Observations From the Back Row With News and Views for 3/25/25

By Rich Kozlovich

Why do we think that way we do?  Machiavelli noted there are only two groups of people in the world. The privileged and the common people. The privileged only want to maintain their privileges, or expand them, and the common people only want security. They want to be able to house, feed, and clothe their families in safety.  That is what molds everyone’s thinking, except for the misfits who hate both, and want to destroy both.

The issue isn’t why people think what they think, it’s how many think what they think in each category, and very often that’s a result of where we are in the stream of historical cycles.  I've read three books on historical cycles and they all agree we're in an end cycle, which epitomized instability, economic downturns, and violence. 

Turkish President Erdogan apparently believed the guy running against him had a good chance of winning, and that was just unacceptable, so he had his opponent arrested on trumped up charges.  I’ve been following Erdogan's antics for some years. First, Turkish Islam has always been a bit different than traditional Islam, and it’s been far more secular, so pushing all this Islamic radicalism on Turkey and his tyrannical failures may have been part of the bridge too far construction against him.   As a result, this action filled the streets thousands and thousands of demonstrators who are outraged at this act.  Will there be a new president as a result?

The last time I remember a nation having this many people running wild in the streets over politics was Romania in 1989. That resulted in Nicolae Ceausescu being overthrown and very unceremoniously shot later on along with his wife.  Erdogan is afraid, make no mistake about that, and he has reason to be.  

If there is a new President, I’m of the opinion a new President would moderate a lot of Turkey’s policies that were promulgated by Erdogan, who created a lot of instability involving energy, trade, foreign policy, domestic stability, and economics, and that’s a big one, because Turkey’s economy is in trouble and is in very real need of stability, which I've stated for some years, and in opposition to all the "experts" who kept claiming Turkey was doing great and would be a big force in the Middle East.  Experts entirely too often are expert at ignoring the basics, and embracing preconceptualism, which means ignoring the things known because they're inconvenient, and making up the things not known, just like Henry Kissinger. More Here, and Here. 

If there is a new president, and he has any sense of geopolitics, he’ll want to find common ground with Trump. There will always be tension between Russia and Turkey, so looking North isn’t their answer, and they have issues with Iran.  I also think we would see a move for Turkey to have a much more harmonious relations with Israel, especially involving trade. Stability  Israel is no threat to Turkey, versus the radicals being supported by Iran.   This will be interesting to watch.  

Recently there was an article discussing how one of the first things Trump did was to restore Winston Churchill's bust to its rightful place in the oval office, which Obama had removed, which generated some conversation about his years in the “wilderness” after his failures during WWI, and it played havoc with his ego.  At one point it’s been claimed he considered suicide, although I’ve wondered how true that is, especially since during those years he set up an unofficial intelligence and spy network, all volunteers, of some of the smartest and well connected people in Europe. People who saw the dangers developing with Hitler and Mussolini.

Those people created what became the foundation for the official intelligence services when the war started and was headed up by, “Intrepid”, William Stephenson. I recommend reading the book, A Man Called Intrepid.

Those who read a lot of history are aware he did things that would have been considered despicable now, and would have ended his career today. The legend of Churchill is much bigger than Churchill, but that’s true of every hero in history. Churchill was a 19th century man of empire, and all his views and actions were predicated on that.

But one thing is clear. I never read about anyone in England that could have taken his place when doom was upon them. There may not be one now, and make no mistake, doom is upon them, and the same is true of Germany.  Unless there’s a major political upheaval, Germany is doomed also.

I keep seeing conservative writers coaching the Democrats about what they're doing wrong, and what they need to change.  And I have to wonder why? 

Actually, it really doesn’t matter what sane advice they’re given as long as they have great minds, like Mad Maxine, who claims what Trump really wants is civil war, in spite of the fact it's the left that just about has a monopoly on political violence.  And that great democrat seer, America’s very own Smeagol, James Carville, who insists Trump has put the very existence of America in jeopardy, and believes the Trump administration was going "collapse" within 30 days".

And as for those who allegedly have been educated in this arena, I have serious doubts about them also. Take AOC for an example. She graduated cum laude from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in international relations and economics. And while I may be overstating this, I think she’s dumb as dirt, nothing personal mind you.

