eight men had had sex with eight women, etc. By using simple arithmetic progression, after only three series I realized that I had been exposed somewhere along the line to 4,096 persons, plus one. How can I assume that there was no one in that family tree who was not an AIDS carrier...?" The columnist had no quarrel with the analysis, and replied, "You have focused on the aspect of AIDS that makes it such a terrifying disease."
Overemphasis by the media on isolated cases because of their human interest and dramatic appeal, even though they represent situations in which the risk is so remote, and many times so unproven, as to be unworthy of serious concern. Those familiar with the news business know that the unusual will make the evening news, particularly if sex is involved. Thus the thousands of homosexual men and IV drug users who are HIV-positive no longer are newsworthy; however, the person who claims, rightly or wrongly, to have contracted HIV from some act not generally thought to be capable of transmission of HIV will be given prime air time. Example: Kimberly Bergalis, who claimed, perhaps incorrectly, to have contracted AIDS during the course of dental treatment.
In the case of most news stories of unusual incidents (e.g., an airplane killing people asleep in their beds), the public generally will understand that it is not something likely to happen very often, if ever again, and will not be concerned. However, the public has so little understanding of the risk levels for AIDS that each report of a freak occurrence is interpreted by many as a new method of transmission, and a new and significant risk to be avoided at all costs.
Allegations that HIV can be transmitted in ways not possible. Example: A recent letter to an advice columnist from a mother who complained that she would have to have her child tested repeatedly for HIV because she had picked up a used condom in a hotel room and put it to her mouth. The columnist published the letter, and made no effort to tell the mother that her child could not possibly get AIDS in that manner.
Misuse of statistics. Example: The 1991 headline stating "Illinois AIDS Cases Doubled Since '89". The impression given is that the rate of AIDS cases had doubled. In fact, the story merely stated that the number of cases reported during the most recent two years was approximately the same as the total number reported previous to the most recent two years, so that the cumulative number of cases was double what it had been two years earlier. (By the headline's logic, deaths from any cause could be said to be on the increase!)
Mistakes of fact, even in publications which generally are relied on as being accurate. Example: The table heading in the 1991 Edition of The World Almanac and Book of Facts listing "U.S. Metropolitan Areas with AIDS rates of 25% or More, 1989-1990, and Cumulative Totals". Examination of the table reveals that it lists cities in which the AIDS rates were more than 25 per 100,000, not 25 per 100.
Because AIDS is almost uniformly fatal, and because one of the ways that HIV can be transmitted is by sexual intercourse, the epidemic has gotten the attention of the public in a big way. Unfortunately, there are many misunderstandings about AIDS and the risk of contracting HIV, as evidenced by a survey conducted in August, 1987 by the National Center for Health Statistics. Respondents were asked the question "How likely do you think it is that a person will get the AIDS virus from the following". Answer choices offered were "very likely", "somewhat likely", "somewhat unlikely", "very unlikely", "definitely not possible", and "don't know". The replies clearly showed the extent to which the public misunderstood the risk of contracting HIV.
69% believed that it was "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that one would get the AIDS virus from receiving a blood transfusion. (Even though there have been a number of unfortunate cases of HIV infection from blood transfusions before screening procedures were improved, the correct answer always was "very unlikely".)
25% believed it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" from donating blood. Only 18% correctly believed it to be definitely not possible.
21% believed it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" from working near someone with AIDS. Only 18% correctly believed it to be definitely not possible.
35% believed it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" from eating in a restaurant where the cook has AIDS. Only 11% correctly believed it to be definitely not possible.
47% believed it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" from sharing plates, forks, or glasses with someone who has AIDS. Only 8% correctly believed it to be definitely not possible.
31% believed it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" from using public toilets. Only 13% correctly believed it to be definitely not possible.
41% believed it to be "very likely" or "somewhat likely" from being coughed on or sneezed on by someone who has AIDS. Only 9% correctly believed it to be definitely not possible.
38% believed it to be "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that a person could get AIDS from mosquitoes or other insects.
Finally, 92% said that it was "very likely", and another 5% said that it was "somewhat likely", that a person would get the AIDS virus from having sex with someone who has AIDS. Less than 3% understood that the low efficiency of transmission made it unlikely.
Subsequent surveys have shown some improvement in the public's knowledge about the risk of transmission of HIV. Nevertheless, most people are still unaware of how difficult it is to transmit HIV by penile-vaginal sexual activity, and significant proportions of the population still believe that HIV can be transmitted by various types of casual contact, even though there are no known cases of the types of transmission referred to in the survey.
The risks of the fear of AIDS
In recent years, a great effort has been made to educate the population on the danger of contracting HIV, and what to do to reduce or avoid the risks. These efforts have been warranted with respect to male homosexuals and IV drug users, for whom the risks have been high. They also are warranted for those heterosexuals whose regular sexual partners are likely to be drawn from within the IV drug community.
However, the fear of AIDS has done great harm to the personal rights of those known or even suspected of having the disease, or being part of a high-risk group. The cases of unfair and unnecessary discrimination against such persons which have taken place because of these exaggerated fears number in the thousands. In 1990, the American Civil Liberties Union ("ACLU") published a report titled "Epidemic of Fear". To produce the report, the ACLU sent questionnaires to more than 600 legal and advocacy organizations in the United States. The 260 that responded reported receiving or referring approximately 13,000 complaints of HIV-related discrimination from 1983 to 1988. Since then, many thousands more have surfaced. Indeed, the problem of AIDS discrimination was recently highlighted by the Academy Award winning movie "Philadelphia", which dealt with employment discrimination against an HIV-positive person.
Considering that the risk of heterosexually transmitted HIV is so small, is it also possible that, apart from the discrimination problems, the fear of AIDS can do more harm than the disease itself to the average middle class heterosexual not involved with IV drug users?
There is of course no one correct answer to this question. For some, the perceived dangers of AIDS merely provides an excuse to avoid relationships which they would prefer not to have anyhow. But for others, they may cause a number of undesirable results:
Fear and paranoia about AIDS may impair the healthy sexual activity necessary for the enjoyment of one's adult life.
Unnecessary or exaggerated alarm sounded by public health officials could adversely affect their credibility. This would make it more difficult to convince people that there was a real danger to public health in some future situation.
People may avoid medical treatment that they need, because of a fear of becoming infected with HIV while under treatment. One must wonder how many already have not agreed to necessary surgery, or skipped a visit to the dentist, because of headlines about persons getting HIV infections from surgeons and dentists. The risk of avoiding or delaying necessary medical attention almost surely is greater than the risk of HIV infection.
There may be added stress, with resulting health and other problems - for example, sexual dysfunction caused by fears about AIDS among those who actually had no reason ever to be concerned. Many prisons permit conjugal visits, in order to relieve stress and reduce the risk of riots and other violence. Is it possible that "AIDS education" is in fact a contributing factor in the violence we are experiencing today throughout the country?
Finally, people may delay or avoid the development of relationships which lead to marriage and the raising of families.
There does not appear to be any precise way to measure the effect of AIDS-related stress on mortality and morbidity levels. However, the following comparison is instructive. If a 25-year old man has one evening of sexual activity each week for the rest of his life with someone not in a high-risk group, the risk of AIDS will reduce his life expectancy by less than a single day, assuming that risk levels remain as they are today, and that HIV infection means certain death. On the other hand, a 1% increase in mortality from heart disease caused by added stress levels would reduce his life expectancy by 18 days.
Does HIV cause AIDS?
After more than a decade of hearing that "HIV is the cause of AIDS", there now is a growing body of opinion that this is not necessarily true after all. Today, we can hear knowledgeable people take a position all the way from "HIV is the sole cause of AIDS, and if you are HIV-positive you will eventually get, and die from, AIDS (if, of course something else doesn't kill you first)", to "HIV is unrelated to AIDS".
Clearly, there is a correlation between HIV and AIDS.
This is not surprising, since the definitions of "AIDS" have been closely associated with the finding of antibodies to HIV in blood tests. However, this does not necessarily mean that HIV causes AIDS, any more than the correlation between the increase in the cost of baseball tickets and football tickets means that one caused the other. In fact, of course, both are caused by other, external factors, some of which may be common to both increases.
Similarly, nearly all of those with the disease defined as "AIDS" (which has been changed several times) have one or more immune system problems, as do those who have been diagnosed as "HIV-positive."
1. Male homosexuals with AIDS nearly always have a history of drug use (which is damaging to the immune system, regardless of the nature of the drugs), and frequently have one or more sexually transmitted diseases associated with anal sex.
2. IV drug users obviously seriously abuse their bodies and always have immune system disorders.
3. Hemophiliacs also always have obvious immune system disorders.
4. People who receive blood transfusions also have had some type of illness or injury, in many cases involving immune system disorders of some type.
5. Heterosexuals who are categorized as having gotten AIDS from heterosexual contact are usually involved sexually with drug users, and likely have done drugs themselves (though not necessarily IV drugs). Only rarely does someone become HIV-positive from penile-vaginal sexual contact unless he or she has some type of health problem which sharply increases susceptibility to HIV and AIDS.
Thus, while one theory is that HIV "causes" AIDS, is it not also possible instead that the underlying immune problems affecting those who constitute virtually all of those who are diagnosed with AIDS also are causing these people to develop AIDS, or at least to be far more susceptible to it if they have HIV? As a minimum, there appears to be much to be learned about the relationship between HIV, other immune system disorders, and AIDS.
Does any otherwise fully healthy person get AIDS solely because of being HIV-positive? Some appear to do so. However, nearly all cases of AIDS can be proven to be associated with other significant health problems affecting the immune system. Many of the cases that cannot be proven to be so associated probably in fact were, if the full facts were known. So while HIV infection may be a factor in the development of clinical AIDS, health problems and immune system disorders appear to be at least as closely associated with the disease as is HIV. In view of this fact, from the view point of the actuary mortality rates would be improved far more if the focus were more on the underlying causes (street drugs, anal sex, other STDs, etc.) of the immune system disorders affecting nearly all of those with AIDS, rather than merely trying to find a cure for HIV.
In other words, without HIV, people still would be dying from the many immune system disorders associated with drugs and sexually transmitted diseases. However, if people did not destroy their bodies in those ways, there probably would be few cases of HIV, and little in the way of an AIDS epidemic.
Conclusion
The latest available data shows that deaths from AIDS are running at about 45,000 per year. This is about 2% of the total deaths in the United States. Most experts agree that the number of AIDS cases is leveling off, so that it is unlikely that the number of deaths from AIDS will ever be much in excess of 50,000 per year.
Viewed from this perspective, the money being spent on AIDS research is far in excess of that which can be justified on the basis of the number of deaths, as compared with such diseases as cancer and heart disease, each of which is responsible for far more deaths. At the same time, the AIDS epidemic represents an opportunity for important research regarding the body's immune system - research which can eventually benefit all of us, including the millions who will never have any contact with AIDS as a disease.
However, while it may be argued that research into the cause and cure for AIDS is worthwhile, current efforts at AIDS education and prevention are badly misdirected. As we have seen, the public is terrorized about AIDS, and in many cases sees risk where little or none exists.
The tragedy about our current efforts of AIDS education and prevention is that we are missing a unique opportunity to use the AIDS epidemic to scare people into better health by emphasizing that healthy people rarely ever get AIDS. Instead, we are using AIDS to sell condoms and to try to change the sexual desires of the public. In the process we have created a climate of fear and paranoia which has done great harm, while contributing little to controlling the AIDS epidemic.
As we have seen, nearly all AIDS victims have one or more health problems, generally involving the immune system, which has left them unusually susceptible to HIV and AIDS. With health care costs increasing rapidly, and with strong public pressure for health care cost containment and universal health care, the opportunity exists to improve the health of the nation by emphasizing one simple message: "Good health prevents AIDS." This is a message all could live with, and might go a long way to help reduce the incidence of STDs, drug use, and anal sexual practices which are the main causes of HIV transmission.
Instead, we have allowed a combination of ignorance and the influence of a variety of special interest groups to create a vast public paranoia among the healthy heterosexuals who represent most of the population and who have little or no risk of HIV infection.
We have permitted the gay rights activists to convince the public that "we are all at risk for AIDS" (even though the risk for most is too low to be of rational concern, if it exists at all).
We have allowed ourselves to become convinced that multiple sexual partners and the "one night stand" puts us at increased risk of HIV infection (even though it now is clear that this generally is not true).
As a justification for AIDS education in the schools, we have claimed that there is an "explosion" of AIDS cases among young people (there is not - in fact the number of AIDS cases reported by the CDC actually declined from 1990 to 1992 for the age group 13-24, at a time when other age groups were showing an increase!).
We have engaged in endless debates as to whether we should preach condoms or abstinence to our young people (even though neither will have a significant impact on the spread of HIV).
In order to bring a more balanced view of the AIDS epidemic to the heterosexual population, the following should be done instead:
1. Try to educate the public that there is a vast difference between what is theoretically possible and what is probable enough to be of concern. More than ever before, we need a concerted effort to educate the public about risk levels, in order to bring some rational thinking in public attitudes about AIDS.
2. Emphasize the generally low efficiency of heterosexual transmission in most cases, and the fact that few heterosexuals not involved with IV drugs ever become infected. The statement that "everyone is at risk" may be literally true, in the same sense that men are at risk of developing breast cancer, or people on the ground are at risk of being killed in a plane crash. But the statement implies an equal risk for all, which is far from the truth.
3. Focus heterosexual AIDS education for school children more sharply. There are those who want to use the AIDS epidemic to try to scare all young people into abstinence, in order to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the transmission of other STDs. The objective is commendable; however, falsifying the facts doesn't work in a free society. Ultimately, it destroys the credibility of those on whom the young people should be able to rely for help. Instead, the need to avoid sexual activity with those who use IV drugs (and of course anyone else known or suspected to be HIV-positive) should be emphasized. By making the drug users the pariahs of the teenage community, not only would AIDS education be correctly focused, but gains probably could be made in the war against drugs as well.
4. Emphasize the importance of prompt treatment of other STDs. The paper by Holmberg et al., referred to earlier, lists genital ulcerative diseases, including herpes and syphilis, as the only unquestioned cofactors in host susceptibility to HIV infection. In 1988, black women, who have a much higher rate of heterosexually transmitted AIDS than white women, had a rate of gonorrhea 21 times as great as white women. Similarly, black males, who also have a much higher rate of heterosexually transmitted AIDS than white males, had rates of early syphilis 25 times as high as white males. For black women, the rate of early syphilis was 31 times as great as for white women. Finally, rates of STDs in Africa, where heterosexual contact is considered to be the primary means of transmission of HIV, are believed to be far higher than in the U.S. So the key to reducing the heterosexual transmission of HIV in the U.S. may well involve control of the spread of other STDs, so as to reduce host susceptibility.
5. Stop emphasizing reducing the number of sexual partners as a means of reducing heterosexually transmitted AIDS. Most heterosexuals that get HIV from sexual intercourse do so from their primary sexual partner. Monogamy has little value in reducing HIV infections, and emphasizing it takes the focus away from the real ways in which transmission of HIV can be significantly reduced.
6. Better focus the need for using condoms. As was the case before the AIDS epidemic, for some they are useful in reducing the risk of pregnancy and STDs. However, for those who can avoid the risks of pregnancy in other ways, and for whom other STDs are rare, condoms provide little benefit, and detract from the love making process.
7. Better educate health care and government officials, who still have many misunderstandings about the epidemic and what needs (and doesn't need) to be done to control it's spread.
8. Most important of all, emphasize the message that "Good Health Prevents AIDS". As more facts become available about the nature of AIDS and other immune system disorders, it is becoming increasingly apparent that those who are in good health and who are not engaging in activities which are damaging their immune systems have little to worry about with regard to AIDS.
APPENDIX A
Effect of Transmission Efficiency on Proportion of Transmissions from Primary Partner
Let us assume that there are three types of heterosexuals: "monogamous", "semi-monogamous", and "multiple partners". "Monogamous" persons are those who have a sexual relationship with only one partner. "Semi-monogamous" persons are those who have a primary sexual partner, but who also have some sexual activity with others. Those who are identified as having "multiple partners" have sexual activity with a number of people, no one of whom can be called a primary partner.
The number of monogamous people to become infected with HIV in a given period of time can be expressed by the following formula:
Vm = Nm x im x [1 - (1 - p)n]
where:
Vm = the number of monogamous people to become infected during the period.
Nm = the total number of monogamous people in the population.
im = the probability for monogamous people that one's sexual partner is infected with HIV.
p = the probability of becoming infected from a single act of sex with an infected partner.
n = the number of sexual acts during the period.
The number of people with multiple partners to become infected with HIV in a given period of time can be expressed by the following formula:
Vp = Np x {1 - [1 - (ip x p)]n}
where:
Vp = the number of people with multiple partners to become infected with HIV during the period.
Np = the total number of people with multiple partners in the population.
ip = the probability for people with multiple partners that one's sexual partner is infected with HIV.
The remaining symbols are as previously defined.
The number of semi-monogamous people to become infected with HIV in a given period of time can be expressed by the following formula:
Vs = Ns x {1 - [1 - is x (1 - (1 - p)nm)] x [1 - (is xp)]np}
where:
Vs = the number of semi-monogamous people to become infected with HIV during the period.
Ns = the total number of semi-monogamous people in the population.
is = the probability for semi-monogamous people that one's sexual partner is infected with HIV.
nm = the number of sexual acts engaged in with one's primary sexual partner during the period.
np = the number of sexual acts engaged in with people other than one's primary sexual partner during the period.
Finally, the proportion of total HIV infections caused by sexual relations with one's primary partner is as follows:
Ns x {1 - [1 - is x (1 - (1 - p)nm)]} + Vm
Vm + Vs + Vp
To examine the effect of the efficiency of the transmission of HIV on the proportion of heterosexual infections coming from primary partners, it is necessary to make certain assumptions. For the purpose of this analysis, we initially will assume the following:
1. The total number of sexual acts (n) for each person in the period is 200.
2. The probabilities that one's sexual partner is HIV+ (im, is, and ip) are all assumed to be 0.1%.
3. The distribution of people among the three categories is: monogamous, 60%; semi-monogamous, 36%; and multiple partners, 4%.
4. For those in the semi-monogamous category, the proportion of sexual acts with persons other than their primary partner was 10%.
The number of people in the total population does not actually affect the distribution of HIV infections between the three groups, although it does of course affect the number of infections.
The following table shows the effect of various levels of efficiency of transmission on the proportion of infections arising from sexual activity with one's primary partner, based on the above formulae and assumptions.
Percent of Infections from Primary Partner
Prob. of Transmission per Act
Percent of Total Infections Percent of Infect. from Primary Part.
Monogamous Semi-monog. Mult. Part.
0.5 9.1% 32.8% 58.0% 14.6%
0.2 18.5 33.2 48.3 29.6
0.05 39.0 35.1 25.9 62.4
0.02 50.2 36.2 13.6 80.3
0.005 57.6 36.3 6.1 91.2
0.002 59.1 36.1 4.8 93.1
0.00125 59.4 36.1 4.5 93.5
0.000625 59.7 36.0 4.2 93.9
0.0001 60.0 36.0 4.0 94.1
The table shows that for a disease that is easily transmitted by sexual activity, a high proportion of transmissions will occur from sexual activity with someone other than the primary partner. However, as the efficiency decreases, the proportion of transmissions that occur from sexual activity with the primary partner increases. For the efficiencies typical of heterosexual transmission of HIV, about 94% of the transmissions would be from the primary sexual partner.
The figures are somewhat dependent on the assumptions.
Of particular importance is the assumed distribution of people among the three categories. There is no way of knowing precisely what portion of heterosexuals are monogamous, what portion are semi-monogamous, and what portion should be considered to have multiple partners, without any one primary partner. Even if the distribution were known for the population as a whole, it could well differ for those persons who are more likely to have sexual contact with HIV+ partners.
However, there are two references which are somewhat helpful. In the article titled "The Study of Sexual Behavior in Relation to the Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus", by researchers at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, published in the November, 1988 issue of American Psychologist, the following estimate is made of the degree of extramarital sexual relations:
"Based on six data sets, we estimate that 37% (range = 26-50%) of husbands have had at least one additional sexual partner during marriage. In a study of men over 50 years old, 23% of the respondents said that they had had extramarital sexual interaction since the age of 50 (Brecher, 1984). The estimate for wives' extramarital sexual relations, based on nine studies, is 29% (range = 20-54%)."
Another study, done by the Center for Health Affairs in Chevy Chase, Maryland, showed the following percentages of respondents admitting to four or more heterosexual partners:
• Age 16-24 10.7%
• Age 25-34 4.2%
• Age 35+ 2.4%
These studies suggest to this author that the assumption of 60% monogamous, 36% semi-monogamous (with 10% of their sex with other than primary partners), and 4% multiple partners is a fairly reasonable depiction of the distribution of sexual habits of heterosexuals, particularly if the effect of the greater use of condoms by those engaging in sexual activity with other than their primary partner is considered.
APPENDIX B
Comparison of Risk Levels for Multiple vs. Single Partners
For homosexuals sexual activity with multiple partners significantly increases an already relatively high risk. However, for heterosexuals the risk remains about the same for any reasonable number of partners. The following table summarizes the risk levels for these two groups:
Risk Ratio: Multiple Partner vs. Single Partner
Heterosexual Men Heterosexual Women
Number of Homosexual Partners Partners Sexual Acts
Men Not HiRisk IVDU Not HiRisk IVDU
20 1.08 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.01
50 1.21 1.03 1.02 1.03 1.02
100 1.45 1.06 1.03 1.06 1.03
200 1.95 1.13 1.06 1.13 1.06
500 3.37 1.34 1.16 1.34 1.16
For monogamous relationships, the probability of HIV infection from a given number of sexual acts was determined by the formula:
i x [1 - (1 - p)n]
where:
i = the probability that one's sexual partner is infected.
p = the probability of infection from a single act of sex with an infected partner.
n = the number of sexual acts during the period.
For the person with multiple partners, the probability of getting an HIV infection from a given number of sexual acts is as follows, assuming that one's partners are chosen at random from among the pool of persons in the risk group (i.e., that there is not some element of monogamy involved):
1 - [1 - (i x p)]n
The table demonstrates that, even for as many as 100 different sexual partners, there is only a 6% increase in risk for heterosexuals, as compared with the same amount of sexual activity with one partner. By comparison, there is a 45% increase for homosexual men. The additional risk for homosexuals is further increased by four other factors:
1. The average risk of infection even from a single homosexual act is much greater than that from a single act of vaginal intercourse if the heterosexual's partner is not an IV drug user, and is several times greater even if the heterosexual's partner is an IV drug user. Therefore, a 45% increase is very large in absolute terms, as compared with the risk for heterosexuals.
2. The number of sexual partners that some of the more promiscuous homosexual men have had is generally believed to be much greater than that for heterosexuals (except for prostitutes).
3. Because of the greater risks of promiscuity, the sexual partners of the homosexual man who is promiscuous are more likely to be infected than those of the less promiscuous homosexual.
4. Finally, the majority of infected homosexuals became HIV-positive through sexual activity. By contrast, the majority of infected heterosexuals became HIV-positive through IV drug use or blood transfusions. The result is that restricting one's sexual activity is far more important for homosexuals than for heterosexuals. *

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DID DR. GALLO AND HIS COLLEAGUES MANIPULATE THE "AIDS-TEST" TO ORDER?
"The hunt for the virus" 1 has degenerated into "clean torture with fatal result" 2
By Heinrich Kremer
Continuum Summer 1998

