Sunday, December 02, 2012

Is it REAL or is it a SCAMMER?

Is it REAL or is it a SCAMMER?  How can you Tell?

I have been pretty much out of commission since I got sick in late 2007, and was quite busy before that, but since getting a bit more active as my health improves a bit, I see that things are still much the same in this online world.

There are those who genuinely due their own due diligence,  and want to see the real scammers driven from the internet (and the planet!!)

There are those who want someone else to do the digging for them, because they don't really know how to do it, or they are unsure of their own abilities and cannot afford to get scammed.  

Don't Fall for a Scammer
There are those who want someone else to do the digging for them, because they're too lazy to do it, themselves, and they want to use the time when they SHOULD be digging to hope to search for the next "get-rich-quick" scheme.

There are those who have a mean, vicious and bitter spirit, who never made a success of themselves in business, who want to do whatever they can to destroy anyone who has been successful in business.  These ones I call the phony scambusters, who create a straw man (their victim's supposed scam program) and then burn it...

There are those who wildly declare many genuine and legal businesses to be scams, piling up mountains of unfounded, improbable and useless "evidence" in their desire to be heroes.  These are the ones I call the "wannabe scambusters," because they are delusional and running on their own over inflated egos, rather than on facts.

Finally, there are the real scammers, who need to be taken down to make the world a better and safer place both for businesses and consumers.  These require solid, careful, clear-headed fact checking be people who have their heads screwed on straight and are willing to plug away quietly until they can get the evidence to the appropriate authorities.

Online forums ARE NOT a place to get FACTS when doing due diligence and/or chasing down a possible scam program.  Online forums can be helpful for finding leads, but in my experience, much of what is found on so-called scam busting forums is conjecture, vitriol and nonsense from disgruntled people who didn't "get rich quick," with no work.

Another, recent (and very scary) development that appears to be happening is the appearance of scammers who are trying to pass themselves off as the good guys.  It looks like they are now posting on scam busting sites, even buying the sites, themselves. 

One might ask how it is possible that scammers could get away with this.  The answer is, when people do not have to identify themselves, but can hide behind pseudonyms and avatars, rather than using their real names and real photographs, they can say pretty much anything they like, no matter how libelous, and get away with it.  

Furthermore, when they troll for wannabe scambusters (see above) and get them on the site, they will not have a very difficult time sucking them into their web of deceit, turning them into unsuspecting allies as they work to destroy potential competition and build a database for their next big scam.

Sadly, what many of the groups listed above do not realize, is that there IS no limit to the lengths the scammers will go to in order to achieve their ends (usually their pockets full of ill-gotten cash).

The ONLY real answer I have seen over the years, which never has changed, is that people MUST learn how to do their own due diligence, and they must take the time to do it, or the scammers will just continue to create new scams.  

Like the old British maxim:  "Stay calm and carry on."  Don't get sucked in, by hype or an easy way ahead, but suck it up and get to work, the good old fashioned way.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Let's Build a Pipeline!!

Let's Build a Pipeline!

by Dave Cottrell

Controversy has raged across North America for the last few years, throughout both Canada and the United States, over proposed pipelines that would move bitumen from the Alberta, Canada "Tar Sands" to oil refineries on the Gulf of Mexico and/or in Asia.

After much loud protest, with an election on the horizon in the US, President Obama put at least a temporary halt to the line going to the Gulf of Mexico.

President Barack Obama
Up went the heat on the government of Canada to grant approval for a pipeline from Alberta to Asia....

Hmmmm.... Do I see a couple of minor problems with that idea?

How about.... two mountain ranges?  Ah... no problem!  Dig her deep and forget about it.... yeah, ok....

How about... lakes, streams, rivers, grasslands, forest lands and let's not forget to add in deep frost and earthquakes...  NO problem.  They figured out how to deal with that stuff a LOOOOOONG time ago... right?

Um... this IS Enbridge we're talking about, right?

Well, they'll clean up their act for this one.  Where's the trust?  Hey, where's the love?  Can't you just picture how cozy a nice pile of money is to cuddle up to?

Uh... where were we...?  Oh, yeah.... streams, rivers... RIVERS!!  The Skeena River!  Run her right along the river for a couple of hundred miles... maybe even put it UNDER the river for a couple of hundred miles before we veer off for Kitimat...  hmmmm.....

NOOOOO PROBLEM!  And if it ruptures under the Skeena, there's enough volume to clean her right out in a hurry, right out to sea.  The solution to pollution is dilution, right?

