Sunday, February 27, 2022
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Could certain COVID-19 vaccines leave people more vulnerable to the AIDS virus?
Cold-causing adenovirus used in four experimental COVID-19 vaccines increased risk of HIV infection when used in AIDS vaccine trials
19 OCT 2020 BY JON COHEN
Science's COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Certain COVID-19 vaccine candidates could increase susceptibility to HIV, warns a group of researchers who in 2007 learned that an experimental HIV vaccine had raised in some people the risk for infection with the AIDS virus. These concerns have percolated in the background of the race for a vaccine to stem the coronavirus pandemic, but now the researchers have gone public with a "cautionary tale," in part because trials of those candidates may soon begin in locales that have pronounced HIV epidemics, such as South Africa.
Some approved and experimental vaccines have as a backbone a variety of adenoviruses, which can cause the common cold but are often harmless. The ill-fated HIV vaccine trial used an engineered strain known as adenovirus 5 (Ad5) to shuttle into the body the gene for the surface protein of the AIDS virus. In four candidate COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials in several countries, including the United States, Ad5 similarly serves as the "vector" to carry in the surface protein gene of SARS-CoV-2, the viral cause of the pandemic; two of these have advanced to large-scale, phase III efficacy studies in Russia and Pakistan.
In today's issue of The Lancet, four veteran researchers raise a warning flag about those COVID-19 vaccine candidates by recounting their experience running a placebo-controlled AIDS vaccine trial dubbed STEP. An interim analysis of STEP found that uncircumcised men who had been naturally infected with Ad5 before receiving the vaccine became especially vulnerable to the AIDS virus. The vaccine, made by Merck, had been the leading hope for what was then a 20-year search for a shot that could thwart HIV. But after the STEP results appeared, the field went into a tailspin. "It took a decade to recover," says one of the co-authors of the Lancet correspondence, Lawrence Corey of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Corey, who now co-leads the COVID-19 prevention network in the United States that is testing vaccines at the behest of the National Institutes of Health, says he and his co-authors went public because Ad5-based COVID-19 vaccines may soon be tested in populations with high HIV prevalence and thus a greater risk of accidental infection during a clinical trial. "If I were in a sub-Saharan African country and making a decision as to what I would want for my country for a general population use of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, I don't see why I would pick an Ad5 vector [vaccine] when there are many other alternative choices," Corey says.
The backfire in STEP—which evaluated the efficacy of the Merck vaccine in people at high risk of HIV infection in the Americas and Australia—also appeared in a second study, dubbed Phambili, of the same vaccine. It was taking place simultaneously in South Africa and was stopped early because of the STEP data.
Precisely how Merck's Ad5 vaccine increased the risk of HIV transmission in STEP and Phambili remains murky. The Lancet editorial spells out several possibilities, including dampening of HIV immunity, enhancing replication of the AIDS virus, or setting up more target cells for it.
In addition to the Ad5 COVID-19 vaccine candidates, several other leading vaccines, including ones made by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca/the University of Oxford, use different adenoviruses as vectors. There's no evidence that any of those adenoviruses increases the risks of an HIV infection.
Of the Ad5-based COVID-19 vaccine candidates, from China-based CanSino Biologics, has developed the furthest. In a Lancet report in May, researchers from the company recognized the "controversial" possibility of their vector increasing the risk of HIV infection and said they would watch for it in the candidate's trials. CanSino's COVID-19 vaccine is being tested in efficacy trials in Russia and Pakistan that together hope to enroll more than 40,000 people, and the company is discussing starting studies in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico.
China has already approved a CanSino vaccine against Ebola that uses the Ad5 vector. Yu Xuefeng, CanSino's CEO, tells Science the risk of increased HIV susceptibility may be limited to Ad5 vaccines that produce an AIDS virus protein. "There's no clear answer yet," Yu says. "We certainly haven't seen anything with the Ebola vaccine." The company's Ebola vaccine was tested in a population in Sierra Leone that, he notes, had a relatively high HIV prevalence, making it more likely to have detected the problem if it existed.
Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute has a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that uses a combination of Ad5 and Ad26 vectors; it's now in an efficacy trial in that country.
Last week, ImmunityBio received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, which uses Ad5 as a vector. The first trial will take place in Newport Beach, California, but Patrick Soon-Shiong, the company's CEO, says he also hopes to test it in South Africa, where he grew up and went to medical school.
He calls the STEP study results "very, very fuzzy" and stresses that ImmunityBio's Ad5 has four deleted genes that reduce the immune responses it triggers. "It's 90% muted," he says.
ImmunityBio is discussing the risks with scientists and regulators in South Africa of a trial there to test its modified Ad5 COVID-19 vaccine. The informed consent process for that proposed study would tell participants about potential risks given the previous STEP and Phambili results.
Soon-Shiong emphasizes that his company's experimental COVID-19 vaccine, unlike every other candidate that uses an adenovirus vector, presents two different SARS-CoV-2 genes and might therefore offer more protection from infection or disease. Why only test this in wealthy enclaves of Southern California, he asks? "Why not South Africa? Why not for the underserved people of the world?"
Pediatrician Glenda Gray, who heads the South African Medical Research Council and was the protocol chair of Phambili, has taken part in several discussions with the ImmunoBio team. "When [Soon-Shiong] contacted South Africa, we were obviously quite concerned," Gray says. "All of us who were in Phambili and quite traumatized by what happened asked whether there was an appetite to do something in South Africa."
But after several months of deliberations, the South Africans concluded that regulators should consider a small trial of the vaccine there in people at low risk of HIV infection, Gray says. "We decided not to throw the baby out with the bath water just yet," she adds. "If it does go ahead in South Africa, there has to be huge consultation with communities, and we have to make doubly sure that the participants understand what happened in the past."
Gray says South Africa appreciates ImmunoBio's offer to allow the country to manufacture the product. "We're in the middle of a COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa, and we don't know if we'll ever get access to the current suite of vaccines" produced elsewhere, she says.
The decision to move forward, she insists, has to be left to South African scientists, regulators, and ethics committees. "It's incredibly patronizing for people to determine what science is good or bad for other countries," she says. "Everyone knows about Phambili and STEP, and the scientists understand that there's an important need to be cautious."
