Feb 032021
 
 February 3, 2021  Posted by at 10:38 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Joseph Mallord William Turner Norham Castle, Sunrise 1845

 

Dems Threaten To Exclude Families Crushed By Pandemic (DP)
Senate Approves Budget Process For Passage of $1.9T COVID19 Stimulus (JTN)
Criticism Piles On Cuomo After Week Of Blunders (F.)
France Raises More Questions About AstraZeneca Jab (ZH)
P.2 Coronavirus Variant From Brazil Found In California (LAT)
WHO Team Visits Wuhan Virus Lab At Center Of Speculation (AP)
Will WallStreetBets Send The VIX Soaring Next? (ZH)
White House Reporters Say Biden Team Wanted Questions In Advance (JTN)
Florida Gov. DeSantis, Lawmakers Plan To Take Action On Big Tech (JTN)
Academic Media Censorship Conference Censored by YouTube (MPN)
NYPD Deploys Counter Terrorism Unit To Protect Wall Street (MPN)
Economics’ Failure Over Destruction Of Nature Presents ‘Extreme Risks’ (G.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, c’mon man, he lied about sending out the checks “immediatedly”. At least have the guts to call him on that. You may be on his side, but your credibility is at stake.

Dems Threaten To Exclude Families Crushed By Pandemic (DP)

The nation’s biggest business lobby is pushing Democrats to slash COVID relief checks for middle class families, despite new census data showing that nearly half of those families have lost income because of the pandemic. Top Democrats are now reportedly considering excluding millions of those families from the checks, and President Biden himself has said he is willing to negotiate with Republicans on limiting eligibility for the checks. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which spent $82 million lobbying in Washington last year, sent a letter to the White House and Congress on Tuesday urging them to consider “targeting any additional stimulus checks based on income, loss of employment, or similar criteria.”

The corporate lobbying group — whose members undoubtedly benefit from a desperate workforce — attempted to twist census data showing broad economic devastation to make the point that families earning more than $50,000 don’t need new survival checks. “While the pandemic induced recession has created near unprecedented levels of hardship, the impact has not been universal,” the Chamber wrote. “The Census Bureau Pulse survey indicates that while a majority of households with less than $50,000 in income have experienced a loss of employment income, a majority of household with more than $50,000 in income — including those between $50,000 and $150,000 — have not experienced any loss in earned income.”

This is a misleading way to frame the census survey results. Recent census data shows that 45 percent of households earning between $50,000 and $150,000 have experienced a loss of employment income since March 2020 — including 48 percent of households earning between $50,000 and $75,000. Nearly a quarter of households earning between $50,000 and $150,000 say they expect to lose employment income over the next four weeks. The Chamber is adding its voice to a chorus of pleas in the Beltway to limit who’s eligible for COVID relief checks. The campaign was first kicked off by discredited austerity economist Larry Summers and columnists at the Washington Post and Bloomberg News, which are owned by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg respectively.

President Biden’s COVID relief plan would send full $1,400 survival checks to individuals earning up to $75,000 and couples earning up to $150,000. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has repeatedly demanded the relief checks be more “targeted.” Senate Republicans on Monday proposed that Congress limit full stimulus checks to individuals earning up to $40,000 and couples earning $80,000 — a move that would deny checks to an additional 80 million people, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Read more …

“Immediately” now has a whole new meaning. See you in summer.

Senate Approves Budget Process For Passage of $1.9T COVID19 Stimulus (JTN)

The Democratic-led Senate voted on Tuesday in favor of starting the budget reconciliation process for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus proposal. The vote on the budget resolution was 50-49 with Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voting with the Democrats in favor of the resolution. Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey was not present for the vote. The use of budget reconciliation would allow Democrats to pass their coronavirus relief plan without relying on any votes from Republicans.


Senate Republicans have criticized Senate Democrats for proceeding with reconciliation instead of seeking bipartisan input on additional COVID-19 stimulus funds. Large-scale coronavirus relief bills were passed last year with votes from Republicans and Democrats in the GOP-led Senate when former President Trump was in office. GOP senators like John Barrasso of Wyoming said on Tuesday the reconciliation move conflicts with Biden’s message of unity during his inaugural address. Senate Democrats are tying a $15 per hour federal minimum wage to the coronavirus stimulus bill.

Read more …

Hiw own brother’s network turns on him. That part is sort of interesting. Other than that, he’s as out of his depth as 95+% of politicians.

Criticism Piles On Cuomo After Week Of Blunders (F.)

Starting with last Thursday’s report from the New York Attorney General’s Office that accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration of underreporting nursing home deaths tied to Covid-19—potentially by as much as 50%—the Democratic governor has consistently found himself at the center of harsh bipartisan criticism over the past week regarding his pandemic leadership. The report renewed outrage over Cuomo’s early policy to send recovering Covid-19 patients back to nursing homes, which the attorney general’s office said may have led to excess deaths—a possibility Cuomo brushed off on Thursday by saying the patients would have died either way, there or in a hospital: “Who cares? 33 [percent]. 28 [percent]. Died in a hospital. Died in a nursing home … they died.”