Who, for given reasons given below casts doubt on the theory that "HIV causes AIDS", is often confronted with the question, if it did not, how is it that a patient who has been diagnosed as "HIV positive" by the test sooner or later goes on to develop AIDS? To which the AIDS sceptic usually replies that a "HIV-positive" laboratory result, an arbitrary defined characteristic is part of the clinical diagnosis "AIDS".
This exchange does not advance the argument very much as to whether "AIDS" and "HIV" are scientifically-speaking biological entities and if between them a biological cause-effect relationship is possible. In other words, if either the term "AIDS" or the term "HIV", or neither, represents conceptually independent entities but rather purely semantic constructs, then biologically there can be no cause-and-effect relationship between these two terms, i.e. between the postulated pathogen "HIV" and the supposed definable disease entity "AIDS".
The causative factor, the "retrovirus HTLV-III" (later termed "HIV") was introduced by Robert Gallo in 1984 (then a retrovirologist in the Tumour Biology Laboratory in the National Cancer Institute at Bethesda). On May 4, 1984 together with collaborators from his own laboratory and other research centres and hospitals as well as workers at the pharmaceutical company Litton Bionetics, he published four basic papers in Science (3-6). These supposedly described the identification, isolation and continuous production of a newly discovered type of retrovirus (since 1987 called "HIV") as well as the serological analysis of this "HIV" and of tests "capable of detecting antibodies to HIV" in the sera of "patients with AIDS or pre-AIDS". The simultaneous publication of these four papers by Gallo et al was shortly preceded by a patent application for "HIV antibody tests" and by Reagan’s US Health Secretary’s announcement at a press conference attended by Robert Gallo himself before the world’s media that Robert Gallo and his team had "discovered the probable cause of AIDS".
The first Science paper of May 4, 1984 begins with the fundamental assumption: "epidemiological data suggest that the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by an infectious agent that is horizontally transmitted by intimate contact or blood products" (3). The word ‘probably’ employed by the US minister only a few days before was no longer mentioned by Gallo et al.
The fourth and last Science paper of that date ends with the conclusion: "The data presented here and in the accompanying reports suggest that HTLV-III is the primary cause of AIDS" (6). (HTLV-III = HIV). Gallo et al's conclusion proves that they did not postulate a direct cause-and-effect relationship between "HIV" and "AIDS", declaring "HIV" to be only the primary cause of "AIDS": "Although the disease is manifested by opportunistic infections, predominantly Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia, and by Kaposi's Sarcoma, the underlying disorder affects the patient’s cell-mediated immunity, resulting in absolute lymphopenia and reduced subpopulation of helper T lymphocytes (OKT4+)" (3). Gallo et al by no means, therefore, postulated that "HIV" was the direct cause of "AIDS", rather, they only claimed "HIV" is the cause of "AID" (AID = Acquired Immuno Deficiency = reduced sub-population of T-helper lymphocytes). The syndrome "S" ("manifested by opportunistic infections (OI), mainly Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia (= PCP), and Kaposi's Sarcoma (= KS)") was presented by Gallo et al like commonplace as the necessary consequence of "AID".
The scheme of Gallo et al is as follows:
1. "HIV" causes "AID" as a consequence of the infection and sooner or later the destruction of T-helper lymphocytes.
2. As a consequence of the decrease of cellular immunity, the control of opportunistic pathogens and cancer cells by T-helper lymphocytes breaks down as a result of which, syndrome "S" develops.
The short version of Gallo et al’s plague formula is "HIV = AID = S".
The two part causal chain "HIV causes AIDS" actually turns out to consist of three parts, and Gallo et al’s claim that "HTLV-III" (= "HIV") is the primary cause of "AIDS" (6) is a fusion of two hypothetical causal assertions, and a fictitious end-effect assertion. This is because Gallo et al's published data say nothing about whether "AID" really does cause "S"; they can at most suggest a cause-and-effect relationship between "HIV" and "AID". Whether "S" can be the result of "AID" is for several reasons highly doubtful. "S" is somewhat chameleon-like due to numerous re-definitions undergone, so that the existence of "S" as a "separate disease entity" (4), in the sense of a biological disease entity, can no longer be rationally made out. Individual, defined diseases, which initially made up part of the syndrome were years later expressly removed again. In the end a wild collection of 29 old infections and non-infectious diseases has been collected together to constitute the syndrome "S", of which several are part of "S" even if the "HIV" status is negative or indeterminate (7).
The latter means that "AID" cannot be the cause of "S" because "AID" is supposed to be the result of "HIV", in order that Gallo et al’s plague formula "HIV = AID = S" as a causal chain is upheld, yet "AID" due to different reasons can exist independently of "HIV". Nothing is given whereby "AID" must be the cause of "S". "AID" and "S" could, instead, have a common cause which need have no causal relationship with a hypothetical "retrovirus HIV".
The pretence of a pseudo-biological cause-and-effect relationship expressed by the plague formula "HIV = AID = S" has made a leading AIDS critic, who has presented the most comprehensive clinical analysis of the AIDS phenomenon, say "AIDS, in short, has become a schizophrenic disease" (8).
How then, can a semantic construct of a collection of mostly contradictory diseases be the result of a supposed biological causal chain, which itself in turn is made up of hypothetical constructs as cause-and-effect factors? Because the premises and conclusions (3,6) which underlie Gallo et al’s plague formula can be falsified convincingly.
Gallo et al have claimed that "epidemiological data prove that an infectious agent (3) is the cause of "AID", and "AID" is the cause of "S"." Essentially, Gallo et al arrived at this conclusion from the findings of the CDC that "S" ("OI, mainly PCP, and KS") is significantly connected with very frequent promiscuity and predominantly receptive anal intercourse in homosexual men in the metropolitan areas in the US (3). However, this conclusion only demonstrates the arbitrary and selective interpretation of the clinical data by the CDC and Gallo et al.
Highly promiscuous and predominantly receptive (unprotected) anal intercourse are specifically indicators simultaneously for infectious and non-infectious causal factors for "S" ("OI, mainly PCP, and KS") as well as "AID" (decline in T-helper lymphocytes in blood serum). The conclusion of a new infectious pathogen and simultaneous exclusion of all non-infectious causal factors is by no means compelling, although it determines to this day the theory that "HIV causes AIDS".
Highly promiscuous behaviour and predominant receptive anal intercourse closely correlate with consumption of sexual stimulants, above all amyl and isobutyl nitrites. 95% of homosexual men in the US report regular use of nitrite (9,10). Nitrite inhalation relaxes the smooth anal muscles, raises blood flow to the penis, raises pain threshold, heightens orgasm and unleashes a mild state of intoxication in the brain. Nitrite use predominantly but not exclusively became known in homosexual sex partners, and has been approaching ubiquitous in surveyed homosexual men in Western countries since the mid-70s (11,13).
High frequency promiscuity and predominantly receptive anal intercourse very often entails concomitant increased multi-infectivity and provocation of administrating antimicrobials, chemotherapy, antibiotics, antiparasitica, antimycotica, virusstatica and corticosteroids (14). The first report by the CDC in June 1981 of five diseased homosexual men being treated for PCP contains some clinical information of their medical history and medication, because at the time, the all-encompassing description AIDS, masking the real symptoms, had not yet become entrenched: The five homosexual patients had not had sexual relations between themselves. All of the five patients used nitrites, and all five had been treated with TMP/SMX (TMP = trimethoprim, SMX = sulfamethoxazole) (15).
The substance TMP/SMX, also known as bactrim and septrin were introduced in the early 70s as a double chemotherapeutical folic acid inhibitor. Nitrite and SMX (a sulphonamide derivative) are strongly electrophilic oxidising agents. Both oxidise ferrous iron in haemoglobin to ferric, and thereby reduce oxygen-binding capacity of red blood cells. This causes methaemoglobulinaemia (16,20), a progressively life-threatening deficiency in oxygen supply into the respiration chain of the mitochondria. The latter are former bacteria, which, as multifunctional organelles, supply energy to the whole cell in form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) produced in oxidative phosphorylation (21). Oxygen-dependent ATP synthesis and its resulting oxygen metabolites control the cell division cycle. If too little oxygen is transported to the respiratory chain, the ratio of oxidative ATP production in the respiration chain (normally about 90%) may become inverted in favour of the non-oxidative ATP production (normally about 10%). Latest experimental findings suggest that the redox balance controls the genetic expression of proteins for the enzymes of the non-oxidative ATP production (glycolysis) (22).
Under normal physiological conditions, there is a rhythm of phase-linked change between oxidative energy production in the mitochondria and the change to non-oxidative glycolysis during the late stage of cell division (the S-phase of mitosis). If, through lack of oxygen under conditions of methaemoglobulinaemia, the genetic expression of glycolytic enzymes is not sufficiently inhibited (23), the cell may, despite intact mitochondria, and the presence of residual molecular oxygen, switch to permanent non-oxidative glycolysis and cationic load reversal. This results in unrestrained cell division, which may ultimately lead to transformation to a tumour cell.
Along the oxygen transport route in the bloodstream, conditions in the most minute capillaries with a diameter below 100 nanometres, because of altered partial pressure of oxygen, are particularly favourable for the oxidation of the red haemoglobin, which can only bind oxygen when being in reduced form. Through diffusion and association to essential fatty acids through transit routes of the basic-tissues it can deliver oxygen to individual cells. The mechanism of unrestrained activation of cell division (hyperplasia) in methaemoglobulinaemia, may, therefore, following hypoxaemic stress, above all in the smallest capillaries, affect the cells of the walls, – the endothelial cells. These endothelial cells are in direct contact with the hypoxaemic red blood cells. If hyperplastic conversion of endothelial cells occurs, that is called Kaposi's Sarcoma. On the other hand, especially in rapidly dividing cells such as in thymus-matured precursor cells of T-helper lymphocytes, ATP production can decline to a critical value, if oxygen turnover is reduced permanently even by a small amount. This is a control mechanism, which in turn may affect the rate of mitosis. This interaction of haemoglobin oxidation by nitrites and antimicrobial drugs with oxidative phosphorylation may, in a situation of increased simultaneous consumption of T-helper lymphocytes as a result of slowing maturation of T-helper lymphocytes, be in part a cause of "AID".
This chain of causal events is also supported by the "frightening possibility" (24) that nitrites may turn most classes of antibiotics into carcinogens (25). Excessive antibiotic consumption (whether prescribed or not; in a study 40% of male homosexuals admitted preventive use (26)) in conjunction with nitrites is a frequently encountered pattern of behaviour among male homosexuals especially in the large urban areas in Western countries (27).
Hypoxaemic stress can, therefore, explain the contradiction of simultaneous appearance of malignant hyperplasias (KS, lymphomas) and opportunistic infections, mainly PCP, in homosexual men (approx. 2/3 of "AIDS cases" in Western countries, excluding covered homosexual "AIDS patients" estimated by orthodox "AIDS"-doctors to amount to 50% of so-called heterosexual risk groups (28)), without ever introducing a hypothetical "retroviral" cause to explain the pathophysiology.
In contrast to this clear finding, Gallo et al tried to resolve the clinical contradiction between OI and KS by constructing a new "retrovirus HIV". Gallo et al’s so-called retroviruses "HTLV-I" and "HTLV-II" are said to cause rare forms of leukaemia, i.e. cancers of the white blood cells, whereas "HTLV-III" (="HIV") is said to kill T-helper lymphocytes.
This concept has completely failed. The cytopathic effects of "HIV" demonstrated by Gallo et al have turned out to be laboratory artefacts (29). Gallo et al’s claim that "HIV" kills T-helper lymphocytes could, despite changing the theories, not be confirmed (30-33).
The disease theory "HIV causes AIDS" is itself based on several serious clinical misconceptions:
1. The agent causing PCP is not as Gallo claimed a protozoon. The aetiology according to which after the destruction of T-helper lymphocytes by "HIV-infection", Carinii pneumocytes, the cause of PCP, could escape control by T-helper lymphocytes and multiply unrestrictedly, is objectively wrong. Such protozoa simply do not exist (34,35). What is involved are micro-fungi that are inhaled in the air, and which, for example, in the case of increased cell decay following hypoxaemic metabolic changes (including "AIDS" without "HIV"), find fertile terrain in the alveoli of the lungs. In this way, a harmless fungus (saprophyte) becomes the dangerous cause of PCP.
2. Contrary to what Gallo et al claimed, T-helper lymphocytes do not suppress the growth of cancer cells, because cancer cells do not have antigens through which T-helper lymphocytes could identify them (36). This means that the hypothetical destruction of T-helper lymphocytes by "HIV" and the ensuing disappearance of the suppression of KS cells cannot be the cause of KS. The predicted increase of all other types of carcinoma in "AIDS patients" resulting from the disappearance of the surveillance of cancer cells after the postulated destruction of T-helper lymphocytes by "HIV-infection" did not occur (37).
3. Contrary to the assumption of the CDC and Gallo, the hypothetical "HIV infection" of T-helper lymphocytes despite the postulated essentially alarm function of T-helper lymphocytes also for antibody production by B-plasma cells did not result in destroying defence capacity against all microbes. Unlike patients with impaired immune functions, E.G. intensive care patients in whom mortality following typical bacterial infections is up to 80%, strikingly in the "immune deficiency syndrome AIDS", bacterial infections are rarely seen. The CDC under the category "AIDS indicator diseases" states explicitly for "bacterial infections, frequent or repeated": "not applicable as indicator of AIDS in adults/adolescents" (37).
4. A fundamental pillar of the disease theory of Gallo et al according to which "HIV causes AIDS", is severely dented by the actual epidemiological situation over the 15 years 1982-1997. For example, in 1997 the German "AIDS Centre" registered 2736 KS cases in total with 2505 KS cases in the category "homosexuals". The remaining KS cases were in "heterosexual risk groups" or "no information on risk group". On average, therefore, there were 15 KS cases a year, which were not primarily classified as "homosexual". Because homosexual intravenous drug users are classified as intravenous drug users and at least 50% of the patients classified as "heterosexual men" and "not known" were subsequently reclassified as homosexuals (28,38), this is of the order of magnitude to be expected for KS cases classified as "non-homosexual men". Corresponding epidemiological data for the prevalence of KS are available for other Western countries (39).
Gallo et al’s formulation "HIV = AID = S" is not, therefore, found to be true. "AID" (measurable decline in lymphocyte population in the blood, especially T-helper lymphocytes) though it can occur, in all members of "high-risk groups", is evidently not the cause of "S" ("OI, mainly PCP, and KS") because "S" can, first, occur without "AID" (29), and secondly, the combination of "S" (with KS) should, if the theory were correct, not exclusively be limited to homosexual patients. If, therefore, "S" is not necessarily the result of "AID", what then is the common pathogenic indicator of "AID" patients as defined by Gallo et al to be "high-risk groups" (4)?
The common factor of "AID" patients (without necessarily resulting in "S") is obviously the unusually high uptake of strongly oxidising substances (mitogens), and the huge variety of exogenous extraneous cells such as red blood cells, activated lymphocytes or sperm cells from individuals (allogenic stimulation (29,40)). It is beyond doubt that this oxidative stress (i.e. pro-oxidative vs. anti-oxidative metabolism) of "high-risk groups", can overload the detoxification capacity and waste disposal capacity of the body which is furthermore supported by the finding that asymptomatic "HIV positives" belonging to "high-risk groups" show a strong shift from reduced to oxidised glutathione (41).
The glutathione system is essential for the removal of oxygen free-radicals, especially in the mitochondria (42,43). The oxidation of the central molecule of glutathione, cysteine, to cystine, in a chain reaction reduces the build up of glutathione and accelerates the destruction. It follows that the systemic decline of glutathione concentration in HIV positives can be due to both reasons, because of decreased synthesis and increased disposal.
"The oxidative stress to which AIDS patients are subjected would lead to cellular anomalies in many cells, including lymphocytes, resulting in opportunistic infection, immunological abnormalities and neoplasia" (44).
Does this finding of the overload of redox potentials in members of "high-risk groups" mean that "HIV", too, or rather the "anti-HIV antibodies" are the result of oxidative bombardment on the cell-mediated immunity of the "high-risk groups"?
A specific load value of the diminution of the reduction force in the body of members of "high-risk groups" is hepatitis type B, in particular, in the chronically active form (45).
Gallo et al postulated in the first paragraph of the first publications in Science of May 4 1984 (except for the first rebutted premise: "Epidemiological data suggest that the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by an infectious agent" and the second (rebutted) premise: "AID" necessarily leads to "S"), a third premise: "Although patients with AIDS or pre-AIDS are often chronically infected with cytomegalo virus or hepatitis B virus, for various reasons these appear to be opportunistic or coincidental infections" (3).
This claim stands the clinical history completely on its head. "High-risk groups", in Gallo’s definition "homosexual men with multiple sex partners, intravenous drug missusers, haemophiliacs, blood transfusion recipients and close heterosexual contacts of members of these high-risk groups" (6) were long before the so-called ‘sudden’ arrival of "HIV" (1978), recognised to be the most severely hepatitis-B affected groups of patients (46-50).
Hepatitis inducers (nowadays thought to be hepatitis-B, hepatitis-C) "appear to be thousands of times as infectious in clinical settings as HIV and represents a much more prevalent medical problem" (51). Hepatitis-B due to various patho-physiological reasons, especially in the chronically active form contributes significantly to oxidative stress, by restricting waste disposal and detoxification, and overloading of redox potentials. The body tries to compensate for this by increasing cortisol production. When this ultimately fails, hypercorticolism persists in a damaging way. A hypercatabolic metabolism results from this (i.e. excess cell decay vs. build up) (52). Cortisol as "synergiser" for a number of hormones and mediators effects activation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and a displacement of the cAMP/cGMP ratio as principal indicator for increased cell turnover (53). The net effect is a dampening of cellular immunity and activation of humoral immunity. Resulting from the increased cell turnover, the decreased disposal of cell debris (because of the dampened cellular immunity, "AID") and the strengthened autoimmune activity, a significantly increased formation of autoantibodies occurs which above all specifically bind to cytoskeletal proteins and extra-cellular proteins of the cell matrix as antigens (54, 33).
Concluding, it is fair to assume that Gallo et al took these attributes (25) of "high-risk groups" into consideration, namely,
1. the excessive oxidative (mitogenic) stress
2. allogenic stimulation by foreign cell components
3. the sharply increased antigen auto-antibody load together with suppression of T-cell dependent immunity brought about by synergistic effects of persistent corticolism with resulting change in cAMP/cGMP ratio.
In their original paper ("Detection, isolation and continuos production .." (3)), Gallo et al were only able to cite indirect phenomena, such as reverse transcription, ultra-thin layer electron micrographs, banding of protein mixtures at given densities, which according to the established rules of virology are not acceptable as evidence for the existence of a virus or less a "retrovirus", because these indirect phenomena can also be obtained in the absence of any viral entity under certain cell culture conditions (55-60,33).
Then the question becomes increasingly pressing: how did Gallo et al manage to produce a protein mixture in cell cultures and in the test tube, which as the substrate in the "AIDS-test" when in contact with serum of people in "high-risk groups", resulted in a given rate of antigen antibody-reaction for single proteins (6)?
Gallo's papers, though written in highly technical language do not reveal this secret of test-constructing. Only in 1987 when the disease theory "HIV causes AIDS" led to the introduction of a highly toxic DNA chain terminator (azidothymidine = AZT = Retrovir), was some light shed on this matter when two of Gallo’s former collaborators and co-authors of the original publications in Science of May 4 1984 (3-6) revealed the essential details. Mangalasseril Sarngadharan and Phillip Markham (collaborators of Litton Bionetics, Kensington MD, USA) published the biochemical methods used by Gallo et al whereby they manipulated the protein mixture, which due to self-defined conventions are said to be "HIV antigens" (59).
To start with, Gallo et al biochemically prepared cell components obtained from members of "high-risk groups" according to the self-defined rules of "retrovirus production". This procedure only "from time to time" and only transiently (61) led to the production of unspecific phenomena as surrogates for the existence of a new "retrovirus". Then they mixed lymphocytes from patients in "high-risk groups" with exceptionally rapidly dividing leukaemia cells (3,4). This cell mixture was then subjected to the effects of certain biochemical substances. They go on to say that "in vitro stimulation was achieved by mitogens or added cells (allogenic antigens ) ... Certain manipulation of culture conditions improved the result, for example, co-cultivation of patients’ cells with peripheral white blood cells, which were stimulated by mitogens, from non-infected donors.
The "virus isolation" of cultured cells was also significantly facilitated by adding hydrocortisone to the culture medium" (61).
Knowing the specific antigen auto-antibody status of "high-risk groups" patients, it is possible, therefore, to trigger, on demand, an antigen mixture appropriate to the auto-antibody repertoire in serum from high-risk patients, in cell cultures of human lymphocytes, co-cultured with leukaemic cells when subjected to specific biochemical manipulation.
The apparent proof that in the antigen mixture one is dealing with "retroviral" proteins, brought about by the demonstration of a naturally occurring repair mechanism - reverse transcriptases, produced particularly copiously in cancer cell cultures to repair DNA and renew chromosome ends, hence co-cultivation with leukaemic cells in Gallo et al cell culture (3,4), as well as proof of exocytotic virus-like particles (frequently occurring transport particles to expel intra-cellular components from mitogenically stimulated cells) as proof of "isolation and continuous production" of supposed retroviruses is misinterpretation (33).
That Gallo et al’s sensational discovery of a "new retrovirus" was in fact a laboratory artefact is made explicit by Gallo et al's expressly stating that "HTLV-I" (isolated from T-cells in 10% of "AIDS patients") and "HTLV-II" from the "family of retroviruses" in "AIDS patients", were also discovered and demonstrated (3,4). Later on, there was no further mention of "HTLV-I" and "HTLV-II" being "isolated from T-cells of AIDS patients". Nor were there noticeable occurrences of leukaemia in "AIDS patients". The "isolation" of "HTLV-I" and "HTLV-II" was a laboratory artefact due to the rules of "retrovirus-production" of Gallo et al. By analogy this finding accounts for "HTLV-III" (= "HIV") as well.
In effect, therefore, Gallo et al were adapting conditions which they knew to be conducive to antigen formation in the body of "high-risk patients", to laboratory conditions. The difference is that in cell culture as opposed to the body of "high-risk patients", no antibodies are present because the B-plasma cells are absent. Then it is possible, at a certain arbitrarily fixed auto-antibody level, to demonstrate an antigen-antibody reaction when the antigen mixture of the cell culture is brought in contact with sera of "high-risk patients". This is exactly the principle employed in "anti-HIV-antibody tests". In mirror image fashion, the artificially produced antigens bind to the auto-antibodies, whose presence was to be expected because of the well-known pathophysiological overload of "high-risk patients".
In describing the recipes of Gallo et al’s, who covered their laboratory-tricks behind the dust screen of patents, the irrational reduction of "AID" to the effect of a seemingly new infectious cause (3) and the ignoring of the clinical effect of chronic hepatitis (3) becomes apparent: as a claim used to create pressure to introduce the patented "antibody test system" of a "new retrovirus" found in the National Institute of Cancer.
The laboratory finding of "HIV positive" which may be diagnosed in those belonging to "high-risk groups" depending on the quantity and personal reaction pattern of antibodies, may also be made in rare cases in those not belonging to "high-risk groups" for a number of extremely diverse reasons.
Gallo et al's expectations regarding the dynamics of the spread of "HIV" have, contrary to the horrendous predictions, not been fulfilled in the real biological world. In Germany, for example, according to official figures for the 15 years 1982-97, out of a population of 82 million, 60.000 have been notified as HIV positive, i.e. more than 99.9% of the population are personally not affected by "HIV" and "AIDS". The official government forecasts, until now uncontradicted, spoke of there being more "AIDS cases" by 1996 than there were inhabitants. At least every other person was supposed to have died by 1996, unless a vaccine or drug against the "absolutely" fatal plague had become available (60). In the former East Germany, there have been a grand total of 252 cases in a population of 16 million, and that despite massive migrations (since the fall of the wall) up to the end of 1996. Over the past decade in the whole of Germany there has been a very constant 2-3.000 number of people diagnosed annually as HIV positive. 95 % of these have been classified as belonging to the "high-risk groups" of "homosexual men" and "IV-drug user" (homosexual IV-drug users are counted as ordinary IV-drug users). 5% of "HIV positives" are considered to be false positives, but cannot be identified as such by the test.
At most 2000 "HIV positives" develop AIDS annually, and 1300 patients die annually of "AIDS" (actual cause of death is not revealed). Of the supposed 60.000 HIV positives (figures are very unreliable because of unknown multiple reporting), 50.000 are still officially alive today. 54% of all "AIDS patients" gave their addresses to be one of the six largest cities, in which 10% of the general population also live. Opposed to that in 90% of the remaining inhabitants only 44% of the notified "AIDS cases" occur.
For example the disease rate and death rate of "HIV-positive" haemopholiacs registered in these six cities is twice as high as in "HIV-positive" haemophiliacs living outside of those cities. In these cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Köln, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and München) the university clinical "AIDS-treatment centres" are located which report the highest "AIDS"-disease- and death-rates to the national AIDS-centre. As the positions of collaborators the "AIDS-ambulances" and "AIDS-stations" of these university clinics mostly are paid by the pharmaceutical companies, the connection between Medicine and market ("AIDS-test", "AIDS"-medications") becomes all too obvious. Very intriguing is the comparison between the "capitalist" West-Berlin and the former "socialist" East-Berlin.
In the period of 15 years from 1.1.1982 to the 1.1.1997 in West-Berlin (2,2 million inhabitants, which make less then 3% of Germany’s population) 3083 "AIDS-cases" have been registered which are 20% of all German "AIDS-cases". In the same period (including 7 years of unification with West-Berlin after the fall of the Berlin wall 1989) in East-Berlin (1,3 million inhabitants = 1,6% of the German population) only 152 "AIDS-cases" are registered, which make 1% of all German "AIDS-cases". This very intriguing, by chance historical and model-like data (38) proofs wrong the premise of Gallo et al. that "epidemiologic data suggest that the acquired immunedeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by an infectious agent". The disease rate when brought in connection with the whole population is obviously a very rare medical event, not dependent on a ubiquitous transmittable mass-virus, but determined by life-style in a largely commercialised subculture and/or by uncritical medical intervention in Western society of super-abundance.
Or pathophysiologically spoken: "AIDS-patients" come down due to a lack of power of reduction (caused by superoxidation and /or hypoxaemia) in the midst of a redundant medical over-supply.
To argue against Gallo et al. refers to Africa, which is uncritically presented by mass-media as the "dying AIDS-continent". Too, in this context the world of facts seemingly is overwhelmed by a virtual, only imagined world of information.
In Africa south of the Sahara, the annual increase in population was about 100 million inhabitants over the last decade, even though the latest report on the world population states, that according to a lot of population experts "in the third world the plague supported the birth-planing more than any earlier programs" (63). Due to the lacking medical infrastructure and low budgets in the health care system (in most states south of Sahara the average annual spending per head of the population for providing health care is 6 US$, a single complete "AIDS-test" - 2x ELISA-test, 1x Westernblot - costs much more than 6 US$) the "AIDS-test" is not widely used. Instead of this the World Health Organisation (WHO) transfers certain amounts of money to the health authorities of the various countries for "AIDS-education" in order to get estimated incidental rates of "HIV-infection" and "AIDS-cases" which are not verified by the WHO.
WHO-experts use these estimates in calculations based on the supposed "dynamic of distribution" of the "HIV-plaque" and present the resulting numbers to the world media as "HIV-infection" and "AIDS-disease" in Africa. Usually, in the subsequent media reports the speculative "HIV-infections" and "AIDS-diseases" are lump-summed and wrongly reported as "AIDS-cases" in Africa. This is the way the manipulated numbers of more than 20 million "AIDS-cases" in Africa (app. 90% of the world-wide reported "AIDS-cases") came into existence without any substantial base of knowledge (64).
The fictious loom scene of a "people murdering AIDS-plaque" in the "global media village" acted again enhancing on the selling of "AIDS-tests" and "Anti-HIV-medications" (euphemicly termed "cocktail-therapy") in western countries, in a way that "poor Africa" unwillingly was misused to increase sales in the "rich West".
The data on the clinical, immunological, virological and epidemiological progress since 1984 show beyond any doubt that the disease-theory "HIV causes AIDS" has no concurrence with the biological reality. As a marketing strategy Gallo’s manipulated "AIDS-test" has been extremely successful. But this at the cost of the health and life of uncounted children, women and men who, from a medical ethic point of view became victim to "clean torture with case of death" induced by the arbitrary medical death-sentence of a "HIV-positive" result. Medical ethical behaviour "according to best wisdom and conscience" must signify to make, out of your own, the effort to inform yourself on the basis of existing data about possible manipulations in diagnostic and therapy and to use the given alternative therapies instead of inducing fear blind with rage (33). *

Address of the author:
Dr. med Heinrich Kremer
Metzendorfer Weg 36
D 21224 Rosengarten (b. Hamburg)

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HIV Is Not the Cause of AIDS
By Peter H. Duesberg; PhD

But first, who is Peter H. Duesberg?



