Australia has been likened to Nazi Germany! Is it true? As an Australian, you’d have to question the rationale of such a comparison. Yet this is the power of media to sway opinion and spread propaganda and fear across the world.
Decide for yourself: Here’s a snapshot of my life in Australia Nazi Germany:
- This morning I walked my dog.
- Yesterday I attended a craft group, went to the shops and library, had coffee with and visited with a friend, used the internet and had a tradesmen call.
- Last week I went on holiday – 3 hours drive away from home, stayed in a cottage enjoying wine tastings, a degustation meal and visiting local spots and tourist attractions. The townspeople spoke about how many tourists had visited and how business in the town had never been better!
- Two weeks ago, I was in the city to conduct some business – I saw no protests nor any old ladies being beaten by police.
- Masks are not mandated at the moment, as the state currently has no Covid cases.
- I am double-jabbed.
Sounding pretty normal to you?
It is.
Suburban Aussie normality.
Yet according to media reports overseas, my life here in Australia is anything but normal and police are arresting people in the streets!
One WordPress blogger wrote that “things were so crap down under.”
As she lived outside Australia, I was surprised at her comment. So I asked her in what way was it crap, as life in Australia seemed pretty normal to me? This is her response:
“Life is NOT normal at all down under. Australia has one of the toughest lockdown policies in the world. People are being arrested for going outside and walking their dogs. They are forcing people into “camps” if they are unvaccinated. People are being beaten and pepper sprayed from the cops if they are not wearing their masks. it is like NAZI Germany, and Australia is supposed to be a free country. It’s just sickening what’s going on down there.”
WordPress Blogger
If this was true of my country, I must be deluded, and the Nazi henchmen poised to arrest me when walking my dog are clearly using a cloaking device.
I’m blissfully unaware of any Nazi-like practices by the Government, (although I would agree with the blogger that my Government is a bit crazy – but that is more in regard to their retrograde climate denial policies than anything else).
International borders to Australia are open in some parts, with more to come when vaccination rates rise further in coming weeks. Australians have dragged their tails in getting immunised, due to fewer Covid cases and a Government that was sluggish in ordering stocks of appropriate vaccines.
Social and monopoly media do tend to replay sensationalist news-worthy segments across many media channels to attract revenue. The videos were seen multiple times on different sources and from various angles with the resulting tendency of the viewer and our brains to generalise and think it’s happening everywhere, every day, in the whole country. Everywhere across Australia, a country so vast it takes a week to cross it by train. As with floods and fires, it is also with protests. They usually only affect a small part and a small minority.
More worrisome is the media reports and videos that may sway opinion so much that readers think they’ve a better handle on life in my world, than me living in it. The power of video!
Having said that, I don’t totally blame the blogger for reacting with fear, because this is what she believes to be true. This is the influence of the media, and it’s more like propaganda than reality.
I responded to the blogger thus:
The power of the media to influence perceptions overseas is amazing as it is nothing as you describe, as I am Australian and I live here. Although in one state there have been a few ugly protests mainly involving right wing activists, which have been highlighted in the media, it is nowhere near the Nazi Germany that you describe. The videos you have seen have unfortunately led to people thinking the worst. And this is an example of the power of propaganda! That is where the media is acting like Nazi Germany, and you and lots of others can only go by what you see. I don’t blame you for thinking this way, but it is incorrect.
Forestwood StPA
As Australia moves forward, the unvaccinated population may not be totally free to attend public venues, but they won’t be forced into any Nazi-like camp!
It is a person’s right to not be vaccinated, but is it not also the Government’s right to protect as many people as it can, in the public space? Isn’t that why we have a police force? To protect public spaces from danger, or nefarious individuals?
Shouldn’t it also then be my right as a HIGH-RISK person not to be unknowingly placed in a dangerous situation, if I choose to attend a public space, especially given the lengthy contagious incubation phase of a virus before obvious symptoms manifest? [The emphasis on being aware and knowing who may be unvaccinated and a potential carrier is important to me].
It is not rocket science.
We all comply with certain codes of behaviour to keep our society safe. Is this so vastly different?