The report, coupled with Cuomo’s reaction, drew sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle and both state and federal officials, with Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim (Queens) saying there are serious talks underway about stripping Cuomo’s emergency powers, which are in place until April and can be revoked by a joint resolution from the state’s Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly. “We’ve seen this governor prioritize his ego over the best interests of New Yorkers time and time again,” Democratic state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (Bronx) said Monday. Another round of scrutiny came on Monday after The New York Times reported that at least nine of New York’s senior health officials left their positions in recent months amid a rift between the governor and experts, who he poked at during a Friday news conference, saying: “When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I’m saying I don’t really trust experts … because I don’t.”

Cuomo was sharply criticized in light of the reporting and his press conference rhetoric, with CNN anchor Jake Tapper labeling Cuomo’s statement “wildly irresponsible” and the network’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta saying he was “really quite stunned,” adding, “If you start to take away the credence of these experts I think that’s really, really harmful, especially now.” When asked about the staff departures, a spokesperson for Cuomo directed Forbes to the governor’s response at a Tuesday press conference, in which he attributed turnover in the New York State Health Department to the “highly stressful, highly challenging, highly exhausting, highly fatiguing” nature of the pandemic.

The governor continued to stir controversy into Tuesday as he spontaneously announced the expansion of vaccine eligibility to NYC restaurant workers after calling demands for this group’s immediate inclusion “a cheap, insincere discussion” a day prior, and as a New York Times report highlighted his announcement about bringing back indoor dining last week had cited misleading data about test positivity rates in the city.

Read more …

This piece is actually more about AZ doing its own peer review..

France Raises More Questions About AstraZeneca Jab (ZH)

The latest update on the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID jab was released Tuesday afternoon in a report from the University which offered more insight on exactly when vaccine-induced immunity begins, and how effective the vaccine can be after its first dose and after its second. Unsurprisingly, the data offer a more optimistic read than the batch released by AZ and Oxford the first time around. But they also suggest that the vaccine is actually more effective overall if doctors wait roughly 3 months before inoculating patients with the second dose, which provides support for “current policy” in the UK. However, in the US, the FDA-recommended vaccination dosing schedule is 21 days, which has endured despite logistical problems and other issues that have caused delivery delays in NYC and elsewhere (so much for the consistency of the “science”).

And the new AstraZeneca vaccine might be able to fix all that. According to the research team, the first dose alone offers 76% protection from symptomatic COVID 22 days post-vaccination. But the jab successfully offers sustained protection through a 3-month period, even without receiving the second dose, a data point that has already been transformed into a marketing opportunity by AstraZeneca. Prof Andrew Pollard, Chief Investigator of Oxford Vaccine Trial and co-author of the paper, said in a statement: “These new data provide an important verification of the interim data that was used by more than 25 regulators including the MHRA and EMA to grant the vaccine emergency use authorization.”

“It also supports the policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation for a 12-week prime-boost interval, as they look for the optimal approach to roll out, & reassures us that people are protected from 22 days after a single dose of the vaccine.” The new data, which are culled from cases extended through Dec. 7, purportedly show the optimal window for the second booster dose could be up to 14 weeks. That means it’s less risky to give patients the AstraZeneca shot, because even if there are supply delays, patients won’t be badly harmed. After the second dose, immunity rises to 82.4%, according to data taken from cases throughout the 3-month interval window. The research team offered the data with a 95% confidence interval of 62.7% – 91.7% at 12+ weeks

In another “unprecedented” update, the data suggest the vaccine helps prevent transmission of the virus, with 67% reduction in positive swabs among those vaccinated” “However, overall cases of any PCR+ were reduced by 67% (95%CI 49%, 78%) after a single SD vaccine suggesting the potential for a substantial reduction in transmission,” the authors of the paper wrote. Officials likely hoped the report would help cement public support for the AstraZeneca vaccine, (at least in Europe, its primary market, where it has inked deals for billions of doses). The AZ vaccine is, notably, also less effective than Russia’s “Sputnik V” vaccine, according to data published by the Lancet a few days back.

Unfortunately, its release was timed with more “problematic” comments from French President Emmanuel Macron and the French authorities. Specifically, French health authorities have approved the vaccine, but they have also warned that the AZ-Oxford vaccine should only be given to people aged under 65, after the initial preliminary reports on AZ released late last year suggested some adverse health reactions in older patients.

Read more …

Close your borders?!

P.2 Coronavirus Variant From Brazil Found In California (LAT)

A coronavirus variant from Brazil has been detected in a sample from the Bay Area, underscoring the urgency of ramping up inoculation efforts as researchers try to learn whether it, as well as others circulating in California, could undermine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers at Stanford’s Clinical Virology Laboratory screened nearly 1,000 specimens during the last two weeks and found one case of the Brazilian variant, P.2, said Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, the laboratory’s medical director. They reported the finding to public health authorities on Jan. 25. The researchers also identified four cases of a variant from the U.K., B.1.1.7, that appears to spread more easily, may be more virulent and is already known to be circulating in California, Pinsky said.

And they found that about 29% of the specimens had the L452R mutation, a feature of a homegrown variant that has been increasingly detected across the state and may have helped drive the most recent case surge. “It’s definitely possible that they already contributed to the humongous surge we’ve seen over the last six weeks or so,” said Dr. Edward Jones-Lopez, an infectious diseases expert at USC. “And it could get even worse if these strains are indeed fitter than previous strains and people lower their guard and we are not very logistically efficient in delivering vaccines. “When we put those two factors together, it might still be a rough next two to three months.”

