Monday, April 27, 2020

The God Culture: Attempted Copyright Takedown

Over several lengthy blog posts I have taken up The God Culture's challenge to test them to see if what they are saying is true.  In each post I have documented that they are in fact not telling the truth.  They have manipulated sources, copy/pasted from other people's research and blogs, discussed at length texts (Dionysius Perigeretes for example) as if they had read them but in fact have not, and that their whole paradigm is false and unfounded with no legitimate historian or historical maps and documents to back them up. I have also peppered each post with screenshots from their videos to illustrate their views.

What has been The God Culture's response? They cry out in pain even as they strike me. That is to say they post comment after whiny comment insisting I have proven nothing and accusing me of libel and breaking the law all the while impugning my motives and character. They accuse me of that which they are guilty which is one of the oldest propaganda tricks in the book.

But that is not all.  Behind the scenes they have been attempting to use the law to bring down my exposés.

https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/search?utf8=✓&sender_name=The+God+Culture&sender_name-require-all=true&sort_by=

There are actually seven DMCA complaints that The God Culture has filed against this blog.  DMCA means Digital Millennium Copyright Act. They have accused me of using copyrighted material and wish to have it removed.  Here are their complaints in order from top to bottom:
1. "Lost Tribes of Israel in the Philippines" copyrighted slide from our copyrighted YouTube video including our Trademarked logo without authorization. 
2. Trademarked logo is used first by itself and that is ILLEGAL. Then, multiple copyrighted slides. This guy is one big copyright infringement with no regard for the law. He then commits libel, gross negligence, fraud, harassment and bullying to name a few. Disgusting! 
3. "Balangay" copyrighted slide from our YouTube video and several others. All our videos are legally copyrighted and all content as well as our Trademarked logo to which this blogger has no permission to use. Plus he uses our personal images as well as others without our permission. 
4. "Philippine Gold in Ancient Egypt" slide from our copyrighted YouTube videos along with our trademarked logo is being used without our permission. 
5."Isle of Chryse" slide from our copyrighted YouTube video with Trademarked logo used without our permission. 
6. "Who lived in Qumran? Essenes." copyrighted slide from our YouTube video with our trademarked logo without our permission. 
7. "100 Clues the Philippines is Ophir" copyrighted slide from our copyrighted YouTube video including trademarked logo without our permission.
Copyrighted slides?  These people are so stupid that they think using screenshots of their videos infringes on their copyright.  However on every single one of their videos we find the following disclaimer:
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
There it is. By their own admission I am perfectly within my rights to use screenshots of their videos as I criticize and comment on them.  

found out The God Culture has filed these complaints because Google sent an email notifying me that a claim had been made against me.  That is ONE claim out of seven making its way to me. That means even Google knows The God Culture's  DMCA complaints are without merit.
Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog is alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others. As a result, we have reset the post(s) to "draft" status. (If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.) This means your post - and any images, links or other content - is not gone. You may edit the post to remove the offending content and republish, at which point the post in question will be visible to your readers again. 
A bit of background: the DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. If you believe you have the rights to post the content at issue here, you can file a counter-claim. In order to file a counter-claim, please see https://support.google.com/legal/contact/lr_counternotice?product=blogger. 
The notice that we received, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Lumen at https://www.lumendatabase.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). You can search for the DMCA notice associated with the removal of your content by going to the Lumen page, and entering in the URL of the blog post that was removed. 
If it is brought to our attention that you have republished the post without removing the content/link in question, then we will delete your post and count it as a violation on your account. Repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account including deleting your blog and/or terminating your account. DMCA notices concerning content on your blog may also result in action taken against any associated AdSense accounts. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. 
Sincerely, 
The Blogger Team 
Affected URLs:
http://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-god-culture-dishonestly-edited.html
For some reason Google neglected to inform me of what material on the page is alleged to be infringing The God Culture's copyright. I am not going to wager a guess either.

I of course filed a counter-claim and Google responded thusly:
As described in 17 U.S.C. 512(g), we will forward the counter notification to the complainant. If we do not receive notice from the complainant that they have brought an action in the district court within 14 days, we will reinstate the material in question on Blogger. We appreciate your patience in this process. 
Regards,

The Google Team
Is The God Culture really going to file a suit in US District Court? Over screenshots which even they admit are perfectly fine and legal? No they aren't.

