sic, you think Belgium is Switzerland? look at poverty in Belgium and you will see who travels and who cleans up offices.
you think nato has no military? they don’t travel?
https://shape.nato.int/
I can’t find precise figures as for the number of employees; the EU headquarters in Brussels have 30,000
For Nato I just find this “Personnel in the headquarters fell from 18,354 in 1990 to 12,919 in 1996.[30] Costs fell from US $621m to $482m over the same period. From 1994-c.1999, there were three Major Subordinate Commands in ACE: Allied Forces Northwestern Europe at RAF High Wycombe, Allied Forces Central Europe at Brunssum, The Netherlands, and AFSOUTH in Naples.”
The military and politicians were among the first cases in Europe back in February.

Posted by: Mina | Jul 6 2020 11:54 utc | 103

Posted by: snake | Jul 6 2020 11:13 utc | 98
Did a Google search.
This appears to be well known as means of gene therapy. The author of the patent – Donald Chang – even wrote a book about it. So I don’t see that as any sort of direct link to 5G or EMF in general.
A lot of things work at a laboratory level – it’s quite another to make them work over longer distances at relatively higher or lower energy levels.
You need more to make the case.
This is sort of like how preppers are always talking about electromagnetic pulse as a “SHTF” moment. However, according to physicists and actual experiments, it’s damn hard to get that effect in things like vehicles on a consistent basis. Add in the likelihood that any nation using such a thing against the US would be obliterated by US nuclear second-strike capability, which basically means any use outside of nuclear war would be suicide – and in nuclear war one has worse things to worry about than that one’s iPad stops working. The preppers may be right in that a solar corona discharge might cause such damage, but – like the pandemic – we haven’t seen one…yet.
As far as I can tell, however, the 5G scare has been debunked by just about everyone. I will admit I haven’t bothered to look into it at all because of the almost universal dismissal of the conspiracy theory. Given that the US seems hell-bent on stopping the only usable 5G – which is China’s, who contributed over half of the technical specifications – I doubt that the US is promoting its use to infect people. Or that China is.
Four experts investigate how the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory began
As an aside, Wikipedia now has an entry on general conspiracy theories connected to the pandemic. Maybe we should start sending everyone here over there. 🙂
Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic
A review of the issues over 5G are in this Ars Technica article from two days ago:
5G was going to unite the world—instead it’s tearing us apart
It’s a political football, and another means for Donald Trump to push his anti-Chinese agenda. Most of the world outside of US allies are ignoring him. So it is no surprise to me that people who are prone to pandemic conspiracy theories – “it’s only flu”, “masks don’t work”, “it’s a hoax”, etc. – are also prone to 5G conspiracy theories.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jul 6 2020 12:49 utc | 105

Moscow Metro … is beautiful https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Metro#Stations
what a coincidence that you write about it. I chose a selection of pictures from Moscow Metro to ‘green screen’ it for my video presence for Zoom meetings just to break up the monotony.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Jul 6 2020 15:36 utc | 107

