Can the world achieve “herd immunity” with respect to COVID-19? Anthony Fauci has said that 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. My view is that using vaccines is unlikely to achieve this result, something I discussed in my August 2020 post, We Need to Change Our COVID-19 Strategy. Now, the news arm of the prestigious journal Nature has published a similar view: Five reasons why COVID herd immunity is probably impossible.
In this post, I explain why, in my view, COVID-19 seems likely to become endemic, like the flu. The vaccines won’t be enough to make it go away completely. I will also look at the issue of how we should respond to the cases of COVID-19 that we will almost certainly experience in the future.
To a significant extent, what we can and should do in the future is an energy issue. If we plan to transition to a green energy future, or if we simply plan to reduce usage of fossil fuels in future years, we probably need to scale back our plans for vaccines. In fact, any treatment that would be given in today’s emergency rooms is likely to become less and less possible as energy supplies deplete.
We will need to focus more on what our bodies can do for us, and what we can do to assist them in this effort. We also need to think about what simple changes to our environment (such as windows that open) can do for the prevention of both COVID-19 and the many other communicable diseases that we can expect to encounter in the future. The big issue will be changing expectations.
[1] Why herd immunity is unlikely
[1.1] Viruses don’t pay any attention to the geography of humans. As long as there are active cases anywhere, they will tend to spread to other countries.
Over the past year, we have seen how ineffective cutting off travel between countries is in stopping the path of the virus. Even New Zealand, far out in the Pacific Ocean, has been battling this issue. The country has found that occasional cases slip through, even with a required two-week stay in managed isolation after arrival.
Furthermore, there are hidden costs with staying this removed from the rest of the world; New Zealand’s only oil refinery has been losing money, given its low use of oil. This refinery has laid off about a quarter of its staff and is considering the option of quitting refining in 2022. New Zealand would then need to import a full range of refined products if it wants to continue having industry. Perhaps being too cut off from the rest of the world is a problem, rather than a solution.
[1.2] The cost of vaccines is high, especially for poor countries.
We can get a rough idea of the cost involved by looking at a news article about Israel’s dispute with Pfizer regarding its vaccine purchases. We can also see what goes wrong politically.
Israel recently made news for failing to pay Pfizer for the last 2.5 million vaccine doses that it purchased from the company. Pfizer retaliated by cutting off future vaccine shipments to Israel. The article linked above doesn’t tell us exactly how much Israel paid for Pfizer’s vaccine, but a calculation based on information in the article seems to indicate that future doses from a mixture of vendors would cost about $35 per dose, on average. We also know that US Medicare is paying $40 per dose for administering each dose of the vaccine. Putting these two amounts together, we can estimate that the purchase and administration of a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine costs about $75. Thus, a two-dose series costs about $150, with the high-tech vaccines Israel is now using (Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca).
We also know that Israel was planning to administer two doses per person, every six months, based on an early review of how well immunity was holding up for the vaccines. If it is really necessary to repeat the two-dose regimen every six months, then the annual per-person cost of the vaccine would be approximately 2 times $150, or $300 per person. Benjamin Netanyahu favors buying all of these doses, quite possibly because it might make him popular with voters. Netanyahu’s opposition does not, which seems to be why payment has not been forthcoming.
A cost of $300 per person would amount to 0.7% of Israel’s 2019 GDP, which is theoretically feasible. But for poorer countries, the relative cost would be much higher. For South Africa, it would amount to 5% of 2019 GDP. For Yemen, it would come to 40% of 2019 GDP. (These are my calculations, using World Bank GDP in current US$.) For countries with severe financial problems, any payment for vaccines would almost certainly be a problem.
There are less expensive vaccines being made, but their percentages of efficacy in fighting the virus that causes COVID-19 seem to be lower. Thus, it would be even more difficult to greatly reduce the number of cases down to the point where the disease would simply disappear for lack of an adequate number of victims to infect, using these vaccines.
[1.3] The fact that the disease can infect animals further adds to the problem of getting rid of the disease completely.
The disease supposedly jumped from an animal to humans to begin with. We know that the virus that causes COVID-19 can infect animals of many types, including ferrets and cats. While the disease jumping from animals to humans is supposedly unusual, we know that the disease spreads easily among humans with inadequate immunity. Having a reservoir of disease among animals raises the likelihood of this happening again. Having a reservoir of vulnerable people (not immune and in poor health) also increases such a risk.
[1.4] Microbes of all types mutate frequently. We are fighting a losing battle to stay even with them. This is especially a problem for narrowly targeted vaccines.
We know that whenever we try to reduce the population of microbes, scientists can find solutions that work for a while, but eventually we start losing the battle. Scientists can develop antibiotics against bacteria, but eventually some bacteria will evolve in a way that allows them to resist the effects of the antibiotic. In fact, antibiotic resistance is becoming a greater and greater problem. Similarly, scientists can develop weed killers, but weeds soon develop resistance to whatever we develop. The situation seems to be similar with vaccines, unfortunately.
In this case, scientists have developed vaccines that target the RNA of the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19. In some sense, this approach is very precise, leading to a high proportion of COVID-19 cases being stopped. The drawback is that it is very easy for small mutations in the spike protein to make the vaccine not work well. We end up needing to obtain booster shots of slightly revised versions of the vaccine quite often, perhaps every six months. If booster shots are not given, the vaccine is likely to become less effective against the new mutations that arise.
One danger is that manufacturers cannot keep up with all of changes needed to match the new mutations. Another is that the cost of trying to keep up with this whole process will become prohibitive. The medical care system may be forced to give the vaccine process up, leaving citizens worse off than they might have been if we hadn’t “flattened the curve” and kept the virus around for an extended period of time, allowing all of these mutations.
[1.5] There are very real reasons for people’s reluctance to accept the vaccine, when it is offered to them. Because of this, it is difficult to get very close to 100% acceptance (or even 80% acceptance) of the vaccines.
There seem to be any number of reasons why people are reluctant to get the new vaccine. Some are afraid of the pain involved with the shot. Others are afraid that they will be somewhat ill afterward, causing them to miss work. If employees are paid on an hourly basis and they barely have enough income as it is, this, by itself, could be a reason for avoiding the shot. Financial incentives might help with these issues.
Others who are reluctant have followed the situation more closely. They realize that important steps in the normal vaccine approval process have been skipped, making it difficult to identify adverse effects that occur fairly infrequently. Even worse, it becomes impossible to discover problems that take many months or years to become evident. Over 100 doctors and scientists from 25 countries have signed a letter saying that offering vaccines that are as radically different from what has been used in the past, without more testing, is unethical.
One concern is the likelihood of blood clots in the immediate period after the vaccine is received. Blood clots have also been observed with the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and may be a concern with other vaccines, as well. There seem to be several related conditions, including sudden blindness, heart attacks, and sudden deaths of elderly people in nursing homes. These issues seem to be fairly rare, but people worry about them without adequate data on their frequency. If the issue is blood clots, it would seem as if simple adjustments such as taking low-dose aspirin for the time period of risk might be a partial solution.
We know that in some cases, vaccines can inadvertently make later exposure to somewhat different versions of the virus worse, rather than stopping these infections. The virus that causes the illness SARS is very similar to the virus that causes COVID-19. When an attempt was made at a vaccine for SARS in 2012, a study on mice showed that exposure at a later date to a slightly different virus led to blood clots forming in the lungs. We already know that blood clots can be an issue for COVID-19 vaccines. Will COVID-19 vaccine recipients who are later exposed to mutations have an adverse reaction such as blood clots in the lungs? We don’t know. There have been no animal studies with respect to the vaccines for COVID-19.
Another risk of COVID-19 vaccinations would seem to be auto-immune problems, especially in people who are already predisposed to such issues. Not much research has been done yet to clarify this issue.
A related issue is allergic reactions to vaccines, including anaphylaxis. The possibility of allergic reactions is one reason vaccine recipients are asked to stay for 15 minutes after receiving their immunizations. Even with precautions, some deaths are occurring because severe allergic reactions can take up to 150 minutes to become apparent. It is impractical to keep vaccine recipients this long.
The very long-term effects of both the COVID-19 illness and vaccines to prevent the COVID-19 illness are unknown. The Alzheimer’s Association recommends studies to see whether people who contract COVID-19 have a long-term increase in dementia-type illnesses. In theory, the vaccines could also lead to similar issues because of prion-like structures that are formed, both with the vaccine and the disease. Without long-term studies, we don’t know whether either of these concerns is valid. If dementia is an issue, will repeated vaccinations raise the long-term risk of dementia? We don’t know. If the disease itself and vaccines can both lead to dementia, is there an optimal strategy?
Without a better understanding of what the risks are, it is hard to convince young people, especially, to take the vaccine. Their chances of a severe outcome from the disease are low to begin with. What is the point of taking a vaccine that may raise their risk of serious injury or death? The vaccine may be appropriate for people aged 80 and over, but is the risk really necessary for young people? Without better data, it is hard to know for certain.
[2] Why a change away from dependence on vaccines is needed
The Nature article referred to earlier says in its concluding paragraph, “It’s time for realistic expectations. . . we need to think of how we can live with the virus.”
Also, as I mentioned in the introduction, we are reaching energy limits. Even if in theory we could vaccinate everyone on the planet twice a year for COVID-19, we do not have the resources to do this. In some ways, the problem looks like a cost problem (poor countries especially cannot afford to buy high-priced vaccines), but it is just as much a resource problem. We cannot devote enough resources to this project without taking them away from other necessary projects. The vaccines are very much a product of today’s fossil fuel economy. We can’t expect to make vaccines with intermittent electricity.
Because of limited resources, we may encounter something similar to the “empty shelf” problem in the grocery stores. We may find that only limited doses of vaccine are available because too many doses were accidentally ruined in production. Or, not enough of the right reagents were available. Or, more doses are needed in the country where the vaccine is manufactured, leaving less for use elsewhere. Or, there is a war in a country integral to vaccine supply lines, interfering with production.
In fact, obtaining promised supplies of vaccines is already a problem. Trying to scale up production at the same time that resources in general are squeezed is likely to make this type of problem increase.
[3] Learning to live with COVID-19 and diminishing resources per capita
If we can’t really fix the COVID-19 problem with endless vaccines for everyone, we need to look at other options.
[3.1] Strengthening our own immune systems
Our bodies come with built-in immune systems. It is the action of the immune system that tends to lead to a low incidence of and low severity of COVID-19 in some people, compared to others. Some of the things that seem to be helpful include the following:
- Being young
- Getting plenty of sleep at night
- Not being overweight. Proper exercise and diet are helpful in this regard.
- Maintaining a healthy microbiome. Our bodies need good microbes to help fight the “bad” microbes. Antibiotics, excessive antibacterial cleaners and a lack of exposure to “good” bacteria could be problems. Staying away from everyone and wearing masks, indefinitely, is not necessarily helpful.
- Getting adequate vitamin D through sun exposure, eating of foods that are high in vitamin D and/or supplementation. Dark skinned people living away from the equator are especially at risk for inadequate vitamin D.
- Getting adequate vitamin C from fruits and vegetables and perhaps supplementation.
Researchers need to be actively looking into optimal strategies to advise citizens. Schools might start teaching about these issues in health classes.
[3.2] Changing our customs and infrastructure to try to reduce the problem of communicable diseases in general, not just for COVID-19.
Customs for greetings among people vary greatly around the world. Some people use hugs and handshakes, others greet with bows. We may need to adopt more distant physical greetings, simply to help reduce the transmission of disease. Of course, hugging at home is still fine.
In the last 100 years, the emphasis increasingly has been on building tighter, more energy-efficient buildings. This is good from a point of saving energy, but it doesn’t work in a world with many communicable diseases. We need to move toward much more ventilation, often based on open windows. Because of energy constraints, we likely cannot expect to keep heating and cooling our buildings as much in the future. We will need to dress more for outdoor temperatures, indoors.
Some leaders have suggested rapid electric rail is the way of the future, but rail transport also needs to be well ventilated. It is also likely that we will be dealing with more intermittency of electricity supply in the future. We need to plan as if we are dealing with an electricity constrained future, as much as an oil and vaccine constrained future.
[3.3] Finding low energy ways to deal with the likely COVID-19 cases that do occur.
The approach in the “rich world” to date in looking for ways to deal with COVID-19 has been to look for new, high technology drugs and vaccines that might have a two-fold benefit (a) help sick people and (b) help the pharmaceutical industry. What we really need are technologies that are low cost and can be used at home. Repurposed old drugs, such as steroids, are ideal, especially if they can be made locally without dependence on international supply lines.
If COVID-19 doesn’t really disappear, we can expect recurring instances of having inadequate medical facilities to treat all of the patients in a given area. Countries need to plan strategies for dealing with this likely long-term problem. Should there be an upper age limit on patients using these facilities, for example, especially when demand is high? Or can the richest citizens have the ability to buy services, when others cannot? Should there be a lottery for beds? Ordering everyone to remain at home is sort of a temporary solution, but it is very damaging to the economy as a whole.
[3.4] Finding leadership that can think in a direction other than “more technology will save us.” Unfortunately, this is pretty much impossible.
Back in 1979, Jimmy Carter tried to change the direction of the US economy when he gave his famous Sweater Speech. In this speech, he told people that they needed to adjust their thermostats and drive their vehicles less because there was an energy crisis. We all know that Jimmy Carter was not reelected after this speech. Instead, Ronald Reagan was elected. He cut taxes and raised debt levels, temporarily delaying our need to deal with our energy problem.
When Anthony Fauci took on the COVID-19 issue, he led us in the direction of spending more money on vaccines and pharmaceuticals. His own financial interests and his work interests were in the direction of helping the vaccine and pharmaceutical interests. He certainly didn’t stop to think, “This is not a battle that we can win. There are too many instances of transmission of the virus by people who have no symptoms. Our track record at wiping out diseases with vaccines has been pretty dismal in the past. Stopping COVID-19 in one part of the world won’t stop the long-term problem.”
I expect that President Biden will continue on his current path until the economy “runs off the cliff.” I wrote in my recent post, Headed for a Collapsing Debt Bubble, that the economy was reaching a point where a major discontinuity would occur. Interest rates are about as low as they can go, and debt levels are reaching an upper bound.
