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March 26, 2021
Taking A Few Days Off

Your host feels somewhat drained. Several posts I started to write over the last few days turned out to be rubbish and got trashed.

That is sure sign that I need a few days off. I'll leave an open thread on top and will check in once a day to release blocked comments. Aside from that I will be mostly offline.

See y all next week.

b.

—-
Use as open thread …

Posted by b on March 26, 2021 at 16:11 UTC | Permalink
Comments

A little reminder, before commenting on manners…snake@71″…But requiring permits, limiting the kinds of guns, and selecting who can and who cannot own guns are themselves serious infringements; which violate the promises, warranties and guarantees the founders placed in the constitution; among those promises was that ‘the right to keep and to bear arms shall not be infringed’…No one seems to have done anything about [infringement of the right to bear arms]?…What should the governed do, when the government infringes on and violates a human right or ignores one or more of the conditions that allowed the constitution [<=from which all power to govern arises] to be ratified?...How long must [infringements] be allowed? Infringement is an act which is a lot worse than the crime of say murder, IMO; infringement violates the space that protects human rights from those who have the power to govern. Has anyone seen an infringer arrested, charged with a crime, or punished for the infringement?...I think whether or not the people are going to let the government infringe on the right of humanity to keep and bear arms is going to come to a head soon...If a government infringes on that right, it has dissolved the constitution IMO." With shameless gall, snake falsified the second amendment, proffering only the absurd disclaimer "IANAL." A well-organized militia includes things like enlistment and training and discipline in the exercise of duties. The arbitrary decision that private arms without any regulation is even a militia, much less a well-organized one, is preposterous. It is not an accident that it took a politically conservative court majority to rewrite the amendment in Heller. The right-wingers here love to prattle about corruption, but the corrupt decisions of the conservative jurists is studiously neglected. By the way, without training, supply, organization, private arms are pretty useless for self-defense, especially against real soldiers. That's why despite the US population being so well-armed, it still has more casualties of violence than anywhere that's not an active war zone. Everyone who claims to favor guns for self-defense is either a fool or a liar: They mean they want the option of killing someone easily, with just the pull of the trigger. In their dreams... After imposing this fraud, snake then proceeds to call for violence, in the guise of rhetorical questions. robjira@90 is vaguely aware that a "quatorze juillet" moment is being called for, but for no reason thinks the calls are aimed at the "gentry." They are not. They are aimed at the majority of the people in the US, and being gentry has nothing to do with it. If gentry had any rational meaning, the likes of Cliven Bundy are gentry. It would be sensible to assume that the people who have enough money to buy a private arsenal are more likely to be property owners enraged their property values in flyover country are falling, falling, falling or because they are professional/semiprofessional criminals. The truly rich don't need guns, they have the police, the army and their private security. Now as to manners? On a far-right website, it is not unexpected for a member in good standing of the commentariat to call for murdering some undisclosed number of other people. Still, it is absurd to think this behavior displays "good" manners. It neither respectful, conducive to debate, informative, thoughtful nor the tone of decent discourse. That disposes of MarkU's fatuous response. The indulgence in abuse of humanity at large while pretending to make an exception of one's fellows at some cliquish website is quite the opposite. As might be expected though, in addition to using blinders to ignore the habitual bad manners of abusing one's fellows, MarkU cannot even apply the purported standard of civility to other commenters. Witless charges of being a paid propagandist are precisely the kind of abuse that MarkU pretends to disapprove. The notion that a website clique, the commentariat, has a right *not* to read anything they disagree with is of course the total repudiation of every hypocritical word written by MarkU. I have no idea how anyone could possibly believe that a parole officer has the FBI file in the first place. That story should inspire the gravest suspicions of "oldhippie."

Posted by: steven t johnson | Mar 27 2021 19:14 utc | 101

blues@98 quibbles that Congress doesn’t *have* to pass a patent law. The clause was there to give power to write such a law because it was meant to, being a necessary specific national power *over the states* that promoted the general welfare and prosperity. The Congress doesn’t *have* to declare war either, but it is implicitly given the duty to do so. That’s why any, even if they are not a lawyer, can criticize Congress for abdicating its responsibility.
Defending fraud by abolishing trademarks and logos is a remarkable moral position. But so far as patents and copyrights go, patents and copyrights that give temporary exclusive rights to inventors and creators still need not be *unregulated* monopolies. Personally, I firmly believe that it should be a basic principle in elementary economics that unregulated monopolies are intrinsically a defect in the economy and a moral, social, political problem/error/bad thing as well. Extending patents to cover chemical compounds or even natural products like genes is an example of why Congress must legislate on patents. Extending copyrights beyond the lifetime of the creator should also be an issue addressed by corrective legislation.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Mar 27 2021 19:25 utc | 102

A few months ago, Bolsonaro was letting the virus spread in the very Amazonian regions he has been targeting (for total annihilation of the local populations) since he took power. Now the boomerang strikes back.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/27/americas/brazil-covid-19-collapse-intl/index.html

Posted by: Mina | Mar 27 2021 19:38 utc | 103

@ Posted by: Mina | Mar 27 2021 19:38 utc | 103
Bolsonaro wasn’t letting the virus spread. He was advocating HCQ, ivermectin et al as a preventive treatment.
As a result, Brazil has seen a sudden and sharp spike of liver failure and hepatitis cases:
Médico alerta para aumento de casos de hepatite causados por ivermectina
Pacientes precisam transplantar fígado após uso do kit covid, diz jornal
Uso de Ivermectina contra covid está comprometendo fígado de pacientes, dizem médicos
You petty bourgeois and charlatans have blood in your hands. You’re a bunch of murderers.

Posted by: vk | Mar 27 2021 19:53 utc | 104

@ 93 oldhippie
What the … ?! Ehm, that leaves me a bit speachless,
Would you like to tell a bit more about your life?

Posted by: m | Mar 27 2021 20:12 utc | 105

Iran and China FINALLY signed that 25 years deal.
https://www.rt.com/news/519382-iran-china-strategic-agreement/ Cheap gas and oil for china, and badly needed financial help for Iran. USA/Germany/France/EU can stick their JPOA deal where the sun dont shine. Iran doesn’t have to listen to them no more FUCK YOU!
took them long enough. Finally some great news.

Posted by: Hoyeru | Mar 27 2021 20:41 utc | 106

IANAL, but it seems to me that the 2nd amendment can be easily interpreted as:
– because militia is necessary
– the people should be able to keep weapons at home
– so that they are ready to join the local defense force at a minute’s notice (a-la Minutemen)
Which is very similar to what they do in Switzerland, where almost every male citizen keeps his military rifle and a (sealed) box of ammo at home.
But then of course there could be a whole bunch of different interpretations. Which means that this is a purely political issue. Same story as with the 1st amendment, which protects political speech except when it doesn’t: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States

Posted by: Mao Cheng Ji | Mar 27 2021 20:51 utc | 107

A walk in a pine forest with a wind blowing is so soothing…the seashore…a walk in beechwoods with young leaves…..wind in sand dunes with long grass…music such as gregorien chant ..Hildegarde von bingen etc…spirit come by Christian Bollman and Dusseldorf overtone choir….grounding ceremonies….peaceful sleep.
So much going on in the world…..too much to continuously take in when sometimes it seems the stupidity and pointless of so much is overwhelming and despairing.