The P.2 variant is distinct from another detected in Brazil, P.1, that was linked to an abrupt resurgence in cases in Manaus that took place after much of the population was already believed to have been infected. But the variants share a mutation that appears to help the virus evade antibodies generated by either a previous infection or vaccine, Pinsky said. And there are at least two examples of people being infected with the P.2 variant after they had been infected by another strain, a feat that has been demonstrated by P.1 and multiple other coronavirus strains. That finding has led researchers to theorize that P.2 may have similar properties as the P.1 variant, he said. “There’s a lot less known about the Brazil P.2 strain, so that’s one to keep an eye on,” he said.

Read more …

A carefully orchestrated pantomime.

WHO Team Visits Wuhan Virus Lab At Center Of Speculation (AP)

World Health Organization investigators on Wednesday visited a research center in the Chinese city of Wuhan that has been the subject of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus, with one member saying they’d intended to meet key staff and press them on critical issues. The WHO team’s visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology was a highlight of their mission to gather data and search for clues as to where the virus originated and how it spread. “We’re looking forward to meeting with all the key people here and asking all the important questions that need to be asked,” zoologist and team member Peter Daszak said, according to footage run by Japanese broadcaster TBS.

Reporters followed the team to the high security facility, but as with past visits, there was little direct access to team members, who have given scant details of their discussions and visits thus far. Uniformed and plainclothes security guards stood watch along the facility’s gated front entrance, but there was no sign of the protective suits team members had donned Tuesday during a visit to an animal disease research center. It wasn’t clear what protective gear was worn inside the institute. The team left after around three hours without speaking to waiting journalists.

Following two weeks in quarantine, the WHO team that includes experts in veterinary medicine, virology, food safety and epidemiology from 10 nations has over the past six days visited hospitals, research institutes and a traditional wet market linked to many of the first cases. Their visit followed months of negotiations as China seeks to retain tight control over information about the outbreak and the investigation into its origins, in what some have seen as an attempt to avoid blame for any missteps in its early response.

Read more …

They don’t have that kind of clout yet.

Will WallStreetBets Send The VIX Soaring Next? (ZH)

One week ago, the Reddit crowd – then numbering 2 million users- sparked a historic squeeze among the most shorted Russell 3000 stocks (led by Gamestop) which inflicted hundreds of billions of losses on some hedge funds (while making other hedge funds that much richer), and launched a deleveraging VaR shockwave which forced even non-shorting hedge funds to unwind some of their biggest (and most popular) positions. Then, this Monday, the same Reddit crowd – now having tripled to 7.5 million users – managed to spark the biggest surge in silver prices since the collapse of Lehman, and even though there were not nearly as many shorts here, the move was sizable enough to unleash another major VaR shockwave across markets, and forcing even unlinked assets to selloff amid another degrossing wave.

What the two episodes had in common is that any outlier event – and last week’s “most shorted vs most popular” slamdown was a 7 sigma event, which nobody had anticipated, with Goldman writing that Tuesday “was the worst day for GS HF VIP longs vs GS Most Short in our records (-7.7%)”… stood to unleash a cascading sequence of adverse events due to just one thing: leverage. It’s the record level of leverage in the system that prompted Morgan Stanley’s chief equity strategist to warn that the short-squeeze shake out is not yet over and that the correction is “likely to get worse”:

“Third, the aggressive short squeeze strategies employed by a certain group of investors was the spark. These targeted squeezes forced the leverage to come out of the system starting with hedge fund gross exposures. Initially, it didn’t have much of an effect on the major indices but last week that all changed. The forced reduction of gross leverage via short covering led to a reduction in long exposure and net leverage. Major averages traded lower by 3-5% with many stocks down 10% or more.”

Read more …

But that’s just to serve you better…

White House Reporters Say Biden Team Wanted Questions In Advance (JTN)

The Daily Beast on Monday published a rather scathing piece about the new Biden White House and its press operation. “White House Reporters: Biden Team Wanted Our Questions in Advance,” blared the headline. “If you’re a reporter with a tough question for the White House press secretary, Joe Biden’s staff wouldn’t mind knowing about it in advance,” said the lead. “According to three sources with knowledge of the matter, as well as written communications reviewed by The Daily Beast, the new president’s communications staff have already on occasion probed reporters to see what questions they plan on asking new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki when called upon during briefings.”

Pretty damning report. The Fourth Estate is protected in the Constitution and its job is to demand answers from America’s political leaders, without fear or prejudice. The idea that the media, already viewed as liberal and supportive of Democrats — from Bill and Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama to Biden to congressional lawmakers — could be colluding with the White House provoked alarm. “The left demands 100 percent loyalty from the press, not the 99 percent they already get,” Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor told Fox News. “In today’s cancel culture, journalists don’t dare be open in their criticism, so that’s why this story is all whispers,” said Gainor.

The Beast’s report drew other questions, though. Was the White House simply trying to find out what reporters were interested in on any given day, or asking for the exact questions they would ask the press secretary in the daily briefing? Citing anonymous sources, the Beast said it was the latter. “[T]he press can’t really do its job in the briefing room if the White House is picking and choosing the questions they want,” one White House correspondent told the website. “That’s not really a free press at all.” Biden’s press team “did not deny that staffers had solicited questions from reporters,” said the Beast. “But the White House contended that it has tried to foster a better relationship with the press corps than the previous administration, and has tried to reach out to reporters directly in order to avoid appearing to dodge questions during briefings.”