What are your thoughts?
Have you seen some dire reports of our life down under?
What is your take on them?
Something to Ponder About 
As a German, I find the analogy preposterous, even repulsive. How can you compare a temporary lock-down with the suffering of people during the NS regime in Germany in the 1930s? This is an insult to anybody who was dispossessed, expelled, enslaved, incarcerated, starved, tortured and killed during that time. Having said that we have similar idiots in Germany at the present moment who see themselves as the “persecuted”. Most notably, a few months back there was an 11-year-old girl who compared herself to Anne Frank because she had to have a scaled down birthday party and the guests who were there against the rules had to be quiet. There is a crude yet appropriate saying in German: I can’t eat as much as I want to vomit when I hear this.
I feel that besides being an insult to victims of real dictatorship, it is also a case of “crying wolf” – when a real threat to democracy will one day arise people will liken it to the misinterpretation of what is happening today and ignore it.
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The girl comparing herself to Anne Frank must have been unaware of Anne Frank’s real life experience. It is interesting how each subsequent generation feels harder done by when faced with a challenge that the previous generation would not worry about. Are we getting softer with each generation and more whingey?
I agree with you about the Nazi analagy! Preposterous and nowhere near accurate, Eklastic.
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Naw, she knew or rather her parents knew. She was instrumentalised by them. Anne Frank’s Diary is read in excerpts already pretty early on in German schools. I think we have become soft in this regard because our resilience has not been trained. We’ve had peace in central Europe for 80 years – my father lived through 2 world wars, my mother through one, they have known hyper inflation, economic depression, a pandemic, etc. My generation (at least in Central Europe) has never seen war or any of these events. We had it pretty cushy as a whole, not withstanding individual hardships. If I think of my mother: getting married to a soldier on furlough in 1943 and after a week having to say goodbye and seeing him go back to actual fighting, how horrible that must have been.
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Indeed, Knickers the early 20th century was no walk in the park for those living in it. We are incredibly lucky to be living in this time of relative peace and prosperity in some parts of the world. Yes, we are all a little bit soft now and expectations much higher. Although I do not wish for a reckoning, I wondered love to see more gratitude of what we do have.
It is worrying that the Anne Frank story can be twisted to have any similarity to a kids birthday party.
And your Mother – the heartbreak is difficult to imagine. How did she cope?
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To you last question: We think, fine. She never talked about it, though. But we didn’t know about PTSD etc. And as a child, you just accept your parents the way they are. My father was very short tempered and he could get very loud (although I do not remember insults and only generic swearwords, very civilised ones by today’s standard at that). But he could also hold a grudge and not talk for days on end if he was upset. At the time, even as a young woman, I never connected it to anything he might have experienced during the war years but it must have affected him. I also learned very early that people who had had bad experiences talked little about it but other people who’d stayed home and never left our town would brag about their exploits and negate the bad things war and the NS regime brougth about.
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I am conflicted about the parochial rose coloured glasses of the people who never left the village, Knickers. I can see how they lament the positive things about the regime, but negating the bad is something that is a little icky for me to think about. Yet I understand if their world is very skewed by never having travelled to see other perspectives. One thinks that travel might be a good part of a child’s education. My kids were lucky enough for us to afford to take them on trips to countries very different from their own. Not everyone can do this though.
As for your Mum and veterans, the term battle fatigue was a euphemism for PTSD. I have known many veterans that took to self-medicating with alcohol in an attempt to deal with anxiety or trauma. Such things as war are incomparable and it must have been a very difficult thing to deal with both for the veterans and for those at home. Someone mentioned to me this morning that her own mother never knew where her son was or how he was doing for two years after the war finished. To not have closure or news of a loved one, must be difficult to bare on a daily basis and I admire their tenacity in coping without the modern therapy supports we sometimes have at own disposal.
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It is a matter of perception. The trend is to sensationalise incidents into major news items. In India a minor road accident can be reported as a caste/religious/ economic/political incident. It is not a vehicle hitting another vehicle but …an intolerant Upper caste Hindu driver ramming a Low caste/ Muslim (vice-versa) drivers car as he belongs to a specific political party. Foreign media laps it up, seldom verifying details, as it sells.
