Feb 142021
 
 February 14, 2021  Posted by at 3:05 pm Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,


Jean-Michel Basquiat Warrior 1982

 

 

As the second Trump impeachment circus has come to an end, which it seems to have done last night, we have to try and map what lies ahead, not just in politics, but also in the media. Which for the past 5 years have run almost exclusively on banging the Trump drum. This is not true only for the MSM, it also includes other media, including the Automatic Earth.

What are we all going to report on going forward? Trump has been acting like a kind of black hole in “news”, sucking up all the light and matter that came close to him. We ourselves didn’t get close enough to be annihilated by the black hole, like CNN and New York Times did, but its gravity pull did shape -and distort- our universe as well.

Last week I ran a graph depicting US cable TV viewer numbers, and said: “Here’s what will determine US politics in the next 4 years. Lack of clickbait. War would be good for ratings.” The graph is devastating for CNN, which lost over 40% of viewers in just one week, before and after the Biden inauguration. The network that is most anti-Trump got hammered once he was gone. The irony is palpable. It was also entirely predictable.

 

 

What will CNN and NYT and WaPo turn to now? Not Joe Biden, that’s for sure. No energy there, hence no news. Or rather, no clickbait. Of course over the past few days they were fully focused on the second impeachment, but that was the worst dud ever, sucking blood out of a stone. Did anyone ever have the idea that the Dems even tried to win this?

Legal scholar Jonathan Turley wrote well before the acquittal vote that he thought they were “tanking” it, an American football term for losing on purpose:

 

Did The Democrats “Tank” The Second Trump Trial?

In the last impeachment, I criticized the House leadership for impeaching Trump on the thinnest record in the shortest time in history. It then outdid itself by impeaching him a second time with no record and no hearing. Even a day of hearings would have reduced the serious prudential concerns of senators, but the House pushed through a snap impeachment on a muscle vote. That left the House with no record despite being denied witnesses in the prior impeachment by the Senate

The greatest indication of tanking was the language of the article itself. Even a single day of hearings would have allowed experts to discuss the potential impeachable conduct and the crafting of articles of impeachment. There was credible impeachable offenses in Trump’s conduct on January 6th and its aftermath. Instead, the House leadership insisted on impeachment for “incitement of insurrection.” The House is not alleging reckless or negligent conduct leading to a riot. It is alleging incitement to actually seek rebellion or overthrow of the country.

The article specifically refers to section 3 of the 14th Amendment in its prohibition of anyone holding office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States. Even moderate senators who condemned Trump for his speech would be highly unlikely to convict on such an article. The House made it easy on those seeking acquittal. It could have crafted an article that would appeal to broader bipartisan support. Instead, it sought the most extreme language alleging incitement to an actual insurrection — virtually guaranteeing a partisan vote and likely acquittal.

 

And then yesterday what seemed to happen was that Nancy Pelosi, as soon as she understood she would be called as a witness if any were allowed, fumbled the ball and would not allow any witnesses. Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen turned on the MSM media for their coverage of the trial, but only after his home was vandalized and he received 100 death threats. Shame he wasn’t wearing a Viking helmet.

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1360815669294596096

 

But okay, for now it’s over. Trump has made some noise about ‘this is only the beginning’, exactly what the MSM have wet dreams about, but for the near future, it’ll be Biden all the way. Sure, they will try and pin Ol’ Joe’s mishaps on Trump, but at some point they must blame his errors on him. The end of a perfectly beautiful friendship. Joe is Kryptonite for the MSM.

How many Americans have died of COVID-related issues since Inauguration Day? Oh, but that’s all Trump’s fault. OK, so how many will die from today on? Also Trump’s fault? Till when does that last? Question: why did Biden keep Dr. Fauci in his job after so many people died? Because he was heroically battling Trump? Nothing was Fauci’s fault?

That leads me to another topic that, like Trump, we have written so much about that I sometimes don’t see what more there is to say. Well, perhaps other than: why doesn’t your government do everything in its power to keep its citizens from dying, and instead only locks them down and puts facemasks on their weakened immune systems? (This is not only true for the US, of course).

They can boost those immune systems, it’s very easy even, and they know about it. So why does it continue to (not) happen? And when will the MSM finally find out about it and start reporting on it?

In a Twitter thread, British MP David Davis points to a recent study linked to the Lancet named Calcifediol Treatment and COVID-19-Related Outcomes , and says:

This is a very important study on vitamin D and Covid-19. Its findings are incredibly clear. An 80% reduction in need for ICU and a 60% reduction in deaths, simply by giving a very cheap and very safe therapy – calcifediol, or activated vitamin D. The findings of this large and well conducted study should result in this therapy being administered to every Covid patient in every hospital in the temperate latitudes.


Furthermore, since the study demonstrates that the clear relationship between vitamin D and Covid mortality is causal, the UK government should increase the dose and availability of free vitamin D to all the vulnerable groups. These approaches will save many thousands of lives. They are overdue and should be started immediately.