Ronald Reagan’s administration started to decrease interest rates shortly after he took office in 1981. This drop in interest rates has hidden rapidly rising debt and energy problems for many years. We are now running out of room on both energy and debt. When the world’s debt bubble collapses, our ability to fight COVID-19 with vaccines will likely go downhill quickly. We will then need to find new strategies. Unfortunately, considering new strategies in advance is almost impossible.
[4] Conclusion
While it is possible to see what change in direction seems to be needed with respect to COVID-19 and infectious diseases in general, it is not something that those in leadership positions will be able to implement. Instead, we will likely “go off the cliff” at full speed. Changing expectations in advance is almost impossible.
At most, a few interested people can try to explain to their fellow citizens what is happening. Perhaps, in our own little spheres of influence, we can make some small changes in the right direction, starting with strengthening our own immune systems.
Let’s further explore what happened in the semi-collapsed sate of Bosnia
Bosnia War Crimes: ‘The rapes went on day and night’: Robert Fisk, in Mostar, gathers detailed evidence of the systematic sexual assaults on Muslim women by Serbian ‘White Eagle’ gunmen
THE WORST moment in Ziba’s life occurred when a dozen drunken Serbian militiamen stormed into the school gymnasium in which she and more than 100 other young Muslim women were being held along with their infant children.
‘They came in with guns and grenades and they screamed at us,’ Ziba’s friend Emira recalls. ‘The Chetniks shouted at us: ‘Look at how many children you can have. Now you are going to have our children. You are going to have our little Chetniks.’
They said they weren’t interested in women who were expecting babies because they couldn’t make them pregnant.’
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bosnia-war-crimes-rapes-went-day-and-night-robert-fisk-mostar-gathers-detailed-evidence-systematic-sexual-assaults-muslim-women-serbian-white-eagle-gunmen-1471656.html
The Hotel Vilina Vlas in Visegrad was one of the infamous rape camps of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is suspected that at least 200 Bosniak girls and women were held there and repeatedly sexually assaulted and murdered.
One of the victims, who was 17 at the time, told the Washington Post that she was taken to Vilina Vlas by Milan Lukic, widely known as the leader of a Bosnian Serb paramilitary group called the White Eagles (also called the Avengers), together with her 15-year-old sister and an 18-year-old friend.
https://balkaninsight.com/2020/08/17/promoting-a-bosnian-war-rape-hotel-means-erasing-history/
It is IMPERATIVE that you vaccinate the females in your family…. of course there are some who prefer males… so make sure to vax them as well.
Cruel amateur hobby eugenics 101.
The Vikings did it right. Be an imposing and wicked enough beast, and women throw themselves at you. It a smart strategy to have women around that doesn’t hate the living guts out of you. A bit of female gossip and tactics goes a long way when something’s isn’t quite right. Loyalty earned, loyalty given.
Dregs rape and abuse women and children.
Cant score a hot broad? The problem is you.
Line em up. 😭💥🔫
🤢🤮
Let me select some of the highlights:
Money soon became worthless. We returned to an exchange. For a tin can of tushonka (think Soviet spam), you could have a woman. (It is hard to speak of it, but it is true.) Most of the women who sold themselves were desperate mothers.
Arms, ammunition, candles, lighters, antibiotics, gasoline, batteries and food. We fought for these things like animals. In these situations, it all changes. Men become monsters. It was disgusting.
Strength was in numbers. A man living alone getting killed and robbed would be just a matter of time, even if he was armed.
The city was divided into communities along streets. Our street (15 to 20 homes) had patrols (five armed men every week) to watch for gangs and for our enemies. All the exchanges occurred in the street. About 5 kilometers away was an entire street for trading, all well-organized; but going there was too dangerous because of the snipers. You could also get robbed by bandits. I only went there twice, when I needed something really rare (list of medicine, mainly antibiotics).
– ignore this – there will soon be nothing to trade… and certainly no medicine
There were many gangs 10 to 15 men strong, some as large as 50 men. But there were also many normal men, like you and me, fathers and grandfathers, who killed and robbed. There were no “good” and “bad” men. Most were in the middle and ready for the worst.
– obviously ‘good’ men turn bad… or they become victims….
There were not that many woods around the city. It was very beautiful — restaurants, cinemas, schools, even an airport. Every tree in the city and in the city park was cut down for fuel in the first two months.
Without electricity for cooking and heat, we burned anything that burned. Furniture, doors, flooring: That wood burns swiftly. We had no suburbs or suburban farms. The enemy was in the suburbs. We were surrounded. Even in the city you never knew who was the enemy at any given point.
– so much for keeping warm…
7. Was salt expensive?
Yes, but coffee and cigarettes were even more expensive. I had lots of alcohol and traded it without problems. Alcohol consumption grew over 10 times as compared to peacetime. Perhaps today, it’s more useful to keep a stock of cigarettes, lighters and batteries. They take up less space.
– ignore this … there will soon be no coffee tobacco etc….
Maybe this would seem strange, but the most protected houses were looted and destroyed first. In my area of the city, there were beautiful houses with walls, dogs, alarms and barred windows. People attacked them first. Some held out; others didn’t. It all depended how many hands and guns they had inside.
There was no organized army; every man fought. We had no choice. Everybody was armed, ready to defend themselves. Super-defenses, super-guns are meaningless. If people think they should steal your things, that you’re profitable, they will. It’s only a question of time and the amount of guns and hands.
– interesting….
Let me give you a piece of advice: You need guns and ammo first — and second, everything else. Literally everything! All depends on the space and money you have. Most injuries were from gunfire. Without a specialist and without equipment, if an injured man found a doctor somewhere, he had about a 30 percent chance of survival.
– cool!
https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed
Wow — this sounds like an amazing, fulfilling existence… if you are a psychopath!!!!
But keep in mind — always keep in mind — what this fella experienced is NOT collapse… they still had some BAU available…. and it was not a permanent situation….
What Peak Oil brings us is the end of BAU — no factories… no petrol.. no power… no food… nothing….
So what you would experience – initially — is similar to what the guy above experienced…. sounds like fun — huh?
But then when the BAU stockpiles run down (and they will run down real quick with 8B people involved)… then we get to the Nittty Gritty.
Then it gets personal… no bullets? Fine – we go to knives… and baseball bats…
No food? Fine — hack off bits and pieces and eat the meat raw when there is no source of wood to cook the body parts…
THIS … is MR DNA… in all his roaring glory…. he is quite docile when he is sated …. but deny him food … threaten his ability to reincarnate …. and you will witness the BELLOWING BEAST in all his glory…
You will be all that you never thought you could be…. because Mr DNA will take over the controls.
Does the world described above sound like a place where spent fuel ponds will be cared for?????
Am I beginning to break through?????
Do ya’ll understand why I call it the COMPASSIONATE Extinction Plan?????
F789 Orlov… F789 Kunstler … Fast Eddy is the KING OF DOOM. The GOD OF DOOM. The Messiah of Doom. The Emperor of Doom. Son of Sam. Mr Reality Check. The Logical One.
All Hail Fast Eddy (and unless you fancy yourself Rambo … please get the lethal injection … I am urging you … Trudeau said it is in the interest of everyone to do what they are told — he is RIGHT)
https://youtu.be/VKcAYMb5uk4
Oh, that’s right. The “COMPASSIONATE Extinction Plan”. That’s a very nice touch. And it makes a lot of sense if the alternative is Mad Maxian Mehem with no Barter-town at the end of it all. Sometimes you’ve got to be cruel to be kind.
Still believing in the COVID Hoax I see…..when are you clowns going to wake up?
This is even bigger than the 9/11 scam.
Good article . . .
Quote:
Johnson & Johnson has lost major lawsuits in 1995, 1996, 2001, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019 (For what it’s worth, J&J’s vaccine also contains tissues from aborted fetal cells, perhaps a topic for another discussion)
Pfizer has the distinction of the biggest criminal payout in history. They have lost so many lawsuits it’s hard to count. You can check out their rap sheet here. Maybe that’s why they are demanding that countries where they don’t have liability protection put up collateral to cover vaccine-injury lawsuits.
Astra Zeneca has similarly lost so many lawsuits it’s hard to count. Here’s one. Here’s another…you get the point. And in case you missed it, the company had their covid vaccine suspended in at least 18 countries over concerns of blood clots, and they completely botched their meeting with the FDA with numbers from their study that didn’t match.
Oh, and apparently J&J (whose vaccine is approved for “Emergency Use” in the US) and Astrazenca (whose vaccine is not approved for “Emergency Use” in the US), had a little mix up in their ingredients…in 15 million doses. Oops.
https://www.deconstructingconventional.com/post/18-reason-i-won-t-be-getting-a-covid-vaccine
The linked article is a long, very good article about COVID-19 vaccines, and the whole COVID-19 issue. For example,
Also, this is part of #13
The article has a lot of useful links. The numbers at the bottom of the article indicate that it has close to 1.5 million views.
Also
Developing a vaccine often takes a couple of decades or longer, but the federal government is aiming to develop a SARS vaccine in just three years. Scientists at the Vaccine Research Center are attacking the problem on several fronts, although some question whether a SARS vaccine is even possible.
https://www.wired.com/2003/05/feds-race-to-make-sars-vaccine/
Of course it’s possible! We made many of them in less than a year…. all that was needed was more money hahaha
Just got home and saw that one in an email from a friend. WOW!! Very impressive style and readily assimilated text and the link to the Immunological Memory paper in Science in February was great. Looking forward to checking the other links. It’s so easy to send to just about anyone, although I’m reluctant regarding family or friends who have already gotten the jabs. I’m going to print-out a mess of copies to pass along to whoever I run across. I’m already doing that with an Ivermectin two-sided leaflet I designed to send people to papers, links, videos, etc. Very good response so far with both young and old.
Thanks!!
Actually …. I’d instead print this out … along with the address of where one can go to get the lethal injection without waiting…
https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed (when you have a winning horse… you gotta ride him constantly…)
Now, now; don’t be a quitter.
If one opts for the lethal injection then one forfeits the chance to live through the collapse and tell the tale. Where would we be without people like this Bosnian narrator? If he’d taken the suicide route then we wouldn’t have had access to the insights he gained.
A new shopping list:
5. What should you stockpile?
“That depends. If you plan to live by theft, all you need is weapons and ammo. Lots of ammo.
“If not, more food, hygiene items, batteries, accumulators, little trading items (knives, lighters, flints, soap). Also, alcohol of a type that keeps well. The cheapest whiskey is a good trading item.
“Many people died from insufficient hygiene. You’ll need simple items in great amounts. For example, garbage bags. Lots of them. And toilet papers. Non-reusable dishes and cups: You’ll need lots of them. I know that because we didn’t have any at all.
“As for me, a supply of hygiene items is perhaps more important than food. You can shoot a pigeon. You can find a plant to eat. You can’t find or shoot any disinfectant.
“Disinfectant, detergents, bleach, soap, gloves, masks.
“First aid skills, washing wounds and burns. Perhaps you will find a doctor and will not be able to pay him.
“Learn to use antibiotics. It’s good to have a stockpile of them.
“You should choose the simplest weapons. I carry a Glock .45. I like it, but it’s a rare gun here. So I have two TT pistols, too. (Everyone has them and ammo is common.)
“I don’t like Kalashnikov’s, but again, same story. Everyone has them; so do I.
“You must own small, unnoticeable items. For example, a generator is good, but 1,000 BIC lighters are better. A generator will attract attention if there’s any trouble, but 1,000 lighters are compact, cheap and can always be traded.
“We usually collected rainwater into four large barrels and then boiled it. There was a small river, but the water in it became very dirty very fast.
“It’s also important to have containers for water: barrels and buckets.”
Slight problem… the world had not collapsed so he knew that if he survived the war… he’d participate in a re-set.
You can pile up a mountain of food and guns and ammo … but when it runs out … what then?
And what about the spent fuel ponds.
Like I said – his tale is of limited value …
There will be no tale to tell. Nobody survives this. Absolutely nobody.
And for those who try to fight on … they’ll regret not just taking the vaccine – and dying with everyone else.
Thanks for posting this, Tupelo Honey. Norm probably won’t read it, but at least he’s keeping busy.
https://extranewsfeed.com/oil-is-still-your-life-support-11350636eaf3
These objects do obviously not operate within our “laws” of physics. No sonic booms…no heat signal in the surrounding atmosphere.
“They are light years ahead of us.” Dr Eric W Davis
(Sorry 5,000g)
Yet they are visible?
Hmm, something doesn’t quite add up here. Either:
1. They want to be observed, or
2. I call BS
I’m leaning towards 2.
🤣👍
I might have exaggerated by a factor of two. A calculation by real scientists. (Scroll down to Nimitz)
Speed ~ 50,000 mph
G force ~ 50,000
Energy ~ 1100 GW (=10 times US nuclear energy production)
https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/21/10/939/htm
Your insights are valuable. Resources are indeed finite, and thank you for explaining how extraction, prices, and availability will not follow a classic supply-demand curve.
What worries me is the insouciance exhibited by the people all around me. I live in Florida, and there are new subdivisions being built on a regular basis. The houses are too close together for anyone to consider having a garden, even if the HOA would let them. The residents complain and freak out if an opossum shows up, they are terrified of every snake they see, and let’s not talk about the insects and spiders.
These people think there should be no wildlife that’s not HOA approved. All transactions are done with electronic plastic, including food purchases and delivery from Publix, where shopping is a(n expensive) pleasure.
What happens when the trucks stop running? What happens when Covid has crushed the remnants of the economy and there is no food in the stores? These newcomers can’t handle the slightest disruption in their perfect lives. How long would it take for them to turn into animals themselves?
I have been reading JHK, Kurt Cobb, JMG, Orlov, and yourself for many years. Orlov has, I think, provided a map for the “changes” that will occur, but it is difficult for suburbanites to comprehend those kinds of changes.
I think the best thing to do is follow JHK’s advice and find a nice, small town in a northern state, collapse ear;y, and learn to raise chickens and goats. Yes, I know it gets cold there, but clothing works for the outdoors and Swedish fireplaces work indoors. Without electricity or fuel oil, upstate New York is habitable in winter. Without electricity, Florida is not habitable.