These people are amazing. Instead of going head to head in the blogosphere or the vlogosphere they have decided to use the law to shut me up. That is very dirty. It is also very Filipino. Recall Gaspar de San Augustin writing in 1720 about the character of Filipinos.
50. They are revengeful to an excessive degree—so much so that they are vile and cowardly; and the ministers have great trouble in reconciling them with their enemies; and although they do it through fear, it is never with the whole heart, for this passion has great influence over them. And since they need magnanimity and manliness to overcome it, and these virtues are foreign to them, hate generally forces its roots into them so deeply that it is impossible to eradicate it in a whole lifetime.
This is the reason why they are so inclined to litigation, and to going before the audiencias and courts with their quarrels, in which they willingly spend their possessions for the sole purpose of making others spend theirs and of causing them harm and trouble. For that they are even wont to pledge their sons and daughters.
Here we see this 300 year old observation in full swing today. It's understandable they want to remove my presence from the internet.  A Google search for The God Culture has this blog on the very first page of results.




The God Culture is so worried and paranoid about my blog that they have left the following disclaimer on several of their Youtube videos.




The God Culture is not affiliated with any other YouTube Channel nor any organization. If you see our logo or slides being used or even reloading of our videos on another channel, this is without our permission and illegal. If you hear another channel claiming affiliation in any sense, they are being untruthful. Always seek out The God Culture logo from The God Culture YouTube Channel as we have no other. The same with our Facebook, The God Culutre - Original is our only Facebook and we have no affiliation with any other. Though some are valid followers, others are attempting to mix in their communist propaganda with our findings which they screw up every time. That is the manner in which satan has operated for thousands of years and he most certainly is using them as well. Beware these channels as they will lead you away from Yahuah and into slavery which is their intent.
That is clearly a warning against me.  Are they are too scared to even mention the name of this blog?

If using screenshots of their videos infringes on their copyrights then what about these videos The God Culture has posted using copyrighted material which does not belong to them?


Is using footage from the Museum of the Bible's video Experience the Bible  in their video "BOOK OF JUBILEES: Scripture? Inspired? What does the Bible Say? Enoch, Jasher, Dead Sea Scrolls" a violation of copyright?


https://youtu.be/ehXPBXwIxio

It is only by playing the video full screen that the tiny text in the corner becomes anywhere near legible.



"Editorial Use Only" in small font. "The views of this video are in no way associated with the Museum of the Bible" in minuscule font!  If The God Culture is so scrupulous about protecting copyrights why would they write this disclaimer in an illegible font? How does "Editorial use only" absolve them from a copyright claim? According to them the bare use should be enough for a lawsuit.

How about this next video using the poster for the animated film Elcano and Magellan?

https://youtu.be/RaygO6E5ZKw

Is this violating someone's copyright?  Does the small text which blends into the background and reads:
"With commentary on "Elcano and Magellan" film poster for editorial use only per fair use"
absolve The God Culture of any legal problems? How about this next video?


https://youtu.be/4K4vALpt4Fw

Is using the Dolittle movie poster without a disclaimer to promote their video asserting that animals did in fact used to talk, which is one reason among many why the Book of Jubilees is pure nonsense, violating someone's copyright?  

Definitely using Kyle Jennerman's entire video minus 30 seconds sure is a violation of copyright. 

https://youtu.be/2wOr9SHludQ

Especially when you take into consideration that this video is monetized!




The God Culture is making money off Kyle Jennerman's video! What a bunch of hypocrites!

The God Culture, including their leader Timothy Jay Schwab, are an intellectually bankrupt "group" who cannot beat me in the arena of words and facts so they resort to the law hoping to shut me down. I use the word group lightly because there has been no evidence that they are in fact a group. No names, photos, or anything else proving the existence of a team of researchers has surfaced. Despite this lack of evidence The God Culture continues to insist they are a team and even left the following comment recently:
Tim does not conduct all research himself as we are a team and likely one of us just sent him the link to the source which is support for maps we already had. We represented the reference exactly as it is written and no, we do not require going deeper to confirm something that matches maps we already have for a YouTube video.
This was in response to my assertion that Tim had used a source thirdhand from J.G. Cheock. If they are a team and Tim was sent the link then he did not take the time to do as he tells us and "confirm all things." That is bad teamwork. If Tim took that source from Cheock himself, as I believe is the case, then he is lazy and dishonest. Either way this comment does not put Tim or The God Culture in a good light.