Peter H. Duesberg Ph.D. is a Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1968-1970 he demonstrated that influenza virus has a segmented genome. This would explain its unique ability to form recombinants by reassortment of subgenomic segments. He isolated the first cancer gene through his work on retroviruses in 1970, and mapped the genetic structure of these viruses. This, and his subsequent work in the same field, resulted in his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1986. He is also the recipient of a seven-year Outstanding Investigator Grant from the National Institutes of Health. On the basis of his experience with retroviruses, Duesberg has challenged the virus-AIDS hypothesis in the pages of such journals as Cancer Research, Lancet, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, Nature, Journal of AIDS, AIDS Forschung, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherpeutics, New England Journal of Medicine and Research in Immunology. He has instead proposed the hypothesis that the various AIDS diseases are bought on by the long-term consumption of recreational drugs and AZT, which is prescribed to prevent or treat AIDS.
Born: December 2nd 1936
Birthplace: Germany
Parents: Mother: Hilde Saettele, MD., Father: Richard Duesberg, Prof. of Internal Medicine.



Education:
University of Wurzburg, Germany 1956-1958: Vordiplom (Chemistry)
University of Basel, Switzerland 1958-1959
University of Munich, Germany 1959-1961: Diplom (Chemistry)
University of Frankfurt, Germany 1961-1963: Ph.D. (Chemistry)
Research & Professional Experience:
Max Planck Institute for Virus Research, Tubingen Germany 1963: postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Molecular Biology and Virus Laboratory; since 1959 Dept. of Molecular & Cell Biology University of California, Berkeley CA
1964: Assistant research Virologist and Postdoctoral Fellow
1968: Assistant Professor in Residence and Research Biochemist
1970: Assistant Professor
1971: Associate Professor
1973 to present Professor
Honors:
1969: Merck Award
1971: California Scientist of the Year Award
1981: First Annual American Medical Centre Oncology Award
1986: Outstanding Investigator Award National Institute of Health
1986: Elected National Academy of Sciences
1986-1987: Fogarty Scholar-in-Residence at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda MD
1988: Lichtfield Lecturer, Oxford England
1990: C.J. Watson Lecturer, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis MN
1992: Fisher Distinguished Professor, University of North Texas, Denton TX
1992: Shaffer Alumni Lecturer, Tulane University, New Orleans LA
INTRODUCTION FOR PETER DUESBERG
(1984)
By
Robert C. Gallo
National Cancer Institute, Maryland U.S.A.

"It is time now to introduce my friend Peter Duesberg. Where do I begin? At NIH, Peter is sometimes known as the battling bulldog. He gets his teeth into something and 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years later those teeth are still sunk in it. I should be serious a bit, shouldn't I? Peter, of course, was born here in Germany. He was educated at Tübingen and he came to the United States 20 years ago at age of 27. I've known Peter now for about 15 years. When I first met him, he was already doing molecular virology, and I was already involved in retroviruses. Peter first began work on the molecular virology of parainfluenza and influenza viruses. He was the first to show that parainfluenza had a singular RNA genome and that influenza had multiple RNA's. This was the first time a virus was shown to have a segmented genome, thus explaining the rather distinctive ability of that virus to undergo frequent recombination by reassortment."
"He began working with retroviruses around 1966, and he was among the first, or perhaps even the very first, to characterise their structural proteins. He was involved in the first work that provided a genetic map of retroviruses. Surely, this is one of the most important of his many biochemical contributions, that is, the order of the genes gag, pol env, and some aspects of the nature of their nucleotide sequences. We now know that this fundamental result is applicable to all retroviruses, including HTLV-I, II, and III. So, the application of biochemical methods to the mapping of retroviral genes was first and primarily carried out by Peter. Some of his work also ultimately became critical to the taxonomy of retroviruses."
"He carried out the first restriction endonuclease mapping of a provirus. This was the first, or one of the first, to demonstate repetetive sequences at the ends of the proviruses, which were the beginning of our understanding of the LTRs that we talk about routinely today. He was involved in the first publications which demonstrated that these viruses replicate via a circular proviral DNA form. After reverse transcripts was discovered (it was about that time I began to know Peter fairly well), Peter did some of the early characterisation of this DNA polymerase. His publications with his colleagues were the first reports showing that reverse transcriptase utilised a primer mechanism, not just a template, but a primer to initiate DNA synthesis, and he was the first to show that the primer was a 4S molecule. But actually, although listing this as one as his major accomplishments, I remember Peter telling me when he did those experiments he didn't know what a primer actually was!"
"The next major phase of his work involved his classic studies with Peter Vogt; Vogt the biologist. Peter the biochemist. This really led to the first molecular and genetically defined transforming gene, the sarc gene. A great deal of this brilliant and original, the real critical aspects, was carried out by his extraordinarily effective collaboration through the 1970's. Of course, Peter also worked on a number of other onc genes, describing several for the first time, mostly in avian systems but also in murine systems. Most recently this has been in collaboration with Takas Papas at NCI."
"These are some of Peter's contributions. There are many more. However, there are things about him that stand out as much as his science. Peter Duesberg is a man of extraordinary energy, unusual honesty, enormous sense of humour, and a rare critical sense. This critical sense often makes us look twice, then a third time, at a conclusion many of us believed to be foregone. However, his critiques are sometimes a major problem for the casual observer. When is he truly debating? When is he only being the devil's advocate? When is he being the devil himself? The casual observer is also often at a loss to determine which of the many weapons he possesses he is using. Peter, it is hard for us to tell when you are using your machine gun or your slingshot, or simply exercising your vocal cords. In any event you are an extraordinary scientist, a man who makes life more interesting and pleasurable to many of us: and it is my good from: fortune to know you as a friend."
Source: Modern Trends in Human Leukemia VI, Haematology and Blood Transfusion vol.29 p.1, 1985.
10 Scientific Reasons Why HIV Cannot Cause AIDS
For anyone convinced that HIV has been isolated.
1. HIV is neutralized by antibody immunity.
When a person tests "positive" to HIV, it means they carry antibodies to the virus. Which means that they have immunity. This is clear from the fact that there is so little virus to be found in HIV antibody positive people.* The antibodies have done their job and the virus is well under control. There are no known viruses that cause illness in every case only long after antibodies appear, which is how AIDS is defined.
One has to question why 12 years and billions of dollars have been spent developing a vaccine against HIV when the best vaccine possible already exists when a person tests positive.
2. HIV does not kill the T cells it infects.
HIV can only kill T cells under rare laboratory conditions. In fact, HIV researchers use T cells to grow the virus because T cells live quite compatibly with HIV.
3. HIV does not infect enough T cells to cause AIDS.
HIV never infects more than 1 out of 1000 T cells; commonly just 1 out of 10,000 T cells.* People replace 5% of their T cells per day. Simple math shows that HIV cannot infect enough T cells to cause them to die off and bring down the whole immune system. Even supporters of the HIV/AIDS theory admit that this low level of T cell infection is a challenge to explain.
* The recent invention of "viral load" testing is an attempt to explain away the fact that almost no sign of HIV can be found by standard measurements. Viral load tests do not measure viable virus and have not been approved by the FDA to diagnose HIV infection.
4. HIV has no AIDS causing gene.
HIV has no specific gene or unique reason to cause AIDS. All retroviruses have only 3 major genes, GAG, ENV and POL and only 6 minor genes. Because the genes and genetic sequences are so limited in these simple organisms, they need all their genes to replicate. HIV is almost identical to all other retroviruses genetically. There are 50 to 100 different retroviruses that can be found in every healthy human body. All have been brought under control by antibody response. HIV behaves no differently than any of these others. If none of these other retroviruses cause AIDS, why should HIV? And vice versa, if HIV causes AIDS, why don't all the rest? So there is no genetic reason why HIV would cause AIDS.
5. There is no such thing as a "slow virus".
HIV is claimed to take 10 to 20 years (the "latency period") after infection to cause AIDS. The only way to explain this is to give HIV magical abilities to reactivate, mutate, migrate and hibernate. These slow virus hypotheses were devised by scientists who used them to buy time when their viruses failed to perform. The slow virus proponents point to examples like the herpes viruses that smolder and hide and then reemerge in persons when they have suppressed immunity and cannot generate a sufficient defense. These differ greatly from HIV because large amounts of active virus can be found causing specific symptoms. By contrast, a slow virus is an invention credited with the ability to cause disease only years after infection - termed the latency period - in previously healthy persons, regardless of their state of immunity. Such a concept allows scientists to blame a long-neutralized virus for any disease that appears decades after infection. HIV is inactive, then is said to cause 30 different diseases 10 years later. None of which are specific to HIV itself.
6. HIV is not a new virus, so it could not cause a new epidemic.
AIDS cases went from almost none in 1980 to a reported half a million in North America alone by 1995. Therefore, scientists claim HIV must be a new virus or we would have had an epidemic years or centuries ago. However, this claim does not stand up to the principals of Farr's Law. Farr's Law asserts that new infections spread exponentially through the population. HIV has been reported at more or less 1 million infected in the USA each year since they had a test for it in 1984. So it cannot be a new virus.
7. HIV fails Koch's postulates.
The universal test used by scientists to determine if a disease is truly being caused by an infection was designed over one hundred years ago by Robert Koch.
Koch's postulates state:
The organism:
1. must be found in all cases of the disease.
2. must be isolated from the host and grown in pure culture.
3. must cause the same disease when injected into a new, healthy host.
4. must be found growing again in the newly diseased host.
Here is how HIV does on this test:
5. The germ must be found in all cases of the diseases. FAILS.
 10 to 20% of AIDS patients have no HIV at all.
 Only tiny amounts of HIV, usually dormant, can be found in any AIDS patient.
6. The germ must be isolated from the host and grown in pure culture. PASSES - but only on a technicality.
 Huge amounts of cell tissue are needed to find HIV.
 HIV needs a chemically induced process to reactivate.
 By contrast, large amounts of active virus can be found with other viruses.
7. The germ must cause the same disease when injected into a new, healthy host. FAILS - hands down.
 HIV does not cause AIDS in test animals like chimpanzees.
 human health care workers accidentally infected with HIV rarely get AIDS unless they use recreational drugs ... or AZT.
8. The germ must be found growing again in the newly diseased host. FAILS - for not passing postulate 3.
HIV fails this test.
HIV scientists claim that Koch's postulates are old and out of date with modern science. But they have stood the test of time. Disease hypotheses that ignored Koch's postulates have been a failure. The infectious theories of scurvy, pellagra, beriberi, SMON and virus/cancer research have all ignored Koch's postulates and all have been a dismal failure. And now HIV/AIDS?
8. AIDS has remained in the original risk groups for over 15 years.
If a disease does not spread it must be caused by something non-infectious. The US CDC reports (1997) confirm that AIDS is not spreading into the general population.
AIDS cases by risk group (US):
Admitted gay males 54%
Admitted IV drug users 32%
Hemophiliacs 1%
Transfusion recipients 1%
Claimed heterosexual contact 9%
Pediatric 1%
Total: 97%
If AIDS is truly caused by a virus AIDS patients not in a risk group should be growing above an estimated 10% as the disease spreads.
Note that the US army has found that when testing recruits HIV positive results were divided equally between men (50%) and women (50%). Yet 85% of AIDS cases in the US are male.
Note too that in the US men use over 80% of all hard drugs. Among women with AIDS 60% (admit they) use hard drugs.
9. International comparisons of AIDS differ greatly.
A germ related disease would effect the population in the same way around the world. An outbreak of cholera in India and Honduras would be much the same. But AIDS is totally different in the USA or western industrialized countries and Africa.
USA AFRICA
Aids by sexual percentage
85% male 50% male
15% female 50% female
AIDS among risk groups
At least 90% No risk group
risk groups (at random)
AIDS diseases caused by microbes
62% 90%
Estimated HIV Infections
1 million 14 million
Official documented cases of AIDS (1995/96)
513,486 442,735
AIDS in Africa should be 14 times higher than in the US. Instead, people with HIV in the US develop AIDS 10 to 20 times faster than in Africa. This means that whereas the latency period in the US is predicted at 10 -15 years, in Africa it is at least 100 to 150 years!
10. AIDS occurs without HIV Infection and most people with HIV never develop AIDS.
The evidence for the HIV/AIDS hypothesis is based solely on correlation. Because the virus is found in most AIDS patients, it is thought to cause AIDS. But the logic of that assumption is flawed because CORRELATION DOES NOT PROVE CAUSATION.
The common presence of HIV in AIDS patients is no more proof that HIV causes AIDS than the presence of birds on power lines is proof that birds cause power failures.
So, if HIV and AIDS are only correlated, we should find AIDS without HIV and healthy people who have HIV and never get AIDS. That is exactly what is happening.
In Africa studies have shown over 65% of AIDS patients are not HIV positive. In Africa a positive HIV antibody test result is not necessary for reporting AIDS cases; prolonged symptoms are enough.
4621 cases of AIDS without HIV were found in the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports up to 1993. And the number could be much larger but the official definition of AIDS is designed to eliminate AIDS cases without HIV.
AIDS is distinguished from virtually every other disease in history by the fact that it has no constant specific symptoms. AIDS is an umbrella term for 29 old diseases and one non-disease (a T4 cell count of less than 200/ul of blood) when a person has an HIV-positive antibody test result. The official CDC definition of AIDS excludes HIV-negative AIDS by definition.
How the CDC's AIDS definition works:
o Kaposi's Sarcoma + HIV = AIDS
o Kaposi's Sarcoma - HIV = Kaposi's Sarcoma
o Pneumonia + HIV = AIDS
o Pneumonia - HIV = Pneumonia
o Dementia + HIV = AIDS
o Dementia - HIV = Dementia
and so on...
o <200 T4 cell count + HIV = AIDS
o <200 T4 cell count - HIV = no disease
There is no disease that is only caused by HIV. HIV is said to cause 29 old diseases when it is present. When it is not, the original causes of these diseases are responsible for them.
The official definition of AIDS creates a 100% correlation between the virus and AIDS. This "correlation" is not objective or scientific, but is artificial and deceptively self-fulfilling.
Estimated total HIV infected worldwide: 28,000,000 ?
Total of reported AIDS cases worldwide: 1,400,000
95% percent of people with HIV do not have AIDS.