P.S. The world population is going to decrease dramatically one way or another. Perhaps this managed pandemic is the best way to power down and depopulate.
I expect different people will want to try different things. Being near relatives (especially adult children) is often an advantage. North Georgia is not bad from a climate perspective, but thin red clay topsoil over rock is not very good for gardens. Most areas are heavily shaded by trees as well.
‘What happens when the trucks stop running? What happens when Covid has crushed the remnants of the economy and there is no food in the stores? These newcomers can’t handle the slightest disruption in their perfect lives. How long would it take for them to turn into animals themselves?’
First they will do this
https://youtu.be/gEsPzSn0fdo?t=26
Then when they empty the shops and grocery stores… and start to get hungry …
They will turn on each other like this (the weak and friendly types will be the easy targets)
https://youtu.be/NgyG0_CY1tE
And ultimately they will hack each other to bits — smoke the meat — and trade it in street markets for warm clothes and other necessities:
https://sovietholodomor.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/4/5/15453416/2644618_orig.png
I hate to be so blunt… but seriously … this is the sort of stuff that is going to happen.
I highly recommend the Vaccine/Lethal Injection.
Alternatively it is best to have a Plan B (fast car into rock cut… identify tall building with roof access… fake an injury and get a bottle of Oxycontin… )
My doctor is prescribing OxyMectin ;-
I believe we have some doctors in the house….
How would I go about getting a jug of Oxycontin… or is there some other more easily obtained substance that is guaranteed to terminate with extreme prejudice … without pain…
I can make an appointment with the Clinic … but I need a viable story….
Do you think if I were to explain that I am anticipating this sort of situation
https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed …
And that I can’t bring myself to take the lethal injection because it feels too much like this (and I get creeped out even thinking of it!)
https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/tardis/images/3/36/DanesExecution.jpg
So I need a Plan B….
Do you think this would be convincing enough for someone to risk losing their medical license?
If not what should I say…
And what’s a sufficient dose to guarantee termination?
Keep in mind… I’ll be washing this down with a bottle of whisky …
But I’ll have to mix some with purple kool aid for the two students we’ve got locked up in the basement sweatshop… they are small — maybe 45kg and 60kg …
Advice is much appreciated on this very crucial task … I sure would hate to pass out then wake up and be faced with:
‘Surviving on your own is practically impossible. (That’s what I think.) Even you’re armed and ready, if you’re alone, you’ll die. I have seen that happen many times.’
The most compassionate gas used on fowl is argon. Haven’t seen any PubMed studies for humans.
https://www.hsa.org.uk/downloads/technical-notes/TN12-gas-killing-of-chickens-and-turkeys.pdf
Bunnings just opened up the road here… https://www.bunnings.co.nz/coregas-size-d-trade-n-go-argon-gas_p5910384
I think better to have something that is more….subtle… that I can just slip into Purple Kool Aid .. and everyone drifts off permanently… if I pull out that bottle of gas there will shrieking and wailing…
https://supimg.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/19e0e3543ab397bf550cea059b9162f9.jpg
Just think though, you wouldn’t have to return the empty cylinder, and like they say under the ‘description’ – never pay rent again!!
The “Final Exit”/Hemlock Society people sometimes used helium. Make sure your supply isn’t mixed with air.
http://www.geocities.ws/peaceful.death/Helium__Am_J_For_Med_Path_2002.pdf
That’s just what we need! We can all go out sounding like Donald Duck or P P P Porky Pig.
How would I go about getting a jug of Oxycontin?
Should be easy enough to find some on one of the darkweb marketplaces. I’m sure I could have some delivered through my letterbox tomorrow if I wanted.
Don’t worry we have ten or more years of this BAU Left! Hold your powder!
si yes!
but 2031 is a stretch.
perhaps 5 to 7 years.
2021 is humming along in Q2 already.
I hope you are right….as far as humming along I think that is a stretch….try reading zero hedge if you think things are humming along. Many black swans flying overhead.
The bigger the bubble the bigger the pop….
sure.
so here’s hoping for a really big pop circa 2027.
You think that the alternative to BAU is total collapse and everybody dying.
That does not match the historical record.
We will see localities and times where the things you show happen but not everywhere all the time.
All our ancestors survived famines, wars and plagues. I know that we have an optimism bias (after all, the ones that didn’t survive are not here to tell their story) but I see no reason to surrender to evil without a fight.
Population in most countries will drop at least 20 times but that will be over a century or two. There will still be kids and people in love and families. If they will find a printout of your comments, will they laugh or just shake their head at our lack of courage and heart?
This is very much like teaching a grade 3 class…
History is of limited use in discussing the collapse that is imminent …. even this first hand account is not a depiction of the End Game… it’s what happens to those who survive the Lethal Injection phase https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed
History is not helpful because when civilizations collapsed there were not 8 Billion people 100% reliant on fossil fuels to feed themselves. From fertilizer to irrigation to pesticides — farming is completely dependent on oil.
Yes there are some organic gardens here and there — but read the article above and you tell me what you think might happen to the organic farmers when 8 billion hungry violent humans are unleashed… and go looking for food.
They will rip through the organic gardens and kill and eat every animal they can find… they will almost certainly kill the farmer and his family — after raping them… then they will roast them on a fire and eat them. This is what desperate – starving people do.
Did they join hands and sing Koombaya in Bosnia??? NO. They murdered each other like flies.
Name a time in history when there was a similar situation. Never.
Now let’s add the coup de grace — the spent fuel ponds. 4000 of them. Spewing deadly toxins for centuries. Nobody survives that.
You can bury your head in delusion… but this is reality — this is what is coming your way — and this actually depicts the pleasant part… it would have gotten far worse for this guy if the rest of the world was not sending in food, petrol and medicine….
https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed
https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/42911425-744a-455e-8166-56b345615d41_1.3f94102baba891fa67fd966e17514070.jpeg
When you come back … you can explain to the class what you think happens when civilization collapses.
That should be FUN!
“History is not helpful” why?
Read Greer and other historians. Civilizations fail in similar ways at different scales. A 40k city in Sumer collapsed in similar way to the 100million Roman empire.
Of course if you talk in abstractions you miss the fact that different places are very different in terms of population, carrying capacity and culture. For example, New Zealand is very different than Bangladesh – do you expect them to fail the same way?
I think history is the best tool we have and while I accept the fact that I might be wrong, at least I am using reason not apocalyptic death wishes.
Isn’t it interesting that when faced with difficulty, a lot of modern people prefer to raise their hands and say “there’s nothing I can do anyway, we’re all going to die!”?
I will stop replying to your posts – like I said before, I agree with most of what you are saying except your conclusion.
Thank you again for the conversation.
Greer needs to read Fast Eddy. He could learn a lot.
I can also explain to him how dressing like a Wizard does not confer the powers of a Wizard on him.
If you passed Fast Eddy on the street … you would not take notice of the fact that you are in the presence of His Eminence … he would seem to be just another human… Fast Eddy has no need for costumes and pomp… he has no body guards…
Question for you (and Greer and Kunstler and Orlov) – did previous civilizations have these:
https://straighttalkmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SpentFuelPool1.jpg
Can your post BAU civilization of organic farmers and Koombayaists manage one of these?
I expect you’ll respond the same way a CovIDIOT does when I ask him to find Sweden here https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
This is cognitive dissonance kicking in… that is what is responsible for the dumb look on your face.. and the dismissiveness of 4000 ponds of utter death
Things are going “relatively well” now, but even so, a video clip on FB suggests that they’re already eating dogs where I come from. The “respectable” media reports that there are four sites in a population of less than 3 mil where human trafficking is established. The PM wants to demolish an entire mountain of endangered species in order to build a large business complex development that he says will be green.
So even though these are good times, so to speak, they don’t portend near to medium term future well being, or even some sort of endurable downsizing.
The Nimitz TicTac UFO was observed on radar for days as it descended and then shot up from sea level to 30,00 ft in 0.78 seconds.
Speed ~ 100,000mph
G force ~ 12,000
Energy use ~ tactical nuke
https://mobile.twitter.com/AliensOnEarth_/status/1276327572549308416
More likely a spoof of the radar system than a 12000g physical object.
Well done post Gail. I agree with almost everything you said and it is a subject I am familiar with when I was practicing medicine. Your comment that Vaccine success has been low is not entirely accurate. It really depends upon the virus structure. The success against corona viruses has been very poor and will likely remain poor but smallpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough viruses which rarely mutate etc have been almost eliminated. Influenza is a great worry and if it hits populations of low immunity like it did in isolated villages in Africa and Canada and Alaska in 1918, it wiped out most of the village. The toll was 100-120 million people out of a world population of about 2 billion at the time. It killed 15% of young healthy military recruits in some camps and the pneumonic influenza sometimes killed healthy people in as little as 12-24 hrs. There have been terribly lethal pandemics in world history. The Plague in Atherns in the early 400 BC period resulted in a third of Athenians perishing and they lost the Peloponnesian War as a result. There was a terrible plague in the mid sixth century which was every bit as lethal as the plagues of Black Death in the middle ages wiping out 1/3 of the population. The etiologic agents were presumed to be both viral and bacterial. Population density was a big contributing cause and density of our current world will almost certainly guarantee that upcoming pandemics will wipe out hundreds of millions this century. While this Covid virus is nowhere near as lethal as the Flu pandemic a century ago, it has a significant multisystem morbidity which is unlike the flu. At least with the flu, you either recovered or died. Some of our current Covid victims have not recovered and may never recover which imposes long term costs to themselves and to society.There are lessons to be learned from studying the history of pandemics and many are applicable to today. I have read several books and strongly recommend John Barry’s book “The Great Influenza”. Here are the obvious lessons to be learned which you covered very well BTW. 1. Do not live a life within crowds. 2. Focus upon building a healthy body with proper diet with proper nutrients, vitamins and micronutrients, plenty of exercise, and avoiding obesity . If we continue to live a sedentary urban existence, we are doomed, vaccines or no vaccines.
Thank you for a well reasoned post; I am a city mouse with a city house and also a country mouse with a farmhouse. The country life is lonely, it is active.
“At least with the flu, you either recovered or died. Some of our current Covid victims have not recovered and may never recover which imposes long term costs to themselves and to society.” I seemingly know people who have recovered, but that is meaningless to me as should I get it and not recover completely that is a 100% rate personally.
I have always avoided flu shots, was a dentist, last years in a very large public health clinic, had all vaccinations you mentioned, very unsure of the Covid vaccine; not an antivaxxer.
Planning on spending the summer on my farm, hope I don’t go nutz from lack of human contact, you seemingly do it, that is reason for hope.
All the best,
Dennis L.
“At least with the flu, you either recovered or died’
Flu Complications
Most people who get flu will recover in a few days to less than two weeks, but some people will develop complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of flu, some of which can be life-threatening and result in death.
Sinus and ear infections are examples of moderate complications from flu, while pneumonia is a serious flu complication that can result from either influenza virus infection alone or from co-infection of flu virus and bacteria. Other possible serious complications triggered by flu can include inflammation of the heart (myocarditis), brain (encephalitis) or muscle (myositis, rhabdomyolysis) tissues, and multi-organ failure (for example, respiratory and kidney failure).
Flu virus infection of the respiratory tract can trigger an extreme inflammatory response in the body and can lead to sepsis, the body’s life-threatening response to infection. Flu also can make chronic medical problems worse. For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have flu, and people with chronic heart disease may experience a worsening of this condition triggered by flu.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/symptoms.htm
As you may be aware — there is not such thing as the flu anymore… that’s because they changed the name of the Flu — they now call it Covid 19.
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, flu has disappeared in the US
https://apnews.com/article/flu-has-disappeared-us-pandemic-2145d999319b53d8a32a829a324f398d
Well, as an intorductory course on “reality is more or less fluent” I recommend this Book:
“The Poisoned Needle” by Eleanor McBean, 1957
https://fdocc2.wordpress.com/2020/08/24/the-poisoned-needle-by-eleanor-mcbean-1957-is-a-classic-that-you-need-to-know-to-be-medically-informed/
The link is to a blogpost of books questioning vaccinations, with download PDF links for most/all of them. Many of them are very old.
Lucky such info is still available. A FB friend told me today that FB would not allow access to OFW! (But she could still open it by pasting the link in the browser.)
This is a real concern,”Some of our current Covid victims have not recovered and may never recover which imposes long term costs to themselves and to society.”
I know from being an actuary that the high-cost claims are the permanent disability claims. If someone dies, there isn’t the issue of the long-term medical care that needs to be considered.
I agree that there are some slow mutating diseases that seem to have been mostly eliminated. I gave a link to an early post I wrote, showing what seemed to be happening. I perhaps should have said something about the lack of success previously with corona viruses.
Who was the person who thought of putting diseased bodies onto catapults and firing them over castle walls splattering the guts all over the place and infecting the castle dwellers with plague?
What an incredible idea!!! He deserves a gold medal…
China is the Covid winner.
“China’s exports, in US dollar terms, rose 30.6% y/y in Mar, vs expected 31.1% rise and 154.9% surge in Feb, and #imports rose 38.1% y/y, vs expected 19.6% rise, previous 17.3% increase, showed China’s customs data.”
In looking at China exports articles, I noticed this one from the WSJ:
Solar-Energy Supply Chain Depends on Region Where China Is Accused of Genocide
I am still trying to work out how covid did not spread far and wide when millions left Wuhan during Chinese New Year last year … at the height of the pandemic…
Just as I am wondering why CBS had to fake a queue at a hospital during the height of the pandemic in NYC…
CBS News edits testing story after Project Veritas exposes clinic’s line-stuffing ploy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/06/cbs-news-edits-testing-story-after-project-veritas-exposes-clinics-line-stuffing-ploy/
https://youtu.be/3BUBTtUTOII
I am also wondering why Sweden – no lockdowns not masks — has not collapsed… and why they are not even in the top 20 in terms of covid deaths per capita….
Thanks again Fast Eddy for your patience in repeatedly pointing out that the pandemic is fake. I know we have our disagreements but I appreciate the data that you provide – I don’t know why people here keep posting ridiculous propaganda like long Covid, dangerous mutations or the ridiculous statistics from China (also pointed out by dr Malcolm Kendrick).