It is not that angels reside in the country but plain facts get mutilated.
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Oh good point, Travtails! The plain facts get distorted and manipulated as a marketing exercise for politicians or their followers. Where is the balanced objective viewpoint?
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Lost in todays media over commercialisation
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Interesting post. It illustrates perfectly how starting off with a false premise can so easily lead one down the wrong path.
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You are right Crandew! We must be vigilant to question the authenticity of reports. Wise are those who have an open mind but a questioning character.
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Yes! Freedom of information is a gift. But critical thinking is a must.
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Absolutely. It is essential to understand the messages in any propaganda like news report.
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Being “fully vaccinated” does not mean you cannot carry COVID-19. My sister and her husband are both fully vaccinated and they both are ill and tested positive for COVID-19. Just sayin’
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You are right, you can still get sick after vaccination. May I ask how sick were they, Jen? Did they require hospitalisation/ventilation?
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They have not required hospitalization/ventilation.
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The blogger probably thinks you’re just an apologist for the regime, a sort of holocaust denier if you will. Nothing can convince a person who doesn’t want to be convinced. I’m Aussie too and I haven’t seen any concentration camps where I live. Although… maybe they’re masquerading as wellness centres.
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Masquerading as wellness centres. That is funny. The Nazi reference came completely left of field and unexpected. From, ‘things are crap down under’ to Nazism is quite a leap. Perhaps she might reconsider her comment in retrospect?
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Well stated. As soon as I hear any Nazi Germany comparison I hand my head in disgust and shame because of what the Nazis did to innocent people. I actually hear more comparisons of Soviet Communism. I usually ask several questions: Have you lived in a Communist country? Have you ever talked to anyone who lived in a free society that the Communists took over? For some reason, the answers are “No” followed by a “but” – sorry – not buts because they are excuses.
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Hey thanks for your comment Frank and good point about referencing a political system without any personal experience of it.
It is heavily judgemental to make assumptions on idle or random information without sound evidence.
In fact, I just heard that term communist spoken about by a friend in New Zealand, saying that the kiwis all think that their leader is a communist! Some parts of the North Island of NZ have been in lockdown for 100 days…rivalling Melbourne’s record of 110 days. During which time the state leader’s life was threatened, effigies of him burned in the streets and his family intimidated. Behaviour intolerable in a functioning society. More helpful would be to pull together and support each neighbour or friend in any way you can – be it a phone call or message, written letter or ordered delivery. These small measures can support mental health in the community.
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Thanks for sharing this extra information. Unfortunately, people like you mentioned are in all countries. But here in the US, they make a lot of noise.
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As you say you have some loud people but there are loud and quieter folks in many countries. It can be more of a problem when people listen to those loudmouths.
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Maybe she thinks Australia is Austria where they are talking about making vaccinations compulsory.
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Austria is making vaccinations compulsory? It will be mandatory for some occupations here in Australia, Brenda. Is it compulsory for all in Austria?
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So much misinformation all around…it’s easier to read and assume rather than checking the facts. Good you cleared the air atleast for the WP readers 😊👍
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Blogs are really useful in regard to spreading more accurate, local and specific info I think. Thanks for visiting, Gibberish. What region are you located?
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It astounds me that people will believe anything without researching for themselves. Here in the U.S. things are getting so polarized with people believing one way or the other. I wonder how they can blindly accept what they are fed. If it’s on Facebook then it must be true!! I want Walter Cronkite back—just the news, and news you could trust.
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I do remember that name but not exactly how Walter delivered the news. I can only assume that from the time period it was no nonsense, no opinion, no fairy tales or embellished opinions, no cranking up the audience?
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Exactly! His voice was monotone. He was very careful not to interject his opinion and just read the news. If only he were here today.
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An excellent newsreader.
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I know your pain, Anne. Here in Texas even we moderate voices are feeling squeezed out.
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Dear Amanda
Hello from the UK. Many thanks for this post. I had a quick look at you site elsewhere and it is very pleasant to look around. The recipes look delicious; perhaps my wife will be interested, and even I might give something a try!
