Apr 242020
 


Banksy Girl With a Pierced Eardrum (and face mask) 2020

 

Americans Prioritize Staying Home, Worry Restrictions Will Lift Too Fast (CBS)
Doctors Rethink Rush To Ventilate (R.)
First Known US COVID19 Death Occurred On Feb. 6 In Santa Clara County (SFC)
Chinese Scientists ‘Unable To Judge’ If US Lab Is Virus Source (Global Times)
House Passes $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package (Hill)
Fed Balance Sheet Increases To Record $6.62 Trillion (R.)
No, Trump Did Not Put A Labradoodle Breeder In Charge Of Covid19 Response (DN)
Lawmaker Who Thanked Trump To Face Censure Vote From Michigan Democrats (JTN)
News Outlets Have Received Millions In Forgivable Stimulus Loans (JTN)
Ousted US Health Official To File Whistleblower Complaint (R.)
WTO Report Says 80 Countries Limiting Exports Of Face Masks, Other Gear (R.)
Biden Campaign’s Outside Economic Advisers Include Larry Summers (R.)
Steele Testified Emails Were Wiped, No Docs Related To Primary Source (DC)
Insect Numbers Down 25% Since 1990 (G.)
Banksy’s ‘Girl with a Pierced Eardrum’ Gains A Coronavirus Face Mask (R.)

 

 

• US records 3,176 #coronavirus deaths in 24 hours – total fatalities near 50,000: Johns Hopkins tally

• The US has 866,646 confirmed cases, up 26,971 from the previous day

 

 

Yaneer Bar-Yam
@yaneerbaryam

• Our Getting to Zero list:
Yesterday new cases:
South Korea +11
Greece +7
Iceland +7
Estonia +7
Australia +4
Hong Kong +4
New Zealand +3
Jordan +2
Taiwan +1
Vietnam 0

 

 

 

Cases 2,745,469 (+ 89,078 from yesterday’s 2,656,391)

Deaths 191,791 (+ 6,635 from yesterday’s 185,156 )

 

 

 

From Worldometer yesterday evening -before their day’s close-

 

 

From Worldometer – NOTE: among Active Cases, Serious or Critical fell to 3%. Among Closed Cases, Deaths have fallen to 20%

 

 

From SCMP:

 

 

From COVID19Info.live: Note: Turkey, Russia, UK are the biggest risers

 

 

 

 

Or maybe it’s simply too soon?

Americans Prioritize Staying Home, Worry Restrictions Will Lift Too Fast (CBS)

Health concerns still take precedence over economic concerns by a wide margin for Americans in their views on when to reopen the economy — both in what they want for the nation, and in what they’d do themselves. Many say they need to be confident the coronavirus outbreak is over before returning to public places, and big majorities of all partisans agree the stay-at-home orders are effective. The health concerns may be so salient that even for those whose finances have been impacted and even for those concerned about job loss, most of them still worry the country will open up too fast. 63% of Americans are more worried about restrictions lifting too fast and worsening the outbreak — than worry about lifting restrictions too slowly and worsening the economy.

And what would Americans actually do if restrictions were lifted right now? Would anyone show up to public places or would they be too worried about health risks? That could be the most important factor in the economy. Only 13% say they would definitely return to public places over the next few weeks if restrictions were lifted right now, regardless of what else happened with the outbreak. Almost half — 48% — say they would not return to public places until they were confident the outbreak was over. Another 39% are “maybes”: they’d return depending on whether they saw the outbreak getting better. These views are not decidedly partisan: most Republicans are “maybes” at best, as are most Democrats and independents.

Small numbers for specific things:
• Only 13% would be comfortable going to a large sports or entertainment event.
• Only 15% would be comfortable getting on an airplane.
• 29% would be comfortable going to restaurants or bars.

Read more …

Just a few lines from a long Reuters piece, which leaves you realizing there are as many doctors and studies as there are opinions. And when you read that in some cases 90% of people put on ventilators die, it’s obvious some people got some things pretty wrong.

Doctors Rethink Rush To Ventilate (R.)

Luciano Gattinoni, a guest professor at the Department of Anaesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, University of Göttingen in Germany, and a renowned expert in ventilators, was one of the first to raise questions about how they should be used to treat COVID-19. “I realised as soon as I saw the first CT scan … that this had nothing to do with what we had seen and done for the past 40 years,” he told Reuters. In a paper published by the American Thoracic Society on March 30, Gattinoni and other Italian doctors wrote that COVID-19 does not lead to “typical” respiratory problems. Patients’ lungs were working better than they would expect for ARDS, they wrote – they were more elastic. So, he said, mechanical ventilation should be given “with a lower pressure than the one we are used to.”

Ventilating some COVID-19 sufferers as if they were standard patients with ARDS is not appropriate, he told Reuters. “It’s like using a Ferrari to go to the shop next door, you press on the accelerator and you smash the window.” The Italians were swiftly followed by Cameron Kyle-Sidell, a New York physician who put out a talk on YouTube saying that by preparing to put patients on ventilators, hospitals in America were treating “the wrong disease.” Ventilation, he feared, would lead to “a tremendous amount of harm to a great number of people in a very short time.” This remains his view, he told Reuters this week. When Spain’s outbreak erupted in mid-March, many patients went straight onto ventilators because lung X-rays and other test results “scared us,” said Delia Torres, a physician at the Hospital General Universitario de Alicante.

They now focus more on breathing and a patient’s overall condition than just X-rays and tests. And they intubate less. “If the patient can get better without it, then there’s no need,” she said. In Germany, lung specialist Voshaar was also concerned. A mechanical ventilator itself can damage the lungs, he says. This means patients stay in intensive care longer, blocking specialist beds and creating a vicious circle in which ever more ventilators are needed. Of the 36 acute COVID-19 patients on his ward in mid-April, Voshaar said, one had been intubated – a man with a serious neuro-muscular disorder – and he was the only patient to die. Another 31 had recovered.

Read more …

The virus was in the US in January.

First Known US COVID19 Death Occurred On Feb. 6 In Santa Clara County (SFC)

A person who died at home in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6 was infected with the coronavirus at the time of death, a stunning discovery that makes that individual the first recorded COVID-19 fatality in the United States, according to autopsy results released by public health officials late Tuesday. That death — three weeks before the first fatality was reported in the U.S., in Washington state on Feb. 28 — adds to increasing evidence that the virus was in the country far earlier than once thought. Santa Clara County on Tuesday announced three previously unidentified deaths from the coronavirus: the Feb. 6 case; one on Feb. 17, which also predates the death that was earlier believed to be the first; and one on March 6. Initially, the first death in the county had been reported March 9.