I noticed that some of the people that repeatedly post propaganda ignore your reply and then repost it the next day or week. It really feels that nothing can get through to them.
I still hope that the newbies like Dennis or Rendezvous will reply to this with their opinion or disagreement.
“I am still trying to work out how covid did not spread far and wide when millions left Wuhan during Chinese New Year last year … at the height of the pandemic…”
Yes, those believing Covid-19 is the Black Death 2, cough up an answer!
Russia Warns US Warships To Stay Far Away From Crimea “For Their Own Good”
At a moment the United States appears poised to send its warships near Ukraine as a strong ‘deterrent message’ against Russian forces built up near the east Ukrainian border, Russia on Tuesday warned that US vessels better stay away from Crimea “for their own good”.
A Kremlin statement further called the new US deployment into the Black Sea a serious “provocation” which serves no other purpose but to test Russia’s “strength” and “nerves”.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov issued the Tuesday warning as follows: “There is absolutely nothing for American ships to be doing near our shores, this is purely a provocative action. Provocative in the direct sense of the word: they are testing our strength, playing on our nerves. They will not succeed.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-warns-us-warships-stay-far-away-crimea-their-own-good
Popcorn time?
> Biden tells Putin to back down over Ukraine: US President personally phones Russian leader to ‘de-escalate tensions’ after Moscow told America to keep warships away ‘for their own good’
Biden tells Putin to back down over Ukraine
Joe Biden spoke with Vladimir Putin over the phone today and told the Russian president to ‘de-escalate tensions’ in Ukraine amid a massive build-up of forces along the border. The White House said Biden spoke of his ‘unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’ during the call, without giving any indication of Putin’s response. It comes after Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov described Washington’s decision to deploy two destroyers – believed to be the USS Donald Cook (top right) and the USS Roosevelt (top left) – to the Black Sea in response to a massive build-up of Russian troops (top left) a ‘provocation’, warning America to keep the ships away ‘for their own good’. The ships are currently on their way from a base in Spain and are due to arrive tomorrow and Thursday. Moscow has been massing its forces on the Ukrainian border for three weeks, and now has around 83,000 troops stationed there along with tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles, and support trucks, in what is fast becoming the first major foreign policy test of Joe Biden’s presidency.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9465705/Russia-warns-warships-away-Crimea-good.html
Ukraine…trouble…with Russia. Taiwan and China, Isreal and Iran…..the whole middle east! Where does it start! I have been reading Guns of August by Barbra Tuchman and man is it very similar to today! The language etc…
I am not worried about Russia. Putin must have the patience of a saint.
The problem is US is an incredibly fragile state with both internal and external problems. What are the chances that some neocons decide to try a bluff and end up destroying the country?
If you have a chance read Greer’s story (free online) “How it could happen” (https://thearchdruidreport-archive.200605.xyz/2012/10/how-it-could-happen-part-one-hubris.html)
There is very very little in the MSM about the warships entering the black sea, NATO “exercise” the russian buildup the Kiev declaration of intent to take crimea and the joint chief of staffs “unwavering support”. Biden met with his national security advisors today the top threat was reported as china with russia mentioned as “not confronting the USA directly”. The NATO exercise describes clearing the country of insurgents and invaders then establishing a security zone in the invaders country in contrast to a typical NATO exercise which are defensive in nature.
Set up so they can act surprised when the fireworks happen?
The degree of ignorance about these events is astounding.
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/986453250/bidens-national-security-team-lists-leading-threats-with-china-at-the-top
World War 3 – “Donetsk”
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This may interest Gail and others, as it arguably represents the ‘cutting edge’ of European Christian theological thought. The German Synod has released its Fundamental Text that underlies its reformative synodal process. Arguably its perspective too is an expression of our late modern, energy-charged industrial cvilisation – and therefore historically limited in its sway. The German church is struggling with its contemporary situation of fresh concerns, differences of opinion and with how they might act collectively.
One might say that the Lutheran Reformation was concerned fundamentally with theological epistemology (the possibility and conditions of truth), ie. with the source of authority within Christianity, even the authority of the Bible rather than that of a centralised hierarchy (Rome) that interprets revelation according to its own traditions. It is debatable whether the problem of hermeneutics (interpretation) was ever solved, given the multiplicity of churches and their reliance on their own ecclesial authorities.
Well, the German Synod is going a step further in the development of its fundamental epistemology (attitude to truth and its possibility). Its position might be summed up, to some extent, as ‘Nietzsche (perspectivism) rather than Hegel (development of a yet single truth), let alone Aquinas (set truth).’ Modern society presents a plurality, a diversity of opinion, which is very much welcomed in a professedly multicultural, pluralistic ‘liberal’ society. The Germans have opted to accept that situation of plurality within their own ranks.
They have adopted a ‘multiperspectivity’ in which there is ‘no one central perspective, no one truth of the religious, moral and political world’ and ‘no one form of thought that can lay claim to ultimate authority’. ‘Ambiguity’ is unavoidable. Thus ‘a plurality of ways of thinking and living’ is ‘legitimate’. ‘Competing’ perspectives can each make a ‘theologically justified claim to truth, correctness, comprehensibility and honesty, and nevertheless be contradictory to each other.’ They are not to be ‘resolved into a harmonizing third party or pressed into homogenizing formats’.
This is a bit weird for me personally, to find the German Synod so close to my own sceptical, relativist, perspectivist approach to moral questions. Of course, I have the luxury of not being part of an ecclesial community in which people argue all the time and rub each other up with their divergent opinions. My own inclination is to give that a very wide berth, and I would not presume personally to pretend to help them to ‘resolve’ their tensions. Anyway, it seems that the Synod will rest on a ‘democratic centralism’, maybe even a one-off majoritarianism. It remains to be seen whether their ‘Catholicity’ will avoid ‘splits’.
https://www.scribd.com/document/493731626/Synodal-Way-Forum-1-Fundamental-Text
[Extracts from section 4.]
Rather, a plurality of ways of thinking and living, and a cultural multilingualism, in the house of the Church is legitimate and even required. Diversity is not un-Catholic, let alone heterodox. Cultivating diversity without breaking apart as a community can, as history shows and as is increasingly urgent in view of the global character of the Church, be understood as the very hallmark of the Catholic. Multiperspectivity even into questions of truth is an imposition, but also a ‘sign of the times’. It challenges us to learn….
A handling of complexity that is attentive and sensitive to ambiguity can be regarded as a basic signature of intellectual contemporaneity — and also encompasses today’s theology. For theology, too, there is no one central perspective, no one truth of the religious, moral and political world, and no one form of thought that can lay claim to ultimate authority. In the Church, too, legitimate views and ways of life can compete with each other even in core convictions. Yes, they can even at the same time make the theologically justified claim to truth, correctness, comprehensibility and honesty, and nevertheless be contradictory to each other in their statements or in their language.
…. In the German church, too, very different forms of theological thinking and ecclesial cultures meet. They each have their own theological right; they do not need to be resolved into a harmonizing third party or pressed into homogenizing formats. The task is to develop an ecclesial culture of debate and learning from one another in the face of a legitimate diversity of interpretations of how and for what the Church should be good….
…. As a synodal assembly, we know that our debating and decision-making can only ever be a fragment of what needs to be expressed. But this insight must not prevent us from acting responsibly. It is a matter of fundamental decisions shaping the Church that require courage and trust in God. Catholicity means to us: We know about our fundamental common origin and about our different interpretations; we struggle with each other for the best possible solution; we respect our differences, also in our access to core convictions; we strive to perceive the legitimate concern in other positions.
…. Secondly, they will resist and avoid conducting this debate at the expense of concrete decisions and reforms. The ability to act must not be put at risk by blocking discourse. The debate must be constructive and solution-oriented. Needs for correction and reform must be answered even if a final synthesis has not yet been reached.
…. Conscious of our responsibility as representatives of the Catholic Church in Germany for the Synodal Path, in the course of serious synodal deliberations and in respect for the standards of a democratic society, we expect that recommendations and decisions adopted by a majority will also be supported by those who themselves have voted differently.
There is a lot of variability in how churches have addressed these issue. I expect, in general, churches in the US have been quite a bit more liberal than churches in Europe, because US churches are funded by people who live in the modern world and who each make their decisions on how much, if anything, to give. Many of these people are not willing to take the Bible literally.
The liberal part of protestantism (including the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Episcopal Church, and quite a few other denominations) do not take the Bible as literally true. One of the things they are concerned about is what modern archeology tells us. They don’t have a problem with gay marriage. They don’t expect everyone to believe the same thing. They certainly don’t believe that the Earth was created in seven days.
People in the US see a need for providing a safety net of services that the government does not provide, but that the European government does. In Europe, the government has promised everything everyone needs already. So, as I explained earlier, there is more of a purpose for churches.
In years past, churches were a major way through which young people met future spouses. Churches still often offer social groups for young adults. They also often offer other groups of many kinds, including those for widows/ widowers, for cancer survivors, for those trying to recover from alcoholism, and for sewing or knitting projects for some needy group.
As I understand it, RC in Germany want control over their own church and not to be dictated to by Rome. It is not really about gay marriage, although the Vatican recently singled gays out for condemnation. The Vatican seems to think that it suits it to do that. But RC in Germany remain aware of their wider agenda.
RC in Germany consider the Vatican line on sex generally to be ludicrous – banning contraception, divorce, sex outside of marriage, masturbation, all under pain of eternal hell. They, like everyone else, think that it is really stupid and they have had enough of the Vatican making their religion totally stupid.
Also, they want to be able to decide for themselves whether they share communion with other Christians without the Vatican interfering and banning it. And they are unhappy with how the Vatican has handled clergy child abuse in the German RCC and they want control over that too. They want to decide for themselves whether to allow married and women priests.
They want complete control over their own church on a non-dogmatic, democratic and accountable basis, where they decide for themselves what they believe, how to practice their religion and how to govern themselves.
So, it is not about this or that issue, let alone about gay marriage, it is about the reconstitution of the RCC in Germany on a democratic basis. The way that they see it, the RCC in Germany is their church, it does not belong to the Vatican and the Vatican should have no control over it.
Democracy and accountability would seem to be the way forward for all of the churches. The churches belong to the people of the churches as a whole and not to a hierarchy that dictates to them. It seems likely that model of self-governance will spread from the German Synod to other churches in Europe and around the world.
One theory I have heard is that the farther away you get from Rome, the less influence it has.
As John Foxe said over four hundred years ago: “ubi fidei, ibi ecclesia”.
Yep, the old sectarian papist maxim had it vice versa.
If Rome does not like what the German Synod does, then it can declare them to be “in imperfect communion”, the new PC lingo. It would be off to declare it to be in “schism” when it avoids that language for “other ecclesial communities”, ie. other churches.
Arguably the dictatorial papal system reflects the imperial caesar model of the time, and it gelled (pope and bishops) with the king and lords model of feudal times. If so, then a democratic and accountable model would be more in line with these times.
Staunch papists say that the constitution of the church is of divine institution, but again that is the antique (eg. Egypt, Rome) and Medieval approach to social constitutions (set divine ordination) and it begs the question of whether that perspective also simply reflects the models of those time.
I say good luck to the German synodal path – whatever makes them happy. It is ridiculous that some crusty old geezers in Rome are dictating repressive nonsense to them and stressing them out.
Of course, their own perspective (of multiperspectivity) reflects the times, and they are quite open and explicit about that – multiperspectivity is itself an historically conditioned perspective. It is implied by the liberalism, pluralism and egalitarianism of the times.
So, liberal democratic Christianity is a bit like the late industrial civilisation that gives rise to it – it is to be enjoyed while it can be. It is doubtful that future generations will be quite so open to ‘multiperspectivity’.
Mirror, you are quite correct. Caesaropapism was the rule from the very beginning of established Christianity; it was set up by Constantine.
Many years ago, I was asked on a newsgroup who had done the most damage to Christianity. I answered without hesitation: “Constantine the Great”, and stand by that answer today.
Are they saying that their cult metamorphosis from the absolute into relative has introduced irrelevance? Just using more words to give the air of substance and all-encompassing embrace?
Which is in itself rather cute as an expression of typical humanoid shenanigans.
Why not just come clean and state the obvious; you know: We got no idea what we are about, but please join the sermon and then some free coffee, occasionally some wine and good company among other people in search of forgiveness and meaning.
Sounds about right for people with desire for deity and afterlife without the absurdities from the absolute.
“in search of forgiveness and meaning”
You have to accept yourself for who and what you are, and accept that life is what it is.
‘Forgiveness’ is an act of cowardice, of bad faith toward oneself. It is an entirely fake psychology.
You are what you are – get over it!
It is difficult to get over the hurdle of yourself when it is being occluded by a obnoxious narrative racket and polished turds of distorted objective reality.
Garbage in – garbage out.
Is that statement garbage, too?
It depends on what the intent is.
If it is to please the church and devotees while taking a sublime crack at the absurd absolute. Not bad. However,
If you want to be a die-hard conveyor of data-driven objective reality. Pick your clientele with care and expand from there.
But it surely can’t be easy finding morsels of truth and sanity in a steaming pile of delusion and “Us vs. Them”. The wants and desires of slightly genetically modified rapacious primate ignorance.
Never assume perfection in evolutionary processes (biological, synthetic). Assume a multitude of trajectories with different outcomes when generating descriptions of desirable objective reality.
Speaking for myself, what is a “desirable” objective reality? It is the path of our predispositions given this planet (its mineral constituency outputting a biosphere) and solar system in general. We are an expression of that, however distorted and mangled from our own doing and what have you.
/digression off
☺️
Yes, you have your own ‘absolute’, even planetary tendencies – as interpreted by yourself – even if it does amount to an endorsement of the bourgeois ideological status quo.
And that is fine – it is your own perspective.
I’m not going to argue against the processes in the biosphere and the universe to pursue ultimate relativism. That’s just an obscene and tacky doomsday bunker of cheap relativity.
That which forms life and eventually consciousness out of mindless matter is my guiding light.
Cogito, ergo sum. Irrefutable. Absolute.
But you already knew my response. It feels so damn good, doesn’t it?