So... Kitimat. Yes, land of the deep snow.  End of the Douglas Channel.  Just look at the Enbridge maps on the model.  Clear, straight, deep sailing, right out to Asia.  Right?

Say, who put these pesky islands on this Google map of Douglas Channel?  What are all these other pesky islands out in front of Douglas Channel?  Is Google in cahoots with all those protesters trying to stop progress?  The very nerve!

Say, let's get this pipeline built and start sailing the high seas from Kitimat to Asia!  (Money, money, money... it's rich man's world...)

Nothing could possibly go wrong.  We have the technology.  Not even HUMAN ERROR can get in the way....

....and if you believe that, I have a nice,barely used ferry to sell you... uh... right at the bottom of Wright Sound in the inside passage... uh... same general area the tankers would travel...

But a tanker would NEVER hit a rock or an island, would it?  I mean... that would be awful messy, wouldn't it?

But, hey, it's only water, right?

Hey, how about a little singing?  After all, it's a rich man's world:

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Ignorant Majority - Archaeological Discovery and Land Claims



The Ignorant Majority -  Archaeological Discovery and Land Claims


    Guest Post by Kathleen Cottrell

     The past is important in shaping the future. Claims for the land of Canada by a multitude of nations who occupied the land and lived here for thousands of years before Europeans arrived seeking to plunder its many resources and subsequently settle this so-called empty land for the taking are ongoing. The archaeological discovery made near Sechelt, BC, offers further evidence that Canada was populated by many nations who were highly civilized long before the arrival of Europeans.

Salish Sea Sechelt BC

     With respect to the Sechelt nation, a recent discovery by archaeologists of the burial site of an ancient Shishalh chief of great importance was reported in the Coast Reporter on August 3, 2012. The 4,000 year old burial site is reported to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries in British Columbia by Dr. Terence Clark of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The work by archaeologists, Dr. Terence Clark and Gary Coupland, professor at the University of Toronto, has been ongoing since 2010. The most significant discovery is that of an individual buried with over 350,000 hand crafted stone beads, which indicates chiefly status and importance.
Sechelt Indian Band Chief Gary Feschuk indicates that the Sechelt Indian Band wants the historic site returned to them. The province of British Columbia has placed a map reserve on the area, which keeps the area safe from development for 10 years. Chief Feschuk says that the map reserve is a temporary fix for now, but what needs to be done is to have the land returned to them. He also says that the Sechelt Band should have final say on what happens on their land. The Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation indicates that while reconciliation agreement negotiations are done, discussion is continuing on protection of the Salmon Inlet archaeological site along with other matters. The fact that the Sechelt even need to ask for control of the land that their ancestors are buried in is a great reminder of the fact that with colonialism they lost control of the lands they occupied for many thousands of years. The Sechelt have occupied this area for at least four thousand years, as evidenced by the remains found in the Salmon Inlet Burial Site. This site is part of the provincial Crown lands that the Sechelt want to add to their present land and resource base (McKee, 45-46).


     This article highlights the impact that colonialism has had on Indigenous peoples of Canada, specifically the Sechelt, with regards to the loss of elders to diseases like smallpox. The untimely death of elders has weakened the richness of their oral history, because the stories die with the people. The population of Indigenous people in BC in the 1700s was estimated to be 250,000 or more, but by 1929 the number had dropped to 23,000. (Muckle, 64) Without the people to pass down history, places like the Burial Site at Salmon Inlet, and the important ancestors buried there, are lost and forgotten. The efforts by Europeans to assimilate individuals through attendance at residential schools has brought about the loss of language for many individuals who are unable to pass down stories and consequently because of this loss, have lost the sense of belonging and pride of being part of a proud Indigenous nation.


     The Canadian Government issued an apology for the Indian Residential School System on June 11, 2008. The apology acknowledges the many negative outcomes of the schools including the damage to Aboriginal culture, heritage and language. The government acknowledges that one of the goals of residential schools was to assimilate Aboriginal children into Canadian culture by removing them from their homes and keeping them from learning their culture and traditions. Residential schools are also recognized as having been a major contributor to the many social problems facing Aboriginal people today (Muckle, 163-164).