@55 Cont’d–
The verbal truth assault continues at Global Times today with this op/ed, “US threatens world’s epidemic control with ‘low human rights advantage’”:
“Many people are wondering what is wrong with the US. The self-proclaimed defender of human rights has attached no importance to human life; instead, it has been using the sort of ‘low human rights advantage’ to pay the price for Washington’s ineptitude in fighting the COVID-19….
“The right to life is of prime concern to human rights. But the US keeps preaching about human rights without really caring about it, with its top leader downplaying the 100,000-plus deaths, as he believes it could have been up to 2 million if not for his leadership. Regrettably, the democracy that many Americans are so proud of has failed to do them justice … People from other countries now see the US as a helpless underdeveloped country.
“Money is needed to guarantee human rights. This is why lieutenant governor of Texas Dan Patrick immorally suggested that fellow seniors should sacrifice their health for the sake of the country’s economy. But China – a country frequently blamed by the US for “infringing human rights” – has left no one in its COVID-19 fight, safeguarding the life of every Chinese at tremendous economic cost. The US would never consider a similar option, so it is sitting back idly to get rid of economic burdens. Could there be any country more immoral than the US?
“The US has not only failed to reflect on its poor performance in defending the right to life but also continued to make use of its low human rights advantage, while simultaneously using human rights as a stick to beat others. The raging epidemic in the US will continuously hurt the world and stop the world from taking a turn for the better. Performance in the US has severely dragged the progress of epidemic control worldwide.”
What’s most troublesome about this op/ed is the fact that it’s not propaganda–it’s reporting the facts of the matter. 130K deaths and rising while Trump lies about his Do Nothing Policy. As one of my wife’s co-workers observed: Trump gets tested and is informed of COVID-19’s progress daily, so he knows what’s happening, but he clearly doesn’t give a Damn about the deaths and economic disruption.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 6 2020 16:59 utc | 109

So you mean Blacks and Latinos, as well as the Amazonian Indians, have more 5G than others? Please explain.

Posted by: Mina | Jul 6 2020 18:39 utc | 111

I haven’t followed the russian doping scandal closely and i dont know what was really proven. The statements in Der Spiegel are confusing They confirm that the key witness makes up stories from thin air AND they confirm that the basic accusations of the doping scandal remain valid. Then they point again to Rodchenkov as a witness. The confirmation they cite is subsequent analyses of Russian urine samples from Sochi revealed indications of urine tampering. Ultimately, the IOC felt the circumstantial evidence was strong enough to sanction the athletes . That does not sound very convincing. So is there anything left of the original cause for the ban or not?

Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Jul 6 2020 19:15 utc | 113

Richard @ 95
Our economy and society and culture and the future of our children have been destroyed by a virus. The STUPIDITY virus…
actually, Richard, the lusus naturae of high finance have already gobbled up our children’s future. covid’s kinda the last rites.
fear, loathing, and unreason, i.e. mass stupidity, seem to be the dividends.

Posted by: john | Jul 6 2020 20:07 utc | 115

@114
I agree, no statues, and those who clamor for them are hypocrites. Next up, this carved head should be blown to smithereens. Destroyed.
Mao Rushmore

Posted by: 450.org | Jul 6 2020 20:58 utc | 117

@114
Let’s Not Forget This One In Erik Prince’s New Home Away From Home

Posted by: 450.org | Jul 6 2020 21:03 utc | 119

Vitchek on
China is capitalist
“In the case of China, West is trying to convince the world that PRC is the same type of gangster states like the United States or Great Britain, France, or Canada. It is doing it by calling China capitalist, by calling it even imperialist. By ridiculously equating China’s behavior to the behavior of the Western colonialist powers. By declaring that China is oppressing its own minorities, as the West has been doing for centuries.”

Posted by: arby | Jul 6 2020 21:18 utc | 121

@114 I expect V will be along at some point but here are my thoughts on the Saddam statue…..
The US is ridden with hypocrisy as you say ….no surprise there. The statue was actually pulled down by a rentamob of Iraqi Saddam haters while American troops high-fived each other.
They wouldn’t see anything wrong with pulling the statue down because Saddam was a ‘bad guy’ and an American enemy.
Those same troops would probably not feel the same way about Confederate generals…..who just happened to be Americans who kept slaves and picked the losing side. They would be seen as major figures in American history.
That is how a lot of Americans would justify it. Of course it is rank hypocrisy..

Posted by: dh | Jul 6 2020 21:40 utc | 123

arby @123
Yes, it is fascinating how the organs of western propaganda have switched to demonizing China by trying to argue that they are as bad as America. We have one of their agents right here in this thread.
It is a strange defense that the empire has resorted to. Smells like desperation.

Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 6 2020 23:17 utc | 125

So what are your thoughts on the destruction of the Saddam statue sanctioned by the US govt and military?
Posted by: CitizenX | Jul 6 2020 18:49 utc | 114
I left the U.S. 8 weeks after the U.S. destroyed Iraq on March 19, 2003.
That’s what I thought of the U.S. and its hypocracy.
I’m no fan boy of anything U.S.; including its impotent citizens.

Posted by: V | Jul 6 2020 23:41 utc | 127

Done, that is, except for these *real* studies done *this year*, not 1989.
5G Wireless Communication and Health Effects—A Pragmatic Review Based on Available Studies Regarding 6 to 100 GHz
IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation—COMAR Technical Information Statement
Health and Safety Issues Concerning Exposure of the General Public to Electromagnetic Energy from 5G Wireless Communications Networks

First, unlike lower frequency fields, MMW do not penetrate beyond the outer skin layers and thus do not expose inner tissues to MMW. Second, current research indicates that overall levels of exposure to RF are unlikely to be significantly altered by 5G, and exposure will continue to originate mostly from the “uplink” signals from one’s own device (as they do now). Third, exposure levels in publicly accessible spaces will remain well below exposure limits established by international guideline and standard setting organizations, including ICNIRP and IEEE. Finally, so long as exposures remain below established guidelines, the research results to date do not support a determination that adverse health effects are associated with RF exposures, including those from 5G systems. While it is acknowledged that the scientific literature on MMW biological effect research is more limited than that for lower frequencies, we also note that it is of mixed quality and stress that future research should use appropriate precautions to enhance validity. The authorship of this paper includes a physician/biologist, epidemiologist, engineers, and physical scientists working voluntarily and collaboratively on a consensus basis.

And this comes from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. Note the link on the right that specifically states 5G has *nothing* to do with the coronavirus.
5G Radiofrequency – RF EMF

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jul 7 2020 0:20 utc | 129

I live in British Columbia, Canada and wearing masks is not mandatory. What the heck are the health officials thinking, you ask? Here’s the link to BC CDC’s advice on masks:
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/prevention-risks/masks
And here’s some recent tap-dancing (IMHO) by provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry on mask-wearing:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dr-henry-expects-british-columbians-to-be-wearing-masks-1.5633657
From what I’ve seen, the Asian-Canadian community wears masks faithfully (not Indo-Canadians, though) and everyone else is hit or miss. Personal choice. T & T Supermarket, a Canadian supermarket chain that sells primarily Asian foods and is headquartered in Richmond, BC requires face masks.

Posted by: Anonymous | Jul 7 2020 1:42 utc | 131

Mark2 | Jul 7 2020 8:58 utc | 134
Your comment is very kind, thank you.

Posted by: V | Jul 7 2020 10:15 utc | 133

UK Jeopardises London Financiers’ Post-Brexit Future in EU, Luxembourg Warns Amid Stalled Talks
No, comrade Michael: the British must go all-in with Brexit, and enforce the most brutal austerity they can. They must have faith in their ideology – the great doctrine of Smithianism-Friedmanism!
–//–
UK Jeopardises London Financiers’ Post-Brexit Future in EU, Luxembourg Warns Amid Stalled Talks
This is fake news, for these reasons:
1. Since when the presence of the UK in the EU has stopped Germany from turning Luxembourg into its own Cayman Islands? The root in Brexit was, after all, in the German supremacy in the EU. Indeed, Germany’s social indicators look better than they really are because the German elite found an extra vital space in the EU, and are listing much of their assets there (many of which in Luxembourg). But the reason Luxembourg (or Paris, or Frankfurt) hasn’t supplanted London already is simple: it can’t.
2. One of the main problems of the EU since the creation of the Euro was which city would become its financial center – Luxembourg being just one of the many candidates. The matter was settled peacefully at the time precisely because the UK was reluctant to join the EU in the first place, and because London already was the world’s financial services center. Inertia joined hands with realpolitik and London earned the spot. With London (UK) gone, this old struggle will resurface, with France desperately fighting for Paris (it will depend on that if it is not to become the Western annex of Germany in the long term, as its industry can’t compete with the German one).
So, the most that will happen to London’s status post-Brexit is the loss of its Euro swap operations privileges – which already were an aberration even when the UK was in the EU, since it is not and never was in the EZ.