There is also no evidence that The God Culture has been engaged in "deep research including history, geography, archeology, science, language, etc." Rather than investigating various archeological sites in the Philippines or poring over primary sources in their original languages (be it Hebrew, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, or English) which have been kept hidden away in musty libraries The God Culture has instead mined the internet for material. You cannot do archeology by surfing the web. Schliemann did not find Troy just by reading books.  He went out and dug in the ground. If the Philippines is Ophir that evidence can be dug out of the ground just like Nineveh, Ur, and Babylon were dug out of the desert. Is Tim going out to dig for Ophir anytime soon? No, he is not.

The God Culture has liberally used AncientPhilippines, Wikipedia, and other blogs as sources without bothering to even check if those websites are using the sources they cite correctly. Again and agin they quote sources second and third hand with no concern for digging up the primary sources. They have utilized some scholarly material by authors like Thomas Suarez and Charles Nowell but dismiss whatever conclusions do not fit their thesis as being the work of unscholarly agents blinded by a false paradigm and spouting the Rothschild line.

Timothy Jay Schwab openly admits his disdain for scholars and academia in general in many of his videos. His disregard for scholarly methods reveals itself in his clumsy methods such as claiming that because a Tagalog word sounds like a Hebrew word that means it has a Hebrew origin. Or because Magellan claimed he was going to find Ophir he actually did find it when he landed in the Philippines.

That is not deep research. That is quote mining to affirm preconceived notions. Everything The God Culture has to say is a claim with no proof except whatever quotes they have harvested from dubious corners of the internet. They gather a lot of circumstantial evidence, throw it at the unsuspecting listener with a lot of bluster, and claim they have proven their thesis. They then tell the listener to test and see if they are correct. 

Pray tell how is anyone really supposed to test the claims they make? How is anyone supposed to test what direction the Israelites took when they wandered off? How is anyone supposed to test and see if the underwater sea trenches are the rivers of Eden?  How is anyone supposed to test and see if the Dead Sea Scrolls are really the library of John the Baptist? How is anyone supposed to test and see if Chryse is Luzon? What are the methods to test such claims? The fact is you CANNOT TEST those kinds of things. You can gather evidence and make claims that best fit the evidence but you cannot test them in the same way you can perform a science experiment in your kitchen. Tim's untestable historical claims are not unlike those made by Neil deGrasse Tyson who makes claims about what happened on earth billions of years ago when no one was around. Not to mention Tim constantly resorts to conspiracy theories which make many of his claims unfalsifiable or untestable and epistemically irrational. If there has been a conspiracy to cover up the truth about the Philippines then how does he know that? He can't because it's been covered up!

The best one can do is look up their sources and see if they say what The God Culture claims. Sadly it appears that I am the only one who has actually taken up their challenge with any seriousness but when I point out all their errors they scream out in rage and post nonsense in the comment section. I am called a communist agitator, a demon, a yellowtard, ignorant, libelous, and a fool. They say we are done with you and will not be responding.  Then they respond again and again.


An actual photograph of The God Culture representative who comments on this blog

Believe it or not there is a lot more to say not just about The God Culture but also about the fake history of the Philippines being Ophir. There is a lot of literature on the subject. Some of it new, some of it centuries old. I think it bears looking at because in our time there is a whole industry pushing this line that the Philippines is Ophir and Filipinos are part of the Lost Tribes of Israel. It is not merely a lunatic fringe like The God Culture pushing this narrative but includes respectable people like Sofroni Dulay who is the Grand Patriarch of the Royal Houses of the Philippines and a Roman Catholic.