I don’t know anybody personally in Australia although I have had some very limited contact via WordPress with one or two people who live there.
We see some terrible reports from some in Australia re certain states, it seems these are probably the highly urbanised parts of NSW and Victoria. I don’t knew which state you are from, but I guess the isolated rural areas are not much affected/inconvenienced by the so-called rules.
I think the Nazi allusion to internment camps is merely part of the fear campaign orchestrated against the people to make them comply with ‘The rules’, but I see through all that and it doesn’t bother me. However, it is very difficult to see what is true and what is false for many.
Here in the UK we have been bombarded by the MSM and by government via round robin letters inviting one to get vaccinated. Many are wearing masks in bizarre circumstances, alone in their cars, outside with no one around.
They will walk into pubs and restaurants wearing them, then take them off to eat; I have yet to see someone trying to eat through a mask, but I wonder if someone is so fearful, they might ask for their food to be liquidised to they can suck via a straw!
I have seen police wearing masks outside (they are exempt from wearing them, so what is that about??), yet take them off after arresting someone when they are in the vehicle. This is insanely illogical.
Anyway, I have done my own humourous take on masks should you be interested as I try to make people get common sense back. You might find my site rather wacky but as I consider the world has gone mad since 1st April 2020 (April Fool’s Day, mmm….), this seems a very reasonable approach to take.
https://alphaandomegacloud.wordpress.com/m-is-for-masks/?frame-nonce=d763538699
May I take the opportunity to wish you a very happy new year.
Kind regards
Baldmichael Theresoluteprotector’sson
Please excuse the nom-de-plume, this is as much for fun as a riddle for people to solve if they wish.
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Thanks for your lengthy and welcome comment. Things have changed here since I wrote that post and they have opened the borders to other states. The ones with Covid have infiltrated into our Covid free state and now Omicron is spreading everywhere. Although my view on mask wearing is a little different to yours, I understand your confusion. The mask is to protect you but also protect others from you. We have to take off our mask to eat at a location and whilst this is not desirable, if you are seated, and socially distanced from the next table, you minimise the risks. It is about risk minimisation rather than prevention and total sterilisation from the virus.
You have a fun nondeplume! I had fun picking one for my writing job. https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2021/08/30/whats-in-a-name-choosing-a-pen-name/
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Many thanks for your reply. Glad you like my nom de plume. It does have a relationship to my actual name, but whether the lateral way I arrived at it can realistically be arrived at I am beginning to wonder!
As regards mask wearing, I am not confused however. I know that the mask will never protect you from a microscopic so-called virus, although they will keep out to a large degree sand, diesel fumes and sawdust for example. These larger particles can cause respiratory problems among other issues.
This is why I say that the whole mask wearing is quite illogical, too many are not thinking clearly on the matter. The reasons are quite simple and I will explain if I may. The following is standard text which I adapt as necessary. It is rather long but I don’t think I can avoid that.
Covid 19 is the ‘flu, dressed up as a monster to scare people, re-branded if you will. This why ‘flu statistics disappeared from the government statistics. This helps big pharma etc, control the populace and make more money.
The ‘flu is the internal toxicosis of the body, mainly via urea, partly due to metabolism of food and partly due to the many poisons in our environment which can and do enter our bodies in the air, food and water. It therefore cannot be passed on to others. Bacteria and fungal diseases are different, but viruses are chemical in nature and not biological.
I have had my fair share of vaccines, including polio I believe. I used to think vaccines were of some use until, at 60 years of age last year, I researched properly. I changed my mind.
Injecting poisons such as via vaccines merely adds to the toxicosis problem. Vaccines have never been of any use, it is merely that constant and persistent ‘advertising’ persuaded people that they were of use. The various deaths and harm have been well-documented over the decades. It is being documented now.
Case numbers in Australia have risen significantly since the start of September 2021 when the Pfizer vaccine was administered in significant numbers.
Vitamin D deficiency is the true pandemic due to indoor working and living away from the sunshine which, if we do the right thing things, will give us vitamin D (free!). Big pharma etc. are not keen on free as they don’t make much money out of it.