☯️
You are one outcome of the cosmos, along with all others. It is quite human that you would see one of your own qualities, ‘intelligence’, as the ‘purpose’ of cosmic evolution. It is an act of self-evaluation. Humans have many qualities, though. Your demise is also another outcome.
Other, more regular outcomes include an intensification of the dissipation of energy, the concentration of power. It seems more congruent that the overall and permanent tendency would have primacy in teleological interpretation rather than a one-off, temporary and localised event – but that too is just a perspective. In itself, it ‘means’ (an illusion of consciousness) nothing, it ‘just is’.
But it is fine that humans take human perspectives, that is what they are ‘supposed’ to do. It might be subjective – but it is our creation and it is ordered to our survival and our well-being. The idea that the latest fashionable bourgeois values (‘equal’ opportunities, ‘liberty’ for all) are convertible with the ‘mechanism’ of natural selection is a provincialism, however. : )
Then I provide you an counterexample. That which now is typing this message.
Thus you are forced to draw the conclusion that not all subjects under the hex of rapacious primate shenanigans are participating in the crazy more than the bare minima, even though a carrier of the monkey business. I do feel the sting of primate shenanigans occasionally ripple in the vacuum between my ears. I’m only human after all.
Now, as for the question: Am I part of the universe and biosphere or not? How many is good enough? One? A thousand? A million, 20 trillion? Tell me.
How does this criteria “work”, are “we” median filtering to remove the “outliers” and then averaging over the primate shenanigan cackle to conclude how this obnoxious shit show “works”?
But don’t get me wrong; perhaps this is the best rapacious primates in large numbers ever can hope to achieve. I have no other choice than to accept that, if it wasn’t for myself.
Some details on NATO Ukraine joint exercises operation “Cossack mace”.
Very descriptive name.
The website is the world socialist organization.
Perhaps our “woke” friends could learn a thing or two.
IMO the primary tenant of fascism is hate and war.
Or perhaps they are conspiracy theorists too?
WE all want the same things. A way to earn a living. A safe place to live. A future for our children.
We are on the brink of WW III. Will that work toward those things? Do you dare think about the reality of what is happening? Do you dare to discuss it a taboo subject? WW III
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/05/ukra-a05.html
The title of this article is Ukraine announces joint military exercises with NATO amid rising tensions with Russia
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/carol-cain/2019/09/21/michigan-china-ties-trade-war/2385600001/
As we fortify Zug Island for the anticipated CCP-invasion of the Great Lakes, we’re reminded of the leadership given us by our psyops-patriot, Florida Maquis, and his perceptive profile of Gretchen Whitmer – almost one-year old now. The RIDICULE CAMPAIGN is well underway here, with pictures from this hilarious and insightful video adorning leaflets that find their way from hand-to-hand.
Here is Florida Maquis’ remarkable advice on how to deal with petty-tyrants like Gretchen
(you can listen at 2x-speed and get the whole gist in 5 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MGr0Z9ICbE
I think Florida Maquis misses something though. He needs a vacation with Fast Eddy!!
Wiki tells us that Gretchen Whitmer probably also has a “FATHER ISSUE”
That’s in addition to her “IMAGE ISSUE” that Florida Maquis points out.
“Gretchen Whitmer was born on August 23, 1971, in Lansing, Michigan, the eldest of three children of Sharon H. “Sherry” Reisig and Richard Whitmer, both attorneys.[3][4] Her father was head of the state department of commerce under Governor William Milliken and was the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan between 1988 and 2006.[5] Whitmer’s mother worked as an assistant attorney general under Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley.[6] Her parents divorced when she was ten years old; she and her siblings moved with their mother to Grand Rapids. Her father traveled from his home in Detroit to visit the family at least once a week.[7]”
In fact, it is very likely that Gretchen Whitmer is quite envious of Florence Nightingale and is doing her best to harm menfolk in Michigan as a subconscious reaction to that envy; in addition to Florida Maquis’ otherwise excellent “nanny-thesis”, which dove-tails her pathology in some way. Whitmer just didn’t get the attention a young girl needs from her father and hers was nothing at all like what Nightingale’s father provided; as Wiki informs us.
“Nightingale’s father educated her.[11] A BBC documentary states, “Florence and her older sister Parthenope benefited from their father’s advanced ideas about women’s education. They studied history, mathematics, Italian, classical literature and philosophy, and from an early age Florence, who was the more academic of the two girls, displayed an extraordinary ability for collecting and analysing data which she would use to great effect in later life.”[6]”
It’s obvious the Whitmer’s are a family of BOSSES. Could it be argued that instead of these minions of higher powers (think billions and trillions) advancing whatever blue-print there may be; that they actually undermine the foundation, through generational degeneration, not learning from their own history of repeating the mistakes of BOSSISM? See Charles Hughes Smith’s latest on Cultural Revolution taking on a life of its own. Sleepless nights coming to a theater near us?
Thanks for referring to Charles H Smith’s article on the cultural revolution. He was spot on.
“A Cultural Revolution is a movement designed to preserve the political and financial power of a ruling elite by social rather than political or financial means. Thus the primary tools of a Cultural Revolution are not redistributing power via elections (politics) or financial reforms; the primary tools are public shaming and denouncements, purges of those in positions of authority, show trials, guilt-by-association, wholesale denouncements of entire classes and widespread accusations of anti-progressive (“counter-revolutionary”) tendencies in which guilt is defined by all-or-nothing litmus tests of one’s loyalties to the Cultural Revolution’s strict ideology. …
The goal of the Cultural Revolution is to render all those who resist the ruling elites politically and socially invisible. The goal isn’t to play nice and share power and wealth with the losers of financialization-globalization; the goal is to liquidate their influence in politics and society via relentless negative stereotyping by the elite-controlled mass media and an Orwellian reversal of identity that makes the dissenters into threats to democracy while elevating the elitist oppressors into selfless guardians of democracy–the exact opposite of reality. ”
https://www.oftwominds.com/blogjan19/cultural-revolution1-19.html
I think of Michigan as being the headquarters of US automobile manufacturing. This is a chart of employees in Michigan in US manufacturing from Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/619932/number-of-employees-in-motor-vehicle-manufacturing-in-michigan/
The oldest years it shows is 2006, when there were 49.9 thousand employees in the industry. This dropped to 26.7 million in the industry in 2009. The number increased to 40.1 million in 2017. Since the, the number of employees has again been dropping, to 38.2 thousand in 2019. I am sure that 2020 is lower. Now 2021 is being affected by both semiconductor chip shortages and (recently I heard) rubber shortages for tires.
The problem is worse than it would look, partly because the jobs are concentrated in the Detroit area (which of course has a high black population). There is a multiplier effect as well, since these people bought groceries and homes and needed schools for their children.
In spite of this problem, overall unemployment has been doing pretty well in Michigan, recently. I found this chart of seasonably adjusted unemployment rates by state for February 2021.
https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
The reported rate is 5.2%, which is 23 best among the 50 states and District of Columbia reporting. I’m sure the governor is aware of this. She would not want to see unemployment skyrocket again.
The following states have the highest unemployment rates, according to the chart:
Hawaii – Worst at 9.2%
New York – Second worst at 8.9%
Connecticut – Third worst at 8.5%
California – Fourth worst at 8.5%
See. It’s all you fault! Repent
World’s wealthiest ‘at heart of climate problem’
Roger Harrabin – BBC environment analyst
Tue, April 13, 2021, 2:50 AM
The world’s wealthy must radically change their lifestyles to tackle climate change, a report says.
It says the world’s wealthiest 1% produce double the combined carbon emissions of the poorest 50%, according to the UN.
The wealthiest 5% alone – the so-called “polluter elite” – contributed 37% of emissions growth between 1990 and 2015.
The authors want to deter SUV drivers and frequent fliers – and persuade the wealthy to insulate their homes well.
…..in a nutshell
But Prof Newell said existing political structures allowed wealthy firms and individuals to lobby against necessary changes in society that might erode the lifestyles of the rich.
OK, we shall offset put lifestyles by CEP
Herbie, would you please define, “CEP?” The term keeps showing up and I cannot find a definition.
It is copyrighted by Fast Eddy “Compassionate Extinction Program”.
I think it is Coastal Elite Party . It may apply to me , a pig farmer in California.
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March 31, 2021
“We will be issuing proceedings tomorrow against the Government. They said “data not dates”. But they have relied on “fiction not facts”. Directors of Public Health, House of Commons Committee, and Treasury’s own research all agree that hospitality is not to blame for infections”
https://twitter.com/hughosmond/status/1377307889220608005
The social democratic party in the Czech Republic (CSSD) is at its end. Founded in 1878, this party is going to disappear from the Czech parliament in the next elections:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Social_Democratic_Party
https://svet.sme.sk/c/22636673/ako-sa-cssd-dostala-na-pokraj-vypadnutia-z-parlamentu.html?ref=trz
Any new parties on the scene?
The parties which are going to be successful are already on the scene. The Pirates in the coallition with the party STAN seem to get the most votes in this years parlamentary elections in the Czech Republic.
https://www.betarena.cz/rubriky/sportovni-clanky/volebni-preference-pruzkumy-a-potencial-politickych-stran_4852.html
It is interesting that the abbreviation “STAN” means “the tent” in Czech. Who knows if it is intentional, but the new successful parties are mostly big tent parties, made up of the people with various views.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_tent
The disoriented architecture
In the recent years, in my surroundings in western Slovakia, one can find various new houses with a disoriented architecture: the majority of the windows faces the north, no windows facing the south, the hygiene distances between homes are not respected, the houses have a disordered structure of the rooms (the technical room in the southwest sector, bathroom in the south sector), various massive shading roofs preventing the sunlight comming into the house, building high concrete fences that preventing the natural light/sunlight from comming into the house…
It seems to me, as if the coronavirus was the logical outcome of the human stupid behaviour, i. e. that the humans, due to the rising costs of living, start to build houses that are not suitable for humans, that are of substandard quality, which are easily invaded by the viruses.
The coronavirus pandemic is a completely logical result/an accompanying event of the collapse.
Everything else is pretty crazy. Fashions are pretty crazy. The financial system with all of its debt is crazy.
If anyone is thinking of getting the injection please have a look at this:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YK0JR_lFy88Zu3rcC3L5NvL_Xr3ib6zY/view
Even I am shocked and I’ve been following it.
These people are young. They would never have died of covid.
This link and the earlier one you posted are amazing. They are just what I need to lob at people who say that Covid-19 vaccine injuries are rare and that the virus is the new plague. Many thanks!
You’re very welcome, Tim.
I’m just glad to find people who are interested.
The problem today is that there is more and more people with various genetic mutations. It can be me, you, whoever who has got some predispositions for adverse reactions. The mass solutions are more and more problematic, as they can not address increasing complexity of the individuals.
Yes, shocking. At the other end of the spectrum, only yesterday an elderly (70’s) customer of mine told me that he had selected Pfizer ‘as it seemed far safer’.
2 shots so far, and only a sore arm: but when I told him that a friend who is a consultant and researcher here suggested that ALL the vaccines be avoided for at least 5 years, his eyes popped.
Clearly he had only been listening to the BBC, and had no idea as to there being any legitimate debate as to the long-term safety of these injections.
He even repeated ‘But it’s so terrible a disease!’ taken straight from the MSM.
Doing this I do not recommend.
This can create a deep psychlogical conflict and lead to severe illness if not really understood.
Unfortunately many people will have to go through this, when we have “more data”. Very sad.
I always say: “The vaccine IS experimental and you decide if you want to be a laboratory rat”
After a fellow human has been injected, I keep my mouth shut. It does not change anything anymore. Only stirs up despair.
But that’s the whole point of telling them 🙂
Dontcha kinda hope that this guy keels over and dies from the vax… and that as he gasps for breath you would have the opportunity to say ‘I TOLD YOU SO!’
Would that not be tremendously… satisfying!!!
Like this?
Just a reminder: We don’t *know* if vaccines caused these deaths …
This is indeed disturbing.
One thing I discovered when looking up anaphylactic shock from COVID on the CDC site is that symptoms can take as long as 150 minutes after vaccination to appear. In fact, their data showed that the median length of time of time to symptoms was 13 minutes. Letting people out after 15 minutes is too soon!
Will ya look at this!!!
Ontario’s eternal lockdown …. gets more restrictive….
Students will be staying in remote learning indefinitely following the April Break as the province continues to see record breaking COVID-19 case and ICU numbers, the Ontario government says.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7752831/ontario-education-covid-coronavirus-virtual-learning-stephen-lecce/
Remote learning indefinitely saves fuel and reduces the expenses of schools.
The PR Team releases an article that suggests anti-lockdown proponents may commit ‘terrorist acts’…
Prepping the masses for some very harsh measures to deal with these dangerous fools…
https://globalnews.ca/news/7753480/canada-coronavirus-lockdown-anger-national-security/
They are setting the perfect mouse trap … for The Borg.
Bye, bye, Borgie
I’m gonna miss you so
Bye, bye, Borgie
Why’d ya have to go (Bye,bye)
No more sunshine (Sunshine)
It’s followed you away (You away)
I’ll cry, Borgie (Borgie)
Till you’re home to stay (Home to stay)
I’ll miss the way you smile
As though it’s just for me
And each and ev’ry night
I’ll write to you faithfully
Bye, bye, Borgie,
It’s awful hard to bear
Bye, bye, Borgie
Guess I’ll always care
Guess I’ll always ca-a-a-a-are
Guess I’ll always care!
“Protests across Pakistan after far-right TLP leader arrested…
“Protests have erupted in several cities across Pakistan after police took into custody the leader of a far-right religious party known for holding mass demonstrations over the issue of “blasphemy”. On Monday evening, several major intercity highways were closed by police…”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/12/protests-across-pakistan-after-far-right-tlp-leader-arrested
“With Its Economy in Free Fall, Myanmar Braces for the Worst…
“Shipping lines have suspended operations as truck drivers strike, leaving cargo containers trapped at the ports. Restrictions on cash withdrawals have businesses struggling to pay employees. The military has restricted internet access, making it harder to reach customers.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-11/myanmar-crisis-looms-with-fitch-warning-economy-will-shrink-up-to-20
The periphery athrophies.
Thank you Harry McGibbs for keeping us updated.
While this “excercise” is running, we are systematically shut off from most news going on in the world in our MSM…
Governments want to keep order, whatever the reason for the demonstration.