There is a thread that links The God Culture directly to Pedro Paterno and his blatantly false history of the Philippines. Did you know he invented a pseudo-Christian Filipino religion that he claimed existed before the arrival of the Spanish and that it is largely based on codes allegedly found within the letters of the ancient Baybayin script? The God Culture whole-heartedly endorses that nonsense.

https://youtu.be/7pmGkSWsIbo

In this video Timothy Schwab identifies Bathala with Yahweh (or as Tim calls Him Yahuah). He also shows how the Baybayin spelling for Bathala allegedly contains a hidden code.

Tim could never say this with a straight face unless he denies the doctrine of the Trinity.

"In EVERY SENSE the creator God of Genesis." EVERY SENSE?? With this blasphemous statement Tim has denied the Trinity. The creation of the world is the act of the triune God and not a monad or singular God such as Bathala. Colossians 1:16-17 tells us Jesus Christ created the world and sustains it by his power. Jesus Christ is not Bathala. It just prompts more questions about Tim's beliefs and teaching concerning the Trinity and Jesus Christ.

There is a lot in that video which merits discussing but it will have to be passed over for now. Listening to Tim speak one can hear echoes of Paterno and his fake Bathalismo religion. I want to trace this link to the best of my ability. A lot of it is connected with the propaganda and nationalist movements of the late nineteenth century which resonate even until today. Filipinos are still a people without a past thanks to colonialism and the dreams of Ophir are quite seductive. This is exactly what I pointed out in my very first post about The God Culture.
What if you were part of a people group who have been essentially colonised for 500 years and have practically lost all real sense of culture from before that time? What if someone came along and said, "You have been lied to all this while and I can give you the answers to who you are"? Don't you think those people would prick up their ears and listen?
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-god-culture-philippines-is-garden.html
Right now with the country on lockdown I cannot visit any libraries or order the books I need so it will be some time before any real fruit on this subject is born. There is a lot of work to be done including reading the available documents and sifting them all for similarities in substance and sources. There is also The God Culture whose videos must be closely searched for what sources they use and then following them to where they lead back.



I also cannot do this alone.  That is why I have assembled a team of researchers.


These good boys are very loyal and will fetch me anything I need. Together we can do it!

Update:

I published this post with the full confidence knowing The God Culture would not be filing any lawsuit in US District Court and I was correct.  I just received the following email on April 30th from Google:
Hello, 
In accordance with the DMCA, we have completed processing your counter notice and we have reinstated the content in question. 
This post has been restored in draft version. You will need to sign into your account and republish it. Please let us know if we can assist you further. 

Regards,
The Google team
So there you go. The God Culture is all bluster. They talk the talk but have nothing to back it up. 

Sunday, April 26, 2020

American Man Meets His Filipina Fiancee For the First Time

Pewdiepie's newest video is a running commentary on the journey of a man who meets his Filipina fiancee for the first time. How does it turn out?  Is she scamming him? Who the heck puts mayonnaise in their hair?? Watch as he navigates the cultural divide between the USA and the Philippines.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Retards in the Government 151

It's your weekly compendium of foolishness and corruption in the Philippine government. 