They, along with a host of leftist celebrities and nitwits in general, just can’t keep from saying stupid things. They really are gifts that keeps on giving. They will follow the example of their moral leader, Dan Rather, and deny, deny, deny, and go down the drain together.  Or, they could change and embrace truth, but that would be a stab in their hearts because they would have become conservatives, admitting all they believed in and promoted is evil.

They’ll choose denial and go down the drain.  

I keep hearing how Donald Trump is a dictator whose goal is to destroy American democracy forever. If that’s true, why didn’t he do it during his first term?  If the Democrats were going to help America, why didn’t she do it during the 12 years of Obama and Biden?  As for being tyranny, it seems clear none of those on the left took a civic class in high school.  

Leftism is the term that encompasses communism, fascism, progressivism, environmentalism, liberalism, and a host of other "isms", but they're all scions of socialism going back to the foundation of socialism, the French Revolution.  As for groups like Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and the Occupy Wall Street, all violent misfits, they're the American left's modern version of the Nazi "Brown Shirt" thugs.  Different names, same purpose!  But the underlying social philosophy is socialism. If calling them communists pleases you, I'm fine with that.

As one write noted, the Democrat party views the Bill or Rights as the Bill of Permissions, and has worked for decades to create centralized power bases, that are not to be questioned, dealing with every aspect of human life, including the economy. They want to tax more, spend more, borrow more, regulate more, end the use of economically sound and effective energy sources such as coal, oil, natural gas, while imposing totally ineffective. and expensive, alternative energy programs on America.  

By dictate they wish to force everyone to buy electric vehicles that are a disaster,  under the pretext of saving the world from global warming, the greatest scientific fraud ever perpetrated on humanity.  All in order to justify making everyone live in centralized communities they're calling "walkable communities", which will be small and condensed, making them easier to control.   Taking away the people's right to choose is what dictators do! 

Trump wants to decentralize power transferring it to local governments which the people can more easily control.  He wants less taxes, less spending, less regulations, and less government interference in people's lives by unelected tyrannical bureaucrats to choose how to live their lives, spend their money, and live where and how they please.   That's not what a dictator does!

 "The Democrats are rudderless, divided, and leaderless. The positions that form the core of their agenda are beyond unpopular. All they have is theater, and it’s veering into acts of domestic terrorism." - Matt Vespa

Africa

• Black terrorists talk ‘seizing the means of production’ in South Africa - As the South African government ramps up the persecution of and aggression against white Afrikaners, having passed a new “land reform” law (legalized land seizures without compensation) in January of this year, a clip from a six-year-old Lauren Southern documentary is going viral, reminding the West (and everyone else) that not only is the anti-Boer agenda in South Africa very evil, but very Marxian as well..........
• Dismantling USAID Services in Africa - The potential dismantling of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) services in Africa presents both opportunities and challenges. While some view this as a loss of critical support, others see it as an opportunity for African nations to assert greater control over their own development. The true impact of this decision will hinge on how African countries navigate the shift, leveraging the advantages of independence while managing the risks that come with it......

My Take - Let's not be delusional, all this foreign aid going to these petty dictatorships is going into the corrupt pockets of their leaders.  It's always been that way, and everyone knew it was that way.  So why continue?  American's aren't benefiting from this scam at all!  But I'm betting some large multinational corporations are at the expense of American taxpayers.     RK 

Canada

• Go, Canada! Breaking Up Is Not Hard to Do - Canada is finally waking up to a bitterly cold, hard truth: its freeloading days are numbered. The maple syrup cartel isn’t keeping the economy afloat, and the national security situation is downright embarrassing. Justin Trudeau is about to hit the unemployment line, presumably with a fresh bottle of Just for Men, jeggings, and a box of tissues. With Donald Trump back in the White House and looking to balance the ledger on trade, tariffs, and defense spending, Canada is realizing that the gravy train may be reaching its final stop miles short of Tim Horton’s..........
• Eurologic: Danes, other Europeans, vow to fight back against America by ... not buying their arms

Covid

• Waiting for an investigation of COVID-19 crimes  -  Recently, even the left-stream media has acknowledged the lab leak origin of SARS-COV-2, which it called a conspiracy theory five years ago. It is time to take another look at crimes that the Democrat party and its accomplices perpetrated on the American people at the time of the pandemic, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans by denial of treatment.........