Lack of vitamin D causes rickets among other things. Polio was merely rickets re branded again for big pharma to make money. The polio vaccine was pointless. A good dose of vitamin D such as was once given via cod liver oil in a spoon (a disgusting taste I understand). You can now get this in capsule form of course.
Vaccines are neuro-toxins, if there is anything in them at all, as are most big pharma drugs. Therefore they are at best pointless.
If your immune system is in good order then by and large you will tolerate a poisonous vaccine. If weakened you will suffer various side effects. If your immune system is very poor you may die.
Boosting your immune system with vitamin D can go a long way to protecting you against the toxicosis, but vitamin C is very good as an anti-oxidant to help flush the toxins out of your system. By and large you should be able to gain your vitamins etc from good, untainted food. Highly processed foods will not help.
I have seen the statistics on Australia since February 2020 and done an analysis and recent post. These show a close correlation between Covid cases and vaccination. It is abundantly clear the vaccines are causing the case numbers rise, as would be expected. Look at other statistics and you will no doubt see the same correlation.
I have done much on Covid 19 etc., here is my link to my vaccine page. That gives access to the various other issues. I cover the statistics in the UK and USA.
It should be noted that fear tends to ‘freeze’ the body’s immune system from functioning correctly and can stop people doing sensible things.
I hope this sets out clearly the position. There is much more on my website of course. I welcome discussion if you wish.
But I do do other fun things on my site purely for the joy and humour of it, and ultimately we are here on the planet to have life and have it to the full.
Kind regards
Baldmichael Theresoluteprotector’sson
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You have a right to your opinion but perhaps it is a case of confirmation bias or cognitive dissonance. Your arguments are not scientifically accurate and are unbalanced presenting unsupported suggestions. There are different types of masks and the ordinary paper disposable ones will not prevent all particles from entering, but will reduce the amount as well as stop you touching your face with your hands which will aslo lessen your risk and the viral load entering the mouth and nasal passages if worn correctly. The cloth ones need to be washed regularly and hung out in the sun, which many don’t do. I am trained in barrier nursing and had it not been for PPE, nurses would have been susceptible to many nasty infections over the years. If masks are so problematic, perhaps you might feel comfortable having a surgical operation without the surgeon and attending medical staff wearing one?
AS for polio being just rickets, I cannot agree with you and have a different opinion which I hope you will also respect and research. I am sure my close relative who has lived with the after effects of polio since she was young can explain more. It most certainly is vastly different to rickets. Having medial and scientific training makes me doubt your information sources, although I do agree that eating well is important and vitamins play a role in general health.
This issue should not cause such division as it does. If you wish to disagree, that is your right but you do not have the right to force your opinion on others, and neither do I. But I cannot abide by suggestions that endanger health.
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Mmm interesting in your comments, yes I understand the situation that Australia is in and we are not too bad compared to other countries around the world. I’m not media nor am I anyone of great importance what I am is a normal guy at the age of 63 that has seen so many things that I would have thought will never happen in Australia… I do see the issue of a lot of things with the Covid19 – and the way this is put across to us, and I did see the way people in the eastern states were treated, and I have friends that live all up the coast and ones of many years that have a good output with life but did not like a lot of issues put on to them. Yes, we can still go to many places and yes we can walk the dog, and yes I’m watching a lot of changes with society and the changes towards each other with vax – un-vax being sketched on for not wearing a mask, and kids to be vaccinated from the age of 5 up, do everything by the rules and protocol or you will be punished, the choices we make in life are far and few between. I have and do everything that we need to do but I don’t agree with what I see and the way we are changing as a country, and understand we go with the changes or life is going to be very hard, no we do not get whipped or chain and we still have freedom of so many things, but we are being very controlled and people have the rights to believe that nothing is happening, if we really look at the big picture life is changing in Australia is it for the better or worse, we all have our opinions and what we think is the right thing for us. Yes, the government would be looking out to make Australia safer for us and the kids of the future, does that mean we treat people with their own thoughts, choices, or what they feel is the right thing for their lives and families as outcasts, to me everyone has there thoughts and have made their choice, with that I don’t see it as a problem, and with my family there so divided but I do everything I can to look after them.