“What it means is we had coronavirus circulating in the community much earlier than we had documented and much earlier than we had thought,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s public health officer. “Those deaths probably represent many, many more infections. And so there had to be chains of transmission that go back much earlier.” Cody did not provide details about the people who died in February but said the deaths “tell us we had community transmission – probably significant community transmission – far before we realized it and documented it.” “From what we understand, neither of the cases had a history of travel,” Cody said. “So we assume that they were acquired locally.”

People typically die of COVID-19 about a month after they are infected with the coronavirus, suggesting that the person who died Feb. 6 likely was infected in early January. At that time, the virus had been reported only in China — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not yet issued any advisories to Americans about the potential threat.

Read more …

Predictably, Chinese state media strike back. What caught my eye is:

“..infected more than 2.6 million Americans with nearly 20,000 deaths as of 4:30 pm Thursday.”

Worldometer, as I write this, says 886,000 infections and 50,000 deaths.

Chinese Scientists ‘Unable To Judge’ If US Lab Is Virus Source (Global Times)

Responding to viral reports alleging that the novel coronavirus was leaked from a US military biochemical laboratory, Chinese scientists said that they could not make a judgment on the allegation, as the US had not given any public response on the issue. Shi Yi, a research fellow from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, made the remarks at a press conference Thursday, noting that the origin of the virus is a scientific issue requiring a long period of research and involves a great deal of uncertainty. The remarks came amid circulating reports alleging that the Fort Detrick laboratory, which handles high-level disease-causing materials such as Ebola, in Fredrick, Maryland, may be the origin of the deadly novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 2.6 million Americans with nearly 20,000 deaths as of 4:30 pm Thursday.


The lab was ordered to shut down in July 2019, reportedly for multiple causes, including failure to follow local procedures and a lack of periodic recertification training for workers in the biocontainment laboratories. Some other posts on social media platforms also alleged that a US armed diplomatic driver and cyclist who was in Wuhan in October 2019 for the cycling competition in the Military World Games, could be patient zero for COVID-19 in Wuhan. Netizens from both China and the US have called on the US government to respond to public concerns over the above mentioned issues. Some have even launched a petition on the White House website, but the US government has not made any comment so far.

Read more …

The US political system is inherently incapable of getting this right. Not going to happen.

House Passes $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package (Hill)

The House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation providing roughly $484 billion in coronavirus relief for small businesses, hospitals and expanded medical testing, capping weeks of contentious negotiations that had stalled Washington’s latest round of emergency aid. The vote was 388-5-1, with four conservative Republicans breaking with GOP leaders to oppose the measure, citing its effect on federal deficit. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also voted against the measure, while Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) voted present. The four Republicans who voted “no” were House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Jody Hice (Ga.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.).


The legislation, which the Senate passed unanimously on Tuesday, now goes to the desk of President Trump, who has promised to sign it quickly into law. The massive package is the fourth coronavirus bill to move through Congress over the last seven weeks, and brings the federal response to the global pandemic up to a whopping $2.8 trillion — by far the largest emergency relief effort in modern U.S. history. It came after two weeks of tense talks between the White House, led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the top Democrats in both chambers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), over the scope and direction of the latest infusion of emergency funds.

Read more …

By now fully meaningless numbers for 99% of the population.

Fed Balance Sheet Increases To Record $6.62 Trillion (R.)

The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet increased to a record $6.62 trillion this week as the central bank used its nearly unlimited buying power to soak up assets to keep markets functioning amid an abrupt economic free fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since early March, the Fed has slashed interest rates to zero, restarted bond purchases and rolled out an unprecedented range of programs to keep credit flowing and shore up business and household confidence. The central bank’s balance sheet as of Wednesday rose about $200 billion from $6.42 trillion a week earlier. That is up from just $4.29 trillion in the first week of March. It is now the equivalent of roughly 30% of the size of the U.S. economy before the crisis struck, and will certainly grow larger in the weeks ahead as the Fed keeps piling on assets and the economy shrinks.


The central bank continued to snap up Treasury securities, mortgage bonds and other assets, according to data released on Thursday. The Fed’s holdings of mortgage-backed securities rose to $1.62 trillion from $1.57 trillion. Treasury holdings rose to $3.91 trillion from $3.79 trillion. Use of the Fed’s central bank liquidity swap lines, which allow foreign central banks to exchange their local currencies for dollars, rose to $409.7 billion on Wednesday from $378.3 billion the previous week. Loan balances for the Fed’s discount window, its last-resort lending program for banks, fell to $33.7 billion from $36.3 billion a week ago.

Read more …

Worked for CNN though. They need new stories every day, or people will switch off.

No, Trump Did Not Put A Labradoodle Breeder In Charge Of Covid19 Response (DN)

No, the Trump administration did not put a professional dog breeder from Dallas in charge of COVID-19 response. Yes, the chief of staff at the Department of Health and Human Services briefly owned a family business raising Labradoodles. But he’s also served three administrations in high level posts at HHS, the White House and the Pentagon. Colleagues who hired Harrison and served with him in government were appalled to see him disparaged Thursday as a mere “dog breeder,” as if Joe Exotic had catapulted from tiger king to head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


“This is so silly. He went home and worked in a family business,” said Jack Kalavritinos, who served with Harrison at HHS during the administrations of both George W. Bush and President Donald Trump, most recently as director for intergovernmental and external affairs, working on the opioid crisis and drug prices. “Brian was a no-brainer pick,” said another colleague, Michael Reilly, who hired Harrison for his first job at HHS under Bush. “His private sector experience is irrelevant.…He was a complete known commodity who had extensive experience.” Trump’s irritation with Harrison’s current boss, Secretary Alex Azar, has been apparent for months and some confidants suspect that he’s has gotten caught in the crossfire of a classic Washington ritual: finger pointing.

Read more …

“At the end of the day, we have political systems,” Jonathan Kinloch, district chair of Michigan 13th Congressional District Democratic Party said according to The Detroit News. “We have political parties, and political parties exist for a reason.”

Lawmaker Who Thanked Trump To Face Censure Vote From Michigan Democrats (JTN)

Michigan Democratic state Rep. Karen Whitsett, publicly expressed her gratitude toward President Trump for her coronavirus recovery, and now she is facing possible censure from her fellow Democrats. Whitsett has indicated that the president may have helped save her life by publicly discussing the drug hydroxychloroquine, which she says helped her to recover. The Detroit Free Press reported that when questioned about “whether she thinks Trump may have saved her life, Whitsett said: ‘Yes, I do,’ and ‘I do thank him for that.'” Whitsett earlier this month met with the president at a meeting of coronavirus survivors and expressed her gratitude. “At the end of the day, we have political systems,” Jonathan Kinloch, district chair of Michigan 13th Congressional District Democratic Party said according to The Detroit News.