Posted by: Jo | Mar 27 2021 21:04 utc | 108

Escobar’s latest he suggests combining with his previous two along with yesterday’s Crooke’s, his two previous and a fourth Pepe says will be published on Monday. Together, they detail the actors and speculate on the upcoming drama based upon what’s known of the plan/plot. The well informed will earn the pricey seats up front or on the mezzanine.
There are two competing visions for 2030–Outlaw US Empire/NATO’s versus Russia/China/Friends of the UN Charter–one based on lies and a deceitful/distorted narrative, while touting Anti-Human values and goals versus one based on genuine International Law, Truth, and focused on the development of people and nations instead of profit. This is the Great Civilizational War that will determine humanity’s direction for the rest of this century and those that follow.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 27 2021 21:32 utc | 109

Are european politicians prostitutes?
Thanks to NemesisCalling for the question | Mar 25 2021 16:08 utc | 146
This is an analogy, of course, but it is supported by a traditional and western vision of the activity that was practiced in brothels with a strict hierarchy. Not having (yet?) being a practitioner myself, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the representation.
“Heaven’s Gate” (Michael Cimino 1980) could be a good example. In the brothel, there is a complex relationship between the pimp, the madam, the girls and the clients. The outside world is raw and violent. The madame [“la mère maquerelle” in french, usually an aging prostitute whose personal service is becoming insufficiently profitable] ensures good discipline and customer satisfaction. She is the one who punishes the bad girls, the ones who did not deliver the service paid for by the client.
“Malgré-nous” or genuine volunteers
The prostitutes are forced by physical or social violence or voluntary. Do they reverse the income from the activity out of fear of reprisals, out of simple respect for the contractual relationship, in order to be able to work better or out of blind love for the pimp? Forced into submission, but receiving “protection” and benefits in exchange.
The prostitute can expect to live better than being directly confronted with the outside world. But is she prostituted to the client or to the pimp?
The analogy is therefore to see the European Union as a brothel, the USA (economic and political entity) as a pimp sometimes lovers and often violent, our politicians are all categories of voluntary prostitutes enthusiastic or forced by fear of the outside.
And the clients are all the entities likely to buy the services of these politicians, the economic sectors of course, but also the exotic potentates.
England having done her Brexit, left the brothel and worked directly from home (Escort ?) there is little chance she will survive without maintaining a close relationship with the US pimp even if naturally she will seek to balance her chances of survival or even promotion with new entrants.
Père Macron ou Mère Maquerelle ? “
The analog is accurate when you Look at Macron. Too weak to be an independent pimp and now too insignificant to be an attractive prostitute, France rushes to fill the vacant place of “mère maquerelle”. Macron now wants to impose US injunctions (NS2, China, military, Sputnik vaccine ….) on Germany.
Not so funny but a young pimp or licensee for the brothel, in french, is a “macrotin”
Social responsibility
Coming back to the issue, I think that many Europeans see their cascading dependency on the EU and the USA as the prostitute is dependent on the brothel and pimp.
I have referred in other posts to “my Uncle of America” (Alain Resnais, 1980) whose subject is precisely this ambiguity of the cross-relationships and their equilibrium.
The classic experiment with rats is illuminating.
Whatever the composition of a group of rats locked in a cage that is too small (constraint and escape impossible) it establishes a relationship with 20% dominant, 20% victims and 60% collaborators or prostitutes, as you like.
It’s a social balance, everyone plays their part, but I agree that Europeans who agree to be prostituted to USA are as responsible as Americans of any kind or color, who keep quiet (and enjoy their small privileges) about the plundering and tyranny for which their country is responsible.

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 27 2021 21:43 utc | 110

Ehret pens a good essay–“China and Russia: The New Guarantors for Justice in the Face of a Self-Cannibalizing West”–but needs to edit his work better. He adds to the knowledge needed to understand the Civilizational War:
“Premising their self-interest not upon the projection of power, and intimidation of the weak, but rather upon the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence outlined in the 1955 Bandung Conference [link at original], China and Russia have recognized that the only pathway to a viable future is located in the power of creation (aka: breaking free of zero-sum thinking). The leaders of these nations know that if resource scarcity press upon the potential to sustain the lives of people, it is better to inspire creative ideas, and unleash new discoveries under a dynamic of scientific progress rather than cut down the population to adapt to those limits which computer models attest is our carrying capacity.”
Such a goal I’ve called the Wisdom World for 20+ years now as the aim for an essentially steady-state world.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 27 2021 21:54 utc | 111

AK74 @ 99 opined;
“Such for the USA’s endlessly insincere propagandizing (i.e., weaponizing) of “democracy, freedom, and human rights”
“America does not represent any of these political values.”
“The United States of America represents the Machiavellian manipulation of these hallowed values.”
Absolutely true, when speaking about our “ruling classes”.
What they REALLY believe in is global hegemony through corporate dominance, and “profits uber alles”..

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 27 2021 21:57 utc | 112

BF @ 110; An apt analogy..:)

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 27 2021 22:05 utc | 113

Oldhippie @100 re Ukraine
See « War in Donbass Update » by Anatoly Karlin + comments at Unz Review

Posted by: Headache | Mar 27 2021 22:09 utc | 114

Oldhippie | Mar 27 2021 19:11 utc | 100
Ukraine;
Personal take on what is a confused situation.
Zelensky has; tried to ban the speaking of Russian, has stripped his political opponent Medevev of his position in Government and of his riches (Billionaire). Has now “fired” two Supreme court justices (accusing them of corruption. But he legally does not have the power to fire them, nevertheless….. They were from the “avant-Maidan” era))
Has built up the Uke forces in the Donbas/Luhansk areas (heavy forces -tanks and artillery). Sent three trains …slowly… so that they could be photographed, loaded with military hardware. Has got the (presumed) backing of NATO and the US to start aggresssion to “recover” Donbas and Crimea (de-occupation no less). Has declared that he will attack the Kersch bridge first in the event of war.
Wants to be elected as (?)Pres-Dictator(?).
The US was pushing for a small war. (A bidenette?) Sent in arms and newish humvees (surplus to requirements?). Placed 3 Destroyers in the Black Sea with two Spanish warships as prospective bait…..errrr.. in Odessa or nearby. The Eisenhower Carrier WAS in Crete, safely hidden betweeen high cliffs (you know, nasty things flying around might have hit it). Since the Evergreen Given it has moved off, followed by one Russian frigate and its normal escort – no knowing where it went.
There have been many close spy-plane runs all around the area, mainly around Crimea. (Not seen any reports about that for the last two-three days.)
The French and Germans have (or are supposed to have) told Zelensky to back off. They are also supposed to have proposed a “take it or refuse peace plan” to be given to the Russians, which was given to Zelensky for additions etc. (24 March)
Turkey is supplying drones, (but there seems to be a delay or incomplete shipments …..question there?). The Ukes have been practising with a couple of them.
The Russians; Ahh there lies a tale. They are accused of attacking Uke forces from inside the Donbas area. Killing four soldiers. They HAVE put nearby forces in Russia itself on alert., and they may well have sent in some spetznatz or snipers to “shorten” the lives of some of the Uke forces trying to infiltrate, as an example that they mean business. (The infiltration would have been to identify and set up targets for artillery.) I may have missed a drone being shot down. There still IS isolated firing most of the time although the weight seems to have gone down recently (More small arms.).
Summary; Things have been obliged to calm down a bit, possibly because of Ever Given. Even the Charles de Gaulle (Carrier) has now “decided” to patrol near Iran again. (EG ?). Don’t know where the Italian one is.
No idea if that will be a permanent state or simply it has been delayed because of EverGiven. It was a serious buildup though.
*****
The only time I was thought of as prospective “Foreign Office” material, was when I got a job as “tutor-in-charge” of an English Language Lab. at Riyadh University, SA. Not so long after the six day war. No one else would go. We (my girl friend/to be wife and I) were summoned to an interview in London. Admittedly I did look every bit like a very thin Che Guevara, black moustache and very long hair. Art student and had been in Paris in May/June ’68. (All true, but the latter was just a coincidence.) They must have concluded that I was not really James Bond material. Although I would have liked to have driven an Aston Martin, this did not seem the characteristic they were looking for.
So we went off. Six months later or thereabouts, there was knock on the door. (We had a Nus-villa in Riyadh). Standing there was a gentleman who had just arrived from the Foreign Office office in Jeddah. Who said; “Would you please write to your mother, as she keeps on pestering us about you“. They had not been allowed to forget about us – somehow I doubt very much that they had a long file on me. Unless they had nothing better to do.