Posted by: vk | Jul 7 2020 12:47 utc | 135

@vk 137
Very informative thank u. Read something about this awhile back but u summed it up into a neat little package for everyone.

Posted by: PleaseBeleafMe | Jul 7 2020 13:32 utc | 137

snake @140
There is no covid in Wuhan now. Do you suppose that is because the Chinese turned off all of the 5G transceivers? I suspect people in China would notice if that had happened and might discuss it some…

Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 7 2020 14:19 utc | 139

VK @ above 137
I sit on the fence with Brixit !
But out of pure mischief……
Lady’s and gentle men I present to you the next priminster of Great (sic) Britain !!
NICOLA STURGEON ! An anti Brixit politician.
Out of England, Wales, Irland and Scotland it was only England that voted for Brixit and we were devided down the middle.
More dam Brit chaos.
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/493768-nicola-sturgeon-prime-minister/
———
RT news are really hot at the moment —- fascinating piece there on Iran as well ect ect ect.

Posted by: Mark2 | Jul 7 2020 15:16 utc | 141

@145 Yes it was a joint Iraqi/US project. Cheering spectators bussed in for the event. But they needed some help so hardware, US flag and cameras were provided by the US.

Posted by: dh | Jul 7 2020 15:40 utc | 143

After losing a much-coveted rotating UNSC chair, largely because of Canada’s pro-Israel voting history there, Justin Trudeau has just appointed a new ultra-Zionist UN Ambassador to the UN…
Bob Rae, Next UN Ambassador Says Canada’s Reputation Not Harmed by Failed UNSC Bid.
https://twitter.com/globeandmail/status/1280316744582610945
Who is Bob Rae?
http://www.thecanadiancharger.com/page.php?id=5&a=761

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jul 7 2020 18:09 utc | 145

The new relationship between the US and Germany is that the Americans commit crimes and the Germans pay for them, from Monsanto/Baier to the Deutsche Bank.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/07/business/jeffrey-epstein-deutsche-bank-fine/index.html

Posted by: Mina | Jul 7 2020 19:58 utc | 147

@ james C 84

Here’s why the data is misleading. The columns that are listed as “Covid rates per 100,000, covid rates per 100(%), and 1/covid rate expressed as a part /xx, such as 1/55, are in fact all Covid DEATHS RATES, not Covid rates, over a limited period of time of 9 weeks. Several statistical slights of hand are at play here. First the authors confound covid rates with covid death rates,leading the reader to think their risk of dying from Covid is 1.82% if they are over 90 yo. Second they imply that the time dependent cumulative risk of 33 days is an absolute risk – it isn’t, and finally they suggest that individual risk approach population risk when it is known that there are significant comorbities that significantly alter individual risk profiles.

Yes you are right. But the article doesn’t suggest otherwise. The 33 days or risk is what people bore over that 9 week period.
Co-morbidiites do alter risk profiles both to covid and without it (and elsewhere it has been shown that given co-morbidities risk shows a similar 30 odd days of risk given the co-mordidity – high risk with covid, high risk without it). Lower risk for those without both normally and with Covid.
Total risk of course depends on how much further infections spread, and short of an accurate estimate of how many have been infected to date (and how many, like many children, are simply immune) that is as far as anyone can state.

What’s the population life reduction going to be over a two or three year period as each successively 9 week period pass and more fatalities are incured? It’s a hell of a lot more than 33 day. After 1 year at a constant rate the average life expectancy reduction for the 90+ population will be 191 days. After two years it will be 382 days.