Read more …

Censor him!

Florida Gov. DeSantis, Lawmakers Plan To Take Action On Big Tech (JTN)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Tuesday news conference discussed plans for the Sunshine State to pursue legislation pertaining to big tech companies. “The message is loud and clear: When it comes to elections in Florida, big tech should stay out of it,” Gov. DeSantis said. “We can’t allow Floridans’ privacy to be violated, their voices and even their livelihoods diminished and their elections interfered with.” Among the various moves that the governor and state lawmakers have planned is a fine for deplatforming political candidates during an election. “Under our proposal if a technology company deplatforms a candidate for elected office in Florida during an election, a company will face a daily fine of $100,000 until the candidate’s access to the platform is restored,” he said.


“Further, if a technology company promotes a candidate for office against another, the value of that free promotion must be recorded as a political campaign contribution enforced by the Florida Elections Commission,” he said. The governor, who previously served as a lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives, said that tech businesses will face fines if they utilize “content and user-related algorithms” to boost or depress access to material pertaining to a candidate or cause that is up for a vote. “Florida consumers deserve protection for their privacy,” DeSantis said, noting that “with the help of our legislative partners we’re gonna stand together in support of Floridians and put a stop to big tech’s practice of preying on consumers.”

Tucker De Santis
https://twitter.com/i/status/1356792854647984129

Read more …

There you go.

Academic Media Censorship Conference Censored by YouTube (MPN)

An academic critical media literacy conference warning of the dangers of media censorship has, ironically, been censored by YouTube. The Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas 2020 took place without incident online over two days in October and featured a number of esteemed speakers and panels discussing issues concerning modern media studies. Weeks later, however, the entire video record of the conference — estimated at around 24 hours of material — disappeared from YouTube. Organizer Nolan Higdon of California State University East Bay, began receiving worried messages from other academics, some of which were shared with MintPress, who had been using the material in their classrooms, noting that it had all mysteriously disappeared.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” said Mickey Huff of Diablo Valley College, California. “My initial reaction was ‘that’s absurd;’ there must have been a mistake or an accident or it must have got swept under somehow. There is no violation, there was no reasoning, there was no warning, there was not an explanation, there was no nothing. The entire channel was just gone,” he told MintPress. Huff is also the director of Project Censored, an organization that sponsored the event. Higdon suspected that it was the content critical of big tech monopolies like Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter that was the reason why the channel was deleted. “Each video was a different panel and every panel had different people from the other ones, so it is not like there was one theme or person or copyrighted content in all of our videos; this seems to be an attack on the conference, not on a singular video,” he said.

The organizers were careful to avoid copyright infringement, with the large majority of their videos in lecture format, essentially a recorded Zoom call. Speakers included some of the best-known names in media studies, with the event sponsored by institutions like Stanford University and UCLA. “This wasn’t a keg party with Parler users: it was an academic conference,” Huff said. These are pioneering figures in critical media literacy scholarship. It’s mind numbing that all of this was just disappeared from YouTube. The irony is writ large…This is part of a potentially algorithmic way of getting rid of more radical positions that criticize establishment media systems, including journalism.”

Read more …

Ha ha ha. “The bull was covered in a blue tarp to prevent further vandalism.”

NYPD Deploys Counter Terrorism Unit To Protect Wall Street (MPN)

The Charging Bull statue in Manhattan’s Financial District has become the sight of protests amid a wider financial rebellion happening online. On Friday, a handful of activists were seen in Bowling Green Park, posing with the bull, and holding signs that said “Tax Wall Street Trades.” A thin band of tape was also placed on the statue’s head and rear end, featuring slogans like “Hold the line” and “WSB” — both allusions to the GameStop insurrection against hedge funds organized by Reddit’s “Wall Street Bets” community. A similar fate befell the new Fearless Girl statue, which faces the New York Stock Exchange building. Both the bull and the girl are meant to symbolize the power, bravery and daring of the city’s financial traders.


In response, the New York Police Department (NYPD) mobilized its anti-terrorism unit, sending masked, blad clad police officers wearing armor and carrying assault rifles to protect and secure the area. “The Stock Market has had an interesting week to say the least. We are happy to report that the Wall Street Charging Bull is secure and continues to preside over Bowling Green for the foreseeable future,” it announced. The bull was covered in a blue tarp to prevent further vandalism. The decision to deploy counter-terrorism officers on the streets of Manhattan was not well appreciated, at least judging by replies left on the unit’s official social media pages. “Perfect example of how police exist to protect private property and not people,” was the highest rated response. Other popular replies included, “You brought out the automatic rifles and body armor… for tape,” “Good ad for defunding the police right here,” and, “If this was a shot in a movie, I’d think it was too on the nose.”

Read more …

A summit hosted by Boris will not protect the planet, but the rich. It’s like the Paris accord, designed to let them continue to control the topic. And make a lot of money of painting stuff green.

Economics’ Failure Over Destruction Of Nature Presents ‘Extreme Risks’ (G.)