Gray, who has co-authored papers about HIV vaccines with Corey and the other three authors of the Lancet correspondence, says there are no easy answers. "What if this vaccine is the most effective vaccine?" she asks. "If this works out to be an important vaccine, we'll have some experience with it."
Source; Science.org
19 OCT 2020 BY JON COHEN
 |
| CanSino Biologics's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is one of at least four using an adenovirus that some worry could increase HIV susceptibility.CHINA DAILY CDIC/REUTERS |
Certain COVID-19 vaccine candidates could increase susceptibility to HIV, warns a group of researchers who in 2007 learned that an experimental HIV vaccine had raised in some people the risk for infection with the AIDS virus. These concerns have percolated in the background of the race for a vaccine to stem the coronavirus pandemic, but now the researchers have gone public with a "cautionary tale," in part because trials of those candidates may soon begin in locales that have pronounced HIV epidemics, such as South Africa.
Some approved and experimental vaccines have as a backbone a variety of adenoviruses, which can cause the common cold but are often harmless. The ill-fated HIV vaccine trial used an engineered strain known as adenovirus 5 (Ad5) to shuttle into the body the gene for the surface protein of the AIDS virus. In four candidate COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials in several countries, including the United States, Ad5 similarly serves as the "vector" to carry in the surface protein gene of SARS-CoV-2, the viral cause of the pandemic; two of these have advanced to large-scale, phase III efficacy studies in Russia and Pakistan.
In today's issue of The Lancet, four veteran researchers raise a warning flag about those COVID-19 vaccine candidates by recounting their experience running a placebo-controlled AIDS vaccine trial dubbed STEP. An interim analysis of STEP found that uncircumcised men who had been naturally infected with Ad5 before receiving the vaccine became especially vulnerable to the AIDS virus. The vaccine, made by Merck, had been the leading hope for what was then a 20-year search for a shot that could thwart HIV. But after the STEP results appeared, the field went into a tailspin. "It took a decade to recover," says one of the co-authors of the Lancet correspondence, Lawrence Corey of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Corey, who now co-leads the COVID-19 prevention network in the United States that is testing vaccines at the behest of the National Institutes of Health, says he and his co-authors went public because Ad5-based COVID-19 vaccines may soon be tested in populations with high HIV prevalence and thus a greater risk of accidental infection during a clinical trial. "If I were in a sub-Saharan African country and making a decision as to what I would want for my country for a general population use of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, I don't see why I would pick an Ad5 vector [vaccine] when there are many other alternative choices," Corey says.
The backfire in STEP—which evaluated the efficacy of the Merck vaccine in people at high risk of HIV infection in the Americas and Australia—also appeared in a second study, dubbed Phambili, of the same vaccine. It was taking place simultaneously in South Africa and was stopped early because of the STEP data.
Precisely how Merck's Ad5 vaccine increased the risk of HIV transmission in STEP and Phambili remains murky. The Lancet editorial spells out several possibilities, including dampening of HIV immunity, enhancing replication of the AIDS virus, or setting up more target cells for it.
In addition to the Ad5 COVID-19 vaccine candidates, several other leading vaccines, including ones made by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca/the University of Oxford, use different adenoviruses as vectors. There's no evidence that any of those adenoviruses increases the risks of an HIV infection.
Of the Ad5-based COVID-19 vaccine candidates, from China-based CanSino Biologics, has developed the furthest. In a Lancet report in May, researchers from the company recognized the "controversial" possibility of their vector increasing the risk of HIV infection and said they would watch for it in the candidate's trials. CanSino's COVID-19 vaccine is being tested in efficacy trials in Russia and Pakistan that together hope to enroll more than 40,000 people, and the company is discussing starting studies in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico.
China has already approved a CanSino vaccine against Ebola that uses the Ad5 vector. Yu Xuefeng, CanSino's CEO, tells Science the risk of increased HIV susceptibility may be limited to Ad5 vaccines that produce an AIDS virus protein. "There's no clear answer yet," Yu says. "We certainly haven't seen anything with the Ebola vaccine." The company's Ebola vaccine was tested in a population in Sierra Leone that, he notes, had a relatively high HIV prevalence, making it more likely to have detected the problem if it existed.
Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute has a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that uses a combination of Ad5 and Ad26 vectors; it's now in an efficacy trial in that country.
Last week, ImmunityBio received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, which uses Ad5 as a vector. The first trial will take place in Newport Beach, California, but Patrick Soon-Shiong, the company's CEO, says he also hopes to test it in South Africa, where he grew up and went to medical school.
He calls the STEP study results "very, very fuzzy" and stresses that ImmunityBio's Ad5 has four deleted genes that reduce the immune responses it triggers. "It's 90% muted," he says.
ImmunityBio is discussing the risks with scientists and regulators in South Africa of a trial there to test its modified Ad5 COVID-19 vaccine. The informed consent process for that proposed study would tell participants about potential risks given the previous STEP and Phambili results.
Soon-Shiong emphasizes that his company's experimental COVID-19 vaccine, unlike every other candidate that uses an adenovirus vector, presents two different SARS-CoV-2 genes and might therefore offer more protection from infection or disease. Why only test this in wealthy enclaves of Southern California, he asks? "Why not South Africa? Why not for the underserved people of the world?"
Pediatrician Glenda Gray, who heads the South African Medical Research Council and was the protocol chair of Phambili, has taken part in several discussions with the ImmunoBio team. "When [Soon-Shiong] contacted South Africa, we were obviously quite concerned," Gray says. "All of us who were in Phambili and quite traumatized by what happened asked whether there was an appetite to do something in South Africa."
But after several months of deliberations, the South Africans concluded that regulators should consider a small trial of the vaccine there in people at low risk of HIV infection, Gray says. "We decided not to throw the baby out with the bath water just yet," she adds. "If it does go ahead in South Africa, there has to be huge consultation with communities, and we have to make doubly sure that the participants understand what happened in the past."
Gray says South Africa appreciates ImmunoBio's offer to allow the country to manufacture the product. "We're in the middle of a COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa, and we don't know if we'll ever get access to the current suite of vaccines" produced elsewhere, she says.
The decision to move forward, she insists, has to be left to South African scientists, regulators, and ethics committees. "It's incredibly patronizing for people to determine what science is good or bad for other countries," she says. "Everyone knows about Phambili and STEP, and the scientists understand that there's an important need to be cautious."