Dark Money

• Liberal Dark Money Network Arabella Advisors and Other Progressive Non-Profits Are Behind the Push for the IRS’s Direct File Initiative - A network of progressive non-profits has quietly spent years pushing the IRS’s new “Direct File” service. Progressive supporters of Direct File claim to advocate for low-income taxpayers. Research shows that key organizations promoting Direct File are closely tied to Arabella Advisors and its billion-dollar network of left-leaning dark money groups...........

Democrats

• Democrats and their digging- Our friend Ruy Teixeira is back with another message for Democrats.  My guess is that they won’t like it.  It ain’t pretty, to say the least.  Teixeira is telling Democrats that Trump may be underwater in some polls, but they are more like 20,000 leagues under the sea (to remember Captain Nemo).  Here are the 4 points driving the party down:.........
• Jasmine Crockett Confesses: 'I Don't Care About Legislation, Just Want to Take Down Trump'  - In a shocking admission, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) revealed her true priorities, stating that she has little interest in passing legislation and is focused solely on taking down President Donald Trump. Her blatant disregard for productive governance highlights the growing trend among some Democrats, prioritizing partisan attacks over meaningful policy work that could actually benefit the American people. It's a clear indication that, for some, political vendettas are more important than delivering results for their constituents.
• Jasmine Crockett: I Have Never Promoted Violence Against Elon Musk -During a Sunday appearance on MSNBC, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) denied playing any role in promoting the violence waged against Elon Musk’s brand, Tesla. The Texas Democrat acknowledged participating in the so-called “Tesla takedown,” which she maintained was a “large protest.”..........
• Dems 2025: Stalingrad II or Keystone Kops? - I am wondering about the ongoing District Judge Blitzkrieg and the Tesla Blitzkrieg and the Bernie-AOC “Fight Oligarchy” Blitzkrieg Tour. Could this be the Democrat equivalent of the Battle of Stalingrad? If so, the question is: which Democrat astroturf outfit is going to play the role of the German 6th Army?........
•  The Democrat Party’s Identity Crisis is Far Worse Than Most of the Media Is Reporting - Ever since the 2024 election, the Democrats have been embroiled in a crisis. They have no message, no leader, and no strategy. As we have seen in recent weeks, all they have to offer the American people at the moment is rage and protests. Some people in media have acknowledged that the Democrats have a problem, but it’s far worse than anyone is admitting. Axios is a liberal media outlet, but they have published a piece that highlights how bad things are.  Here are some highlights:............
• California Shows Without Death Penalty, Murderers Keep Killing - Who needs the death penalty anyway? Certainly not California. Just lock the murderers up at a modest cost of buying a nice house a year and everything is fine. Of course, you can’t keep them in solitary or deny them visitations because that would be inhumane............

Editor's Note: This next article by Daniel Greenfield is a must read article: RK

• An Assassination Has Ties to California’s Political Elite, Including its Possible Next Governor - In a scene right out of a movie, cars with stolen license plates parked outside a home in the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland, made famous by BLM rioters when a career criminal was shot during a fight in a train station, and the men inside opened fire on the homeowner.  The homeowner grabbed his gun and returned fire..............Worse was yet to come.........Did the toxic mix of green energy, turning shipping containers into housing for the homeless, police defunding and corrupt political connections in the upper echelons of progressive politics turn into a murder plot? The answer to the question may determine California’s next governor............

 DOGE

• Low-hanging fruit is not enough - No one was more pleased than I over Trump’s executive orders to cut government costs, remove DIE organizations and indoctrination, fire excess government non-workers, and prohibit men from competing with women in sports. Initially, for these actions, there is plenty of “low-hanging fruit” to be taken down.   The headlines in the news are replete with the administration’s claims of increased safety, better efficiency, and reduced costs. Promises made, promises kept.
• Elon Musk Claims DOGE Discovered $330 Million in SBA Loans Given to Kids - Elon Musk revealed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered the Small Business Administration (SBA) had given more than $300 million in loans to children under 11 years old.

• Elon Musk: 'No More Loans' After Discovering Baby Took Out $100,000 Loan 

Energy

• Trump Makes Coal Great Again - Unlike his predecessor, President Donald Trump understands that abundant and affordable energy is absolutely essential to the future of America. Since his return to the Oval Office, Trump has made energy dominance a keystone of his domestic agenda.......