“We have political parties, and political parties exist for a reason.” “I’m a Democrat, and I plan on continuing to be a Democrat, but they will change their ways,” Whitsett said according to the outlet. “I have my First Amendment right, and no one will take that away from me.” The Detroit News reports that one of the items mentioned in the resolution to censure Whitsett says she “‘has repeatedly and publicly praised the president’s delayed and misguided COVID-19 response efforts in contradiction with the scientifically based and action-oriented response’ from Michigan’s Democratic leadership, ‘endangering the health, safety and welfare of her constituents, the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan.'”

Read more …

Shouldn’t they be able to sell more papers? If not now, when?

News Outlets Have Received Millions In Forgivable Stimulus Loans (JTN)

News outlets are receiving tens-of-millions in federal stimulus money as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that President Trump signed into law, among them such venerable newspapers as The Seattle Times and Tampa Bay Times. The money is coming through forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans under the CARES Act that Congress passed last month. According to the Small Business Administration, businesses with under 500 employees can apply for PPP loans, which are forgivable if they are used for qualifying expenses such as payroll costs and rent. However, it’s unclear whether any of the news outlets intend to repay the money, or how much they’ll repay.


The Tampa Bay newspaper, which received an $8.5 million loan, told Just the News on Thursday that its chairman and CEO, Paul Tash, says the federal government will “likely forgive much of the loan” and that the “remaining balance” will carry an interest rate of 1 percent. The Seattle Times received a $9.9 million PPP forgivable loan from the federal government. In its voluntary announcement of the loan, the Seattle Times stated that the loan is forgivable but didn’t specify whether the company plans to repay any of the money. The paper did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The media outlet Axios, based in Arlington, Va., disclosed that it had received a forgivable PPP loan of roughly $5 million. Axios did not respond when asked if it plans to repay the loan.

Read more …

Why has the word whistleblower been injected here? Wrongful dismissal doesn’t sound catchy enough?

Ousted US Health Official To File Whistleblower Complaint (R.)

Lawyers for the ousted director of a U.S. agency responsible for the development of drugs to fight the COVID-19 pandemic said on Thursday he will file a whistleblower’s complaint with two government offices over his reassignment. Rick Bright said on Wednesday he was replaced as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, because he resisted the Trump administration’s efforts to push hydroxychloroquine and the related chloroquine as cures for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the malaria drugs as a treatment for coronavirus though few studies suggest a possible benefit.


“In our filing we will make clear that Dr. Bright was sidelined for one reason only — because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly when used improperly,” his lawyers said in a statement. His lawyers said they will file the complaint with the Office of Special Counsel and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Inspector General. Bright hopes he will be reinstated in his post at BARDA once the facts of the case become known, his lawyers said. The Office of Special Counsel, an independent U.S. government agency, investigates and can prosecute abuses against federal employees.

Read more …

Wonder how this will evolve when food gets scarce.

WTO Report Says 80 Countries Limiting Exports Of Face Masks, Other Gear (R.)

Eighty countries and customs territories have banned or limited the export of face masks, protective gear, gloves and other goods to mitigate shortages since the coronavirus outbreak began, the World Trade Organization reported on Thursday. It said the bans were imposed by 72 WTO members and eight non-WTO member countries, but only 13 WTO members had notified the global trade body as required by its regulations. Lack of transparency about restrictions and failure to cooperate internationally could undermine efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease, which has infected 2.64 million people around the world and killed 184,910, the WTO said.


“While the introduction of export-restrictive measures is understandable, the lack of international cooperation in these areas risks cutting off import-reliant countries from desperately needed medical products and triggering a supply shock,” the WTO report said. “And by interfering with established medical supply chains, such measures also risk hampering the urgently required supply response.” Export bans and restrictions are generally prohibited in the WTO, although there are exceptions which allow temporary measures to “prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to the exporting contracting party.” Travel restrictions had already slowed the flow of goods needed to fight the pandemic, but export restrictions made it difficult for governments and businesses to adjust purchasing decisions and find new suppliers, the report said.

Read more …

As someone remarked: Jeffrey Epstein wasn’t available.

Biden Campaign’s Outside Economic Advisers Include Larry Summers (R.)

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, an academic and longtime economic aide to Democratic presidents, is among the people now advising Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, according to two people familiar with the matter. Summers is a renowned economist with long ties to presidential administrations, including Barack Obama’s. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, served as Obama’s vice president. Summers is viewed critically by some liberals, who view his policy prescriptions as too centrist. Dozens of economic and public health policy officials are briefing Biden ahead of the Nov. 3 election, when Republican President Donald Trump hopes to win a second term.


If he is elected, Biden would be faced with a U.S. economy scarred by a pandemic that has brought large segments to a standstill, forced more than 26 million people to seek unemployment benefits since March 21, and raised the prospect of job losses not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Before then, Biden has to bring together his own party behind his candidacy, including liberals who once backed Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The two senators have both endorsed Biden, but it is not clear how many of their supporters will turn out to vote for Biden. [..] “Joe Biden’s will be the most progressive agenda of any president in generations, and he looks forward to his continuing engagement with progressive leaders to build on his existing policies and further the bold goals driving his campaign,” [an] adviser said.

Read more …

Simple question: who did the wiping and deleting?

Steele Testified Emails Were Wiped, No Docs Related To Primary Source (DC)

The former MI6 officer made the disclosures during a March 17-18 deposition in a defamation case related to the dossier. The DCNF obtained a transcript of the deposition. Steele suggested in a Dec. 10 statement that he had evidence that would shed light on what his main dossier source told him back in 2016, when Steele was working for the firm Fusion GPS to investigate the Trump campaign. Steele’s statement was a response to an IG report released the day before that said that Steele’s source — dubbed the “Primary Sub-Source” — told the FBI in January 2017 that Steele misrepresented or embellished information in the dossier. That bombshell severely undermined Steele’s report, which the FBI used as part of its investigation into the Trump campaign.