https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/17/20/personal-grudge-illegal-drugs-eyed-in-ex-mba-players-slay
Authorities are eyeing a personal grudge and a connection to illegal drugs as possible motives in the killing of former professional basketball player Manuel "Maui" Huelar in Barangay Villamonte here on Thursday afternoon. 
“It could be previous grudges considering that Maui Huelar after he was arrested, he became a whistleblower. He also named prominent personalities in the government, in the PNP linked to illegal drugs. Prominent personalities here in Bacolod. That could be one of the reasons,” said Bacolod City Police Office Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ariel Pico. 
The former chairman of Barangay 35 was arrested in a buy-bust operation by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2016. He was sent to prison after being found guilty of possession and selling illegal drugs, but Huelar entered a plea-bargaining and was released from prison in 2018.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1260539/cops-nab-makati-city-hall-employee-for-selling-overpriced-ethyl-alcohol
An employee of the Makati City hall was detained on Tuesday for allegedly selling overpriced ethyl alcohol near a convenience store in Makati City, local police said Friday. 
Makati police chief Col. Rogelio Simon identified the suspect as Chris John Nangit, 31, an employee at the Office of the Administrator of the Makati City government. 
In an initial investigation, police officers of the Makati police station Intelligence Section were conducting anti-criminality operation along Jupiter Street near a convenience store at Barangay Bel-Air when they caught Nangit selling 34 pieces of 500 ML ethyl alcohol for P5,960, or around P176 per piece, which is more than double the regular market price. 
A test buy was conducted to set up the entrapment. 
Seized from Nangit were marked money worth P6,000 and 34 sealed bottles of ethyl alcohol.
A battle over rolling stores is raging in San Juan City, as political opponents clashed over a mobile food service seen as crucial amid the coronavirus crisis. 
Former senator Jinggoy Estrada has accused San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora of blocking a mobile market that sold goods at half the price - an initiative of his daughter Janella, who had lost to the incumbent mayor in the last elections. 
Speaking to DZMM radio, Estrada, who earlier ranted online against the mayor, alleged that Zamora ordered Janella's "rolling store" to stop for lacking a permit. He condemned this as a political act. 
(They are asking for a business permit. This is not a business. [This is for] charity.) 
He claimed Zamora told San Juan market vendors to stop selling them goods for the mobile market. 
Estrada said that while his camp could apply for a permit, he refused to do so, saying the initiative is an act of charity. 
But Zamora, in a separate interview, called the Estradas' mobile market "illegal," and said a service that still charges money could not be considered charity. 
He urged the Estradas to comply with the law by securing a permit from City Hall. 
"Why don't they just follow the law? Are they above the law?... Dahil senador siya, dahil vice mayor dati anak niya ay exempted sila sa batas? (Because he was a former senator and his daughter is a former vice mayor, they are exempted from the law?)," he told DZMM radio. 
The San Juan mayor said the Estradas' mobile market was competing with legitimate vendors at the Agora Market by selling the same products at half the price.
The daughter of former Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is a former vice mayor, has a mobile store where she is selling goods for half price. The mayor says they need a permit. The Estrada's say its a charity not a business.  The mayor questions what kind of thirty charges money.  The political feud between these two families continues.


https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1261665/2-bohol-cops-face-probe-for-violating-provinces-covid-19-lockdown
Two policemen are facing investigation after they allegedly sneaked into Bohol in violation of the no-sail policy being enforced by the province to stop COVID-19 transmission. 
Col. Jonathan Cabal, Bohol provincial police chief, said the two policemen, both Tagbilaran City residents, arrived in Bohol from Argao town, Cebu province last April 18. 
In Tagbilaran, the two policemen were required to go on quarantine in a facility at the village of Dao there. 
One of the policemen, Cabal said, is with the Bohol provincial police force and the other was a member of the Philippine National Police-Police Security and Protection Group in Cebu City.
Two cops snuck into Bohol province on a boat.


The dismissal from service order of Police Major Ildefonso Miranda, former Argao police chief, was signed by Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) director, on Monday, April 20, 2020. 
Despite the hectic schedule in relation to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), Ferro said the administration was also keeping track of the cases especially those committed by the police. 
According to Ferro, the dismissal from service order of Miranda would serve as a warning to those policemen who were involved in any illegal activities or doing activities that might tarnish the name of the Philippine National Police (PNP). 
In previous reports, Miranda was arrested last March 5, after he was caught housing female inmates in his own office. 
When the dismissal order of Miranda will be official, he will no longer receive any benefits from the police organization.
If you remember this guy had female inmates sleeping in his office. Now he has been dismissed from the PNP.  Will criminal charges be filed?


https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1100687
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday said it has issued show cause orders against 29 barangay chairpersons in Metro Manila for failure to properly enforce the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in their communities amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the move comes after reports received by the department from concerned citizens on the non-observance of physical distancing and continuing instances of mass gatherings in their barangays.
 