Gray, who has co-authored papers about HIV vaccines with Corey and the other three authors of the Lancet correspondence, says there are no easy answers. "What if this vaccine is the most effective vaccine?" she asks. "If this works out to be an important vaccine, we'll have some experience with it."
Source; Science.org
De overbodige griepprik
20 nov 2010
4 miljoen mensen in krijgen in Nederland jaarlijks een griepprik. De griepprik is gratis voor ouderen en mensen met een chronische ziekte, maar kost de overheid jaarlijks 55 miljoen euro. Volgens het RIVM, dat verantwoordelijk is voor de vaccinatiecampagne, beschermt de prik tegen de ernstige gevolgen van influenza. Maar klopt dat eigenlijk wel? Hoe effectief is het vaccin? Griepdeskundigen uiten daarover in ZEMBLA hun twijfels.
4 miljoen mensen in krijgen in Nederland jaarlijks een griepprik. De griepprik is gratis voor ouderen en mensen met een chronische ziekte, maar kost de overheid jaarlijks 55 miljoen euro. Volgens het RIVM, dat verantwoordelijk is voor de vaccinatiecampagne, beschermt de prik tegen de ernstige gevolgen van influenza. Maar klopt dat eigenlijk wel? Hoe effectief is het vaccin? Griepdeskundigen uiten daarover in ZEMBLA hun twijfels.
Friday, February 4, 2022
Ukraine tensions: US trying to draw Russia into war, Putin says
By Sarah Rainsford
3/2/'22
 |
| Reuters |
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has accused the US of trying to draw his country into a war in Ukraine.
He said America's goal was to use a confrontation as a pretext to impose more sanctions on Russia.Mr Putin also said the US was ignoring Russia's concerns about the expansion of Nato, the Western military alliance which Ukraine is seeking to join.
The US and its allies accuse Russia of planning to invade Ukraine, something Russia has repeatedly denied.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted that the US was "committed to preventing a conflict that is in no one's interest". Meanwhile, Spanish newspaper El Pais has released what it says are confidential documents the US and Nato sent to Russia last week - including offers of talks on cutting back on nuclear weaponry and trust-building measures in exchange for reducing tensions over Ukraine.
A Nato official told the BBC the alliance never comments on alleged leaks. President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was aware of the report, but that they did not publish it and did not want to comment on it, according to AFP news agency.
In recent weeks Russia has moved about 100,000 troops - equipped with everything from tanks and artillery to ammunition and air power - to Ukraine's border.
It comes eight years after the country annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula and backed a bloody rebellion in the eastern Donbas region. Moscow in turn accuses the Ukrainian government of failing to implement an international deal to restore peace to the east, where at least 14,000 people have been killed and Russian-backed rebels control swathes of territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky however warned on Tuesday that a Russian invasion would "not be a war between Ukraine and Russia - this would be a war in Europe, a full-scale one".
Russia-Ukraine tensions: The basics
Speaking after talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Mr Putin said: "It seems to me that the United States is not so much concerned about the security of Ukraine... but its main task is to contain Russia's development. In this sense Ukraine itself is just a tool to reach this goal."
Rivalry between Russia and the US, which still possess the world's biggest nuclear arsenals, dates back to the Cold War (1947-89). Ukraine was then a crucial part of the communist Soviet Union, second only to Russia.
Mr Putin said the US had ignored Moscow's concerns in its response to Russian demands for legally binding security guarantees, including a block on the Nato alliance's further expansion to the east. He suggested that if Ukraine were granted its wish to join Nato, it could drag the other members into a war with Russia.
"Imagine that Ukraine is a Nato member and a military operation [to regain Crimea] begins," the Russian leader said. "What - are we going to fight with Nato? Has anyone thought about this? It seems like they haven't."
The US meanwhile insists it is fully committed to dialogue. Speaking after a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, Mr Blinken said he had emphasised US willingness to continue discussing "mutual security concerns".
Earlier this week, the US said it had received a written response from Russia to a US proposal aimed at de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine. But hours later Russia's deputy foreign minister said that was not true and a source told Ria news agency it was still preparing a response.
According to the documents published by El Pais, the US proposal suggested "reciprocal commitments by both the United States and Russia to refrain from deploying offensive ground-launched missile systems and permanent forces with a combat mission in the territory of Ukraine".
It included a pledge to hold talks about reducing nuclear weaponry and missile launchers, on condition that Russia reduces its threat to Ukraine. The US also suggested a "transparency mechanism" to address Russia's concerns about US missiles in Europe. The US proposed a way for Russia to confirm there are no cruise missiles at Nato bases in Romania and Bulgaria, in exchange for the US doing the same at two Russian bases of its choice.
The documents said the US would discuss all issues that affect European security with its allies.
For months, Ukraine's Western allies have been pointing to Russian troops massing on the border. Ukrainians who would be in the direct line of any such incursion are far less convinced it will happen. But all the war talk is unsettling. "Last week I was pretty disturbed; I even went to my psychologist for help," Dmytro Dubas admits.
In 2014, he joined the flood of volunteer soldiers pouring east when heavy fighting against Russian-backed forces erupted.
Dmytro had returned to civilian life, storing the reminders of his time in the trenches in an old ammunition box painted and re-fashioned as a coffee table in his living room. Now he's calmed his nerves by preparing for the worst possible scenario: filling his car with fuel, buying emergency food supplies and signing-up with the territorial defence force to brush-up his skills.
Source; BBC.com
Poetin: 'Het Westen lokt opzettelijk een oorlog met Rusland uit'
De Russische president Vladimir Poetin heeft stevig uitgehaald naar westerse landen. Die zijn er volgens hem op uit om 'een oorlog uit te lokken'. ook zouden zij de veiligheidszorgen van Rusland over Oekraïne negeren.
Het is de eerste reactie in bijna zes weken tijd die Poetin geeft over de kwestie rond Oekraïne, waar een gewapend conflict dreigt.
De Russische president eist garanties dat Oekraïne nooit lid zal worden van de NAVO, het militaire bondgenootschap waarvan ook Nederland onderdeel is. Hij zegt te vrezen dat de NAVO in Europa verder naar het oosten uitbreidt, en zo direct tegen de grens van Rusland aan komt.
Oorlog met NAVO?