“Bonds of China’s largest bad debt investor plunge to record low:
“The prices of bonds issued by China’s largest manager of distressed debt tumbled to record lows as global investor fears mounted over its financial health following the execution of its former chair for bribery.”
https://www.ft.com/content/53323f21-85c6-461d-8f5f-a27e77fb700f
“Investors rush into high-risk assets in easy credit environment… vast liquidity released by central banks flowing into shadow banking sector:
“High-risk assets have recently become the investments of choice as global markets swim in liquidity while interest rates remain at historic lows, spurring worries about another financial crash.”
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/Investors-rush-into-high-risk-assets-in-easy-credit-environment
“US put off derivatives rules for a decade before Archegos blew up.
“Rules written in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to limit the potential for a blow-up like Archegos Capital have still not been fully implemented, throwing a spotlight on regulators in a fiasco that has shocked Wall Street and raised questions on Capitol Hill.”
https://www.ft.com/content/7819e714-bf9d-4f83-a6e4-497df534f77c
Wall Street is “shocked” because the regulators did exactly what Wall Street wanted them to do, namely nothing. Pull the other leg.
High risk assets mean slightly more yield. But still incredibly low, given the risk involved.
We will see if China really came out best after the COVID-19 crisis. A debt crisis is a big deal!
“Faced with sharp price rises, a decline in the buying power of the dinar and rising unemployment, Iraqis enter the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan with a feeling of dread.
““After a whole day of fasting, we have to eat something,” even if the price of a kilo of tomatoes has more than doubled, said Umm Hussein, a single mother of five who has no salary.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1841976/middle-east
“Economic crisis begins to crack the bedrock of Assad’s Alawi support…
“In Syria’s coastal towns, memorials to dead soldiers mark the sacrifice made by the Alawi minority to defend President Bashar al-Assad, also an Alawi. But, more than a decade since the civil war began, his regime is struggling to keep even the lights on in his heartland.”
https://www.ft.com/content/794a8db4-0c9e-4495-bae1-433d66b2cf41
“Lebanon civil war survivors say today’s crisis even worse… During the civil war that ended over 30 years ago Abla Barotta survived shelling and clashes, but she now fears a “slow death” from Lebanon’s worst economic crisis in decades.
“The 58-year-old mother of three is a survivor among the more than 50 percent of Lebanese today living in poverty.”
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2021/4/11/lebanon-civil-war-survivors-say-todays-crisis-even-worse
I wish they’d stop teasing us and give us the first complete collapse of a country
Yemen is getting close with “80% of the total population now in need of humanitarian aid,” but my personal, admittedly niche, view is that we won’t see many nations absolutely collapse to the point where they have no utilities etc. before the totality fails.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/yemen-brink-collapse-suffer-trump-decision-ansar-allah/story?id=75422417
Love how they blame Trump hahahaha…
Anyway – for those who take issue with the CEP – I urge you to watch the video on that site.
Then think of that child being your grand child… only 10000x worse… because if the Elders fail — the children will be grilled over a fire and eaten. That is Guaranf789ing.. teed. And the rape… OMG… that will be Off the Charts….
And the diseases… will start… the second the electricity goes off… every vile disease you can think of will prey upon billions of bodies weakened from hunger… think Ethiopian famine — but global — and with no UN food packets… no security … no jack shit my friends.
Just 8B people in the dark… with nothing to eat… and bad guys everywhere. Keep your children close… real close…
Take the vaccine. Do your part to bring on Devil Covid.
It will be … salvation.
We need this CEP to happen. We need it to go off without a hitch. I sincerely mean that
You’re a ray of light, FE. What is CEP?
Compassionate Extinction Plan…. invent covid to convince people to take a lethal injection that will exterminate 8B humans and prevent a situation that is 1000x worse than this:
https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed
If my memory serves me well, it means Complete Extinction Plan, or covert Elimination Project or Comprehensive Eradication Protocol—something along those lines.
Yes that’s it! Comprehensive Eradication Protocol of the Elders of Davos.
And yes, he really brightens everyone’s day, doesn’t he?
Tim, Tim, Tim, COMPASSIONATE EXTINCTION
I know the ‘compassionate’ component is difficult to digest… but think of the alternative of not killing us off before civilization collapses…
Look what I found — Jackf789ingPot!!!
While reading this … keep in mind… this situation described is not total collapse… there was still some electricity … some food… and it was only one year… Collapse that we are facing is PERMANENT… and TOTAL.
ONE YEAR IN HELL
I am from Bosnia. You know, between 1992 and 1995, it was hell. For one year, I lived and survived in a city with 6,000 people without water, electricity, gasoline, medical help, civil defense, distribution service, any kind of traditional service or centralized rule.
Our city was blockaded by the army; and for one year, life in the city turned into total crap. We had no army, no police. We only had armed groups; those armed protected their homes and families.
When it all started, some of us were better prepared. But most of the neighbors’ families had enough food only for a few days. Some had pistols; a few had AK-47s or shotguns.
After a month or two, gangs started operating, destroying everything. Hospitals, for example, turned into slaughterhouses. There was no more police. About 80 percent of the hospital staff were gone. I got lucky. My family at the time was fairly large (15 people in a large house, six pistols, three AKs), and we survived (most of us, at least).
The Americans dropped MREs every 10 days to help blockaded cities. This was never enough. Some — very few — had gardens. It took three months for the first rumors to spread of men dying from hunger and cold.
We removed all the doors, the window frames from abandoned houses, ripped up the floors and burned the furniture for heat. Many died from diseases, especially from the water (two from my own family). We drank mostly rainwater, ate pigeons and even rats.
More https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-world-be-like-if-society-collapsed
Please come back after reading this and tell me that ‘Compassionate’ is not the correct term for what the Elders are planning.
There are way too many countries on the edge of collapse!
“Rising inflation complicates Brazil’s Covid-19 crisis… With much of Latin America’s largest economy being shuttered, inflation is surging to its highest level in years, fuelling a silent scourge of hunger among poorer citizens that has run in parallel to the Covid-19 pandemic.
““The high price of staple foods — rice and beans, for example — has led to the disappearance of these items from the table of millions of Brazilians…””
https://www.ft.com/content/5dbcc5b2-2d9e-46b7-b9d5-1b612aa20cf3
“Hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic have forced former sex workers in Mexico back into the trade years after they left, made it more dangerous and reduced some to having sex in cars or on sidewalks for lack of available hotels…
““Some days you don’t have anything to eat. … You might eat one day and not the next,” said Laura. As for avoiding coronavirus, “I put my trust in God” and hand sanitiser.””
https://www.firstpost.com/long-reads/in-mexico-hunger-and-unemployment-force-many-former-sex-workers-back-into-trade-amid-covid-19-pandemic-9519801.html
“A conservative businessman [and former banker] has unexpectedly won Ecuador’s presidential election as voters rejected the leftist movement started by the former president Rafael Correa more than a decade ago…
““I hope he keeps his promise of creating jobs, because seven in 10 Ecuadoreans want formal employment,” said Juan Pablo Hidalgo, 33, a neighbourhood activist in Guayaquil, Ecuador‘s largest city.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/12/ecuador-election-result-guillermo-lasso-andres-arauz
Rafael Correa was in charge years ago, when I visited. Rafael Correa was a friend of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela at that time. They both wanted socialist programs for their people. Correa tried (unsuccessfully) to “shake down” Chevron for some large amount to try to get funds to pay for his social plans. A “60 minutes” program tried to paint Chevron as the one causing all the problems, but a big part of the problem was their own local oil company that used poor practices and needed more money.
I am quite happy to see Correa go.
“The US government spent $660 billion more in March than it collected in revenue, the third-largest monthly deficit on record.
“Stimulus plan and $1,400 checks drove spending much higher as the White House and Republicans clash over where to spend money next.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/04/12/deficit-stimulus-biden-spending/
“The Bank of England’s holding of UK government debt has surpassed the two largest groups of private investors after policymakers accelerated debt purchases to bolster the economy against the blow from the pandemic.
“The £741bn of gilts on the BoE’s books has surpassed the amount held by overseas investors and pension and insurance companies…”
https://www.ft.com/content/0e042b87-ef75-4cb7-94be-d57b8f77235c
Thanks for the these posts and seems you have many here that look forward to them.
It’s crazy the spending and deficits being piled up…there must be an end game…always is when it’s comes to money…and it’s always about money
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=03m_XPlqBuU
The largest deficit in US History and it ain’t over. Spending 350% above what is taken in…
That can only mean one thing…..🤔
Herbie, you are welcome. ❤
It is hard to see how any of the counties with these crazy spending schemes will ever get back to something like “normal.”
“Europe Is Heading Toward a New Financial Crisis …Adopting the single currency has yielded great benefits, from frictionless trade to improved global competitiveness. But the euro also obliged member states to relinquish the independent monetary policies that can help backstop national debts and financial systems.
“One result is that distress at banks presents a heightened threat to individual governments’ finances, and vice versa — the so-called “doom loop” that played out in spectacular fashion during the early 2010s, when the euro area nearly broke apart…
“At the end of February, Italian banks’ holdings of Italian government debt amounted to 124% of their capital and loss reserves, rendering them extremely vulnerable in the event of fiscal distress.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-04-12/europe-is-heading-toward-a-new-financial-crisis
“Rome restaurateurs and other small-business owners clashed Monday with police for the second week in a row, demanding to be allowed to open after being shut down for much of the past year.”
https://www.voanews.com/europe/rome-restaurants-and-other-small-businesses-protest-covid-19-restrictions
“Survival courses gain popularity in Spain since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It may seem like a strange hobby, but more and more Spaniards and expats are using their free time to learn the skills to survive life-threatening situations, and ‘survivalism’ has really taken off since the beginning of the pandemic.”
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/04/11/survival-courses-gain-popularity-in-spain/
“ING [Dutch multinational bank] starts charging negative interest for savings over € 100,000…
“ING customers with more than a hundred thousand euros in their account must pay a savings interest of 0.5% on this from 1 July.”
https://nltimes.nl/2021/04/11/ing-starts-charging-negative-interest-savings-eu-100000
Good grief! Being shut down for much of the past year! How can any business survive.
This analysis of vaccination rate by death rate in various countries is very stark https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1373333873103400962.html
Very nice!
Thanks Mrs S, great presentation of data at the link.
Hey Fast Eddy – didja see the chart about half-way down showing India vs UK. Notice what they’re giving out – IVERMECTIN. I don’t know how many states in India are doing that. Last I saw it was 3 but they were highly populated. So, what are the Elders saying about IVERMECTIN? Are they concerned? Or, are they keeping it up-their-sleeve as a Plan B if the CEP is a bust and Cultural Revolution is an emergent and non-linear thing?
Took a link to @RealJoelSmalley from there. Look at his Uruguay chart. That could not be more clear. He posted it 4 hours ago.
https://twitter.com/RealJoelSmalley
Thanks for the link Joe Smalley’s analysis is great.
I wonder what it will take for people to pay attention to this.
This is disturbing. It is hard to tell a COVID-19 death from a COVID-19 vaccine death.
Arguably, everyone starts partying once vaccines are available, pushing the COVID-19 rate and death rate up.
Pfizer halts vaccines to Israel as it fails to pay up
https://www.wionews.com/world/pfizer-halts-delivery-of-covid-19-vaccines-to-banana-republic-israel-after-country-fails-to-pay-375660
How bizarre…. this is a country that is hell bent on vaccinating all citizens… that will start jabbing children shortly…
A country with plenty of dosh (this is after all the home base of the Elders .. who own the money printing machines) …. yet… YET… they can’t find a billion or so dollars… to pay their dealer…
How can this be!!!
Could it be… that they are doing this on purpose… so as to encourage variants to ‘develop’ in people with the first shot?
https://www.bitchute.com/video/uLStFKAw8Okm/
Whenever you observe what appears to be stooopidity by governments … assume there is an agenda.
“some truth there was,
but dashed and brewed with lies,
to please the fools,
and puzzle all the wise”
https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/popish-plot
Google this (I put up a long post with multiple links — held for review)
Israeli pediatricians plan to issue call for parents to vaccinate under-16s
That is absolutely fantastic news!!!
yes long posts with several links take many hours for WordPress to resolve.
I guess there are little Israelis and big Israelis. It is breathe taking the willingness to throw Israelis under the bus. I am sure the Hadsids are not falling for the kill.
all one has to do is sit still and listen
It’s a long story Ed. Ben Hecht told us part of it in his book ‘Perfidy’. But it takes a certain stubborn devotion to unraveling historical truths to peel another layer from that particular onion. Whoever wrote the three-paragraph introduction to this archived edition of Perfidy did just that and I’m sure the intro, and most definitely the book itself, will give you some insight into the “breathe taking” events of another era.
http://aaargh.vho.org/fran/livres6/perfidy.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hecht
Thank you, hillcountry. One of the most remarkable books of the twentieth century, and all of it the truth the world (and Israel) wishes to forget.
Ben Hecht would have made a fine OFWer. He would be best buds with FE.
Now we see the difference between religious Jews and Cultural Jews. God is only looking out for one of them.
Where are the rabbi? Where is the voice of Israel? The storm is upon us. The passage to 2030 will be hard. Reach out a hand.
Israeli pediatricians plan to issue call for parents to vaccinate under-16s
Israeli Pediatric Association waiting for regulators to approve shot for those aged 12-15, arguing it is safe and effective; Pfizer has asked for US authorization
“There must be a recognition that we do not understand everything about the virus, the vaccine against it and that the first commandment of medicine is ‘first do no harm,’” the doctors said.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-childrens-doctors-to-issue-call-to-vaccinate-under-16s/
Child deaths tied to covid-19 remain remarkably low, months into U.S. pandemic
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/covid-children-deaths/2020/09/25/9df39bf4-fdad-11ea-8d05-9beaaa91c71f_story.html
Now why in the f789 … would you stuff an experimental vaccine into children … when almost none have died from covid… And to boot ….. the vaccine does not stop them from contracting covid????
And some will call Fast Eddy’s CEP … stupid….
It will be interesting to see how the J-Crew react to this … no doubt most will comply…. watch for a ‘no jab no school’ policy…. what are you gonna do? Deny your kid an education….and who babysits the rats if they don’t attend school?
