Rich Londoners Hire Security, Leave Rolexes At Home Over Knife Crime, Robberies

Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

One of the world’s most popular tourist destinations is struggling with rising levels of robbery, usually involving knives, which has led to an increase in demand for bodyguards, experts say.

A police van outside the gates of the British Museum in London on Aug. 23, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Will Geddes, a former bodyguard and managing director of ICP Group, which provides personal security teams in London, said, “I get regular calls from the United States, from the Far East, from places like China and Hong Kong, from clients who say ’my family or my sister or my girlfriend or whoever is going to be flying over to London, how safe is it?”

“That’s entirely alien to how it was 10 years ago,” he told The Epoch Times.

Geddes said robbery gangs often wait outside some of London’s swankiest nightclubs and follow victims down the street before pouncing on them.

Knife crime in London had risen by 86 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to a report published in July by  think tank Policy Exchange. The crimes were concentrated in areas such as the West End, which features tourist destinations including Oxford Circus and Trafalgar Square.

“London is in the grip of a crime wave of robbery, knife crime and theft,” the report said.

The U.S. State Department warns American tourists on its website, “Be aware of pickpocketing, mugging, and ’snatch and grab' theft of mobile phones, watches, and jewelry.”

In July, 24-year-old Blue Stevens was fatally stabbed outside a five-star hotel in the Knightsbridge area of central London after taking his girlfriend on a date.

Three men were arrested in connection to the attack and released on bail.

“While we retain an open mind around motive, one line of enquiry is now that this may have been a targeted attack,” the Metropolitan Police said.

In a separate attack, five men from north London were found guilty on Aug. 1 of murdering a Greek tourist and conspiracy to rob.

Prosecutors said five men targeted 26-year-old Antonis Antoniadis in July 2024, after he arrived at a nightclub in a Lamborghini sports car, wearing a Versace watch and carrying a Lacoste bag.

“It seems that when that group of five saw Antonis come out of the club, those robbers thought they had found a suitable target,” prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said.

The men followed Antoniadis’s Uber in a stolen car. After arriving at their destination, Antoniadis and his friend struggled to find a door key. The men approached him, wearing hoods and balaclavas.

Antoniadis hit one of the robbers with a brandy bottle as they tried to rob him. He was punched and kicked, then stabbed, causing injuries that led to his death in a hospital two weeks later.

All five attackers face mandatory life in prison when they are sentenced in October.

London Metropolitan Police head of knife crime Cmdr. Hayley Sewart said, “Tackling violent crime is our top priority.”

“Every month across London we are making over 1,000 more arrests than we were last year, with knife-related crime (16 percent) and robbery (13 percent) both falling significantly,” Sewart said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

Five robbers—Shian Johnson (L), Amin Alliche (C), Sofian Alliche (R top), Alfie Hipple (R center), and Joshua McCorquodale (R bottom)—were convicted of the murder of a Greek tourist in London on July 7, 2024. Metropolitan Police ‘Jaded Weariness’

Geddes said there is a “degree of jaded weariness” among wealthy people in London.

“They simply won’t wear their favorite watches. They won’t wear the Patek Philippes, they won’t wear their Audemars Piguets, they won’t wear their Rolexes, just really in fear,” he said.

“I had one client who was walking off Sloane Street [in central London], and it was 8 o'clock in the morning, and a guy comes up behind him and hits him over the head with a machete, causes him unbelievable amount of stitches.”

He said the victim fell to the ground unconscious and the robber took a 60,000 pound watch ($81,000) from his wrist.

Norman Brennan, a knife crime and policing commentator who served 31 years in the police in London, told The Epoch Times that London is no longer safe.

“The reality is that there are areas of London that are lawless. They’re also no-go areas,” Brennan said, adding that the perception of crime was so high in some areas that nonresidents did not want to go there or allow their family members to go there.

Brennan, who served six years in a London police squad dedicated to investigating robberies, said people are afraid. He said there were teams of professional criminals out hunting for potential victims.

“The violence that they use, or are prepared to use, is ultimate, in so much as they will kill a victim to get their watch or expensive jewelry and money,” he said.

Stop and Search

The Policy Exchange report makes several recommendations, including for the police department to increase stop-and-searches. It also urges the government to amend current legislation “to explicitly allow ‘without suspicion’ searches to take place in the most intense violent crime ‘hotspots’ at any time.”

The report suggests that those convicted of robbery “receive an immediate custodial sentence of at least three years.”

Paul Birch, a former London police officer, said he believed the rise in knife crime and muggings is partly due to officers’ reluctance to stop and search people, “for fear of being labeled as racist.”

“Many criminals know this and have taken advantage,” he told The Epoch Times.

In recent years, lawmakers including Labour MP Diane Abbott have said that black people are unfairly targeted in London when police carry out stop-and-searches for drugs, knives, or other weapons.

The chair of the Police Federation in London, Rick Prior, was removed from his position in April for a breach of Metropolitan Police Federation standards. Birch said Prior was sacked after he suggested in a television interview that officers were worried about being labeled racist while patrolling areas of London.

Sewart said that although “we do not agree with all of the analysis” in the Policy Exchange report, the police department has called for justice reform.

“Reducing knife crime requires a whole-of-society effort and we will consider any initiative that seeks to make this happen,” she said.

The leader of Britain’s Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, said during an Aug. 4 press conference that people in the capital are afraid.

“I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 o'clock of an evening wearing jewelry. You wouldn’t do it. You know I’m right,” he told a journalist. “And that’s just in London, let alone what’s happening in so many other parts of the country.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 02:00

Rich Londoners Hire Security, Leave Rolexes At Home Over Knife Crime, Robberies

Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

One of the world’s most popular tourist destinations is struggling with rising levels of robbery, usually involving knives, which has led to an increase in demand for bodyguards, experts say.

A police van outside the gates of the British Museum in London on Aug. 23, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Will Geddes, a former bodyguard and managing director of ICP Group, which provides personal security teams in London, said, “I get regular calls from the United States, from the Far East, from places like China and Hong Kong, from clients who say ’my family or my sister or my girlfriend or whoever is going to be flying over to London, how safe is it?”

“That’s entirely alien to how it was 10 years ago,” he told The Epoch Times.

Geddes said robbery gangs often wait outside some of London’s swankiest nightclubs and follow victims down the street before pouncing on them.

Knife crime in London had risen by 86 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to a report published in July by  think tank Policy Exchange. The crimes were concentrated in areas such as the West End, which features tourist destinations including Oxford Circus and Trafalgar Square.

“London is in the grip of a crime wave of robbery, knife crime and theft,” the report said.

The U.S. State Department warns American tourists on its website, “Be aware of pickpocketing, mugging, and ’snatch and grab' theft of mobile phones, watches, and jewelry.”

In July, 24-year-old Blue Stevens was fatally stabbed outside a five-star hotel in the Knightsbridge area of central London after taking his girlfriend on a date.

Three men were arrested in connection to the attack and released on bail.

“While we retain an open mind around motive, one line of enquiry is now that this may have been a targeted attack,” the Metropolitan Police said.

In a separate attack, five men from north London were found guilty on Aug. 1 of murdering a Greek tourist and conspiracy to rob.

Prosecutors said five men targeted 26-year-old Antonis Antoniadis in July 2024, after he arrived at a nightclub in a Lamborghini sports car, wearing a Versace watch and carrying a Lacoste bag.

“It seems that when that group of five saw Antonis come out of the club, those robbers thought they had found a suitable target,” prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said.

The men followed Antoniadis’s Uber in a stolen car. After arriving at their destination, Antoniadis and his friend struggled to find a door key. The men approached him, wearing hoods and balaclavas.

Antoniadis hit one of the robbers with a brandy bottle as they tried to rob him. He was punched and kicked, then stabbed, causing injuries that led to his death in a hospital two weeks later.

All five attackers face mandatory life in prison when they are sentenced in October.

London Metropolitan Police head of knife crime Cmdr. Hayley Sewart said, “Tackling violent crime is our top priority.”

“Every month across London we are making over 1,000 more arrests than we were last year, with knife-related crime (16 percent) and robbery (13 percent) both falling significantly,” Sewart said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

Five robbers—Shian Johnson (L), Amin Alliche (C), Sofian Alliche (R top), Alfie Hipple (R center), and Joshua McCorquodale (R bottom)—were convicted of the murder of a Greek tourist in London on July 7, 2024. Metropolitan Police ‘Jaded Weariness’

Geddes said there is a “degree of jaded weariness” among wealthy people in London.

“They simply won’t wear their favorite watches. They won’t wear the Patek Philippes, they won’t wear their Audemars Piguets, they won’t wear their Rolexes, just really in fear,” he said.

“I had one client who was walking off Sloane Street [in central London], and it was 8 o'clock in the morning, and a guy comes up behind him and hits him over the head with a machete, causes him unbelievable amount of stitches.”

He said the victim fell to the ground unconscious and the robber took a 60,000 pound watch ($81,000) from his wrist.

Norman Brennan, a knife crime and policing commentator who served 31 years in the police in London, told The Epoch Times that London is no longer safe.

“The reality is that there are areas of London that are lawless. They’re also no-go areas,” Brennan said, adding that the perception of crime was so high in some areas that nonresidents did not want to go there or allow their family members to go there.

Brennan, who served six years in a London police squad dedicated to investigating robberies, said people are afraid. He said there were teams of professional criminals out hunting for potential victims.

“The violence that they use, or are prepared to use, is ultimate, in so much as they will kill a victim to get their watch or expensive jewelry and money,” he said.

Stop and Search

The Policy Exchange report makes several recommendations, including for the police department to increase stop-and-searches. It also urges the government to amend current legislation “to explicitly allow ‘without suspicion’ searches to take place in the most intense violent crime ‘hotspots’ at any time.”

The report suggests that those convicted of robbery “receive an immediate custodial sentence of at least three years.”

Paul Birch, a former London police officer, said he believed the rise in knife crime and muggings is partly due to officers’ reluctance to stop and search people, “for fear of being labeled as racist.”

“Many criminals know this and have taken advantage,” he told The Epoch Times.

In recent years, lawmakers including Labour MP Diane Abbott have said that black people are unfairly targeted in London when police carry out stop-and-searches for drugs, knives, or other weapons.

The chair of the Police Federation in London, Rick Prior, was removed from his position in April for a breach of Metropolitan Police Federation standards. Birch said Prior was sacked after he suggested in a television interview that officers were worried about being labeled racist while patrolling areas of London.

Sewart said that although “we do not agree with all of the analysis” in the Policy Exchange report, the police department has called for justice reform.

“Reducing knife crime requires a whole-of-society effort and we will consider any initiative that seeks to make this happen,” she said.

The leader of Britain’s Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, said during an Aug. 4 press conference that people in the capital are afraid.

“I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 o'clock of an evening wearing jewelry. You wouldn’t do it. You know I’m right,” he told a journalist. “And that’s just in London, let alone what’s happening in so many other parts of the country.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/18/2025 - 02:00

Former Navy SEAL Fights Child Sex Trafficking

Authored by Ilene Eng via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A former Navy SEAL went from battling international terrorism to fighting a different war at home—the war against child sex trafficking.