In a rebuttal to the IG, Steele’s lawyers disputed what the dossier source purportedly told the FBI, and said that the source’s debriefings to Steele “were meticulously documented and recorded.” They also asserted that if Steele had been given a chance to respond to the IG report, “the statements by the ‘Primary Sub-Source’ would be put in a different light.” It is unclear if Steele made audio or video recordings of the debriefings with the source, or if the retired spy was referring to written or electronic documents. It is also unclear whether Steele got rid of the information himself, or if it was lost through other means. Steele’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

The status of the information was revealed during an exchange Steele had on March 18 with Hugh Tomlinson, a lawyer for Petr Aven, German Khan, and Mikhail Fridman, the owners of Alfa Bank. The three Russian bankers are suing Steele for defamation over a memo in the dossier that accused them of making illicit payments to Vladimir Putin. Tomlinson pressed Steele over the accuracy of his memo, as well as his relationship with “Primary Sub-Source,” the transcript shows. The lawyer asked Steele about the existence of the documents and recordings that his attorneys mentioned in their rebuttal to the IG report. “But none of these documents exist, so they have all been destroyed?” a lawyer asked Steele. “They no longer exist,” Steele said.

Steele indicated that many other records related to the dossier were deleted, including from a personal email account he used for the Fusion GPS project. “As I understand your position, you have no contemporaneous notes or emails, save for your notes of interactions with the FBI; is that right?” Tomlinson asked. “I believe that is true, yes,” Steele replied. Steele said he had no records related to the creation of his dossier memos, including “Report 112” from the dossier, which dealt with the Alfa Bank owners. “You have no record of anything, have you?” Tomlinson asked. “I haven’t got any records relating to the creation of 112,” said Steele.

Read more …

So 75% in Germany, France, but only a third of that overall? Anything to do with population density?

Insect Numbers Down 25% Since 1990 (G.)

The biggest assessment of global insect abundances to date shows a worrying drop of almost 25% in the last 30 years, with accelerating declines in Europe that shocked scientists. The analysis combined 166 long-term surveys from almost 1,700 sites and found that some species were bucking the overall downward trend. In particular, freshwater insects have been increasing by 11% each decade following action to clean up polluted rivers and lakes. However, this group represent only about 10% of insect species and do not pollinate crops. Researchers said insects remained critically understudied in many regions, with little or no data from South America, south Asia and Africa.

Rapid destruction of wild habitats in these places for farming and urbanisation is likely to be significantly reducing insect populations, they said. Insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times, and are essential to the ecosystems humanity depends upon. They pollinate plants, are food for other creatures and recycle nature’s waste. The previous largest assessment, based on 73 studies, led scientists to warn of “catastrophic consequences for the survival of mankind” if insect losses were not halted. Its estimated rate of decline was more than double that in the new study. Other experts estimate 50% of insects have been lost in the last 50 years. Recent analyses from some locations have found collapses in insect abundance, such as 75% in Germany and 98% in Puerto Rico.

The new, much broader study found a lower rate of losses. However, Roel van Klink, of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research in Leipzig, who led the research, said: “This 24% is definitely something to be concerned about. It’s a quarter less than when I was a kid. One thing people should always remember is that we really depend on insects for our food.” The research, published in the journal Science, also examined how the rate of loss was changing over time. “Europe seems to be getting worse now – that is striking and shocking. But why that is, we don’t know,” said van Klink. In North America, the declines are flattening off, but at a low level.

Read more …

Ever seen him do anything wrong?

Banksy’s ‘Girl with a Pierced Eardrum’ Gains A Coronavirus Face Mask (R.)

Banksy’s “Girl with a Pierced Eardrum” has been updated for the coronavirus era with the addition of a blue surgical face mask. The mural, a take on Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” but with a security alarm replacing the pearl, was painted on a harbourside building in the street artist’s home city of Bristol in west England in 2014. It is not known whether Banksy, whose identity is a closely guarded secret, or somebody else attached the fabric face mask to the painted girl.


The newly adorned mural did not appear on Banksy’s Instagram page where he usually posts images of his work. The COVID-19 pandemic has already inspired the artist. He unveiled a scene of his trademark stencilled rats running amok in a bathroom rather than on the streets last week, reflecting official advice form the British government to stay at home. “My wife hates it when I work from home,” he commented alongside the photos.

Read more …

 

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Home Forums Debt Rattle April 24 2020

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 44 total)
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  • #57811

    Banksy Girl With a Pierced Eardrum (and face mask) 2020   • Americans Prioritize Staying Home, Worry Restrictions Will Lift Too Fast (CBS) • Doct
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle April 24 2020]

    #57812
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Banksy Girl With a Pierced Eardrum (and face mask) 2020

    Good to see Banksy staying current and relevent…
    It’s nicely done; true to his legacy…

    The US political system is inherently incapable of getting this right. Not going to happen.

    Unfortunately that is 100% correct; sad to say…

    #57815
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Re: Banksy; Girl With a Pierced Eardrum…
    Pierced ear drum???? How about Girl With a pierced ear lobe? 😉

    #57816
    sumac.carol
    Participant

    Art in all forms continues to open up our worlds and lives to so many ideas. Just watched Who Killed Malcolm X and the movie about Rachel Dolezal. Both such thought provoking movies highlighting human behaviors in all their glory and not-so-glory. Nothing is as clear as it seems.
    Thanks for what you do Ilargy.

    #57818
    Dr. D
    Participant

    So….again, China has zero, but just locked down a city of 10 million last night? For no deaths. Uh-huh. And that appears 24h after the U.S. tries to open and puts pressure on us to remain closed. When the U.N. says 250M people will die if we do?

    Lots of pretty strange things there.

    So…since they claim there is no immunity and thus no herd immunity, the CV numbers are falling anyway? Somebody in a white coat want to explain that? Because y’all make no sense.

    Japan and Turkey which did not lockdown, are identical to Germany and U.S. who did. U.K. who locked down late, locked down AFTER they already peaked. Sweden has been removed from the chart. So…anyone want to Science for me here? Y’all make no sense.

    Americans Prioritize Staying Home, Worry Restrictions Will Lift Too Fast (CBS)”

    What is this telling us? Based on science that makes no sense, reported by a media which not only doesn’t make sense, but lies and contradicts, which then mis-informs the peoples’ opinions. So this is a chart of how convincing the narrative is. Why would I care? I want truth, not popularity.

    And it’s also dumb because 100% of the people are ALREADY going to public places: Wal-Mart, so say nothing of Dictitorial Mayors nationwide going to Salons every week. That is, it’s the PERCEPTION of quarantine as more than half aren’t doing it enough to be worth the name. Again, don’t care about perception. Perceptions don’t stop viruses. I know the people THINK they’re quarantining, but medically, they’re not. It’s a joke. Humans are just like that. And also why we survive and succeed constantly although dying all the while.