     In 1986, Bill C-93, the Sechelt Indian Band Act, is enacted by parliament. The act gives the Sechelt 'municipal-style' powers of self-government” (McKee, 145). The Sechelt also signed the Sechelt Agreement in Principle (AIP) on April 16, 1999. This was following five years of negotiations. “It is the first AIP achieved through the treaty process, and it is the first example of a future urban treaty in British Columbia. Final negotiations regarding the AIP are under way and will lead to the conclusion of a Final Agreement” (101).


     The Sechelt Indian Band is dealing with the Burial Site at Salmon Inlet in a different way from the Musqueam with the Marpole Midden site. The Musqueum have no desire for their ancestors to be dug up and studied; they just want their ancestors put to rest and to be given the same respect as non-native burial sites or cemeteries (Musqueam Nation). The Sechelt want the Salmon Inlet site studied to enable their history to be documented, specifically by the youth involved in the process, so they have a record of their origins, and to be able to share that with future generations.


     The Indigenous or First Nations youth of Canada, need to learn the history, culture and traditions of their band or nation. The high school history textbooks used in British Columbia public schools have been criticized for their lack of including Indigenous people in their role as being part of the shaping of Canada, in favour of the British and French accounts (Furniss, 14). “Native cultures are often presented as static, as lacking history prior to European contact” (15).


     The nation, or municipality, of Sechelt is striving to revitalize and at the same time create an identity that the youth can embrace and be proud of. This discovery at Salmon Inlet has invited and encouraged the participation of Sechelt youth. The sense of pride they have in being part of such an important discovery portraying a past civilization of wealth and status is shown when the students dubbed a flat rock pointing towards the place of burial of an elder, “pride rock”. Several students have expressed an interest in going on to study archaeology.

     The article is a news article, whose audience seems to be limited to the local residents of the Sunshine Coast. That this news of an incredible archaeological discovery was not picked up by a provincial or national newspaper is remarkable. It indicates the lack of interest that our nation as a whole has for hearing of evidence that the Indigenous peoples of Canada were organized civilizations before the arrival of Europeans. The evidence suggests chiefly status structures similar to royalty in other cultures. The fact that this article did not go further in publication is an indication of the lack of interest in land claims in general.


     The title of the article, “SIB will fight to protect 4,000-year-old burial site”, was perhaps a poorly chosen one. The word fight is not a word that conjures up peaceful negotiations. Nowhere in the article does the Sechelt Indian Band chief Gary Feschuk use the word fight to indicate the fact that he wants the land returned and protected. He does indicate that the Sechelt Indian Band should have final say over the land, just as the premier of BC has indicated that BC should have final say over what happens with regard to the proposed pipeline.

     The article also fails to mention the British Columbia Heritage Conservation Act and the Indian Act which protects the prehistoric past of British Columbia. It is illegal to disturb an archaeological site not on a reserve without a permit. It is illegal under the federal Indian Act to remove pictographs, petroglyphs and carved poles from reserves (Muckle, 17). It should be noted that the Musqueam Nation has not been able to have the Marpole Midden site protected by the Heritage Conservation Act. The developer of the property has been issued a permit to continue developing the site. The Musqueam people assert that they have never given up the land (Musqueam Nation).


     It will be interesting to see what other discoveries are made at this site as the archaeologists and the community of Sechelt continue to work together to document the past. The fact that the discovery contained more beads than any other discovery to date from Alaska to California is enough reason to look forward to future discoveries. The past is important in shaping the future and this is no less important for the Sechelt people as it is for all Indigenous people in Canada.


Works Cited
Furniss, Elizabeth. “Pioneers, Progress, and the Myth of the Frontier: The Landscape of Public History in Rural British Columbia.” BC Studies: Native Peoples and Colonialism. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1998. 7-44. Print.
McKee, Christopher. Treaty Talks in British Columbia: Building a New Relationship. 3rd ed. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009. Print.
Muckle, Robert J. The First Nationis of British Columbia: an anthropological survey. 2nd ed. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. Print.
Musqueam Nation. Protect Musqueam's heritage site. Vancouver, BC: Musqueam Nation, 2012. N. Pag. Print.
Wood, Christine. “SIB will fight to protect 4,000-year-old burial site.” Coast Reporter [Sechelt, BC] 3 Aug. 2012: 1+. Print.