Former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Child Rescue Craig Sawyer. The Epoch Times

Craig Sawyer, a former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Child Rescue, told EpochTV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program how his background led him to rescue children from trafficking networks that are operating in plain sight.

Sawyer, who grew up in Houston, Texas, joined the Marines at the age of 19 and deployed to various locations.

“I was learning about what [traffickers] were doing, hijacking airplanes and everything, and I just thought that was horrible, and that was the worst evil that I could identify. And I felt compelled to go and stop that from coming here,” he said. “So I ended up ...  at the very top of the counterterror realm of special operations.”

After leaving the military, Sawyer went into law enforcement and did 10 years of high-threat mobile security in war zones for government agencies such as the Department of State and the intelligence community. Eventually, he moved into film and television work and did a mini-series about saving rhinos, an endangered species.

“I learned that by filming something, you could show the rest of the world something that is wrong and rally support to help correct that wrong,” he said.

Around 2015, a friend from the intelligence community told Sawyer that Houston had become an epicenter for child sex trafficking.

“It seemed like the last place on earth that should be allowed or would be allowed, and that’s when I realized it was a covert operation … run domestically at industrial scale, because we found out that … child trafficking in the United States generates more revenue than all pro sports combined,” Sawyer said.

The former SEAL went on to create a documentary to expose the operation, but was unable to get help from either big tech companies or the film industry.

After three years of trying, Sawyer decided to make the documentary himself. He founded a nonprofit and campaigned to generate revenue. Eventually, his documentary, titled “Contraland,” was released in 2019, free for the public to watch.

The one-and-a-half-hour film shows clips from real cases, not reenactments. Cameras were strategically concealed to record the events taking place.

5,000 Predators Respond to Ad

For one of their first operations, they placed a fake ad for a 12-year-old girl on Craigslist in Guilford, Connecticut.

“Five thousand different predators responded to that ad, trying to get to that child. And it just repulsed us, but it revealed the level of pervasiveness of these predators. They’re everywhere. They’re in the nice areas and they’re in the bad areas. They’re everywhere in between,” Sawyer said.

Through an app used for crimes, they arrested a Mormon church elder who targeted two children, in addition to an illegal immigrant, a high-level cartel member, and a trafficker. The app has been taken down.

“Some of these apps take covert still images and videos of your child without the app demonstrating that it has that capability. So the full-grown man who your child may think is another child they’re playing with, is capturing video of your child,” Sawyer explained, adding that child predators also stalk children through video games, smartphones, laptops, and chat apps, and pretend to build trust.

Those images will then be used to blackmail the child by telling them they would be sent to the child’s parents or school. According to Sawyer, a lot of these children end up taking their own lives because their brains are not developed yet and cannot process the betrayal.

He recommends that parents be more involved in their child’s life and monitor what they see or who they talk to on their devices.

Sawyer said they have up to nine agencies involved in their joint operations.

“We’ve got 29 child predator arrests with a 100 percent conviction rate. We’ve got 87 warrants for more now. So the ongoing operation is growing.”

Daughter Was a Victim

In 2018, Sawyer’s daughter, Aspen, was kidnapped and raped at 18. Her story is also included in “Contraland.”

“I woke up like I felt like I was in a war zone,” he recalled. “My wife told me that our daughter was driving home, and I could hear my daughter screaming through the phone. Very upsetting to hear someone that’s that precious to you screaming like that. So I jumped on my phone, started calling the sheriff’s department, and seeing if they could interdict her and make her safe.”

His daughter drove so fast that she got home before they could go out and find her, he said. They took her to the hospital, and she decided she wanted to fight back. Now a junior decoy agent for their operations, she acts as a chatter, talking to predators online who come for her.

“They get arrested, and ... it’s interesting to watch how she folds her—she’s petite—she folds her arms, and she stands in front of them when they’re being arrested and handcuffed. And I asked her, ‘What is that about, Aspen? What’s that stare-down thing you do?’ And she said, ‘I’m taking my power back, because when I watch them turn from predator into prisoner, it’s healing for me’.”

Sawyer explained that gang members who used to sell guns and narcotics are bringing children into the United States illegally without their parents, and selling them like commodities from motel rooms, abandoned hotels, houses, and drug cartels.

He has been advocating for better law enforcement, changing legislation, and getting rid of corrupt public officials. He believes revamping the educational system to teach children to be resistant to predators is an important factor in fighting crime. The topic is often censored, but more exposure would let more people be aware and make it culturally unacceptable.

“We’re creating more documentaries, and we do social media campaigns, and flyers, and NASCAR, billboards, and public speaking—all of it to get the word out past all the gatekeepers that don’t want the American people to know,” Sawyer said.

“We want them empowered with the knowledge of what’s happening to our children, so that we can all link arms and say no to this evil.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 23:20

Former Navy SEAL Fights Child Sex Trafficking

Authored by Ilene Eng via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A former Navy SEAL went from battling international terrorism to fighting a different war at home—the war against child sex trafficking.

Former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Child Rescue Craig Sawyer. The Epoch Times

Craig Sawyer, a former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Child Rescue, told EpochTV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program how his background led him to rescue children from trafficking networks that are operating in plain sight.

Sawyer, who grew up in Houston, Texas, joined the Marines at the age of 19 and deployed to various locations.

“I was learning about what [traffickers] were doing, hijacking airplanes and everything, and I just thought that was horrible, and that was the worst evil that I could identify. And I felt compelled to go and stop that from coming here,” he said. “So I ended up ...  at the very top of the counterterror realm of special operations.”

After leaving the military, Sawyer went into law enforcement and did 10 years of high-threat mobile security in war zones for government agencies such as the Department of State and the intelligence community. Eventually, he moved into film and television work and did a mini-series about saving rhinos, an endangered species.

“I learned that by filming something, you could show the rest of the world something that is wrong and rally support to help correct that wrong,” he said.

Around 2015, a friend from the intelligence community told Sawyer that Houston had become an epicenter for child sex trafficking.

“It seemed like the last place on earth that should be allowed or would be allowed, and that’s when I realized it was a covert operation … run domestically at industrial scale, because we found out that … child trafficking in the United States generates more revenue than all pro sports combined,” Sawyer said.

The former SEAL went on to create a documentary to expose the operation, but was unable to get help from either big tech companies or the film industry.

After three years of trying, Sawyer decided to make the documentary himself. He founded a nonprofit and campaigned to generate revenue. Eventually, his documentary, titled “Contraland,” was released in 2019, free for the public to watch.

The one-and-a-half-hour film shows clips from real cases, not reenactments. Cameras were strategically concealed to record the events taking place.

5,000 Predators Respond to Ad

For one of their first operations, they placed a fake ad for a 12-year-old girl on Craigslist in Guilford, Connecticut.

“Five thousand different predators responded to that ad, trying to get to that child. And it just repulsed us, but it revealed the level of pervasiveness of these predators. They’re everywhere. They’re in the nice areas and they’re in the bad areas. They’re everywhere in between,” Sawyer said.

Through an app used for crimes, they arrested a Mormon church elder who targeted two children, in addition to an illegal immigrant, a high-level cartel member, and a trafficker. The app has been taken down.

“Some of these apps take covert still images and videos of your child without the app demonstrating that it has that capability. So the full-grown man who your child may think is another child they’re playing with, is capturing video of your child,” Sawyer explained, adding that child predators also stalk children through video games, smartphones, laptops, and chat apps, and pretend to build trust.

Those images will then be used to blackmail the child by telling them they would be sent to the child’s parents or school. According to Sawyer, a lot of these children end up taking their own lives because their brains are not developed yet and cannot process the betrayal.

He recommends that parents be more involved in their child’s life and monitor what they see or who they talk to on their devices.

Sawyer said they have up to nine agencies involved in their joint operations.

“We’ve got 29 child predator arrests with a 100 percent conviction rate. We’ve got 87 warrants for more now. So the ongoing operation is growing.”

Daughter Was a Victim

In 2018, Sawyer’s daughter, Aspen, was kidnapped and raped at 18. Her story is also included in “Contraland.”

“I woke up like I felt like I was in a war zone,” he recalled. “My wife told me that our daughter was driving home, and I could hear my daughter screaming through the phone. Very upsetting to hear someone that’s that precious to you screaming like that. So I jumped on my phone, started calling the sheriff’s department, and seeing if they could interdict her and make her safe.”

His daughter drove so fast that she got home before they could go out and find her, he said. They took her to the hospital, and she decided she wanted to fight back. Now a junior decoy agent for their operations, she acts as a chatter, talking to predators online who come for her.

“They get arrested, and ... it’s interesting to watch how she folds her—she’s petite—she folds her arms, and she stands in front of them when they’re being arrested and handcuffed. And I asked her, ‘What is that about, Aspen? What’s that stare-down thing you do?’ And she said, ‘I’m taking my power back, because when I watch them turn from predator into prisoner, it’s healing for me’.”

Sawyer explained that gang members who used to sell guns and narcotics are bringing children into the United States illegally without their parents, and selling them like commodities from motel rooms, abandoned hotels, houses, and drug cartels.

He has been advocating for better law enforcement, changing legislation, and getting rid of corrupt public officials. He believes revamping the educational system to teach children to be resistant to predators is an important factor in fighting crime. The topic is often censored, but more exposure would let more people be aware and make it culturally unacceptable.

“We’re creating more documentaries, and we do social media campaigns, and flyers, and NASCAR, billboards, and public speaking—all of it to get the word out past all the gatekeepers that don’t want the American people to know,” Sawyer said.

“We want them empowered with the knowledge of what’s happening to our children, so that we can all link arms and say no to this evil.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 23:20

Former Navy SEAL Fights Child Sex Trafficking

Authored by Ilene Eng via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A former Navy SEAL went from battling international terrorism to fighting a different war at home—the war against child sex trafficking.

Former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Child Rescue Craig Sawyer. The Epoch Times

Craig Sawyer, a former Navy SEAL and founder of Veterans for Child Rescue, told EpochTV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program how his background led him to rescue children from trafficking networks that are operating in plain sight.

Sawyer, who grew up in Houston, Texas, joined the Marines at the age of 19 and deployed to various locations.

“I was learning about what [traffickers] were doing, hijacking airplanes and everything, and I just thought that was horrible, and that was the worst evil that I could identify. And I felt compelled to go and stop that from coming here,” he said. “So I ended up ...  at the very top of the counterterror realm of special operations.”

After leaving the military, Sawyer went into law enforcement and did 10 years of high-threat mobile security in war zones for government agencies such as the Department of State and the intelligence community. Eventually, he moved into film and television work and did a mini-series about saving rhinos, an endangered species.

“I learned that by filming something, you could show the rest of the world something that is wrong and rally support to help correct that wrong,” he said.

Around 2015, a friend from the intelligence community told Sawyer that Houston had become an epicenter for child sex trafficking.