The world is being put at “extreme risk” by the failure of economics to take account of the rapid depletion of the natural world and needs to find new measures of success to avoid a catastrophic breakdown, a landmark review has concluded. Prosperity was coming at a “devastating cost” to the ecosystems that provide humanity with food, water and clean air, said Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta, the Cambridge University economist who conducted the review. Radical global changes to production, consumption, finance and education were urgently needed, he said. The 600-page review was commissioned by the UK Treasury, the first time a national finance ministry has authorised a full assessment of the economic importance of nature. A similar Treasury-sponsored review in 2006 by Nicholas Stern is credited with transforming economic understanding of the climate crisis.

The review said that two UN conferences this year – on biodiversity and climate change – provided opportunities for the international community to rethink an approach that has seen a 40% plunge in the stocks of natural capital per head between 1992 and 2014. “Nature is our home. Good economics demands we manage it better,” said Dasgupta. “Truly sustainable economic growth and development means recognising that our long-term prosperity relies on rebalancing our demand of nature’s goods and services with its capacity to supply them. It also means accounting fully for the impact of our interactions with nature. Covid-19 has shown us what can happen when we don’t do this.” Sir David Attenborough said the review was “immensely important”. In a foreword, he said: “If we continue this damage, whole ecosystems will collapse. That is now a real risk. The review at last puts biodiversity at the core [of economics]. It shows how we can help save the natural world at what may be the last minute, and in doing so, save ourselves.”

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, who will host the UN climate summit in Glasgow in November, said: “This year is critical in determining whether we can stop and reverse the concerning trend of fast-declining biodiversity. I welcome the review, which makes clear that protecting and enhancing nature needs more than good intentions – it requires concerted, coordinated action.” Humanity’s impact on the natural world is stark, with animal populations having dropped by an average of 68% since 1970 and forest destruction continuing at pace – some scientists think a sixth mass extinction of life is under way and accelerating. Today, just 4% of the world’s mammals are wild, hugely outweighed by humans and their livestock.

Read more …

 

 

We try to run the Automatic Earth on donations. Since ad revenue has collapsed, you are now not just a reader, but an integral part of the process that builds this site. Thank you for your support.

 

 

March 2, 2020:

 

 

 

 

Support the Automatic Earth in 2021. Click at the top of the sidebars to donate with Paypal and Patreon.

 

Home Forums Debt Rattle February 3 2021

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 42 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #69244

    Joseph Mallord William Turner Norham Castle, Sunrise 1845   • Dems Threaten To Exclude Families Crushed By Pandemic (DP) • Senate Approves Budget
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle February 3 2021]

    #69245
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Joseph Mallord William Turner Norham Castle, Sunrise 1845

    Outstanding; just lovely with its mist, in the just sunrise, morning…

    #69249
    absolute galore
    Participant

    Based on the results and the constantly contradictory and conflicting information, I would put “Experts” in quotes, too. The medical system has become so rigid you conform or get the boot.Then among the various pundits and proselytizers, you have one faction saying Covid deaths are severely under-reported, while the other side claims they are absolutely over-reported.

    “’This wasn’t a keg party with Parler users: it was an academic conference,” Huff said. These are pioneering figures in critical media literacy scholarship.” That seems like a not very smart way to make your case, since isn’t the conference about the problem of censorship? This all looks to me like the Information Age coming under the spell of the collapse into chaos of complex systems theory.

    Then there is the silly idea that we will now attempt to shut borders to new variants. Uh-huh. Once that idea presents itself to little brains, the horse is out of the barn and into the next county. I’m guessing the Spanish Flu developed variants, but we did not have the technology to parse. Plus, instead of constantly freaking out, people were too busy doing what they had to do and then carrying on with life. Kinda simple.

    #69251
    zerosum
    Participant

    The beat Goes on – Sonny and Cher
    VARIANTS EXPLOSION

    • P.2 Coronavirus Variant From Brazil Found In California (LAT)

    “…. there are at least two examples of people being infected with the P.2 variant after they had been infected by another strain, a feat that has been demonstrated by P.1 and multiple other coronavirus strains. That finding has led researchers to theorize that P.2 may have similar properties as the P.1 variant, he said. “There’s a lot less known about the Brazil P.2 strain, so that’s one to keep an eye on,” he said.”
    ——
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/florida-leads-nation-for-cases-of-contagious-covid/ar-BB1dlKbh?ocid=msedgntp
    Florida Leads Nation For Cases of Contagious COVID (ARE SOME NOT CONTAGIOUS?)
    Alek Korab
    “Florida leads the country for the highest number of cases of the contagious UK COVID-19 variant, data shows,” reports the New York Post. “The Sunshine State is home to 147 of the total 467 cases of the new mutation, according to a tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California trails behind Florida with 113 cases, while New York follows in third with 42 reported, according to the data. The first stateside case of the variant, also known as B117, was detected in Colorado in late December.”
    ——–
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dr-fauci-gives-this-disturbing-covid-warning/ar-BB1dlKqA?ocid=msedgntp

    Dr. Fauci Gives This “Disturbing” COVID Warning

    “I can say of the viruses that I’ve had to deal with in my multi multi-decade career of now over 40 years. Have I seen viruses that mutate this much? The answer is yes, but what I have never seen is the constellation of characteristics of a virus that if you want to make a metaphor out of it, is so nefarious on the one hand—it infects many, many people, has great deal of efficiency of transmission, and yet maybe 40% or more of people don’t get any symptoms at all,” he explained.
    “So you have this unusual virus that for so many people is trivial,” he continued. “It gives them, you know, relatively minor, maybe even no symptoms at all. And on the other hand, it has accounted for over 430,000 deaths in the United States in a year. You know, I’ve never seen anything so dichotomous as that, where on the one hand looking benign for so many on the other hand being absolutely deadly for others.”

