b I have always appreciated your humility and candor when you say that something you were working on didn’t work out! Humility and candor can give us more power.
Thank you

Posted by: migueljose | Oct 7 2020 18:25 utc | 4

link messed up… here it is again – link for my post @ 5/A>

Posted by: james | Oct 7 2020 18:39 utc | 6

The old fat white guy with a fast food diet is completely cured of Covid in record time. Thank goodness for whatever companies made those miracle drugs Trump took. Phew. Trump feels so good now he’s going to put on a cape, jump off the White House, fly around DC, spit on Pelosi like an avenging Under Dog, land on the South Lawn in full Mussolini regalia, and declare himself President for Life. Happy October Surprise!
But methinks at this time the voting folks will prefer Cardboard Biden to Cartoon Trump.

Posted by: gottlieb | Oct 7 2020 18:47 utc | 8

lavrov quote from the link “Sergey Lavrov: As I mentioned earlier, the current international relations system is collapsing under the banner of the “rules-based world order.” It became part of the political vocabulary, or narrative, in modern parlance, about three to four years ago. We took note of it immediately. When we began to talk about this term which was proposed to be included in the declarations of international forums, we were told that “this is the same as international law.” When we proposed replacing this term with “respect for international law,” we were told, by hook or by crook, that “we need to use some fresh language.” And then everything that I was talking about came to the surface.”

Posted by: james | Oct 7 2020 19:03 utc | 10

abc.net.au/TheWorld covered a story about Putin announcing that Russia has conducted a successful test of an hypersonic missile. The story included a video clip of a missile whizzing out of the sea, amid lots of non-exhaust plumes of flame, and streaking away from the launch-site. It reached its target 450km away in 4.5 minutes according to the report.
Al Jazeera described it as an anti-ship missile – which is interesting because if a 1 ton+ missile travelling at 6,000kmh hits a ship then the kinetic energy released could make an explosive warhead redundant.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 7 2020 19:57 utc | 12

We recently had a discussion about the Pope’s latest Encyclical.
A broader discussion may be appropriate given that organized religion is still so strong in 2020.
My proposition: Religions, like Abrahamic religions, that externalize sovereignty via a God whose “will” is fateful buttress a toxic hierarchical social structure where those at the top are “blessed” and those at the bottom need to constrain their frustration at the inequities to win God’s pleasure.
The glorious mystery of creation does not need to be institutionalized. One can believe in God (or not), and follow a moral path without the need for a With the internet, we can all learn about everything that is known and being learned about the universe.
What is desperately needed is a culture and governance that is appropriate to the 21st Century. Instead, our elites hope to secure their position by use of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. This only leads to dystopia for the rest of us.
Jesus was a reformer but his ‘message’ was compromised over time to strengthen the morality play that keeps the lower classes subdued. The Golden Rule has rarely constrained the elites who believe that rulers do what they will and the ruled do what they must. We should not allow the thinking of Karl Marx, Martin Luther King, Julian Assange, and other modern ‘prophets’ to be similarly compromised.
I’m not arguing for “godless socialism” but against oligarch capitalism that leads inexorably to the supremacist thinking at the heart of neoliberalism (a form of fascism), neoconservativism (a form of aristocracy), and Zionism (a form of colonialism).
<> <> <> <> <> <>
DON’T WASTE YOUR VOTE on Duopoly Candidates that are placed before you by the The Deep State!
Vote for a third-party, a write-in, or don’t vote at all.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 7 2020 20:07 utc | 14

The Great Barrington COVID Declaration.
https://gbdeclaration.org/
Sponsored and co-signed by prominent experts whose voices are ignored in the corporate media. I welcome their appeal to review the current COVID measures in view of the significant downsides that are not being taken into account.

Posted by: Nathan Mulcahy | Oct 7 2020 20:32 utc | 16

Machine translation of the movie’s blurb:
It cost hundreds of lives, broke thousands of destinies, entire states perished under its rubble, but they still have not been able to destroy it. On October 4, the Rossiya 1 TV channel will air the premiere of the new documentary project of the famous TV journalist Andrei Kondrashov, The Wall. The film will tell about the events of the late 1980s, when the Berlin Wall was already crumbling, and the Kremlin still could not believe that this was possible at all.

Posted by: Paco | Oct 7 2020 20:47 utc | 18

In their current Keiser Report, Max & Stacey use aide grants to developing nations that never reaches the populace as an example of what’s happening within the Outlaw US Empire’s economy where nothing trickles down, which is the true height of irony. To get around the hoarding of Fed printed monies by the 1%, the Fed appears to be seriously proposing making direct “cash credits” to all adults. That’s more fully discussed in this article by a writer and publication Max & Stacey frequently cite. The second half of the program I highly suggest watching to listen to the ideas of Dr. Zeus Yiamouyiannis, who I never met while we both attended Northern Arizona University.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 7 2020 20:56 utc | 20

Russia issues arrest warrant against Belarus’s ex-presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya

Posted by: vk | Oct 7 2020 21:07 utc | 22

Mark2 @ 20 recommends “an up to date assessment of the virus situation in the UK” and proposes that “This is our reality in th U.K.” (Dear Mark2, I’m not criticising you. It was an interesting link)
Toryfibs opinion may be accurate. I’m not sure. It threatens deaths, but ignores death statistics.
We all want to stay close to reality.
How does this opinion reconcile with the reality that the excess mortality in England and Wales dropped back to normal since 21 June 2020?
Perhaps the excess deaths due to Covid19 are offset by fewer deaths due to traffic accidents or something like that? Is that a testable hypothesis? I have not seen anyone address this question yet. Perhaps it is not as interesting to others as it is to me.