HIV is Presumed New Because AIDS is New
HIV is presumed new in all countries with AIDS, because AIDS is new (Blattner et al., 1988; Gallo and Montagnier, 1988; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990). The presumed newness of HIV is used as a primary argument for the virus-AIDS hypothesis: ... the time of occurrence of AIDS in each country is correlated with the time of introduction of HIV into that country; first HIV is introduced, then AIDS appears" (Blattner et al., 1988) or: "In every country and city where AIDS has appeared, HIV infection preceded it just by a few years" (Weiss and Jaffe, 1990).
However, according to Farr's law, the age of a microbe in a population is determined by changes in its incidence over time (Bregman and Langmuir, 1990). If a microbe is spreading from a low to a high incidence it is new; however, if its incidence in a population is constant, it is old (Fig. 1) (Freeman, 1979; Duesberg, 1991a). Figure 1 shows the incidences of long established microbes in the U.S. population, i.e. Candida and Pneumocystis each at about 100% (Freeman, 1979; Pifer, 1984; Williford Pifer et al., 1988), and cytomegalovirus and herpes virus at about 50% and 40%, respectively (Evans, 1989c). In addition, it shows the typical exponential rise and subsequent fall of a hypothetical epidemic by a new influenza virus strain (Freeman, 1979).
Ever since antibodies against HIV were first detected by the "AIDS test" in 1985, the number of antibody-positive Americans has been fixed at a constant population of 1 million, or 0.4% (Section 2.2. and Table 1). The U.S. Army also reports that from 1985 to 1990 an unchanging 0.03% of male and female applicants have been HIV-positive (Burke et al., 1990). This is the predicted distribution of a long established virus (Fig. 1 ). Since there are over 250 million uninfected Americans, and since there is no antiviral vaccine or drug to stop the spread of HIV, the non-spread of HIV in the U.S. in the last 7 years is an infallible indication that the American "HIV epidemic" is old. The Central African HIV epidemic has also remained fixed at about 10% of the population since 1985 (Section 2.2). Likewise, HIV has remained fixed at 500,000 Europeans since 1988 (World Health Organization, 1992a). The non-spread of HIV confirms exactly the conclusion reached below that HIV behaves in a population as a quasi-genetic marker (Section 3.5.2). Hence, the assumption that HIV is new in the U.S. or in Africa is erroneous.
Indeed HIV existed in the U.S. long before its fictitious origin in Africa (Gallo, 1987; Gallo and Montagnier, 1988; Anderson and May, 1992) and its fictitious entry into this country in the 1970s (Shilts, 1987). For example, in the U.S. in 1968 an HIV-positive, male homosexual prostitute died from Kaposi's sarcoma and immunodeficiency (Garry et al., 1988), and 45 out of 1129 American intravenous drug users were found to be HIV-positive in 1971 and 1972 (Moore et al., 1986).
The putative novelty of HIV is an anthropocentric interpretation of new technology that made it possible to discover HIV and many other latent retroviruses like HTLV-I (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). Indeed, the technology to detect a latent virus like HIV only became available around the time AIDS appeared. Given a new virus-scope, the assertion that HIV is new is just like claiming the appearance of "new" stars with a new telescope. Thus the claims that "... first HIV is introduced, then AIDS appears" (Blattner et al., 1988) and that "HIV ... preceded it (AIDS)" (Weiss and Jaffe, 1990) are ironically more true than the proponents of the virus hypothesis had anticipated. HIV preceded AIDS by many, perhaps millions, of years.
3.5.2. HIV-Assumed to be Sexually Transmitted-Depends on Perinatal Transmission for Survival
AIDS is said to be a sexually transmitted disease, because HIV is thought to be a sexually transmitted virus (Section 2.2). However, HIV is not by nature a sexually transmitted virus. Sexual transmission of HIV is extremely inefficient. Based on studies measuring heterosexual and homosexual transmission, it depends on an average of 1000 heterosexual contacts and 100-500 homosexual contacts with antibody-positive people (Rosenberg and Weiner, 1988; Lawrence et al., 1990; Blattner, 1991; Hearst and Hulley, 1988; Peterman et al., 1988). According to Rosenberg and Weiner, "HIV infection in non-drug using prostitutes tends to be low or absent, implying that sexual activity alone does not place them at high risk" (Rosenberg and Weiner, 1988). Moreover, unwanted pregnancies and venereal diseases, but not HIV infections, have increased significantly in the U.S. since HIV has been known (Institute of Medicine, 1988; Aral and Holmes, 1991). This argues directly against sexual transmission of HIV.
Sexual transmission is so inefficient because there is no free, non-neutralized HIV anywhere in antibody-positive persons, particularly not in semen (Section 3.3). In a group of 25 antibody-positive men, only one single provirus of HIV could be found in over 1 million cells of semen in one of the men and no HIV at all was found in the semen of the other 24 (Van Voorhis et al., 1991). Likewise, HIV could only be isolated or reactivated from ejaculates of 9 out of 95 antibody-positive men by cocultivation with 2 million phytohemagglutinin-activated leukocytes (Anderson et al., 1992). No virus or microbe could survive if it depended on a transmission strategy that is as inefficient as 1 in 1000 contacts.
Indeed, HIV depends on perinatal, instead of sexual, transmission for survival-just like other animal and human retroviruses. Therefore, the efficiency of perinatal transmission must be high. This appears to be the case. Based on HIV-tracking via the "AIDS test," perinatal transmission from the mother is estimated to be 13-50% efficient (Blattner et al., 1988; Blattner, 1991; Duesberg, 1991a; Institute of Medicine, 1988; European Collaborative Study, 1991). This number does not include paternal HIV transmission to the baby via semen, for which there are currently no data. The real efficiency of perinatal transmission must be higher than the antibody-tests suggest, because in a fraction of recipients HIV only becomes immunogenic when its hosts are of an advanced age (Quinn et al., 1986; St Louis et al., 1991). During the antibody-negative phase, latent HIV can be detected by the polymerase chain reaction (Rogers et al., 1989, European Collaborative Study, 1991). This is also true for other perinatally transmitted human (Blattner, 1990; Duesberg, 1991a) and animal retroviruses (Rowe, 1973; Duesberg, 1987).
HIV survival via perinatal transmission leads to two predictions: (1) HIV cannot be inherently pathogenic-just like all other perinatally transmitted viruses and microbes (Freeman, 1979; Mims and White, 1984). No microbe-host system could survive if the microbe were perinatally transmitted and at once fatal. (2) HIV must function as a quasi-genetic marker, because it is quasi-nontransmissible by sex, or other natural horizontal modes of transmission, just like known murine retrovirus prototypes (Rowe, 1973; Duesberg, 1987). Both predictions are confirmed:
(1) Overwhelming statistical evidence from the U.S. and Africa documents that the risk for AIDS-defining diseases for HIV-positive babies, in the absence of other risk factors (Sections 3.4.4 and 4), is the same as that of HIV-free controls:
(a) "AIDS tests" from applicants to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Job Corps indicate that between 0.03% (Burke et al., 1990) and 0.3% (St Louis et al., 1991) of the 17- to 19-year-old applicants are HIV-infected but healthy. Since there are about 90 million Americans under the age of 20, there must be between 27,000 and 270,000 (0.03%-0.3% of 90 million) HIV carriers. In Central Africa there are even more, since 1-2% of healthy children are HIV-positive (Quinn et al., 1986).
Most, if not all, of these adolescents must have acquired HIV from perinatal infection for the following reasons: sexual transmission of HIV depends on an average of 1000 sexual contacts, and only 1 in 250 Americans carries HIV (Table 1). Thus, all positive teenagers would have had to achieve an absurd 1000 contacts with a positive partner, or an even more absurd 250,000 sexual contacts with random Americans to acquire HIV by sexual transmission. It follows that probably all of the healthy adolescent HIV carriers were perinatally infected, as for example the 22-year-old Kimberly Bergalis (Section 3.5.16).
The AIDS risk of perinatally infected babies of the general population can be estimated as follows. Between 27,000 and 270,000 Americans under the age of 20 carry HIV. But only about 4260 AIDS cases have been recorded in this age group in the last 10 years (Centers for Disease Control, 1992b). Therefore, between 85% and 98% of HIV-infected youths do not develop AIDS up to 20 years after perinatal infection (Section 2.1). Since the above number includes the AIDS babies from drug-addicted mothers (Sections 3.4.2 and 4), the AIDS risk of HIV-infected babies from mothers that don't use drugs probably reflects normal infant mortality.
(b) A controlled study from Africa compared 218 newborns from HIV-positive mothers to 218 from HIV-negative mothers, and the "rates of prematurity, low birth weight, congenital malformations and neonatal mortality were comparable in the two groups" (Lepage et al., 1991). The mothers were matched for age and parity and the "frequency of signs and symptoms was not statistically different in the two groups."
(2) The incidence of HIV in American teenagers of different ethnic backgrounds is predictable on genetic grounds. It is about 10-fold higher in blacks than in whites, i.e. 0.3% compared to 0.03% (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1990; Burke et al., 1990; Blattner, 1991; Palca, 1991b; St Louis et al., 1991; Vermund, 1991). HIV was even 50-fold more common in black mothers in inner-city hospitals in New York (36%) than in whites (0.7%) (Landesmann et al., 1987). This reflects the 25- to 50-fold higher incidence of HIV in the blacks' African ancestors (10%) compared to the whites' European ancestors (0.2 to 0.4%) (Section 2.2, Table 1). Likewise, the different ethnic groups of the Caribbean reflect the distinct HTLV-I incidences of their ancestors in Africa, Europe and Japan, despite generations of coexistence on the Caribbean islands (Blattner, 1990). The unchanging incidence of HIV in the American population (Fig. 1) also confirms the view that HIV is a quasi-genetic marker. Since there is virtually no horizontal transmission of retroviruses, murine retroviruses have functioned as classical genetic markers of mice that could only be distinguished from cellular genes by fastidious genetic crosses (Rowe, 1973).
Thus the assumption that AIDS is sexually transmitted by HIV is not consistent with the natural perinatal mode of HIV transmission. If natural transmission of HIV caused a disease, AIDS would be a pediatric disease. Instead, HIV is merely a marker of either an average of 1000 sexual contacts and thus of many other possible AIDS risks associated with very high sexual activity or of long-term intravenous drug use (Sections 3.4.3 and 5).
3.5.3. AIDS Assumed to be Proportional to HIV Infection
The incidence of AIDS is assumed to be proportional to the incidence of HIV via a constant factor. For example, a 10-fold higher incidence of AIDS in American and European males compared to females is assumed to reflect a 10-fold higher incidence of HIV in men (Blattner et al., 1988; Blattner, 1991; Goudsmit, 1992).
However, there is no evidence that the incidence of HIV is 10 times higher in males than in females of the general American and European population, although this is the case for AIDS (Table l). Indeed, the most recent claim for a 90% bias of HIV for males of the general population (Blattner, 1991) is only supported by a reference to an editorial (Palca, 1991b), which itself provides nothing more than an unreferenced cartoon showing global patterns of HIV infection. According to a CDC epidemiologist, estimates of how HIV is distributed between the sexes of the general population are "approximations" based on the distribution of AIDS (Tim Dondero, CDC, personal communication; see also Anderson and May, 1992)-a tautology.
Proportionality between HIV and AIDS via a constant is also incompatible with the following statistics. The U.S. Army (Burke et al., 1990) and the U.S. Job Corps (St Louis et al., 1991) report, based on millions of tests, that HIV has been equally distributed between the sexes among 17- to 21-year-olds of the general population over the last five years for which data were available (Sections 3.5.1 and 3.5.2). Since testing 17- to 19-year-olds annually for 5 years is equivalent to testing 17- to 24-year-olds, the U.S. Army data predict that among 17- to 24-year-olds, AIDS risks should be distributed equally between the sexes. However, the CDC documents that 85% of the AIDS cases among 17- to 24-year-olds were males (Centers for Disease Control, 1992b).
In response to this, some proponents of the virus-AIDS hypothesis have speculated that teenage homosexuals exclude themselves from the Army. However, Randy Shilts, a homosexual writer, reports that just the opposite is true (Shilts, 1991). Moreover, most teenagers are not as yet aware of a definite homosexual persuasion and are not likely to understand the implications nor to fear the consequences of a positive "AIDS test."
The over 100-fold discrepancies between the AIDS risks of different HIV-infected risk groups also disprove the claim that the incidence of AIDS is proportional via a constant to the incidence of HIV (Table 2). The proportionality between HIV and AIDS only holds if the analysis is restricted to groups with the same AIDS risks. In groups with the same percentage of HIV but with different AIDS risks, AIDS segregates specifically with nonviral AIDS risks, e.g. illicit recreational drugs, the antiviral drug AZT (Section 4) and frequent transfusions (Section 3.4.4).
3.5.4. AIDS Assumed to be Homosexually Transmitted in the U.S. and Europe
In view of a sexually transmitted AIDS virus, it is paradoxical that AIDS is 90% male in America and 86% male in Europe (Sections 3.1 and 3.2). Therefore it is assumed that "the virus first got its footing in the U.S." in male homosexuals (Booth, 1988) and has remained with homosexuals because it is transmitted preferentially by anal intercourse and because homosexuals have no sex with heterosexuals (Centers for Disease Control, 1986; Shilts, 1987; Blatter et al., 1988; Institute of Medicine, 1988; Blattner, 1991; Bardach, 1992; Project Inform, 1992).
However, this assumption is inconsistent with the fact that about 10% of all males and females prefer anal intercourse (Bolling and Voeller, 1987; Turner et al., 1989) and that American and European heterosexuals have sufficient access to HIV. The females would be infected by HIV-positive, heterosexual intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs, and bisexual males. Thus, if HIV were transmitted by anal intercourse, about the same percentage of women as men should develop AIDS, particularly since the efficiencies of transmission of anal and vaginal intercourse are approximately the same, e.g. between 1 to 100 and 1 to 500 for anal and 1 to 1000 for vaginal intercourse (Blattner, 1991) (see also Section 3.5.2). Yet, despite widespread alarm, this has not occurred in the last 10 years in the U.S. (Table 1), although the first women with AIDS had been diagnosed as early as in 1981 (Centers for Disease Control, 1986; Guinan and Hardy, 1987). The risk of women for both HIV infection and AIDS is the same for those who practice anal intercourse as for those who practice other types of intercourse (Guinan and Hardy, 1987).
The preferred anal-transmission hypothesis is also incompatible with the sexually equal distribution of HIV and AIDS in Africa. Since it is postulated that HIV appeared in America and Africa at about the same time 10-20 years ago (Institute of Medicine, 1986; Blattner et al., 1988; Gallo and Montagnier, 1988), HIV should have reached the same equilibria between the sexes in all countries.
Instead it is shown below that the male bias for AIDS in America and Europe reflects male-specific behavior, including the facts that over 75% of all intravenous drug users are males and that long-term consumption of sexual stimulants, like amylnitrite and ethylchloride inhalants, is almost entirely restricted to male homosexuals (Section 4). HIV is just a marker of the many sexual stimulants used to achieve 500-1000 sexual contacts (Section 4). The difference between the AIDS risks of men in America and Europe, namely drugs, and those of Africans, namely country-specific, but not sex-specific, risk factors (Section 3.4.4.8) resolves the paradox between the different sexual distributions of AIDS in these countries.
3.5.5. AIDS Assumed to be Heterosexually Transmitted by African "Life-style"
AIDS in Africa is assumed to affect both genders equally, because HIV is distributed equally between the sexes by "prostitution" (Institute of Medicine, 1988), lack of "circumcision" (Klein, 1988; Marx, 1989; Blattner, 1991), African "lifestyle" (Quinn et al., 1987; Blattner et al., 1988; Goodgame, 1990) and "voodoo rituals" (Gallo, 1991). These assumptions are compatible with the sexually equal distributions of HIV and AIDS in Africa.
However, AIDS in Africa is hard to reconcile with the known efficiency of sexual transmission of HIV. Since it takes 1000 HIV-positive sexual contacts to transmit HIV and about 10% of all Central Africans, or 6 million, are HIV-positive (Section 2.2), 6 million Africans would have had to achieve on average at least 10,000 sexual contacts with random Africans to pick up HIV. Since this is highly improbable, it is also highly improbable that sexual transmission of HIV is the cause of AIDS in Africa. The true reason for the sexually equal distribution of HIV in Africa is perinatal transmission of HIV (Section 3.5.2). Nonsexual, country-specific risk factors are the reason for the "sexually" equal distribution of AIDS in Africa (Section 3.4.4.8).
3.5.6. HIV Claimed to be Abundant in AIDS Cases
HIV is said to be abundant or viremic in AIDS patients (Baltimore and Feinberg, 1989; Coombs et al., 1989; Ho et al., 1989a; Semple et al., 1991) and thus compatible with orthodox viruses which cause disease only at high titers (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). In other words HIV is assumed to meet Koch's first postulate (Section 3.3). The assumption is based on two papers which reported HIV titers of 102 to 103 infectious units per mL of blood in 75% of AIDS patients and in 25-50% of asymptomatic HIV carriers (Coombs et al., 1989; Ho et al., 1989a). The authors and an accompanying editorial, HIV Revealed, Toward a Natural History of the Infection (Baltimore and Feinberg, 1989), concluded that these findings established HIV viremia as an orthodox criterion of viral pathogenicity. Viremia of similar titers was recently also implied in some AIDS patients and asymptomatic carriers based on an indirect assay that amplifies HIV RNA in vitro (Semple et al., 1991).
However, several arguments cast doubt on the claim that HIV viremia is relevant for AIDS:
(1) Since viremia was observed in 25-50% of asymptomatic HIV carriers (Coombs et al., 1989; Ho et al., 1989a; Semple et al., 1991), it cannot be sufficient for AIDS.
(2) Since no viremia was observed in 25% of the AIDS cases studied by two groups (Coombs et al., 1989; Ho et al., 1989a), it is not necessary for AIDS.
(3) Viremia initiated from a previously suppressed virus and observed years after infection is a classical consequence, rather than the cause of immunodeficiency. Indeed, many normally latent parasites become activated and may cause chronic "opportunistic infections" in immunodeficient persons, as for example Candida, Pneumocystis, herpes virus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis virus, tuberculosis bacillus, toxoplasma (Sections 2.3 and 3.4.3)-and sometimes even HIV. It is consistent with this view that HIV viremia is observed more often in AIDS patients than in asymptomatic carriers (Duesberg, 1990c).
(4) The HIVs that make up the "viremias" are apparently not infectious in vivo, because only a negligible fraction of leukocytes, on average only 1 in 1500 to 8000, of AIDS patients are infected (Section 3.3). The probable reason is that the "viremias" consist of viruses that are neutralized by the antiviral antibodies of "seropositive" AIDS patients (Duesberg, 1992d). Since viruses, as obligatory cellular parasites, can only be pathogenic by infecting cells, these noninfectious viremias cannot be relevant to the cause of AIDS. If assayed in vitro, in the absence of free antiviral antibodies, antibodies may dissociate from neutralized viruses and thus render the virus infectious for cells in culture. This explains the discrepancy between the noninfectious "viremias" in vivo and the relatively high infectivity recorded in vitro (Coombs et al., 1989; Ho et al., 1989a).
Thus HIV viremia is a rare, predictable consequence of immunodeficiency rather than its cause.
3.5.7. HIV to Depend on Cofactors for AIDS
Conceding that HIV is not sufficient to cause AIDS, it is assumed to depend on cofactors. Montagnier (Goldsmith, 1990; Lemaitre et al., 1990; Balter, 1991) and Lo (Lo et al., 1991) have proposed mycoplasmas that were discovered in their laboratories; Gallo has proposed two viruses, herpes virus-6 and HTLV-I, which were both discovered in his laboratory (Cotton, 1990; Gallo, 1990, 1991; Lusso et al., 1991). Others have proposed cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus (Quinn et al., 1987; Evans, 1989a; Root-Bernstein, 1990c), "age" (Evans, 1989a; Goedert et al., 1989; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990; Biggar and the International Registry of Seroconverters, 1990), unidentified "coagents" (Weyer and Eggers, 1990; Eggers and Weyer, 1991), "clinical illness promotion factors" (Evans, 1989b, 1992) and even "pre-existing immune abnormalities" (Ludlam et al., 1985; Marion et al., 1989; Ludlam, 1992) as cofactors of HIV.
However, cofactor hypotheses only replace HIV-specific AIDS problems with the following HIV-plus-cofactor-specific AIDS problems:
(1) Since HIV is extremely rare and dormant in most antibody-positive AIDS patients (Sections 2.2 and 3.3), it is hard to imagine how its various AIDS-allies could benefit from their dormant "cofactor" HIV.
(2) Since HTLV-I is just as dormant and unable to kill cells as HIV (Duesberg, 1987; Blattner, 1990; Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992), it is even harder to imagine how one dormant virus could help another dormant virus to generate the biochemical activity that would be necessary to cause a fatal disease.
(3) Since mycoplasma (Freeman, 1979; Cotton, 1990; Goldsmith, 1990; Balter, 1991), herpes virus-6 (Cotton, 1990; Lusso et al., 1991), cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus (Mims and White, 1984; Evans, 1989c) are each very common, if not ubiquitous, parasites (Freeman, 1979; Froesner, 1991), AIDS should develop in most people as soon as they are infected by HIV. Likewise, "aged" people should develop AIDS as soon as they are infected by HIV. Yet not more than 3-4% of HIV-antibody-positive Americans or Europeans and 0.3% of antibody-positive Africans develop AIDS per year (Tables 1 and 2).
Moreover, if infectious cofactors helped HIV to cause AIDS, the AIDS risk of Africans would be expected to be higher than that of Americans. This is because the incidence of hypothetical, microbial cofactors in Africans without AIDS was found to be the same as in those with AIDS, while the incidence of microbial cofactors in Americans without AIDS risks was significantly lower than in those with AIDS (Section 3.4.3) (Quinn et al., 1987). Even the cofactor HIV was present in 6% of African AIDS-free controls (Quinn et al., 1987). Yet the annual AIDS risk of HIV-infected Africans is 10-times lower than that of Americans (Table 1).
(4) Contrary to the claims that "age" is an AIDS cofactor of HIV, the virus-AIDS hypothesis postulates that the latent period for HIV is longer in adults (10 years) than in children (2 years) (Section 2.2). However, the proposal that "age" is a cofactor for HIV becomes more compelling the more the hypothetical "latent period" of HIV grows. Clearly, if a 70-year-old will be infected by a virus with a "latent period" of 10 years, "age" will be a predictable cofactor (see, for example, hemophiliacs, Section 3.4.4.5 and Paul Gann, Section 3.5.16).
(5) The claims that HIV depends on "clinical illness promotion factors" (Evans, 1992) or on a "pre-existing immune abnormality" (Marion et al., 1989; Ludlam, 1992) for AIDS are euphemisms for saying that HIV cannot cause AIDS until something else does (Duesberg, 1989b). The additional hypothesis that a "pre-existing immune abnormality" (Ludlam, 1992) or a "prior immune dysfunction" (Marion et al., 1989) makes a subject more susceptible to HIV is erroneous, because a pre-existing immune deficiency only affects the progression of an infection, but not the risk of infection.
In view of this, I share Gallo's concerns about cofactors of HIV, which he expresses with a quotation from Lewis Thomas: "Multifactorial is multi-ignorance. Most factors go away when we learn the real cause of a disease" (Gallo, 1991). The "cofactor" HIV may be no exception. Until any one of these hypothetical cofactors is actually shown to depend on HIV to cause AIDS, HIV must be considered just one of many innocent bystanders found in AIDS patients (Section 3.4.3).
3.5.8. All AIDS Diseases to Result from Immunodeficiency
All AIDS diseases are said to reflect a primary immunodeficiency (Coffin et al., 1986; Institute of Medicine, 1986; Blattner et al., 1988).
However, immunodeficiency is not a common denominator of all AIDS diseases. About 38% of all AIDS diseases, i.e. dementia, wasting disease, Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma (Table 1), are neither caused by, nor necessarily associated with, immunodeficiency. Cancer is not a consequence of immunodeficiency (Stutman, 1975; Duesberg, 1989c). Indeed, Kaposi's sarcoma frequently has been diagnosed in male homosexuals in the absence of immunodeficiency. For example, the immune systems of 20 out of 37 HIV-positive homosexuals with Kaposi's sarcoma were normal when their disease was first diagnosed (Spornraft et al., 1988). Another study also describes 19 male homosexual Kaposi's sarcoma patients with normal immune systems (Murray et al., 1988). Likewise, Kaposi's sarcomas have been diagnosed in HIV-free male homosexuals with normal immune systems (Afrasiabi et al., 1986; Archer et al., 1989; Friedman-Kien et al., 1990; Marquart et al., 1991).
Dementia and wasting disease also are not consequences of immunodeficiency (Duesberg, 1989c, 1991a). Thus, the assumption that all AIDS diseases are caused by immunodeficiency is erroneous.
3.5.9. HIV to Induce AIDS via Autoimmunity and Apoptosis
In view of the extremely low number of HIV-infected cells in AIDS patients (Section 3.3), HIV has recently been proposed to cause AIDS by inducing autoimmunity (Hoffmann, 1990; Maddox, 1991a; Mathé, 1992) or apoptosis (Laurent-Crawford et al., 1991; Goudsmit, 1992). According to these new ideas HIV is assumed either to confuse the immune system into attacking itself or to persuade the immune cells to commit suicide, termed apoptosis. The autoimmune hypothesis postulates homology between HIV and human cells, and currently relies only on mouse and monkey models (Hoffmann, 1990; Maddox, 1991a), and on precedents for autoimmunity induced in humans as a consequence of graft rejection and blood transfusions (Root-Bernstein, 1990a,b; Mathe, 1992). One autoimmunologist claims that "each of Duesberg's paradoxes might be understood in the context of the model without sacrificing the idea that HIV is usually involved in pathogenesis" (Hoffmann, 1990). This strategy of crediting me rather than the virus-AIDS hypothesis for its paradoxes shifts the discussion from a problem with science to a problem with a scientist (Booth, 1988; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990).
However, both the autoimmune and the apoptosis hypotheses are incompatible with human AIDS on several grounds:
(1) Autoimmunity or apoptosis cannot account for all those AIDS diseases that are not caused by immunodeficiency, e.g. Kaposi's sarcoma, dementia, wasting disease and lymphoma (Section 3.5.8).
(2) Autoimmunity or apoptosis fail to explain risk group-specific AIDS diseases (Section 2.1.3, Tables 1 and 2).
(3) Autoimmunity and apoptosis fail to explain the long average intervals, "latent periods," from conventional immunity against HIV, detected by the "AIDS test," to hypothetical autoimmunity 10 years later (Section 3.2).
(4) Autoimmunity and apoptosis fail to explain the over 100-fold discrepancies between the annual AIDS risks of different HIV-infected groups (Table 2).
(5) HIV-induced autoimmunity or apoptosis fail to explain the consistent 90% bias of American/European AIDS for males (2.1, Table 1).
(6) In view of the autoimmunity or apoptosis hypothesis, it is paradoxical that 80% of antibody-positive Americans (1 million minus the 206,000 who have developed AIDS) and 98% of antibody-positive Africans (6 million minus the 129,000 who have developed AIDS) have not developed AIDS since 1984 (Table 1). Obviously, these figures are not even corrected for the normal and drug-induced incidence of AIDS-defining diseases in those groups (Section 3.4.4, Table 2).
(7) There is no sequence homology between HIV and human DNA detectable by hybridization to predict autoimmunity (Shaw et al., 1984). Therefore, autoimmunologists argue that antibodies against those antibodies, which are directed at the viral proteins that bind to cellular receptors, would also react with cellular receptors and thus cause AIDS (Hoffmann, 1990). However, if this were true, all viruses should cause AIDS.
Thus the HIV-autoimmunity and apoptosis hypotheses of AIDS are (a) not compatible with essential parameters of human AIDS and (b) arbitrary, because they are not based on an autoimmunogenic or apoptogenic property of HIV that is distinct from all other viruses.
3.5.10. HIV Assumed to Kill T-cells
Based on an early observation by Gallo et al. HIV is assumed to cause immunodeficiency by specifically killing T-cells (Gallo et al., 1984; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990). Gallo's observation was restricted to primary T-cells (Gallo et al., 1984) but not to established T-cell lines (Rubinstein, 1990). However, according to Montagnier, the discoverer of HIV, "In a search for a direct cytopathic effect of the virus on (primary) T-lymphocytes, no gross changes could be seen in virus-producing cultures, with regard to cell lysis or impairment of cell growth" (Montagnier et al., 1984). Others have confirmed that HIV does not kill infected, primary T-cells in vitro (Hoxie et al., 1985; Anand et al., 1987; Langhoff et al., 1989; Duesberg, 1989c). Moreover HIV-infected primary T-cells are considered the natural "reservoir" of HIV in vivo (Schnittman et al., 1989).
Thus Gallo's controversial observation probably reflects the notorious difficulties experienced by his laboratory in maintaining primary blood cells alive in culture instead of a genuine cytocidal function of HIV (Crewdson, 1989; Culliton, 1990; Rubinstein, 1990; Hamilton, 1991). Gallo showed in a later study from his laboratory that about 50% of uninfected T-cells died within 12 days in culture (Gallo, 1990).
Indeed, the assumption that HIV is cytocidal is incompatible with generic properties of retroviruses and with specific properties of HIV:
(1) The hallmark of retrovirus replication is to convert the viral RNA into DNA and to deliberately integrate this DNA as a parasitic gene into the cellular DNA (Weiss et al., 1985). This process of integration depends on mitosis to succeed, rather than on cell death (Rubin and Temin, 1958; Duesberg, 1989c). The resulting genetic parasite can then be either active or passive, just like other cellular genes (Duesberg, 1987). Transcription of viral RNA from chromosomally integrated proviral DNA also only works if the cell survives infection, because dying cells are not transcriptionally active. Thus, this strategy of replication depends entirely on the survival of the infected cell.
Noncytocidal replication is the reason that retroviruses were all considered potential carcinogens before AIDS (Weiss et al., 1985; Duesberg, 1987). For example, Gallo's first candidate for an AIDS virus is called Human T-cell Leukemia Virus-I (Gallo et al., 1983), and Gallo's second candidate for an AIDS virus was originally described at a press conference in April 1984 by Gallo and the Secretary of Health and Human Services as "a variant of a known human cancer virus called HTLV III" (Crewdson, 1989; Rubinstein, 1990). It used to be called Human T-cell Leukemia Virus-III by Gallo (Gallo et al., 1984; Shaw et al., 1984) before it was renamed HIV in 1986 (Coffin et al., 1986).
(2) Limited cytotoxicity of HIV has been observed soon after infection of cells in vitro (Duesberg, 1989c; Bergeron and Sodroski, 1992). Therefore, it has been proposed that multiple copies of unintegrated proviral DNA, generated by multiple infections before all cellular receptors are blocked by newly replicated viruses, could kill T-cells (Bergeron and Sodroski, 1992). However, cells infected by every retrovirus, including HIV (Bergeron and Sodroski, 1992), survive multiple unintegrated proviral DNAs during the early phase of the infection (Weiss et al., 1985). Rare cell death during this phase of infection is a consequence of cell fusion, which is mediated by viruses on the surface of infected cells binding to receptors of uninfected cells. In some conditions retrovirus-mediated fusion occurs so reliably that it has been used to quantitate retroviruses in tissue culture. However, virus-mediated fusion is blocked by antiviral antibodies and thus not relevant to the loss of T-cells in persons with antibodies against HIV (Duesberg, 1989c).
Alternatively, it has been proposed that HIV proteins are directly toxic because of structural similarities with scorpion and snake poisons (Gallo, 1991; Garry et al., 1991; Garry and Koch, 1992). However, no such toxicity is observed in millions of asymptomatic HIV carriers, and there is no reason that it should occur, if it did, only after latent periods of 10 years.
(3) The propagation of HIV in indefinitely growing human T-cells for the "AIDS test" was patented by Gallo et al. in 1984 (Rubinstein, 1990) and was recently confirmed by Montagnier (Lemaître et al., 1990). It is totally incompatible with Gallo's claim that HIV kills T-cells. Such HIV-producing T-cells have been growing in many laboratories and companies since 1984 producing virus at titers of up to 106 virus particles per mL, which is many orders of magnitude more than is ever observed in humans with or without AIDS (Duesberg, 1989c, 1991a).
In view of this, Gallo postulates that T-cell lines in culture have all acquired resistance to HIV killing (Gallo, 1991). However, there is no precedent for this ad hoc hypothesis, as no other cytocidal virus has ever been observed that is cytocidal in vivo and in primary cells in vitro, but is noncytocidal in cell lines in culture. It is also implausible that a potentially life-saving cellular mutation, such as resistance to the hypothetical "AIDS virus," would be restricted just to cells in culture, particularly if these mutations occur so readily that they are found in all T-cell lines. There is not even one T-cell line that is consistently killed by HIV.
(4) HIV, like all other retroviruses, does not specifically infect T¬cells. It also infects monocytes, epithelial cells, B-cells, glial cells and macrophages, etc. and none of these are killed by HIV (Levy, 1988; Duesberg, 1991a). Most other retroviruses also infect T-cells, which is why so many of them are suspected "T-cell leukemia" viruses (Weiss et al., 1985; Duesberg, 1987; Blattner, 1990).
Thus, the assumption that HIV causes AIDS by killing T-cells is not tenable.
3.5.11. Antibodies Assumed not to Neutralize HIV
Antibodies against HIV, detected by a positive "AIDS test," are claimed not to protect against AIDS because they do not neutralize HIV (Institute of Medicine, 1988; Evans, 1989a; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990; Gallo, 1991). "It is a test for anti-HIV antibodies and not, as Duesberg states, 'neutralizing antibodies'" (Baltimore and Feinberg, 1990).
However, antiviral immunity completely neutralizes HIV and restricts it to undetectable levels in healthy HIV-carriers as well as in AIDS patients (Section 3.3.1) (Duesberg, 1989b,c). Indeed, two recent studies have just confirmed that HIV activity is "rapidly and effectively limited" by antiviral immunity (Clark et al., 1991; Daar et al., 1991) to less than 1 in 1000 T-cells (Section 3.3). By contrast, HIV replicates in the absence of antiviral immunity in human T-cells in culture to titers of 106 virus particles per mL (Section 3.5.10). Thus, the assumption that HIV causes AIDS because of inadequate antiviral immunity is unconfirmed. Baltimore's, Feinberg's and Evans' paradox "that antibody is not protective" (Evans, 1989a) is their failure to recognize the non-role of HIV in AIDS (Section 3.3.2).
3.5.12. HIV Claimed to Cause AIDS in 50% Within 10 Years
All HIV-infected persons are said to die from AIDS after a medium latent period of 10 years (Anderson and May, 1988; Institute of Medicine, 1988; Moss et al., 1988; Lemp et al., 1990; Blattner, 1991; Duesberg, 1991a).
However, according to statistics from the CDC, only about 30,000-40,000, or 3-4%, of a reservoir of 1 million HIV-infected Americans develop AIDS annually (Table 1). Likewise, 3% of infected Europeans develop AIDS per year (Table 1). Accordingly, 50% of HIV-infected Americans and Europeans would have to wait 12-16 years and 100%, 24-33 years to develop AIDS. During this time, many would die from other causes. Since only 0.3% of infected Africans develop AIDS diseases annually (Tables 1 and 2), 50% of Africans would have to wait about 150 years and 100% would have to wait 300 years to develop AIDS.
Thus, it is presumptuous to claim that HIV causes AIDS in 50% of infected persons after median latent periods of 10 years, particularly since the virus has only been known for nine years.
3.5.13. HIV Said to Derive Pathogenicity from Constant Mutation
During its long latent periods, HIV is claimed to acquire pathogenicity by mutation, for example by generating variants that escape immunity (Hahn et al., 1986; Levy, 1988; Eigen, 1989; Gallo, 1990; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990; Anonymous, 1992; Anderson and May, 1992) or by generating defective variants (Eigen, 1989; Haas, 1989; Weiss, R.A., 1989).
However, a recent study just demonstrated that the replicative and functional properties of HIVs from AIDS patients are the same as those from asymptomatic carriers (Lu and Andrieu, 1992). Indeed, most essential structural and replicative proteins of a virus cannot be mutated without eliminating its viability. Functionally relevant mutations of any virus are also severely restricted by the necessity to remain compatible with the host (Duesberg, 1990b). Moreover, there is no precedent for an immune system that has been able to neutralize a virus completely and is then unable to catch up with an occasional subsequent mutation. If viruses in general could evade the immune system by mutation, the immune system would be a useless burden to the host.
Likewise, the proposals that defective HIVs could generate pathogenicity is untenable. Defective viruses are only viable in the presence of nondefective helper viruses and thus unlikely to survive in natural transmission from host to host at low multiplicity of infection, particularly with helper viruses that never achieve high titers like HIV (Duesberg, 1989a).
There are, however, examples of new antigenic variants of retroviruses (Beemon et al., 1974) or influenza viruses (Duesberg, 1968), that have arisen upon rare double infection by two antigenically distinct virus strains via genetic recombination. Yet antigenically new variants of HIV have never been observed in American and European AIDS patients, as all HIV strains diagnosed to date crossreact with the very same standard HIV-1 strain that is patented in America and Europe for the "AIDS test" (Connor, 1991, 1992; Palca, 1991a; Weiss, 1991).
Moreover, if recombination or spontaneous mutation could generate pathogenic HIV mutants from nonpathogenic strains, one would expect all those who are infected by HIV from AIDS patients to develop AIDS within weeks after infection. Such HIV mutants should be pathogenic just as soon as conventional, nonpathogenic HIV strains are immunogenic. But this is not observed.