Posted by: Stonebird | Mar 27 2021 22:11 utc | 115

Scotland’s Dirty War
It’s so refreshing to hear a competent politician.
Alex Salmond is superb in a hostile chamber.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFwXQM5TPZY

Posted by: John Cleary | Mar 27 2021 22:41 utc | 116

Dear b, just go up to 68 and read the post from Hope as if from me — I couldn’t say it better. We will be fine, and we will do our best as long as you rest!
Thank you so much.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 27 2021 23:11 utc | 117

must see
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ypxrJhSg5xU&t=1489s%2F

Posted by: Mina | Mar 27 2021 23:41 utc | 118

Get some rest, B. Thanks for all your hard work.

Posted by: Cresty | Mar 28 2021 0:00 utc | 119

Paco @ 88, it has always puzzled me that traditionally at the Washington, DC concert on the 4th of July is played Tchaikovski’s 1812 Overture. Perhaps someone knows why that is – is it only because there is cannon fire? Happy to have my ignorance enlightened – I do know things were happening across the ‘pond’ as well, but they seem different orders of magnitude – except perhaps in that both Capitals were vacated in order for the then indigenous peoples to be triumphant.
Whatever the case, seems like at that moment we think Russia’s okay.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 28 2021 0:05 utc | 120

While Tchaikovski wrote the 1812 Overture to commemorate Russia’s defense against Napoleon, the US also started a war against Britain in 1812, during which the British burned Washington DC. The use of cannons in the 1812 Overture meant the Americans naturally associated the music with their own war.

Posted by: Fnord13 | Mar 28 2021 0:27 utc | 121

Put solar panels on top of water channels and irrigation canals. Good video to spare ten minutes on.
More benefits than you would think.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 28 2021 0:30 utc | 122

Thanks, karlof1 @ 109. I couldn’t go further on Pepe’s Asia Times piece (unless I coughed up a dollar via credit card – well, I do have a dollar, but no credit cards, me). So I’ll have to wait on that one. But the thanks are for the Crooke article — that was an enjoyable piece! And all I wanted to add, to save the scenario, was Shakespeare’s wonderful line “Exit Blinken, pursued by a bear.” I’m sure Crooke considered it but held himself back. The play was, after all, doomed, so no need to guild the lily.
We all deserve a break to savor this moment, along with Lavrov’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. Let it be!
Sheep may safely graze all fearless… (Being a kiwi, I know about sheep.)

Posted by: juliania | Mar 28 2021 0:56 utc | 123

I have always considered it was obvious what the guns in the 2nd Amendments were for: slaves and inconvenient native americans. That what the “militias” were for at the time. The problem as seen then was the British that might interfere with the militias and take their guns, trying to protect the natives and/or abolish slavery. So they made sure the new government couldn’t do that.

Posted by: Bemildred | Mar 28 2021 0:58 utc | 124

librul | Mar 27 2021 14:13 utc | 83
You might find the following by Christopher Hitchens about WW1 of interest:
The Pity of War
Is leading one’s own troops to slaughter ever justified?
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

Probably no historical image would be harder to dislodge from the collective memory than that of the teak-headed, red-faced, white-moustached general, his tactics derived from long-ago cavalry maneuvers, sitting in a château headquarters well behind the lines as he orders waves of infantry across minefields and through barbed wire, forcing them like the Light Brigade itself “into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell,” and into the waiting German machine guns. Clark’s history of this cataclysmic episode was in some ways the least of it: the war poetry of Wilfred Owen and Isaac Rosenberg and Siegfried Sassoon, together with the memoirs of Robert Graves, now constitute a sort of separate department of English literature, centered around not just “the pity of war,” but also its futility. However, The Donkeys attained a relevance well beyond its shelf life because it was adapted by Joan Littlewood and mutated into the mighty stage and then screen triumph of Oh! What a Lovely War. This work made the teak-headed, red-faced, white-moustached version into something practically unchallengeable for the first generation that had no memory of the conflict itself.

Posted by: pogohere | Mar 28 2021 1:22 utc | 125

Thanks Fnord @ 121. Don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I think that’s what I said. It still seems very out of place – but you’re right I guess; it’s the cannons. On the subject of the Second Amendment, I’m sure it’s been observed before that ‘arms’ is rather an ambiguous term given what ‘arms’ have become since the writing of the Constitution. I wouldn’t mind everyone feeling free to hang a musket and powder flask over the fireplace — well, not the flask maybe. That could go in the fridge.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 28 2021 1:25 utc | 126

Posted by: denk | Mar 27 2021 8:29 utc | 69
Thanks for the excellent video. Would like to hear or read more from this guy but I did not catch his name…

Posted by: farm ecologist | Mar 28 2021 1:31 utc | 127

Myanmar Meddling.
I didn’t comment on the Feb 10 MoA thread because I hadn’t formed an opinion ever since SBS Dateline adopted Aung San Suu Kyi as a hero of democracy.
Yesterday’s DW news broadcast enlightened me.
During the obligatory Western Myanmar dead-rioters hand-wringing snippet, they crossed to a Colonel David Gwinniver (phonetic/sounds like) who mentioned pleas to the UN about “International Intervention.”
A Colonel doesn’t need to explain what type of intervention he has in mind. We know he wants a Military Solution.
Anyway, he said something really bizarre (words to the effect):
“The risk in Myanmar is that the government will be DOMINATED by the Ethnic Majority.”
I couldn’t help wondering if he could name one country which isn’t controlled by its ethnic majority?
These Christian Colonial Cranks are utterly insane. Once they’ve decided they’d like to wreck your country, any pathetic excuse will do.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2021 1:39 utc | 128

Very good cartoon. Liked the color and the composition. The collage is also good for a cartoon:
Cartoonist Wuheqilin defends Xinjiang cotton boycott with new illustration, gaining wide popularity
It’s too cliché for a work of art, but it does the job for a cartoon.