Calcifediol is what your body turns vit. D into, and the study doesn’t appear to mention that adequate vit. D levels reduce risk of infection by some 50% to begin with. If an MP knows this, and talks about it, can the rest of government plead ignorance?

Then, there are 38 published trials for ivermectin as a COVID treatment. Are these being ignored by the west because they took place in countries such as Israel, Peru, Mexico, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey, Argentina, Iran? What say you, Fauci? What say your friends in the industry?

 

 

And of course just a few days ago we had our own resident MD, John Day, explaining how to Treat Your Own COVID. So the information is out there, even if Fauci and/or the MSM won’t give it to you. And it’s information that may well save your lives, or those of people close to you.

Anyway, the premise of this article was what the MSM are going to do now that their Golden Trump Goose can no longer deliver the desired clickbait. Will they be desperate enough to tell people how to save their own lives? I must say, I don’t really see that happening. It appears much more likely that they start banging war drums, their tried and tested MO.

Thing is, can you really send troops to far away deserts while your own health care systems are imploding? And before you give people the $2,000 $1,400 $600 checks that some pundits claim will allow them to pay all their bills until July? I’d almost wish you would try, but I don’t actually want more people to die.

If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on the MSM soon being back to where they were before Trump entered stage right: on the verge of bankruptcy. But I’m not a betting man, and I’m not always right. Still, if I were Trump I’d lay low for a while and let them draw their terminal breaths. But I’m not Trump either.

 

 

 

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Home Forums Quo Vadis Media

Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)
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  • #69681

    Jean-Michel Basquiat Warrior 1982     As the second Trump impeachment circus has come to an end, which it seems to have done last night, we
    [See the full post at: Quo Vadis Media]

    #69683
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Really? you can’t see what will fill that hole? Domestic terrorism, wasn’t that hard.

    #69684
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Raul perhaps you should depart athens and come visit us here. When was the last time you visited the US?

    #69686
    kultsommer
    Participant

    CBSN empty head and this. No difference at all:

    Chick from the 2007 video, with sound turned off, was symbolic metaphor how once mighty nation is presenting itself to the world. Only with the sound on, it’s true nature is revealed.
    When he in the motion of “bringing left and right together” joined the his palms I could hear the crushing sound of an empty shell that country is.

    Another great work by Basquiat, an artist with that rare raw talent for expression using the paint brush At great personal cost,

    #69687
    Polder Dweller
    Participant

    What’s really going on with the lack of promotion of vitamin D by governments? Is it to keep the panic going? Is it because it’s too cheap and effective so no one will go for the vaccines? Or is it because it usefully (in a Malthusian sense) kills off the elderly, sick, obese and dark-skinned people?

    Perhaps it’s all three, but at some point in the future, the fact that more was not done by our governments to promote vitamin D and to protect the elderly, sick, obese and dark-skinned people should and must be used against them.

    #69688
    Mister Roboto
    Participant

    Well, I think Trump was just a symptom of a huge spiritual problem (namely a lack of any sort of real spirituality) that this country has, and I’m under no illusions that getting rid of Trump got rid of the problem. If anything, the ascendancy of Q-Anon mass hysteria clearly demonstrates that it’s worse than ever and will likely only continue getting worse. And that very mainstream media will be very much a part of that problem.

    My best friend from the good old daze got the Covid back in December and had to go in the hospital for a few days. They treated him with remdesivir, which kept him off a ventilator. That was a good job, too, because once you have to go on the ventilator with Covid, you have something like a fifty percent chance of dying! However, I can’t help but wonder how much better it would have gone for him if they had started treated him ivermectin, azithromycin, vitamin D, and zinc as soon as he checked in. But, he had decent insurance from his employer, so we can’t stand in the way of Big Pharma raking in those mega-profits, can we?

    #69689
    Mr. House
    Participant

    #69690
    Mr. House
    Participant
    #69691
    Mr. House
    Participant
    #69692
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Well thats funny, i most certainly did not post part 1………………….

    #69694

    I just did Mr. House. I scale down YouTube videos regularly to a size where people have access to controls, and can see the entire video, and I thought part 1 would be a good addition. Big Adam Curtis fan, too. Bit too serious right now for me, perhaps.

    #69695
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Part one was ok, but it gets better with part 2 and 3. Finishing 3 right now, but it appears 4, 5 and 6 have been taken down from youtube. If you know of where i can watch those, that would be great and appreciated.

    #69696
    Mr. House
    Participant

    Nevermind i found them, Do you ever delete comments Raul?

    #69697

    Do you ever delete comments Raul?

    No.

    I might in extreme circumstances, but no.

    #69699

    Part one was ok, but it gets better with part 2 and 3. Finishing 3 right now, but it appears 4, 5 and 6 have been taken down from youtube. If you know of where i can watch those, that would be great and appreciated.

    They should be up somewhere soon. His material always is. Initially it’s BBC iPlayer, I think, but never tried that.