Posted by: Deltaeus | Oct 7 2020 21:18 utc | 24

Sorry, I forgot to add the link to the excess deaths page

Posted by: Deltaeus | Oct 7 2020 21:20 utc | 26

The commenter @12 posts yet another deliberately obfuscated link to a mediocre article at failedevolution without any synopsis or helpful contribution explaining why we would want to read more, and under a different commenter name so many will fail to notice the pattern of a webmaster or affiliate promoter shilling with a link-bait link.
The guys at that site must live in a mind-set of competing for scarce resources. Most people post here in a spirit of sharing the abundance of analysis.

Posted by: Grieved | Oct 7 2020 21:26 utc | 28

karlof @ 11, that ‘privatization’ of international bodies is an important point – and it strikes me that it was exactly the technique used by the Democrats during this electoral buildup when they introduced their ‘Green New Deal’ legislation. The term ‘Green New Deal’ had been used all through Jill Stein’s campaign as Green Party candidate, but it meant something entirely different referring as it did specifically to FDR’s New Deal legislation. It did have components of climate and environmental issues, but returning to FDR’s policies a grander project by far. And this, if he had been a better candidate, could have been Obama’s legacy, to return us to those fundamentally sound policies for the nation at large, instead of what he had proceeded to do with his mandate in 2008, which was to ignore the needs of the country at large so he could purchase his mansion beside a threatening ocean.
Financial skulduggery in the US and the world was made ‘legal’ by Clinton and all who came after him. So the buck stops there, perhaps. And the rich made off with the spoils, knowing as Trump pointed out in his defense of his tax returns at the debate, that it was all perfectly ‘legal’.
So, Lavrov is only pointing out on the world scene what we all have been experiencing back in the US. And yes, that buck stops here. Which means we have to take to heart his comment that “There are many forecasts that any empire will reach a crisis at some point and become smaller and quieter….”
Smaller and quieter. Ah, wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Posted by: juliania | Oct 7 2020 21:35 utc | 30

@ Posted by: Hoyeru | Oct 7 2020 21:27 utc | 30
Not only that, but Marx had already correctly stated capitalism’s division of labor is the most cooperative ever invented. The industrial production line is the most perfected form of cooperation humanity has ever created so far.

Posted by: vk | Oct 7 2020 21:52 utc | 32

Deltaeus @ 25
Thanks for your question and challenge.
Firstly I am no academic, I just have a good eye and ear for the truth,
I haven’t spent time looking into your point, so will answer from my own personal first hand contact with the U.K. public !
Dispite all the govenment misinformation it’s clear that well over half the population have a strong wish to keep themselves and loved ones safe and alive. I’d estimate 50%.
We live and learn. The Tory’s and buseness have desperately tried to get people back to work for finanacal reasons.
So to answer dispite polatians advice and rules. the public have began to learn and adapt. For selve preservation. Put simply we don’t want to die.
Your turn ! Give us a short discription of your view (overall) and here’s my question ——
How do you forecast the infection and death rate will go over the next 2-3 years. Both with a successful lockdown or without ?

Posted by: Mark2 | Oct 7 2020 21:55 utc | 34

Paco @18–
Thanks for making that discovery and sharing!! I made a request at The Saker’s that he use his resources to post it to his website, hopefully with an English translation of some sort as it’s told in Russian as one would expect. The premise that The Wall was never destroyed, just moved Eastward seems to be well supported by today’s facts. It looks well produced, and I’m miffed yet again that I didn’t pursue my Russian language studies longer. The write-up is very negative toward Gorbachev:
“The Berlin Wall was already collapsing, and behind the Kremlin wall they still couldn’t believe it was possible. Then there was an unthinkable and great event for Germany and for the whole of Europe – the unification of Germany and the GDR. And despite the fact that this happened far from our borders, it was for Russia that it was a turning point. The way the leadership of the USSR behaved thirty years ago was contrary to national interests and became one of the most expensive diplomatic defeats in history for the country.
“In December 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev made it clear at the Plenum of the Cpsu Central Committee that the Soviet Union would not abandon the GDR to its fate. Further is well known to all. The East Germans could not have imagined that there would be no equal agreement on unification, that they would lose most of their civil rights. Could Mikhail Gorbachev do something for his loyal allies during the negotiations?
“And did the Soviet Union have real opportunities to maintain its military and political presence in Germany without allowing NATO to expand to the east?”
A longer review of the program is available here. Use Microsoft Edge and it will ask if you want the page translated into English. The film’s 47.5 minutes long.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 7 2020 22:08 utc | 36

@karlof1 #11, @Paco #18
The Wall is also available on Rossiya 24’s YouTube channel.
Machine translation of another movie blurb:

Film by Andrey Kondrashov.
The Berlin Wall was already crumbling, and beyond the Kremlin wall, they still could not believe that this was possible. Then an absolutely unthinkable and great event took place both for Germany and for all of Europe – the unification of the FRG and the GDR. And despite the fact that this was happening far from our borders, it was for Russia that it was a turning point. The way the leadership of the USSR behaved thirty years ago was contrary to national interests and became one of the most expensive diplomatic defeats in history for the country.
In December 1989, at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Mikhail Gorbachev stated unequivocally that the Soviet Union would not leave the GDR to its fate. The rest is well known to all. The East Germans never imagined that there would be no equal treaty of unification, that they would lose most of their civil rights. Could Mikhail Gorbachev have done something for his loyal allies during the negotiations?
And did the Soviet Union have real capabilities to maintain its military-political presence in Germany, preventing NATO expansion to the east?