    Doctors Rethink Rush to Ventilate (R.)”

    We killed the U.N.s 250 Million people because they said we had to lockdown because there weren’t enough ventilators. Because, if you’re just respirators, we have enough/far more of those. And even not knowing this, only 5 of 20,000 were used? So…Cuomo, Fauci, anyone, want to explain how you were all off by orders of magnitude? 20 million. 2.5M people. 200k. Still looking. Well at least they’re looking in the right direction, at the blood and the Co Fe Fe Oxygen bonds.

    .infected more than 2.6 million Americans with nearly 20,000 deaths as of 4:30 pm Thursday.” Worldometer, as I write this, says 886,000 infections and 50,000 deaths.”

    Okay, first is 0.7%, second is 5% death rate. However, Cuomo’s NYC testing yesterday said that 2.5M had antibodies in NYC alone. So SURELY the other 90% of the nation had multiples of that many. Dropping back to 0.1% again? Lower, I’m sure but whatever: their own numbers now demand it be way below 0.7%. While that’s higher than the (reported) flu, it’s not 5%.

    House Passes $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package (Hill)”

    Good to see some Republicans, and AOC actually get on record opposed, as suspected she was lying on voice vote before. What to do, I don’t know, but if everyone agrees, certainly no one’s thinking.

    Fed Balance Sheet Increases to Record $6.62 Trillion (R.)”

    The Fed is now an agent bank for the Treasury. That means the Treasury will own half the assets in the economy. That means the American People own the corporations instead of vice-versa. I thought you wanted socialism and the government to own the means of production. Now they do.

    So when they go bankrupt, what then? Nothing. The assets still exist. You sit down, do a debt restructure, and refloat the assets. Assets owned by whom? The people. Just like the 1991 Swedish bank takeover. If only the Marine Generals had gotten a high-profile bankruptcy expert into the White House this could all be sorted out.

    Lawmaker Who Thanked Trump to Face Censure Vote from Michigan Democrats (JTN)”

    Black Democratic Georgia official said he was voting for Trump and was forced to resign yesterday. Best of all worlds as not only do they get the press, they get the DNCs violent reaction and string of racist DNC comments against him.

    Ousted US Health Official to File Whistleblower Complaint (R.) “

    Can you retroactively file? Every person fired needs to get on this immediately. But what am I saying? No one can ever get fired from a Federal job, not even if they watch pron all day and it’s reported everywhere(SEC). In any case, last whistleblower Charlie they just changed the rules, then tampered and back-dated the forms after working closely with the Congressional opposition, as a basis for illegal impeachment and that was all good. No one arrested. Ever. For anything. Amen.

    Wonder how this will evolve when food gets scarce.”

    We already know. Russia and other nations have stopped wheat before last year. No one cares. No interest in grain elevators, rail lines, and are feverishly attempting to stop the spring’s planting.

    Larry Summers reminds me of Harvard’s recent fiasco, and how he lost a Billion dollars for them. The more you fail, the more you rise. If only he’d lost $100 billion (to his pals on the other side of the trade) AND a felon he’d be promoted head of the IMF. Right, LeGuarde?

    Steele Testified Emails Were Wiped, No Docs Related To Primary Source (DC)”

    You so cray-cray. Newsflash: NO emails are erased. Ever. They’re with the NSA if not elsewhere too. Like HRCs and Strzok-Page are. Weiner’s laptop. No one arrested. Ever. For anything. Amen. Want impeachment? Impeach for gross dereliction of duty.

    Upton Sinclair’s 1927 book “Oil!”,”

    This is the alpha and the omega of it. They’ve done it again, destroying everyone in the U.S., and they cheer yet again, being bought off with $1,200, less than the Manhattan Indians. Save us Daddy government, you’re our only hope! Otherwise we’d have to work and take responsibility for ourselves. We would keep our work instead of getting $1k and losing $17k.

    #57819
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Pdf, long, listing contrasting Covid numbers:

    http://mileswmathis.com/covid.pdf

    #57820
    seychelles
    Participant

    Pulse oximetry as a safe, simple and relatively inexpensive early warning system that your covid-19 infection is taking a dangerous trajectory?

    #57821
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    As though anyone with a brain cell for company needs any further confirmation . . .

    Notice that efforts to discredit Remdesivir are coming from the same sources (using the same com channels) as similar attacks against Hydroxychloroquin , medical masks, drastic non-medical mitigation, investigation of Wuhan virology lab, and every single word Donald Trump has spoken since birth. These same authorities and media outlets sing the praises of the WHO, CDC, NIH, Tedros, Bill Gates and the basically good intentions of the Chinese Communist Party.

    See any kind of a pattern there ?

    Like war, perhaps?

    Hint : it’s a war.

    And in war, who is it that lets those ‘dogs of war’ slip in the first place ? Don’t be distracted by the baying dogs. Go for the guy with the leash.

    Forget the noise unless it’s actually biting your ankle. Noise only and always comes AFTER the fact. Aiming at the noise is a failure to ‘lead the target’ . Go for the source of the signal, go for the hands that hold the reins of power. Track back to the individual human beings who repeatedly and consistently obstruct things that help and promote things that harm or waste time.

    I DO NOT advise an overabundance of kindness when you find them. Rest assured they would be happy to do the same for you.

    In the final analysis it is always and only you, personally, who are the final arbiter and last decider of what’s real and what you ought to to do about it.

    #57823
    anticlimactic
    Participant

    INTUBATION : 90% FATAL!

    I read an article about a doctor who claimed the problem was not the lungs, but that the red blood cells lose their ability to transport oxygen. He goes on to say that in this case intubation was the wrong treatment. US hospitals receive a lot more money if the patient is intubated!

    https://www.zerohedge.com/health/whistleblower-covid-19-patients-need-oxygen-therapy-not-ventilator

    NB1 : I thought injections of vitamin C were given to help red blood cells
    NB2 : We are 4 months in, why is this kind of discussion still valid?

    #57825
    zerosum
    Participant

    I’m trying to post with link that this blog is not accepting. I’m going to put remove the links. I’m sure you all know how to do a google search and get the links.