Education 

• Trump begins to dismantle Department of Education - On Thursday afternoon, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling and reorganizing the Department of Education at the federal level, shifting responsibility to the states.  This move aligns with Trump’s longstanding stance on reducing federal intervention in local governance, especially in areas such as education.  He has consistently advocated for increasing school choice and reducing federal oversight in favor of local control..............
• Public School Teachers: The Stupidest Creatures on the Planet - Quite the statement, eh? Let me explain. I’m well into my 60s and for my entire adult life I’ve heard that public school teachers are underpaid. It has been repeated as a mantra for decades. Ignoring for a moment whether it is true or not -- and the answer to that is generally, it depends -- let’s accept the mantra and analyze why public-school teachers are still underpaid after all these years.......

Immigration

• Birthright citizenship in America vs. in the world - Today, the United States recognizes children of foreigners and non-citizens who are born in this country as U.S. citizens.  President Trump believes that if the parents are foreign-born or non-citizens, and they happen to give birth to a child in the United States, that child does not automatically become a citizen of the United States and therefore is not entitled to all the benefits a U.S. citizen has earned and is eligible for.  Many support and many are in opposition to the president’s view........
• Trump Hits Venezuela With Economic Sanctions for ‘Purposefully and Deceitfully’ Sending Illegal Alien Gang Members to U.S. -  President Donald Trump has announced secondary tariffs on foreign countries that purchase oil and gas from Venezuela. The tariffs are in response to Venezuela “purposefully and deceitfully” sending illegal alien gang members, including those with Tren de Aragua, to the United States via the southern border.......

Lawfare

• Exclusive — Rep. Michael Rulli: Congress Must Write Laws to ‘Prevent’ Lawfare from Happening Again - Congress must write laws to “prevent” lawfare from happening again, Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH) said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily, discussing the judges who are attempting to halt President Donald Trump’s agenda......

Middle East

• Report: U.S. Warns Egypt to Accept Gazans or Lose Billions in Aid - President Donald Trump’s administration has delivered a “final offer” to Egypt to accept up to 700,000 Gazans, according to a new report which says the proposal includes billions of dollars in economic aid and a warning that the same deal will be offered elsewhere if Cairo refuses....... 

My Take - Why are we giving these misfits billions of dollars in the first place.  Especially since they're building up their military, and its being speculated that's being done to invade Israel?  RK

Trump

• Trump Didn't Kill the Old World Order -- He Just Pronounced It Dead - In the first 60 days of his second administration, President Trump has made it clear that he intends to end the Old World Order that has shaped our planet since World War II. Free trade is out; tariffs are in. Nation-building is out; territorial acquisition is in. Wars of ideology pitting democracy against communism are out; trade deals are in. Foreign aid to win hearts and minds is out; bare-knuckled mineral deals are in. America as policeman of world is out; America First is in.............
• The president and his policies do make a difference - The main goal of Joe Biden and the Democrats was to make the government more centralized, controlling, and powerful. They want to tax more, spend more, and regulate more. They wanted to destroy oil, coal, and natural gas companies, and to take away freedom of choice on what type of vehicles to drive...........

Wokeness is a Neurological Disorder

 

• Marlow: Why Does Bob Iger Still Have a Job After ‘Snow White’ Debacle? - On Monday’s “Alex Marlow Show,” host and Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow talked about Disney and its “Snow White” remake. Marlow said, “Bob Iger’s got to be really bad at his job, it’s just like no one ever mentions this. He seems like he’s terrible at his job. So, why does no one ever say this guy should get fired and move on to a different part of life?”.............
• Marlow: Why Does Bob Iger Still Have a Job After ‘Snow White’ Debacle? - On Monday’s “Alex Marlow Show,” host and Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow talked about Disney and its “Snow White” remake. Marlow said, “Bob Iger’s got to be really bad at his job, it’s just like no one ever mentions this. He seems like he’s terrible at his job. So, why does no one ever say this guy should get fired and move on to a different part of life?”..............
• Has Women’s History Month served its purpose? - Phew! Women’s History Month (WHM) is finally drawing to a close. Next year, it’d be great if President Trump doesn’t issue the annual proclamation recognizing the month..............
• “A New World Order With European Values”: The Unholy Union of Globalism and Anti-Free Speech Measures -  “A New World Order With European Values.” Emblazoned across banners and signs, those words met the participants at this week’s meeting of the World Forum in Berlin.  Each year, leaders, executives, journalists and academics gather to address the greatest threats facing humanity. This year, there was little doubt about what they view as the current threat: the resurgence of populism and free speech............
• Does Dr. Mehmet Oz still support transgender medicine?  Senator Josh Hawley has persistently asked Dr. Oz questions about his views on transgenderism. The doctor, who is the president’s nominee to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has a history of endorsing transgender medical interventions on his television show—up until a few short years ago, Oz openly supported the use of transgender surgeries for minors and cross-sex hormones........... 