Friday, November 09, 2012

It's Time... to Drain the Swamp

It's Time... to Drain the Swamp

by Dave Cottrell

It's time for Congress and the Senate to start working together.  If they continue to stand toe to toe and nose to nose like the the Zax of Dr. Suess fame (with apologies...):
"The day after election day,One day, making tracks
In the prairie of Political Prats,
Came a North-Going Republican Congressman
And a South-Going Democrat Senator
And it happened that both of them came to a place
Where they bumped. There they stood.
Toe to toe. Face to face.
Well…
Of course the rest of the world didn’t stand still. The world grew.
In a couple of years, the Tea Party came through
And they built right over those two stubborn Hacks
And left them there, standing un-budgeted in their tracks."

Yes, folks, the world is NOT going to stand still simply because the fools in the House and the Senate can't get along.  If the Senate won't budge and keeps saying it's Congress' fault and Congress won't budge and says it's the Senate's fault, they will both fall over that fiscal cliff whose edge they are standing on, and the world will go on.

If BOTH parties don't set aside their differences and work together, it won't matter who is in the White House any more.  All those beautiful, promised social programs, including the new health care program, will be stopped in their track, and many existing ones will be cut, AUTOMATICALLY.

Furthermore, they won't come back for a very long time... economists figure it will take about eight years to recover... but at least, the economy will be strong when it does recover, and these lunatics that are bickering with each other, right now, will be gone.

What a crazy, messed up world! 
Crocodile Swamp

Monday, November 05, 2012

Benghazigate

Benghazigate - never forget what happened

by Dave Cottrell

While all the arguing is going on over who is to blame for Benghazi, people back in the US are mourning the loss of loved ones, something that shouldn't be happening.

Evidence is mounting, and indeed, it is becoming a mountain of evidence, that those in charge back in the United States, right up to the president, himself, knew exactly what was going on in Benghazi that led to the deaths of four Americans, and in fact, may have been watching much of it from a link to a drone that was overhead in Benghazi at the time of the attack.

One thing that is quite certain:  This was no simple protest, no riot started by a bad video out of the US.

This was a carefully orchestrated and planned attack, complete with military weapons and training.  Furthermore, the video would have been meaningless to most people in that area of the world, but it was translated into Arabic and aired on Arabic television (begging the question, "Why would a Muslim air such a movie that supposedly blasphemes his prophet?").  It is of note that the video and the attack on the Benghazi operation "just happened" to happen on 9/11, 11 years after the attack on the twin towers.

It is interesting that the various levels of the US state department and the CIA all first claimed that this was a spontaneous attack, a grass-roots riot by and unorganized Islamic mob intent on killing the infidels, then later on they denied that they had ever said such a thing!  (See the Forbes article by Larry Bell from 11/01/2012)

An article on Courant.com  reports on the CIA statement of events for that night, but that DOES NOT explain, even IF the CIA was indeed doing THEIR best to rescue American personnel, why readily available and powerful backup sitting just off shore on an aircraft carrier was not deployed, nor does it explain the Stand Down orders and where they came from.

One thing that is certain about this terrible night when four Americans were killed by admitted al-Quaida linked Islamic militant group, Ansar al-Sharia;  nothing is certain.

Rarely, if ever in modern history, has an American administration been so vague, untruthful, incompetent and  self-serving in regards to this tragedy as this administration.  As Senator John McCain put it, “This tragedy, turned into a debacle and massive cover-up or massive incompetence in Libya, is having an impact on the voters because of their view of the commander-in-chief.  It is the worst cover-up or incompetence I have ever observed in my life. Somebody the other day said to me, ‘This is as bad as Watergate… nobody died in Watergate.” 

Monday, October 08, 2012

WWIII on the NEAR Horizon?

WWIII on the NEAR Horizon?

by Dave Cottrell

For a long time now, I've been warning folks to stand firm against the west getting involved in Syria. It is MUCH more dangerous than what is going on between Iran and Israel, although there is much danger there, as well.

However, the Iran-Israel battle MAY WELL play out IN Syria, to begin with. Already, Iran is heavily involved there, as are the Russians.

What is not so well known is that there are reports coming out through the intelligence underground of high tech weapons from Ghaddafi's former regime being smuggled out of Libya and into the hands of the "Free Syrian Army," via help from the West, and specifically from the USA.

Both China and Russia have warned the West (for all intents and purposes, the USA) to stay out of Syria, and in fact, Vladimir Putin warned that "an attack on Damascus is an attack on Moscow."

Any open help from the West against the Assad regime is almost certainly a declaration of war on Russia, and perhaps on China, as well, not to mention smaller players like Iran.