    Truth seeker
    @ Dr. D
    You just gave a link. Here is what I found behind that link.

    http://mileswmathis.com/covid.pdf
    Covid-19:
    What They Don’t Tell You
    by a man with an internet connection
    April 17, 2020
    Is Covid-19 a real pandemic, thrust unexpectedly onto the entire world by a
    mischievous Chinese bat, somehow far more deadly than the hundreds of other
    coronaviruses in common existence, from all variety of animals – bats inclusive – or is
    it in fact a highly coordinated event, planned in advance, and blown out of all
    proportion by governments, media and corporations? Are the heavy restrictions, that
    will prevent things like four people walking side-by-side on the sidewalk, but allow
    them to share a car, consequence of biological disaster, or political?
    Many reading this will have formed their opinions after watching an awful amount of
    mainstream media, saturated with Covid content. However with the media controlled
    by governments and corporations with vested interests, there are certain things they
    won’t tell you. If you want to see the bigger picture, and discover the less reported
    details, read on.

    Perhaps the lab had absolutely nothing to do with this outbreak and instead a really sick snake unleashed this pathogen on the world.

    You can believe that if you want, but for many of us the “coincidences” are starting to become too startling to ignore.

    About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe.
    ——

    ———

    We Have Never Seen An Economic Collapse Quite Like This, And It Is Largely A Self-Inflicted Wound
    April 23, 2020 by Michael Snyder
    ———

    Millions Of Americans Are Now Making Far More Money Being Unemployed Than They Did When They Were Actually Working
    April 23, 2020 by Michael Snyder
    ——-

    The Facts That Prove That Almost Everyone Is Wrong About This Coronavirus Pandemic
    April 22, 2020
    —–
    My coincidence map – truth seekers
    Seniors, care homes, flue shots covid-19, death

    #57826
    lasttwo
    Participant

    Time for a 3rd party

    no worriesTrump says – inject – light- heat and disinfectant. FDA and Lysol says – NO NO NO do not try this at home. Why dont we just Nuke em like the hurricanes?
    This could be the result

    Attachments:
    You must be logged in to view attached files.
    #57828

    Dr. D: I read the Miles Mathis pdf yesterday, and saved it. Generally, I go to Miles for smiles. It’s nice to see he can write so readably.
    If you are willing to read him, I urge you to consider Rappoport’s interview with “Ellis Medavoy”. It’s eerie and very timely (though published in 2010)- one of those things where it doesn’t matter if it’s genuine or not. Even if it’s fiction, it is highly likely to be true.

    #57829
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    The World Health Organization is a consortium of stakeholders who envision themselves as the developers, manufacturers and distributors of the vaccine. They want to be seen as the indispensable solvers of a problem, so the problem must be ( and must be seen to be) as big as possible.

    Should they accomplish their objective that means not only would they have powerful authority to direct unimaginable sums of money towards the people & organizations tasked with developing, making and selling the drug, they would actually BE those recipient individuals and organizations. Nice. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too. (Of course all of the above would be done within the framework of profitable business, so those same stakeholders would also be claiming any profits that might accidentally slip though the cracks along the way.) Inextricable rat-lines to, from, and through China are woven throughout. As are banking and OLD old money (Think European). As are numerous official intelligence agencies stretching back to (at least) the run up to WW2.

    In addition to the above mentioned benefits, is a very special bonus prize : once established as the sole controller of a thing that people must receive in order to live, then this consortium becomes the de facto owner of the whole shootin’ match. Not duke; not earl; not prince. King of the hill, and the globe it rode in on. So you see how they really do want to have that, right ? And have you seen any of them do big, consequential, action towards achieving it ?

    The above described consortium of stakeholders is not the only consortium of stakeholders. I see at least three others, and maybe a fourth if you count the extremely loose-knit cohort of “wild card” independent thinkers and doers. The disorganization of this fourth quasi-group defies description.

    The thing of it is, this isn’t a spat or jostling for better seating at the shit show. This is a war. It has already been twice as disruptive of human activity as world wars one and two put together. Hey, people, the WORLD is in lockdown. Wake up and smell the cordite. And remember, it’s always the noncombatants who suffer the most casualties. Call this a call to cognitive arms. You must choose sides and start thinking. Then you best start doing , based on your absolute best damned estimate of what really IS , and what the hell is actually on around you. Time’s a wasting.

    #57830
    PlanetaryCitizen
    Participant

    The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 lays down the complete framework to investigate alleged cases of wrongdoing. The crime or wrongdoing could be in the form of fraud, deceiving employees, corruptions, or any other act which misleads people.

    In our filing we will make clear that Dr. Bright was sidelined for one reason only — because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly when used improperly,” his lawyers said in a statement.

    #57831

    A very effective asthma drug -theophylline- used to cost about 14 cents for a hundred mg tablet. Somebody bought up all the manufacturers and now ONE time-release 100mg capsule costs around $2.20, from the ONLY manufacturer. They did the same with albuterol- $6 a container is now $70.
    I suspect somebody somewhere is rounding up HCQ manufacturers and offering their first-born sons back to them if they will give up the rights to making it. Voila! It will be found to be MUCH more effective when it costs $1800 a treatment from the ONLY manufacturer, don’t you think? Of course, zinc sulfate will have to come off the vitamin store shelves, as well.

    #57832

    That should be “bought OUT all the manufacturers…”

    #57833
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    PlanetaryCitizen

    Dr. Bright is a drug salesman for his “former” employer Novavax, Inc. I which markets products competing directly against Hydroxychloroquine in the Covid 19 narket.

    His willingness to completely incinerate his professional reputation (conflict of interest, personal gain, fraud) in public by suing will be rewarded with a bigger salary at at a better job once the heat comes off. He’s Fauchi’s conjoined soul-twin’.

    His vapid posturing is all about knocking out the competition and cornering the Cov19 market

    #57836
    Dr. D
    Participant

    D Benton, you’re ahead of me, I hadn’t thought of that. If WHO issues the passports, they can make and break Kings, and in a clever, king-advisor way.

    “In our filing we will make clear that Dr. Bright was sidelined for one reason only — because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly”

    Okay, that is their allegation, I will read them in court. However, I feel they have problems. Unless administration officials were furious in their pursuit of this — and generally they buck and oppose him at every turn — even head Cheeto only said, ““It’s a powerful drug on malaria, and there are scientific works on this. Some strong signs,” “What do you have to lose?” he said repeatedly, at one point adding: “If it does work, it would be a shame if we didn’t do it early.”

    So he said “there are signs” “”It’s not going to hurt people,” (because it’s been constantly prescribed for 50 years) “We don’t have time to go and say, gee, let’s take a couple of years and test it out.” Meaning we have to work quickly, and also that he’s sent this lead to the FDA and Medical wing for rapid testing. Which is happening, not just here but worldwide. And given this, one of the few medical leads, the prosecutable medical malpractice is indeed to NOT try it, even in a hurry you wouldn’t ordinarily take.