Well yes – what would happen if we had 17 consecutive 9 week periods over 3 years. That would imply something like 170% of the population being infected (maybe a bit less, perhaps a lot lot more – estimates of infections to date are unreliable).
Lets assume a cautious/pessimistic 10% of UK has been infected Then the worst case as 100% of people getting infection.
That implies 330 days of increased risk total for the 90+ age group, 130 days for the 25-44 age group. And an average weighted by population of 170 days – just under 6 months. That is worst case, far more likely is going to be an average of 2-3 months of risk given < 100% total infections, some complete immunity, and a recognition that most estimates of infections to date are on the low side because anti-body testing misses many. Feel free to estimate infections so far - it is the number most relevant to estimating the potential impact of Covid - and the number both MofA and you have avoided discussion of. But beware - it may challenge all your beliefs.

Posted by: Bob Creamer | Jul 7 2020 21:00 utc | 149

What will be the results of this?
UN Investigation Finds US Soleimani Killing “Unlawful” As There Was “No Evidence” Of Imminent Threat

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 8 2020 3:28 utc | 151

We live in a society where the only way to draw attention to injustice is to pull statues down, hanging our head in shame would now be appropriate.
No political remedy, no media calling our leaders to account, no legal protection.
Just victem blaming! And miss-placed priorities.
Values——- stone and bronze more important than flesh and blood.
How loud will the victems need to shout before we hear them.
Please spare me the self-righteous indignation.
400 years. That’s more than enough restraint, don’t we think ?

Posted by: Mark2 | Jul 8 2020 8:58 utc | 153

Mark2 | Jul 8 2020 9:16 utc | 154
How many brutal deaths world wide are the US and UK responsible for ?
How many city’s bombed into ablivion ?
How much history distroyed ?
But ! But !…… statues
Such a great post.
…and yes; statues!
The world is not a prison-house but a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks.
— Edwin Arlington Robinson…

Posted by: V | Jul 8 2020 9:46 utc | 155

Mark2 #141
Nicola Sturgeon will not be the next British PM.
She is a spineless whimp,
an opportunist do nothing,
a mendacious hater
a vindictive destroyer of reputations
a turd.
Well I guess that shows her qualifications.
I reckon the ‘team’ will will find, invent, pluck out of the air some anti-semitic reference and the slavering idiot dogs will chase her off.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 8 2020 10:03 utc | 157

Uncle Tungsten @ 157
Ha ha ha ! Do I detect a hint of well placed sarcasm and dissolutioned bitterness with a smigion of revolutionary zeal ? If so I share it Uncle.
Ain’t it jus great livin in a lunatic asylum ! Come on in, they shout.

Posted by: Mark2 | Jul 8 2020 11:16 utc | 159

Iran and Syria sign Military agreement
“As part of the agreement, Iran “will strengthen Syria’s air defense system,” Baqeri was quoted as saying.”

Posted by: arby | Jul 8 2020 15:58 utc | 161

It still surprises me to this day why more cities don’t deal with their problematic pasts in this manner.

It allows people to discuss the impact of the statues and what they represented. Seems to keep the heated rhetoric to a minimum and yet allows people to understand the history of their cities and to hopefully form their own opinions. Though I’m not sure most people are interested in developing their own ideas. It’s much easier to be told what to think.

Posted by: Digital Spartacus | Jul 8 2020 17:21 utc | 163

“Very interesting comparrison with Comrade Mao’s cutural revolution; I don’t see the unity, in the U.S., that that would entail…”
Posted by: V | Jul 8 2020 0:06 utc | 150
…
Good point on the lack of cohesive unity. I’m referring more to the population turning on to itself, erasing any and all ties to its culture and past. “Cancel Culture” parallels the self destruction seen during the Cultural Revolution.
The zealousness from the “little red book” followers seemed to extend far beyond what Mao could have imagined?
The masses embrace with “political correctness” spiraling into mob rule insanity where citizens turn on each other- first destroying, then murder, prison and “reforming”.
The capacity for a high percentage of the population to turn on and devour itself is frightening. Americans short attention span combined with the standard bread crumbs of distractions media creates potential calamity for cultural growth or positive changes.
As Gore Vidal noted- “Americans have Monday morning amnesia, they can’t remember anything from the week before”. Hence they are easily herded with constant memes or distracted away with fluff.