Poetin schetste ook een situatie waarin niet Rusland - zoals internationaal wordt gevreesd - maar Oekraïne een aanval zou inzetten. "Stel je voor dat Oekraïne een NAVO-lid is en een militaire operatie begint. Moeten we dan oorlog voeren met de NAVO? Heeft iemand daar ooit over nagedacht? Blijkbaar niet", zei Poetin op een persconferentie bij het Kremlin in Moskou, waar de Hongaarse premier Viktor Orbán te gast was.
Het Westen ziet Rusland als grote agressor en weigert zulke garanties te geven. Oekraïne is volgens hen een soeverein land dat zelf bepaalt van welke bondgenootschappen het lid wil worden. Door te dreigen met economische sancties proberen de westerse landen Rusland af te schrikken.
'Indammen van Rusland'
Maar volgens Poetin zijn de Verenigde Staten niet bezig met de veiligheid van Oekraïne, maar met het indammen van Rusland. "In die zin is Oekraïne zelf slechts een instrument om dit doel te bereiken", aldus de Russische leider.
Ondertussen staan nog altijd naar schatting ruim honderdduizend Russische militairen langs de grens met Oekraïne. Ook bouwt Rusland een troepenmacht op in buurland Belarus. De vrees is dat Rusland overgaat tot het inlijven van delen van Oekraïne, zoals eerder gebeurde in 2014 met het schiereiland de Krim.
Oekraïne drukbezocht
Premier Rutte en buitenlandminister Hoekstra brengen vandaag een bezoek aan Oekraïne. De Britse premier Boris Johnson, die zwaar onder vuur ligt in eigen land, was gisteren te gast bij de Oekraïense president Volodymyr Zelensky. "Het is van vitaal belang dat Rusland een stap terug doet en een pad van diplomatie kiest", zei Johnson. "En ik geloof dat dat nog steeds kan."
Door: Chris Koenis
Bron; RTLnieuws.nl
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Louis Bontes wil Kamerdebat over verdwijning Manuel Schadwald
KN Redactie 11 juli 2015
Deze twaalfjarige Berlijnse jongen verdween in juli 1993. Het is - op internet - een vermaarde casus, waar AD-reporter Koen Voskuil, die eerder de affaire Demmink openbrak, nu opnieuw beweging in brengt.
Jongensprostitutiecircuit
Na Manuels verdwijning zouden er in Nederland observaties gedaan zijn door de politie dat hij beland was in handen van jongenspooier Lothar Glandorf in Rotterdam. De politie besloot echter niet in te grijpen. Vervolgens zou Schadwald overgebracht zijn naar het jongensprostitutiecircuit in Amsterdam.
Sekstrip
Het Algemeen Dagblad onthult vandaag in samenwerking met Welt am Sonntag dat meerdere getuigen Manuel op homo-ontmoetingsplaatsen in ons land gezien hebben. Hij zou op gruwelijke wijze om het leven zijn gekomen tijdens een sekstrip op een zeilboot op het IJsselmeer, toebehorend aan de handelaar in kinderporno Gerrit Ulrich. Op de boot zouden zich "invloedrijke personen" bevonden hebben. De politie zou wel degelijk concrete tips over de zaak gekregen hebben, maar dit naar buiten toe hebben ontkend. Hetzelfde geldt voor de AIVD: ook die zou informatie ontvangen hebben, maar dit eveneens hebben ontkend.
Bron; KatholiekNieuwsblad.nl
Regering erkent juridisch bindende afspraken met World Economic Forum (WEF)
Datum: 2022/01/10
Geo-politiek
Ido Dijkstra
De bewijzen dat belangrijke Nederlandse bewindslieden nauw verbonden zijn met het World Economic Forum (WEF) stapelen zich op. Forum voor Democratie kreeg na herhaaldelijke verzoeken zwart-op-wit dat er subsidie is verstrekt en juridische bindende overeenkomsten zijn gesloten met de supranationale , niet-democratische netwerkorganisatie die de wereld ingrijpend wil veranderen. FVD-Kamerlid Pepijn van Houwelingen eist transparantie van de Nederlandse regering: “Het Nederlandse volk verdient antwoord op onze vragen.”
Na flink rappelleren – normaal duurt een verzoek beantwoorden van Kamervragen maximaal drie weken, nu gingen er 90 dagen overheen – kreeg Forum voor Democratie vlak voor kerst eindelijk verschillende brieven boven tafel die door het World Economic Forum (WEF) waren verstuurd aan leden van de regering. Bijvoorbeeld een uitnodiging aan minister Sigrid Kaag (D66) voor een bijeenkomst in Davos in januari 2021. “Om te bespreken wat voor beleid we gaan uitzetten in het post-Covid-19-tijdperk onder het thema The Great Reset.” Ook demissionair minister Wobke Hoekstra (CDA) kreeg zo’n brief. “Uw bijdrage aan The Great Reset zal bijzonder cruciaal zijn,” is één van de zinsnedes. Maar de meest sensationele onthulling kwam uit een brief van Carola Schouten in antwoord op kamervragen van FvD-Kamerlid Gideon van Meijeren: “Nederlandse bewindspersonen nemen regelmatig op uitnodiging deel aan door het WEF georganiseerde bijeenkomsten,”schrijft zij. “Daarnaast is sprake van samenwerkingsverbanden met het WEF die zijn vastgelegd in overeenkomsten op de volgende terreinen: - Sustainable Investment Policy - Tropical Forest Alliance - Food Systems Initiative - Food Innovation Hubs De in deze overeenkomsten vastgelegde verplichtingen zijn juridisch bindend.” Vooral die laatste bekentenis roept vragen op.
Dat doet ‘The Great Reset’ al langer. Het WEF had het alomvattende hervormingsplan in maart 2020 al online staan, toen we nog maar bitter weinig wisten over Covid-19. Volgens FVD is die ‘Great Reset’ de ware reden achter (het aanhouden van) de coronacrisis. “Het doel ervan is ons huidige systeem om te wentelen naar een wereldwijd systeem waarin het klimaat centraal staat,” zegt FVD-Kamerlid Pepijn van Houwelingen. “Ik noem het klimaatglobalisme. De coronacrisis is de aanleiding voor de reset, die weer is gekoppeld aan de Sustainabilty Development Goals (SDG’s). Dat zijn mooi klinkende doelen, maar verder holle frasen om tot verandering te komen. Wat wij in de praktijk zien is dat ze de contouren van een totalitair systeem aan het implementeren zijn. De vrijheden die dat in de weg staan, ontnemen ze ons door wetsveranderingen met Covid-19 als excuus. Als de ontwikkelingen zich zo doorzetten, blijven er weinig burgerrechten over en is het niet ondenkbaar dat ze het bezit van mensen willen onteigenen. Een van de visies van het WEF voor 2030 is: ‘You’ll own nothing and be happy’.”