The ENTIRE "Arab Spring" has been a TERRIBLE setback for freedom in the countries where it has occurred, and it is no different in Syria, although the stakes for the world are much higher. IF (a very big IF) Assad was to be defeated by the "rebels" inside Syria, it would mean the complete end of religious freedom and any kind of equality for women. Just as in the other countries where it has already happened, they would be run by Muslim extremists, with absolutely NO real democracy and NO religious freedom of any kind.

However, the present situation looks very much like the powder has already been placed, the fuse is ready, and the match is being lit. We could right now be looking at the beginning of the end for the power of the West, opening the door for the final chapters of history, which do not mention western power at all.

Pray for your country, and pray for great opportunities to share the gospel in the days ahead as people cry out for answers.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Progress Report... Ugh... Chronic Lyme Disease Really Sucks

Progress Report... Ugh... Chronic Lyme Disease Really Sucks

by Dave Cottrell
It is now September 29, 2012.  I have been sick with Lyme Disease since the end of 2007.  Prior to that time, I was extremely healthy, and able to literally outperform most men half my age.  I could walk from sunup to sundown without resting.  I could run up and down ladders all day.  My thinking was clear, my ability to multi-task was very good, and my mind was sharp virtually all the time.

By mid-October of 2008, however, I had to finally admit defeat and walk away from an excellent position at an excellent company due to an inability to properly concentrate, combined with an overwhelming fatigue that had set in, intense pain over much of my body, inability to sleep, terrible sweats, and many other lesser problems.  It was no longer possible for me to properly focus and think for any length of time, making me somewhat less than a valuable asset to the company I was working for.

Chronic Paid

Fast forward to today.  It has taken a long time and many unfruitful trips to many doctors and specialists, but I have finally found a doctor, a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) licensed to prescribe antibiotics, who recognized the symptoms of the disease a retired doctor had already said I have (Lyme Disease), began antibiotic treatment along with natural and homeopathic treatments, and immediately drew blood for a Western Blot, which came back positive to 1 chance in 40,000 of being a false positive.

Due to the fact that it took SO long to get treatment, combined with several false starts (five days of Amoxycillin when I first fell ill, and 6 months of antibiotic therapy a year and a half later), getting well has become a long term battle, but the bottom line is, I AM getting better.

The disease has taken a very deep hold of me, and I have a number of persistent co-infections (things I have tested positive for), including Bartonella and Babesia, which combined have greatly suppressed my usually very strong immune system.

However, there has been a very marked improvement.  I am not the best gauge of my own improvement, as I still feel quite sick, but my wife and others have noticed the improvement, and the fact is, when I look back at my activity level at the beginning compared to now, there has been a very big improvement.  My energy has probably improved to around sixty percent of what it used to be, making the pain much easier to handle, and my ability to think and concentrate has returned to about ninety percent.

Today, as the title line says, "Ugh..."  I do not feel well at all, the pain in my face and feet is very strong, and the fatigue is quite strong.  But this is a bad day.  It is not a normal day.  That is a vast improvement from a year ago, when this would have been a good day!

If the reader or the reader's loved one or acquaintance suffers from chronic Lyme Disease, take heart.  It is treatable.  Is it completely curable?  I don't have that answer, yet.  But I do have hope.

Thursday, April 05, 2012

What are they Hiding? The Lyme Disease Debacle

What are they Hiding?  The Lyme Disease Debacle

It is now April, 2012.  I originally got sick in late 2007.  It is interesting that it was in 2007 that Open Eye Pictures,  the company that made the award winning documentary, Under Our Skin , a film about Lyme Disease in the USA.

As production of the documentary neared completion, the film company tried to get some answers about the disease from the Connecticut Center for Disease Control, under the Freedom of Information Act.  Under the FIA, the CDC was required by law to release the information, but they continue to this day to use every legal means possible to suppress the information.

WHY?  What is so important to be kept secret that the CDC is willing to wasted thousands and thousands of dollars of taxpayer money in legal wranglings to suppress?
Lyme Disease Testing
The last information that I have is that there are three individuals working for the CT CDC who have the information the film company has been trying to get since 2007.  It is now in the fifth year since the request was originally made.

WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?  I am not a conspiracy theorist, but this time I smell a REAL conspiracy that is forcing a lot of people to remain very sick.  Doctors are losing their licenses for giving people the long term antibiotic treatment required to cure this disease, yet the people who may have the information that could finally take the lid off this horrible disease so that people can quickly and easily get help are sitting on it.