Posted by: vk | Mar 28 2021 1:39 utc | 129

Marvellous cartoon.
This is worth watching and circulating, particularly for those ruled by NATO Parliamentary morons.
https://dissidentvoice.org/2021/03/the-xinjiang-genocide/
Apologies if it has already been posted

Posted by: bevin | Mar 28 2021 1:57 utc | 130

So it has been reported that Biden talked to Boris Johnson about building an “alternative” version of China’s BRI.
What are the success chances of a private finance based BRI alternative?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 28 2021 2:18 utc | 131

ut @ 122; Thanks for the video. Interesting, showing there is hope for a transition to renewables. IF, the status quo will allow it.

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 28 2021 2:37 utc | 132

migueljose 73
I rarely watch videos or post one.
When I do, it has to be worth watching and preferably under 15 min.
Points to ponder.
Why are the Canuck MP afraid to talk to grayzone ?
IN the Alaska blowback,
BLinken and co practically tried to
kick out the journo before the
Chinese side had a chance to reply.
Thats when Yang demanded,
‘What’r you afraid of’ ?

Posted by: denk | Mar 28 2021 2:57 utc | 133

farm ecologist 127
I think its Ajit Singh of grayzone.
Guess why are the Canuck MP afraid to talk to Singh ?
IMagine if Singh ask the question,
‘Whats the smoking gun that prompts all of you to vote for a sanction ?’
Canuck,
‘I got it from that nutjob zenz’
hehehehe

Posted by: denk | Mar 28 2021 3:11 utc | 134

Posted by: denk | Mar 28 2021 3:11 utc | 134
Thanks, denk. Didn’t recognize him without the beard.

Posted by: farm ecologist | Mar 28 2021 3:24 utc | 135

bevin @ 130; Thanks for the link. Worth a listen…..

Posted by: vetinLA | Mar 28 2021 3:48 utc | 136

Duke University launches investigation after a printout of George Floyd’s toxicology report was pinned to a Black History Month display
* A freshman student discovered the toxicology report on Saturday, pinned next to a photo of George Floyd on a Black History Month display
* Each compound in his system was underlined in pen, along with a note that read: ‘Mix of drugs presents in difficulty breathing! Overdose? Good Man?’
* Multiple autopsy reports have concluded Floyd died of asphyxiation and neck compression after former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck in May 2020
* The printout was removed and Duke University has launched an investigation, warning any student responsible will face disciplinary action
* Earlier this week, jurors were selected for the trial of Chauvin, who is facing charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9406225/Investigation-printout-George-Floyds-toxicology-report-pinned-display.html

Posted by: Mao | Mar 28 2021 5:06 utc | 137

@juliana 123
You can read Pepe’s essays with a 1-3day delay (at most) at https://thesaker.is)

Posted by: aquadraht | Mar 28 2021 5:08 utc | 138

psychohistorian @ 0131–
Neoliberals–private finance–erected the Anti-BRI via the IMF and World Bank using the Washington Consensus Rules-based System long ago which is why China’s BRI is so needed today and why so many nations want to be involved. The West has nothing to offer since it already destroyed its credibility. Once the pandemic gets more controlled, business will not be the usual that went before.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 28 2021 5:19 utc | 139

I’m not responsible for any keyboard damage from barflies viewing this succinct putdown of the centre of US media might. Mark Steyn on Tucker Carlson.
https://twitter.com/Thorsome1/status/1375297288394829828

Posted by: Tom | Mar 28 2021 5:25 utc | 140

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkXbyklunp4
Three Russian ballistic missile submarines surfaced next to each other from beneath the ice near the North Pole as part of a recent major Arctic exercise. The head of the country’s Navy said that event was a first for his service. It also underscores the growing geopolitical competition in this highly strategic region.
On March 26, 2021, the Russian Ministry of Defense released details, as well as imagery, about the submarine activity that has been a part of the Umka-2021 drills.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39953/three-russian-ballistic-missile-submarines-just-surfaced-through-the-arctic-ice-together

Posted by: Mao | Mar 28 2021 5:32 utc | 141

@ karlof1 # 139 with the finance civilization war follow up
What will be interesting to watch is the clash between China’s bottom up demand driven consumption and the Madison Ave. top down driven consumption of the West.
What will happen to Bling? Nothing until the economic crash and then it will be worth as much as tulipbits.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 28 2021 5:33 utc | 142

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has scrapped plans to stage Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” and will instead make its next production “Footloose.”
The company announced the news Monday, citing its “ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
In an interview, artistic director Michael Brindisi said the decision had nothing to do with the show’s content and that he’s not ruling out staging “Cinderella” at some point in the future.
The show came into question after Brindisi looked at the cast.
“It was 98 percent white,” he said. “That doesn’t work with what we’re saying we’re going to do.”
https://www.twincities.com/2021/03/22/in-a-new-push-for-diversity-chanhasssen-dinner-theatres-scraps-plans-to-stage-cinderella/

Posted by: Mao | Mar 28 2021 6:13 utc | 143

@Tom | Mar 28 2021 5:25 utc | 140
OMG, that is so funny because it is true! The collapse in Washington has already happened.
Thanks for that one!

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 28 2021 8:13 utc | 144

in complement to the link above, Ivermectin, invented by a Japanese guy who got Nobel prize for it, recommended by doctors on the ground … for a whole year now!
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Nobel-laureate-does-not-see-hot-climate-killing-coronavirus
http://satoshi-omura.info/ivermectin/

Posted by: Mina | Mar 28 2021 8:19 utc | 145

n France we can’t watch the youtube video of Putin in the Crimea ceremony and celebration.Imagine the french people who are mostly very angered with the covid-pandemonium handling ,seeing how Putin adresses 80000 people without masks.
A video featuring a doctor reporting about ivermectine in an american senatorial hearing is suppressed as well.More and more frenchies start to understand that the government has done everything,from the beginning of covid-19 to accelerate and propagate the epidemic.Following the Macron governments action timeline everything leads to this conclusion.Treatments were prohibited,medics put out of practice as a punishment for talking and writing about HCQ and ivermectine.
The Interior minister puts out 90000 gendarmes to control the people not being more than six on the street.Seriously,the whole medical world is losing trust and confidence with the people on a very big scale.French are used to government corruption,and can live with that,because everybody likes to fraud a little.You know they are quite sure to be able to find a doctor who will give you a vaccin-passport for money.That’s the way rebellious french people used to think.But now,the man in the street suddenly starts to understand that government,big pharma,medical experts are just screwing him on a cosmic level never seen before.The fear mongers are on tv all day long,and the only thing we hear is so many dead and more to come etc.They are destroying our country ,our social coherence and the lives of our children.
A whole bunch of covid mongerers were seen together eating in the newly opened restaurant”Les 3 Présidents”,owned by a former master-cook at the Elysee under Sarkozy,Hollande and Macron.All tv pundits,MSM journalists and medical experts,twenty at table,no masks,and did they have fun!
People with other ailnesses are not going to see the doctor anymore,because of the ordeal.And when only twenty percent of nurses and doctors want to take vaccination for them selves why should anyone trust the proposed vaccines?