FVD heeft op de tenen getrapt van de regeringspartijen door hen te confronteren met de grote invloed van het WEF op het Nederlands beleid. Ruud Mikkers, woordvoerder van Wobke Hoekstra, doet de interpretatie van FVD af als “complottheorieën van wappies die instituties en de wetenschap niet willen geloven”. Mikkers: “FvD maakt er een janboel van. The Great Reset is voor ons een metafoor om te kijken wat we gaan doen met de samenleving als we van Covid-19 af zijn. Het WEF is een netwerkorganisatie, geen bestuursorgaan. Er is geen groots plan voor een QR-samenleving of vaccinatieverplichting. Dat is nog altijd een keuze, toch? Natuurlijk is er wel drang, anders komen we nooit uit deze crisis.”
Van Houwelingen weet dat het door hem geschetste scenario confronterend is. Het klinkt als een slecht plan uit een Bond-film. De baas van het WEF, Klaus Schwab, heeft ook wel wat weg van de schurk Blofeld uit Thunderball (1961). Desondanks manoeuvreren de machtspartijen zich steeds vaker in het verdachtenhoekje door de vragen niet te beantwoorden maar te ridiculiseren, of zelfs aantoonbaar te liegen. Van Houwelingen: “Wij proberen feiten boven tafel te krijgen. Nederlandse bewindslieden werken achter de schermen mee aan ‘The Great Reset’. Het WEF is aantoonbaar verweven met ons staatsapparaat. Er is nauw contact met bewindslieden en ambtenaren. Uit de WEF-papers die nu op de website van FvD staan blijkt verder dat Nederland in maart 2021 een verzoek kreeg om 651 duizend euro subsidie over te maken naar Zwitserland voor het oprichten van een Global Coordination Secretariat (GCS). Dit is snel geaccordeerd door het Ministerie van Economische Zaken. WEF stelt ook voorwaarden voor welke personen invulling moeten geven aan dit secretariaat. Allemaal met Nederlands belastinggeld. Dat is de omgekeerde wereld. Dit zijn geen complottheorieën meer, het zijn complotfeiten. Ik vermoed dat het de top van de ijsberg is.”
Het is niet de eerste keer dat FvD het schimmige karakter van de relatie tussen WEF en het kabinet blootlegt. In juli 2021 vroeg Gideon van Meijeren aan Mark Rutte wat hij vond van het boek ‘The Great Reset’ van Klaus Schwab. “Ik ken het boek niet. Maar ik zou de heer Van Meijeren willen adviseren om niet al te veel in die conspiracy theorieën te geloven,” antwoordde Rutte. Uit een brief van de minister-president aan Schwab bleek echter dat hij het boek wel degelijk had gelezen en het ‘een hoopvolle analyse voor een betere toekomst’ vond. De FVD-fractie is vastberaden de luis in de pels van de Nederlandse politiek te blijven. Van Houwelingen: “Ik heb best vertrouwen in het ambtenarenapparaat. Zij moeten zich aan procedures houden en ik denk dat er velen ter goeder trouw zijn. Daarom komt er wel informatie naar buiten. Velen hebben alleen geen idee waar ze aan meewerken. In de reguliere media wordt er niet over gesproken en dus is het geen realiteit voor de gemiddelde Nederlander. Wij blijven strijden om het bloot te leggen. Wij vinden dat het Nederlandse volk antwoord verdient op vragen als: hoe zijn de verhoudingen met de WEF-club? Wat willen ze nu echt? En waar komen de orders vandaan?”
Invloedrijkste netwerkorganisatie ter wereld
Het World Economic Forum (WEF), opgericht in 1971 door de toen 33-jarige Klaus Schwab, is volgens onder meer de Duitse economisch expert en journalist Ernst Wolff de invloedrijkste netwerkorganisatie ter wereld. Het Young Leaders programma van het WEF, dat door Schwab persoonlijk wordt begeleid, is onder meer doorlopen door Bill Gates, Angela Merkel, Tony Blair, Nicolas Sarkozy, José-Manuel Barroso, Justin Trudeau, Lucinda Arden (premier van Nieuw-Zeeland), Sebastian Kunz (Oostenrijk) en Emmanuel Macron (Frankrijk), zo onthulde Wolff. Let wel: deze leiders volgden het programma van de WEF voorafgaand aan hun latere politieke carrière. Onder hen bevonden zich ook vier cursisten die het in Duitsland hebben gebracht tot minister van volksgezondheid. Ook leden van de vorstenhuizen van Denemarken, Noorwegen, Nederland en Zweden maken deel uit van de organisatie. Koningin Máxima is in 2020 toegetreden tot de bestuurscommissie van WEF’s Digital Currency Governance Consortium, een stuurgroep die zich richt op afschaffing van al het contante geld. Het WEF heeft 400 mensen in dienst. Het jaarbudget bedraagt 200 miljoen Zwitserse frank, betaald door 1.000 grote concerns. In de raad van toezicht van het WEF heeft Christine Lagarde (chef Eurobank) zitting, alsmede koningin Rania van Jordanië en Larry Fink van Blackrock (de grootste vermogensbeheerder ter wereld). (Bron: gezondverstand.eu/2021/09/15/de-leiderskweekschool-van-klaus-schwab/)
Bron; DeAndereKrant.nl
Vincent Leenders, JOVD en pedofilie (en aanverwante smerige zaken)..
Lekkende oud OvJ - Oud-JOVD-voorzitter Mark Rutte en JOVD'er/ex-justitie-pedo Vincent Leenders bestelden in 1994 het boek van hun vriendje Eddy Habben Jansen. Eddy schreef een boek over de JOVD, later faalde hij als Prodemos-directeur bij de aanpak van het misbruik-schandaal.