My Take - Listen up Donny, this is nuts.  Here are my articles on:

1. The Weirdness of Oz.   
2. Trump Picks The Weirdness of Oz to Lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 
3. More Lunacy in the Land of Oz 
4. My Take on the Land of Oz

Democrats quietly send $35.8 billion bailout to cover their policy mistakes

December 15, 2022 By Jack Hellner

Democrats have essentially had complete control of Illinois, with super majorities in the House and Senate, for years.

As an Illinois resident, I have the wonderful fortune of listening to Democrats brag about the financial “health” of the Illinois budget. They claim they balanced the budget and now have over $1 billion in a rainy-day fund. (For perspective, that is like a family making $100,000 having $2,000 in a savings account.)

Meanwhile, Illinois pension funds declined by nearly ten billion dollars in FY 2022.  If Illinois were a private business, that $9.8 billion would show up as a loss; there is nothing remotely balanced about the Illinois budget. According to a Chicago business report:

Illinois’s massive debt to the retirement funds was built up by years of failing to set aside enough to cover all the benefits that have been promised. It has been a major financial drag, leaving Illinois with a lower bond rating than any other US state and forcing it to pump more tax money into the system to catch up.

The president and his fellow Democrats love rewarding their political supporters with kickbacks, so they bailed out the Teamsters Union, to buy votes, with $35.8 billion because of mismanagement and over-promising for decades. 

(The money came from the $1.9 trillion slush fund that was sold to the public as COVID relief.)..............To Read More....

My Take - As an FYI: 

•  4 of 6 Richest U.S. Counties Are D.C. Suburbs......i.e. federal government employees.  Overpaid, under worked, and mostly unnecessary, and as for the rest of the nation:  
• Repossessions and Defaults Are on the Rise, a Warning Sign.  
• Biden Pledges $55B to African Nations; Most Are Not Free Democracies

 

Viewpoint: ‘Green neo-colonialism’— Utopian visions of organic farming promote starvation in Africa

James Njoroge | December 11, 2020 @ Genetic Literacy Project

 cross Africa, farmers and governments are struggling to feed growing populations. Ongoing and deadly locusts and Fall Armyworm infestations, cancer-causing mycotoxins, crop diseases and adverse weather all threaten starvation for millions. At the same time, agricultural technologies that can help improve yields, protect the natural environment and feed hungry millions are being undermined by intentionally deceptive anti-technology campaigns. Campaigns funded by rich foundations hyping utopian visions of organic peasant agriculture and European government-funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seeking control of Africa’s food and agriculture. 

These well-funded foundations, European government aid programs, and NGOs want to shut down African debates over the future of agricultural technology. Cloaking themselves in the woke environmental and pro-peasant farmer rhetoric of the organic-only agroecology movement, groups like the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (ASFA) and the anti-trade and anti-technology movement La Via Campesina work overtime to keep African farmers from using safe pesticides, fertilizers, hybrid seeds, and genetically modified crops (GMOs) and other advanced agricultural tools. It’s a radical agenda that is the face of a “green” neo-colonialism.

Indeed, an army of internationally-funded NGOs claiming FAO’s imprimatur and support have descended on Africa. They’re working hard to stop 21^st Century agricultural technologies such as genetically modified crops (GMOs) and advanced seed varieties, modern and safe pesticides and fertilizers. In its place, they advocate agroecology, idealizing peasant labor and retrograde subsistence farming. In short, they reject the “Green Revolution’s” successes and dismiss the billions of lives saved from starvation, instead promoting, in the recent words of U.S. FAO ambassador Kip Tom, an “endless cycle of back-breaking labor and low yield production” that today keeps “much of the world in underdevelopment.”.........To Read More.....