Posted by: willie | Mar 28 2021 9:38 utc | 146

No more Holidays in the Sun …
“This is the 3rd World War” Dr Hector Carvallo
Watch this video Global Medical & Scientific Experts Call Upon World Governments to Act Now to Save Lives
From the comments:

“The problem is that when it’s going to be widely known that Ivermectin (and preferably in a protocol depending on the disease stage, e.g. with methylprednisolone) is safe, efficacious, works in against variants as well, is very easy to distribute and to administer, and is very cheap (as it’s out-off-patent you can ask India to produce a couple of billion of tablets for a fraction of the cost what we are spending now) … ?
As a result:
1) the largest and most powerful pharmaceutical companies of the world are going to lose billions on lost vaccine sales and missed sales on new expensive drugs
2) their bigger shareholders might lose millions
3) medical authorities (WHO, EMA, MHRA, FDA, NIH …) are going to be in the spotlight and will be questioned
4) many world leaders and politicians are going to lose face and may be held accountable for not looking into it sooner
5) many experts that have been rejecting the suggestions to use IVM and denied that there is a valid reason for the adoption will lose face and may be replaced by other experts
6) the objectivity and independence of medical journals is going to be questioned
7) lots of people are going to start questioning the whole system of how new medical treatments come to being (it’s not about the patient, it’s about the profit)
8) it might lead to a tremendous change in the health sector, and politics
Plenty of reasons to never officially endorse Ivermectin or even sabotage it. Too many interests are threatened by it. And the problem is that this is just one example of a much bigger problem that’s preventing faster, cheaper and more effective medical treatment development. This is costing us many lives.
It’s time to explore other ways to bring change.
Does anyone else here have ideas?”

The People’s Medicine Campaign grassroots activists:
Shabnam Palesa Mohamed, discusses state of Ivermectin in South Africa
An extensive ivermectin meta-analysis review in the Japanese Journal of Antibiotics co-authored by the Nobel Prize winner Japanese scientist Dr Satoshi Omura who discovered the molecule:
Global trends in clinical studies of Ivermectin in Covid-19
The Virus and the Parasite … this isn’t going away

Posted by: Hemiola | Mar 28 2021 9:59 utc | 147

Bernhard F. 48#
Good find,Bernhard!Every time Russian politicians and officials show they have more culture package and knowing even better french ,german and english literature than thepols from the countries that speak those languages.Amazing.
Even Navalny,you wouldn’t believe it,but some ten days ago Der Spiegel featured the famous Putin-challenger no.1 in one of many Navalny prop articles saying something like:(from memory):Three things keep me amazing in the universe:The firmament,the inner moral compas,and the treachery of the russian government.
The thing is,nobody,nor the article’s author,neither anyone in the comments section,noticed that Navalny was referring to a quote from Immanuel Kant,the philosopher from Königsberg (Kaliningrad today),who wrote :Zwei Dinge erfüllen das Gemüt mit immer neuer und zunehmender Bewunderung und Ehrfurcht, je öfter und anhaltender sich das Nachdenken damit beschäftigt: Der bestirnte Himmel über mir und das moralische Gesetz in mir. Ich sehe sie beide vor mir und verknüpfe sie unmittelbar mit dem Bewusstsein meiner Existenz.
Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, 1788. Kapitel 34. Beschluß
So,yes,even Navalny has more cultural luggage than western journo’s and german readers of Der Spiegel.
Posted by: willie |

Posted by: willie | Mar 28 2021 10:08 utc | 148

AOC is a privileged rsole. Called out BIG TIME here.
This treacherous squaddie needs to be recalled.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 28 2021 11:33 utc | 149

Hemiola #147
Thank you, mighty well said. A people’s prescription is needed so anyone can go get what they need or take it to their doctor and ask if they will prescribe it or not.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 28 2021 11:37 utc | 150

To willie | Mar 28 2021 10:08 utc | 148

,even Navalny has more cultural luggage than western journo’s and german readers of Der Spiegel.

IF…
is N. real admin his “own” Twitter Account, and not a bunch of student on Langley payroll.
Und einer Spiegel ist nur einer Spiegel = a mirror,an object that reflects an image.
When you have a look in/at a mirror, you just get your own image.

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 28 2021 11:44 utc | 151

Suez blocage is definitely an Eurasien plot
Moscow, March 28, IRNA –

Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said on Sunday that the necessity of completing the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) has once again been highlighted by the large container ship blocking Suez Canal, resulting in over 9 billion dollars of daily loss for the global economy.
According to the twitter account of Iranian Embassy in Russia, Jalali said that the INSTC cuts the transport time by 20 days and reduces costs by 30 percent compared to traditional route currently used.
He referred to the blockage of Suez Canal by a large Japanese cargo ship, called Ever Given, and added that the event represented the necessity of low-risk alternative to the tradition route. INSTC is the best one for the purpose, as said by the Iranian diplomat.

I’m waiting for Macrotin and Don Drian to denouce Russia, China, Iran…
We don’t need anymore to reduces costs by 30 percent ! That’s so populist in our Post-Covid economy ! France alternative for Europe is a  very big printing shop   
… and cotton ball !
Ooops…. Twist again in Xingyang?

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 28 2021 13:07 utc | 152

But beyond irony…
North/South of Eurasien is
Russia to India dodging Atlantic or Suez
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-pushes-for-chabahar-in-india-iran-russia-instc-corridor/article33988009.ece/amp/

Posted by: Bernard F. | Mar 28 2021 13:15 utc | 153

Headache @ 114
Thanks for the link. That was interesting. Now I won’t feel so bad about being confused. Main takeaway from the Anatoly Karlin + comment ensemble was many believe, or will sell, Ukraine is going to kick Russia’s ass. While such delusions circulate anything could happen.
Stonebird @ 115
You know quite a bit. I am up to speed with all that. You would enjoy the Tremblay/Tex Bentley conversation. Tremblay is resident in Crimea, Tex lives in Donetsk. When Tex reports eyeballing NATO generals at the front I give it some credence.
Everyone keeps going on about how conflict in Ukraine will inevitably lead to increased sanctions. To which I reply so what. A Russian victory and US defeat would turn over the table. The downside is not sanctions. The downside is general war. In the Ukraine theater, if it stays there, Russia wins. US defeat would unravel quite a lot.

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 13:23 utc | 154

151# Bernard F.
yeah,I suppose you are right there.It is indeed very improbable that N.can send messages from his prison on social media.

Posted by: willie | Mar 28 2021 13:41 utc | 155

@ Posted by: Mina | Mar 28 2021 8:19 utc | 145
Sorry. Ivermectin doesn’t work. See the case of Brazil, where its president is an avid fan of the drug:
Uso de Ivermectina contra covid está comprometendo fígado de pacientes, dizem médicos

Agora, médicos têm relatado casos em que o uso da substância levou pacientes à falência hepática, ou seja, o paciente precisa de um transplante de fígado para sobreviver.

Translation: “Doctors have been registering cases in which the use of the drug [ivermectin] caused liver failure to patients, that is, the patient needs a liver transplant to survive”.
Needless to say, Brazil has been seeing a record number of new cases and deaths. On a per capita basis, it has already surpassed the USA.
The drug doesn’t work, even at lethal dosages.