OUD-HOOFDOFFICIER VIJF MAANDEN IN DE CEL VOOR ONTUCHT MET MINDERJARIGE
Geplaatst op: 31 mei 2021
Laatst aangepast op: 31 mei 2021
De rechtbank Den Haag heeft voormalig plaatsvervangend hoofdofficier Vincent Leenders vijf maanden onvoorwaardelijke celstraf opgelegd voor het plegen van ontucht met een minderjarige. Het Openbaar Ministerie had elf maanden geëist.
Verdachte Leenders en het slachtoffer leerden elkaar kennen via de app Bullchat, waar het al snel ging over seks. Het slachtoffer deed zich voor als 18 jaar. De verdachte was de op dat moment 43-jarige Vincent Leenders, (toenmalig) plaatsvervangend hoofdofficier van justitie bij het Functioneel Parket in Amsterdam. Hij zei niet te weten dat de jongen in werkelijkheid pas 16 was, maar heeft dat ook niet gecontroleerd. “Kinderprostitutie bestaat bij de gratie van klanten die hun hoofd in het zand steken”, aldus de officier van justitie in de rechtszaal op 10 mei.
Achter de voordeur
Verdachte en het slachtoffer spraken in de tweede helft van 2016 vele malen af, waarbij het zeker in vijf gevallen tot seksuele handelingen is gekomen. Die contacten waren vluchtig. Verdachte pleegde ontuchtige handelingen bij de jongen. Dat gebeurde bij de jongen thuis, achter de voordeur, nog in het halletje, en na een paar minuten verdween verdachte al weer. Voor zijn diensten kreeg de jongen meestal tussen de 35 en 70 euro en soms ook een pakje sigaretten. Voor het OM is het duidelijk dat het slachtoffer zich tot de seksuele ontmoetingen liet verleiden door de toezegging van geld.
Geen strafvermindering
De verdachte is na zijn aanhouding ontslagen door het Openbaar Ministerie. Ook is zijn zaak uitgebreid in de media geweest, waarbij hij met naam, toenaam en beeltenis is besproken. Dat zou volgens het OM echter geen reden tot strafvermindering moeten zijn. “Wij realiseren ons dat de maatschappelijke val die verdachte heeft doorgemaakt uiterst pijnlijk moet zijn geweest”, zei de officier van justitie. “Het ontslag is echter het enig logische gevolg van de gepleegde strafbare feiten. En dat hij zichzelf door zijn (voormalige) functie in de kijker van de media zou spelen, kan ook geen verrassing zijn geweest.” Wel houdt de officier rekening met het feit dat verdachte een schaderegeling met het slachtoffer heeft getroffen, dat hij zelf in therapie is gegaan en dat de zaak al enkele jaren loopt.
Ernst van het feit
Het slachtoffer heeft zich destijds met meer volwassen mannen ingelaten, zaken die eerder dienden voor de rechtbank Amsterdam. Drie van die zaken waren min of meer vergelijkbaar en daarin legde de rechtbank straffen op van één maand cel, zes weken cel en zeven weken cel. Die straffen doen wat het OM betreft geen recht aan de ernst van het feit, daarom is het OM in beroep tegen deze vonnissen. Het OM had negen tot twaalf maanden cel geëist, waarvan drie tot vier maanden voorwaardelijk. Die lijn is door het OM ook in de Haagse zaak tegen de oud-hoofdofficier gevolgd, en kwam uit op elf maanden cel.
‘Beter moeten weten’
De rechtbank Den Haag wilde niet zo ver gaan en veroordeelde hem gisteren tot vijf maanden onvoorwaardelijke celstraf. “Hij had, gelet op zijn functie en het grote leeftijdsverschil, beter moeten weten. Door zijn gedrag heeft hij ook het aanzien van het Openbaar Ministerie beschadigd.”
Bron; mr-online.nl
(Klik op foto's om deze te vergroten)
OUD-HOOFDOFFICIER VIJF MAANDEN IN DE CEL VOOR ONTUCHT MET MINDERJARIGE
Geplaatst op: 31 mei 2021
Laatst aangepast op: 31 mei 2021
De rechtbank Den Haag heeft voormalig plaatsvervangend hoofdofficier Vincent Leenders vijf maanden onvoorwaardelijke celstraf opgelegd voor het plegen van ontucht met een minderjarige. Het Openbaar Ministerie had elf maanden geëist.
Verdachte Leenders en het slachtoffer leerden elkaar kennen via de app Bullchat, waar het al snel ging over seks. Het slachtoffer deed zich voor als 18 jaar. De verdachte was de op dat moment 43-jarige Vincent Leenders, (toenmalig) plaatsvervangend hoofdofficier van justitie bij het Functioneel Parket in Amsterdam. Hij zei niet te weten dat de jongen in werkelijkheid pas 16 was, maar heeft dat ook niet gecontroleerd. “Kinderprostitutie bestaat bij de gratie van klanten die hun hoofd in het zand steken”, aldus de officier van justitie in de rechtszaal op 10 mei.
Achter de voordeur
Verdachte en het slachtoffer spraken in de tweede helft van 2016 vele malen af, waarbij het zeker in vijf gevallen tot seksuele handelingen is gekomen. Die contacten waren vluchtig. Verdachte pleegde ontuchtige handelingen bij de jongen. Dat gebeurde bij de jongen thuis, achter de voordeur, nog in het halletje, en na een paar minuten verdween verdachte al weer. Voor zijn diensten kreeg de jongen meestal tussen de 35 en 70 euro en soms ook een pakje sigaretten. Voor het OM is het duidelijk dat het slachtoffer zich tot de seksuele ontmoetingen liet verleiden door de toezegging van geld.
Geen strafvermindering
De verdachte is na zijn aanhouding ontslagen door het Openbaar Ministerie. Ook is zijn zaak uitgebreid in de media geweest, waarbij hij met naam, toenaam en beeltenis is besproken. Dat zou volgens het OM echter geen reden tot strafvermindering moeten zijn. “Wij realiseren ons dat de maatschappelijke val die verdachte heeft doorgemaakt uiterst pijnlijk moet zijn geweest”, zei de officier van justitie. “Het ontslag is echter het enig logische gevolg van de gepleegde strafbare feiten. En dat hij zichzelf door zijn (voormalige) functie in de kijker van de media zou spelen, kan ook geen verrassing zijn geweest.” Wel houdt de officier rekening met het feit dat verdachte een schaderegeling met het slachtoffer heeft getroffen, dat hij zelf in therapie is gegaan en dat de zaak al enkele jaren loopt.