And yet another, longer movie blurb:

THE HISTORY OF THE CREATION AND FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL – IN THE NEW FILM BY ANDREY KONDRASHOV
The Berlin Wall is a symbol of the division of Europe and the whole world, the confrontation between East and West, a demonstrative border of hostile military-political blocs. The 155-kilometer concrete structure was built by the GDR authorities in 1961 and surrounded West Berlin, complete with barbed wire, minefields and watchtowers with armed soldiers. At the same time, residents of the western part of the city could freely move around the world – the wall blocked the way only for citizens of the GDR. The new film of the famous TV journalist Andrei Kondrashov “The Wall”, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the unification of Germany, tells the history of the Berlin Wall – from its creation to its fall – and sheds light on events in which many see the origins of the main problems of our time.
When Soviet and American tanks began to gather on both sides of the wall under construction in October 1961, the world was literally on the verge of a third world war. Soviet vehicles came out to meet the American troops, which moved in a column to the checkpoint. One shot on Friedrichstrasse could then lead to a nuclear disaster, but the West still recognized the borders of the eastern state. But admitting does not mean approving. What in the east has always been considered a “fascist defensive rampart,” Western journalists continued to call the “wall of shame.” The propaganda was at full blast, and it smelled equally bad on both sides of the wall.
Sometimes the citizens of the GDR managed to cross to the west side. Willing to do anything for freedom, these people were not afraid to be arrested or even killed. And yet, in general, life in the eastern part was not much like a conclusion. There were no unemployed, homeless people, crime remained at a level four times lower than in Germany. East Germany held leading positions in the field of mechanical engineering and electronics, and the republic’s educational system served as a model for many countries around the world. Libraries, theaters, social insurance – citizens of the GDR could use these benefits, if not free of charge, then for symbolic money. Well, brotherly love with the USSR was reinforced by the historical kiss of Brezhnev and Honacker. And yet, over time, tensions among the population grew.
The fall of the Berlin Wall is still considered one of the most expensive diplomatic defeats in history. The way the leadership of the USSR behaved at that moment was completely contrary to the interests of the country. On October 7, 1989, on the day of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the GDR, Gorbachev arrived in Berlin. He continued to make loud statements that as long as there is NATO and the Warsaw Pact, there will be no unification of Germany. Then no one knew that the wall had only a month to stand, and the GDR – to exist only for one year.
How was the Berlin Wall destroyed? Why is the 1989 Malta Summit called the “Yalta Conference in reverse”? What repression followed the fall of the GDR, and where did the former head of the republic, Erich Honacker, end his days? Why did not an equal unification of Germany take place? For what amount and in what time frame did the USSR withdraw its troops from Germany? How did the heroic history of the Western Group of Forces, created to preserve peace in Europe and eliminate the threat of a new war, end? And finally – why is it said today that the Berlin Wall has not yet been destroyed, but simply moved to the borders of Russia? Answers – in the documentary film “The Wall” by Andrey Kondrashov.

Posted by: S | Oct 7 2020 22:15 utc | 38

from what i remember, the us was very unhappy that the opcw was not cooperating in the war propaganda, so they got the head of it canned and replaced with somebody more amenable ot u.s. pressure. bolton is widely believed to have threatened his kids to get him to resign.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 7 2020 22:37 utc | 40

Attention: COVID Anti-maskers: This video is for YOU.
Chris Martenson says: “Be Smart Wear A Mask”
The health and life you save may be your own. Plus it will defeat intrusive government facial recognition software as a bonus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KANNNty9V3o

Posted by: gm | Oct 7 2020 22:53 utc | 42

Posted by: AtaBrit | Oct 7 2020 21:53 utc | 34
For fact, Iran issued a strong warning to all involved, Iran wouldn’t accept salafi jehadies anywhere near her borders. Azeries traditionally are very religious shia people, somesay even more than other Iranians, making things miserable or secular Azerbaijan government is very easy for Iran. Shia Azaries Religious leader is Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei who himself is a Azeri and speaks the language fluently. Erdo and his American backers can only have a wet dream but not climax.

Posted by: kooshy | Oct 7 2020 23:01 utc | 44

biovizer @44–
Sorry, but I must support ProfK’s factual assertions regarding what are termed lockdowns in the GBD weren’t lockdowns at all; restrictions, yes, but not lockdowns. China was certainly the leading lockdown nation and for excellent reasons. I would also argue that China provided–and continues to provide–the best example of what the GBD calls Focused Protection since it’s actually a societal MUST given its population and its density. Furthermore, lockdown policies don’t automatically generate the negative affects the GBD postulates since those can be mitigated when the polices are properly thought out and implemented, which they most certainly have not. Then we have the demolition of public health support systems throughout the Neoliberal world that made it close to impossible to implement such reasonable and properly thought out policies–Trump’s actions being the most egregious and well documented.
I would accuse you of having your own particular form of illiteracy when you signed a document you didn’t fully understand, what constitutes a lockdown being primary.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 7 2020 23:22 utc | 46