“It seemed like the last place on earth that should be allowed or would be allowed, and that’s when I realized it was a covert operation … run domestically at industrial scale, because we found out that … child trafficking in the United States generates more revenue than all pro sports combined,” Sawyer said.

The former SEAL went on to create a documentary to expose the operation, but was unable to get help from either big tech companies or the film industry.

After three years of trying, Sawyer decided to make the documentary himself. He founded a nonprofit and campaigned to generate revenue. Eventually, his documentary, titled “Contraland,” was released in 2019, free for the public to watch.

The one-and-a-half-hour film shows clips from real cases, not reenactments. Cameras were strategically concealed to record the events taking place.

5,000 Predators Respond to Ad

For one of their first operations, they placed a fake ad for a 12-year-old girl on Craigslist in Guilford, Connecticut.

“Five thousand different predators responded to that ad, trying to get to that child. And it just repulsed us, but it revealed the level of pervasiveness of these predators. They’re everywhere. They’re in the nice areas and they’re in the bad areas. They’re everywhere in between,” Sawyer said.

Through an app used for crimes, they arrested a Mormon church elder who targeted two children, in addition to an illegal immigrant, a high-level cartel member, and a trafficker. The app has been taken down.

“Some of these apps take covert still images and videos of your child without the app demonstrating that it has that capability. So the full-grown man who your child may think is another child they’re playing with, is capturing video of your child,” Sawyer explained, adding that child predators also stalk children through video games, smartphones, laptops, and chat apps, and pretend to build trust.

Those images will then be used to blackmail the child by telling them they would be sent to the child’s parents or school. According to Sawyer, a lot of these children end up taking their own lives because their brains are not developed yet and cannot process the betrayal.

He recommends that parents be more involved in their child’s life and monitor what they see or who they talk to on their devices.

Sawyer said they have up to nine agencies involved in their joint operations.

“We’ve got 29 child predator arrests with a 100 percent conviction rate. We’ve got 87 warrants for more now. So the ongoing operation is growing.”

Daughter Was a Victim

In 2018, Sawyer’s daughter, Aspen, was kidnapped and raped at 18. Her story is also included in “Contraland.”

“I woke up like I felt like I was in a war zone,” he recalled. “My wife told me that our daughter was driving home, and I could hear my daughter screaming through the phone. Very upsetting to hear someone that’s that precious to you screaming like that. So I jumped on my phone, started calling the sheriff’s department, and seeing if they could interdict her and make her safe.”

His daughter drove so fast that she got home before they could go out and find her, he said. They took her to the hospital, and she decided she wanted to fight back. Now a junior decoy agent for their operations, she acts as a chatter, talking to predators online who come for her.

“They get arrested, and ... it’s interesting to watch how she folds her—she’s petite—she folds her arms, and she stands in front of them when they’re being arrested and handcuffed. And I asked her, ‘What is that about, Aspen? What’s that stare-down thing you do?’ And she said, ‘I’m taking my power back, because when I watch them turn from predator into prisoner, it’s healing for me’.”

Sawyer explained that gang members who used to sell guns and narcotics are bringing children into the United States illegally without their parents, and selling them like commodities from motel rooms, abandoned hotels, houses, and drug cartels.

He has been advocating for better law enforcement, changing legislation, and getting rid of corrupt public officials. He believes revamping the educational system to teach children to be resistant to predators is an important factor in fighting crime. The topic is often censored, but more exposure would let more people be aware and make it culturally unacceptable.

“We’re creating more documentaries, and we do social media campaigns, and flyers, and NASCAR, billboards, and public speaking—all of it to get the word out past all the gatekeepers that don’t want the American people to know,” Sawyer said.

“We want them empowered with the knowledge of what’s happening to our children, so that we can all link arms and say no to this evil.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 23:20

FDA Approves Therapy For Rare Disease Without Randomized Trial Data

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 14 approved a therapy for a rare disease called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Regulators cleared Papzimeos, an immunotherapy made by Precigen, citing data from a single-arm, open-label trial that looked at how it performed in adults with RRP and who needed at least three surgeries a year.

Patients received four injections of the therapy over 12 weeks following surgical procedures.

About half of the participants needed no surgery in the year following treatment. The safety profile was also deemed favorable.

“Randomized trials are not always needed to approve medical products and this approval is proof of that philosophy,” Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

“The FDA will always demand the correct clinical study for the specific medical product and disease. Our requirements for products given to tens of millions of healthy people will be different than products given to at most hundreds or thousands of patients with unique diseases.”

The approval is the first announcement from Prasad after he rejoined the FDA following his July resignation.

Prasad had received criticism for not approving enough new drugs and therapies, including from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, which said that Prasad “has long criticized such single-arm studies that have no placebo groups.”

Replimune’s treatment for advanced melanoma is among the drugs the FDA has rejected since Prasad became its top vaccine and biologics official.

Prasad said in May that he favors randomized clinical trials but that for some rare diseases, it would be difficult or even impossible to complete such trials. He said that the FDA would have a “flexible regulatory standard” that takes into account “the context of a disease.”

In June, in an article co-authored by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, he said that for some products targeting rare diseases, “premarket randomized trials may not be feasible.”

RRP, which is caused by human papillomavirus, features the development of noncancerous tumors in the air passages inside the body. Without removal, the tumors lead to problems such as difficulty breathing.

People with the disease typically undergo multiple surgeries per year because the tumors often regrow after removal.

About 1,000 new cases of RRP are diagnosed in the United States on an annual basis, according to the FDA.

Before the approval of Papzimeos, there were no approved therapies for RRP.

“For more than a century, since RRP was first recognized as a distinct disease, patients have had to rely on repeated surgeries to manage this relentless condition,” Precigen CEO Helen Sabzevari said in a statement. “Today marks a historic turning point.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 22:10

FDA Approves Therapy For Rare Disease Without Randomized Trial Data

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 14 approved a therapy for a rare disease called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Regulators cleared Papzimeos, an immunotherapy made by Precigen, citing data from a single-arm, open-label trial that looked at how it performed in adults with RRP and who needed at least three surgeries a year.

Patients received four injections of the therapy over 12 weeks following surgical procedures.

About half of the participants needed no surgery in the year following treatment. The safety profile was also deemed favorable.

“Randomized trials are not always needed to approve medical products and this approval is proof of that philosophy,” Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

“The FDA will always demand the correct clinical study for the specific medical product and disease. Our requirements for products given to tens of millions of healthy people will be different than products given to at most hundreds or thousands of patients with unique diseases.”

The approval is the first announcement from Prasad after he rejoined the FDA following his July resignation.

Prasad had received criticism for not approving enough new drugs and therapies, including from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, which said that Prasad “has long criticized such single-arm studies that have no placebo groups.”

Replimune’s treatment for advanced melanoma is among the drugs the FDA has rejected since Prasad became its top vaccine and biologics official.

Prasad said in May that he favors randomized clinical trials but that for some rare diseases, it would be difficult or even impossible to complete such trials. He said that the FDA would have a “flexible regulatory standard” that takes into account “the context of a disease.”

In June, in an article co-authored by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, he said that for some products targeting rare diseases, “premarket randomized trials may not be feasible.”

RRP, which is caused by human papillomavirus, features the development of noncancerous tumors in the air passages inside the body. Without removal, the tumors lead to problems such as difficulty breathing.

People with the disease typically undergo multiple surgeries per year because the tumors often regrow after removal.

About 1,000 new cases of RRP are diagnosed in the United States on an annual basis, according to the FDA.

Before the approval of Papzimeos, there were no approved therapies for RRP.

“For more than a century, since RRP was first recognized as a distinct disease, patients have had to rely on repeated surgeries to manage this relentless condition,” Precigen CEO Helen Sabzevari said in a statement. “Today marks a historic turning point.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 22:10

FDA Approves Therapy For Rare Disease Without Randomized Trial Data

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 14 approved a therapy for a rare disease called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Regulators cleared Papzimeos, an immunotherapy made by Precigen, citing data from a single-arm, open-label trial that looked at how it performed in adults with RRP and who needed at least three surgeries a year.

Patients received four injections of the therapy over 12 weeks following surgical procedures.

About half of the participants needed no surgery in the year following treatment. The safety profile was also deemed favorable.

“Randomized trials are not always needed to approve medical products and this approval is proof of that philosophy,” Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

“The FDA will always demand the correct clinical study for the specific medical product and disease. Our requirements for products given to tens of millions of healthy people will be different than products given to at most hundreds or thousands of patients with unique diseases.”

The approval is the first announcement from Prasad after he rejoined the FDA following his July resignation.

Prasad had received criticism for not approving enough new drugs and therapies, including from the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, which said that Prasad “has long criticized such single-arm studies that have no placebo groups.”

Replimune’s treatment for advanced melanoma is among the drugs the FDA has rejected since Prasad became its top vaccine and biologics official.

Prasad said in May that he favors randomized clinical trials but that for some rare diseases, it would be difficult or even impossible to complete such trials. He said that the FDA would have a “flexible regulatory standard” that takes into account “the context of a disease.”

In June, in an article co-authored by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, he said that for some products targeting rare diseases, “premarket randomized trials may not be feasible.”

RRP, which is caused by human papillomavirus, features the development of noncancerous tumors in the air passages inside the body. Without removal, the tumors lead to problems such as difficulty breathing.

People with the disease typically undergo multiple surgeries per year because the tumors often regrow after removal.

About 1,000 new cases of RRP are diagnosed in the United States on an annual basis, according to the FDA.

Before the approval of Papzimeos, there were no approved therapies for RRP.

“For more than a century, since RRP was first recognized as a distinct disease, patients have had to rely on repeated surgeries to manage this relentless condition,” Precigen CEO Helen Sabzevari said in a statement. “Today marks a historic turning point.”

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 22:10

Judge Puts Infowars Up For Sale Again As Leftists Clamor For Alex Jones Takedown

The establishment media has long argued that the Sandy Hook lawsuits against Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, are about "justice" for grieving parents suffering from harassment.  However, the actions of the plaintiffs and others involved in the civil case suggest that their goals are highly political and have little to do with compensating for alleged pain caused by Jones voicing his opinions on the event. 

If the suit was simply about reparations for hardship of the "victims" caused by defamation, then the payout would have been based on an amount Jones could realistically produce.  Instead, judges awarded 15 plaintiffs $1.5 billion in damages; an insane punishment designed to bury Jones forever.  

Because a bankruptcy judge in Connecticut ruled Jones' behavior was "willful and malicious" in spreading "false information" about the Sandy Hook shooting, his debt to the families cannot be erased through bankruptcy proceedings and Jones could be required to continue to pay on all future income until the the plaintiffs receive the full amount. 

Meaning, the political left wants to make Jones into a pauper or a slave for the rest of his life and a cautionary tale to others in the alternative media. 

Furthermore, officials in charge of the initial auction allegedly rigged the outcome in favor of a sale to leftist propaganda rag, The Onion.  The Onion did not have the cash on hand to service their $7 million bid for the sale, instead they relied on a deal that would have tapped into Jones' future payments to the plaintiffs, as if Jones' wallet could be treated as a bank account in control of The Onion (otherwise known as a "contingency bid").  