Thank you Forestwood for your blog and as you can see we all see this in so many different ways.
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Thanks for your lengthy comment, and you have absolutely a right to your own opinion. It is wild to think that something as simple as a medical treatment – a free vaccination of which we thankfully have access to many, can have such a divisive effect on people. The problem a lot of times is misinformation. It is vital to check your sources, fact check before you believe what you see and hear.
This post is now out of date given the borders are now open, yet at the time this was what my life was like. The world all over is heading more towards the right side of the political spectrum and that is largely because of and is based on fear. The media play to this.
Historically, this has been the case since democracy was introduced. When frightened people seek out those who appear to offer control. It is not always the best solution.
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Thank you for your reply and all the best for 2022 and yes the media cause so many problems and fear in someways.
Paul.
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Dear Forestwood
The vaccine is not free, it is only free at point of use. There is a big difference. In the UK and in Australia we pay for them through our taxes.
As vaccines are pointless, I object strongly to this of course as do many others. Perhaps you have nor researched in depth the damage caused by pharmaceutical products in the past to many people and the successful suing of companies that make pharmaceuticals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_pharmaceutical_settlements
I hope you realise the vast amounts of money these companies make yet are happy to continue their unethical practices. Why do you think anything has changed? The love of money, is, and always has been the root of all kinds of evil.
People were frightened by the specter of Covid 19 as a ‘deadly disease’ to surpass existing disease. Yet this is not the case becaues it is the ‘flu made out to be a monster by media and government fear. It is blindingly obvious.
Kind regards
Baldmichael
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I am more aware than you think of the questionable ethics, the power and the danger of pharmaceutical companies and their drugs. But it is not just black and white. There is positive values and drugs and vaccines which are highly beneficial to mankind. To dismiss them out of hand is not helpful.
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Dear Forestwood
I used to assume they were of some use, but then I started in depth research. Because of the facial palsy I have and have had of 3.5 years now, I have undergone various investigations and treatments to try and resolve the issue.
It was only when I started looking at some of the food I had been eating that I realised what was going on. I had been eating bacon with sodium nitrite in it, a toxin used allegedly to help prevent bacterial contamination/improve colour.
This converted to nitrosamines a far more toxic product. The effects of sodium nitrite (E250) has been know about for over 100 years it seems and my own research on nitrosamines indicates that this has been known about for 40 years or so.
There is a very well researched book by Guillaume Coudray called ‘Who poisoned your bacon sandwich?’ which covers these issues.
Yet the truth of this has been suppressed. The NHS does not acknowledge this however, and the oncologist who I see was ignorant of it.
So I started looking at other big pharma drugs and what they do, and as I have indicated by and large they are neuro-toxic and should be avoided. There are gentler ways of dealing with symptoms and correct ways of healing people, but big pharma are only into maintaining customers otherwise they go out of business.
There are some cheap effective drugs, but because patents expire the market price falls and there is not much money to be made. Money is a useful tool but some people love money so much they don’y mind how they get it, even if it harms others.
Kind regards
Baldmichael
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It is well known that bacon is best in only small amounts, due to the nitrites. We are what we eat. and it is best to research foods and improve our diet so that we don’t have to take any pharmaceuticals at all. I try my best to keep away from any drugs. Every drug will have side effects that might be so bad that you need to take another to combat the side effects and on it goes. Each drug will interact on the other. Best to be looking after your body in any other way than taking drugs. But… in some instances it is necessary. Especially as our body breaks down as we age. To say an insulin dependent diabetic should stop taking medication would be crazy. IMO, drugs are chemicals and should be used only when absolutely necessary and other means have been exhausted.
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Think again about casually posting pictures of such places. Not great.
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Clearly you didn’t read the post.
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I read the post. Two branches of my family were killed by the Nazi’s. These are loaded images you are posting without adequate thought.
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Many families had relatives that were killed by the Nazis. You are not alone in that. We cannot change the past and burying it can also have adverse effect of not learning from these awful events.
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