Thursday, December 06, 2007

Bush, Lyme disease and biowarfare

A reader suggested looking into George Bush's bout with Lyme disease, for which he received antibiotic treatment last year. Wags have noted that the symptoms for this disease include decreased concentration, memory disorders and visual disturbances. (Check. Check. Unverified...)

Lyme disease results from a spirochete transmitted by the bite of a deer tick or the lone star tick. How, I wonder did Dubya get bitten? Was he clearing brush? Did Barney (who strikes me as too well-groomed) carry an unwelcome visitor?

Or were darker forces at play?

While doing a spot of research, I found that some folks have considered using Lyme disease (or a variant thereof) as a bio-warfare weapon.
In recent years prominent American Lyme researchers of the camp that denies, or belittles the importance of, Lyme as a chronic neurological infectious disease have received substantial federal government funding for biowarfare research. For example, Alan Barbour, credited with first culturing the Lyme bacteria, and whose B31 strain became the basis of all subsequent diagnostic tests for the disease, was recently placed in charge of the multi-million dollar new biowarfare research center at UCI. Similarly, Jorge Benach, whose team collected the batch of ticks from which Barbour's strain was isolated, was chosen in 2004 as recipient for a $3 million bioterrorism research grant. And Mark Klempner, author of a famous study contending that persisting symptoms in Lyme patients treated with antibiotics were unlikely due to chronic infection, was recently placed in charge of the 1.6 billion-dollar biowarfare mega-complex at Boston University.

The selection of leading Lyme researchers for such senior posts in bioweapons research, coupled with the fact that many of them have a long history of such work, which pre-dates the expansion of this field after the 2001 anthrax attacks, has fuelled accusations that Lyme disease is intimately connected with biological warfare science, and that military objectives have influenced these scientists to obfuscate the facts surrounding this disease, to the detriment of patients. Mark Klempner, Alan Barbour, Allen Steere, David Dennis, Edward McSweegan, Philip Baker, Captain Paul Mead and many others who have had a profound influence on Lyme disease diagnostic treatment policy have a history of association with bioweapons research in the past, and/or with the Epidemic Intelligence Service, founded in the 1950's as an elite biowarfare think tank.

The denial, by the United Kingdom government during a parliamentary debate, that research into Lyme disease had taken place during a time when the UK's top biowarfare facility Porton Down was indeed studying it, further stoked this controversy. The work at Porton Down has since been confirmed, being noted for example, by the British delegation to an international conference on bioterrorism
(I've excised the footnote numbers from this quote.) I don't think Dubya is the victim of biological terrorism. Barney seems a likelier culprit. Still, I previously had no idea of the Lyme/biowar connection.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It ain't nothing to sneeze at I'll tell ya.
I found out last month that I had 3rd degree, late term lymes...for the last 25 years, I got it in 1982, diagnosed (myself) in 1984 after I was first diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, the treatment they gave back then was insufficient and the Doc told me I was cured, so I never checked up on it again until I heard about the Western Blot test last month.
Right now, I'm going through Rocephin infusions for three weeks.
Dain Bramage ? Oh yeah, it affects your thinking.
Too bad it isn't deadly in some (high profile) cases tho ;)
Flo

Anonymous said...

Joseph, I'm glad you brought this up. Take a look at the research that Dr. Francis Boyle has done. There's some great articles online, but if you get a chance, check out the Guns and Butter interview he did a few months ago. www.gunsandbutter.net.

It should also interest you to know that 94% of people afflicted with Morgellons are also testing positive for Lyme. And being that over 3/4 of the cases are in Cal, Texas, and Florida, that is peculiar to say the least. Those states are known to be amongst the least with natural Lyme infections.
You can read more about that at the carnicom.com and check out the CDC map of the lyme infections in the US.

Anonymous said...

Do you know about Plum island? I can't remember the name of the book, but it's all about how lyme disease was researched there during WWII. The government thought it was isolated, but the deer from the island swam over to long island and spread the disease to other animals in NY and CT, which is the reason the area is the hotbed that it is. The belief is that it was actually created in Germany, or by Americans in Germany. Very scary stuff.

Anonymous said...

It's all hooked up with the Bush family, Chertoff, Homeland Security ....
Lyme is a very serious disease caused by a spirochete shaped bacteria. Same shape as syphilis. This shape is similar to an auger and bores into tissues .
Remember Tuskegee? Well we got part two going on now with Lyme.
I've been sick since I was 10. It was always called Lupus with ANA tests as high as Duke Medical School ever saw. But four years ago, life took a turn towards the truth. I have lage stage untreated lyme disease too. I believe it is an epidemic

Anonymous said...

I've had a fair amount of experience over the past years with Lyme in support of a family member with the long term version. If Bush had Lyme and it was an initial episode, the question is who treated him and how.

If Bush got it, they probably saw a rash and gave him more antibiotics than they would have in 2004 but less than he'd get if he went to the few MD's with a track record of success in halting and reversing the serious effects, which were outlined clearly by Flo. In that scenario, he's at risk for outbreaks over time. There are aggravating activities like flying and alcohol consumption that really aggravate the condition.

If he has the longer term version, lets say over ten years, that might explain some of his cognitive deficiencies. But that's just speculation. A PCR genetic test, readily available, would determine this or the newer blood test. But again, it's likely that the MDs treating him are 'old school' and don't take it seriously enough.

God bless the MDs who actually treat this condition. They're harassed by establishment types who complain about "over using" antibiotics, which is nonsense. Their considerable successes are rewarded by doctor initiated complaints and attempts to take their licenses. Their patients would suffer greatly without them.

The longer you're outside horsing around, an activity that should stop at 30 imho, the greater your chance of getting bit. If you're in an area with a lot of deer and running around, you're much more at risk.

That may explain how he was infected. There is a book and lore that Lyme was the original product of a biowarfare program at Plum Island., Lab 257. Who knows? This is from the Council for Responsible Genetics. It raises questions.

There's so much wrong with Bush, we could speculate forever on etiology. We do know he's entitled, rapacious, has no limits, and displays vary bad manners. Lyme would aggravate that but not cause it.