We have reached this point because some village chiefs are not keeping a tight watch on their areas. We cannot be complacent with Covid-19 especially that we still do not have a cure for this. Many have died including doctors and health workers. Everybody wants to return to the normal way of living. To be able to do this, everybody must exercise discipline -- every family, every local government unit, every barangay -- must comply with the ECQ," he said in a news release. 
The barangays issued with a show cause order are Barangays 11, 12, 20, 154, 220, 350, and 212 in Manila; Barangay Bagong Silangan, 178, 12, 176, 37, and 129 in Caloocan; Barangay Pasong Putik, Pasong Tamo, San Bartolome, Batasan Hills, Payatas, Fairview, Novaliches Proper, and San Antonio in Quezon City; Barangay Don Bosco, Moonwalk, and Marcela Green in Parañaque; Barangay Pio Del Pilar and Bangkal in Makati; Barangay Almanza 2 in Las Piñas; Barangay Tonsuya in Malabon; and Barangay Alabang in Muntinlupa.
29 barangays not enforcing social distancing.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said it will evaluate foreigners for temporary release or deportation to decongest its detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. 
“Yes, they will be evaluated if qualified for temporary liberty and/or deportation,” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a Viber message. 
She said the evaluation will begin next week, but so far, they have identified high-risk detainees. 
The evaluation will start next week. So far, we have three pregnant detainees (who are considered high risk). The recommendation on the rest of the inmates will be tackled next week," she added. 
Currently, over 400 foreigners are staying at the BI's detention facility which has a capacity of 140 people 
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente has ordered to decongest the facility after observing that overcrowding exposes both the inmates and their guards to the risk of getting infected with the virus.
Why not evaluate detainees on a regular basis so the jail does not become overcrowded? How hard is that? How hard is it to hurry up and deport unwanted foreigners?  Why have them hang out in limbo for sometimes years on end!?  

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1261571/murder-charge-filed-vs-cop-who-killed-senior-cop
A charge for murder has been filed against a policeman who shot dead his senior officer inside their barracks at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. 
The complaint was filed by the family of victim Police Executive Master Sergeant Edwin San Joaquin against the suspect, 28-year-old Cpl. Bryan Jorkis Quinagoran on April 17, a day after the killing. 
Initial investigations showed San Joaquin was having a conversation with a duty radio operator when the suspect suddenly appeared from barracks 1 and shot him twice. The victim managed to run towards barracks 2 but the suspect ran after him and gave another shot. 
San Joaquin was rushed to Parañaque Doctors Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Cop shoots another cop dead.  No motive known at this time.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1263377/pnp-chief-reminds-cops-to-make-proper-judgment-calls-in-line-of-duty
Police personnel should be able to make “proper judgment calls” when confronted by challenging situations in enforcing quarantine laws. 
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said he will make such reminders to his men following the death of a retired soldier who was shot dead by policemen manning a checkpoint in Quezon City Tuesday afternoon. 
For the comfort of the public, we will remind our troops to be very good in judging their courses of action when confronted with different situations in the field,” Gamboa told CNN Philippines’ The Source in an interview. 
When asked about his reaction to the public’s concern of the possible danger posed by seemingly trigger-happy law enforcers, Gamboa said: “Of course we are taking two points of view, but appropriate reminders will be given to our troops to exercise proper judgment.”
Now why would the public be concerned about "trigger-happy law enforcers?"  Where could they possibly get the idea that the PNP os trigger-happy and ready to shoot first, ask questions later? Must be black propaganda.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Picture of the Week: Bag of Oatmeal

I was doing some shopping and tossed a few bags of oatmeal in my cart. I eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast basically every day. When I got to the cashier she noticed there was a hole in the bottom of one pack of oatmeal and was kind enough to have the bag boy wrap it in a separate bag for me.


Of course I didn't buy it!  But she thought I would and that wrapping it in another bag, rather than counting it as a loss, was the right thing to do.

I should point out this happened about a month before the coronavirus lockdown. Probably doesn't matter though.  She'd likely do the same thing now!

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Coronavirus Lockdown: The Fabunan Antiviral Injection Fraud

Thanks to a long time reader who turned me on to the videos I am going to review in this post. The Youtube channel is Bong Hermosa and from the looks of it his channel is about "How to Earn Your Millions the Quick and Easy Way."

https://www.youtube.com/user/joshua12094/videos

Though this channel has existed since October 2007 it only has 389,905 views. 369,000 of those views are from a very recent video:
With it's bad English, robotic narration, silly sound effects, and over the top surprised faces this video is absolutely hilarious!
According to Dr. Willie Fabunan who has clinic in Olongapo City and San Marcelino Zambales Philippines, that his antiviral injection can cure, the novel corona virus. 
Dr. Willie Fabunan said that this antiviral injection, is also a medicine that he is using for HIV/AIDS positive patients. 
A lot of his HIV positive patients were healed using this anti-viral injection. 
He invented the medicine for novel coronavirus 30 years ago. 
He invented the medicine for the novel coronavirus 30 years ago!!?? You mean a cure for HIV/AIDS was discovered right here in the Philippines 30 years ago??