The Onion offered $1.75 million in actual cash for Infowars assets. First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones' name that sells nutritional supplements bid $3.5 million, but somehow The Onion still won the auction.  Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez blocked the sale and criticized the auction process as flawed.  He said the outcome "left a lot of money on the table" for families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 

In other words, this suggests that the plaintiffs were willing to sacrifice part of their damages just to see The Onion take control of Infowars and humiliate Jones. But again, the lawsuits weren't politically motivated at all...

A new decision by Texas Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in a Wednesday hearing orders that Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, will once again be turned over to a court-appointed receiver, who will be responsible for selling the assets and using the proceeds to pay Jones’ debts to the Sandy Hook families.

Numerous progressive legacy outlets jumped on the story this week, all of them hoping that The Onion will still be able to buy the brand and turn it into a "parody of itself".  Of course, this would require that they have more cash on hand than any competing buyers.  It also requires a level of comedy talent that doesn't exist at The Onion, which means readers would be few and the Infowars parody website would likely fade into obscurity.   

Leftists have been salivating over the possible dismantling of Alex Jones' media empire for years, believing that the selling of his assets will represent a massive "victory" for their side and remove one of their most popular enemies from the culture war chessboard. 

Of course, even if they were to get exactly what they want, Jones has already essentially won.  The leftists are on the run and the national shift has been dramatic since the Sandy Hook suit was decided.  Jones has helped to accomplish a primary goal - The defeat of woke ideology in America. 

By extension, the sale of Infowars is not looked upon as an act of "justice being served" by most of the public.  It is regarded as a petty sabotage by a fearful, shrinking political minority desperate to prevent the voices of their ideological opponents from being heard.  It is not the kind of win that the woke club thinks it is.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 21:35

Judge Puts Infowars Up For Sale Again As Leftists Clamor For Alex Jones Takedown

The establishment media has long argued that the Sandy Hook lawsuits against Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, are about "justice" for grieving parents suffering from harassment.  However, the actions of the plaintiffs and others involved in the civil case suggest that their goals are highly political and have little to do with compensating for alleged pain caused by Jones voicing his opinions on the event. 

If the suit was simply about reparations for hardship of the "victims" caused by defamation, then the payout would have been based on an amount Jones could realistically produce.  Instead, judges awarded 15 plaintiffs $1.5 billion in damages; an insane punishment designed to bury Jones forever.  

Because a bankruptcy judge in Connecticut ruled Jones' behavior was "willful and malicious" in spreading "false information" about the Sandy Hook shooting, his debt to the families cannot be erased through bankruptcy proceedings and Jones could be required to continue to pay on all future income until the the plaintiffs receive the full amount. 

Meaning, the political left wants to make Jones into a pauper or a slave for the rest of his life and a cautionary tale to others in the alternative media. 

Furthermore, officials in charge of the initial auction allegedly rigged the outcome in favor of a sale to leftist propaganda rag, The Onion.  The Onion did not have the cash on hand to service their $7 million bid for the sale, instead they relied on a deal that would have tapped into Jones' future payments to the plaintiffs, as if Jones' wallet could be treated as a bank account in control of The Onion (otherwise known as a "contingency bid").  

The Onion offered $1.75 million in actual cash for Infowars assets. First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones' name that sells nutritional supplements bid $3.5 million, but somehow The Onion still won the auction.  Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez blocked the sale and criticized the auction process as flawed.  He said the outcome "left a lot of money on the table" for families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 

In other words, this suggests that the plaintiffs were willing to sacrifice part of their damages just to see The Onion take control of Infowars and humiliate Jones. But again, the lawsuits weren't politically motivated at all...

A new decision by Texas Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in a Wednesday hearing orders that Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, will once again be turned over to a court-appointed receiver, who will be responsible for selling the assets and using the proceeds to pay Jones’ debts to the Sandy Hook families.

Numerous progressive legacy outlets jumped on the story this week, all of them hoping that The Onion will still be able to buy the brand and turn it into a "parody of itself".  Of course, this would require that they have more cash on hand than any competing buyers.  It also requires a level of comedy talent that doesn't exist at The Onion, which means readers would be few and the Infowars parody website would likely fade into obscurity.   

Leftists have been salivating over the possible dismantling of Alex Jones' media empire for years, believing that the selling of his assets will represent a massive "victory" for their side and remove one of their most popular enemies from the culture war chessboard. 

Of course, even if they were to get exactly what they want, Jones has already essentially won.  The leftists are on the run and the national shift has been dramatic since the Sandy Hook suit was decided.  Jones has helped to accomplish a primary goal - The defeat of woke ideology in America. 

By extension, the sale of Infowars is not looked upon as an act of "justice being served" by most of the public.  It is regarded as a petty sabotage by a fearful, shrinking political minority desperate to prevent the voices of their ideological opponents from being heard.  It is not the kind of win that the woke club thinks it is.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 21:35

Judge Puts Infowars Up For Sale Again As Leftists Clamor For Alex Jones Takedown

The establishment media has long argued that the Sandy Hook lawsuits against Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, are about "justice" for grieving parents suffering from harassment.  However, the actions of the plaintiffs and others involved in the civil case suggest that their goals are highly political and have little to do with compensating for alleged pain caused by Jones voicing his opinions on the event. 

If the suit was simply about reparations for hardship of the "victims" caused by defamation, then the payout would have been based on an amount Jones could realistically produce.  Instead, judges awarded 15 plaintiffs $1.5 billion in damages; an insane punishment designed to bury Jones forever.  

Because a bankruptcy judge in Connecticut ruled Jones' behavior was "willful and malicious" in spreading "false information" about the Sandy Hook shooting, his debt to the families cannot be erased through bankruptcy proceedings and Jones could be required to continue to pay on all future income until the the plaintiffs receive the full amount. 

Meaning, the political left wants to make Jones into a pauper or a slave for the rest of his life and a cautionary tale to others in the alternative media. 

Furthermore, officials in charge of the initial auction allegedly rigged the outcome in favor of a sale to leftist propaganda rag, The Onion.  The Onion did not have the cash on hand to service their $7 million bid for the sale, instead they relied on a deal that would have tapped into Jones' future payments to the plaintiffs, as if Jones' wallet could be treated as a bank account in control of The Onion (otherwise known as a "contingency bid").  

The Onion offered $1.75 million in actual cash for Infowars assets. First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones' name that sells nutritional supplements bid $3.5 million, but somehow The Onion still won the auction.  Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez blocked the sale and criticized the auction process as flawed.  He said the outcome "left a lot of money on the table" for families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 

In other words, this suggests that the plaintiffs were willing to sacrifice part of their damages just to see The Onion take control of Infowars and humiliate Jones. But again, the lawsuits weren't politically motivated at all...

A new decision by Texas Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in a Wednesday hearing orders that Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, will once again be turned over to a court-appointed receiver, who will be responsible for selling the assets and using the proceeds to pay Jones’ debts to the Sandy Hook families.

Numerous progressive legacy outlets jumped on the story this week, all of them hoping that The Onion will still be able to buy the brand and turn it into a "parody of itself".  Of course, this would require that they have more cash on hand than any competing buyers.  It also requires a level of comedy talent that doesn't exist at The Onion, which means readers would be few and the Infowars parody website would likely fade into obscurity.   

Leftists have been salivating over the possible dismantling of Alex Jones' media empire for years, believing that the selling of his assets will represent a massive "victory" for their side and remove one of their most popular enemies from the culture war chessboard. 

Of course, even if they were to get exactly what they want, Jones has already essentially won.  The leftists are on the run and the national shift has been dramatic since the Sandy Hook suit was decided.  Jones has helped to accomplish a primary goal - The defeat of woke ideology in America. 

By extension, the sale of Infowars is not looked upon as an act of "justice being served" by most of the public.  It is regarded as a petty sabotage by a fearful, shrinking political minority desperate to prevent the voices of their ideological opponents from being heard.  It is not the kind of win that the woke club thinks it is.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 21:35

New GPS Data Reveals Exactly Who Showed Up At White House Protests

Dark-money-funded leftist NGOs were at it again this weekend, attempting to stage a color-revolution-style regime change in Washington, D.C., right outside the White House. But as with every operation this year, dating back to "Tesla Takedown," the only people these far-left groups, funded by rogue billionaires and some with taxpayer funds, managed to summon were the usual unhinged white baby-boomer liberal, serial protesters at best, with nothing else better to do. 

Self-proclaimed investor and "CIA/NSA contractor/whistleblower" Tony Seruga wrote on X about who potentially attended the D.C. protest march on Saturday. Using device data collected from the area, Seruga found it was largely the same crowd, leftist NGO foot soldiers - or repeat protesters from previous marches... 

Here's a breakdown of Seruga's data: 

Device Analysis

• 318 mobile devices present (law enforcement, media, and demonstrators).

• 92% of devices had been at 5+ past D.C. protests.

• 67 devices tied to federal government employees, with access to secured federal buildings (DoD, VA, DHS, DOJ, FBI, Treasury).

• 9 devices accessed the White House Northwest Gate multiple times in the prior 30 days.

Demographics: Mostly local DMV residents; 86.7% from homes valued >$850,000, 34% from homes valued >$2.5 million.

Protest Details

• Branded as "Free DC" and "Fight the Trump Takeover".

• Targeted Trump's federalization of D.C. policing and National Guard deployments from GOP states.

• Route: Dupont Circle → White House (~1.5 miles). Chants/signs: "Trump Must Go", "Hands Off DC".

• Part of broader anti-Trump demonstrations nationwide.

Organizers & Funding

• Led by Community Change and Community Change Action under the "Free DC" initiative.

• Backed by $20M+ from progressive dark-money networks: Soros' Open Society Foundations Arabella Advisors network Tides Foundation

Paid Participation

• Reports of 400% surge in demand for paid protesters in D.C. after Trump's announcements.

• Crowds on Demand confirmed anti-Trump events drove most inquiries.

• Soros allegedly spent $20M on crowd-rental services for demonstrations.

GPS—there were 318 mobile devices present, including law enforcement and media. 92% have been present at 5 or more past DC protests.

67 appear to likely be federal government employees, with their mobile devices accessing both keycard required garages and federal buildings,… https://t.co/f4y1hiFNv1

— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) August 17, 2025

Free speech in the U.S. was never intended to serve as a perpetual vehicle for a permanent protest industrial complex funded by leftist billionaires and new indications that foreign adversaries could be sowing chaos in the U.S., exploiting the NGO sphere: Think Communist billionaire Neville Roy Singham...

Communist Billionaire Accused Of Funding Anti-ICE Riots Mysteriously Vanishes https://t.co/NjFnJGKxht

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 10, 2025

What certainly caught everyone's attention was a recent interview between NewsNation's Brian Entin and Adam Swart, CEO of an activist group called 'Crowds on Demand'.

Swart told Entin that an unnamed organization offered his company $20 million to recruit demonstrators for the anti-Trump protests in July. 