Thus, the assumption that HIV acquires pathogenicity by mutation during the course of the infection is not tenable.
3.5.14. HIV Assumed to Cause AIDS with Genes Unique Among Retroviruses
AIDS researchers assert that HIV causes AIDS with unique genetic information that all other animal and human retroviruses lack and that these unique genes would regulate HIV down during the "latent period" and up during AIDS (Gallo and Montagnier, 1988; Haseltine and Wong-Staal, 1988; Institute of Medicine, 1988; Eigen, 1989; Temin, 1990; Fauci, 1991; Gallo, 1991). Further, it is claimed that HIV-infected cells export factors encoded by these genes that promote neoplastic growth of uninfected cells to cause, for example, Kaposi's sarcoma (Salahuddin et al., 1988; Ensoli et al., 1990; Gallo, 1990); at the same time such genes are said to export "scorpion poison"-related toxins that kill uninfected neurons to cause dementia (Gallo, 1991; Garry et al., 1991; Garry and Koch, 1992). By contrast, all other known bacterial, animal and human viruses, including retroviruses, are only able to kill or alter those cells they infect, because viruses are manufactured inside cells and would not benefit from proteins released to uninfected cells.
However, the claims of unique retroviral HIV genes with unique control functions raises several unresolvable problems:
(1) Despite its presumed unique properties HIV has the same genetic complexity, i.e. 9000 nucleotides, and the same genetic structure as all other retroviruses (Beemon et al., 1974; Wang et al., 1976; Institute of Medicine, 1988). It shares with other retroviruses the three major genes gag-pol-env, which are linked in this order in all animal and human retroviruses (Wang et al., 1976). Although "novel" genes that overlap with the major retroviral genes have been discovered in HIV by computerized sequence analysis, and by new protein detection technology (Varmus, 1988), such genes have also been found with the same technology in other retroviruses that do not cause AIDS, such as HTLV-I, other human retroviruses, bovine retroviruses, simian retroviruses and sheep retroviruses (Varmus, 1988; Weiss, 1988; Duesberg, 1989c; Palca, 1990). Thus there is no unique genetic material and no uncommon genetic structure in HIV RNA that could indicate where this unique AIDS-specific information of HIV is hiding.
(2) Since all retroviral genes share just one common promoter, it would be impossible to differentially activate one HIV gene while the others are latent. Thus the idea that different viral genes would regulate latency and virulence, as with lambda phage, is not compatible with HIV (Haseltine and Wong-Staal, 1988; Eigen, 1989; Temin, 1990; Fauci, 1991). Since all HIV genes share the same promotor, latent HIV can only be activated by the host-just like all other latent retroviruses. In addition HIV cannot make specific AIDS factors, while its major genes are dormant. Since viral RNA synthesis in vivo is only detectable in 1 out of 10,000 to 100,000 leukocytes and then only in half of all AIDS patients (Section 3.3), HIV cannot make Kaposi's sarcomagenic and neurotoxic factors in amounts sufficient to cause fatal tumors and dementias. This is why such factors have not been detectable in vivo (Weiss and Jaffe, 1990; Gallo, 1991).
Thus, based on the structure, information and function of its RNA, HIV is a profoundly conventional retrovirus. It does not contain unique genes that distinguish it from other retroviruses, nor can its genes be differentially regulated at the transcriptional level.
Toxicity of AZT
Since 1987 AZT has been used as an anti-HIV agent (Section 4.3.3) based on two placebo-controlled studies reporting therapeutic and prophylactic benefits (Section 4.4.2). However, AZT was originally developed in the 1960s for cancer chemotherapy to kill human cells via termination of DNA synthesis (Cohen, 1987; Yarchoan and Broder, 1987a; Yarchoan et al., 1991). The primary AZT metabolites are 3'-termini of DNA which are cell-killing, 3'-amino-dT which is more toxic than AZT, and 5'-O-glucuronide which is excreted (Cretton et al., 1991). As a chain terminator of DNA synthesis, AZT is toxic to all cells engaged in DNA synthesis. AZT toxicity varies a great deal with the subject treated due to differences in its uptake and in its cellular metabolism (Chernov, 1986; Elwell et al., 1987; Yarchoan and Broder, 1987b; Smothers, 1991; Yarchoan et al., 1991).
AZT is prescribed as AIDS prophylaxis or therapy at 500-1500 mg per day, corresponding to a concentration of 20-60 µmol/L in the patient. Prior to the licensing of AZT, Burroughs Wellcome, the manufacturer of the drug, and the NIH have jointly claimed selective inhibition of HIV by AZT in vitro because human lymphoblasts and fibroblasts appeared over 1000-fold more resistant to AZT (inhibited only at 1-3 mM) than was replication of HIV (inhibited at 50-500 nM) (Furman et al., 1986). On this basis they calculated an in vitro antiviral therapeutic index of 104. This "selective" sensitivity of HIV to AZT was explained in terms of a "selective interaction of AZT with HIV reverse transcriptase" (Furman et al., 1986). Accordingly the manufacturer informs AZT recipients: "The cytotoxicity of zidovudine [AZT] for various cell lines was determined using a cell growth assay ... ID50 values for several human cell lines showed little growth inhibition by zidovudine except at concentrations > 50 µg/mL (³200 µM) or less." (Medical Economics Data, 1992). Further, it informs them that enterobacteria including E. coli are inhibited "by low concentrations of zidovudine [AZT]," between 0.02 and 2 µM AZT, just like HIV (Medical Economics Data, 1992).
However, an independent study showed in 1989 that AZT is about 1000-times (!) more toxic for human T-cells in culture, i.e. at about 1 µM than the study conducted by its manufacturer and the NIH (Avramis et al., 1989). Other studies have also found that AZT inhibits T-cells and other hemopoietic cells in vitro at 1-8 µM (Balzarini et al., 1989; Mansuri et al., 1990; Hitchcock, 1991). Since normal deoxynucleotide triphosphates are present in the cell at micromolar concentrations, toxicity of AZT should be expected in the micromolar range. Indeed, when AZT is added at a micromolar concentration to the culture medium, it and its phosphorylated derivatives quickly reach an equivalent or higher concentration in the cell, and thus effectively compete with their natural thymidine counterparts (Avramis et al., 1989; Balzarini et al., 1989; Ho and Hitchcock, 1989; Hitchcock, 1991).
Thus the low cellular toxicity reported by the manufacturer and the NIH for human cells appears erroneous-possibly because "the clinical development of AZT was exceedingly rapid; it was approved for clinical use in the U.S. about 2 years after the first in vitro observation of its activity against HIV" (Yarchoan et al., 1991). It follows that AZT does not selectively inhibit viral DNA synthesis and is prescribed at concentrations that exceed 20- to 60-fold the lethal dose for human cells in culture.
In view of its inevitable toxicity, the rationale of using AZT as an anti-HIV drug must be reconsidered and its potential antiviral effect must be weighed against its toxicity.
4.6.2.1. AZT not a rational anti-HIV drug. A rational antiviral therapy depends on proof that the targeted virus is the cause of the disease to be treated and that toxicity for the virus outweighs that for the host cell. Such proof cannot be supplied for AZT for the following reasons:
(1) There is no proof that HIV causes AIDS (Section 3.3).
(2) Even if the hypothesis that HIV causes AIDS by killing T-cells were correct, it would be irrational to kill the same infected cells twice, once presumably with HIV and once more with AZT.
(3) Since many healthy persons with antibodies against HIV have equal or even higher percentages of infected T-cells than AIDS patients (Section 3.3), there is no reverse transcription of HIV during progression to AIDS that could be targeted with AZT. Even if some reverse transcription occurred in antibody-positive persons, AZT could not differentially inhibit viral DNA, because HIV DNA comprises only 9 kb but cell DNA comprises 106 kb. Thus cell DNA is a 100,000-fold bigger target for AZT than HIV. And even if AZT showed a 100-fold preference for reverse transcriptase of HIV over cellular DNA polymerase, as has been claimed by the study conducted by Burroughs Wellcome and the NIH (Furman et al., 1986), cell DNA would still be a 1000-fold bigger target for AZT than viral DNA. It follows that cell DNA is the only realistic target of AZT in antibody-positive persons.
(4) Since AZT cannot distinguish infected from uninfected leukocytes and on average less than 1 in 1000 is infected (Section 3.3), AZT must kill at least 1000 leukocytes in AIDS patients and in asymptomatic HIV-carriers to kill just 1 infected cell-a very high toxicity index, even if HIV were the cause of AIDS.
It follows that there is no rational basis for AZT therapy or prophylaxis for AIDS (Duesberg, 1992d).
4.6.2.2. Toxicity of AZT in AIDS Patients and AIDS-free Persons. The following AZT-specific diseases have been recorded in AIDS patients, in AIDS-free persons and animals treated with AZT, based on studies listed here (Section 4.4.2) and reviewed elsewhere (Smothers, 1991; Medical Economics Data, 1992):
(1) anemia, neutropenia and leukopenia in 20-80%, with about 30-57% requiring transfusions within several weeks (Gill et al., 1987; Kolata, 1987; Richman et al., 1987; Dournon et al., 1988; Walker et al., 1988; Swanson et al., 1990; van Leeuwen et al., 1990; Smothers, 1991; Hamilton et al., 1992),
(2) severe nausea from intestinal intoxication in up to 45% (Richman et al., 1987; Volberding et al., 1990; Smothers, 1991),
(3) muscle atrophy and polymyositis, due to inhibition of mitochondrial DNA synthesis in 6-8% (Richman et al., 1987; Bessen et al., 1988; Gorard and Guilodd, 1988; Helbert et al., 1988; Dalakas et al., 1990; Till and MacDonnell, 1990; Yarchoan et al., 1991; Hitchcock, 1991),
(4) lymphomas in about 9% within 1 year on AZT (Section 4.4.2),
(5) acute (nonviral) hepatitis (Dubin and Braffman, 1989; Smothers, 1991),
(6) nail dyschromia (Don et al., 1990; Smothers, 1991),
(7) neurological diseases including insomnia, headaches, dementia, mania, Wernicke's encephalopathy, ataxia and seizures (Smothers, 1991), probably due to inhibition of mitochondrial DNA (Hitchcock, 1991),
(8) 12 out of 12 men reported impotence after 1 year on AZT (Callen, 1990),
(9) in addition AZT is carcinogenic in mice, causing vaginal squamous carcinomas (Cohen, 1987; Yarchoan and Broder, 1987a), and it transforms mouse cells in vitro as effectively as methylcholanthrene (Chernov, 1986).
Overall AZT is not a rational prophylaxis or a therapy for AIDS and is capable of causing potentially fatal diseases, such as anemia, leukopenia and muscle atrophy. Yet, despite its predictable toxicity, AZT is thought to have serendipitous therapeutic and prophylactic benefits according to those investigators who have studied its effects together with the manufacturer for licensing of the drug (Section 4.4.2) (Fischl et al., 1987; Richman et al., 1987; Volberding et al., 1990). Confronted with the difficulties in rationalizing anti-HIV prophylaxis and therapy with AZT, the Wellcome researcher Freestone cites the Burroughs Wellcome study analyzed above (Section 4.4.2, item 1): "the primary end-point for the study was death (1 in 145 zidovudine recipients, 19 in 137 placebo recipients ...)-an end-point little subject to observer error or bias" (Freestone, 1992).
The popularity of AZT as an anti-HIV drug can only be explained by the widespread acceptance of the virus-AIDS hypothesis, the failure to consider the enormous difference between the viral and cellular DNA targets and a general disregard for the long-term toxicity of drugs (Section 6). In the words of the retrovirologist Temin "but the drug generally becomes less effective after six months to a year ..." (Nelson et al., 1991)-a euphemism for its fatal toxicity by that time. This is a probable reason that AZT was licensed without long-term studies in animals compatible with human applications and that the need for such studies is neither mentioned nor called for in reviews of its toxic effects in humans (Chernov, 1986; Yarchoan and Broder, 1987b; Smothers, 1991; Yarchoan et al., 1991), although AZT must be the most toxic drug ever approved for indefinite therapy in America. Even the manufacturer acknowledges that "... the drug has been studied for limited periods of time and long term safety and efficacy are not known" (Shenton, 1992) and recommends that "patients should be informed ... that the long-term effects of zidovudine are unknown at this time" (Medical Economics Data, 1992). And after prescribing it for five years, even AIDS "experts" have recently expressed doubts about the "survival benefit" of AZT (Kolata, 1992).
Why Did AIDS Science Go Wrong?
6.1. The Legacy of the Successful Germ Theory: A Bias Against Noninfectious Pathogens
Unlike any other scientific hypothesis, the virus-AIDS hypothesis became national American dogma before it could be reviewed by the scientific community. It had been announced by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1984 before it had been published in the scientific literature. Unlike any other medical hypothesis it captured the world without ever bearing any fruits in terms of public health benefits. From the beginning the hypothesis has absorbed the critical potential of its many followers with the question, whether Montagnier from France or Gallo from the U.S. had won the race in isolating the "AIDS virus" and who owned the lucrative patent rights for the "AIDS test." This question was so consuming that the presidents of the two countries were called to sign a settlement, and a revisionist paper was published by the opponents describing their fierce controversy as an entente cordiale against the real enemy, the "deadly" AIDS virus (Gallo and Montagnier, 1987). During the 1980s press accounts consistently called HIV "the deadly virus" (Duesberg, 1989c).
Clearly, the enthusiastic acceptance of the virus-AIDS hypothesis was not based on its scientific rigor or its fruits. It was instead grounded on the universal admiration and respect for the germ theory. The germ theory of the late 19th century ended the era of infectious diseases, which now account for less than 1% of all mortality in the Western World (Cairns, 1978). It celebrated its last triumph in the 1950s with the elimination of the polio epidemic by antiviral vaccines.
But the germ theory continues to inspire both scientists and the public to believe that a "good" body can be protected against "evil" microbes. Accordingly, even the greatly feared and highly stigmatizing "AIDS test" for a presumably new, sexually transmitted "AIDS virus" was readily sold to all governments, medical associations and even to the AIDS risk-groups (Section 6.2), despite the absence of convincing evidence for transmissibility. In the words of one observer, "The rationale for such programs is often the historical precedent of syphilis screening," which "never proved to be effective" and led to "toxic treatments with arsenical drugs, assuming the tests were correct ..." and "deep stigma and disrupted relationships ...." "Patients required a painful regimen of injections, sometimes for as long as two years" (Brandt, 1988). Even epidemiologists failed to recognize that AIDS and HIV were only spreading in newly-established behavioral and clinical risk groups and that HIV was a long-established virus in the general populations of many countries (Section 3.5.1). Instead of considering noninfectious causes, they simulated "coagents" (Eggers and Weyer, 1991) and "assortative scenarios" (Anderson and May, 1992) to hide the growing discrepancies between HIV and AIDS and intimidated skeptics with apocalyptic predictions of AIDS pandemics in the general populations of many countries that have raised fears and funds to unprecedented levels (Section 1) (Heyward and Curran, 1988; Mann et al., 1988; Mann and the Global AIDS Policy Coalition, 1992; Anderson and May, 1992).
Even now, in an era free of infectious diseases but full of man-made chemicals, scientists and the public share an unthinking preference for infectious over noninfectious pathogens. Both groups share an obsolete microbophobia but tolerate the use or even indulge in the consumption of numerous recreational and medical drugs. Moreover, progressive scientists and policy makers are not interested in recreational and medical drugs and man-made environmental toxins as causes of diseases, because the mechanisms of pathogenesis are predictable. Further, prevention of drug diseases is scientifically trivial and commercially unattractive.
By contrast, microbial and particularly viral pathogens are scientifically and commercially attractive to scientists. Beginning with Peyton Rous, at least 10 Nobel prizes have been given to virologists in the last 25 years. And many virologists have become successful biotechnologists. For example, a blood test for a virus is good business if the test becomes mandatory for the 12 million annual blood donations in the U.S., e.g. the "AIDS test." The same is true for a vaccine or an antiviral drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Thousands of lives have been sacrificed to this bias for infectious theories of disease, even before AIDS appeared. For example, the U.S. Public Health Service insisted for over 10 years in the 1920s that pellagra was infectious, rather than a vitamin B deficiency as had been proposed by Joseph Goldberger (Bailey, 1968). Tertiary syphillis is commonly blamed on treponemes, but is probably due to a combination of treponemes and long-term mercury and arsenic treatments used prior to penicillin, or merely to these treatments alone (Brandt, 1988; Fry, 1989). "Unconventional" viruses were blamed for neurological diseases like Kreutzfeld-Jacob's disease, Alzheimer's disease and kuru (Gajdusek, 1977). The now extinct kuru was probably a genetic disorder that affected just one tribe of natives from New Guinea (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). Although a Nobel Prize was given for this theory, the viruses never materialized and an unconventional protein, termed "prion," is now blamed for some of these diseases (Evans, 1989c; Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). Shortly after this incident, a virus was also blamed for a fatal epidemic of neuropathy, including blinding, that started in the 1960s in Japan, but it turned out later to be caused by the prescription drug clioquinol (Enterovioform, Ciba-Geigy) (Kono, 1975; Shigematsu et al., 1975). In 1976 the CDC blamed an outbreak of pneumonia at a convention of Legionnaires on a "new" microbe, without giving consideration to toxins. Since the "Legionnaire's disease" did not spread after the convention and the "Legionnaires bacillus" proved to be ubiquitous, it was later concluded that "CDC epidemiologists must in the future take toxins into account from the start" (Culliton, 1976). The Legionnaire's disease fiasco is in fact the probable reason that the CDC initially took toxins into account as the cause of AIDS (Oppenheimer, 1992).
The pursuit of harmless viruses as causes of human cancer, supported since 1971 by the Virus-Cancer Program of the National Cancer Institute's War On Cancer, was also inspired by indiscouragable faith in the germ theory (Greenberg, 1986; Duesberg, 1987; Shorter, 1987; Anderson, 1991; Editorial, 1991; Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). For example, it was claimed in the 1960s that the rare Burkitt's lymphoma was caused by the ubiquitous Epstein-Barr virus, 15 years after infection (Evans, 1989c). But the lymphoma is now accepted to be nonviral and attributed to a chromosome rearrangement (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). Further, it was claimed that noncontagious cervical cancer is caused by the widespread herpes virus in the 1970s, and by the widespread papilloma virus in the 1980s-but in each case cancer would occur only 30 to 40 years after infection (Evans, 1989c). Noninfectious causes like chromosome abnormalities, possibly induced by smoking, have since been considered or reconsidered (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). Further, ubiquitous hepatitis virus was proposed in the 1960s to cause regional adult hepatomas 50 years (!) after infection (Evans, 1989c). In the 1980s the rare, but widely distributed, human retrovirus HTLV-I was claimed to cause regional adult T-cell leukemias (Blattner, 1990). Yet the leukemias would only appear at advanced age, after "latent periods" of up to 55 years, the age when these "adult" leukemias appear spontaneously (Evans, 1989c; Blattner, 1990; Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). Although the Virus-Cancer program has generated such academic triumphs as retroviral oncogenes (Duesberg and Vogt, 1970) and reverse transcriptase (Temin and Mitzutani, 1970), it has been a total failure in terms of clinical relevance. Indeed, the pride of retrovirologists in retrovirus-specific reverse transcription is the probable reason that inhibition of DNA synthesis with AZT is perceived, even now, as a "specific" antiretroviral therapy (Section 4.3.3).
The wishful thinking that viruses cause "slow" diseases and cancers faces four common problems: (1) the diseases or tumors occur on average only decades after infection; (2) the viruses are all inactive, if not defective, during fatal disease or cancer; (3) the "viral" tumors are all clonal, derived from a single cell (with a tumor-specific chromosome abnormality) that had emerged out of billions of identically infected cells of a given carrier; and (4) above all, no human cancers and none of the "slow viral diseases" are contagious (Rowe, 1973; Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992).
Therefore these viruses all fail Koch's postulates, the acid test of the germ theory. And therefore these viruses are all assumed to be very "slow," causing diseases only after long "latent periods" that exceed by decades the short periods of days or weeks that these viruses need to replicate and to become immunogenic. Because of their consistent scarcity, defectiveness and even complete absence from some tumors and slow diseases (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992), the search for the presumably pathogenic latent viruses has been directed either at antiviral antibodies, i.e. "seroepidemiological evidence" (Blattner et al., 1988), or at artificially amplified viral DNA and RNA (Section 3.3) or at the "activation" of latent viruses, euphemistically called "virus isolation" (Section 2.2).
Accordingly cancer-, AIDS- and other slow-virologists try to discredit Koch's postulates in favor of "modern concepts of causation." For example, Evans states that, "... Koch's postulates, great as they were for years, should be replaced with criteria reflecting modern concepts of causation, epidemiology, and pathogenesis and technical advances" (Evans, 1992). And Blattner, Gallo and Temin point out that Koch's postulates are just a "useful historical reference point" (Blattner et al., 1988), and Weiss and Jaffe find it "bizarre that anyone should demand strict adherence to these unreconstructed postulates 100 years after their proposition" (Weiss and Jaffe, 1990)-but they all fail to identify a statute of limitation for adherence to the virus-AIDS hypothesis. In addition, "cofactors" are assumed (a) to make up for the typical inertia of the viral pathogens or carcinogens, (b) to account for the clonality of the cancers via a clonal cellular cofactor, and (c) to help to close the enormous gaps between the very common infections and the very rare incidences of "slow" disease or cancer, that even the long "latent periods" could not close (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992). The tumor virologist Rowe "recognized that the latent period may cover much of the life span of the animal and that the virus did not act alone but that the tumor response might require ... treatment with a chemical carcinogen" (Rowe, 1973).
Despite the total lack of public health benefits and even negative consequences of these theories, such as the psychologically toxic prognoses that antibodies against HTLV-I or against papilloma virus signal future cancers (Duesberg and Schwartz, 1992), or that antibodies against HIV signal future AIDS and the need for AZT prophylaxis, the public and the majority of scientists have held on to them much longer than was justified in terms of scientific evidence. The irresistible appeal of the germ theory was the basis for each of these unproductive theories of the past, as it is the basis now for the universal and enthusiastic approval of the virus-AIDS hypothesis.
But unlike the mistaken germ theories of the past, the virus-AIDS hypothesis was a windfall not only for (1) the virologists and epidemiologists, but also for (2) the biotechnology companies who could develop virus-tests and antiviral drugs, (3) the AIDS patients who were relieved that a God-given, egalitarian virus rather than behavioral factors were to blame for their diseases, and (4) the politicians who had to confront the public and the gay (homosexual) lobby requesting action against AIDS. Indeed, a thoroughly intimidated public was happy, once more, to be offered protection by its scientists against another "deadly" virus, albeit for the highest price-tag ever.
6.2. Big Funding and Limited Expertise Paralyze AIDS Research
Ironically, AIDS research suffers not only from being tied to an unproductive hypothesis, it also suffers from the staggering funds it receives from governments (Section 1) and from conceptually matched private sources. Intended to buy a fast solution for AIDS, these funds have instead paralyzed AIDS research by creating an instant orthodoxy of retrovirologists that fiercely protects its narrowly focused scientific expertise and global commercial interests (Booth, 1988; Rappoport, 1988; Nussbaum, 1990; Duesberg, 1991b, 1992b; Savitz, 1991; Connor, 1991, 1992).
The leaders of the AIDS orthodoxy are all veterans from the wars on "slow" and cancer viruses. Naturally they were highly qualified to fill the growing gaps in the virus-AIDS hypothesis with their "modern concepts of causation" (Evans, 1992), including long "latent periods," "cofactors" and "seroepidemiological" arguments of causation (Sections 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5). When it became apparent that the first order mechanism of viral pathogenesis, postulating direct killing of T-cells, failed to explain immunodeficiency, the bewildering diversity of AIDS diseases, the many asymptomatic HIV infections, and HIV-free AIDS cases, the scientific method would have called for a new hypothesis. Instead the virus hunters have shifted the virus-AIDS hypothesis from a failed first order mechanism to a multiplicity of hypothetical second order mechanisms, including cofactors and latent periods, to fill the ever growing discrepancies between HIV and AIDS. By conjugating these second order mechanisms with a multiplicity of unrelated diseases, the virus-AIDS hypothesis has become by far the most mercurial hypothesis in biology. It predicts either diarrhea or dementia or Kaposi's sarcoma or no disease, 1, 5, 10 or 20 years after 1 or 2000 sexual contacts with an antibody-HIV-positive person with or without an AIDS disease.
But the coup to rename dozens of unrelated diseases with the common name AIDS, proved to be the most effective weapon of the AIDS establishment in winning unsuspecting followers from all constituencies. By making AIDS a synonym for Kaposi's sarcoma and candidiasis and dementia and diarrhea and lymphoma and lymphadenopathy, the road was paved for a common cause. Who would have accepted, prior to AIDS, that a dental patient caught candidiasis from her doctor's Kaposi's sarcoma? Or which scientist would accept it even now knowing the original data rather than just the corresponding press release? According to the sociologist David Phillips "researchers use newspapers as a 'filter' to help them decide which scientific article is worth reading" (Briefings, 1991) or more often which article is worth knowing about.
The control of AIDS research by the nationally and internationally funded AIDS orthodoxy via the popular and scientific press is almost total. It instructs science writers that faithfully report every "breakthrough" in HIV research and every "explosion" of the epidemic. It feeds scientific journals with over 10,000 HIV-AIDS papers annually and with advertisements for HIV tests and antiviral drugs (Schwitzer, 1992). The AIDS doctors are controlled by the companies created, consulted or owned by the AIDS establishment (Barinaga, 1992; Schwitzer, 1992). For example, the Physician's Desk Reference 1992 instructs AIDS doctors about AZT with an exact copy of Burroughs Wellcome's instructions. Science writers are warned against reporting minority views. For example, Fauci states: "Journalists who make too many mistakes, or who are sloppy, are going to find that their access to scientists may diminish" (Fauci, 1989). And Ludlam points out, "Whilst I support, and encourage the reporting of, minority views ... If the belief that AIDS is not due to HIV becomes prevalent ... (it) could lead directly to the deaths of countless misinformed individuals" (Ludlam, 1992). Any challengers are automatically outnumbered and readily marginalized by the sheer volume of the AIDS establishment. For example, the 12,000 scientists attending the annual international AIDS conference held in San Francisco in 1990 were only a fraction of the many who study the information encoded in the 9000 nucleotides of HIV. Says the HIV virologist Gallo when asked about a dissenter: "Why does the Institute of Medicine, WHO, CDC, National Academy of Sciences, NIH, Pasteur Institute and the whole body of world science 100 percent agree that HIV is the cause of AIDS?" (Liversidge, 1989).
Consequently there is no "peer-reviewed" funding for researchers who challenge the virus-AIDS hypothesis (Duesberg, 1991b; Maddox, 1991a; Bethell, 1992; Farber, 1992; Hodgkinson, 1992). Since HIV became the dominant focus of the billion-dollar AIDS-research (Coffin et al., 1986; Institute of Medicine, 1988), there has not been even one follow-up of the many previous studies blaming sexual stimulants and psychoactive drugs for homosexual AIDS (Sections 4.4 and 4.5). None of the former "lifestyle" advocates (Section 2.2) have investigated whether drugs might cause AIDS without HIV. Instead drugs, if mentioned at all, were since described as risk factors for infection by HIV (Darrow et al., 1987; Moss et al., 1987; van Griensven et al., 1987; Chaisson et al., 1989; Weiss, S.H., 1989; Goudsmit, 1992; Seage et al., 1992)-as if HIV could discriminate between hosts on the basis of their drug habits (Duesberg, 1992a). For example, Friedman-Kien concluded in 1982 and 1983 with Marmor et al. (1982) and Jaffe et al. (1983b) that the "lifetime exposure to nitrites ..." was responsible for AIDS (Section 4.3.2). In 1990 he and his collaborators just mentioned nitrite use in HIV-free Kaposi's sarcoma cases (Friedman-Kien et al., 1990) and in 1992 they blamed viruses other than HIV for HIV-free AIDS cases, and drug use was no longer mentioned (Huang et al., 1992).
Likewise all studies investigating transfusion-mediated immunodeficiency in hemophiliacs were frozen around 1987 (Table 3), once the virus-AIDS hypothesis had monopolized AIDS research. The question whether immunodeficient (!) HIV-free hemophiliacs would ever develop AIDS defining diseases was left unanswered and even became unaskable.
Fascinated by the past triumphs of the germ theory, the public, science journalists and even scientists from other fields never question the authority of their medical experts, even if they fail to produce useful results (Adams, 1989; Schwitzer, 1992). Medical scientists are typically credited for the virtual elimination of infectious diseases with vaccines and antibiotics, although most of the credit for eliminating infectious diseases is actually owed to vastly improved nutrition and sanitation (Stewart, 1968; McKeown, 1979; Moberg and Cohn, 1991; Oppenheimer, 1992). Indeed, the belief in the infallibility of modern science is the only ideology that unifies the 20th century. For example, in the name of the virus-AIDS hypothesis of the American Government and the American researcher Gallo, antibody-positive Americans have been convicted for "assault with a deadly weapon" because they had sex with antibody-negatives, Central Africa dedicates its limited resources to "AIDS testing," the former U.S.S.R. conducted 20.2 million AIDS tests in 1990 and 29.4 million in 1991 to identify a total of 178 antibody-positive Soviets and communist Cuba even quarantines its own citizens if they are antibody-positive (Section 3.6).
Predictably the AIDS virus hunters, on their last crusade for the germ theory, have no regard for the current drug-use epidemic and its many overlaps with American and European AIDS. Even direct evidence for the role of drugs in AIDS is fiercely rejected by the virus-AIDS orthodoxy (Booth, 1988; Moss et al., 1988; Kaslow et al., 1989; Baltimore and Feinberg, 1990; Ostrow et al., 1990). Merely questioning the therapeutic or prophylactic benefits of AZT is protested by the AIDS establishment (Baltimore and Feinberg, 1990; Weiss and Jaffe, 1990; Anonymous, 1992; Freestone, 1992; Tedder et al., 1992). The prejudice against noninfectious pathogens is so popular, that the virus-AIDS establishment uses it regularly to intimidate those who propose noninfectious alternatives, to censor their papers (Duesberg, 1992e) and even to question their integrity.
For example, an editorial in Science called me a "rebel without a cause for AIDS," because denying HIV was to deny a cause altogether. The editorial quoted Baltimore as saying I was "irresponsible and pernicious" (Booth, 1988). An article in Nature called my drug hypothesis a "perilous message" that would "belittle 'safe sex,' would have us abandon AIDS screening ... and curtail research into anti-HIV drugs." "Arguments that AIDS (is) the result of evil vapors (poppers (!)), mal'aria ... (are from) the last century." "We ... regard the critics as 'flat-earthers' bogged down in molecular minutiae and miasmal theories of disease, while HIV continues to spread" (Weiss and Jaffe, 1990). This is said even though the article agrees that, "Duesberg is right to draw attention to our ignorance of how HIV causes disease ..." (Weiss and Jaffe, 1990). Others declare "All attempts by epidemiologists to link AIDS to the use of amyl nitrite or other drugs as a direct cause of disease have failed ... Duesberg's continued attempts to persuade the public to doubt the role of HIV in AIDS are not based on facts" (Baltimore and Feinberg, 1990). Gallo called the author of the article, "Experts mount startling challenge to AIDS orthodoxy" in The Sunday Times (London) (Hodgkinson, 1992), "irresponsible both to myself (Gallo) and to HIV as the cause of AIDS" (Gallo, 1992). Further, Vandenbrouke and Pardoel argue, "If one is allowed to compare the evolution of scientific theories with the evolution of biologic nature in general, the poppers (nitrite inhalants) episode is the Neanderthal of modern epidemiology" (Vandenbroucke and Pardoel, 1989).
As a consequence there are no studies that investigate the long-term effects of psychoactive drugs (Lerner, 1989; Pillai et al., 1991; Bryant et al., 1992). The toxicologist Lerner points out that "fewer than 60 are currently enrolled in fellowship programs on alcoholism and drug abuse in the entire country" (Lerner, 1989), although about 8 million Americans alone are estimated to use cocaine (Weiss, S.H., 1989; Finnegan et al., 1992) and many more use other psychoactive drugs regularly (Section 4). This stands in contrast to the 40,000 annual AIDS cases that are studied by at least 40,000 AIDS researchers of which just 12,000 attended the annual International AIDS Conference in San Francisco in 1990.
Instead of warning against drugs, the AIDS establishment "educates" the public with its "clean needle" campaigns that drugs (albeit illegal) are safe, but bugs are not. For example, AIDS researcher Moss, citing Napoleon's line "On s'engage et puis on voit," recommends "clean needles" for "harm reduction" (Moss, 1987). Mindful of its educators, the public is unaware and even disinformed about the health risks of recreational drugs. A popular joke in point is the response of two "junkies" (drug addicts) sharing a syringe filled with an intravenous drug to a concerned colleague: "We are safe, because we use a clean needle and condoms." The long "latent periods" between the gratification from recreational drugs, such as tobacco, alcohol, cocaine and nitrite inhalants, to their irreversible health effects unfortunately give credence to the "perilous message" that drugs are safe but bugs are not.
Particularly the victims of drug consumption prefer egalitarian infectious causes over noninfectious behavioral ones that imply personal responsibility (Shilts, 1985; Lauritsen and Wilson, 1986; Rappoport, 1988; Callen, 1990). For example, the executive director of the San Francisco based national "Project Inform," an organization operated mainly for and by male homosexuals, Martin Delaney, informs its clients about a study documenting a "level of sexual contact and drug use which was shocking to the general public" as follows: "It (the study) might just as well have noted that most wore Levi's (jeans) for all this told us about the cause of AIDS" (Project Inform, 1992). The organization collaborates with the NIH and is supported by grants from pharmaceutical companies including Burroughs Wellcome, the manufacturer of AZT (Project Inform, 1992).
In 1987, before AZT, Delaney advised gay men in his book Strategies for Survival: A Gay Men's Health Manual for the Age of AIDS about the health effects of nitrite inhalants: "Possible heart damage; fibrillation (compulsive, erratic heart rhythms); possible stroke and resulting brain damage. Conducive to high-risk sexual behavior; distortion of judgement and senses. Statistical link to Kaposi's sarcoma (KS, an AIDS-related cancer); suspected immuno-suppression" (Delaney and Goldblum, 1987). Delaney's advice about amphetamines reads as follows: "Liver and heart damage; neuropathy (nerve damage); possible brain damage; weight loss; nutritional and vitamin depletion; adrenal depletion (uses up the body's energy reserves). Distorted judgment, values, senses, delusions of strength, anxiety, paranoia, rebound depression, financial strain, powerful addiction, conducive to high-risk sexual activity. Likely immunosuppression (not currently measured), potential for unknown and risky drug interactions, complication in treatment of brain disorders." Delaney also warns about the effects of cocaine: "Heart and lung damage, stroke, cardiovascular irregularities, possible physical addiction. Distortion of judgment, values, and senses, dangerous delusions of grandeur and strength, intense anxiety, paranoia, financial strain, leads to poor judgment about high-risk sexual activity. Likely immunosuppression (not currently measured); increased stress, if smoked, complicates treatment of pneumonia." The book also gives the basis for Delaney's intimate knowledge of drug toxicity: "He ... has done work for the National Institute on Drug Abuse" (Delaney and Goldblum, 1987).
Clearly big science is not always good science, particularly if it is conceptually paralyzed by an unproductive hypothesis. I hope that the scientific evidence collected for this article will focus attention on the noninfectious causes of AIDS and prove that it is not "too late to correct" (Red Queen) the spell of the virus-AIDS hypothesis by the scientific method. Considering noninfectious causes may prove to be as beneficial to the challenge of AIDS as it was, for example, to the challenge of pellagra. Indeed, a few investigators have recently smuggled recreational drugs as "cofactors" of HIV (Haverkos and Dougherty, 1988; Haverkos, 1990) or even more cautiously as cofactors of cofactors of HIV (Archibald et al., 1992) into the highly fundable virus-AIDS hypothesis. One investigator even dared to document that drugs are sufficient for pediatric AIDS, if only in preliminary reports (Koch, 1990; Koch et al., 1990). A complete report of the data (Section 4.5) was not published for political reasons (Thomas Koch, personal communication). And the "100 percent" consensus on HIV claimed by Gallo in 1989 (Liversidge, 1989) is eroding just a bit in the face of a growing group of dissenters, some of which united in the "Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis" (DeLoughry, 1991; Bethell, 1992; Bialy and Farber, 1992; Farber, 1992; Hodgkinson, 1992; Project Inform, 1992; Nicholson, 1992; Ratner, 1992; Schoch, 1992).


