Study gives a new meaning to "parasitic government"

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Pathogens and Politics: Further Evidence That Parasite Prevalence Predicts Authoritarianism

The link between authoritarianism in the society and in the government and prevalence of parasitic infection may be causual or coincidental but the effect is real and correlation factor is very high, 0.6

Parasitic infestation alters one's behavior due to neuro-active compounds released by the parasites into the host's bloodstream. This is well documented. That would explain the causuality, that is one causing the other. Another possibility is that the authoritarian governments often keep most of the popluation in poverty, which then is associated with all sort of infections and infestation risk due to poor hygiene and malnutrition. That would be the coincidental effect, that is one is asociated with the other but not directly causing one another.

There is another interesting essay (and a book link) indirectly related to the topic of authoritarianism, hygiene, lifestyle and parasitic infections. The essay is discussing the origin of human urban civillisation.

Why did we start farming? by Steven Mithen

(book: "Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States", by James C. Scott, Yale, 336 pp, £20.00, September, ISBN 978 0 300 18291 0)

The author is saying that the shift from the neolithic hunting-gathering to settled communities and then cities took place against the logic, reason and against a common sense. It must have been triggered by something powerful enough to overcome a natural human disgust against dreadful work-filled life in overcrowded sewage drenched slums. Shorter lifespan, unhealthy grain-based diet, physical deterioration, more diseases - and autocratic leadership (!). The author is speculating on what some of the compulsive city-forming factors could have been, one of which may have been a religious belief so powerful as to compel people adopt a lifestyle that was contrary to their natural human interests.  Which religion, I wonder?

Babel Tower by  Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Wiki 

It kind of neatly meshes with the parasite-autocratic connection. The process could have been reinforcing itself. As some tribes were compelled/forced (!) to build "cities", then parasitic infections not only would perhaps make it more likely to accept autocratic leadership, which then would reinforce the expansion of the cities. In addition, population inhabiting disease-infested "cities"  would gradually build some disease immunity, while the surrounding nomads would not have such immunity, leading to their decline due to epidemics (or to fleeing the city-infested areas). That would also reinforce the process. It would be interesting to speculate what was the original religion, however it is also possible that the original force was not just a religious idea but set of commands imposed by some advanced visitors who appeared to the local population to be powerful "gods" demanding from their captives to work for them building some large structures or in mining some minerals. Both scenarios are plausible, Middle-Eastern neolithic cities could have either started as religious cults, or as Anunaki/Elohim-run labor-camps for their slaves, or both!

Heretic

Lariam medical drug scandal, manslaughter by authorities against their own own soldiers!

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The title is not an exaggeration! - Manslaughter being defined as an action causing death. This is fully supported by many years of published data!

This is a very sad story that appears to explain the true cause behind the last couple of decades' "epidemics" of severe cases of PTSD (post-traumatic stress-disorder) among soldiers returning home from active duty. It appears that the US, British and probably other governments' officials were putting their own soldiers over many years, on anti-malaria drug Lariam (mefloquine, manufactured originally by Hoffmann–La Roche), ignoring the drug's known neurological side effects. The less severe neurological side effects seem to occur in about a quarter of the soldiers taking them, according to some unconfirmed reports, but in some smaller percentage cases the drug is known to induce what looks like a permanent brain damage triggering homicidal and suicidal psychotic episodes, lasting long after discontinuation of taking the drug, causing death or requiring patient's lock-up in a psychiatric azylum!

Published last week:

Lariam: Hundreds of British soldiers suffering from mental illness after being given anti-malarial drug

Quote:

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been accused of knowingly risking the mental health of its own soldiers after new figures showed that nearly 1,000 British servicemen and women have required psychiatric treatment after taking a discredited anti-malarial drug.

Psychosis, suicidal thoughts, depression and hallucinations are among the mental-health problems associated with Lariam, also known as mefloquine.

But the MoD has rejected all appeals to stop giving the drug to troops posted overseas – to the mounting fury of relatives, politicians and retired military figures who fear it could be responsible for an epidemic of psychiatric illness in Britain’s Armed Forces.

The Independent can reveal that a retired major-general who was given Lariam prior to a deployment to Sierra Leone is among those struggling with the after-effects.

Maj-Gen Alastair Duncan, who commanded British forces in Bosnia, is currently in a secure psychiatric unit after a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) episode over Christmas.

His wife, Ellen, told The Independent: “Like others, I believe that this is a scandal. If 1,000 troops have reported the effects then you can be sure there are others who have not.