He told the journalist, "We had to reject an offer worth around $20 million for nationwide, large-scale demonstrations across the country. Personally, I don't think it's effective. I'm rejecting the contract not because I don't want the business, but because, frankly, this is going to be ineffective and make us all look bad."

The CEO of “Crowds on Demand” tells me he was offered $20,000,000 to recruit demonstrators for the anti-Trump protests on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/2A6ezwo0cc

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) July 15, 2025

From Seruga's GPS data to the interview with the Crowds on Demand CEO, the picture that readers have known all along is clear: the permanent protester industrial complex is bankrolled by leftist billionaires (and possibly group ex-US). Some of these groups were highly successful during the Marxist revolt of 2020 via BLM and other rogue non-profits, but their latest color-revolution-style operation has run into brick walls, especially after the Trump administration deployed federal soldiers into Los Angeles earlier this summer to crush the Marxist anti-ICE chaos.

The permanent protester industrial complex will march on - and its followers include unhinged white baby boomers, some of whom look like they were bused in from retirement homes.

Old White liberals carry signs during a protest against President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Trump administration is waking up to how foreign adversaries are using rogue leftist NGO networks for irregular warfare.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 20:25

New GPS Data Reveals Exactly Who Showed Up At White House Protests

Dark-money-funded leftist NGOs were at it again this weekend, attempting to stage a color-revolution-style regime change in Washington, D.C., right outside the White House. But as with every operation this year, dating back to "Tesla Takedown," the only people these far-left groups, funded by rogue billionaires and some with taxpayer funds, managed to summon were the usual unhinged white baby-boomer liberal, serial protesters at best, with nothing else better to do. 

Self-proclaimed investor and "CIA/NSA contractor/whistleblower" Tony Seruga wrote on X about who potentially attended the D.C. protest march on Saturday. Using device data collected from the area, Seruga found it was largely the same crowd, leftist NGO foot soldiers - or repeat protesters from previous marches... 

Here's a breakdown of Seruga's data: 

Device Analysis

• 318 mobile devices present (law enforcement, media, and demonstrators).

• 92% of devices had been at 5+ past D.C. protests.

• 67 devices tied to federal government employees, with access to secured federal buildings (DoD, VA, DHS, DOJ, FBI, Treasury).

• 9 devices accessed the White House Northwest Gate multiple times in the prior 30 days.

Demographics: Mostly local DMV residents; 86.7% from homes valued >$850,000, 34% from homes valued >$2.5 million.

Protest Details

• Branded as "Free DC" and "Fight the Trump Takeover".

• Targeted Trump's federalization of D.C. policing and National Guard deployments from GOP states.

• Route: Dupont Circle → White House (~1.5 miles). Chants/signs: "Trump Must Go", "Hands Off DC".

• Part of broader anti-Trump demonstrations nationwide.

Organizers & Funding

• Led by Community Change and Community Change Action under the "Free DC" initiative.

• Backed by $20M+ from progressive dark-money networks: Soros' Open Society Foundations Arabella Advisors network Tides Foundation

Paid Participation

• Reports of 400% surge in demand for paid protesters in D.C. after Trump's announcements.

• Crowds on Demand confirmed anti-Trump events drove most inquiries.

• Soros allegedly spent $20M on crowd-rental services for demonstrations.

GPS—there were 318 mobile devices present, including law enforcement and media. 92% have been present at 5 or more past DC protests.

67 appear to likely be federal government employees, with their mobile devices accessing both keycard required garages and federal buildings,… https://t.co/f4y1hiFNv1

— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) August 17, 2025

Free speech in the U.S. was never intended to serve as a perpetual vehicle for a permanent protest industrial complex funded by leftist billionaires and new indications that foreign adversaries could be sowing chaos in the U.S., exploiting the NGO sphere: Think Communist billionaire Neville Roy Singham...

Communist Billionaire Accused Of Funding Anti-ICE Riots Mysteriously Vanishes https://t.co/NjFnJGKxht

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 10, 2025

What certainly caught everyone's attention was a recent interview between NewsNation's Brian Entin and Adam Swart, CEO of an activist group called 'Crowds on Demand'.

Swart told Entin that an unnamed organization offered his company $20 million to recruit demonstrators for the anti-Trump protests in July. 

He told the journalist, "We had to reject an offer worth around $20 million for nationwide, large-scale demonstrations across the country. Personally, I don't think it's effective. I'm rejecting the contract not because I don't want the business, but because, frankly, this is going to be ineffective and make us all look bad."

The CEO of “Crowds on Demand” tells me he was offered $20,000,000 to recruit demonstrators for the anti-Trump protests on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/2A6ezwo0cc

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) July 15, 2025

From Seruga's GPS data to the interview with the Crowds on Demand CEO, the picture that readers have known all along is clear: the permanent protester industrial complex is bankrolled by leftist billionaires (and possibly group ex-US). Some of these groups were highly successful during the Marxist revolt of 2020 via BLM and other rogue non-profits, but their latest color-revolution-style operation has run into brick walls, especially after the Trump administration deployed federal soldiers into Los Angeles earlier this summer to crush the Marxist anti-ICE chaos.

The permanent protester industrial complex will march on - and its followers include unhinged white baby boomers, some of whom look like they were bused in from retirement homes.

Old White liberals carry signs during a protest against President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Trump administration is waking up to how foreign adversaries are using rogue leftist NGO networks for irregular warfare.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 20:25

New GPS Data Reveals Exactly Who Showed Up At White House Protests

Dark-money-funded leftist NGOs were at it again this weekend, attempting to stage a color-revolution-style regime change in Washington, D.C., right outside the White House. But as with every operation this year, dating back to "Tesla Takedown," the only people these far-left groups, funded by rogue billionaires and some with taxpayer funds, managed to summon were the usual unhinged white baby-boomer liberal, serial protesters at best, with nothing else better to do. 

Self-proclaimed investor and "CIA/NSA contractor/whistleblower" Tony Seruga wrote on X about who potentially attended the D.C. protest march on Saturday. Using device data collected from the area, Seruga found it was largely the same crowd, leftist NGO foot soldiers - or repeat protesters from previous marches... 

Here's a breakdown of Seruga's data: 

Device Analysis

• 318 mobile devices present (law enforcement, media, and demonstrators).

• 92% of devices had been at 5+ past D.C. protests.

• 67 devices tied to federal government employees, with access to secured federal buildings (DoD, VA, DHS, DOJ, FBI, Treasury).

• 9 devices accessed the White House Northwest Gate multiple times in the prior 30 days.

Demographics: Mostly local DMV residents; 86.7% from homes valued >$850,000, 34% from homes valued >$2.5 million.

Protest Details

• Branded as "Free DC" and "Fight the Trump Takeover".

• Targeted Trump's federalization of D.C. policing and National Guard deployments from GOP states.

• Route: Dupont Circle → White House (~1.5 miles). Chants/signs: "Trump Must Go", "Hands Off DC".

• Part of broader anti-Trump demonstrations nationwide.

Organizers & Funding

• Led by Community Change and Community Change Action under the "Free DC" initiative.

• Backed by $20M+ from progressive dark-money networks: Soros' Open Society Foundations Arabella Advisors network Tides Foundation

Paid Participation

• Reports of 400% surge in demand for paid protesters in D.C. after Trump's announcements.

• Crowds on Demand confirmed anti-Trump events drove most inquiries.

• Soros allegedly spent $20M on crowd-rental services for demonstrations.

GPS—there were 318 mobile devices present, including law enforcement and media. 92% have been present at 5 or more past DC protests.

67 appear to likely be federal government employees, with their mobile devices accessing both keycard required garages and federal buildings,… https://t.co/f4y1hiFNv1

— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) August 17, 2025

Free speech in the U.S. was never intended to serve as a perpetual vehicle for a permanent protest industrial complex funded by leftist billionaires and new indications that foreign adversaries could be sowing chaos in the U.S., exploiting the NGO sphere: Think Communist billionaire Neville Roy Singham...

Communist Billionaire Accused Of Funding Anti-ICE Riots Mysteriously Vanishes https://t.co/NjFnJGKxht

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 10, 2025

What certainly caught everyone's attention was a recent interview between NewsNation's Brian Entin and Adam Swart, CEO of an activist group called 'Crowds on Demand'.

Swart told Entin that an unnamed organization offered his company $20 million to recruit demonstrators for the anti-Trump protests in July. 

He told the journalist, "We had to reject an offer worth around $20 million for nationwide, large-scale demonstrations across the country. Personally, I don't think it's effective. I'm rejecting the contract not because I don't want the business, but because, frankly, this is going to be ineffective and make us all look bad."

The CEO of “Crowds on Demand” tells me he was offered $20,000,000 to recruit demonstrators for the anti-Trump protests on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/2A6ezwo0cc

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) July 15, 2025

From Seruga's GPS data to the interview with the Crowds on Demand CEO, the picture that readers have known all along is clear: the permanent protester industrial complex is bankrolled by leftist billionaires (and possibly group ex-US). Some of these groups were highly successful during the Marxist revolt of 2020 via BLM and other rogue non-profits, but their latest color-revolution-style operation has run into brick walls, especially after the Trump administration deployed federal soldiers into Los Angeles earlier this summer to crush the Marxist anti-ICE chaos.

The permanent protester industrial complex will march on - and its followers include unhinged white baby boomers, some of whom look like they were bused in from retirement homes.

Old White liberals carry signs during a protest against President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of policing of the District of Columbia, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Trump administration is waking up to how foreign adversaries are using rogue leftist NGO networks for irregular warfare.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 20:25

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases On the Rise: Here Are The Symptoms

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A “flesh-eating bacteria” called Vibrio vulnificus has been making headlines after recent reports of deaths and hospitalizations.

Every year, around 150 to 200 severe cases of Vibrio vulnificus are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with most cases occurring during the summer when more people are swimming in the ocean and eating raw oysters.

What is Vibrio vulnificus, and does it eat flesh?

What Are ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria?

Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is a type of so-called “flesh-eating” bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections. While infections with these bacteria are rare, they return yearly, especially during the summer months.

Microbiologist and distinguished professor Rita Colwell from the University of Maryland, who has been studying Vibrio bacteria for 50 years, said that cases of infections have increased manyfold in recent decades.

Around 150 to 200 cases of V. vulnificus infections are reported to CDC every year and around 20 percent of those infected die within a day or two of being infected.

V. vulnificus thrives in warm, salty, and brackish waters. Hence, V. vulnificus infections are most commonly reported in Gulf Coast states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and particularly Florida, which has one of the longest coastlines in the United States.

However, there has also been an increase in V. vulnificus reports along the East Coast.

“Physicians along the Gulf Coast were familiar with this infection. But now that the Vibrio is moving up the Eastern Seaboard, I think physicians there—particularly those who work in the emergency room—are having to learn more about this infection,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Between 1992 and 2022, infection cases of V. vulnificus increased fivefold in Florida and eightfold in eastern states between 1988 and 2018, according to a 2023 research paper led by Colwell.