But what is this antiviral injection composed of?
"It is composed of procaine, dexamethasone, and glucosteroid." 
Glucosteroid is an anti-inflammatory, procaine is a painkiller that works similarly as cocaine at high enough doses, and dexamethasone is used in treating breathing disorders. The narrator goes on to tell us that this cocktail has been used by Dr. Fabunan to treat some of his COVID-19 positive patients and that the ingredients to make this antiviral injection are readily available over the counter. This antiviral injection can be used to treat many ailments. The trick is mixing it just right.
The Fabunan family of doctors have for years now been treating patients with dengue, chikungunya, dog bite, snake bites, and even HIV/AIDS with their anti-viral injection.  According to Dr. Willie Fabunan, his anti-viral injection is a combination of drugs anyone can buy from drug stores over-the-counter. 
“We just change the ratio of these combination drugs in treating various ailments,” Fabunan said in stressing the safety of the drug combo.
https://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/320553
A medicine that cures various ailments and acts as either an anti-viral or an anti-venom based solely on the ratio of elements in the mixture?


Exactly. It's totally unbelievable.  The narrator goes on to say:
The president of the Republic of the Philippines is very much eager and his trying his best effort to find the cure for COVID-19. As the present update about the medicine for COVID-19, President Rodrigo Duterte is now arranging the medical authorities to test the effectiveness of the Fabuana antiviral injection for novel corona virus. The FDA visited the Fabuanan medical clinic as inspection, for the application of license to operate, to use the antiviral injection for novel corona virus treatment. The FDA is trying their best to do the processing or the approval for the said anti-virus. The Fabunans are trying their best to submit all the necessary requirements for the approval from FDA and Department of Health. If the antiviral injection by the Fabunans would be approved by the Department of Health and by the Food and Drugs Administration, we will have the medicine for novel corona virus that is made in the Philippines.
At this point in the video there is the sound effect of a large crowd cheering which drowns out the narrator and will make your ears bleed if you are wearing headphones. Then we have this:


One need not be a doctor to know this whole video is bunk. Three ingredients mixed at different ratios are not going to cure snake bites, dengue, HIV/AIDS, or COVID-19.  Snake venom is not a virus and not all viruses operate in the same manner. Not to mention there is no known cure for HIV/AIDS which makes Fabunan's claims rather dubious.

Will there be a vaccine for the coronavirus? COVID-19 does not absorb into cells which is why finding a vaccine looks hopeless at this point.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/coronavirus-vaccine-never-developed-warns-21890093
“Coronavirus doesn’t get into you, it stays on the surface cells in your lungs," he added. "All these flu viruses get into you, so the body can fight and makes T cells. 
“This virus doesn’t kill the cells, it makes them sick. At the moment we don’t know how to make a coronavirus vaccine work. That’s why there are 100 vaccines under testing using every conceivable approach. 
“We don’t know if any of them will work.”
But a cocktail that acts as both an antivenom and an antiviral will surely cure COVID-19. It's total nonsense and Fabunan has not even submitted any papers to the FDA as of April 14th.
As of April 15, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines has not yet approved the Fabunan Antiviral Injection. It is not included in FDA's list of registered drugs. 
In a text message to Rappler on April 14, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also said there is “no CPR (product registration) application submitted to FDA” in relation to the said antiviral injection. 
In an earlier statement on April 8, the FDA warned the public against the use of drugs or vaccines that are not yet certified to treat COVID-19, particularly the Fabunan Antiviral Injection and PRODEX B. 
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/257981-philippines-developed-coronavirus-cure-already-approved
Perhaps this photo posted on the Fabunan Antiviral Injection Facebook page on April 18th is a product registration application?