It makes me wonder since it does look to me as if some government officials of the countries involved appear to be above the law since almost nothing is being done in spite of the repetitive warnings. As if there were an intention to cover it up. For example, there is an article published on the same subject over a year ago (September 2013):

Exclusive: The Lariam scandal - MoD ‘ignored decades of warnings about dangers of suicide drug’

Quote:

Amid mounting concerns about the dangers of the drug – which has been linked with a string of suicides and murders – the US military acted this month to ban its use among special forces. The decision came after it was linked to the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier.

Speaking to The Independent, a former senior medical officer accused the MoD of ignoring repeated warnings over the dangers of the drug. Lt-Col Ashley Croft, who served for more than 25 years in the Royal Army Medical Corps and is an expert on malaria, said: “For the past 12 years I was saying this is potentially a dangerous drug – most people can take it without problems but a few people will experience difficulties and of those a small number will become psychotic and because there are other alternatives that are safer and just as effective we should move to them but my words fell on deaf ears.”

Lt Col Ashcroft, who retired in April, accused the MoD of being in “denial mode”. He added: “The problem is that it can make people have psychotic thoughts and therefore act in an irrational manner and potentially a manner that is dangerous to themselves or their colleagues, or civilians.”

Doxycycline and malarone are safer drugs which are as effective in preventing malaria, according to the retired officer. “Really the only people that get it [Lariam] now are the poor old soldiers and they have no choice.”

An order issued earlier this month by the US Special Forces Command states: “medical personnel will immediately cease the prescribing and use of mefloquine for malaria prophylaxis”. It adds: “Hallucinations and psychotic behaviour can occur and continue for months or years after mefloquine use; cases of suicidal ideation and suicide have been reported.”

The neurotoxicity of Lariam has been known for years and written about in the media, yet nothing has been done to stop it! Going back in time, see for example this 2003 article: The dark side of Lariam

Last summer, four soldiers from Ft. Bragg were accused of killing their wives. Two of the men committed suicide, and the other two await trial. So many brutal crimes, so similar, so close in time – raised questions, and the army sent a team to investigate.

One possible suspect was mefloquine - brand name Lariam, an anti-malarial drug. It was invented by the U.S. Army and is routinely given to soldiers deployed overseas. In scientific terms, Lariam can cause neuropsychiatric adverse events. In plain language, it can make lose your mind.

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Can Ireland exit EU and join US?

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Something is happening, see the articles:

Soden: Let's quit EU and join US

Frederick Forsyth: Rise up, reclaim your country

Leaving the euro might well be our 'least bad' option

Mike Soden's [Irish Central Bank advisor] announcement is probably not accidental because of it's timing. This issue was simmering since 2008. Ireland jeopardised its sovereignty by assuming their private banking debt on call from Brussels, in return for some guarantees, as revealed through some leaks on David McWilliams forum, recently.

The fact that Soden chose now to speak out plus the rumors of a feud between Lenihan [fin.min.] and Cowen [prime min.], indicate that something bad is happening. My guess is that they are finding out to their surprize that those German and French "guarantees" are probably not as solid as they seemed 2 years ago (if it comes to foreign "guarantees" they should ask Poles - they may know something about that...).

Also, Lenihan has probably realized (by adding up all figures) that Irish economy will not recover on cutbacks alone. The reason is obvious to me or McWilliams - the lack of indigenous industry. A service based economy (with a notable exception of the Swiss banking phenomenon) cannot cut-back its way to prosperity, as Greeks are now finding out too.

[shocking economic heresy=on] You have to actually _produce_ something that other people would buy and charge competitive prices for that. [shocking economic heresy=off]

In my humble opinion, Ireland will not be able to solve it by exiting EU and joining US, going alone or with other alliances - the moment this happens, European banks will probably immediately pull out resources and loans from the Irish banks collapsing them and sinking the state. It is worse than Iceland - Iceland is small enough to survive being cut off, on cod fishing alone. Ireland is too big to do that and too small to do what the British are doing now.

Also, you can see here a classical example of "monkey" regressors' culture in action, among the Irish/EU ruling caste: when everything is well they cooperate, when "bananas" are lacking, they kick out the weakest members out of their herd.

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Update 8-Nov-2010

Interesting articles:

THE BIG PICTURE: Ireland is effectively insolvent – the next crisis will be mass home mortgage default, writes MORGAN KELLY

Eoghan Harris: Public-sector wealth can only lead to private decay

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Update 11-Dec-2010

Interesting article:

Iceland safe, Ireland sorry?


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