V. vulnificus is rare in coastal waters, however, after Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Helene in 2024, coastal areas saw an increase in V. vulnificus infections. The turbulence from the storm created runoff with nutrients going into the water. The nutrients feed the plankton population, which creates a hospitable environment for Vibrio as Vibrio bacteria attach onto plankton, she said.

While some studies have linked increasing water temperatures to an increase in V. vulnificus, some studies have contradicted the theory, suggesting unknown factors are driving V. vulnificus’s rise in the summer.

How Do ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Eat Flesh

Usually, if the skin barrier is intact, the bacterium cannot enter.

Flesh-eating bacteria commonly infiltrate through a break in the skin’s barrier, such as scrapes or cuts  and cause rapid and progressive tissue death as they release toxins that break down nearby muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. They can also infiltrate the abdominal wall, perianal, and groin area, usually among immunocompromised patients.

The body’s immune response also contributes to the worsening of infected tissue. As more immune cells attend infected tissues, pressure and air build up in the muscles, further accelerating the death of muscle tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.

Rapid tissue death is called necrotizing fasciitis and gives the impression that the bacterium is eating away at the flesh.

Some people can also contract necrotizing fasciitis by eating raw oysters or seafood contaminated with the bacteria.

Apart from V. vulnificus, several other bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis. The most common culprit behind the condition is group A Streptococcus.

Signs of Infection

The infection may first appear as a typical skin infection.

“So it starts out basically like cellulitis, with redness and swelling on the surface, and maybe within as early as 24 hours, they'll start seeing big blisters that start off clear,” Michael A. Horseman, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, told The Epoch Times.

Flesh-eating or necrotizing fasciitis causes severe pain in the infected areas due to the pressure and tissue damage.

“Incredible pain is one of the tipping points,” Dr. H. Dele Davies, a pediatric infectious disease expert and the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Horseman said that some patients have compared the pain to that of a snakebite.

Some patients may show no signs of physical injuries, as the bacteria may have entered the body through orifices, which is more common in the immunocompromised.

Even if the bacteria entered through a wound in the skin, the infection may not appear at that entry site. Patients may also develop redness or a blister near the wound opening.

“Occasionally ... you'll see a blister that’s got blood or black blood underneath it,” Davies said, “but the key message really is they just show up with a lot of pain,” often without being able to explain the reason for the pain.

Redness, swelling, and pus formation may also occur.

Amputation Not Always Needed

Surgical intervention is the most important intervention in necrotizing fasciitis, Davies said.

The surgeon may perform a fasciotomy, opening up the skin at the area of pain to release pressure. The surgeon then examines the muscle, fascia, and soft tissues for signs of dead tissue. After dead tissue is  removed, the open cut is washed with sterile water to remove any remaining bacteria.

Antibiotics are also injected into the blood for support. However, Davies said the antibiotics cannot enter the fascia, so they are only given to prevent blood infection.

Gradually, the infection in the limbs can infiltrate blood vessels, leading to sepsis. Sepsis can cause the organs to dysfunction, and patients may experience a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver, and other organs, potentially leading to death.

Symptoms of sepsis include fever, shaking, chills, a drop in blood pressure, and the patient appearing pale and very ill.

Amputation in infected limbs is the final resort if the infection becomes too extensive. Usually, doctors have tried removing damaged tissues and prescribed antibiotics by this stage, yet the infection is either failing to clear or worsening.

“If they’re so sick that every time you check the blood, the bacteria is in there, that means you have a tap turned on somewhere,” Davies said, comparing the bacterial infection to water leakage in a sink. “If you don’t turn off that tap, no matter how much antibiotics you give, it’s like wiping the floor while the tap is turned on. So part of the reason you do the amputations is to basically turn off the volume of water that’s coming into the sink.”

Most People Will Be Fine

According to the CDC, one can reduce their risks of infection by avoiding salty or brackish water when they have a wound from a surgery, piercing, or tattoo.

The wound should also be covered with a waterproof bandage if there’s a chance of being in contact with saltwater, brackish water, or raw or undercooked seafood and its juices.

Wounds and cuts should also be washed thoroughly with soap and water after coming in contact with any of those things. While this may not remove all the bacteria, it can help lower the overall bacterial count and make infections more manageable, Davies said.

“All in context, this is a rare condition. Most people who are in brackish water or saltwater are going to be fine,” he said. However, anyone with underlying liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or who is in an immunocompromised condition should ensure they do not have any cuts or bruises before entering water.

Vibrio vulnificus uses iron to replicate itself, so people who naturally have high levels of iron are also at risk, Horseman said.

Cook Oysters Thoroughly Before Eating

Less commonly, V. vulnificus can cause foodborne poisoning through the consumption of raw shellfish and oysters.

Most people infected with V. vulnificus tend to experience diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting for three days before recovering.

In rarer cases, people can die from a gut infection. More than 95 percent of deaths from eating seafood are caused by V. vulnificus.

An infection can come from eating raw or undercooked oysters and shellfish that entrap the bacteria.

However, healthy people usually do not develop a severe gut infection from eating raw or undercooked shellfish contaminated with Vibrio, Schaffner said.

Immunocompromised people and those with liver cirrhosis or high iron concentration in the blood are particularly at risk. For people who develop a gut infection, if the infection is not eliminated, the bacterium may infiltrate the gut lining into the blood vessels, causing potentially fatal blood infections.

“This does not bother normal people [but] immunocompromised people are admonished not to eat raw oysters,” Schaffner said.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 19:50

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases On the Rise: Here Are The Symptoms

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A “flesh-eating bacteria” called Vibrio vulnificus has been making headlines after recent reports of deaths and hospitalizations.

Every year, around 150 to 200 severe cases of Vibrio vulnificus are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with most cases occurring during the summer when more people are swimming in the ocean and eating raw oysters.

What is Vibrio vulnificus, and does it eat flesh?

What Are ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria?

Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is a type of so-called “flesh-eating” bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections. While infections with these bacteria are rare, they return yearly, especially during the summer months.

Microbiologist and distinguished professor Rita Colwell from the University of Maryland, who has been studying Vibrio bacteria for 50 years, said that cases of infections have increased manyfold in recent decades.

Around 150 to 200 cases of V. vulnificus infections are reported to CDC every year and around 20 percent of those infected die within a day or two of being infected.

V. vulnificus thrives in warm, salty, and brackish waters. Hence, V. vulnificus infections are most commonly reported in Gulf Coast states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and particularly Florida, which has one of the longest coastlines in the United States.

However, there has also been an increase in V. vulnificus reports along the East Coast.

“Physicians along the Gulf Coast were familiar with this infection. But now that the Vibrio is moving up the Eastern Seaboard, I think physicians there—particularly those who work in the emergency room—are having to learn more about this infection,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Between 1992 and 2022, infection cases of V. vulnificus increased fivefold in Florida and eightfold in eastern states between 1988 and 2018, according to a 2023 research paper led by Colwell.

V. vulnificus is rare in coastal waters, however, after Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Helene in 2024, coastal areas saw an increase in V. vulnificus infections. The turbulence from the storm created runoff with nutrients going into the water. The nutrients feed the plankton population, which creates a hospitable environment for Vibrio as Vibrio bacteria attach onto plankton, she said.

While some studies have linked increasing water temperatures to an increase in V. vulnificus, some studies have contradicted the theory, suggesting unknown factors are driving V. vulnificus’s rise in the summer.

How Do ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Eat Flesh

Usually, if the skin barrier is intact, the bacterium cannot enter.

Flesh-eating bacteria commonly infiltrate through a break in the skin’s barrier, such as scrapes or cuts  and cause rapid and progressive tissue death as they release toxins that break down nearby muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. They can also infiltrate the abdominal wall, perianal, and groin area, usually among immunocompromised patients.

The body’s immune response also contributes to the worsening of infected tissue. As more immune cells attend infected tissues, pressure and air build up in the muscles, further accelerating the death of muscle tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.

Rapid tissue death is called necrotizing fasciitis and gives the impression that the bacterium is eating away at the flesh.

Some people can also contract necrotizing fasciitis by eating raw oysters or seafood contaminated with the bacteria.

Apart from V. vulnificus, several other bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis. The most common culprit behind the condition is group A Streptococcus.

Signs of Infection

The infection may first appear as a typical skin infection.

“So it starts out basically like cellulitis, with redness and swelling on the surface, and maybe within as early as 24 hours, they'll start seeing big blisters that start off clear,” Michael A. Horseman, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, told The Epoch Times.

Flesh-eating or necrotizing fasciitis causes severe pain in the infected areas due to the pressure and tissue damage.

“Incredible pain is one of the tipping points,” Dr. H. Dele Davies, a pediatric infectious disease expert and the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Horseman said that some patients have compared the pain to that of a snakebite.

Some patients may show no signs of physical injuries, as the bacteria may have entered the body through orifices, which is more common in the immunocompromised.

Even if the bacteria entered through a wound in the skin, the infection may not appear at that entry site. Patients may also develop redness or a blister near the wound opening.

“Occasionally ... you'll see a blister that’s got blood or black blood underneath it,” Davies said, “but the key message really is they just show up with a lot of pain,” often without being able to explain the reason for the pain.

Redness, swelling, and pus formation may also occur.

Amputation Not Always Needed

Surgical intervention is the most important intervention in necrotizing fasciitis, Davies said.

The surgeon may perform a fasciotomy, opening up the skin at the area of pain to release pressure. The surgeon then examines the muscle, fascia, and soft tissues for signs of dead tissue. After dead tissue is  removed, the open cut is washed with sterile water to remove any remaining bacteria.

Antibiotics are also injected into the blood for support. However, Davies said the antibiotics cannot enter the fascia, so they are only given to prevent blood infection.

Gradually, the infection in the limbs can infiltrate blood vessels, leading to sepsis. Sepsis can cause the organs to dysfunction, and patients may experience a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver, and other organs, potentially leading to death.

Symptoms of sepsis include fever, shaking, chills, a drop in blood pressure, and the patient appearing pale and very ill.

Amputation in infected limbs is the final resort if the infection becomes too extensive. Usually, doctors have tried removing damaged tissues and prescribed antibiotics by this stage, yet the infection is either failing to clear or worsening.

“If they’re so sick that every time you check the blood, the bacteria is in there, that means you have a tap turned on somewhere,” Davies said, comparing the bacterial infection to water leakage in a sink. “If you don’t turn off that tap, no matter how much antibiotics you give, it’s like wiping the floor while the tap is turned on. So part of the reason you do the amputations is to basically turn off the volume of water that’s coming into the sink.”

Most People Will Be Fine

According to the CDC, one can reduce their risks of infection by avoiding salty or brackish water when they have a wound from a surgery, piercing, or tattoo.

The wound should also be covered with a waterproof bandage if there’s a chance of being in contact with saltwater, brackish water, or raw or undercooked seafood and its juices.

Wounds and cuts should also be washed thoroughly with soap and water after coming in contact with any of those things. While this may not remove all the bacteria, it can help lower the overall bacterial count and make infections more manageable, Davies said.