Posted by: CitizenX | Jul 8 2020 18:18 utc | 165

The capacity for a high percentage of the population to turn on and devour itself is frightening. Americans short attention span combined with the standard bread crumbs of distractions media creates potential calamity for cultural growth or positive changes.
As Gore Vidal noted- “Americans have Monday morning amnesia, they can’t remember anything from the week before”. Hence they are easily herded with constant memes or distracted away with fluff.

: CitizenX | Jul 8 2020 18:18 utc | 165
Pretty much encapsulates the “American Situation” today, IMO. The Ouroboros comes to mind…

Posted by: V | Jul 9 2020 4:54 utc | 167

@ Grieved | Jul 9 2020 5:07 utc | 168 with the Renegade Inc link….thanks, just watched it.
I find it fascinating that there continues to be all this nationalistic focus on events and not on the civilization war context ath i keep writing about. I don’t see any magic to the public/private finance civilization war context that I continue to posit as the underlying energy behind the conflicts with China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, etc…..the public finance axis core which includes Russia but it gets complicated with its private Central Bank but Putin is “bigger” at the moment.
The elite that own global private finance don’t give a hoot about America and have been trying for decades to perform the same financial Shock Doctrine (debt enslavement) event on it that they did to all of South America and other countries. Except that they created exceptional America for global control purposes, the leveling of Western consumption in relation to the rest of the world, brought about because of the handling of Covid, will be a welcome relief to many.
Will the global private financial elite find another host in China or will public finance at the core which China is showing good example of remove the curtain the private finance elite have hidden behind for centuries? I sure as heck hope for the latter but it is too soon to tell who wins this civilization war.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 9 2020 6:16 utc | 169

Mark2 #159

Ain’t it jus great livin in a lunatic asylum ! Come on in, they shout.

Thank you.
Chief Broom will meet you at the reception, take your temperature, ask you the same question ten times each in a different language, and then agree to your residency until the next performance review.
I can understand why some people take one look at this society and decide to seek solace in the mountains and wild places. Viva les outsiders!

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 9 2020 10:21 utc | 171

It is undeniable that people living adjacent to cellular communications towers report sleeping problems. That said, those problems appear to be due to ludicrously bright collision avoidance lights on the towers flashing through their bedroom windows all night long. I suppose visible light is a slightly different part of the em spectrum from mm waves, though.
I guess that can still be considered a form of em pollution, right?

Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 9 2020 13:42 utc | 173

arby #174

China appears to care very much about the welfare of its population.
They are installing 5G.
If it was so dangerous I highly doubt that they would.

Hmmmm, I would need to see more evidence of the restraints based on data and reasoning. I do agree that China is far more social conscious than some other nations but I am familiar with some mighty awful stories about the waste management from silicon tech processing/manufacturing in that fair land. Pollution disposal regulations etc buys simple solutions like dumping waste concentrate into agricultural drains or into city sewage treatment systems.
China is not alone of course. The electricity authority in Brisbane dumped an estimated eleven tons of Poly chlorinated biphenols into the Brisbane River many decades ago saying they were unaware of their danger. They too ‘cared for their people’ but then expedience is a lure. Other cities likewise.
The USA is totally innocent of dumping C5, lead, and many other things into waterways, lakes, subterranean water tables etc. Why they even have some really low lead levels in municipal water supplies in some places. I don’t believe the USA has any water supply clear of C5.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 10 2020 7:51 utc | 175