Note Added in Proof
Sparked by an article in Newsweek (Cowley, 1992), numerous HIV-free AIDS cases were unexpectedly reported by many independent (!) investigators at the VIII International Conference on AIDS/III STD World Congress in Amsterdam in July 1992 (now a joint meeting with sexually transmitted diseases, STDs). Surprisingly, some of the recently announced HIV-free AIDS cases had been studied for years (Altman, 1992a; Cohen, 1992a,b; Laurence et al., 1992), even by the CDC (Spira and Jones, 1992). As a result the CDC had to alter its long-held position that HIV causes all AIDS to "HIV causes the vast majority of AIDS cases ..." (Nicholson, 1992). In its monthly HIV/AIDS Surveillance Reports the CDC still states that "AIDS is a specific group of diseases which are indicative of severe immunosuppression related to infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)" (Centers for Disease Control, 1992b). The AIDS risk factors of most of these HIV-free "AIDS patients" were reported to be "intravenous drugs, unprotected sex and transfusions" and the corresponding diseases were Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumonia (Cowley, 1992).
AIDS-virus matchmakers soon reached the consensus that an as yet undiscovered "new AIDS virus," that "doesn't appear any more contagious than HIV" (Cowley, 1992), was to be blamed for HIV-negative AIDS (Bowden et al., 1991; Castro et al., 1992; Huang et al., 1992; Altman, 1992a,b; Cohen, 1992a,b; Laurence et al., 1992). And the director for AIDS research at the NIH reassured the public, "If there is something, scientists will find it" (News Report, 1992). States The New York Times, "Arguably, the greatest thrills for a scientist are in discovering a new microbe, a new disease, cure and prevention ... Many ... know how quickly the exhilaration that comes from believing they are on the verge of making such a discovery vanishes when the initial findings cannot be confirmed" (Altman, 1992b).
However, the new HIV-free AIDS cases are entirely consistent with those listed above that were caused by drug consumption and other noncontagious risk factors (Section 4.5). Although public recognition of HIV-free AIDS cases is new, the new cases just complement the over 1200 cases of "acquired" immunodeficiency and AIDS-defining diseases described above including 334 hemophiliacs (Section 3.4.4.5, Table 3), 265 male homosexuals (Sections 3.4.4.3 and 4.5), 444 intravenous drug users (Section 4.5) and 183 mostly male tuberculosis patients from Florida (Pitchenik et al., 1987, 1990). If the 2466 HIV-free AIDS cases from Africa were included (Section 3.4.4.8), the number of documented HIV-free AIDS cases would exceed 3000!
Moreover healthy HIV carriers who have been infected for over 10 years and have transmitted their HIV to at least 5 healthy persons via blood transfusions over 7-10 years ago have now received public recognition (Altman, 1992c; Learmont et al., 1992). These cases supplement the 1 million Americans, 0.5 million Europeans, 0.3 million Thais and 6 million Africans who are healthy, although most had been infected by 1985 (Section 3.5.1).
Thus both predictions of the hypothesis that AIDS is noncontagious are now generally accepted: (1) HIV-free AIDS and (2) AIDS-free transmission of HIV. Asks John Maddox, editor of Nature, "Does that mean Duesberg has been right all along, and that HIV plays no part in the causation of AIDS?" (Maddox, 1992b). Indeed, it would be an evolutionary miracle if the last decade had generated three different AIDS viruses, HIV-1, HIV-2 and the "new AIDS virus," when no such virus has ever emerged before in the history of medicine.