On the tactical level…
Someone once presented me with a very interesting idea. Some very big changes can be affected by doing small, practical things that can often fly under the radar. His example was jury trials. Currently, it is practice to allow jury selection to drag, each side trying to get ‘good’ jurors. The process is supposed to be random selection. So, put a limit on the selection period. If a jury isn’t seated in 24 hours, mistrial and everybody walks.
The problem I’ve been thinking about recently (because I’m a life-long programmer) is The Blackmail Machine. To progress, it must be killed. Panopticon/Five Eyes/Total Situational Awareness is a fragile fantasy. They certainly have the ability to get everything, but the requirements for true utility of the system are decryption capability (prime!!!) and automated filtration.
The decryption requires huge amounts of compute power if you have not subverted the key generation or the algorithm itself. Good filters limit the amount of data that must be decrypted. Pre-decryption filtering is a ‘big chunks’ straining process. Stuff that has been encrypted by known (and maybe subverted) algos can exhibit patterns in the output, enabling filtration. You thereby have a biffurcation into easy/hard.
In the easy pile, you can start looking for other patterns, since some algos will also poorly obfuscate repeat data (like digitized dial tone). I suggest action against the easy pile because it is the bulk of what they collect, and they assume low operational cost in that realm. It can be more easily knocked over. The hard pile must also go, but let’s start somewhere attainable.
Anyway, I’m not a cryptographer by trade, so I only have some operational stuff to say about it. The operational is good enough to enable us to now attempt some action against The Blackmail Machine. I have 3 main courses that I guesstimate would yield good results. There are many possibilities (I’ve often harrangued patrons of this bar about binary or limited thought), so if you would like to take a crack, please add to/delete from/destroy my idea.
The three are: 1) all dark, 2) all light, 3) noise
All dark and all light have been discussed by many. Bruce Schneier is a good place, but he (as we all) has his ideological bent, that shows more and more recently. Either one of these is really scary to TPTB. Neither will happen, but going down either path could be helpful.
Noise is something practical that almost anyone with an internet connection can do, and with very little bandwidth. In fact, I just myself realized that you could go to a Kinko’s or a public library and do this with Amazon AWS instances…triple the fun!
As a thought experiment (while riding my bicycle up a steep mountain road) I wondered about setting up P2P VoIP connections and sending random stuff, some encrypted and maybe some not encrypted. Make it unnecessarily high bitrate, like 44Khz stereo. Ah, but patterns could be spotted and I’d get weeded out. I couldn’t simply have one VoIP client connect to another, then play “The Miraculous Mandarin” over and over. This would require simple scripts that could hold a seemingly natural conversation.
Asterisk servers. Set up 2 of these, script on each side that randomly initiates calls to the other. Once the call connects, one side selects random audio (or generates it) and plays for a random duration. The other side optionally waits for silence, or butts in, and plays random audio for a random period. The back-and-forth can go for a random period. The more patterns can removed, the better chance to pass the frontline strainer.
This is P2P over the internet, so there is no ‘phone call’ cost. You are simply testing your pbx software, so it is certainly not illegal. Bonus if you can use up Amazon bandwidth and compute power! Another bonus if you are rich (The Magic Christian comes to mind) and can afford to set up farms of these, again preferably at Amazon.

Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Oct 7 2020 23:55 utc | 48

Hoyeru | Oct 7 2020 21:27 utc | 30 – Interesting contribution! A few points are worth commenting.
1. ‘Homo Sapiens became the the dominant life form on Earth because the individual members cooperated with each other instead of competition. For some reason, the Westerns/Americans choose to somehow not be aware of this’
My conclusion regarding this is that human nature can be divided into two categories :
A – those who are authoritarian in nature and are motivated by fear and greed;
B -those who are collaborative in nature and motivated by the collective good.
In any society you will find some of each, but which category dominates depends on the overall culture of the society. ‘Anglo’ culture is dominated by type A, while Russian culture is dominated by type B.
2. ‘but the other part (of game theory) about modifying and directing your opponent/enemy’s behavior was successfully implemented against Japan by USA’
What’s interesting is that most people do not recognize that the above categories exist, and they believe that everyone else shares their same value system. Game theory only works for people who share the same value system and, from what I read in the linked paper, is predicated on the values of category A.
You state that ‘to this day USA still uses Game Theory’ against its adversaries. But it seems to me that its success against Russia is equivocal, to say the least. The West seems to be continuously ‘wrong-footed’ by Russia, and I would argue that this is because they operate on fundamentally different value systems.
3. ‘For some reason Russia hasn’t heard of USA’s proverb it seems: “Nice guys finish last” and prefers to play noble and by the rules while its adversaries are free to cheat/lie as they see fit’.
When I was growing up, in the 60s, the proverb was ‘It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game’. But, about 1980, this changed to ‘Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing’. This also coincided with a shift in the culture of the U.S. to a markedly more authoritarian, ‘Category A’ set of values.
The problem is that when you ‘cheat/lie as they see fit’ you destroy the game, you ‘kill the goose that lays the golden egg’.
And this is indeed what has happened to the U.S. Since 1980 they have wrecked their economic and democratic systems. And, since 2000, they have been actively undermining the international institutions that have underpinned peace and prosperity for more than half a century.
The problem is that, when you destroy these systems and institutions, you don’t miraculously get new systems more to your liking. These systems take decades to develop. What you get is anarchy.
Thank God that Russia ‘prefers to play noble and by the rules’!

Posted by: dh-mtl | Oct 8 2020 0:30 utc | 50

Regular readers may recall that some months ago I recommended watching a TV show called “Devils” which aired in Europe. It was not available in the US at the time, unless you downloaded it from the Internet, as I did. The show portrays what actually happens in financial trading banks and how that affects the nations of the world. In short, topics that resonate here at the bar. I highly recommend it, even if you – like Gruff – view all TV as “brainwashing”.
The CW purchased the rights to the show to fill out its fall schedule which, like all the networks, is somewhat depleted due to delay in production due to the pandemic. Tonight, episode one will air on the CW.
Here is the trailer from this spring, which is better at conveying the show than the CW trailer.
The plot synopsis from Wikipedia:

London, 2011
The Italian Massimo Ruggero is the Head of Trading at the huge American New York – London Bank (NYL). While the financial crisis is raging in Europe, Massimo is making hundreds of billions out of speculation.
As his mentor Dominic Morgan, the American CEO of NYL and the nearest to a father that Massimo has ever had, fully supports him, the talented trader seems to be the first choice in the run for vice-CEO.
But when Massimo is involved in a painful scandal that sees his ex-wife playing an escort, Dominic denies him the promotion, choosing the old-school banker Edward Stewart instead.
Massimo is left astounded: his father turned his back on him. Convinced that the scandal was a set-up, Massimo is determined to seek the truth but when Edward suddenly dies, Massimo realizes that something bigger is at stake.
With the help of his squad and a group of hacktivists, Massimo will discover the hidden agenda behind apparently unrelated events such as the Strauss-Khan scandal, the Libyan war and the crisis of the PIIGS.
Facing the Devils who pull the strings of the world, Massimo will have to choose whether to fight them or to join them.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Oct 8 2020 0:36 utc | 52

@ karlof1 Re Cynthia Chung
You are far too easily impressed.
“Every planet in our solar system is a different size and weight, with a different number of moons. Every planet revolves around the sun in imperfect elliptical orbits that change slowly overtime, the planets travel along these orbits in a non-uniform way that is observable through planetary retrograde motions”
What the hell does that mean? Planetary retrograde motions are a purely line of sight phenomenon and say nothing bout the motions of the observed bodies.
She then goes on to ‘prove’ that parallel lines do meet if you put them on the surface of a sphere, which is garbage. in her example the lines she sets up are not parallel very nearly so but not.
She also said
“The problem with assumptions such Euclid’s is that they are ultimately only true in an artificial situation and are not reflective of how such things will interact in reality. Also, there is no way to predict from Euclid’s fifth law, how two parallel lines would interact in a three dimensional space, let alone in n dimensional space as described by the physicist Bernard Riemann.”
Both pretentious and wrong on more than one count. Firstly, astrophysicists have yet to find any evidence that space is inherently curved in any way, so describing Euclidean geometry as ‘unrealistic’ is laughable. She is apparently confused about the concept of spacetime curvature. And most obviously, euclidean geometry works fine in 3 dimensions, whatever Cynthia Chung says.
My final point, mathematical models obviously have to make assumptions and simplifications because that is what mathematical models are. it is hardly Von Neumann’s fault that some people have taken a mathematical model and tried to use it as a ‘theory of everything’ Cynthia Chung should save her sneers for them.
In short, humanities wonk does science and just looks pretentious (whether she know it or not) Mathew Ehret is much the same.

Posted by: MarkU | Oct 8 2020 0:55 utc | 54

Biovizer reveals his reactionary and inhuman soul in his imbecile rejoinder.
The facts are that:
1. China’s lockdown worked and Chinese economic growth is real. Today’s Financial Times, which I linked to above, makes this clear.
2. There was a limited lockdown in parts of the US. But it wasn’t supported by progressive social policies. Far too much of the US remained open, including interstate travel. And the US had no public health system, or institutional capacity, to crush the virus. It also handed out trillions to the corporate sector but very little to workers and homeowners.
3. New Zealand has also shown, twice, that lockdowns work. See today’s New York Times article on NZ.
4. The evidence from the eastern Canadian provinces, which locked down and closed their borders to the rest of Canada, also shows that short but hard lockdowns combined with “walls” work and that life and economic activity will return to near normal as a result. These provinces have performed better than the rest of Canada in terms of economic recovery.
5. The reactionaries who signed that lousy declaration don’t care if the poor, elderly and sick are killed by covid. They just pretend to care. The underlying logic of their view is that markets rule, that capital rules, and the states should never touch the profits of capital and the billionaires’ billions.
6. The only solution is hard lockdowns for six weeks, at least in the worst off countries, plus direct payments to all residents, paid for by expropriations of billionaire wealth, all of which is produced by the working class anyways.
7. The idea that lockdowns hurt the poor is laughable. Capitalism hurts them every day. And capitalism made the lockdowns in the US ineffective. And capitalism made reopening happen far too early. And capitalism sent tens of thousands of frontline workers to their deaths. Capitalism has made the situation an ongoing nightmare.
For these breasons, that declaration is reactionary, right-wing trash all down the line.

Posted by: Prof K | Oct 8 2020 1:00 utc | 56

VP debate is seriously vomit material.
As low as the bar was held by the number 1’s.. the debate just proved that the number 2’s are just that…. and quite full of it too.
Yes, that was a joke on them being really sh1te, in case the Trump fans needed extra explaining… demographics and all…

Posted by: Et Tu | Oct 8 2020 2:10 utc | 58

Prof K@57
We don’t have Capitalism today. When people speak of Capitalism most speak of Competitive Capitalism that is well regulated by government in the interests of the general welfare of all people. That ended in the 1970’s when the Trilateral Commission rolled out Project Democracy. A project to destroy the wests economy and society and thus Democratic Capitalism which they did over the next 40 + years in several phases.
In its place they phased in neoliberalism, best referred to as Neo-Capitalism or Monopoly (cartel like) Capitalism and PPP (public private partnerships). Today the Military, intelligence, Government, and global corporations are all one big blob. It is basically Mussolini’s Fascism although he preferred the name Corporatism. It is Corporatism that kills , not Capitalism.
The Globalists created Fascism and Communism in their search for an alternative to Democratic Competitive Capitalism. Both Communism and Fascism are Authoritarian and undemocratic. The only difference was
Communism was united under the religion of Socialism (a myth), and Fascism was united by Nationalism and sometimes by race. Economically, in Communism you had State run Corporations and no private ownership whereas is Fascism the Corporations run the State and allowed private ownership.
The global elites hiding behind the Anti Communist movement decided on Fascism since they would own the most . They later convinced China to adopt what they Communitarianism which is a synthesis of Communism and Capitalism, which is basically Fascism in all but name. This allowed China to keep its national religion of Socialism. This followed the 1987 roll out of Our Common Future which was the blueprint for Agenda 21 in 1992.
In the FSU socialism was never a religion and they chose Fake Democracy to maintaining the illusion of Socialism. But basically its just semantics. Russia, China and West all have wealth concentrated in the hands of the top 0.1-1%.
Those leaders in fake democratic EU, UK, Russia, US are all operating in their own interests to exploit and control the people and using academia, education, MSM, Hollywood, social media to brain wash and manipulate the people with propaganda and fake news by which they may control the outcomes of elections
This is a Global Agenda driven to implement Agenda 21/Agenda 2030 and the Fourth Industrial Revolution will follow the Great Reset which will be announced by the WEF in Davos this January. China and most nations have signed on to it hence the similar approaches to COVID-19. COVID-19 is an accelerator as Climate Change was not moving fast enough
The West needed to suffer the most from COVID because society and their economy needed to be disintegrated before people would surrender their religion of Democracy and Freedom for Authoritarian Communitarianism (aka Fascism) They also were going to have the largest reductions in living standards which were too high for the elites taste. Not sustainable they say.
Basically lockdowns are a weapon used in the War on the Wests Middle and Lower Classes. The disintegration of the US and Europes economies also serves as a selling point for the rest of the world that a New World Order without Democracy is the way to go. China is being raised as the model. Its all a Global Psyops