Ernst van het feit
Het slachtoffer heeft zich destijds met meer volwassen mannen ingelaten, zaken die eerder dienden voor de rechtbank Amsterdam. Drie van die zaken waren min of meer vergelijkbaar en daarin legde de rechtbank straffen op van één maand cel, zes weken cel en zeven weken cel. Die straffen doen wat het OM betreft geen recht aan de ernst van het feit, daarom is het OM in beroep tegen deze vonnissen. Het OM had negen tot twaalf maanden cel geëist, waarvan drie tot vier maanden voorwaardelijk. Die lijn is door het OM ook in de Haagse zaak tegen de oud-hoofdofficier gevolgd, en kwam uit op elf maanden cel.
‘Beter moeten weten’
De rechtbank Den Haag wilde niet zo ver gaan en veroordeelde hem gisteren tot vijf maanden onvoorwaardelijke celstraf. “Hij had, gelet op zijn functie en het grote leeftijdsverschil, beter moeten weten. Door zijn gedrag heeft hij ook het aanzien van het Openbaar Ministerie beschadigd.”
Bron; mr-online.nl
Dr. Robert Malone & Joe Rogan
Dr. Robert Malone was on tje Joe Rogan Experience, but recently YouTube has deleted that video, censorship at it's finest!
Dr. Robert Malone; "How did that happen"? That is why i
posted an 'article' on the experiment called; The Third Wave. It shows how 'easy' people are pulled into a narrative that is not necessarily theirs in order to 'survive'.
posted an 'article' on the experiment called; The Third Wave. It shows how 'easy' people are pulled into a narrative that is not necessarily theirs in order to 'survive'.
Mark Rutte zegt dat Klaus Schwab Tweede Kamer op de voet volgt..
Dhr Rutte zegt dat hij niet twijfelt aan de intenties van Klaus Schwab (WEF), en dat deze Klaus Schwab de Tweede Kamer debatten op de voet volgt;
The Third Wave (experiment)
The Third Wave was an experimental social movement created by California high school history teacher Ron Jones in 1967 to explain how the German population could have accepted the actions of the Nazi regime during the rise of the Third Reich and the Second World War.
While Jones taught his students about Nazi Germany during his senior level Contemporary World History class, Jones found it difficult to explain how the German people could have accepted the actions of the Nazis. He decided to create a fictional social movement as a demonstration of the appeal of fascism. Over the course of five days (or nine, according to student Sherry Toulsey), Jones, a member of the SDS, Cubberley United Student Movement sponsor and Black Panthers supporter – conducted a series of exercises in his classroom emphasizing discipline and community, intended to model certain characteristics of the Nazi movement.
As the movement grew outside his class and began to number in the hundreds, Jones began to feel that the experiment had spiraled out of control. He convinced the students to attend a rally where he claimed that the classroom project was part of a nationwide movement, and that the announcement of a Third Wave presidential candidate would be televised. Upon their arrival, the students were presented with a blank channel. Jones told his students of the true nature of the movement as an experiment in fascism, and presented to them a short film discussing the actions of Nazi Germany.
The project was adapted into an American film, The Wave, in 1981, and a critically acclaimed German film, Die Welle, in 2008.
The experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, during the first week of April 1967. Jones, finding himself unable to explain to his students how the German people could have claimed ignorance of The Holocaust, decided to demonstrate it to them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and told his students that the movement aimed to eliminate democracy. The idea that democracy emphasises individuality was considered a drawback, and Jones emphasised this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride."
The experiment was not well documented at the time. The experiment was briefly mentioned in two issues of the Cubberley High School student newspaper, The Cubberley Catamount. Another issue of the paper has a longer account of the experiment at its conclusion. Jones wrote a detailed recollection of the experiment some nine years afterward. Subsequent articles by other authors followed, some featuring interviews with Jones and the original students.
Chronology
First day
The experiment began with simple alterations such as proper seating. He wrote "Strength Through Discipline" on the classroom's chalkboard, then enforced strict classroom discipline while speaking as to the importance of discipline. The procedures were simple. Students were expected to sit at attention before the second bell, had to stand up to ask or answer questions and had to do so in three words or fewer, and were required to preface each remark with "Mr. Jones". He drilled them on their adherence to these rules. Jones intended only a one-day experiment.
Second day
Jones decided to continue the experiment after observing his students' strict adherence to the previous day's rules. He added "Strength Through Community" to the chalk board, and named his "movement" "the Third Wave". Jones based the name of his movement on the supposed fact that the third in a series of waves is the strongest. Jones created a salute involving a cupped hand reaching across the chest toward the opposite shoulder, resembling a Hitler salute. He ordered class members to salute each other both in and outside of the class. Jones then assigned each of his students an individual assignment, such as designing a Third Wave banner, stopping non-members from entering the class, or recruiting their friends to join the movement.
Third day
The experiment had now taken on a life of its own. Students from across the school joined in. Class expanded from its initial 30 students to a total of 43. Jones added "Strength Through Action" to the chalkboard. Students were issued a member card. Jones instructed the students on how to initiate new members. By the end of the day the movement had over 200 participants. Jones instructed three students to report to him when other members of the movement failed to abide by the rules. He was surprised when around twenty of the students made such reports. The students proceeded to conduct trials for those thought to be not loyal enough to the movement, with punishment consisting of banishment to the school library.
Fourth day
Jones decided to terminate the movement, as it was slipping out of his control. The students had become more and more involved in the project. Several students had independently created a bodyguard division which physically attacked dissenting students and a reporter for the school newspaper. Jones announced to the class that this movement was a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the Third Wave would announce its existence to the public. He ordered students to attend a noon rally on Friday to witness the announcement.
Fifth and last day
The students all arrived at 11:50 a.m. Jones had convinced a number of his friends to pose as reporters, and asked the students to demonstrate what they had learned in the minutes before the televised address would supposedly begin. He then led them in shouting chants of "Strength through Discipline! Strength Through Community! Strength Through Action!" He turned on the TV placed in the middle of the room. Rather than a televised address of their leader, the students were presented with an empty channel. After a few minutes of waiting, Jones announced that they had been a part of an experiment in fascism and that they all had willingly created a sense of superiority, much as German citizens had done in the period of Nazi Germany. He then apologized to them for how far it all had gone, and played them a film about the Nazi regime to conclude the experiment.