HOW CAN THIS BE SOLVED?  Get this information out there.  Tell your friends.  Talk about it in coffee shops.  Tell your doctor.  Write letters to the newspaper, state and provincial legislators, congressmen, MPs, senators, anyone you can think of.  Post is on Facebook.

I am finally getting the treatment I need from a very well educated LLND or Lyme Literate Naturopathic Doctor, who in Canada, can now treat with antibiotics.

But most people with this disease cannot get help.  Even if you don't have LD, yourself, you can potentially help a lot of people by just spreading the word.  

WHY LYME IS SUCH A UNIQUE DISEASE (short answer)

WHY LYME IS SUCH A UNIQUE DISEASE  (short answer)


by Dave Cottrell
It is VERY important to be diagnosed quickly if you are bitten by a Bb (Burrelia Burdorferi=Lyme) infected tick.  If you go on the proper antibiotics within the first couple of months, they will get rid of any Bb or co-infections, but once they get a foothold, they are very difficult to get rid of.  

Unfortunately, very few doctors are what we call "Lyme Literate Doctors" or LLMDs.  They are NOT educated to recognize the early symptoms, and many of them will not even recognize the tell tale "bull's eye" or  Erythema chronicum migrans  (EM) rash that a small percentage of infected people get in the earliest stages of the infection.  (This rash GUARANTEES without ANY further testing that the cause is Bb, and can be immediately and quickly treated with antibiotics and eradicated usually withing three to six weeks.)
Birds

Other doctors that have a bit of knowledge of the disease are taught that unless the rash is present, the person does not have LD (Lyme Disease).  This is what is presently claimed on the Wikipedia website, is absolutely false, and it is my opinion that the truth is being deliberately suppressed and withheld from doctors.  The more this disease is studied by sound research, the lower the percentage goes for those LD infected patients who display the EM rash.

In Canada, it is more likely to pick up Lyme Disease in southern Ontario and east than it is to get it here in Gibsons, BC, but it is possible to get it virtually anywhere in Canada that birds fly or pets move on vacation.  The BCCDC has posted warnings here since 2006, but the greatest occurrence of Lyme in Canada is in Ontario and east.  Something like 50% of the ticks collected in New York state up at the Canada-US border are infected, meaning they must be virtually the same in Canada in that area.

Bb (Burrelia Burgdorfori or Lyme) is a very unique and intriguing spirochete.  It has no ordinary protein cell walls, but has a perimeter of fatty acids, then cilia that help it move, then another layer of fatty acids.  It is not understood how the cilia can propel it inside these layers.

It also is a spirochete, or spiral shaped, which, along with its unusual fatty acid, rather than protein "casing" gives it the ability to move through the walls of blood vessels into surrounding tissue, organs, and even into the spinal column and eventually the brain.

Once in the tissue and organs, many of the spirochetes become indefinitely dormant, forming cysts.  This continues as long as the blood is loaded with active Bb.  

Once antibiotic therapy is begun, the active Bb in the blood stream are killed off.  If they are completely killed off, you begin to feel well, again.  The first thing you notice is a return of some of your energy.

Then, however, once the therapy terminates, some of the cysts reactivate, reenter the blood stream, and the process begins again.  This is one of the reasons it takes so long to cure someone who has been sick for a while.  All the cysts must be eradicated to have a full cure.

Another recent discovery (within the last five years) is something called a "biofilm."  This is an incredibly intriguing shield that the bacteria form right in the blood vessels when attacked by antibodies or antibiotics.  The Bb bacteria form colonies on the sides of the blood vessels, and produce a film over these colonies that shields them from antibodies and antibiotics.  

Certain antibiotics can penetrate the biofilm, but they are destroyed in the process.  This is why it is usually necessary to treat Lyme disease with multiple antibiotics if it is not caught in the first month or so.

I am also on several non antibiotic extracts that have been shown to attack both the cyst coatings and this biofilm.  These products are easier on the body than antibiotics, but I am still presently on three antibiotics in very high doses.  It is imperative to go for regular liver tests when on antibiotic therapy like this, and also to take a very strong probiotic (not "over-the-counter."  I buy a very specific brand online.)

I have done a LOT of research on this disease in the last 4 + years, so if you or anyone you know is suffering from this disease, or even a mysterious, multi-symptom chronic condition, contact me.  It's very likely that I have the information you need to at least get started in the right direction.  Also, pass this on to your own health care provider.  Doctors want to see people get well, but they are generally very under-educated on this disease.