Posted by: Kay Fabe | Oct 8 2020 2:39 utc | 60

Japan stays a puppet
Suga clears first diplomatic hurdle in meeting with Pompeo
Japan PM Suga faces backlash after refusing to name science council members
Japan science body asks PM Suga to retract member appointment rejection

Posted by: R | Oct 8 2020 3:57 utc | 62

@Drive-by Commenting #62:

voice compression codecs are extremely efficient,

If you control the servers, you can select whatever codec you want, like uncompressed WAV.
Storage is a done deal, true. Better to try to overwhelm compute and personnel resources if possible.

Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Oct 8 2020 4:10 utc | 64

Wife’s son and his wife tested positive. Officially they are now ‘cases’. In both cases testing was employment based. Results took seven days. Test results went to HR, not to the patients. So one HR department sat on it for two days and the other for five. In both cases there are no symptoms. In both cases they were sent home from work and told to self quarantine for fourteen days.
So twelve days from test to action. And then fourteen days of quarantine. Self quarantine, no supervision. No referral to a doctor. No advice to load up on D, C, or zinc. Just bureaucratic shuffling. That’s how we roll around here.
For the son it is now the second time he has falsely been told he has covid. Neither of the kids is gripped by fear, they think it’s funny and they get two weeks off with pay.
The son does work for State of Illinois, who is supposed to be in charge of coping with a pandemic. Right. No one is in charge of anything. Will repeat what I said here in February. US is culturally incapable of responding. US does not have a concept of public health.

Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 8 2020 5:46 utc | 66

@james Best Drummer Ever?
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 8 2020 6:16 utc | 68

The most fun thing I have seen tonight about the US VP debate was a video of a fly sitting on top of Pense’s head for two minutes…..
@ Jackrabbit | Oct 8 2020 4:52 utc | 66 who wrote
”
Morality and ethics are independent of faith. The faithful are not permitted to see that – they are indoctrinated into an us vs them world that pits them against nonbelievers.
And religious people have failed to hold elites accountable for centuries. Why should we believe that they represent “the answer”, or even “an answer” to elite corruption today?
”
Agreed, but I want to take the religious issue further.
That same faith that pits faith breathers against nonbelievers also has the leadership and sheep not question the God of Mammon religion that makes a sham out of claims of freedom and democracy in the West.
That same faith has the sheep believe that their bodies are not them but mere vessels of ones religious soul and their lives here on earth are secondary to their “eternal life”…..how anti-humanistic is that?
That same faith has the sheep abdicate complete responsibility for some/critical aspects of their life actions as they turn over whatever decision making to their faith interpretations…….its like a rules based social organization instead of a law based social organization….sound familiar?
Enough for now. I live by and respect many of the Christian values I was raised with. That said, The social organization of the West is a far cry from Christian values but is being touted as representing such. To the extent that Christians in the West continue to delude themselves with faith that God’s work is being done, the shit show we are experiencing will continue.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Oct 8 2020 6:33 utc | 70

Eurosurveillance – quality of PCR-tests

Incorrect results (including false-positive or not determined as laboratories should be able to report clear results by molecular methods) were reported for the true negative sample CVOP20S-05 in 14 (2.7%) datasets (with three false-positive and 11 not determined), for the SARS-CoV-2 negative educational sample CVOP20S-02 in 16 (3.1%) datasets (five false-positive, 11 not determined), and for the other SARS-CoV-2 negative educational sample CVOP20S-04 in 15 (2.9%) datasets (three false-positive, 12 not determined). At the laboratory level, 10 laboratories showed specificity issues by reporting false-positive or indeterminate results for the negative control and/or the two educational specificity samples, while 41 laboratories did not detect one or both of the two low-concentration samples (CVOP20S-08 and -03). Three laboratories showed both sensitivity and specificity issues and another two did not reproduce the results for the duplicated samples (CVOP20S-01 and -06).
Many participants provided quantification cycle (Cq) values in this EQA scheme. An overall median and range of the Cq values reported is shown for each SARS-CoV-2 positive sample in Table 1. While the medians reflect the expected gradation according to the virus concentration in the 10-fold sample dilutions, we observed considerable spread in Cq values with regard to the underlying target genes. This reflects differences in assay methods and the current lack of standardisation between assays. However, the overall percentage of correctly reported qualitative results was 98.3% for the E gene (reported in 197 datasets), 93.3% for the N gene (91 datasets), 96.3% for the ORF1ab gene (88 datasets), 95.6% for the RdRP gene (83 datasets) and 93.9% for the S gene (47 datasets) when used as the respective main molecular target (15 datasets did not state the target gene

Positive rate of tests in Germany at present is 1.6 percent. About 1 percent of those correctly identified a molecule you don’t know if it is connected to a live virus or not.