Posted by: vk | Mar 28 2021 14:08 utc | 156

vk a@ 156
Ivermectin is so massively safe as to be over the counter in many countries. The thirty year record is 3.8 billion prescriptions and 16 deaths associated in some way. That is associated, not caused. Ten times the dosage recommended for covid is routinely prescribed for children with no worries.
Ivermectin is safer than aspirin. It is safer than ibuprofen. It is safer than a tetanus shot. Any claiming liver failure is a propagandist plain and simple.

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 14:46 utc | 157

First page of Google hits on ivermectin, without even hitting the link you can read, from ncbi.nih., “ivermectin has not been associated with liver toxicity…”
Why does this keep coming up? Who is interested in promoting this rubbish

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 14:56 utc | 158

Mr. Willie
Trust in medical personnel has not suffered in Iran, if anything, confidence in them and the private and public institutions that have been supporting them has increased.
Ivermectin is ineffective treatment against COVID-19.
Outside of anti-body transfusions from others, nursing care has been the most salient factor on mortality.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 15:35 utc | 159

Mr. Oldhippie
Under the conditions of an economic siege war to destroy the Iranian state as well as pandemic, all treatment options were tried in Iran. Everything. Ivermectin was found to be useless in reducing mortality.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 15:37 utc | 160

@ Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 14:46 utc | 157
It is sold over-the-counter because it was supposed people would only take one tablet per year max, to get rid of worms.
The studies that claim ivermectin can prevent/cure COVID-19 recommend a mammoth dosage, much beyond any tablet available in the market, and on a daily/monthly basis.
See the difference?

Posted by: vk | Mar 28 2021 15:43 utc | 161

Mr. Bernard F.
On your comment # 152
Precisely. Costs do not matter to Judeo-Christians because their struggle against Iran is not one initiated for oil, market share or other such measure of success that an Economically Rational Man could understand.
Judeo-Christians as well as their European fellow-travellers are not Rational Economic Men when it comes to Iran, Islam, and Palestine. They are Irrational Religious Bigots that care not one whit about Human or Economic costs, to themselves or to others.
Thanks for furnishing a post that lends support to my thesis.
Only if we had capitalists running US-EU foreign policy, we could have resolved our differences 25 years ago.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 15:45 utc | 162

Mr. Vk
There is no data that supports even that assertion on very high dosages for prolonged periods of time.
Since the time of the late Dr. Pasteur, vaccination has been proven to be the sole inexpensive reliable effective and efficient way of combating infectious diseases. There is no reason to question that approach or seek alternatives for COVID-19.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 15:51 utc | 163

The Xinjiang project

Former Istanbul CIA station chief, Fuller was one of the architects of the Reagan-Bush Iran-Contra affair, and a prime CIA sponsor or handler of Gülen who facilitated Gülen’s USA exile. He was also by his own admission, in Istanbul the night of the failed 2016 coup. In 1999 during the end of the Russian Yelstin era, Fuller declared, “The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and of helping them against our adversaries worked marvelously well in Afghanistan against the Russians. The same doctrines can still be used to destabilize what remains of Russian power, and especially to counter the Chinese influence in Central Asia.” This is what the covert US weaponization of ETIM is aimed at. Like most radical Sunni Jihadist groups, Turani’s ETIM got funding as most radical Sunni Jihadist groups from Saudi Arabia.
………………….
ETIM today is headed by Anwar Yusuf Turani, self-proclaimed Prime Minister of a government in exile which notably is based in Washington DC. ETIM moved to Washington at a time the US State Department listed it as a terrorist organization, curiously enough.

https://journal-neo.org/2018/10/05/china-s-uyghur-problem-the-unmentioned-part/

Posted by: denk | Mar 28 2021 16:26 utc | 164

vk @ 156
oldhippie @ 157 is right. Ivermectin is one of the world’s safest treatments. It’s also cheap. As you seem to know, it has been given in billions of doses as an antiparasitic treatment in both humans and animals. It is on the WHO’s list of essential medicines and as oldhippie states:

“ten times the dosage recommended for Covid is routinely prescribed for children with no worries … any claiming liver failure is a propagandist plain and simple.”

The discovery of antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties means that Ivermectin is the Penicillin of Covid-19 for prophylaxis, treatment, reduction of mortality and, together with steroids, for long haulers. And by the way, two 6mg tablets for two days has an 85% success rate in reducing the viral replication of Covid-19, preventing serious illness. Try looking up Ziverdo Kits which are available and in use in India.
Do some research for yourself. Read the meta-analysis by the Japanese Nobel Prize-winning discoverer of Ivermectin. You cannot defeat a pandemic of infectious disease, propaganda and censorship using vaccination alone.
Don’t let your belief in the inevitability of progress get in the way of your usually acute distrust of propaganda and corruption … even of the scientific and medical fields.
The Virus and the Parasite

Posted by: Hemiola | Mar 28 2021 16:32 utc | 165

Rest up b. Well deserved. I will too, but not before one last jab.
—

Another poster here, RSH, threatened to kill me three times, at least, and Bernard [sic] did not ban him. That poster is still here, using another name, with slightly better manners.
…
Probably half the commenters here are paid.

@oldhippie #93
oldhippie, As a not-paid poster, I have known RSH, from this blog, as well as others for well over a decade. He revealed himself quite a bit in that time. I don’t think he’s a committee, just a pompous A. He is a 71 year old (72?) San Fran criminal, who served time for armed robbery. A former Viet Nam baby killer, pining for Iranian baby’s blood, with all the advocation (er, predictions of ‘war with Iran’) for his so vaunted war with Iran. There wasn’t a day over the years that he did not predict his war. It’s as if he could taste it. So close, but yet ever so distant.
The recent China-Iran deal, reducing the possibility of such a war must have sent him into a tail-spin. I had previously told he wouldn’t live long enough to see such a war.
All along, he would quote me out of context, just to get his point across. At first, I wasn’t on to him, but I eventually caught on.
I haven’t seen his most favorite quote here recently: “good luck with that.”
It’s too bad he won’t be able to come out of his hiding to respond to this post. I hope he’s well, and not affected by Covid.
Also, he always cherished and talked up how REAL he was, using his own name for posting.
Are you saying that he is now un-REAL? A hologram?
I guess one can fall on one’s own sword.

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Mar 28 2021 16:35 utc | 166

oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 13:23 utc | 154
Saw this
“After the return of the occupied Crimea, Ukraine will evict half a million Russian citizens who moved there illegally – said Deputy Prime Minister Reznikov”
Some on the Ukranian side have delusions.
I saw the Tex/Tremblay post. Yalta could be a nice place to visit.
I believe him.
I was following, what I thought, was an accurate person – and now suddenly He’s coming up with what I assume to be PR for the NATO/Uke right wing. Sometimes it is difficult to spot the truthsayers and the “paid for shills”. He started calling Zelensky a “traitor” for not attacking Donbas straight away. “Maps” at the ready. Raving.
I wonder though if Zelensky is going to get out of this (alive?). He seems to have a very RightWing group who detest him – within his own party.
Re, sanctions; Both the EU and US have set up a system of increasing sanctions regularly no matter what the situation. (Magnitsky et al). The Russians have said, so what if there are “more” now, as they will only add a few more to all the rest anyway. Makes no difference.
Have you ever heard of any sanctions being lifted? (Except one on an Oligarch who took the US to court).
I don’t think the US CAN lift them as they had a side line of phoning companies directly to threaten them even if they were not directly targeted.
****
Ivermectin is being used in South Africa I believe. But the main thing is the legality of “experimental” vaccines being used if there is a real cure for Covid. If Iver is used then ALL the vaccines now permitted, cannot continue to be legally used until they have gone through the total number of tests/years etc. But you are a convert anyway. All is in the profit.