A most of the rest will come on board if they do that…
As for the hard asses…there isn’t really anything you can do about it… protests will be ignored… if anyone turns to violence… they’ll be quickly and harshly dealt with…
The Elders are so Awesome! They have given the Borg no escape hahaha
Die Borg Die!!! This is like a movie where the bad guy gets his at the end … only thing is … the human species is the bad guy… hahahahahaha
http://wecandiebetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/There-Is-No-Way-Out.jpg
Fast Eddy, your arguments convinced me that there is a plan behind all these disparate “mistakes”.
But I don’t see any argument that the “Elders” (as you call them) want to die with the rest of us.
So your continuous praising of them and push for people to take the vaccine is in bad taste, to say the least.
Beer, gallows humor
Ed, you are right. I need to laugh more.
The constant push to vaccinate is getting to me.
What’s weird is that there are so many people in the antivaxx community that end up taking the vaccine – with some ridiculous rationalization (“visiting the relatives” or such) that it makes me realize how effective the propaganda is.
Aren’t you afraid you will wake up one morning and say “what the hell, I want to join too”?
Of course they don’t want to die! They want to continue to drink Champagne and eat Caviar and prance about on their private jets.
I suggest you watch the movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Jasmine
Let me reiterate… BAU is an all or nothing proposition.
Once oil supplies peak… ‘all’ is impossible — there will soon be zero oil available because the global economy will have collapsed — there will be no ability to extract and refine oil because the complex supply chain involved in that process will disappear.
And like Jeanette Francis, the Elders would be tossed onto the street with nothing (yes they could hole up in bunkers… but that’s like eternal lockdown but in a basement with no windows).
The problem is … the street will be infected with radiation .. there will be nothing to eat…the water will be toxic…
You seem to be unable to grasp the magnitude of the situation…. perhaps you need to read or watch The Road? That should help you … but unlike The Road there is no happy ending… there is no community of survivors…
There is only eternal starvation – disease – darkness — cold — misery — violence — and for the survivors… this:
https://2rdrtx4bt29lo91s31mjhkji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Acute-radiation-sickness-poisoning-cancer-nuclear-fallout-survival-shtf-1.jpg
The Elders know this … therefore the Elders accept that the best choice for them is to die along with the rest of us.
But before they expire they will remove us … it is in nobody’s interest to have 8B people take to the streets in an orgy of killing…. and THAT is EXACTLY what will happen if the Elders allow BAU to enter an uncontrolled collapse…
THINK. THINK. THINK. See riots over the past couple of years — listen to their pleas ‘we cannot afford to live!!!’ The pie was shrinking… even educated people in places like France were unable to pay their bills… and they were ANGRY.
They want MORE. But MORE is over….
Now imagine what they would do when the electricity goes off.. the police don’t control them… imagine the nasty shit these people would get up to…. looting… murder… rape… you name it — the planet’s nastiest beasts will be off the leash….
When the grocery stores are emptied and hunger begins to gnaw at their guts… what do you think they will do? Of course… they will do what man has done a thousand times when faced with starvation … they will kill and roast each other… that is GUARANTEED. Google ‘cannibalism’ for some examples of this….
The veneer will be quickly stripped off when the oil stops. Mr DNA will emerge… and he will fight for his very life…. but in this movie … the Borg loses… he’s finished… his grave was dug when that first atom was split.
https://cdn.quotesgram.com/img/30/78/1712319304-civilization-a-thin-veneer-over-barbarianism-quote-1.jpg
Why do you think they are fighting so hard to squeeze the last drop of Champagne out of BAU?
(I think this post belongs in the Doomsday Hall of Fame… no?)
If it is as bad as this, perhaps we would prefer a bad reaction to a COVID-19 vaccination.
I am almost certainly understating what collapse looks like.
How about if I were to capture 10 humans (3 powerful men with violent criminal backgrounds… 3 attractive women, and 4 succulent children) … and put them in a large cage with knives and baseball bats… for the first week I feed them and let them watch Netflix…
Then on the 8th day I unplug the TV and turn off the lights… and give them enough food for only one person to survive…
Everyone is now recoiling in horror having read that…. but what if I substituted rats for humans… that would make the experiment much more… palatable — no?
There is no reason to conduct such an experiment … as I do not think anyone believes that the 10 humans would hold hands and sing koombaya….
You’re right, collapse will be a bloodbath of extreme violence!
It’s interesting that I agree with all your points but not with the conclusion.
Again, you have no arguments supporting the fact that the oligarchs are ok with dying. They would have no problem holing up in a bunker – they are sociopaths. Remember they were researching exploding collars on security teams 10 years ago.
On the other hand, not everybody will end up as you describe. There are still people with a strong sense of tribal identity. Just as it happened in previous collapses, tribal groups will survive and create the new religions and cultures.
Think about the jews preserving some of the Babylonian culture or the romance speaking countries of Europe that lost all the fancy words. “casa”(house) is present in all romance languages but in latin it meant hovel.
And just like you the educated in previous collapses wrung their hands, complained and did nothing. At the same time the poor or the monks (poor by choice) saved the languages and bits and pieces of the culture.
I guess I am just tired of the constant whining. It reminds me of the kids crying when they don’t have a tablet. Talk to people that actually lived through disasters and ask them if they are ready to give up.
I am tiring of trying to explain things to someone with an 80 IQ.
Nomadic:
You see, IC is non negotiable. The post-IC “experience” would be dystopia.
It doesn’t matter if you hole up in a bunker or somehow survive in your doomstead.
You are not mentally equipped for that existence. It will just be endless misery, suffering, pain and disappointments. Repeat after me:
LIFE WILL SUCK
Rich or poor. There’s no escaping that. Don’t be fooled by the myopia of the ordinary painting a rosy picture of post IC existence.
Here’s a test for that if you doubt this. Create your own subsistence farm, cut out IC completely 100%. Do that for, say a year, no cheating if you get malnutrition, hunger, get injured or acutely ill.
You have no idea how fast you’d dump your delusions and head to the nearest hospital when your wife get some serious pregnancy complications.
Fast Eddy might be wrong, however he is for sure more aligned to objective reality than you. Do yourself a favor and forget about it all. Enjoy IC for what it is until it’s expiry date.
The storm is upon us. May Goddess, God, Faith bless and protect us.
fate
I found a Zombie!
1:18 mark
https://www.cheknews.ca/bc-greens-call-for-three-week-lockdown-761197/
If I was dictator I would have a Ministry Responsible for Drowning Greens.
FE, yes!
Have the greens suggested using flame throwers on any person found outside? I am sure the Vid can’t take the heat.
We can see how these things ratchet up. WW2 Germany seems oh so easy now.
CovIDIOTS keep telling me that the worst is over … in spite of ever increasing lockdowns… even showing them that Chile situation does not temper their glee…
I keep telling them that yes there will be a bit of loosening here and there… some carrots to entice the CovIDIOTS to take the lethal jab… but they’ll slam that shit down then move on to the next market and rinse repeat…
I actually try to bet one CovIDIOT that there will be more lockdowns in specific places … he won’t take the bait … I guess that’s because he told me this would be over last summer and that we’d be flying without quarantines when the vaccines rolled out…
He’s delusional … but when you put a wager on delusion… he comes to his senses… (momentarily at least)
I then bombard him with links to horror stories.. like this:
Michigan’s Virus Cases Are Out of Control, Putting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a Bind
Outbreaks are ripping through workplaces, restaurants, churches and family weddings. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients. Officials are reporting more than 7,000 new infections each day, a sevenfold increase from late February. And Michigan is home to nine of the 10 metro areas with the country’s highest recent case rates.
He slinks off to a corner and licks his wounds…
https://www.lifewithdogs.tv/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/5.29.15-Badly-Injured-Dog-Rescued-from-Guatamala1.jpg
Let us realize many are using this as an excuse for a two week vacation from work. Yeah boss I have the Vid, I have it bad.
‘A paediatric surgery assistant in Porto was found dead two days after receiving the Covid vaccine, her family claimed.
Sonia Acevedo, 41, who worked in paediatrics at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology in Porto, is, however, not said to have suffered any adverse side-effects after being vaccinated.
Watch: US nurse passes out after getting Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine
Acevedo’s father Abilio Acevedo told Portuguese media that ‘She was okay. She hadn’t had any health problems. She had the Covid-19 vaccine but she didn’t have any symptoms. I don’t know what happened. I just want answers. I want to know what led to my daughter’s death.’
Also read | Next four to six months could be worst of coronavirus pandemic: Bill Gates
He described her as a “well and happy” person who “never drank alcohol, didn’t eat anything special or out of the ordinary.”
As per Health Feedback, the Portuguese Ministry of Justice issued a statement on January 5, 2021 to inform the public that preliminary data from the autopsy showed “no evidence of a causal relationship between her death and the vaccine she received.”
However, the Ministry did not reveal the specific cause of death, citing the “secrecy of justice”.
I’M LOVING IT!!! Pushed that out to a few CovIDIOTS… with a note to ‘remind me of the upside of taking an experimental vaccine’…. as expected … radio silence hahahah
Despite fully vaccinating a quarter of its population and getting a single dose to 40%, Chile has seen its infection rate double since mid-February, rising from 177 daily cases per million to 372. More than 80% of the country has been forced to retreat back into lockdown.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9461219/Why-nations-relying-Chinas-Covid-vaccines-risk-waves.html
https://media1.tenor.com/images/39f79fadfbeee1d82833ea8e970c5ad3/tenor.gif
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/europes-covid-19-death-toll-013353476.html
Europe covid related deaths now over one million.
it must be because of all those careless conservative Republicans who live there.
Find why wearing masks, keeping distance and stay home will not improve health. Fact finding mission of a German court that ended lockdown orders as unconstitutional. Included a complete international literary reseach on scientific mask-studies. In German language.
https://www.wodarg.com/app/download/9059751314/Amtsgericht-Weimar-9-F-148-21-EAO-Beschluss-anonym-2021-04-08.pdf?t=1618093407
In America politicians do not let facts stand in the way of the truth.
LOL!
Russia move 80,000 troops to Ukraine border. Moves quanities of nuclear capable Iskander missle systems to Ukraine border.
OK corral
https://www.bitchute.com/video/bLDM4a8jHNlN/
BJM scrubbed the original letter by K. Polyakova to the editor, adding a warning about “misinformation”.. I saw the warning yesterday, but the letter was still there underneath it.
Not there today
.
Here’s a snip and the link I sent out to someone yesterday
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n810/rr-14
“Nevertheless, what I am currently struggling with is the failure to report the reality of the morbidity caused by our current vaccination program within the health service and staff population. The levels of sickness after vaccination is unprecedented and staff are getting very sick and some with neurological symptoms which is having a huge impact on the health service function. Even the young and healthy are off for days, some for weeks, and some requiring medical treatment. Whole teams are being taken out as they went to get vaccinated together.”
This letter to the editor at BMJ excerpts a bit of that scrubbed one and adds to it.
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n810/rapid-responses
Dear Editor
K Polyakova writes[1]:
“Nevertheless, what I am currently struggling with is the failure to report the reality of the morbidity caused by our current vaccination program within the health service and staff population.”
Or the population as a whole. As of 21 March the PfizerBioNTech product had received 40,883 Yellow Card reports from 13m doses (1 in 317) and the Oxford/AstraZeneca 99,817 from 15.8m doses (1 in 158), or precisely double the rate. The Pfizer had accumulated 116,627 total adverse reactions 283 of which were fatal and the Oxford 377,487 total adverse reactions of 421 were fatal [2,3,4].
Also, by now the US VAERS database has accumulated for the Pfizer and Moderna products 2,248 cases “where patient died”: this in barely 3 months is one fifth of the total number of reports for all vaccines “where patient died” (10,957) since the database began in 1990 [5,6].
Both Yellow Cards and VAERS are of course passive reporting systems which are only expected to pick up a fraction of the data.
[1] K Polyakova, ‘ Re: Do doctors have to have the covid-19 vaccine?’, 2 April 2021, https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n810/rr-14
[2]www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-adverse-…
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa…
[4] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa…
[5] https://medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=AGE&EVENTS=O…
[6] https://medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=AGE&EVENTS=O…
Competing interests: AgeofAutism.com, an on-line daily journal, concerns itself with the potential environmental sources for the proliferation of autism, neurological impairment, immune dysfunction and chronic disease. I receive no payment as UK Editor. I also moderate comments for the on-line journal ‘The Defender’ for which I am paid. I am also a member of the UK Medical Freedom Alliance
Review – Trends Parasitology – 2017 Jun
Ivermectin – Old Drug, New Tricks?
Roz Laing , Victoria Gillan , Eileen Devaney
Affiliations: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Garscube Estate, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK.
PMID: 28285851
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5446326/
IVM has also shown promise in the treatment of certain viral pathogens. Consistent with the inhibition of RNA helicase DDX23 referred to above, IVM inhibits viral replication of several flaviviruses by blocking a viral helicase [3]. Susceptible flaviviruses include those causing yellow fever, dengue, West Nile virus and tick borne encephalitis, and a patent application has been submitted for off-label antiflavivirus therapy in humans (patent application EP2010/065880). Encouragingly, serial passage of yellow fever virus with increasing concentrations of IVM did not appear to select for viral resistance, even after more than 30 passages over 6 months, leading the authors to conclude that adaptive mutations in the helicase domain may not be viable. In that study, no antiviral effect was detected in other genera of viruses, but inhibition of HIV-1 (and dengue) replication was reported after in vitro exposure to high concentrations (25–50 μM) of IVM. In this case, suppression of viral replication was thought to reflect disruption of viral protein trafficking between the host cell cytoplasm and nucleus by IVM inhibition of importin α/β-mediated transport [71].
This is an interesting review paper in that the authors branch off and tell a few stories about the history of Ivermectin. Here’s two quick ones.