    That’s a million miles from “Unfettered access” (i.e. no prescription), “potentially dangerous” (not when used by a doctor, in a hospital the only use that has been proposed), or as a “Panacea”, literally, a drug that cures everything. It is not a cure for cancer, it is a treatment for Covid that may work safely only for some patients and excluding some conditions. It is extremely, excruciatingly well-tested, and is only as deadly as garden-variety prescription drugs that require ordinary monitoring. So I think you have a difficult case to prove and you’re not helping it much by starting page one with essentially complete nonsense and misrepresentation. But we have a system and that’s their right to pursue this. Especially in public, as the spotlight on these fellows is not salutary.

    #57838
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    I know for a fact that I am not a conspiracy theorist because , by definition, you can’t have a conspiracy THEORY until you have a theory . . . and brother, I haven’t even got a hypothesis yet.

    There is such a thing as conspiracy however, and that’s a fact too. I know that because the word is in the dictionary and I’m pretty sure that means something. Even if all it means is that it is a THEORY, well at least it exists to that extent, and is therefore part of that which exists (i. e. reality).

    So, I guess that makes me a REALITY theorist, doesn’t it? Like Einstein and Hawking and dudes like that. Much fancier company than you guys. You’re just a bunch of conspiracy hypothesists.

    #57839
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”

    ― Mark Twain

    “There is only one thing we know for sure, and it’s that our only avenue of access to the Universe is awareness.”

    ― D Benton Smith

    #57840
    zerosum
    Participant

    fluff
    Only humourous or romantic nonsense.
    Another word for “Unnecessary bullshit”. In general, describing something that is pointless or has no real reason for its existence.
    Something vacuous, such as a verbal statement, without any particular meaning or value.

    Irrelevant details that may cloud the issue of main concern.

    #57841
    zerosum
    Participant

    not fluff

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/one-certain-victor-pandemic-war#comment_stream
    The One Certain Victor In The Pandemic War

    Authored by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,

    There is talk of hundreds of billions of dollars in monetary transfers from the world’s North to the world’s South.
    Currently, the major expenditures of the U.S. government, as well as a growing share of total federal spending, are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

    None of these programs will be curtailed or reduced this year or next. And if the Democrats win in November, the nation will likely take a great leap forward – toward national health insurance.

    Republicans are calling for a suspension until 2021 of payroll taxes used to finance Social Security and Medicare. While that would provide an economic stimulus, it would also blow a huge hole in federal revenue and further enlarge the deficit and national debt.

    Even before the virus struck with full force in March, that deficit was projected at or near $1 trillion — not only for fiscal year 2020 but for every year of the new decade.

    The next major item of the budget is defense, considered untouchable to the Republican Party. Hence a confident prediction: This generation will never again see a budget deficit smaller than $1 trillion.

    Indeed, the $2 trillion lately voted on to save businesses and keep paychecks going to workers will lift the deficit for 2020 above $3 trillion.

    As of March 1, 2020, the nation was at full employment, with the lowest jobless rates among women and minorities in our history.

    Less than two months later, 26 million Americans are out of work.

    These workers will soon begin picking up unemployment checks, a new burden on the federal budget, to which will be added the cost of expanding food stamps, rent supplements and welfare payments.

    Consider education.

    Though Harvard, with its $41 billion endowment, was shamed into returning the $8.7 million in bailout money coming its way, does anyone believe the stream of U.S. revenue going into higher education will ever fall back to what it was before the pandemic?

    As for that $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, is it more likely that vast sum will be paid back by those who incurred the debt, or that it will be piled atop the federal debt?

    Congress has already voted to bail out our stressed hospitals.

    Now, standing patiently in line for their bailouts, are the states — and America’s cities and counties. These governmental units are virtually all certain to face falling tax revenue and expanded social demands, leading to exploding deficits.

    Their case: You bailed out the businesses and the hospitals. What about us? When does our turn come?
    Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, anticipating the mammoth bill for bailing out states and cities, has suggested that governments be allowed to use bankruptcy laws to write down and write off their debts.

    Probably not going to happen.

    Donald Trump is not going to give Red State governors facing gaping budget deficits because of the coronavirus crisis the wet mitten across the face. For his political future will be decided by those states.
    Still, the cost of bailing them out promises to be enormous and to create a precedent for bailouts without end.

    Then there is the clamor, already begun, from, and on behalf of, the Third World. The IMF, World Bank and the West, it is said, have a moral obligation to replace revenue shortfalls these nations are facing from lost remittances from their workers in the developed world.

    There is talk of hundreds of billions of dollars in monetary transfers from the world’s North to the world’s South.

    Welcome to Tomorrow

    #57842
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    fluffer

    “A fluffer is a person employed to keep an adult film star aroused on the set. These duties, which do not necessarily involve touching the actors, are considered part of the makeup department. After setting up the desired angle, the director asks the actors to hold position and calls for the fluffer to “fluff” the actors for the shot. Fluffing could also entail sexual acts such as fellatio or non-penetrative sex.”

    To that I would include arcane financial Tech-Speak as one of the preferred pornographic pastimes of the present day. Comparable to folks who discuss in great technical detail past arts and sciences that are long gone and will never return, like how to hand craft a gold pocket watch. Not a bad thing, just pointless except as pleasant distraction from an unpleasant reality. A porn of sorts.

    The electronic-wizardry-enabled world of globe spanning delusional high finance is going away faster than the television antenna. What’s going to get you in trouble is that what you know for sure (the survival high tech enabled electro-finance as a means of making a living ) just ain’t so. Hear what Mr Twain is telling you.

    And the ONLY way you’re gonna get through this transition with your fortunes and skin intact is to make yourself aware of realities that you really really wish were not true. Listen to what Mr Smith is at least trying to convey. I may fail in that attempt, but the message sure as hell ain’t fluff. I’m actually trying to save a few lives if I can.

    Look, guys, I’m well aware that I play with words . . . and sometimes too much . . . but it is always and only toward the purpose of encouraging others to become more aware that the world most of us thought we were living in is not the world that actually is. That real world is coming at us like a hot-boxed freight train. Please increase the depth and range of your awareness.

    And cut me a fucking break with the snarky shit. Please!

    #57843
    Huskynut
    Participant

    The emerging evidence of correlation between air pollution and Covid deaths, particularly in Europe is going to be a very interesting thing to keep an eye on:

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/20/air-pollution-may-be-key-contributor-to-covid-19-deaths-study

    At what point are the CEOs of VW et al with their diesel emission defeat devices going to be hauled back in for a homicide investigation?
    It’s one thing to reach settlement based on your devices having reduced the value of owners vehicles plus some unquantified health effects to the population. It’s quite another if the focussed wrath of the population descends based on heavily studied and materialised deaths. Will they become the scapegoats for a good chunk of pent-up consumer anger?
    I couldn’t care less if their sociopathic asses burn in hell for eternity, but it’d be a shame if the slow-acting politicians escaped retribution off the back of a token effigy-burning.