World Bank incompetence and malpractice

Fiona Kobusingye-Boynes gave me permission to publish this in 2006 and all the information contained here-in is relative to that date.


by Fiona Kobusingye-Boynes

Date: June 16, 2006

Fiona Kobusingye speaks from horrible personal experience about the disease that has killed six members of her family and snuffs out the lives of a million Africans every year. It is so tragic, and so unnecessary. We could end this suffering and death, if we used every available weapon to stop malaria – not just insecticide-treated bednets, but insecticides, too, especially DDT. But politicians, environmental activists and bureaucrats promote programs that don’t work, tell Africans they mustn’t use DDT, and falsify data to make it look like their incompetent programs are working. The World Bank is a major offender. It should get out of malaria control – and do what it was created to do.

I have been struck down by malaria dozens of times. The vomiting, high fevers, dehydration, headaches, joint pain and disorientation were beyond belief.

If doctors hadn’t helped me even when I couldn’t pay, I would have been dead long ago – like my son, two sisters and three nephews, all victims of this vicious disease. Like the husbands and children of women who work with me, making beautiful purses to earn money for malaria medicines. Like 50 of the 500 orphan children who attended the school that my husband and I help sponsor – all dead in a single year!

It is an unspeakable tragedy. Malaria infects 400 million Africans every year, leaving them unable to work, attend school, cultivate fields, care for their families or build our nations. It costs Uganda over US$700 million annually in lost productivity, millions of hours spent caring for sick children and parents, countless potential Einsteins, Beethovens and Martin Luther Kings.

We could end this suffering and death, if we use every available weapon – not just insecticide-treated bednets, but insecticides, too, especially DDT. Unfortunately, too many politicians, environmental activists and bureaucrats promote programs that don’t work and tell Africans they can’t use DDT, which keeps deadly anopheles mosquitoes out of our homes for six months or more, with just one spraying on their inside walls.

Thankfully, President Bush and the U.S. Congress and Agency for International Development have begun spending more money – and using DDT and other insecticides in Uganda, Tanzania and Angola. Other agencies are also revising their policies and programs. But one is dragging its feet.

Six years ago, the World Bank promised to spend $300-500 million on malaria control in Africa. However, according to a study in The Lancet, the Bank has bungled the job.

The malaria experts who conducted the study said the Bank actually spent perhaps $100 million worldwide, and cut the number of recipient countries in half, and claimed progress where there was none. By counting eight months as a year, the Bank made it look like its programs had suddenly slashed malaria cases by 60% in Brazil. Refusing to provide evidence to support claims that are sharply contradicted by other data, it also said Bank programs had “dramatically” reduced India’s malaria deaths in just one year.

It refuses to spend Bank money on DDT in Eritrea, where thousands die from malaria every year, even though this chemical has reduced malaria by 75% in at least four African countries.

The Bank bought 100 million doses of chloroquine for use in India, where this drug fails to work 15-45% of the time – and children die as a result. Just imagine the malpractice charges and criminal indictments that would result if doctors did something like that in the United States. World Bank staff then argued that “chloroquine is 10-20 times cheaper” than Artemisia-based combination drugs – when even Bank documents specifically acknowledge that “artemisinin-based drugs are the only first-line anti-malarial drugs appropriate for widespread use that still work against chloroquine-resistant malaria parasites.”

The study also states that the Bank eliminated its entire malaria staff, but says it now has “three full-time professionals working on malaria” – for all of sub-Saharan Africa! This is completely inadequate and does nothing to alter the incompetent policies that continue to sicken and kill Africans.

Another study found that indoor spraying with DDT slashed malaria rates by nearly 75% in just a few years in Madagascar’s highlands. Indoor DDT spraying, combined with insecticide-treated curtains had similar results elsewhere in the country. Despite this life-saving success, the World Bank and Roll Back Malaria have pressured Madagascar to “progressively phase out DDT” and replace it with an “environmentally friendly” insecticide, even though no chemical has yet been found that is nearly as effective as DDT. I can only conclude that, in their minds, environmental considerations and “international criticism” about DDT take precedence over African lives.

Against all this and more damning evidence, the Bank’s Lancet response asserts that its “approach is driven by results.” Just imagine what would happen to doctors and corporate CEOs who got such “results.”