Posted by: somebody | Oct 8 2020 8:54 utc | 72

re: karlof1 @ 9 <=Chung makes clear that technology can model and positive feedback can control behavior to within desired or targeted behaviors <=reminds me of: how to lie with statistics. Assume the answer, back into one of a million possible solutions, select one (intergration?) The foundation of human behavior is experience, but the same event does not produce the same experience in any two humans at the same time, and the same event at a different time does not produce the same behavior in the same human. On rational behavior <=it depends on the environment at time t <=context sensitive?. Each increment of time produces new opportunity and new constraints. Government (USA) by its tax policy; uses taxpayer funds to finance private sector implementations of mind of control technology (see Snakes seven layers of control, below). Propaganda to encourage allowed behavior is encoded into media and software and hardware are developed which is capable to program the minds of the masses down to and including the individual. The dangerous technology <=5g: the latest hardware and software, implements private ownership of positive feedback control technology <=that can control all human behavior. The private sector is moving toward complete control <=over all human behavior (control collectively the masses awa <=control individually, each individual <=within the crowd). Individuals can be secretly tracked, survailed, and subjected to invisible [wireless] 24/7 feed back controlled, regulated behavior. The goal of these private wealthy owners is to establish for themselves security from the rath of out of control mass rebellion, to profit by regulating human behavior and ultimately to eliminate the need for, and the nuisance of government all together. To do this, the private sector Oligarch must establish <=a target behavior, must define allowed variance for each behavior to be controlled <= behavior ok, if within "predetermined, allowed limit". Invisible (5g), wireless, is far beyond Radio and TV <=technology that helped Oligarchs direct the masses into two world wars. 5g implements as a new currency [Federal Reserve], every transaction <=involving a behavior, must use wireless <= to express a human behavior, or can be tracked <=by wireless means. Human Life is a set of behaviors <=control those behaviors, to own the life. The main reason corporate Dems want so desperately to beat Trump in this election cycle Posted by: killwallstreet @ 12 <= is wall street.. , the world has come to understand the oligarchs own the world because they own the markets, the technology (by monopoly power[copyright and patent], the money supply, and the governments that control human behavior. Seven <= behavior is controlled by mind, body, experience, and technology layers <= instruments that control are government financed, privately owned model <= government is an instrument used by private interest to control behavior. private__Layer 1: Global Oligarchs, control entire nation state franchise system. private__Layer 2: Local Oligarchs, own+control local "named" nation state franchise.. public___Layer 3: Functional Government structured in accord with founding documents. private__Layer 4: Two party system:function to <=TO CONTROL THE MASSES private__Layer 5: the Electoral College: function to <=CONTROL ACCESS TO PRESIDENCY. public___Layer 6: the 340,000,000 who constitute the governed masses. private__Layer 7: 92% privately owned, main stream media. Forces external to the government are private actors <= "CORPORATIONS, POLITICAL PARTIES, OLIGARCHS, FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS, ADVISORS, CONSULTANTS, NGOs, THINK TANKS, MAIN STREAM MEDIA AND BED TIME PARTNERS".

Posted by: snake | Oct 8 2020 10:21 utc | 74

Karys Mullis – the PCR inventior – explains how science works
“You have to make a living”.

Posted by: somebody | Oct 8 2020 12:04 utc | 76

I declare THE FLY on Mike Pence’s head to be the official winner at last night’s debate for having the best punchline.
I’M TRYING TO TELL YOU THIS IS SHIT! DON’T BUY THIS SHIT!
https://youtu.be/i0VcB9gxsMA

Posted by: Circe | Oct 8 2020 12:34 utc | 78

Debsisdead @Oct8 9:49 #74

… all I saw was an average rock drummer cranking out the same old same old not very well.

That’s what I saw too Debs!
But this clickbait has 166 million views. Far more than any other drummer/drumming-focused video that I could find on Youtube.
This is how we are played by politicians, institutional religions, and business. Mass psychology is a powerful thing. And the information needed to play on our weaknesses (demographics, interests, etc.) is readily available to anyone with enough money to purchase it.
We should be using the global IT infrastructure to reformulate governance structures world wide. Instead, oligarch capitalism and government bureaucrats are turning the IT ‘blessing’ into a ‘curse’ of surveillance, control, and improved extraction.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 8 2020 12:58 utc | 80

Here is an excellent YT discussion (~35 min) on Trump’s recent nCov2 infection, and the meds and care he is receiving, given by a very clear speaking and actve infectious disease/covid specialist/clinician Daniel Griffin, and academic virologist Vincent Racaniello, a terrific down-the-middle interviewer, who usually is able to skillfully probe honesty from his guests without getting confrontational (except for times he interviewed “gain-of-funcction” heavy-hitters like Ralph Baric or Pater Daczak).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFpp3pIRjGQ

Posted by: gm | Oct 8 2020 13:01 utc | 82

gm @Oct8 13:01 #83
The letter from Trump’s doctor says that he tested negative for anti-bodies last Thursday, then positive on Monday.
This is supposed to show Regeneron’s ability to energies the body’s fight against the virus.
But If Trump had no anti-bodies last Thursday, how did they know he had the virus? It seems to me that any healthy body will mount some response to the virus. Regeneron helps those whose response are inadequate. But if the body has no response at all then there’s likely no virus.
<> <> <> <>
IMO Trump went to Walter Reed Hospital (WRH) only for observation. It’s doubtful that he ever had the virus. He was administered Regeneron only as a precaution/prophylactic. And he tests “positive” now only because of the anti-bodies that he got from Regeneron.
IMO the entire WRH episode has been designed to: 1) deflect blame for the >200,000 Covid-19 deaths; 2) campaign boost from sympathy and patriotic symbolism; 3) promote costly experimental treatments Regeneron (mostly) and Remdesivir.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 8 2020 13:22 utc | 84

#74 Debsisdead
Billy Cobham is great. I particularly like the European tour he did with George Duke, John Scofield, and Alphonso Johnson. Another drummer from that era/genre is Lenny White, known for his work with Return to Forever. An of course who could forget that cute little drummer Terry Ted Bozzio, often seen with Frank Zappa wearing a devil mask in the 70’s!!