https://www.facebook.com/108027014182453/photos/a.108209520830869/125013625817125/?type=3&theater

PRODEX B is also being touted as a possible cure but the FDA has warned the public against it. PRODEX B is not so different from the Fabunan antiviral injection. Only one ingredient has been changed. It is composed of procaine, dexamethasone, and vitamin B instead of glucosteroid. The Manila Times ran an opinion piece touting the alleged benefits of this drug.
The potentially good news, however, is that we may have our own remedy right here in the country, reportedly curing patients with Covid-19 symptoms in Subic. 
If and when proven safe and effective in clinical trials now being sought — a gigantic if, since actual testing has yet to be set — the antiviral drug Prodex-B, combining the anesthetic procaine, the steroid dexamethasone and Vitamin B, could bring speedy recovery not only to Covid-19 patients, but to locked-down economies. 
The procaine-dexamethasone formulation has already cured a broad spectrum of deadly viral illnesses, as doctors and researchers attest: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), several dengue strains, chikungunya, leptospirosis and influenza — which is similar to Covid-19. Since our own outbreak, the remedy has been given by injection to patients with coronavirus symptoms, including one tested positive, with total success. 
So, said physicians at the drug’s proponent, Health For Life Clinic (HFL) in Subic. Patients showed improvement in as little as half a day and full recovery in 24 to 48 hours. HFL medical personnel have also been injected as a prophylactic or preventive measure — a potential boon to frontliners. No HFL staff have shown signs of Covid-19 despite exposure to patients with symptoms. 
(Disclosure: The writer is not a physician and cannot endorse any drug. He is part of a team formed by Covid-19 cure pioneer online advocate Ruby Ann Kagaoan to arrange clinical trials with the Department of Science and Technology [DoST] and its Philippine Council for Health Research and Development [PCHRD], which contacted the Philippine College of Physicians. Her team also requested East Avenue Medical Center [EAMC], the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health [ASMPH], the De La Salle University [DLSU] Health and Sciences Institute, the University of Santo Tomas [UST] Hospital and Medical School, local governments, the military, and the police.)
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/16/opinion/columnists/mr-president-the-antibody-we-need-may-be-here/714416/
Another miracle concoction which claims to cure AIDS, the flu, and dengue. Wow! How are Filipinos so smart and no one wants to recognize their efforts? How is the Manila Times so careless as to run this opinion piece about a drug which the FDA recommends against?

Despite the outlandish claims made by the promoters of PRODEX B it remains unapproved by the FDA and has no proven benefits.
Manufacturers and vendors of unlicensed products such as PRODEX B and the Fabunan Antiviral Injections have been informed regarding the process and requirements to register their products with the FDA Center for Drug Regulation and Research (CDRR). No applications for product registration have been filed to date. Until such products are proven safe and effective for use in the treatment of COVID-19 they cannot be dispensed to the public nor can therapeutic claims be made.
https://ww2.fda.gov.ph/attachments/article/669350/Press%20Statement%2018%20April%202020.pdf
If PRODEX B and the Fabunan antiviral injection are everything their creators claim them to be then why have there been no trials?  No peer review? No approval by the FDA? Why hasn't Duterte awarded them the P10 million prize for discovering a vaccine and cure?

On to the next video which was actually posted a few days before the one just discussed.

https://youtu.be/-6IJ1iqDwq4

This short video lists a few home made cures for COVID-19. According to this video, "In the absence of medical solutions, people are turning into home made cure for corona virus.


I don't want to spoil the video so I will just show you my favorite claim and cure.


The coronavirus can be seen as a "Pepper deficient Syndrome" and eating pepper soup can offer protection.


Rather than eating pepper soup I think it would be better to follow the advice given towards the end of this video which is seek medical attention with professionals because there is no cure for COVID-19.



Funny how this video says there is no "specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat the COVID 19" and yet a few days later this channel posted a video boasting about a cure being invented 30 years ago!

It's all a lot of fake news and the worst of it is all the positivity and gullibility in the comment sections of these videos. From The God Culture to Healing Galing to fake COVID-19 cures it seems Filipinos are willing to believe anything.