    ——-
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/covid-19-vaccine-makers-take-aim-at-dangerous-new-strains/ar-BB1dm0Gu?ocid=msedgntp
    Covid-19 Vaccine Makers Take Aim at Dangerous New Strains
    Peter Loftus, Jared S. Hopkins

    Covid-19 vaccine makers are racing to create new shots that can better protect people from dangerous new strains of the coronavirus, after recent testing showed the variants present a bigger-than-expected threat.
    The chase marks a new phase in vaccine research to fight off the virus, indicating it may shift into a kind of long-running contest between a changing virus and shots that can keep up, rather than a shorter effort that would once and for all derail the pandemic.
    Like flu shots, Covid-19 vaccines could become a sizable market for drug makers beyond the pandemic emergency period if they have to be modified regularly.

    Pfizer anticipates $15 billion in Covid-19 vaccine sales this year. Sales could prove durable, Mr. Bourla told analysts Tuesday, because people will likely need booster shots, either to stay protected against the virus or to combat emerging variants.
    ————

    #69252

    My friends and family are taking the damned vaccine, even though they said they wouldn’t. They say they are going to be able to party again after they get the second dose. My mate wants to take it so he can go back to work in Amsterdam and see his friends and workmates. He wants to get back to normal.
    He is angry with me for urging him to not get it. He wishes I weren’t so dark about human nature- people aren’t that bad- our leaders aren’t that evil. He thinks I am a conspiracy nut- they (suddenly he believes in “they”) simply wouldn’t endanger us like that.
    I say there are now at least two cures for this not very deadly, not particularly novel coronavirus. I say that the one good thing that has come of this nightmare is that viruses seem to be cured by lysosomotropic drugs, and researchers have known this for many decades.*
    I point out that two industries die if lysosomotropic drugs work against (all) viruses: the vaccine industry and biological weaponry. These are big money industries. Even now they are suppressing this information and trying to make these drugs unavailable.
    I point out that anybody who makes biological weaponry would, indeed, try to kill us, even if it were just for $$$$$ and power and a less crowded earth.

    Re: Deagel. Is it “suicide” when you know you probably shouldn’t [whatever] but you do it anyway?

    *See Dr Lee Merritt’s paper on John Ward’s “Slog” – “Biden goes for unity…” in the comment section from “TFS”. (#17 as I write)

    I wondered when they would go after that Wall Street bull.

    #69253
    zerosum
    Participant

    @ John Day

    329 Deaths + 9,516 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show
    The numbers reflect the latest data available as of Jan. 22 from the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System website. Of the 329 reported deaths, 285 were from the U.S., and 44 were from other countries. The average age of those who died was 76.5.

    I’m not smart enough to get the data from CDC and to present the link.
    Can you try to put up the link for me?

    CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System website

    #69254
    Doc Robinson
    Participant

    An update on the Russian vaccine:

    Covid-19: Russian vaccine efficacy is 91.6%, show phase III trial results

    The findings, published in the Lancet, showed that the two dose regime of the viral vector vaccine was generally well tolerated with no associated serious adverse events and similar efficacy in those aged over and under 60.

    The Gam-COVID-Vac, also known as Sputnik V, was tested at 25 hospitals and polyclinics in Moscow between 7 September and 24 November 2020. Just under 15 000 volunteers received the vaccine (of whom 1611 were aged 60 or over) and 4902 received the placebo (vaccine buffer composition).

    The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with polymerase chain reaction confirmed covid-19 from day 21 after receiving the first dose. From 21 days after the first dose of vaccine (the day of dose two), the trial reported 16 covid-19 cases in the vaccine group (0.1%) and 62 cases (1.3%) in the placebo group. However, volunteers were only tested for covid-19 when they self-reported symptoms. The efficacy data therefore only includes symptomatic cases.

    This equated to an overall efficacy of 91.6%. When broken down by age, the study reported efficacy as 91.8% in those 60 and over, 92.7% in those 51 to 60, 91.3% in those 41 to 50, 90.0% for those 31 to 40, and 91.9% for those aged 18 to 30.

    The study also found that 14 days after the first dose, vaccine efficacy was 87.6%. Any time after the first dose, the efficacy was 73.1%. Researchers are now investigating a single dose regimen of the vaccine.

    https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n309

    The full report published in the Lancet:
    https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00234-8/fulltext

    #69255
    Doc Robinson
    Participant

    zerosum: “329 Deaths + 9,516 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show
    …get the data from CDC and to present the link.”

    MedAlerts offers an alternative to the official VAERS search engine, CDC Wonder. Both are built from the government’s raw data, but MedAlerts has a better user interface, more powerful search capabilities, and more extensive reporting, making it the best VAERS search facility.

    9,845 cases (deaths and other injuries)

    329 deaths, 104 permanent disabilities, etc.

    https://medalerts.org/

    #69256
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Yesterday, on the car radio two hosts “leisurely” talking during the break on otherwise musical program.
    “People who got vaccine are perfectly OK not to wear mask and that would “mark” them as Covid-free for the immediate passers-by. However, there are people who, while not vaccinated, would still walk without the mask. And, see, because those bad apples, now everybody needs to wear.”
    You have to give it to “them” for superb coordination world wide, and persistence in the drum beat.