    #57844
    seychelles
    Participant

    Sorry, friends. My link to the earlier post about pulse oximeters did not take; only an associated image. Let’s try again.

    #57845
    zerosum
    Participant

    @ D Benton Smith

    ” I’m well aware that I play with words ….”
    You just taught me a new word.
    🙂
    and I’m not playing with you with “snarky shit”
    🙂
    Thanks to our host, Assume that we are all on the same page
    “become more aware that the world most of us thought we were living in is not the world that actually is.”
    Welcome to Tomorrow

    #57846
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    zerosum

    Peace and Amen

    #57847
    VietnamVet
    Participant

    The US federal government failed to prevent the introduction and spread of Wuhan Coronavirus. The pandemic is swamping of hospital systems in NY State, Boston, and New Orleans. Future hot spots will pop up. Similar debacles occurred in Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom. This cannot be a coincidence. More than 50,000 Americans have died because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global economy has crashed. Yet China, South Korea, New Zealand and Taiwan have managed to keep the virus at bay.

    It is not science that failed. Public health fundamentals of testing, tracing and isolating the infected work; even with the asymptomatic highly contagious Wuhan coronavirus.

    The facts are fairly straight forward. Markets never have cared if humans live or die. The US healthcare system was converted from affordable hospitals preventing and treating illnesses into an efficient for-profit wealth extractor. What failed are North American and European governments. Reopening the economy early without a functioning public health system in place will kill hundreds of thousands more Americans. Only the restoration constitutional democracy, the rebuilding of the public health systems and jailing corrupt profiteers and politicians will prevent future waves of death by mutant coronavirus infections or other contagions.

    #57848
    Huskynut
    Participant

    VietnamVet
    I agree with vis a vis the impacts of gutting health systems, and the moral agnosticism of the market toward deaths. But I’m not at all convinced that this is the primary factor in global deaths.

    I was much impressed by this vid (linked on Unz) of Professor Johan Giesecke, one of the world’s most senior epidemiologists, advisor to the Swedish Government (he hired Anders Tegnell who is currently directing Swedish strategy), the first Chief Scientist of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and an advisor to the director general of the WHO, lays out with typically Swedish bluntness why he thinks ultimate deaths in Sweden will not be far different from other EU countries:
    https://youtu.be/bfN2JWifLCY

    #57849
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Only the restoration constitutional democracy, the rebuilding of the public health systems and jailing corrupt profiteers and politicians will prevent future waves of death by mutant coronavirus infections or other contagions.

    …and we both know, that is not going to happen…

    #57850

    So I went back and read Deagal again to see corollaries between countries and the current miasmas… Any Deagel readers out there?

    #57851
    Huskynut
    Participant

    Vietnamvet
    Yet China, South Korea, New Zealand and Taiwan have managed to keep the virus at bay.
    New Zealand (where I live) has adopted extremely repressive measures at massive economic cost. Whereas Australia has similar outcomes to NZ with significantly less intervention (eg allowing all businesses to remain open, not just essential ones). The heaiest-handed interventions may not be as effective as you think.
    https://castalia-advisors.com/comparing-the-new-zealand-and-australian-states-responses-to-covid-19/

    #57852
    Huskynut
    Participant

    My parents said know
    So I went back and read Deagal again to see corollaries between countries and the current miasmas… Any Deagel readers out there?
    Not yet – got a link? Deagal? Deagel? Deagle?

    #57853
    VietnamVet
    Participant

    VA,

    The Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic killed Neo-Classic Economics and Globalism Version 2.0 like WWI did the Version 1.0. The Western Empire has fallen. 4.5 trillion digital dollars handed to the wealthy won’t work a second time. Full faith and credit of the U.S. government is gone. Reopening the economy early won’t resurrect it. Yes. Chaos, splintering and widespread death are most likely. An autocracy is possible. But there is no one competent enough in the West to jump in front of the mob. Only Tulsi Gabbard comes to mind with the intelligence and charisma to lead. A sane option is restoring constitutional democracy that worked more or less until the 1980s but that will take reestablishment of the media fairness doctrine and ending of corporate campaign funding. This requires an incompetent Establishment somehow recognizing that is in its own best interest to elect 21st century Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President. But, the 2020 NY governor is Andrew Cuomo, no FDR. On the other hand Samuel Johnson’s quote is very appropriate today. “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

    #57854
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Only Tulsi Gabbard comes to mind with the intelligence and charisma to lead.

    True.
    Yes to the rest of your post. As you may know, I left shortly after March 19, 2003.
    Watching the inevitable decline ever since has been painfully felt by this one.
    I have, after 17 years, failed to see any serious attempt, to turn the ship of state in any helpful way.
    Your comments generally resonate with me; they tend to spear the heart of the matter…

    On the other hand Samuel Johnson’s quote is very appropriate today. “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”

    Great quote, thanks…

    #57855
    WES
    Participant

    Here in Ontario the coronavirus death rate seems to be leveling off (i.e. not increasing) mainly because the coronavirus is running out of nursing homes to visit.

    Same for Quebec.

    Canada has now passed Belgium.

    #57856
    WES
    Participant

    Ontario announced today they are going to start producing a million masks a day at the old closed GM car assembly plant in Oshawa. First the plant has to be tooled. No word on when this might happen. Just a might slow!

    GM stateside has only been producing N95 masks for like 2 months!

    #57857
    WES
    Participant

    V Arnold:

    I hate to tell you this but the “ship of state” isn’t going to turn anytime soon because I cut the ship’s steering cables!

    #57858
    kimyo99
    Participant

    A sane option is restoring constitutional democracy

    being past peak oil means america is also past having the luxury of a federal government. it is a totally unaffordable layer of the most wasteful kind of energy use (wars, bridges to nowhere, senators on private jets). it will be difficult enough to maintain state-level organization.

    in saying ‘being past peak oil’ i am using tverberg’s definition (~many cannot afford the output of the system).

    #57859
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    I hate to tell you this but the “ship of state” isn’t going to turn anytime soon because I cut the ship’s steering cables!

    No wonder it’s been going in circles; just like a broken record;
    it’s the same old thing, same old thing, same old thing, same old thing, same old thing,………..

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