Posted by: Stonebird | Mar 28 2021 16:46 utc | 167

@ Fyi | Mar 28 2021 15:51 utc | 162

Since the time of the late Dr. Pasteur, vaccination has been proven to be the sole inexpensive reliable effective and efficient way of combating infectious diseases . There is no reason to question that approach or seek alternatives for COVID-19.

Source, please ?
Or is the statement a personal opinion ?
There is no long term history of mRNA type from which to judge safety or efficiency .

Posted by: Fíréan | Mar 28 2021 16:49 utc | 168

Mr. Fíréan
It is my opinion based on the mortality rates among children from infectious childhood diseases all over the world as vaccination was introduced. The last being the polio vaccine.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 17:01 utc | 169

Ms. Sakineh Bagoom
I do recall Mr. Richard Steven Hack.
I recall his articulation of the idea of mankind being supplanted by Trans-Human kind as a sort of End-of-Times Salvation – in a religious sense.
I remember the grand plans that he also had articulated as being those of USA and cohorts against the Shia Muslims. I think at one time those could well have been accurate but the world has changed since then; with Hezbollah and Israel having obtained a situation of MAD between them.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 17:09 utc | 170

Ms. Hemiola
Evidently, Japanese are also too stupid, or too venal, or too corrupt, to use Ivermectin. Only commentators on the Moon of Alabama, none of them with any expertise in Medical Sciences, know the medical Truth.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/28/national/fourth-covid-19-wave/

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 17:21 utc | 171

Mr. Stonebird
Sanctions cannot be lifted and will not be lifted.
You have to wait out the Euro-Americans for several more decades until they have leveraged themselves out with major powers on this planet before there could be any changes.
Euro-Americans, by diminishing space for diplomacy, make war that much more of a possibility. For Americans (Judeo-Christians) who prefer War to Peace, that is fine. Not so for anyone else.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 17:26 utc | 172

Mr. Fyi,
Thanks for that. When I said hologram, I was thinking trans-human, but couldn’t exactly remember.

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Mar 28 2021 17:30 utc | 173

Sakineh Bagoom @ 165
RSH had stories about bank robbery and serving prison time that had zero correspondence with what I know of bank robbery and serving time. I’ve never robbed a bank but did know a few who did. Three on the inside, one an old high school friend, one known from politics. A couple more encountered in lockup and in transit. I do not believe RSH ever robbed a bank. He claimed to be some sort of computer hacker, I gave him enough info for any amateur to positively identify me, he couldn’t. He claimed to have employment in computer security which was laughable. I know any number of Vietnam vets, RSH not one of them. When he was posting here heavily the sheer volume and volume of links, level of quasi sensible argument, keeping track of multiple threads he had started, on and on, I do not believe that was a person. And he was busy at who knows how many other sites.
Longer I read here the more I am convinced the primary strategy of the trolls is merely to flood the signal with noise. That is a very easy task. More is not needed. More than that only happens because of egos.
If I were coordinating activity for Brigade 77 it would be child’s play to disrupt a place like MoA. Any one junior staffer could nullify MoA and handle other work too. Projects like RSH would be indulged to relieve the tedium.
I have known a lot of wackos over the years. They will populate left wing politics, they will populate any unorthodox endeavor. The sort of personalities found in online discussions do not resemble any abnormal psychology I can recognize. No, they are not real people. Yes, a lot of effort is directed at making sure places like this are ineffective.

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 17:37 utc | 174

Fyi @ 171 –
New waves of infection, assuming the testing is accurate (which we often cannot do because the methodology is not revealed), are likely caused by the vaccines themselves. Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche explains why in the video interview that has been linked here several times. He is a top virologist that has overseen the development of vaccines, and he warns that mass vaccination in the midst of a pandemic is absolutely the wrong approach. His well-founded reasoning is that it results in antigen-specific immunity that gives the virus an opportunity to escape immunity by being shed and mutating to more dangerous variants, which the recipients’ immune systems no longer can fight against.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJZxiNxYLpc
Quite a few commenters on this site recognize the connection between the current schemes by the medical establishment and a range other geopolitical issues by virtue of their consensual corporate profit imperative and origination by oligarchs. Scientists with specialized knowledge and practice may have a better understanding of biological mechanisms (although there is plenty of disagreement there, too), but they typically lack a broader view of what is happening politically that has a profound influence on medical practice vis-a-vis the pandemic. Examples include the obscure(d) history of infections, questionable selective publication (or rejection) of studies in refereed medical journals, the fear mongering about unsubstantiated asymptomatic transmission, the directive by Western governments preventing Chinese and Cuban doctors from helping with treatment in various countries, and the attempt to ban the use of Sputnik V in the West.
There is clearly a highly organized effort to channel public acceptance of questionable practices and policies for the benefit of the profit-oriented entities (which extend far beyond the medical establishment): lack of preparation in spite of recent symposia, mainstream media collusion, lockdowns, denial of care for other medical conditions, faulty and corrupt distribution of PPE and other resources, questionable rtPCR testing, no early treatment but condemnation of alternative therapies, emphasis on acute care hospitalization, incentives to attribute deaths to Covid-19, mRNA vaccines lacking approval through accepted protocol, suppression of information regarding adverse reactions & deaths, obvious statistical manipulation, etc.
In summary, this is far from being purely a medical-scientific issue. The outcomes from what some of us perceive as one more front of Class War and Empire Dominion parallel those of domestic and foreign policies that increasingly benefit the rich while disenfranchising / marginalizing / killing poor, weak, and middle class people, as well as attempting to bring “wayward” countries to heel (rather than to respect and heal differences).

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 28 2021 19:14 utc | 175

Mr. norecovery
Thank you for your comments.
What are your recommendations as alternative to mass-vaccinations?

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 19:22 utc | 176

Fyi @ 175 –
These things come immediately to mind: (1) Re-opening all the medical clinics so people will have access to early care. (2) Distribution of information to the public and particularly to the medical community on various treatments that have proven effective, including those that can be made available for free over the counter and those that need to be administered by medical practitioners such as intravenous Vitamin C, oxygen therapy, drugs, etc. (3) A high-level investigation into diagnostic methods such as rtPCR testing and counterproductive treatments such as ventilators, to evaluate whether they should be discontinued. (4) Implementation of a program to provide immunity-boosting foods to the populations, and to warn against and to TAX those that are deleterious (such as high-fructose corn syrup soft drinks, fast foods deep-fried in GMO oils, etc.). (5) Opening of all parks and encouragement of outdoor exercise, and providing free transportation. (6) Government regulation of electronic media to allow free expression of dissenting opinions.