HAARP
This is the single most important book you will ever read. If you are wise you will listen to what I have to say about this subject.



Program Purpose
HAARP is a scientific endeavor aimed at studying the properties and behavior of the ionosphere, with particular emphasis on being able to understand and use it to enhance communications and surveillance systems for both civilian and defense purposes.
The HAARP program is committed to developing a world class ionospheric research facility consisting of:
• The ionospheric research instrument (IRI), a high power transmitter facility operating in the HF frequency range. The IRI will be used to temporarily excite a limited area of the ionosphere for scientific study.
• A sophisticated suite of Scientific (or "diagnostic") instruments that will be used to observe the physical processes that occur in the excited region.
Observation of the processes resulting from the use of the IRI in a controlled manner will allow scientists to better understand processes that occur continuously under the natural stimulation of the sun.
Scientific instruments installed at the HAARP Observatory will be useful for a variety of continuing research efforts which do not involve the use of the IRI but are strictly passive. Among these studies include ionospheric characterization using satellite beacons, telescopic observation of the fine structure in the aurora, and documentation of long-term variations in the ozone layer.

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What Is HAARP?
HAARP (High frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is to be a major Arctic facility for upper atmospheric and solar-terrestrial research. HAARP is being built on a DoD-owned site near Gakona, Alaska. Principal instruments include a high power, high-frequency (HF) phased array radio transmitter (known as the Ionospheric Research Instrument, or IRI), used to stimulate small, well-defined volumes of ionosphere, and an ultra-high frequency (UHF) incoherent scatter radar (ISR), used to measure electron densities, electron and ion temperatures, and Doppler velocities in the stimulated region and in the natural ionosphere. To further the scientific capabilities and usefulness of the IRI and ISR, HAARP is supporting the design and installation of the latest in modern geophysical research instruments, including an HF ionosonde, ELF and VLF receivers, magnetometers, riometers, a LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) and optical and infrared spectrometers and cameras which will be used to observe the complex natural variations of Alaska's ionosphere as well as to detect artificial effects produced by the IRI.
Is HAARP Unique?
Ionospheric research facilities have been in continuous use since the 1950's to investigate fundamental physical principles which govern the earth's ionosphere, so that present and future transmission technologies may take into account the complexities of the ionosphere. At the present time the US operates two ionospheric research sites, one in Puerto Rico, near the Arecibo Observatory, and the other (known as HIPAS) in Alaska near Fairbanks. Both of these employ active and passive radio instrumentation similar to that being built at HAARP. Interest in the ionosphere is not limited to the US: a five-country consortium operates the European Incoherent Scatter Radar site (EISCAT), a premier world-class ionospheric research facility located in northern Norway near Tromsø. Facilities also are located at Jicamarca, Peru; near Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod ("SURA") and Apatity, Russia; near Kharkov, Ukraine and in Dushanbe, Tadzhikistan. All of these installations have as their primary purpose the study of the ionosphere, and most employ the capability of stimulating to a varying degree small, localized regions of the ionosphere in order to study methodically, and in a detailed manner what nature produces randomly and regularly on a much larger scale. HAARP also will have such a capability, but what sets HAARP apart from existing facilities is the unusual combination of a research tool which provides electronic beam steering, wide frequency coverage and high effective radiated power collocated with a diverse suite of scientific observational instruments.
Who is Building HAARP?
Technical expertise and procurement services as required for the management, administration and evaluation of the program are being provided cooperatively by the Air Force (Air Force Research Laboratory) and Navy (Office of Naval Research and Naval Research Laboratory). Since HAARP consists of many individual items of scientific equipment, both large and small, there is a considerable list of commercial, academic and government organizations which are contributing to the building of the facility by developing scientific diagnostic instrumentation and by providing guidance in the specification, design and development of the IRI. Advanced Power Technologies, Inc. (APTI), an employee-owned company, was awarded the contract to design and build the IRI, based on a proposal submitted in response to an RFP issued by the Office of Naval Research in 1992, and published in the Commerce Business Daily. Other organizations which have contributed to the program include the University of Alaska, University of Massachusetts, UCLA, MIT, Stanford University, Dartmouth University, Clemson University, Penn State University, University of Tulsa, University of Maryland, Cornell University, SRI International, Northwest Research Associates, Inc., and Geospace, Inc.
What is the Value of Ionospheric Research?
The ionosphere begins approximately 35 miles above the earth's surface and extends out beyond 500 miles. In contrast to the dense atmosphere close to the earth, which is composed almost entirely, of neutral gas, the thin ionosphere contains both neutral gas and a small number of charged particles known as ions and electrons. This ionized medium can distort, reflect and absorb radio signals, and thus can affect numerous civilian and military communications, navigation, surveillance and remote sensing systems in many varied ways. For example, the performance of a satellite-to-ground communication link is affected by the ionosphere through which the signals pass. AM broadcast programs, which in the daytime can be heard only within a few tens of miles from the station, at night sometimes can be heard hundreds of miles away, due to the change from poor daytime to good nighttime reflection from the ionosphere. A long-range HF communication link which uses multiple hops or reflections from the ionosphere and ground, often experiences amplitude fading caused by interference between signals which have traveled from the transmitter to the receiver by two (or more) different ionospheric paths.
Since the sun's radiation creates and maintains the ionosphere, sudden variations in this radiation such as those caused by solar flares can affect the performance of radio systems. Sometimes these natural changes are sufficient to induce large transient currents in electric power transmission grids, causing widespread power outages. Lightning is known to cause substantial heating and ionization density enhancement in the lower ionosphere, and there are indications that ground-based HF transmitters, including radars and strong radio stations, also modify the ionosphere and influence the performance of systems whose radio paths traverse the modified region. Perhaps the most famous example of the latter is the "Luxembourg" effect, first observed in 1933. In this case a weak Swiss radio station appeared to be modulated with signals from the powerful Luxembourg station, which was transmitting at a completely different frequency. Music from the Luxembourg station was picked up at the frequency of the Swiss station.
The continual growth in the number of civilian and military satellite systems whose performance depends on paths passing through the ionosphere, encourages not only good characterization and monitoring of the ionospheric state, but also an examination of what controlled local modification of the ionosphere, using ground HF transmitters, could do for and to these systems. Thus, while the HAARP facility is expected to provide significant advancements in understanding ionospheric science by stimulating and controlling plasma processes in a tiny localized region within the ionosphere, it also has the potential for significantly affecting the planning for future satellite communication and navigation systems through improvements in reliability and economics.
Why is the DoD Involved?
The Department of Defense (DoD) conducts Arctic research to ensure the development of the knowledge, understanding and capability to meet national defense needs in the Arctic. Interest in ionospheric research at HAARP stems both from the large number of communication, surveillance and navigation systems that have radio paths which pass through the ionosphere, and from the unexplored potential of technological innovations which suggest applications such as detecting underground objects, communicating to great depths in the sea or earth, and generating infrared and optical emissions. Expanding our knowledge about the interactions of signals passing through or reflecting from the ionosphere can help to solve future problems in the development of DoD systems, and could as well enhance the utilization of commercial systems which rely on the expedient transfer of real-time communications.
Why Gakona, Alaska?
During HAARP's environmental impact study, Gakona was identified as one of two DoD-owned, Alaskan locations which satisfied the site selection criteria of being within the auroral zone, near a major highway for year-round access, away from densely settled areas, of sufficient size to allow for equipment siting and separation space, on relatively flat terrain, of realistic and reasonable construction and operation costs as well as minimal environmental impacts. On October 18, 1993 following the July 15, 1993 issuance of the Air Force's Environmental Impact Statement which evaluated potential environmental effects of constructing and operating the HAARP facility, a Record of Decision (ROD) signed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations selected Gakona as the location for the HAARP facility.
Location of the HAARP Facility
The access road is located at Milepost 11.3 on the Tok highway. The geographic coordinates of the HF antenna array array are approximately 62.39 degrees (North) latitude, 145.15 degrees (West) longitude.
The geomagnetic coordinates for the facility are 63.09 degrees (North) latitude and 92.44 degrees (West) longitude.
What is the IRI and what does it transmit?
Basically, the IRI is what is known as a phased array transmitter. It is designed to transmit a narrow beam of high power radio signals in the 2.8 to 10 MHz frequency range. Its antenna will be constructed on a 1000' x 1200' gravel pad (about 33 acres). There are to be 180 towers, 72' in height mounted on thermopiles spaced 80' apart in a 12 x 15 rectangular grid, each of which supports near its top, two pairs of crossed dipole antennas, one for the low band (2.8 to 8.3 MHz), the other for the high band (7 to 10 MHz). The antenna system is surrounded by an exclusion fence to prevent possible damage to the antenna towers or harm to large animals. An elevated ground screen, attached to the towers at the 15' level, acts as a reflector for the antenna array while allowing vehicular access underneath to 30 environmentally-controlled transmitter shelters spaced throughout the array. Each shelter will contain 6 pairs of 10 kW transmitters, for a total of 6 x 30 x 2 x 10 kW = 3600 kW available for transmission. The transmitters can be switched to drive either the low or high band antennas. Electric prime power will be obtained from six, 2500 kW generators, each driven by a 3600 hp diesel engine. From a control room within the Operations Center the transmissions from each dipole can be adjusted in amplitude and phase so as to form a narrow antenna pattern pointed upward toward the ionosphere. The transmitted signal diverges (or spreads out) as it travels upward and is partially absorbed, at an altitude which depends on the HF frequency, in a small volume several tens of miles in diameter and a few hundred meters thick directly over the facility. The remainder of the transmitted signal either reflects back toward the earth or passes through the ionosphere into space, continuing to diverge as it does so. By the time it reaches the ionosphere, the intensity of the HF signal is less than 3 microwatts (0.000003 watt) per cm2, tens of thousands of times less than the Sun's natural electromagnetic radiation reaching the earth and hundreds of times less, even, than the variations in intensity of the Sun's natural ultraviolet (UV) energy which creates the ionosphere.
How safe are these transmissions?
Because the antenna pattern of the IRI array has been tailored to transmit its signal upward rather than toward the horizon, radio field strengths at ground level, including areas directly under the antenna array, are calculated to be smaller than Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR) standards allow for human exposure. This is possible because the individual transmitters are spaced apart over 33 acres so that the concentration of radio fields never exceeds these nationally recognized safety standards. Radio field strengths on the ground around the array have been measured throughout the construction of the facility, beginning in 1994 and will continue through all future construction to ensure that all requirements for safety mandated in the EIS Record of Decision are met. At the point of closest public access on the Tok Highway, for example, the measured fields are ten-thousand times smaller than permitted by the RFR standards and hundreds of times smaller than typically found near AM broadcast station antennas in many urban areas. The strength of these fields continues to decrease in a rapid manner at greater distances from the facility.
What about aircraft?
While the signals along the ground are well-below adopted safety levels, the signals transmitted above the antenna array may have sufficient strength to interfere with electronic equipment in aircraft flying nearby. Therefore, to ensure the safety of all flight operations in the vicinity of HAARP, an aircraft alert radar (AAR) will automatically shut off appropriate transmissions when aircraft are detected either within or approaching a defined safety zone around the facility. Flight tests conducted using a Piper Super Cub demonstrated the capability of the HAARP radar to detect even very small targets. Ensuring correct operation of the AAR will be a prelude to starting high power transmissions.
What is the potential for Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)?
Every radio transmitting facility has the potential to interfere with other radio spectrum users. To determine the potential for HAARP's transmissions to interfere inadvertently with other spectrum users such as Alaskan TV, AM/FM radio, ham radio, or even with HAARP's own sensitive radio receiving equipment, a comprehensive RFI study was conducted during the environmental impact study phase. Theory predicted that in several worst-case scenarios, interference may be encountered by some nearby users sharing the RF spectrum. On the other hand, the real world experiences of similar ionospheric research instruments and radar diagnostics employed elsewhere in the world have shown that compatible operations are practical. Included in HAARP's frequency application to the Spectrum Planning Subcommittee of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is the commitment to a mitigation program that includes acquisition of state-of-the-art transmitters with stringent requirements for minimizing out-of-band transmissions; proper orientation of the HF antenna array and adoption of operating procedures, including beam steering, to minimize array sidelobes; employing special techniques such as waveform shaping, filtering and antenna null placement; and working with affected spectrum users, if any, to reach mutually agreeable solutions. A local phone number (907) 822-5497 permits anyone believing they have interference from HAARP to contact the Gakona site operations center.
What is the RFI Resolution Advisory Committee?
The Record of Decision stipulated than an RFI Resolution Advisory Committee ("Committee") would be formed with local representation, to help mitigate potential RFI issues. The local community-appointed resident would serve as an ombudsman to ensure community satisfaction with the RFI mitigation approaches undertaken by HAARP. The purpose of the Committee is to provide a forum for the thorough review of confirmed RFI reports. Four Committee meetings have taken place so far, on December 6, 1994, July 1995, August 1996 and August 1997. Committee members are from the following organizations (one from each): Community-appointed resident, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), ALASCOM, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Fish & Wildlife (Federal), Fish & Game (State), National Park Service, HAARP Environmental Liaison Officer, HAARP operational staff (site supervisor or delegate), HAARP Program-appointed chairperson, National Park Service, Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), and the combined Alaska military command (ALCOM) frequency coordinator.
To ensure that all concerns, including aircraft safety as well as radio frequency interference issues, are addressed completely before the IRI operates at full power, a Developmental Prototype (DP) was constructed and operated at the Gakona site. A 6 x 8 (48 antenna element) array of crossed dipole antennas was built at the NE corner of the planned 12 x 15 antenna field. A 3 x 6 subset of these antennas was energized by 18 pairs of 10 kW transmitters contained in three separate shelters, thus supplying up to a maximum of 360 kW. Prime power for this initial array was obtained from three 350 kW diesel generators.
During 1998, the DP was upgraded to include transmitters for all 48 of the antenna elements that were originally installed. This Filled Developmental Prototype (FDP) will be capable of producing 960 kW of total transmitter power. Calculations of expected HF fields in the vicinity of the FDP antenna array show that field intensities everywhere, including within the FDP beam, are below recommended international safety limits for fly-by-wire aircraft. Nonetheless, the FDP will be energized only when the aircraft alert radar is operating, to insure that no high power transmissions occur when there is local flight traffic. Operation and test of the FDP will verify the system design, identify any radio frequency interference problems resulting from spurious and/or harmonic emissions and permit mitigation measures to be tested and employed, if necessary.
HAARP Diagnostics
HAARP is developing an extensive set of diagnostic instrumentation to support ionospheric research at auroral latitudes, to characterize the processes produced in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere by high power radio waves and to assess the potential of ionospheric modification technology for DoD applications. While some of these scientific instruments will be collocated with the IRI at the research facility, others, due to geometrical considerations, must be located off-site at various distances from the facility. One of the primary active on-site instruments will be the incoherent scatter radar (ISR) which will transmit radiowave signals in the 430 - 450 MHz band. Another is the HF ionosonde, which transmits in the 1-30 MHz band and is used to provide scientists with information about the electron density profile in the ionosphere.
Passive on-site instruments include a magnetometer for the measurement of the earth's magnetic field and its variations, and a riometer (relative ionospheric opacity meter) to sense ionospheric absorption of the celestial background electromagnetic radiation. The radio spectrum from 100 kHz to 1 GHz is being recorded to determine frequency of usage and to monitor HAARP transmissions to ensure adherence to FCC and NTIA requirements. Data obtained from these scientific instruments are being combined into an integrated data package for access worldwide on the internet in near real time, allowing scientists to observe and participate in the investigations directly from their laboratories. HAARP is participating in the National Science Foundation's Upper Atmosphere Research Collaboratory (UARC) Telescience program being developed at the University of Michigan. In addition to the instruments specifically developed by HAARP, a number of diagnostics potentially are available through other federal agencies and the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute.
Use of Local Resources
The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) has played a major role in the development of diagnostics and coordination of Arctic programs with the US scientific community. UAF led a consortium of universities and industries which provided support in the design and development of the Gakona facility and its associated scientific instruments. Advanced Power Technologies, Inc. (APTI), the prime contractor for the IRI, utilized Eric Goozen for initial site survey work. APTI employed a Glennallen-based company, Ahtna Construction, Inc., which subcontracted to Cruz, Survey Alaska and Double S Trucking for clearing and constructing the DP gravel pad. Recently, Ahtna was the subcontractor for the access road extension. Ahtna also is providing nightly security coverage. Anchorage-based engineering firms Duane Miller & Associates and USKH prepared the civil and pad design work and conducted the on-site testing and evaluation. Arctic Foundation of Anchorage designed and manufactured, and Kiewit Pacific Company installed thermopiles in the pad, using Amtec, Inc. to survey the thermopile locations and Tester Drilling and EBA Engineering to provide drilling support. Acme Fence Company installed fencing, using the services of Mark Lappi to survey the fence lines and B&B Plumbing to steam thaw the ground for drilling. City Electric, Inc. erected the towers, antennas, and ground screen. Pacific Detroit Diesel provided diesel generators for the DP phase and has refurbished, installed and tested the first 2.5 MW diesel generator which will be used to power the HF transmitters. Service Oil delivered and placed the 5000 gallon DOT-approved tanker. Copper Valley Telephone installed the telephone lines, and Copper Valley Electric supplies commercial housekeeping power. Newbery Alaska installed the electrical distribution lines and provided the pole for the aircraft alert radar antenna. Bishop & Sons Enterprises supplies water, while CBS Service provides trash removal and sewage disposal. Harley McMahon flew sorties to test the capabilities of the aircraft alert radar and provide the opportunity for aerial photography.
Current/Future Operations at the HAARP Research Facility
Completing the Development Prototype testing is the primary goal of the current operations at HAARP. Initial DP testing began on 15 December 1994. Ten additional tests have occurred on the DP, the last ending on August 27, 1997. The first HAARP research experiment was conducted in cooperation with the NASA WIND Satellite on November 16-17, 1996. The first comprehensive research campaign was conducted during early March 1997.
The near term program goal is to provide a complete 48 element antenna system including on-site power generation by fall 1998. Following the planned upgrade, the facility should be capable of conducting high quality scientific research by fall, 1998.
Both on- and off-site scientific, observational instruments are now providing data on the natural high latitude ionosphere. Currently these include a magnetometer, ELF/VLF receivers, an imaging riometer, a 30 MHz riometer, a spectrum monitor and a GPS based scintillation monitor.
Environmental Process
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an environmental impact statement (EIS) evaluated the consequences of constructing and operating the HAARP research facility in Alaska. The EIS discusses impacts on such diverse topics as electromagnetic and radio frequency interference, vegetation, wetlands, wildlife, air quality, subsistence, cultural resources, atmosphere and others.
State and federal environmental regulatory agencies were consulted to identify issues, and additional input was solicited from the public during scoping meetings held in Anchorage and Glennallen, Alaska in August 1992. A draft of the EIS was prepared and distributed to the public and to specific organizations on March 12, 1993. Public hearings were held in Glennallen and Anderson, municipalities close to the sites under consideration. The final EIS was released to the public on July 15, 1993 and the Record of Decision selecting Gakona, Alaska as the site for the HAARP Ionospheric Research Facility was signed on October 18, 1993.
In addition to the NEPA process described above, all applicable state and federal regulations for construction and operation of the HAARP facility are being complied with.
Additional Information
An updated version of this fact sheet will be issued as often as program changes warrant to keep interested parties apprised of significant developments in regard to HAARP. Any individual seeking additional information about HAARP, or wishing to provide comments regarding HAARP, may contact:
• Office of Public Affairs
Air Force Research Laboratory
3550 Aberdeen Ave S.E.
Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5776



The rise and fall of the Lemurian civilization cannot be accurately documented, though many have gone in quest of this mythological continent. Lost civilizations have been known to rise and fall - or just appear and disappear without explanation. As with Atlantis one can only speculate as to what happened, based on archaeological evidence, legends, theories pieced together by researchers, and for some, metaphysical channelings.
The exact location of Lemuria varies with different researchers and authors, though it is part of the mysteries of the Pacific region flowing into the American continent, just as Atlantis is linked to the Atlantic land areas that stretch to the Mediterrean Sea. Wherever you believe the location of Lemuria to be, it is linked with the Ring of Fire. This area has become active with a Tsunami in December 26, 2004, powerful earthquakes and volcanoes that continue, after being dormant for many years. It would seem that the legends of ancient Lemuria speak to us once again with warning signs - as they supposedly did to the Lemurians - before the continent - or group of islands - fell into the sea.
The fate of Lemuria, also known as Pacifica, Mu, and what Cayce called Zu or Oz, is not unlike that proposed for Atlantis. It is much like the destiny of humanity foreseen in our timeline by prophets of old and modern-day clairvoyants. The legends are all the same ... a thriving, advanced culture that suddenly manifested out of nowhere. Their origins and downfall are linked to destruction when their continent sank beneath the 'sea' due to natural cataclyms and human imbalance.
Possible Physical Evidence of Lemuria

Stone monuments of mysterious origin dot the entire Pacific, from Japan's underwater site at Yonaguni, to cryptic Petroglyphs on Hawaii's Big Island, to Easter Island among sacred and megalithic sites.

Many believe that Easter Island was part of Lemuria. Its hundreds of colossal stone statues and written language point to an advanced culture, yet it appeared on the world's most remote spot. The legends of Easter Island speak of Hiva which sank beneath the waves as people fled.
Samoans called a similar place Bolutu. It was stocked with trees and plants bearing fruits and flowers, which were immediately replaced when picked. On Bolutu men could walk through trees, houses, and other physical objects without any resistance.
The Maoris of New Zealand still talk about arriving long ago from a sinking island called Hawaiki a vast and mountainous place on the other side of the water.
Does the discovery of the Hobbit of Flores - in October 2004 - two months before the tsunami and earthquakes - in any way link to Lemuria?

There are various dates for the Lemurian timeline - some placing it millions of years ago - while others define the Lemurian era as roughly 75,000 to 20,000 B.C. - prior to Atlantis. Others speculate that Atlantis and Lemuria co-existed for thousands of years.
The idea of the Lemurian continent first appeared in the works of Augustus Le Plongeon, (1826-1908) a 19th century researcher and writer who conducted investigations of the Maya ruins in the Yucatan. He announced that he had translated ancient Mayan writings, which allegedly showed that the Maya of Yucatan were older than the later civilizations of Atlantis and Egypt, and additionally told the story of an even older continent of Mu, whose survivors founded the Maya civilization. Later students of the Ancient Maya writings argue that Le Plongeon's "translations" were based on little more than his vivid imagination.

Metaphysics and Metaphors

Reality is Myth and Metaphor - Magic and Mirrors - stories created in 'time' for the experiencer - projected through the eye or lens of the camera into the matrix to be perceived consciously as if virtual reality. ALL is projected illusion in the Alchemy of Time and Consciousness - ALL are parallel running programs through which we consciously experience simultaneously.
Programs have inserts. If a civilization is an insert in a grid program - that could explain why fully evolved civilizations suddenly spring up out of nowhere - the 'sea of creation' - the flow of the collective unconsciousnes - or the consciousness grid that creates realities. If time is an illusion - all programs are running simultaneously. Therefore you are experiencing many civilizations at the same time. This often explains the feeling of Deja vu - or why some souls are drawn to live in a specific region and feel at home there.
Sumer is an example of a programmed insert that sprang out of nowhere as an advanced civilization - then disappeared.
There are those who believe that Lemuria suddenly appeared with a full-blown culture. This has spawned many interesting theories, including visits from extraterrestrials who introduced a new species of genetically engineered humans to replace their slow-witted ancestors. This too links with other creational theories about humans being seeded by gods or aliens.
Most of what is written is a metaphor - linking to the patterns of creation - sacred geometry. It is about spiraling consciousness that moves from higher frequencies of thought - a higher harmonic - to slower - lower frequencies as we experiencing many places at the same time. All realities are created based on the numeric blueprint of sacred geometry - consciousness - the Golden Mean - Phi Ratio.


Metaphors
Let's examine the metaphors in the theories below ....
Channelers speak of Lemurians as originally coming from higher frequency - then descending into third dimension for a physical experience. TThis parallels our human experience through the spiraling patterns of consciousness and a feeling of change that is taking hold with human conscousness at this time. We were originally higher frequency beings in spirit form who have descended into physical beings to experience linear time and emotion.
Planet Earth is the third planet from the sun. It is physical - Reality experienced in third dimension - 3D. Some researchers consider the Lemurians the 'third root race'. They believe that we are the fourth root race - 4=4th dimension=time] soon to become the 'fifth root race' as we move into a Golden Age.
The descended Lemurians allegedly remained here for thousands of years - which seems odd - as they did not mark time in years as we do. All of the timelines would be wrong.
Their continent sank into the sea killing the physical souls. This is a metaphor for the souls returning to the sea of consciousness - the Lemurian grid program insert - and seeking new experiences in new forms of light or physical embodiment.
Many see the end of a program - and the evolution of consciousness as the movement into a Golden Age - gold being a metaphor for Alchemy of Consciousness into awareness - the blue [electricity - the blueprint of our reality] and the gold [metal - magnetics.]
Lemuria sank into the sea - ocean = flow of the collective unconsciousnes - which are the grids that comprise our realities on many levels. To 'sink into the sea' is to move one's consciousness from one reality to another. Power movement of water - tsunami of consciousness - the creational flood stories - amphibious gods from the sea - consciousness frozen in time or an 'Ice Age' between programs. Then we have the - meltdown of the polar icecaps. Electromagnetic energy - poles - polarity - bi-polar experiences - pole shifts on the planet and in conscousness - at Zero Point.
The volcanoes erupted. Volcanoes have cones.
This is a metaphor for cones/tones of creation ...
erupting to end one program and create another.

12 around 1 to create grids programs in which your soul experiences.
Duality Atlantis and Lemuria - inserts created by electromagnetic energy grids - duality of experience. Does one continent represent the feminine energies and the other the masculine?
Mythology and Metaphysics
Return to the Goddess / Priestess / Feminine / higher frequency energies - Lemuria is often called Mu which sounds a lot like 'Moo' which takes us to 'cow goddesses' - in particular Hathor an ancient Egyptian creational force. In Gaul we find Damona, Goddess of fertility and healing. Her name means "divine cow". Cow Goddesses were linked to fertility and abundance. In the Celtic realms we find the Goddess of the river, Boyne which means 'Mistress of the white cows'. Boann is a Goddess of bounty and fertility whose totem is the sacred white cow.

Lemurian Pyramids

As with most ancient and lost civilizations - Lemurians would build pyramids or ziggurats - step pyramids - linking them to their gods who live above [on higher frequency]. These would be places of worship and sacrifice, or landing areas for spaceships. Pyramidal structures symbolize spiraling consciousness and ascension to the place of the gods and goddesses who reside 'above' our reality in a higher plane of existence. Is there a link for the Lemurian and the Mayan pyramids?

Some speculate that the Lemurians were at some point telepathically linked to the Dolphins.
Their tones were called "Dolphin Codes."
Lemurian Seed Crystals
Another theory is based on the notion of 'seed crystals' in which the knowledge and story of Lemuria was encoded and stored in seed crystals just before Lemuria fell. Later - in our timeline - the crystals would be discovered and their messages revealed helping those who find them reember their fated destiny and how it parallels our experience. Are these crystals linked to the Mayan or other Crystal Skulls?
In conclusion - I believe that the story of Lemuria - and other lost and ancient civilizations - and religious ideologies are part of humanity's quest to remember that we are not physical beings searching for our spiritual selves - in as much as we are soul sparks of light having a physical experience - which is about the end / evolve back into higher frequencies of consciousness and total understanding of the nature of reality.

________________________________________

Theories About Lemuria

James Churchward

Symbolic drawing made in 1931 by Mayan glyph researcher,
James Churchward,
depicting a cataclysm of earthquakes and volcanoes that
allegedly sank the continent of Mu in the Pacific Ocean.

Churchward's map showing how he thought Mu refugees spread out after the
cataclysm through South America, along the shores of Atlantis and into Africa.
Anglo-American explorer, James Churchward was a close friend of Auguste and Alice Le Plongeon. James Churchward, in books such as The Lost Continent of Mu (1931), wrote that the Motherland stretched from the Hawaiian Islands to Fiji and from Easter Island to the Marianas.
Churchward wanted an ancient civilization of his own, and using Le Plongeon's doubtful methodology set about 'discovering' one. His findings were set down in the five main volumes of the Mu series published in from 1926 - 1931. The basic premise was by studying various ancient texts Churchward had discovered the existence of a long lost continent with an advanced civilization that approximately 60,000 years earlier had sunk below the Pacific Ocean after a cataclysmic earthquake. Sixty-four million people allegedly died. The Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Islands are the remaining mountain peaks of the lost continent.
Volume #1 - The Lost Continent of Mu set out Churchward's theory utilizing a "vast knowledge of science, ancient art and history, mythology and the occult" to recreate the splendor and doom of this hidden antediluvian world. Lemuria or Mu was about 5,000 miles long and 3,000 miles wide. The Garden of Eden was not in Asia but on a now sunken continent in the Pacific Ocean. The Biblical story of Creation came first not from the peoples of the Nile or the Euphrates Valley but from this now-submerged continent, Mu - the Motherland of Man.
Volume #2 - The Children of Mu is the story of the pioneers of Mu. Sixty-three million people lived on the now lost continent of Mu over 200,000 years ago. The children of Mu became the most influential people on Earth. Mu had an incredibly sophisticated government, flowering culture and scientific technology. Much of the Lemurian civilization lived in homes with transparent roofs. They built shelters, made clothing, food, and their own tools. They were free from stress and disease, living in peace for hundreds of years. Their psychic abilities were highly developed - telepathy, astral travel and teleportation making traditional communication devices unnecessary. They were primarily a vegetarian, agricultural, outdoor, organic culture that worked in harmony with nature and the land.
Volume #3 - The Sacred Symbols of Mu, this volume talks about the occult origins of ancient and modern religions. All religions have a common origin in the Sacred Inspired Writings of Mu. The Lord's Prayer is to be found in The Sacred Inspired Writings of Mu. Evidence of the Mu religion dates back 170,000 years. These teachings were taught by Osiris, Moses, and Jesus. Moses condensed the forty-two questions of the Osirian religion into the Ten Commandments. Jesus condensed the text to suit the language of his day. The Last Words of Jesus on the cross were in the language of Mu, 'unknown in Palestine'.
Volume #4 - The Cosmic Forces of Mu - Biological evolution is a myth, There is no such thing as atomic force. All disease can be conquered by using appropriately colored light rays. The Earth's temperatures and seasons have become inalterably fixed in their present state and that the Earth cannot be hurled off into space or drawn into the sun.
Volume is #5 - Second Book of the Cosmic Forces of Mu - Churchward continues to draw conclusions from the ancient documents and lore of Mu to present some startling revisionist theories about the age of the Earth, the nature of mountains and volcanic processes, the Ice Age and Flood.
________________________________________
The Ica Stones of Peru

These stone tablets allegedly show detailed maps of the lost continent of Lemuria.
________________________________________

The myths and traditions of India abound with references. The Rig Veda speaks of "the three continents that were"; the third was home to a race called the Danavas. A land called Rutas was an immense continent far to the east of India and home to a race of sun-worshippers. But Rutas was torn asunder by a volcanic upheaval and sent to the ocean depths. Fragments remained as Indonesia and the Pacific islands, and a few survivors reached India, where they became the elite Brahman caste.
________________________________________
Hopi

Hopi Legend - On the bottom of the seas lie all the proud cities, the flying patuwvotas [shields] and the worldly treasures corrupted with evil. Faced with disaster, some people hid inside the earth while others escaped by crossing the ocean on reed rafts, using the islands as stepping-stones.
________________________________________
Popol Vuh

The same story of escape to dry land appears in the Popol Vuh - the Mayan story of creation.
________________________________________
The Rosicrucians
The Rosicrucians of San Jose, California - a disastrous cycle began with volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and the collapse of subterranean gas belts. Magnetic waves moved around the globe, and Lemuria began to go under. Fortunately, there was time enough for small groups to salvage part of Lemuria's precious wisdom, which was stored in crystals. Some colonists reached India and from there Mesopotamia and Egypt - while others migrated eastward on crude rafts to the Americas, forming the racial core of the earliest Indian tribes. California was home to history's oldest people: pure Lemurians who later became the California Indians. That could explain why some America's oldest human artifacts were found on Santa Rosa Island off Santa Barbara, dating around 25,000 B.C.
________________________________________
Channeler - Edgar Cayce

The Cayce readings refer to a lost continent in the Pacific by several names, but most often it is called Lemuria. Other names are Mu, Zu, and possibly Oz. Some of these may refer to provinces of the continent, or to portions left after a major break-up of the land. Lemuria sank into the sea. Some of the land area changed to what is now a portion of the Rocky Mountains - Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. There was an entity among the Lemurian princesses who established the teachings of the Law of One which taught about brought destructive forces in Lemuria before it fell due to separation of love to the gratifying of selfish motives.
________________________________________
Channeler - Gordon-Michael Scallion

The original Lemurians were thought projections not physically beings. It made them higher in frequency and closer to the Creator's energy vibration level. Their souls came to Earth to experience the physical vibration. They were about nine feet tall, had scaly skin with an aqua cast, which changed from blue to green in conjunction with two seasonal cycles each year. They breathed through their skin, not lungs. Their faces were elongated and oval. Their eyes were large with vertical pupils.
The Lemurian experience began with the projection of 144 soul groups - representing the projection of 33 million souls. They came from Mars, the Pleiades and Sirius - projecting into physical form on Earth. Some groups chose water, some the plant kingdom, the mineral kingdom, or the animal kingdom. The greater experiments were with the animal kingdom as this realm allowed for longer life spans and greater mobility. The Earth had interesting species at that time which included giants and elves.
When Lemuria fell the souls went on to become the Atlanteans.
________________________________________
Researcher / Author David Childress

According to Childress the first civilization arose 78,000 years ago on a giant continent known as Mu or Lemuria, and lasted for an astonishing 52,000 years. It is sometimes said to have been destroyed in earthquakes generated by a pole shift which occurred approximately 24,000 B.C.
There was one language and one government. Education was the keynote of the Empire's success, and because every citizen was versed in the laws of the universe and was given thorough training in a profession or trade, magnificent prosperity resulted. A child's education was compulsory to the age of 21 in order for him to be eligible to attend citizenship school. This training period lasted for seven years; so the earliest age at which a person could become a citizen of the empire was 28.
The Elders of Lemuria, known as the Thirteenth School, moved their headquarters prior to the cataclysm to the uninhabited plateau of Central Asia that we now call Tibet. Here they allegedly established a library and school known as The Great White Brotherhood.
________________________________________
Helena Blavatsky

In her book The Secret Doctrine (1888), Madame Blavatsky claimed to have learned of Lemuria in The Book of Dzyan which she said was shown to her by the Mahatmas. Mahatma is Sanskrit for 'Great Soul'. She may have obtained some of her ideas of a sunken land in the Indian Ocean from Sanskrit legends of the Rutas. Blasvatsky placed her 'Third Continent of the Third Root Race' to inhabit planet Earth - in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Malaysia existing 150 million years ago. Surprisingly, many scientists of her day concurred and even came up with the name, derived from 'lemur', the ghostlike primates who allegedly lived there. Lemurians were allegedly egg-laying beings with a third eye that gave them psychic abilities.