In 1970, microbiologist Satoshi Ōmura collected a soil sample from woods close to a golf course in Kawana, on the south east coast of Honshu, Japan [6]. Ōmura isolated and cultured a Gram-positive bacterium, sample NRRL 8165–a then unknown species of Streptomyces, which was sent to William Campbell at Merck (along with 50 other strains of Streptomyces which were considered unusual in appearance or culture characteristics) to test for antiparasitic effects. NRRL 8165 cultures showed potent activity against Nematospiroides dubius (now known as Heligomosoides polygyrus) infection in mice, and the active components were purified, revealing a family of macrocyclic lactones. These naturally occurring compounds were named the avermectins (and the bacterium, Streptomyces avermitilis) to reflect the worm-free ‘averminous’ conditions they produced 7, 8.
While the potential value of IVM in the livestock and companion animal health market was recognised from the start, there was very little financial incentive to produce IVM for the human health market. However, its efficacy against the filarial nematodes responsible for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis, moved Dr Roy Vagelos, CEO of Merck & Co., to donate as much IVM (licensed as Mectizan) ‘as was needed, for as long as needed, to anyone who needed it’ [21]. Since 1987, the Mectizan Donation Program has approved 1.4 billion treatments for the control and elimination of onchocerciasis, and 1.2 billion treatments (administered with albendazole, donated by GlaxoSmithKline) for the control and elimination of lymphatic filariasis (http://www.mectizan.org/resources/2014-annual-highlights).
Where is Harry Mcgibbs!!!😾
still living large on Islay?
Only moderately large, alas. A snapback in work keeping me on my toes!
CYA Cover Your 🐂 Full Disclosure …
Government and investors are quickly moving to quantify the risks posed by climate change and make that part of their financial decision-making. But many companies remain unsure how to measure the threat of climate change to their business, and whether or how to report those risks to investors and the public.
Financial regulators in the US are grappling with that question now. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened a 90-day public comment period in March that will inform the first update to federal climate risk disclosure guidelines in a decade. Shareholder groups and asset managers like BlackRock (CEO Larry Fink wrote in February that “climate risk is investment risk”) are pressuring boardrooms to improve corporate transparency around climate risks. Without better disclosure, corporate managers have little incentive to avoid plowing capital into assets and supply chains that could collapse after natural disasters and dump massive costs on insurers, investors, customers, and the global economy.
From Yahoo News Quartz
Looks like more paperwork, Lawyers and Government….that should help things
This is another way to add to employment, even if the result is pretty much worthless.
Devil Covid is Under Construction:
https://lockdownsceptics.org/2021/04/11/uk-nears-40-million-first-and-second-vaccine-doses/
Lockdowns are easing in the UK… and fewer fake PCR tests are being run .. to create the impression that the vaccines stop the spread of Covid….
Those on the vaccine fence will come to mamma soon… then those who still refuse will get some heavy coercion to bring them into line…
The Borg is oblivious to what is transpiring….
http://www.wolfsongnews.org/news/wolfdog/doc4dfd8fe736d71055634149.jpg
In this 3 minute video of what looks like a TED talk style presentation, Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks refers to Moderna mRNA vaccine technology as an “operating system” and also talks about how it can be used to change lines of code in human genes.
I have lots of connotations watching this video.
“Denn sie wissen nicht was sie tun” — scientists have no complete view of our immune systems and how cells operate in all its facettes. It’s a black box. (E.g. how else would you explain that no one knows what is really triggering allergies and how to heal them.)
At least one person pushing for vaccinations (B.G.) has shown that humans are even unable to cope with their own creation and properly protect it (Windows OS and all its vulnerabilities and BS upgrade options).
Do you want to put that model to software of life?
“Sorry your vaxx OS expired, please upgrade to version 2025 or you’ll be dead. That is not how life works.”
His parable with the burglar is complete BS. There is even a song “911 is a joke”. The optimal reaction for you is to cope with the burglar yourself — how about to shoot the burglar or say “Hello” to him with a spade or hammer blow.
Of course that also fits with other political actions taken following the same script of “learned helplessness”: Remove the ability to cope with all kinds of things yourself and make you dependent on some bullshit introduced by someone who wants you to obey his rules.
That is a common theme in medicine, software/computers, money/trade,
self protection …
… and it will not end well.
It is hard to see how this can be a good idea, especially with as little testing as has been done.
Gail, you are The Best!! I love your analysis of the state of the economy. You have an ability to see past all the wordy fluff and zero in on the heart of the matter. Right now the debates go on about the role of central banks, inflation, deflation, quantitative easing, and all the other words and phrases used by economists to try to understand what is happening now and what could happen in our future. However when I think of “future”, I don’t think next week, next month, or next year.
All those factors and manipulations effect to some degree what is happening NOW and what will occur in the VERY near future. But are they truly relevant when you look long term. 10, 20 30 years, and more, into the future. I think, not.
The future of mankind has always been predetermined by the physical limitations described by a six letter word. We all know the word. The one in the title of this web site. “Our FINITE world” Yes, “Finite”. As was inevitable, we are running out of “stuff”. There is only a FINITE amount of all the different kinds of “stuff “we consume. Oil, coal, Natural gas, iron,copper, rare earth minerals, etc. The list goes on. Let’s face it. Life as we now know it is an aberration in the history of our 4+ billion year old planet Earth.
We face a future devoid of or with a very limited amount of most of the “stuff” we use today. The 7+ billion people will end up pared down to perhaps 1 billion or possibly even fewer individuals. Finite is finite. But, I think I agree with all of you. Let’s enjoy every day we have in this current world in which we live and embrace our “place in the sun”. Another great article, Gail.
You are welcome.
There seem to be people who are confused by the title. Several people have confused the title with “Our Infinite World.” Someone even introduced me in an interview as being from “Our Infinite World.”
Hey, this is something serious so.
Yahoo News
Citing grave threat, Scientific American replaces ‘climate change’ with ‘climate emergency’
David Knowles·Editor
Mon, April 12, 2021, 2:16 PM
Scientific American magazine announced Monday that it would stop using the term “climate change” in articles about man-made global warming and substitute “climate emergency” instead.
“Journalism should reflect what science says: the climate emergency is here,” Scientific American senior editor Mark Fischetti said in a Monday post about the magazine’s decision.
Brother, you ain’t seen nothing yet as far as an emergency goes…
SA, desperate like so much other media to not go out of business due to financial pressures, makes a public relations announcement in order to draw attention to itself and hopefully get an increase in subscribers from out of the millions of potential “woke” customers whom SA feels must be out there ready to subscribe if only they knew how “woke” SA also is.
Or they are better reflecting the science on this.
or their hysteria reflects their lack of grasping the common usage of the word “emergency”.
Bigg GR (2016) Icebergs: their science and links to global change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Spring icebergs in the North Atlantic have become more frequent since the 1980s. More icebergs are caused by *more ice* in the Arctic, which in Spring starts breaking up and floating South on the labrador Current. An emergency for the Titanic, perhaps, but not for modern vessels. And certainly not for us.
Mike,
unlike most people here, I do think there is a climate emergency.
But I agree with David – SA is an establishment paper, they don’t give a rat’s ass about the climate threat, only about the money.
In general I don’t talk about CC at all. Instead I talk about pollution and environmental degradation – even hardcore CC deniers care about the air they breathe and the trees in their backyard. More importantly, we can do something in our small community about pollution and trying to stop the destruction.
Very few people think about abstractions like CC.
https://i.ibb.co/QPjWCRF/capitalism-is-the-virus.jpg
it’s almost guaranteed that they got their paint from a capitalist business.
And?
https://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-the-human-race-will-be-the-cancer-of-the-planet-julian-huxley-294092.jpg
Normally with an infestation you’d call the exterminator….
http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/rat-infestation.jpeg
https://miro.medium.com/max/2400/1*jqWc80kqShR3dD3XEpTl4g.png
For OFWers who are AI reluctant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAn_oiZwUXA
check out 13 minutes to 21 minutes
AI is a protector for generations to come….
Digital humans are mentioned at the 35 minute mark.
At 1:07 we have AI fourth gen enterprise revolution
Meanwhile A1 cannot even perform this simple task
https://s-i.huffpost.com/gen/1429445/images/o-CAPTCHA-facebook.jpg
https://apnews.com/press-release/accesswire/technology-technology-issues-digitization-spamming-artificial-intelligence-9e2aec49792c3a1e31c1f94f1a5e7ede
we human are working to train our AI friends
Yes, that’s how it works.
So adorable.
☺️
Wrong.
All that is happening is that the hackers are programming their apps to recognize new Captchas… this is NOT AI. A simple tweak that any human can recognize completely confuses the ‘AI’
Computers are not intelligent – any more than a hammer is intelligent. And never will be.
This AI bullshit is part of the matrix that convinces us that technology can overcome anything – including peak oil.
FE, I agree with you current “AI” is as dumb as a rock.
I have high hopes for switched transformer networks with 10E15 weights in the year 2024.
For the Kiwis
http://www.science.auckland.ac.nz/people/profile/m-witbrock
Professor University of Auckland.
Michael is building a research group, the Broad AI Lab, at the intersection of machine learning, reasoning and natural language understanding
Feel free to contact him to offer funding … I am sure he’ll be interested to take your cash 🙂
I am trying to convince him to start an AI company with me for robot apple picking. Would you, FE, like to invest? My wife says we get a lot of apples from New Zealand. But are they infected with the Vid?
For ED at 0659. Natural language translation by machine was abandoned as infeasible years ago. The current scam is to use human translation: phrases are pulled out of the source language and matched against phrases translated into the target language by mere stupid apes. Simple data base lookup.
And the reason has always been obvious: true natural language understanding requires knowledge of the “qualia”, which the AI people of course claim do not exist, because they cannot be programmed into a computer.
FE, once again I think you are correct. Computers are good at pattern recognition, but solving a Captcha requires a very different skill: semantic recognition. Which computers cannot do.
Example: “click on every picture with a traffic light”. The picture has a vertical pole with at the top a horizontal arm, whose end is just outside the picture. Is it a traffic light? But wait: the arm hangs over a road intersection. Problem solved. Click. You are recognising not the shape of a traffic light, but the *meaning* of a traffic light.
Most likely.
https://blog.piekniewski.info/2020/06/08/ai-the-no-bullshit-approach/
(AI – the no bullshit approach) [Posted 10 months ago by Filip Piekniewski]
“Deep learning is no magic and is just yet another way to construct computer programs.”
“Deep learning, even though enjoying great success in non critical applications, due to it’s inherent statistical nature is bound to fail in applications where close to 100% reliability is needed.”
https://blog.piekniewski.info/2016/08/18/adversarial-red-flag/
(Adversarial red flag) [Posted August 18, 2016 by Filip Piekniewski]
“Deep nets can be made to fail on purpose. …”
“… Now the scary part is that it works. And the most scary is that it works very well.”
“It is often enough to modify the picture just a tiny bit (not even perceivable to a human in most cases) in order to make the network confidently (very confidently!) report something which is clearly not there. ”
Now you know why your Tesla on auto-pilot might crash into concrete or why your car crash assistent in another vendor’s vehicle might warn w/o cause because of a “false positive” categorization.
But …
isn’t it about time to deploy AI to all defense systems we have to automatically launch counter-attacks.
What can go wrong?
https://eu.usatoday.com/videos/news/have-you-seen/2021/03/05/starling-birds-form-into-shape-giant-bird/4591159001/
(Hint: Stop at about 9 or 17 seconds into the video)
Jarvis speaks with expression and emotion you can control. No more mechanical talk, 1:25 mark.
As long as the oil and natural gas keep flowing we should have human level AI in ten years. Yippee!
We can skip the twenty years of expense to get a barely usable human and instead make a chip load the program and get an expert with the knowledge of a ten thousand years of experience ready to work.
Not to worry there will be UBI for Klaus, Lagarde, Gates, Fauci, Xi, and Hunter.
Of course, their definition of ‘basic needs’ will be quite different from the one they have devised for what remain of us.
A small castle in Switzerland with guards and full domestic staff, gardeners, etc, doesn’t come cheap….
I find it fascinating that they make the most elementary mistake, and confuse instant access to data (AI God-Mind) with knowledge, let alone wisdom.
Wisdom, humanity – such out-of-date legacy concepts, away with them!
For Fast Eddy :
Why should we need AI better than humans, when we do not need humans in the first place?
AI, right around the corner for how long now?
Yawn ..
Last Thursday’s ‘i’ newspaper [UK] had an article entitled “40 Covid billionaires join ‘Forbes’ ranking of the world’s wealthiest people”. Unfortunately, I cannot find the article online via google or the Independent’s website, but the Mail covered the same issue:
The ‘Covid’ billionaires: Forbes reveals the 40 people worth $77.9billion who have seen their fortunes soar due to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, including 14 from China
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9444481/Forbes-reveals-40-people-seen-fortunes-soar-fighting-coronavirus-pandemi.html
“40 of those that joined became billionaires because of their Covid-19 related business ventures, such as vaccines, testing systems and PPE distribution”
Being in the right place at the right time helps. Lots of money to borrow cheaply.
Even those here on this blog can understand this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8GfVFTFmnc
Well, some.
Yep, she’s coming through loud and clear:
https://www.mintz.com/our-people/trudy-u-rey-phd
“Trudy is a registered patent agent with eight years of experience preparing and prosecuting US and international pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical device patents. She has experience drafting and prosecuting patents in the areas of molecular biology, virology, immunology, biochemistry, genetics, drug delivery, stem cell biology, and nanotechnology.”
Yep, a virologist, working in law prosecution .
I’m sure firms like Mintz hate well informed advisories.
She is very knowledgable.
Capitalists often cheat– she calls them on it.
Yea I saw that too. Wierd… that she is pushing Covid vaccine
Another soulless bio-corporate whore – simply nauseating.
Where’s the long-term data, Judy? Oh, you don’t even have mid-term?
It used to be thought rather important in this field.
“In this trilingual video I describe the composition of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in use, and why they are safe.”
“and why they are safe.” Enough said
Thank you for the feedback…now I DO understand….
She does have a nice 😁 smile and I listened in all three languages!
Does the video explain how they overcame these problems? If so I will definitely watch!!!
Developing a vaccine often takes a couple of decades or longer, but the federal government is aiming to develop a SARS vaccine in just three years. Scientists at the Vaccine Research Center are attacking the problem on several fronts, although some question whether a SARS vaccine is even possible.
https://www.wired.com/2003/05/feds-race-to-make-sars-vaccine/