“All in context, this is a rare condition. Most people who are in brackish water or saltwater are going to be fine,” he said. However, anyone with underlying liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or who is in an immunocompromised condition should ensure they do not have any cuts or bruises before entering water.

Vibrio vulnificus uses iron to replicate itself, so people who naturally have high levels of iron are also at risk, Horseman said.

Cook Oysters Thoroughly Before Eating

Less commonly, V. vulnificus can cause foodborne poisoning through the consumption of raw shellfish and oysters.

Most people infected with V. vulnificus tend to experience diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting for three days before recovering.

In rarer cases, people can die from a gut infection. More than 95 percent of deaths from eating seafood are caused by V. vulnificus.

An infection can come from eating raw or undercooked oysters and shellfish that entrap the bacteria.

However, healthy people usually do not develop a severe gut infection from eating raw or undercooked shellfish contaminated with Vibrio, Schaffner said.

Immunocompromised people and those with liver cirrhosis or high iron concentration in the blood are particularly at risk. For people who develop a gut infection, if the infection is not eliminated, the bacterium may infiltrate the gut lining into the blood vessels, causing potentially fatal blood infections.

“This does not bother normal people [but] immunocompromised people are admonished not to eat raw oysters,” Schaffner said.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 19:50

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases On the Rise: Here Are The Symptoms

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A “flesh-eating bacteria” called Vibrio vulnificus has been making headlines after recent reports of deaths and hospitalizations.

Every year, around 150 to 200 severe cases of Vibrio vulnificus are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with most cases occurring during the summer when more people are swimming in the ocean and eating raw oysters.

What is Vibrio vulnificus, and does it eat flesh?

What Are ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria?

Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is a type of so-called “flesh-eating” bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections. While infections with these bacteria are rare, they return yearly, especially during the summer months.

Microbiologist and distinguished professor Rita Colwell from the University of Maryland, who has been studying Vibrio bacteria for 50 years, said that cases of infections have increased manyfold in recent decades.

Around 150 to 200 cases of V. vulnificus infections are reported to CDC every year and around 20 percent of those infected die within a day or two of being infected.

V. vulnificus thrives in warm, salty, and brackish waters. Hence, V. vulnificus infections are most commonly reported in Gulf Coast states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and particularly Florida, which has one of the longest coastlines in the United States.

However, there has also been an increase in V. vulnificus reports along the East Coast.

“Physicians along the Gulf Coast were familiar with this infection. But now that the Vibrio is moving up the Eastern Seaboard, I think physicians there—particularly those who work in the emergency room—are having to learn more about this infection,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Between 1992 and 2022, infection cases of V. vulnificus increased fivefold in Florida and eightfold in eastern states between 1988 and 2018, according to a 2023 research paper led by Colwell.

V. vulnificus is rare in coastal waters, however, after Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Helene in 2024, coastal areas saw an increase in V. vulnificus infections. The turbulence from the storm created runoff with nutrients going into the water. The nutrients feed the plankton population, which creates a hospitable environment for Vibrio as Vibrio bacteria attach onto plankton, she said.

While some studies have linked increasing water temperatures to an increase in V. vulnificus, some studies have contradicted the theory, suggesting unknown factors are driving V. vulnificus’s rise in the summer.

How Do ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Eat Flesh

Usually, if the skin barrier is intact, the bacterium cannot enter.

Flesh-eating bacteria commonly infiltrate through a break in the skin’s barrier, such as scrapes or cuts  and cause rapid and progressive tissue death as they release toxins that break down nearby muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. They can also infiltrate the abdominal wall, perianal, and groin area, usually among immunocompromised patients.

The body’s immune response also contributes to the worsening of infected tissue. As more immune cells attend infected tissues, pressure and air build up in the muscles, further accelerating the death of muscle tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.

Rapid tissue death is called necrotizing fasciitis and gives the impression that the bacterium is eating away at the flesh.

Some people can also contract necrotizing fasciitis by eating raw oysters or seafood contaminated with the bacteria.

Apart from V. vulnificus, several other bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis. The most common culprit behind the condition is group A Streptococcus.

Signs of Infection

The infection may first appear as a typical skin infection.

“So it starts out basically like cellulitis, with redness and swelling on the surface, and maybe within as early as 24 hours, they'll start seeing big blisters that start off clear,” Michael A. Horseman, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, told The Epoch Times.

Flesh-eating or necrotizing fasciitis causes severe pain in the infected areas due to the pressure and tissue damage.

“Incredible pain is one of the tipping points,” Dr. H. Dele Davies, a pediatric infectious disease expert and the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Horseman said that some patients have compared the pain to that of a snakebite.

Some patients may show no signs of physical injuries, as the bacteria may have entered the body through orifices, which is more common in the immunocompromised.

Even if the bacteria entered through a wound in the skin, the infection may not appear at that entry site. Patients may also develop redness or a blister near the wound opening.

“Occasionally ... you'll see a blister that’s got blood or black blood underneath it,” Davies said, “but the key message really is they just show up with a lot of pain,” often without being able to explain the reason for the pain.

Redness, swelling, and pus formation may also occur.

Amputation Not Always Needed

Surgical intervention is the most important intervention in necrotizing fasciitis, Davies said.

The surgeon may perform a fasciotomy, opening up the skin at the area of pain to release pressure. The surgeon then examines the muscle, fascia, and soft tissues for signs of dead tissue. After dead tissue is  removed, the open cut is washed with sterile water to remove any remaining bacteria.

Antibiotics are also injected into the blood for support. However, Davies said the antibiotics cannot enter the fascia, so they are only given to prevent blood infection.

Gradually, the infection in the limbs can infiltrate blood vessels, leading to sepsis. Sepsis can cause the organs to dysfunction, and patients may experience a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver, and other organs, potentially leading to death.

Symptoms of sepsis include fever, shaking, chills, a drop in blood pressure, and the patient appearing pale and very ill.

Amputation in infected limbs is the final resort if the infection becomes too extensive. Usually, doctors have tried removing damaged tissues and prescribed antibiotics by this stage, yet the infection is either failing to clear or worsening.

“If they’re so sick that every time you check the blood, the bacteria is in there, that means you have a tap turned on somewhere,” Davies said, comparing the bacterial infection to water leakage in a sink. “If you don’t turn off that tap, no matter how much antibiotics you give, it’s like wiping the floor while the tap is turned on. So part of the reason you do the amputations is to basically turn off the volume of water that’s coming into the sink.”

Most People Will Be Fine

According to the CDC, one can reduce their risks of infection by avoiding salty or brackish water when they have a wound from a surgery, piercing, or tattoo.

The wound should also be covered with a waterproof bandage if there’s a chance of being in contact with saltwater, brackish water, or raw or undercooked seafood and its juices.

Wounds and cuts should also be washed thoroughly with soap and water after coming in contact with any of those things. While this may not remove all the bacteria, it can help lower the overall bacterial count and make infections more manageable, Davies said.

“All in context, this is a rare condition. Most people who are in brackish water or saltwater are going to be fine,” he said. However, anyone with underlying liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or who is in an immunocompromised condition should ensure they do not have any cuts or bruises before entering water.

Vibrio vulnificus uses iron to replicate itself, so people who naturally have high levels of iron are also at risk, Horseman said.

Cook Oysters Thoroughly Before Eating

Less commonly, V. vulnificus can cause foodborne poisoning through the consumption of raw shellfish and oysters.

Most people infected with V. vulnificus tend to experience diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting for three days before recovering.

In rarer cases, people can die from a gut infection. More than 95 percent of deaths from eating seafood are caused by V. vulnificus.

An infection can come from eating raw or undercooked oysters and shellfish that entrap the bacteria.

However, healthy people usually do not develop a severe gut infection from eating raw or undercooked shellfish contaminated with Vibrio, Schaffner said.

Immunocompromised people and those with liver cirrhosis or high iron concentration in the blood are particularly at risk. For people who develop a gut infection, if the infection is not eliminated, the bacterium may infiltrate the gut lining into the blood vessels, causing potentially fatal blood infections.

“This does not bother normal people [but] immunocompromised people are admonished not to eat raw oysters,” Schaffner said.

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 19:50

Witkoff Says White House Pushing To Extract 'Article 5-Like' Protections For Ukraine

Update(1918ET): It appears that the White House is ready to push for Europe's consensus - at least at the moment (or as a starting negotiating tactic) - which is to provide non-NATO "article 5 style security guarantees" for a post-peace settlement Ukraine. The only problem is that of course it would be NATO countries themselves enforcing such a rule, which will be seen as a non-starter for the Kremlin. According to the latest from Trump's top envoy:

Special envoy Steve Witkoff says the White House extracted critical wins from its Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump failed to walk away with the ceasefire he loudly advocated for.

Security guarantees offering Ukraine “Article 5-like protections” are the real prize, Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. They’re “game-changing,” he said.

But his wording is perhaps an acknowledgement that even the US adminstration knows it's mearly a goal and unlikely to be the realistic outcome.

He explained Sunday in the aftermath of the Alaska summit, "We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified."

Witkoff contineud on CNN’s State of the Union, "We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee."

But whether the Kremlin actually sees it this way is another quesiton entirely. Naturally the Trump adminsitration is going to start from its own 'maximalist' position - but at least the sides are talking and are engaged. If Moscow agrees, it will certainly seek nothing less than significant territorial concessions and political recognization of at least some of the Donbass. Still, based also on Rubio's latest media comments, the hawks in the Western alliance are continuing to run the show:

"Territories will have to be discussed, it's just a fact," says the Secretary of State.

Rubio says "there's no conditions that can be imposed on Ukraine" to achieve a settlement to the war, and *Russia* may have to give up territory. Hasn't the media been screaming that Trump is shamefully scheming to force Ukraine to surrender? Rubio suggests the exact opposite pic.twitter.com/OqaPSTrdxL

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 17, 2025

And more, with the expected mixed messaging...

The US and Russia have agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine, but the next steps depend on Kyiv, Trump’s envoy Witkoff said. He added that territorial issues will be discussed with Zelensky on Monday, and that Moscow has made concessions on five Ukrainian regions. pic.twitter.com/IjW2enmd6G

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) August 17, 2025

What would this look like on the ground in Eastern Europe? Putin has repeatedly warned that Russia will never accept NATO country troops on the ground in Ukraine, so certainly the provervbial devil will be in the details, and there's yet a long way to go for the negotiating sides. Much might also depend on the temperature in the room of the Oval Office on Monday, when Trump meets leading European leaders and Zelensky in the Oval.

* * *

Ahead of the planned Monday meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's Zelensky in the Oval Office, which will also have the attendance and participation of a growing list of European and NATO leaders, there's increasing talk of seeking American-supported "Article 5-style" security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any broader peace deal with Russia.

According to CNN, citing a senior European official, the proposed plan wouldn't involve NATO directly - and would effectively remove the question of membership in the military alliance - but would aim to offer Ukraine protections similar to NATO's collective defense clause.

Via The Associated Press

The specifics of the proposal remain undisclosed and unclear, and there's also the practical reality and major hurdle of just how such 'guarantees' would be enforced.