Solar Activity 2012

Evidence is mounting: the next solar cycle is going to be a big one
NASA Science - December 22, 2006


Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire
A history of the Shepherd's Journal and the explorers in search of a vanished civilization
WWW = Official Movie Website
DVD = Collector's Edition DVD
________________________________________
Before 100,000 B.C.
A giant comet passes close to the earth. A piece breaks off and lands on a landmass inhabited by people known as Atlanteans. The crystal fragment quickly becomes their power source, inspiring technology and providing long life. Eventually it also becomes their deity, known as the "Heart of Atlantis." (DVD)
c 18086 B.C.
Kashekim Nedakh of Atlantis is born. (WWW)
c 6586 B.C.
Princess Kidagakash of Atlantis is born. (WWW)
The Atlanteans begin to abuse their power, building a powerful armada and dominating other civilizations. They wage war with other nations but a severe accident causes the majority of Atlantis to be destroyed. What survives is buried deep within the earth and the planet is flooded. (Film, DVD)
The Queen merges with the Heart of Atlantis. King Kashekim Nedakh is blinded. (Film)
The King orders all records of the crystal destroyed in order to avoid further catastrophe. The crystal is hidden beneath his throne room. (DVD)
???
Over a two year period, Aziz travels to Atlantis and writes detailed notes about his voyage. Most of these notes are written in Atlantean and thus indecipherable to the outside world. These notes would become known as the Scrolls of Aziz and later the Shepherd's Journal. (WWW, DVD)
640-559 B.C.
Solon is told the story of Atlantis by a priest he meets in Egypt. (WWW)
355 B.C.
Plato writes about Atlantis. (Historical record)
Second Century B.C.
Scholars bring the Scrolls of Aziz to Rome. They are later assailed by the armies of Maxentius. (WWW)
290
Rome is plundered by the armies of Maxentus and the scrolls taken. (WWW, DVD)
312
Maxentius is turned back at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Constantine. Constantine strengthens the weakening Roman Empire and moves the capital to Constantinople. He sets his best scholars to work on decoding the Scrolls of Aziz. (WWW)
???
The Scrolls of Aziz are stolen by a Turkish treasure hunter and brought to the coast of Iceland. The treasure hunter becomes ill and later dies. The Scrolls are left in the care of monks on the island of Lindisfarne. They cut and bind the pages, adding illuminations. (WWW, DVD)
c 500
Chichen Itza is established. (Historical record)
793
The island of Lindisfarne is plundered by Vikings and the Journal stolen. The expedition is later destroyed and the Journal is lost for 100 years. (WWW, DVD)
c 800
Significant additions are made to the structure of Chichen Itza by the Toltecs. (Historical record)
c 900
Thorfinn vows to return the Journal to its rightful home in Iceland. His followers become known as the Keepers of the Journal. (WWW, DVD)
997
A Viking expedition in search of Atlantis is destroyed by Leviathan. The Journal is lost at sea.
(Viking Prologue)
???
The Journal makes its way to the New World, possibly traveling with Viking colonists. Snorri Karlsefini mounts an expedition to find the city described in the Journal, but returns to Europe empty-handed. The Journal is left behind, possibly bartered away in return for safe passage home. (WWW, DVD)
???
The images in the book are used by the Mayans as the template for various works of notable architecture, including Chichen Itza. (WWW, DVD)
1050
Reports of a bound manuscript matching the description of the Journal surface. (WWW)
1200
The Journal is stolen by former Mayans and taken far south to Guiana. The Journal goes unread for the next 200 years and is believed to contain great evil. (WWW, DVD)
1452
Leonardo DaVinci is born. (Historical record)
1460's-1470's
Amerigo Vespucci meets and becomes friends with Leonardo DaVinci. (WWW, DVD)
1499
The Journal is given to Amerigo Vespucci by former Mayans. He tries to decipher it but cannot. (WWW, DVD)
1500
Vespucci gives the Journal to Leonardo DaVinci. DaVinci fully translates it and becomes inspired by the scientific accounts contained within. (WWW, DVD)
c 1502
The Journal is confiscated and returned to Spain by Cesare Borgia. The Journal is locked up within the castle of Ferdinand V and mostly forgotten about. (WWW, DVD)
1519
Leonardo DaVinci dies. (Historical record)
1556
Philip II of Spain becomes fascinated by the Journal. (WWW, DVD)
1562
El Escorial is built by King Philip II of Spain. It is meant to commemorate San Lorenzo and is inspired by the designs in the Journal. (WWW, DVD)
1569
The book is officially christened "The Shepherd's Journal" by Pope Sixtus V. (WWW, DVD)
???
The Medicis acquire the Journal and return it to Florence, adding it to the collection at the Uffizi. (WWW, DVD)
1701
Christopher Wren facilitates the loan of the Shepherd's Journal to Cambridge University. (WWW, DVD)
c 1776
George III of Britain gives the Journal to Louis XVI and Marie Antionette of France to curry their favor in the dispute between England and the American colonies. (WWW, DVD)
1788
Benjamin Franklin studies the Shepherd's Journal while in Versailles. (WWW, DVD)
1789-1793
Records of the Shepherd's Journal are lost during the French Revolution. (WWW, DVD)
1799
The Journal reappears in Egypt. Napoleon's troops recover the Journal and prepare to return it to France along with the Rosetta Stone. (WWW, DVD)
1801
Nelson and Abercomie take control of Napoleon's holdings in Egypt. The Journal is shipped to the U.K. and held at the British Museum. (WWW)
1842
Jebidiah Allardice "Cookie" Farnsworth is born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Forsthye Ezekial Farnsworth and Marina Sweetwater. (WWW, DVD)
1844
Preston B. Whitmore is born. (WWW)
1853
Wilhelmina Bertha Cudot [Packard] is born in Whippany, New Jersey to Lionel and Claudette Cudot. (WWW, DVD)
1856
Fenton Q. Harcourt is born. (WWW)
1860
Lyle Tiberius Rourke is born in Beaumont, Texas to Lt. Col. Jackson and Rachel Lee Rourke. (WWW, DVD)
1861
Jebidiah Farnsworth joins the 7th Michigan Calvary Brigade under General McLellan. (DVD)
1862
The Journal is borrowed by Ignatious Donnelly and smuggled to Ireland. (WWW, DVD)
The Shepherd's Journal is returned to Iceland.
Stories of Atlantis exist everywhere.
Thing is… I think that the United States is going to destroy itself with their HAARP machine just like the Egyptian priests prophesized.





A parallel universe story, with my usual twist, and of course shken, not stirred.
THE HEART OF ATLANTIS
By Mike Ault



"Tell me a story Daddy." The little boy asked as his father pulled the covers up around him.

"It's awful late little one." The father smiled as he reached for the light. The look of pleading in his only son's eyes stopped him. "All right, maybe I'll tell a short one."

The little boy moved over as his father sat on the bed. "Have I told you the story of "The Heart of Atlantis"?"

"No Daddy, please tell it!" The boy's eyes sparkled.

"O.K., but then it's off to sleep." He ruffled the boy's dark hair. "It was a dark and stormy night..."

"Ah Dad!"

"No really, it was dark and stormy. The flag ship of the Atlantian fleet fought to make way in the waves and wind of nature gone mad. At the helm..."

"What's a helm Daddy?" The little boy asked.

"Eh? Oh, the helm is where you steer the ship from."

"Like a steering wheel?"

"Sort of, anyway, the Captain was at the helm, fighting to keep the ship on course. He was returning to Atlantis with the Crown Prince Gadir and the Heart of Atlantis. The Heart of Atlantis was a huge crystal. The rulers of Atlantis used it to control great powers."

"How big was it Daddy?"
"See your ball over there? About three times that size!"

"Wow!"

"The ship, powered by magic engines, drove on through the storm. Up one wave, then down another, the Captain holding it steady on course. They were returning from visiting the Aztecs. They had used the power in the crystal to help build the Pyramids in the Aztec's capitol city."

"Was that in Egypt?"

"No silly, the Aztecs were in Azatlan." The boy's father adjusted his position on the small bed, then he continued.

"Suddenly, a bolt of lightening struck the ship, destroying it's engines. Driven this way and that, the ship floated helpless before the storm. Then, a monster wave struck it!"

"What happened?" The little boy's eyes where round with wonder.

"It sank. The wave turned it right over. The Captain, and all onboard were lost, except one."

"Who was that?"

"The Royal Wizard. He clung to wreckage as the storm raged. The next morning, the skies cleared and the storm was over. He floated for days, in the hot sun with no food or water. Just when his strength was about to give out, he was rescued."

"Why didn't he use magic to save himself?"

"He couldn't. His own crystal went down with the ship. He returned to Atlantis a nearly broken man. You see, he was responsible for protecting the Prince and The Heart of Atlantis, he had failed at both. The King, Atlas, nearly had him killed. Instead he exiled him to Antillia."

"What happened to him Daddy? It wasn't fair, the storm wasn't his fault!"

"You're right, but that didn't change that he had failed. For several years he just felt sorry for himself. Then, one day, he decided to do something about it."

"What did he do?"

"Well, to be a Wizard in those days you had to know how to make the power crystals. He made one real special. The one he made could see the future."

"You mean he could see us?"

"Well, not exactly, but you're getting ahead of the story." The Father smiled at his son and ruffled his hair again. "You see, the water over the Heart was very deep. So deep that no Wizard could get the Heart up, though many tried. Being a wise wizard, he knew that at times the Earth throws itself up or casts itself down. He figured that eventually, the Heart would be cast up to be retrieved."

"Did he find it?"

"Yes, but not as he thought! He looked into the crystal, far into the future, and sure enough! There was the Heart! Someone else had found it."
"Who?"

"Some people from America." At the look of another question in his son's eyes, the father hurried on. "You see, these people were looking for oil. They had a special ship that could go far out to sea and then, with a long pipe, drill holes in the bottom of the sea. This time, they drilled right into the long sunk Atlantian ship. They didn't find the Heart right away though. They brought up pieces of the ship, maybe a lantern, or part of the Helm's wheel. The story doesn't say."

"How did they get the Heart?"

"Well, these Americans, although they were looking for oil, were excited by what they found. They sent back to America for a special ship that could go down in the deep and look at it. You know what this ship was called?"

"No Daddy, what?"

"A submarine, which means "below water". You know something else?"

"What Daddy?"

"This submarine had a name. Its name was "Alvin"."

"That's a silly name."

"You're right, but I'm telling you the truth. Anyway, the owner of the ship that was looking for oil, a man named Richard Lenoir, came with the submarine. His son was one of the people going down to take a look."

"It must have been fun!"

"Oh no, you see, the Heart, so long without a source of power, sucked all the power out of the little submarine as soon as it got down to the ship. The man's son died. He was very sad. So sad that even after the Heart was recovered, he didn't even want to see it!"
"That's sad Daddy." The little boy snuggled closer to his father.

"There was another man, his name was John Herrod, he worked for Mr. Lenoir. He was not a good man. He saw the Heart as a way to control other men. This was what the Wizard saw in his crystal. He decided to send someone after the Heart."

"Send someone into the future?"

"Yes. He searched throughout the land for a warrior powerful enough to go get the Heart and return. On his search he saw much that saddened him. Without the Heart, the land was no longer peaceful. The Amazons, a fierce race of female warriors, and the Gorgons, a race that wore their hair braided to look like snakes, were trying to invade. The King, still grieving at the loss of his son, had let the country's Army and Navy fall to ruin. Without the power in the crystal they couldn't keep the land from shaking, or the large volcanoes from erupting. The Wizard knew he had to act fast if he was going to save Atlantis."

"Did he find a warrior?"

"Of course! He found the warrior Kord. Kord had left the Imperial Guard after the King had punished him for speaking out against the state of the country. The Wizard explained the quest and Kord agreed to try. The Wizard taught Kord how to use the Heart to return and then sent him far into the future."

"What happened then?"

"Well, Kord appeared, naked, in New York City in America. He didn't speak the language, and of course, no one there could speak Atlantian. The guards, called police, took him and put him in an asylum."

"An asylum, what's that?"

"A place they put crazy people. Anyway, a woman named Kate Williams saw the warrior Kord as he was being lead away in chains. He looked up and their eyes met. It was love at first sight."

"Yuck! Mushy stuff."

"Well, if she hadn't fallen in love with him, she wouldn't have taught him to speak her language, or got him out of the asylum."

"Was she pretty?"

"Very pretty. Anyway, once she got him out of the asylum, he told her his story. About how he was from Atlantis. At first she laughed and thought he was kidding. To prove it to her, he read some of the writing on the stuff they had recovered from the Atlantian ship. After that she believed him. Then he told her about the Heart and what John Herrod was planning. The wizard had told him of Herrod's plan to launch the Heart in a weapon, way up into the sky. This weapon would destroy the Earth if this was allowed to happen."

"Daddy, what did they do?"

"Well, first they tried to talk to Mr. Lenoir. He didn't believe them. Their story reached the ears of Herrod. He tried to kill them, but wasn't able to because Kord was too good a warrior. At the last minute, Kord and Kate stopped the weapon from being launched, in the battle, Herrod died."

"Did Kord have to leave Kate?"

"He was about to leave, he had just set the final spell for the crystal to take him back. Lenoir, not having anything left to live for in his own time, pushed Kord out of the range of the spell. Lenoir carried the Heart back to Atlantis. Kord stayed with Kate in the future and they lived happily ever after in America."

"Oh, that's just a story. There is no America."

"Oh son, don't be so sure." Ratha, one of the last descendants of the Kings of Atlantis, tasseled the hair on his son's head. Touching the base of the lighting crystal to extinguish it, he bid his son goodnight.

Atlantis and the Bermuda triangle crystals
Nestled in the hands, four feet directly below
the ceiling rod gem point, was a crystal sphere four
inches in diameter....
by Geoffrey Keyte
The area of the Atlantic Ocean popularly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle is a complete enigma and has proven to be so for much of recorded history.
Many seemingly inexplicable occurrences and disappearances have taken place in this particular area. No rational explanation that will satisfy the materialistic parameters of the typical scientist has been offered that would account for all the mysterious happenings that have taken place in the Bermuda Triangle during the course of many thousands of years.
Where is the Bermuda Triangle? Many of us believe that the Bermuda Triangle is situated more or less in the middle of an area of the Atlantic Ocean that once housed Atlantis.
While many eminent Atlantean authorities express differing opinions and ideas as to precisely where Atlantis was situated, I would like to refer to a reading given by Edgar Cayce in 1932:
The position... the continent of Atlantis occupied is between the Gulf of Mexico on the one hand and the Mediterranean upon the other. Evidences of this lost civilization are to be found in the Pyrenees and Morocco, British Honduras, Yucatan and America.
There are some protruding portions... that must have at one time or another been a portion of this great continent. The British West Indies, or the Bahamas, are a portion of same that may be seen in the present. If the geological survey would be made in some of these especially, or notably in Bimini and in the Gulf Stream through this vicinity, these may be even yet determined" (364-3).
Be that as it may, and in most things I am always inclined to believe what Edgar Cayce has to say, in my opinion Atlantis was situated roughly speaking where Cayce proposes.
When Atlantis was destroyed it sank to the very bottom of the ocean. While the ruined temples now play host to multitudinous underwater creatures, the great Atlantean fire-crystals that once provided so much of the tremendous power and energy that was found in Atlantis long ago still exist. And they are still emitting strong energy beams into the universe.
Unfortunately, however, when the destruction occurred some of these fire-crystals were partially damaged, which has resulted in them only being able to project their energy rays at random. It is said that each fire-crystal would have been at least twenty feet high and some eight feet wide. In Atlantis these fire-crystals would have been erected in a series of three, thus creating a vortex of astronomical energy and a power of the first magnitude!
From time to time, the force field emitted by these damaged Atlantean fire-crystals becomes very powerful and any plane or ship coming within the influence of this force field disintegrates and is transformed into pure energy. Hence the inexplicable and mysterious disappearances that has very often been blamed on the area of the ocean known as the Bermuda Triangle!
Some scientists have advanced the theory that many of the planes and ships that have been lost and that have disappeared within the Bermuda Triangle have been transported into some kind of Black Hole or time warp. This is, I would strongly suggest, simply not true. Those individuals who were aboard planes and ships when they disappeared have basically between returned to spirit.
On a few rare occasions, ships that had been reported as having vanished have actually returned. The crew members, though, have all appeared to be insane, incoherent and babbling wild stories. This has occurred because there are certain times when the force field projected by the Atlantean fire-crystals is not strong enough to effect total disintegration. Mental disorientation results instead!
In addition to the damaged Atlantean Fire-Crystals, the Timekeeper Crystal still stands guard within the ruined Atlantean Temple of Healing. The great Timekeeper Crystal, however, does not project its energies in the same way as the fire-crystals because it is hermetically sealed.
The Timekeeper Crystal is waiting patiently for the time which is yet to come when once again it will play its important role in the affairs of the world!
Dr. Ray Brown's Crystal Sphere
In 1970, Dr. Ray Brown, a naturopathic practitioner from Mesa, Arizona, went scuba diving with some friends near the Bari Islands in the Bahamas, close to a popular area known as the Tongue of the Ocean (This was depicted in the television show, "In Search Of -- Atlantis," originally made in 1979.
During one of his dives, Brown became separated from his friends and while searching for them he was startled when he came across a strange pyramid shape silhouetted against the aquamarine light.
Upon investigating further, Brown was surprised by how smooth and mirror-like was the stone surface of the whole structure, with the joints between the individual blocks almost indiscernible.
Swimming around the capstone, which Brown thought might have been lapis lazuli, he discovered an entrance and decided to explore inside.
Passing along a narrow hallway, Brown finally came to a small rectangular room with a pyramid-shaped ceiling. He was totally amazed that this room contained no algae or coral growing on the inner walls. They were completely spotless!
In addition, though Brown had brought no torch with him, he could nevertheless see everything in the room with his normal eyesight. The room was well lit, but no direct light source was visible.
Brown's attention was drawn to a brassy metallic rod three inches in diameter hanging down from the apex of the center of the room and at its end was attached a many-facetted red gem, which tapered to a point.
Directly below this rod and gem, sitting in the middle of the room, was a stand of carved stone topped by a stone plate with scrolled ends. On the plate there was a pair of carved metal bronze-colored hands, life-sized, which appeared blackened and burnt, as if having been subjected to tremendous heat.
Nestled in the hands, and situated four feet directly below the ceiling rod gem point, was a crystal sphere four-inches in diameter.
Brown tried to loosen the ceiling rod and red gemstone but neither would move. Returning to the crystal sphere, he found, to his amazement, that it separated easily from the bronze hand holders. With the crystal sphere in his right hand he then made his way out of the pyramid.
As he departed, Brown felt an unseen presence and heard a voice telling him never to return!
Fearing, rightly, that his unusual prize might be confiscated as salvage-treasure by the American Government, Dr. Brown did not reveal the existence of his strange crystal sphere, nor did he relate his experiences until 1975, when he exhibited his crystal for the first time at a psychic seminar in Phoenix.
Since that time, the crystal sphere has made only a very few public appearances but on each occasion people who have seen it have experienced strange phenomena directly associated with it.
Deep inside the crystal form, one gazes upon three pyramidical images, one in front of the other,in decreasing sizes. Some people who enter a deep meditative state of consciousness are able to discern a fourth pyramid, in the foreground of the other three.
Elizabeth Bacon, a New York psychic, claimed while in trance, that the crystal sphere had once belonged to Thoth, the Egyptian God who was responsible for burying a secret vault of knowledge in Giza, near the three great Pyramids.
Perhaps the positions of the three pyramidical images in the crystal sphere hold the long-sought key to finding a fourth, as yet unfound, subterranean pyramid that will lead us to the Hall of Records? Who knows?
Looking at the crystal sphere from the side, the internal images dissolve into thousands of tiny fracture lines. Brown feels that these may prove to be electrical in nature, like some form of microscopic circuitry.
From yet another angle, and under special conditions, many people have been able to see a large single human eye staring out serenely at them. Photographs of this eye have also been taken!
Dr. Brown's crystal sphere has been the source of a wide variety of paranormal and mysterious occurrences. People have felt breezes or winds blowing close to it. Both cold and warm layers surround it at various distances. Other witnesses have observed phantom lights, heard voices or felt strange tingling sensations surrounding it.
A compass needle, when placed next to the crystal sphere, will spin counter-clockwise, then commence turning in the opposite direction when moved only inches away. Metals become temporarily magnetized when they come into close contact with the sphere.
There are even recorded instances where healing has taken place by merely touching the sphere.
We may only speculate as to why the crystal sphere was created and what part it once played within the underwater Bahamas pyramid discovered by Ray Brown!
If, as we suspect, this area of water once formed part of the continent of Atlantis, then what other buried treasures await future divers? The possibilities are endless.
Seismographic surveys carried out across the Atlantic Ocean have shown that there are many deviations and unexplained contours to be found right at the bottom of the ocean. To date, however, no serious exploration has ever been undertaken to find out exactly what is to be found on the ocean's floor.
Perhaps Brown's Bahamas pyramid once formed part of Atlantis. It has been suggested that this sunken pyramid once attracted, accumulated, and even generated some form of cosmic force.
The suspended rod may have conducted forces accumulated in the capstone. The faceted red gem at its end may have been used to concentrate and project the energies to the crystal sphere below it. The burnt and blackened hands, showing the evidence of an energy transfer, probably amplified the release of these energies while the crystal sphere acted as the tuner and broadcaster of the energies.
In 1933, Edgar Cayce suggested in two readings that the Atlanteans possessed some form of atomic power and radioactive forces:
Through the same form of fire the bodies of individuals were regenerated by burning, through application of rays from stone, the influences that brought destructive forces to an animal organism. Hence the body often rejuvenated itself and it remained in that land until the eventual destruction, joining with the peoples who made for the breaking up of the land, or joining with Belial at the final destruction of the land. In this, the entity lost. At first it was not the intention nor desire for destructive forces. Later it was for ascension of power itself (440-5; December 20, 1933)
And Cayce goes on:
As for a description of the manner of construction of the stone: we find it was a large cylindrical glass (as would be termed today), cut with facets in such manner that the capstone or force that concentrated between the end of the cylinder and the capstone itself....
As indicated, the records as to ways of constructing same are in three places in the earth, as it stands today: in the sunken portion of Atlantis, or Poseidia, where a portion of the temples may yet be discovered under the slime of ages of sea water -- near what is known as Bimini, off the coast of Florida. And (secondly) in the temple records that were in Egypt, where the entity acted later in cooperation with others towards preserving the records that came from the land where these had been kept. Also (thirdly) the records that were carried to what is now Yucatan, in America, where these stones (which they know so little about) are now, during the last few months, being uncovered." (440-5; December 20, 1933)
One particularly interesting piece of information in the above reading is the reference to Bimini. In 1969, steps were discovered leading down under the ocean at Bimini. These have always been believed to have once formed part of Atlantis although it appears that little further excavations or explorations have ever taken place on this site. But -- and really it is not too big a but -- it does seem that the balance of probability is firmly tilted towards the supposition that Atlantis was more than a legend; that, in reality, it was a historical fact.
In the meantime, however, the damaged Atlantean fire-crystals will continue, from time to time, to have an effect upon some of the planes and ships which pass through the area known as the Bermuda Triangle.
I think that it is possible that the NWO may try to mimic the history of Atlantis by destroying the earth with Haarp focused through large crystals causing a reverberation in the ionosphere so great that they send down a lighting bolt 100 times greater than any we could imagine not once but 30-40 times a second until every last bit of charge particles that can escape from the ionosphere do. This will cause massive earthquakes, among a huge dust cloud that could very well kill; the strike so pulverizing that it obliterates rock 25 miles deep.




The Matrix is REAL!
Holes in Heaven (1998) Directed by Wendy Robbins
Martin Sheen .... Narrator
Holes in Heaven investigate the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program also known as HAARP. This experimentation is being conducted by our government and top scientists are concerned about the possibly drastic effects on Earth.
Truth doesn’t change, just because history tries to make it.
What’s inside this book, you couldn’t make up in a million lifetimes.