    #69701
    Polder Dweller
    Participant

    Some answers to my own questions:

    British health minister, Matt Hancock says that vitamin D has no effect: DM

    France Soir: Ivermectin is a victim of dishonest attacks
    From Google Translate: Opinion piece by Dr Gérard Maudrux, after having been President of the Autonomous Retirement Fund for Physicians of France (CARMF) for 18 years, this urologist continues to speak on his blog in Le Quotidien du médecins. Doctor hired because he supported the request for temporary settlement of use for Ivermectin before the state council with the assistance of Mr. Teissedre. He now finds himself summoned to the Order Council to explain himself on his blog. In his debriefing, he explained to us that the doctors were afraid, that they were silent. With his agreement, we are reproducing this forum which better reflects his commitment and freedom of expression.

    The latest attacks on Ivermectin dramatically demonstrate the financial stakes behind the early, outpatient treatment of Covid, and the way the French are being manipulated.

    #69702
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    Jean-Michel Basquiat Warrior 1982

    Prescient…

    Quo Vadis Media? Straight to hell as near as I can tell…
    The MVDV video was a perfect view of the shit spiked pablum we’re fed everyday…
    Ilargi; keep on keeping on…you’re doing a yeoman’s job of informing us about the real world we inhabit…

    #69703
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    …and to further your point Ilargi, there is this from the Independent:

    The Independent
    Trump’s impeachment attorney mocks reporter in whiny tone then walks out of interview

    Perfect example of bias in reporting, no? 😉

    And they don’t even attempt to hide their slant/bias…

    #69706
    VietnamVet
    Participant

    At the beginning of the 21st century, a fellow cubical inhabitant with a Russian wife said she told him that the Soviet Union fell because they didn’t believe the propaganda anymore. The neo-liberal West is in the exact same position today. If history is correct, Joe Biden’s fate rhymes with Yuri Andropov’s. From another life, I am now getting MoveOn e-mails demanding “defeat the seditionists”. Sure, all 75 million of them.

    Since I am still alive with a 4.8 out of 10 chance of death if exposed for half an hour indoors without protection to a coronavirus shedder, I must accept being isolated for a year served a purpose and continues to do so. Caitlin Johnstone discusses this disconnect between “The Real World and the Narrative World”. The conflict that arises when the notational human mind tries to understand the real biological world. The Trump 75 million live in a different world than the top ten percent meritocracy that earn a living serving Plutocrats. In the real world this is the difference between the crowded russian roulette on a Spirit Airlines flight or a catered Lear Jet.

    This disconnect is most obvious to me in the discussions of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Donald Trump would still be President, if the US Civil Service had not been decimated, and America had a function public health service like Australia’s and New Zealand’s. But he didn’t and at his core Donald Trump was and will be a know-nothing, anti-science, bully. Joe Biden will not be any more successful as President. He still has the same dysfunctional government and Dr. Anthony Fauci remains his chief medical advisor. Joe Biden is so faded he melts into the woodwork.

    I can’t decide if the outcome was conscious planning or if Americans are so incompetent that nature overwhelmed their intellect. I am trending towards a conspiracy to keep the status quo.

    Dr. Michael Mina points out basic public health procedures that were never implemented:
    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/harvards-michael-mina-on-covid-seasonality-vaccines.html

    1) Lack of cheap paper daily antigen tests.
    2) Not vaccinating the most vulnerable first
    3) Prioritizing mRNA and spike vaccines only.
    4) Lack of population screening for the virus and genetic variants.
    5) Lack of funding for alternative treatments or dispensing known prophylactics like Vitamin D.

    The bottom line; fund and start universal testing. “That would actually allow us to predict with a whole new level of accuracy when these viruses are transmitting, how they’re transmitting, who are the main culprits, where are they?”

    When it is clear that the death and trauma were unnecessary, the rulers and ideology responsible, “profit over lives” will be thrown out. On the other hand, if like the Spanish flu that killed two of my Great Grandparents, it disappears after this Winter’s third wave; coronavirus will be forgotten too by the next generations. But tragically, being endemic in the Americas, and continual mutating; new variants makes this unlikely.

    #69708
    Doc Robinson
    Participant

    France Soir: Ivermectin is a victim of dishonest attacks

    From that article in France Soir, linked above by Polder Dweller (translated):

    So I went to the WHO database, Vigibase , which collects [suspected adverse effects] data from pharmacovigilance centers such as ANSM in France, from more than 130 countries. In 30 years, 175,208 adverse effects for Aspirin, 159,824 for Paracetamol and 4,614 for Ivermectin. On more than 4 billion doses prescribed over this period, this makes 0.0001%. Since the beginning of the year if we type Corminaty (Pfizzer vaccine) we have 65,188 declarations, against 46 for Ivermectin .

    #69709
    V. Arnold
    Participant

    @ Doc Robinson
    Thanks for that post.
    The aspirin numbers surprise me; the paracetamol numbers surprise me more (so low) because acetaminophen (the main ingredient) is known for liver problems even at prescribed doses…
    Big Pharma has usurped the practice of good medicine and many of the practicing doctors…
    Our Dr. John is the last of a vanishing breed I fear…

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