Posted by: Chevrus | Oct 8 2020 15:27 utc | 86

From the London Review of Books – that bastion of conservative thought…
How many more will be dead by Christmas?

In the week after the schools went back in England and Wales, an extra 538 people died (77 a day). Over the previous five years, an average of 8720 people had died that week in September, but this year the number surged to 9258. How many more would be dead by Christmas?
The next week there was a lull: only 289 excess deaths. But then the universities returned, and the excess mortality count doubled. In the week ending 25 September, 574 more people had died each day. There was a drop to 319 excess deaths the following week, and then a rise to 678 (97 a day). On and on it went, week after week after week. Almost five thousand excess deaths were recorded between the schools going back and the start of December. The year was 2015 and most people weren’t paying attention. No one read the numbers out.
…
If we had reported mortality in 2015 as we report it today, would something have been done about a problem that was far easier to fix than a new pandemic? Might the 2015 election have turned out differently? Or would we then, as now, have been paralysed by fear? As it is, we now have not only Covid-19 to deal with, but the continued legacy of austerity, and Brexit to come, not to mention the climate crisis. The long-term solutions, once we have a vaccine, are the same as were needed five years ago. Whether or not we will reach for them is less clear.

Author Danny Dorling is an Oxford professor…

Posted by: c1ue | Oct 8 2020 16:24 utc | 88

Thanks to Vato @72 for the Crosstalk info. And to Paco @76 for his short review of The Wall film.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 8 2020 17:10 utc | 90

The following is an article by Neil Clarke about a strange speech recently given by Boris Johnson (UK Prime Minster) in which he made a very clear invocation of “The Great Reset”:
As Boris Johnson announces Britain’s ‘great reset’, were the Covid ‘conspiracy theorists’ right all along?”
Johnson has always protrayed himself as bumbling but essentially well-intentioned. Peter Oborne has always pointed out that Johnson is a liar:
“Boris Johnson, who is uniquely deceitful among British prime ministers. I make this statement with authority having been a political correspondent for approaching 30 years.”
Now that Johnson has exposed himself as a “fully-signed up ‘Great Resetter’” it’s clear that he’s a liar and is following a malign agenda that is separate from the Conservative Party and his election undertakings.

Posted by: ADKC | Oct 8 2020 17:59 utc | 92

@ willie.. if you are reading – do you know this french piano player??
@ 90 john… thanks john! i haven’t heard that, but i have heard of henry kaiser before… this is new to me… i have to admit i have gotten caught up in more comtemporary jazz type stuff and i associate this with prog rock, fusion more… i like what you have shared here though! kaiser reminds me of allan holdsworth in terms of his sound.. the motif running thru the first few minutes of the song is definitely reminiscent of mahavishu orchestra..
here is a french piano player i am listening to at present.. .new york rhythm section players… i see this as a natural progression out of a lot of fusion type music, but it is more steeped in jazz and often times my friends who are into rock – zappa and more fusion type stuff, don’t relate to this as much… there might be some tracks on the recording you might like.. Vincent Bourgeyx
on the other hand, i enjoyed listening to this just yesterday… something different.. Reich – Tehillim – Complete (Official Score Video)

Posted by: james | Oct 8 2020 19:01 utc | 94

Noirette @92 wrote
It breaks his strong-man image, puts in doubt the “It’s just a flu..” stance, as nobody is given oxygen or fancy meds from Regeneron for flu..
____________________________________________
Yes that is going to be the intial reaction
but
Timing is everything
By the time the election rolls around he will have delivered his message that covid is no worse than the flu there is no reason to treat it like its dangerous. Well, he has already delivered that message, but over the next few weeks it will sink in.
Covid is the one area he is losing, he can’t change what he has done in the last 9 mos. He can try to sell covid as just another Democrat hoax like he originally said. I think it may work. I expect there will be some October surprise help from the Democrtats too.

Posted by: jinn | Oct 8 2020 19:28 utc | 96

@john + james + DiD re: musicians
Kaiser is avant-garde (see Kaiser, O’Rourke, Tomorrow Knows Where You Live). Kaiser also did renditions of Grateful Dead’s Dark Star, one of which included a beautiful Coltrane Love Supreme medley.
As for drummers, and jazz-prog-rock smear, Joe Travers (currently manages Zappa vault), Marco Minnemann, Chad Wackerman (a Holdsworth trio member), Dave Weckl, Tony Williams, Jack Dejohnette. Minnemann and Dejohnette are currently working often with Indonesian guitarist Dewa Budjana.
Two other musicians I’m currently ‘digging’ are Chris Potter (sax) and Dave Holland (bass, worked with Miles Davis). They both have done recent cultural cross-over projects with Zakir Hussain and other Indian and ME msuicians.
Billy Cobhamm is a force of nature!

Posted by: Dr Wellington Yueh | Oct 8 2020 19:49 utc | 98

@ james | Oct 8 2020 16:11 utc | 88
You might find on youtube the late drummer Buddy Rich. He had many appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show performing over the years and might be found there as well. Amazing to listen to.

Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Oct 8 2020 20:08 utc | 100