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 28 2021 19:40 utc | 177

Mr. norecovery
All of those recommendations are useless to Iranian people.
And then there is the issue of effectivesness, can you furnish any evidence, be they anecdotal or lacle specific, that have made any differences to COVID-19 mortality rates?
In Iran, soft-shutdown lowered a 3-figure mortality to a two-figure one.
In Israel, massive vaccination brought down the death.
In China, the Declaration of State of Siege in Wuhan, and in Korea, massive tracing and testing via private data.
I am not at all reassured by your comments.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 19:58 utc | 178

Fyi @ 177 –
My frame of reference is within the U.S., but I disagree my suggestions are “useless.”
Cuban and Chinese medical practitioners have developed treatment methods that have proven effective. “Mortality Rates” are misleading because of mis-attribution and statistical manipulation. As one instance, deaths from seasonal flu plummeted while Covid-19 deaths increased.
Israel’s mass vaccination program is suspect because information about deaths is being suppressed, but I gather infections have greatly increased among younger people, both of which are suspect. I worry that many recipients of the vaccine will succumb to future viral infection because they are no longer protected with broadly-based resistance. Time will tell.
The experience of effectiveness in different countries using various control methods is not uniform, so one cannot derive an all-encompassing evaluation for all countries. Nor is there comparable information about specificity of virus identity (strain), other factors involved such as demographics, general health, pollution, travel, and treatment availability.
Dr. Malcolm Kendrick makes some of these comparisons here, he questions the assumption that “waves” of Covid-19 (and resulting deaths) are any different than typical seasonal flu —
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/ and he questions the effectiveness of lockdowns.

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 28 2021 20:22 utc | 179

Fyi — I am not here to “reassure” you. Please do your own research, especially by going to the many links that were provided by MOA commenters on the appropriate threads. If you need reassurance for your personal health, check out the alternative therapies and acquire them. Practicing a health-sustaining lifestyle (and hygiene) that enhances one’s natural immunity is the best way to avoid getting sick. It is the job of governments and medical establishments to enable this at scale through subsidies, information, and access to treatment. China has been extraordinarily successful in that regard, so you can’t merely point to “testing & tracing” as the reasons for their success.

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 28 2021 20:41 utc | 180

mRNA is a technological advantage being exploited by the Global Capitalist Empire to do what it always does…expand by whatever means necessary. It’s an operating system that gives endless options to dangle fear and desire (sticks and carrots), which is what humans respond to. It’s a shakedown like the organized crime bosses they are. Wealth and power respect wealth and power…anything else is livestock.

Posted by: davenitup | Mar 28 2021 20:44 utc | 181

Mr. recovery
If your postings are not meant to reassure other human beings that there are other alternatives to simple herd immunity, then why are you posting anything on this forum?
And evidently, you are only caring about US. That, at least, reassures us that you care about USA.
I am aware of the hospital scenes in Iran, and I fully and unconditionally trust the medical judgements of the medical staff in Iran. They have tried everything and nothing has worked.
You are hupothesizing.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 20:59 utc | 182

Mr. davenitup
You be wrong about the effectiveness of carrots and sticks; perhpas in swampland countries such as yours. Please do not persume that we are all akin to your donkeys.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 21:01 utc | 183

oldhippie #173
Thank you, exactly that. Sometimes the signal/noise ratio is a problem.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 28 2021 21:09 utc | 184

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK548921/
Ivermectin liver toxicity. Only reported case. NCBI decides it is bullshit.
What do we say of those who insist that ivermectin will kill you?

Posted by: oldhippie | Mar 28 2021 21:09 utc | 185

Fyi —
Now you are twisting my meaning and intentions by making false accusations. I already provided general suggestions on how to deal with the infections BEFORE hospitalization would be needed. That is what “early treatment” means. That is the key to preventing deaths, along with isolation/protection of elderly and infirm people.
Don’t discount “simple herd immunity” but more importantly consider “herd resistance” because humans have an adaptive immune system. I believe vaccination at this stage is counterproductive and has potential side effects that are unknown.
I am not familiar with Iran’s medical practices, so I can’t confirm that their doctors have implemented those therapies that have proven effective elsewhere. I presume they have access to information and help from other countries, although I’m aware the U.S. is doing everything in its power to thwart them in order to worsen the situation and I’m ashamed of my government.

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 28 2021 21:15 utc | 186

Mr. norecovery
You are suggesting public health measures that may or may not be effective.
Useful before a pandemic, not so much afterwards.
Some people will always have comorbidities, too fat, addicted, sickly, too old.
What do you suggest be done?
On vaccination, we have to disagree. Vaccinate or die.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 21:27 utc | 187

Fyi —
You are clearly an irritant, disingenuous person not interested in rational thought or discussion.
Go here to get a good overview of the facts from honest experts, and don’t bother to write to me.
https://swprs.org/

Posted by: norecovery | Mar 28 2021 21:33 utc | 188

Mr. norecovery
Thank you for the URL.
Everything on the “Other” list there has been tried by the Iranian medical staff with little to no effect on severe cases except the anti-body treatment.

Posted by: Fyi | Mar 28 2021 23:28 utc | 189

annie | Mar 27 2021 1:24 utc | 54
Thank you annie

Posted by: 4 Corners Bill | Mar 28 2021 23:44 utc | 190

B: I hope you’re having a good rest, a few things seem to be happening (including the Suez canal thing) but I at least don’t have anything to add on any of it and will have to wait and see.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 30 2021 0:57 utc | 191

Oops!
I omitted an important part of my comment @ #7, b.
For the “taking a break” rejuvenation gambit to work properly you have to take 7 days off. The reason is simple. You have to disrupt the cyclic programming (habits) of every day of the week 🙂
Good luck.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 30 2021 2:44 utc | 192

Btw for anyone curious and before it becomes harder to find on a whim on the internet the current vessel schedules for MV Ever Given can be found at shipmentlink.com (use requires captcha but it’s not too intrusive and accepts lowercase answers).
Last port of call (EVER GIVEN 1129-011W LINE: China-Europe-Mediterranean Service(CEM)) before going through the Suez canal was Tanjung Pelepas in western Malaysia close to Singapore (scheduled arrival 12th of March, departure 13th of March). Six other Asian ports before that one: Kaohsiung (start), Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Taipei, Yantian, then TP then Suez. If it gets to sail on it will go to Rotterdam then Felixstowe (the largest container port in England) and then Hamburg 🙂
Here is a screenshot of the page. I have no idea how long it will be available.
– – –
Looking around I saw a ship info website that teased visitors with the availability (if one signs up or similar) of various AIS transmission quality and consistency data and various other stuff that could be interesting. Only pointing out the implied availability.
[Time flies; it feels like “just the other day” that (satellite) AIS appeared and now it is everywhere —turns out it was around 2010 or so]
– – –
I assume there will be some kind of sea inquest at some point in time, if nothing else then for parties to sue for damages. That could be fun if anything shady has been going on (never mind if it is GPS spoofing or an EMP in the cargo or anything else). Until then ruling out sabotage is premature.
And because of that: should Egypt hold the ship back?

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 30 2021 8:53 utc | 193

The spam filter seems to have eaten my somewhat link-heavy comment on MV Ever Given.
I have a local copy of the comment and will try again later here or in a newer thread if it doesn’t appear (b is on a break after all; I’ll just make the url’s text).

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 30 2021 8:56 utc | 194

Yes, enjoy some time off. Thanks for all your fantastic work over the last few years.

Posted by: Martin Smith | Mar 30 2021 16:47 utc | 195

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