The Kremlin would likely balk at such a condition, given Russian leadership has said it would never allow any Western troop deployment or NATO-style force in Ukraine.

There has actually for years throughout the grinding war been talk among European capitals of the idea of deploying a "reassurance force" in Ukraine.

One thing that all the Western allies agree on at this early stage is that the initiative would never get off the ground without the United States officially backing and supporting it. And yet if the European leaders going to the White House lobby hard for this, it's almost certain this would break the negotiating process with Russia.

For Moscow, assurance of permanent Ukrainian neutrality remains a top priority, and so talk of an Article-5 style system which would 'protect' Ukraine in the instance of future Russian attacks is likely to a complete non-starter as an option.

But it's especially the hawks which are pushing this, and likely Moscow is going to see it as simply NATO placing its security blanket over Kiev under a different guise, or just under the cover of differing semantics.

On Sunday, more and more European leaders have confirmed they will be joining Ukrainian President Zelensky on his trip to the White House on Monday.

According to a BBC list, the below top officials have confirmed they will be attending:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

This comes after most leaders on this list have strongly complained that Europe and even Ukraine have been left behind, and cut out of the negotiating process. They back Zelensky who says all decisions taken without direct Ukrainian participation are 'stillborn' on arrival.

President Trump's hope is that this swiftly moving process of talks which started with Putin in Alaska on Friday will lead to a final, and permanent peace settlement to end the war. But much of the entire Western establishment - whether government officials or the mainstream press - seems to want this process to fail...

The bourgeois press thinks the real problem with Putin is that he just needs a good therapist pic.twitter.com/T56qpm3Cnk

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 17, 2025

Trump said on social media on Saturday, "President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 19:19

Witkoff Says White House Pushing To Extract 'Article 5-Like' Protections For Ukraine

Update(1918ET): It appears that the White House is ready to push for Europe's consensus - at least at the moment (or as a starting negotiating tactic) - which is to provide non-NATO "article 5 style security guarantees" for a post-peace settlement Ukraine. The only problem is that of course it would be NATO countries themselves enforcing such a rule, which will be seen as a non-starter for the Kremlin. According to the latest from Trump's top envoy:

Special envoy Steve Witkoff says the White House extracted critical wins from its Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump failed to walk away with the ceasefire he loudly advocated for.

Security guarantees offering Ukraine “Article 5-like protections” are the real prize, Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. They’re “game-changing,” he said.

But his wording is perhaps an acknowledgement that even the US adminstration knows it's mearly a goal and unlikely to be the realistic outcome.

He explained Sunday in the aftermath of the Alaska summit, "We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified."

Witkoff contineud on CNN’s State of the Union, "We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee."

But whether the Kremlin actually sees it this way is another quesiton entirely. Naturally the Trump adminsitration is going to start from its own 'maximalist' position - but at least the sides are talking and are engaged. If Moscow agrees, it will certainly seek nothing less than significant territorial concessions and political recognization of at least some of the Donbass. Still, based also on Rubio's latest media comments, the hawks in the Western alliance are continuing to run the show:

"Territories will have to be discussed, it's just a fact," says the Secretary of State.

Rubio says "there's no conditions that can be imposed on Ukraine" to achieve a settlement to the war, and *Russia* may have to give up territory. Hasn't the media been screaming that Trump is shamefully scheming to force Ukraine to surrender? Rubio suggests the exact opposite pic.twitter.com/OqaPSTrdxL

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 17, 2025

And more, with the expected mixed messaging...

The US and Russia have agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine, but the next steps depend on Kyiv, Trump’s envoy Witkoff said. He added that territorial issues will be discussed with Zelensky on Monday, and that Moscow has made concessions on five Ukrainian regions. pic.twitter.com/IjW2enmd6G

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) August 17, 2025

What would this look like on the ground in Eastern Europe? Putin has repeatedly warned that Russia will never accept NATO country troops on the ground in Ukraine, so certainly the provervbial devil will be in the details, and there's yet a long way to go for the negotiating sides. Much might also depend on the temperature in the room of the Oval Office on Monday, when Trump meets leading European leaders and Zelensky in the Oval.

* * *

Ahead of the planned Monday meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's Zelensky in the Oval Office, which will also have the attendance and participation of a growing list of European and NATO leaders, there's increasing talk of seeking American-supported "Article 5-style" security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any broader peace deal with Russia.

According to CNN, citing a senior European official, the proposed plan wouldn't involve NATO directly - and would effectively remove the question of membership in the military alliance - but would aim to offer Ukraine protections similar to NATO's collective defense clause.

Via The Associated Press

The specifics of the proposal remain undisclosed and unclear, and there's also the practical reality and major hurdle of just how such 'guarantees' would be enforced.

The Kremlin would likely balk at such a condition, given Russian leadership has said it would never allow any Western troop deployment or NATO-style force in Ukraine.

There has actually for years throughout the grinding war been talk among European capitals of the idea of deploying a "reassurance force" in Ukraine.

One thing that all the Western allies agree on at this early stage is that the initiative would never get off the ground without the United States officially backing and supporting it. And yet if the European leaders going to the White House lobby hard for this, it's almost certain this would break the negotiating process with Russia.

For Moscow, assurance of permanent Ukrainian neutrality remains a top priority, and so talk of an Article-5 style system which would 'protect' Ukraine in the instance of future Russian attacks is likely to a complete non-starter as an option.

But it's especially the hawks which are pushing this, and likely Moscow is going to see it as simply NATO placing its security blanket over Kiev under a different guise, or just under the cover of differing semantics.

On Sunday, more and more European leaders have confirmed they will be joining Ukrainian President Zelensky on his trip to the White House on Monday.

According to a BBC list, the below top officials have confirmed they will be attending:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

This comes after most leaders on this list have strongly complained that Europe and even Ukraine have been left behind, and cut out of the negotiating process. They back Zelensky who says all decisions taken without direct Ukrainian participation are 'stillborn' on arrival.

President Trump's hope is that this swiftly moving process of talks which started with Putin in Alaska on Friday will lead to a final, and permanent peace settlement to end the war. But much of the entire Western establishment - whether government officials or the mainstream press - seems to want this process to fail...

The bourgeois press thinks the real problem with Putin is that he just needs a good therapist pic.twitter.com/T56qpm3Cnk

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 17, 2025

Trump said on social media on Saturday, "President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 19:19

Witkoff Says White House Pushing To Extract 'Article 5-Like' Protections For Ukraine

Update(1918ET): It appears that the White House is ready to push for Europe's consensus - at least at the moment (or as a starting negotiating tactic) - which is to provide non-NATO "article 5 style security guarantees" for a post-peace settlement Ukraine. The only problem is that of course it would be NATO countries themselves enforcing such a rule, which will be seen as a non-starter for the Kremlin. According to the latest from Trump's top envoy:

Special envoy Steve Witkoff says the White House extracted critical wins from its Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump failed to walk away with the ceasefire he loudly advocated for.

Security guarantees offering Ukraine “Article 5-like protections” are the real prize, Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. They’re “game-changing,” he said.

But his wording is perhaps an acknowledgement that even the US adminstration knows it's mearly a goal and unlikely to be the realistic outcome.

He explained Sunday in the aftermath of the Alaska summit, "We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified."

Witkoff contineud on CNN’s State of the Union, "We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee."

But whether the Kremlin actually sees it this way is another quesiton entirely. Naturally the Trump adminsitration is going to start from its own 'maximalist' position - but at least the sides are talking and are engaged. If Moscow agrees, it will certainly seek nothing less than significant territorial concessions and political recognization of at least some of the Donbass. Still, based also on Rubio's latest media comments, the hawks in the Western alliance are continuing to run the show:

"Territories will have to be discussed, it's just a fact," says the Secretary of State.

Rubio says "there's no conditions that can be imposed on Ukraine" to achieve a settlement to the war, and *Russia* may have to give up territory. Hasn't the media been screaming that Trump is shamefully scheming to force Ukraine to surrender? Rubio suggests the exact opposite pic.twitter.com/OqaPSTrdxL

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 17, 2025

And more, with the expected mixed messaging...

The US and Russia have agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine, but the next steps depend on Kyiv, Trump’s envoy Witkoff said. He added that territorial issues will be discussed with Zelensky on Monday, and that Moscow has made concessions on five Ukrainian regions. pic.twitter.com/IjW2enmd6G

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) August 17, 2025

What would this look like on the ground in Eastern Europe? Putin has repeatedly warned that Russia will never accept NATO country troops on the ground in Ukraine, so certainly the provervbial devil will be in the details, and there's yet a long way to go for the negotiating sides. Much might also depend on the temperature in the room of the Oval Office on Monday, when Trump meets leading European leaders and Zelensky in the Oval.

* * *

Ahead of the planned Monday meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's Zelensky in the Oval Office, which will also have the attendance and participation of a growing list of European and NATO leaders, there's increasing talk of seeking American-supported "Article 5-style" security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any broader peace deal with Russia.

According to CNN, citing a senior European official, the proposed plan wouldn't involve NATO directly - and would effectively remove the question of membership in the military alliance - but would aim to offer Ukraine protections similar to NATO's collective defense clause.

Via The Associated Press

The specifics of the proposal remain undisclosed and unclear, and there's also the practical reality and major hurdle of just how such 'guarantees' would be enforced.

The Kremlin would likely balk at such a condition, given Russian leadership has said it would never allow any Western troop deployment or NATO-style force in Ukraine.

There has actually for years throughout the grinding war been talk among European capitals of the idea of deploying a "reassurance force" in Ukraine.

One thing that all the Western allies agree on at this early stage is that the initiative would never get off the ground without the United States officially backing and supporting it. And yet if the European leaders going to the White House lobby hard for this, it's almost certain this would break the negotiating process with Russia.

For Moscow, assurance of permanent Ukrainian neutrality remains a top priority, and so talk of an Article-5 style system which would 'protect' Ukraine in the instance of future Russian attacks is likely to a complete non-starter as an option.

But it's especially the hawks which are pushing this, and likely Moscow is going to see it as simply NATO placing its security blanket over Kiev under a different guise, or just under the cover of differing semantics.

On Sunday, more and more European leaders have confirmed they will be joining Ukrainian President Zelensky on his trip to the White House on Monday.

According to a BBC list, the below top officials have confirmed they will be attending:

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
• Finnish President Alexander Stubb
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

This comes after most leaders on this list have strongly complained that Europe and even Ukraine have been left behind, and cut out of the negotiating process. They back Zelensky who says all decisions taken without direct Ukrainian participation are 'stillborn' on arrival.

President Trump's hope is that this swiftly moving process of talks which started with Putin in Alaska on Friday will lead to a final, and permanent peace settlement to end the war. But much of the entire Western establishment - whether government officials or the mainstream press - seems to want this process to fail...

The bourgeois press thinks the real problem with Putin is that he just needs a good therapist pic.twitter.com/T56qpm3Cnk

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 17, 2025

Trump said on social media on Saturday, "President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Tyler Durden Sun, 08/17/2025 - 19:19