The Bank’s Lancet response did get one thing right. It said that, compared to the Global Fund for the Prevention of Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, the Bank has a “comparative advantage in development economics, financing … capacity building and … implementation support.”

Put another way, the Global Fund is more competent than the Bank in disease control, and more transparent about its funding and results. It has superior staff, policies, programs and therapies. And it gives grants, which are attractive to African countries already saddled with debt – instead of loans like the Bank does.

Instead of pretending to be a disease expert, the Bank should focus on its comparative advantages. It should build new hospitals and clinics, get them electricity and clean water, support Global Fund malaria programs, and provide stipends for doctors and nurses, to keep them from leaving Africa for countries where salaries are higher, and obstacles less overwhelming. Let the Global Fund handle malaria control.

World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz has an opportunity to change this dismal situation, end the Bank’s shamefully defective malaria programs, refocus it to what it does best, improve healthcare delivery, and save lives.

I’m not a doctor or politician. I’m just an African woman with a dream: that we finally end a disease that is wiping out the future of Africa – our precious children. I truly hope Mr. Wolfowitz will rise to the occasion.

Enemies of humanity

Mosquitoes and uncaring environmental activists perpetuate poverty, disease and death

Steven Lyazi

After being infected again with malaria last July, I spent almost a month in a Kampala hospital. Paying for my treatment was extremely difficult, as it is for most Ugandan and African families. I was lucky I could scrape the money together. Many families cannot afford proper treatment.

Where and how can they get the money to go back to the hospital again and again, every time a family member gets malaria, when they also need food, clothes and so many other things – or malaria makes them so sick that they can’t work for weeks or even months? Many parents can do nothing except watch their loved ones die in agony, and then give them a simple burial.
 

Far too many people still die from malaria every year in Africa, the vast majority of them women and children. Too many more die from lung and intestinal diseases, because we don’t have electricity, natural gas, clean water, or decent modern homes, clinics and hospitals.
 

Malaria also makes many people so weak that they die from other diseases that people in Europe and the United States rarely even hear about, like chronic dysentery. It saps people’s strength for years and leaves them with severe liver and kidney damage. Cerebral malaria causes lifelong learning and memory problems.
 

All these diseases create enormous barriers to Africa’s economic growth. They drain our national healthcare budgets and deepen our poverty. Malaria control and treatment alone cost Africa over $12 billion annually. Uganda alone spends $11 million a year fighting it. The disease drains an estimated $100 billion every year from the African economy.
 

Malaria also hits India and other countries really hard. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it drains India’s economy of as much as $2 billion every year. Billions in wages are lost, because people die or are absent from work, have low productivity due to fatigue, and have to spend so much on bed nets, insecticides, bug repellants, medicines, treatments and hospital care.
 

Terrible roads mean that, even when AIDS and other drugs are shipped to African countries, few people receive them. Many sit in warehouses until their expiration date passes, and then those expired drugs get sold on the black market. People buy them, and die. Other times, they take drugs until they feel better, and then sell the rest of the prescription. Then a more deadly, resistant malaria comes back and makes them even worse.
 

And yet global green campaigners endlessly spend money trying to prevent Africans from using fossil fuels, promoting renewable energy and trying to sell us little solar ovens. But this great generosity does nothing to address the horrible realities of people dying now – day after day, year after year. Greens worry constantly about Africans being exposed to insecticides. We worry about dying from malaria.
 

We don’t need enemies of humanity. What we need is financial and political support to conquer malaria, lung diseases and intestinal parasites. We need clean water and affordable, reliable electricity in our villages and cities. We need modern hospitals.
 

We need environmental activists to realize how important fossil fuels and hydroelectric plants are to having decent, healthy living standards, lights, computers, the internet, clean hospitals, clean water, and everything else modern countries have.
 

We need them to support us Africans in preventing malaria in the first place – which means we need more than bed nets. We need campaigners to recognize that we have the same rights as people in modern, rich, industrialized countries to decent living standards and modern technology.
 

Malaria viruses are constantly mutating, making available treatments less effective. Many families cannot afford the drugs, and many of the drugs are fake, just packaged to look like the real thing. People spend money on them, they don’t help at all, and people die.
 

The WHO says over 3 billion people around the world are still at risk of getting malaria. In 2015, there were 212 million cases of malaria and 438,000 people died, the vast majority of them in Africa.
 