Source; Wikipedia.org
While Jones taught his students about Nazi Germany during his senior level Contemporary World History class, Jones found it difficult to explain how the German people could have accepted the actions of the Nazis. He decided to create a fictional social movement as a demonstration of the appeal of fascism. Over the course of five days (or nine, according to student Sherry Toulsey), Jones, a member of the SDS, Cubberley United Student Movement sponsor and Black Panthers supporter – conducted a series of exercises in his classroom emphasizing discipline and community, intended to model certain characteristics of the Nazi movement.
As the movement grew outside his class and began to number in the hundreds, Jones began to feel that the experiment had spiraled out of control. He convinced the students to attend a rally where he claimed that the classroom project was part of a nationwide movement, and that the announcement of a Third Wave presidential candidate would be televised. Upon their arrival, the students were presented with a blank channel. Jones told his students of the true nature of the movement as an experiment in fascism, and presented to them a short film discussing the actions of Nazi Germany.
The project was adapted into an American film, The Wave, in 1981, and a critically acclaimed German film, Die Welle, in 2008.
The experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, during the first week of April 1967. Jones, finding himself unable to explain to his students how the German people could have claimed ignorance of The Holocaust, decided to demonstrate it to them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and told his students that the movement aimed to eliminate democracy. The idea that democracy emphasises individuality was considered a drawback, and Jones emphasised this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride."
The experiment was not well documented at the time. The experiment was briefly mentioned in two issues of the Cubberley High School student newspaper, The Cubberley Catamount. Another issue of the paper has a longer account of the experiment at its conclusion. Jones wrote a detailed recollection of the experiment some nine years afterward. Subsequent articles by other authors followed, some featuring interviews with Jones and the original students.
Chronology
First day
The experiment began with simple alterations such as proper seating. He wrote "Strength Through Discipline" on the classroom's chalkboard, then enforced strict classroom discipline while speaking as to the importance of discipline. The procedures were simple. Students were expected to sit at attention before the second bell, had to stand up to ask or answer questions and had to do so in three words or fewer, and were required to preface each remark with "Mr. Jones". He drilled them on their adherence to these rules. Jones intended only a one-day experiment.
Second day
Jones decided to continue the experiment after observing his students' strict adherence to the previous day's rules. He added "Strength Through Community" to the chalk board, and named his "movement" "the Third Wave". Jones based the name of his movement on the supposed fact that the third in a series of waves is the strongest. Jones created a salute involving a cupped hand reaching across the chest toward the opposite shoulder, resembling a Hitler salute. He ordered class members to salute each other both in and outside of the class. Jones then assigned each of his students an individual assignment, such as designing a Third Wave banner, stopping non-members from entering the class, or recruiting their friends to join the movement.
Third day
The experiment had now taken on a life of its own. Students from across the school joined in. Class expanded from its initial 30 students to a total of 43. Jones added "Strength Through Action" to the chalkboard. Students were issued a member card. Jones instructed the students on how to initiate new members. By the end of the day the movement had over 200 participants. Jones instructed three students to report to him when other members of the movement failed to abide by the rules. He was surprised when around twenty of the students made such reports. The students proceeded to conduct trials for those thought to be not loyal enough to the movement, with punishment consisting of banishment to the school library.
Fourth day
Jones decided to terminate the movement, as it was slipping out of his control. The students had become more and more involved in the project. Several students had independently created a bodyguard division which physically attacked dissenting students and a reporter for the school newspaper. Jones announced to the class that this movement was a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the Third Wave would announce its existence to the public. He ordered students to attend a noon rally on Friday to witness the announcement.
Fifth and last day
The students all arrived at 11:50 a.m. Jones had convinced a number of his friends to pose as reporters, and asked the students to demonstrate what they had learned in the minutes before the televised address would supposedly begin. He then led them in shouting chants of "Strength through Discipline! Strength Through Community! Strength Through Action!" He turned on the TV placed in the middle of the room. Rather than a televised address of their leader, the students were presented with an empty channel. After a few minutes of waiting, Jones announced that they had been a part of an experiment in fascism and that they all had willingly created a sense of superiority, much as German citizens had done in the period of Nazi Germany. He then apologized to them for how far it all had gone, and played them a film about the Nazi regime to conclude the experiment.
Source; Wikipedia.org
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Epstein and Maxwell pictured at Queen's residence at Balmoral
A picture of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell relaxing at what appears to be the Queen's Balmoral residence has been shown to a US court.
The undated image is thought to have been taken in 1999, when Prince Andrew reportedly invited the couple to stay at the Scottish estate. Ms Maxwell, 59, is currently on trial for allegedly grooming teenage girls for abuse by the late Epstein between 1994 and 2004. She has denied all the charges.
Defence lawyers for Ms Maxwell have said she is being used as a scapegoat for her former boyfriend and business associate's crimes. Epstein was accused of running a "vast network" of underage girls for sex, but died in a New York jail cell before he could face trial.
The image shown to the jury is one of a number picked out by prosecutors seeking to establish that Ms Maxwell and Epstein had a close relationship and were "partners in crime".
The photo was found in Epstein's Manhattan mansion, and appears to have been taken at Balmoral. The Queen and her family have been pictured sitting by what looks to be the same log cabin over the years. The couple were known to be friends with Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's third child, and it had previously been reported that he had invited them to Balmoral. At the time, Prince Andrew declined to comment.
The trial has already heard how the prince had travelled on Epstein's private jet a number of times. Prince Andrew has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
Among the other images shown to the court this week were several of Maxwell and Epstein together, sometimes embracing or being intimate with each other. Of particular note are a framed photo sitting on a table that shows the couple kissing, and a sketch of Ms Maxwell mounted on a bathroom wall. There were also pictures of two of Ms Maxwell's accusers in various states of undress.
Ms Maxwell - who has British, American and French citizenship - faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted on counts of sex trafficking and perjury.
Source; BBC.com
The Babalon Working
In the spring of 1946 L. Ron Hubbard and John W. Parsons performed a series of magical rituals with the aim of incarnating the Thelemic goddess Babalon in a human being. Hubbard’s cooperation with Parsons, known as the Babalon Working, remains one of the most controversial events in Hubbard’s pre-Scientology days. It is argued that in order to fully understand these events, it is necessary to approach the Babalon Working from the study of Western esotericism in general, and the study of Enochian magic in particular.
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