    #69257
    John Day
    Participant
    #69258
    John Day
    Participant

    @Christianarchist: Nice of you to introduce yourself. Might I suggest that you seek out the homeschool community where you live for those of like mind or similar mind? Also homebirthers and La Leche Leaguers could be on your wavelength. You have to look for a higher concentration of non-conformists who are making it work. That’s pretty selective.

    #69259
    John Day
    Participant

    @Ilargi:
    Look the global north and global south cases and deaths largely track the inverse of seasonal vitamin-D levels by region! Good color coding, too.

    #69260
    Doc Robinson
    Participant

    The Russian vaccine will be available in Mexico.

    Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

    Efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6% as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and most respected medical journals; Sputnik V provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19.

    The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

    Sputnik V uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

    The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.

    The developers of the Sputnik V vaccine are working collaboratively with AstraZeneca on a joint clinical trial to improve the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine.

    There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

    The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.

    The price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.

    MEXICO BECOMES THE FIRST COUNTRY OF NORTH AMERICA TO REGISTER SPUTNIK V VACCINE
    https://sputnikvaccine.com/newsroom/pressreleases/mexico-becomes-the-first-country-of-north-america-to-register-sputnik-v-vaccine-/

    #69262
    zerosum
    Participant

    @ Doc Robinson
    Thanks
    Too much info for me
    Search Results
    From the 1/22/2021 release of VAERS data:
    Found 9,845 cases where Vaccine is COVID19
    Death 329 3.34%
    Permanent Disability 104 1.06%
    TOTAL † 12,319 † 125.13%
    † Because some cases have multiple vaccinations and symptoms, a single case can account for multiple entries in this table. This is the reason why the Total Count is greater than 9845 (the number of cases found), and the Total Percentage is greater than 100.
    Case Details
    This is page 1 out of 985
    https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php?TABLE=ON&GROUP1=CAT&EVENTS=ON&VAX=COVID19

    ———–
    @ John Day
    Thank
    More info from your link

    329 Deaths + 9,516 Other Injuries Reported Following COVID Vaccine, Latest CDC Data Show

    Data about deaths following receipt of the experimental Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are also emerging from Israel, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. Norway launched an investigation into the vaccines after the Norwegian Medicines Agency received reports of 33 suspected adverse drug reactions with fatal outcomes following administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Pharma and federal agencies attributed the majority of these cases to “coincidence.”

    “Coincidence is turning out to be quite lethal to COVID vaccine recipients,” said Children’s Health Defense (CHD) Chairman Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “If the clinical trials are good predictors, the rate of coincidence is likely to increase dramatically after the second shot.”

    The clinical trials suggested that almost all the benefits of COVID vaccination and the vast majority of injuries were associated with the second dose.

    While the VAERS database numbers are sobering, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study, the actual number of adverse events is likely significantly higher. VAERS is a passive surveillance system that relies on the willingness of individuals and professionals to submit reports voluntarily

    #69263
    Rototillerman
    Participant

    Things that make you go hmmm: the three countries that seem to be the source of the “highly transmissible” variants are the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil. Where have I heard of those three countries recently? Oh, right, those are the three countries that hosted the Astrozeneca vaccine trials.

    See page 8 in the paper describing the efficacy of different timings for the second jab

    Coincidence? Side effect? Bug? Feature? Don’t know..

    #69264
    WES
    Participant

    Has anyone noticed the complete absence of covid cases being mentioned in the media?

    It is just the vaccine now.

    #69265
    WES
    Participant

    So Wall Street traders exhibit “bravery” while fleecing the sheep?

    #69266
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Lets see; war porn, virus porn, and climate porn.
    Take your pick…
    On a personal note; I find it all exhausting and frankly boring…
    …but the general populace seems to thrive on the adrenaline rush, and its subsequent anxiety, with the banquet of drugs to find oblivion…
    The general health of nations, both physical and mental, is in rapid decline…
    Gaia in operational mode?

    #69267
    WES
    Participant

    V. Arnold:

    Some things never seem to change.

    In 1983, Russians drank vodka to drown out the reality of their worker’s paradise. And the communist didn’t dare reduce state production of vodka!

    #69269
    WES
    Participant

    I see the Dems are taking the first steps to double crossing mitch the snake! They are electing to go with simple senate majorities instead of usual 60 votes!

    Now mitch the snake can’t sell repub senate votes required to reach 60 votes! A small drop in corruption.

    #69270
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Some things never seem to change.

    Ain’t that the truth…
    I recently read that the alcohol consumption in Russia has dropped some 80% over the last decade or so…
    Funny how things do change, no?
    The U.S. and Russia appear to have swapped positions…

    #69271
    Mr. House
    Participant

    @ Varnold

    I just don’t think much more needs to be said. America is just two groups manipulated by higher powers to scream at each other.

    #69272
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    I just don’t think much more needs to be said. America is just two groups manipulated by higher powers to scream at each other.