Many of these illnesses and deaths could be prevented if just a few simple steps were taken right now, especially by allowing and encouraging countries to use preventive measures that work, like DDT.
 

So many people have access to medical care only on an irregular basis. Others have never learned how to take proper care of themselves or their children. But the most fundamental problem is malaria-carrying mosquitoes that are the source of our biggest scourge. And there is a readily available life-saving solution – DDT and other pesticides to kill mosquitoes and keep them out of our homes.
 

To me, there is simply no substitute for DDT. It is the most affordable, longest lasting, most effective mosquito repellant in existence. Sprayed in tiny amounts on the walls of traditional homes, just once or twice a year, DDT repels mosquitoes from the entire house, kills any that land on walls, and perplexes or irritates any that are not killed or repelled, so their urge to bite is gone.
 

Other pesticides that some activists say we can use are not as appropriate, or they are up to six times more expensive than DDT, or they have to be sprayed much more often. Every dollar spent this way is a dollar that’s unavailable for safe drinking water, electricity and other critical needs. 
 

DDT for indoor residual spraying programs is rejected because it is supposedly dangerous to the environment and might be detected in our blood or on agricultural products. We use it carefully, it is less dangerous than other pesticides, and being able to detect it does not mean it is a risk to anyone. No one has ever died from it, and it can help prevent malaria and other diseases that ruin our lives and kill us. 
 

Where DDT is used in the developing world, malaria cases and deaths often drop by 80% or more. Where it is not used, people die. If we can prevent malaria and other insect-carried diseases in the first place, we won’t have so many people sick and out of work. Families won’t have to spend their savings on treatment. Doctors and nurses won’t be overwhelmed, and will have the time and resources to address other health problems. It’s that simple.
 

But too many politicians and activists have made it impossible to prevent the disease by killing and repelling mosquitoes. They constantly oppose DDT use and insist that developing countries rely on insecticide-treated bed nets, larvae-eating fish and other strategies that are simply inadequate.

Malaria is no longer a killer in western countries – because they used DDT to help eradicate the disease decades ago. That may be a key reason as why many well-off westerners talk about environmental considerations being supreme, and tell Africans and other third world countries not to use pesticides because of supposed health risks and environmental damage.
 

Malaria also has nothing to do with global warming. It existed for centuries in northern Europe and even in Siberia. The same mosquito species still live there. They just don’t carry malaria anymore, and so cannot transmit it to people. That’s what we want to do in Africa.
 

Americans would never tolerate being told they could not protect their children – or that they should rely on bed nets or wait more long years for new drug treatments or magic mosquitoes that cannot carry malaria. But Africans are repeatedly told we have to be content with exactly these limited safeguards, while parents and children get sick and die. That is inhumane and imperialistic.
 

If wealthy nations and NGOs really want to help developing nations, they should support fossil fuel power plants for reliable, affordable electricity. They should support DDT as an important part of the solution to eradicate this serial killer, so that Africans can work, spend less on malaria, have more money for other healthcare and family needs, and develop as much as rich nations have.

 

Steven Lyazi is a student and worker in Kampala, Uganda. He served as special assistant to Congress of Racial Equality-Uganda director Cyril Boynes, until Mr. Boynes’ death in January 2015. He plans to attend college and help his country and Africa get the energy and other modern technologies they need.


A few thought from Paul Driessen a frequent Paradigms and Demographics contributor. - Steven Lyazi, my young friend in Uganda, had another brush with malaria a few weeks ago. He writes about it in his latest article, and offers his thoughts on African versus environmentalist priorities.

Malaria drains some $100 billion a year from African economies, he notes, and kills over 400,000 people a year, mostly in Africa. “And yet,” he says, “global green campaigners endlessly spend money trying to prevent Africans from using fossil fuels, promoting renewable energy and trying to sell us little solar ovens.

But this great generosity does nothing to address the horrible realities of people dying now – day after day, year after year. Greens worry constantly about Africans being exposed to insecticides. We worry about dying from malaria.”

Thank you for posting his article, quoting from it, forwarding it to your friends and colleagues – and helping to change the mindsets that continue to hold Africa back, by imposing harmful policies on countries that are trying to end killer diseases and raise living standards to what Americans and Europeans enjoyed 50 to 100 years ago.

Paul