    Yep…… 😉

    #69273
    Mr. House
    Participant

    and just because i haven’t lost all of my romanticism for the past

    #69274
    Mr. House
    Participant

    and one more for good measure

    #69275
    Mr. House
    Participant
    #69276
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Seems to me if you considered the US an adversary you’d be cheering that on.

    #69277
    WES
    Participant

    V. Arnold:

    You know the hardest thing to observe in Russia in 1983 was the total lack of hope things would get better. You could see the despair in their eyes!

    I remember coming back from the mine to the town in our bus and the bus coming to a stop. In front of us was a man and his wife totally bombed out of their minds staggering down the middle of the road. The traffic on the other lane was also stopped. The amazing thing is nobody beeped their horns nor attempted to move. Everybody just sat there waiting quietly until they both staggered and fell into the ditch. Then traffic resumed. Everyone understood what was happening and why so nothing further needed to be said.

    That vodka consumption has dropped in Russia is a very good indication that Russians now have more hope things will get better. That I am glad to hear.

    #69278
    WES
    Participant

    Mr. House:

    Yes, the US generals are very much part of the swamp. They openly disobeyed President Trump.

    Half of the troops are thus suspect. So now is purge time!

    #69279
    WES
    Participant

    Mr. House:

    A few years ago my brother got a chance to fly in the famous yellow P51 Mustang in Idaho. A ride of a life time! The yellow mustang was owned by a famous test pilot who had to give it up because he no longer had the strength to fly the airplane anymore. Gave plane to a friend, an Idaho potato farmer!

    Wish I could remember the names.

    #69280
    Mr. House
    Participant

    @WES

    I’ve actually flown in one. My dad was a pilot and a few years ago he sprang for he, my brother and myself to fly in one in central PA. Sadly the same company later had an accident with a B-17 and i’m not sure they’re letting people fly in the planes anymore. Funny thing, my dad, born in 1955 got his pilots license in the 60’s as a teen. He paid for it by doing odd jobs around the airport which he could walk to thru the woods near his house. The airport today is essentially abandoned, and you’d never be able to pay for lessons today by washing planes. Heck the everyday man who flew back then couldn’t afford the insurance or the fuel costs. Thinking on things like this has helped me have a different viewpoint then most my age and was one of the reasons i ended up here a decade or more ago. Not to mention that, but my father owned his own business, which wasn’t directly consumer related. He wholesaled autoparts, and his stories of how the industry changed from when he began working in it in the 70’s to how it is today is also another information point with regards to our current dilemma. I think owning your own business gives you a different perspective then those that work for a wage for a living. Partially why when they shutdown biz last spring i considered it an effort to consolidate even more for the one ring that will rule them all.

    #69281
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Something for everyone to think about that occurred to me a few years back: As the government becomes more and more of the economy and picks the winners and the losers, its easy to understand the divide between the urban and rural. The urban (healthcare, higher ed, tech, and so forth) have been getting money from .gov hand over fist during this “recovery” while the rural people have watched their jobs go the way of the dodo and their hospitals close.

    #69282
    Mr. House
    Participant

    I also think owning your own biz is the best way to spread the wealth among society. Roman history would agree, as the small holders gave way to latifundas. Not very different then the giant corporations that cannibalize their own people today.

    #69283
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Wes
    That vodka consumption has dropped in Russia is a very good indication that Russians now have more hope things will get better. That I am glad to hear.

    I seem to recall a saying (Chinese?), that one becomes the enemy they make…
    Historically, the U.S. has never looked upon Russia as anything but an enemy; conversely Russia does not view the U.S. as an enemy; an adversary, but not an enemy…

    #69284
    WES
    Participant

    Mr. House:

    Yes the elites raised taxes so high on free small Roman làndowners/farmers such that they had to seek protection under the elites or go into debt and be sold as slaves! All nicely planned by the elites to get ever richer!

    Then one day when the barbarians came knocking, the elites couldn’t raise an army to defend themselves so they fled east!

    #69285
    WES
    Participant

    V. Arnold:

    After working in Russia for 6 months, I left Russiia no longer afraid of the big bad Russians!

    Besides the US out numbers the Russians more than 2 to 1!

    #69286
    WES
    Participant

    Mr. House:

    I think today your Father would be truly amazed to see auto production being stopped due too a lack of semiconductors!

    #69287
    WES
    Participant

    Mr. House:

    I know the Finns were lucky in their 1939-40 Winter War that Stalin had purged the Red army of most of its capable officers. The Finn’s top genera, was an experienced Russian General under the czar!

    If the Winter War had not occurred, then Russia might have lost when Germany invaded a year later. As a result of the Winter War, Stalin brought back some of the experienced army officers that he hadn’t shot and reduced the power of the political commuczars.

    #69288
    Mr. House
    Participant

    “I think today your Father would be truly amazed to see auto production being stopped due too a lack of semiconductors! ”

    I don’t buy that story, like i said last year in the spring when this all began, I think we are being conditioned to move on from endless growth but only as long as the “experts” or “elites” (i hate how people call them that, because they really aren’t) get to remain in control. If they wanted more semi conductors they’d find someone here to make them. Just like PA’s sec of state resigned due to a botched amendment. Doesn’t pass the smell test. Also i’m sure he’s aware because i turned him on to zerohedge a few years ago.

    #69289
    sumac.carol
    Participant

    Jon Barron’s latest missive on covid.

    COVID-19: February and March Will Be Horrible

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 42 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.